It’s easy to take for granted our accessibility to products native to or manufactured in countries on the other side of the world. International trade makes it possible to enjoy a dinner of Kobe beef from Japan, tropical fruits from India and a bottle of wine from France, without having to wait days (or weeks) for all the ingredients to arrive. From the days of the Silk Road between Europe and Asia in the 1200s, international trade has facilitated the exchange of goods and services between nations. As transportation evolved to make doing business internationally more practical, the result has been a global economy where events in one county can impact product supplies, demand and prices in countries thousand of miles away. For consumers, global trade means more business competition, which (despite tariffs and other additional costs that do not apply to domestic trade) typically results in lower prices for the products they want to purchase. It also opens up more markets where countries can sell the goods that are more abundant within their borders. The Cycle of Global Trade Relationships International trade can, over time, change the nature of relationships between two countries. One familiar example is when a poorer nation provides labor and facilities to more developed trading partners, acquiring wealth that can then be channeled into greater domestic productivity. When that happens, it could eventually result in a reversal of roles, where the product importer becomes an exporter. One sees elements of this in the trade relationship between the U.S. and China.
Maersk Infuses $600 Million into Nigeria’s Port Infrastructure, Bolstering Maritime Trade Expansion
A.P. Moller-Maersk (Maersk) has unveiled a substantial $600 million investment geared towards enhancing Nigeria’s port infrastructure, marking a pivotal step… Read More
Schiphol Cargo Reaches Record 1.75 Million Tons in 2017
Schiphol Cargo reported an increase of 5.4 percent on yearly tonnage in 2017 with strong demand in the Far East… Read More
US Transpacific Ocean Cargo Continues to Trend Eastward
Demand growth in 2017 was king on the Asia-US East Coast trade, where spot rates have recovered in the past… Read More
BREAKING NEWS: Trump Says He Might Want to Rejoin TPP
One year after he took the United States out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, President Donald Trump said he would consider… Read More
THINK INSIDE THE BOXCAR
The era of the big containership is taking United States East Coast ports by storm. It was in 2016 that an… Read More
Trade Wars: Weaker Dollar is Part of Trump Strategy
The US dollar is at a three-year low against global currencies, and it’s been heading further down recently in reaction… Read More
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross: Is He in Trouble With Trump?
One of the pillars of Trump administration trade policy has been enhanced enforcement of United States trade laws. The US… Read More
First Agricultural Trade Through Blockchain Completed
ABN AMRO, Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC), Shandong Bohi Industry Co., Ltd (Bohi), ING, and Societe Generale have successfully completed the… Read More
Will Trump’s Lucky Streak Run Out?
President Trump has been lucky in 2017, argues Johns Hopkins University Professor Eliot A. Cohen in a pre-released essay from… Read More
Brexit: Norway or No Way
The United Kingdom is currently in the throes of dealing with its rupture with the European Union. The choices before… Read More
Jones Act Forces New England to Import Gas From Russia
The first imports into North America that include gas from a project in Russia subject to United States sanctions is… Read More
NAFTA Negotiations Restart Today
Negotiators from Canada, Mexico, and the United States are gathering in Montreal beginning today to try to negotiate a revised… Read More
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