Trade

President Trump’s bold ‘protectionist’ move of introducing import duties of 25% and 10% for steel and aluminum, respectively – and possibly more to come – may be more than just ‘populism’ and fulfilling a campaign promise. And why is the term ‘populism’ always used with a derogative slant? As if it was way below the intellect of those who deride it as addressing the thoughtless and primitive behavior by the people? Aren’t politicians supposed to work for the people?

Since coming to power, Emmanuel Macron has given the impression of forging ahead with new agendas and ideas crafted from a novel perspective.  This has been far from the case.  True, the man’s novelty has shone through in doing what seemed to be the undoable: establish a power base against traditional power-brokers and carve out a good slice of the electoral pie, all the time claiming to pursue an agenda shaped on radical reform.  But Macron remains a creature cut from the cloth of establishment thinking.

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Launched in 2010 by Jack Ma’s AliBaba group, AliExpress is one of the top independent retailers in the world. It pools the inventory of small and medium sized sellers throughout the wider world, creating an online market place where literally anything is for sale. It is seen as a Chinese competitor to the American online retailers Amazon and eBay, but in reality it offers more than both its western competitors in terms of a wide verity of products.

When Sainsburys dropped the Fairtrade standard for its own-brand teas in June, it signalled the beginning of a difficult summer for the ethical accreditation scheme. But the thirst for ethical, traceable products remains. Pukka Herbs has opted for the Fair for Life certification – “much more than a logo on a pack”, as co-founder Sebastian Pole explains

Donald Trump’s Tweets have been dominated by North Korea ever since Pyongyang sucessfully tested what the goernment claims was a domestically produced hydrogen bomb.
Below are today’s Trump Tweets on the subject:

North Korea has conducted a major Nuclear Test. Their words and actions continue to be very hostile and dangerous to the United States…..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 3, 2017

Turkey’s economic future is solidly dependant on Russia and the eastward looking markets that cooperation with China represents. This attitude was confirmed by Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu who criticised the Russian sanctions which are on the books in the United States and European Union.
Mevlut Cavusoglu further stated that Turkey has often been the victim of such sanctions and as a result Ankara has developed a strong apprehension about such measures.

“Free trade” has become a euphemism for “whatever power wants”, no matter how tangentily tied to transfering goods across international borders. In an extreme example, Ottawa recently said its Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Israel trumps Canada’s Food and Drugs Act since accurately labelling two wines might undermine a half-century long, illegal, military occupation.

We [Australians and Britons] can talk to each other as we can with no one else, but you can’t revert to a world that’s now disappeared.
— Allan Gyngel, Sydney Morning Herald, August 1, 2017