By John W Miller, Chief Economic Analyst, Trade Data Monitor; The global economy avoided a meltdown 2020-2022 due to the Covid-19 pandemic because governments around the world, led by the U.S., printed trillions of dollars for their own citizens, oiling consumer demand and goosing merchandise trade around the world. That steroid is now wearing off, as consumers have spent most of the money they were given, and because their spending fueled inflation, making it harder to buy a

The world’s (almost) eight billion people live under a wide variety of political and cultural circumstances. In broad terms, those circumstances can be measured and presented on a sliding scale between “free” and “not free”—the subtext being that democracy lies on one end, and authoritarianism on the other. This year’s Democracy Index report by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), is one such attempt to apply a score to countries based on how closely they measure up to demo

Consumption in Asia is set to increase as the continent hosts the majority of the world’s megacities—cities housing more than 10 million people. However, the biggest jump in the next decades will happen in Africa. The continent is expected to double in population by 2050, with material consumption jumping from 2 billion tonnes to 17.7 billion tonnes per year. Cities only cover 2% of the world’s land surface, but activities within their boundaries consume over 75% of the plane

Overseas money is starting to pull out of Chinese markets after the risk of investing in autocratic countries was starkly highlighted by sharp drops in Russia's currency and securities prices following its invasion of Ukraine. Market data shows foreign investors sold a net 38.4 billion yuan ($6.04 billion) of Chinese stocks and bonds in the January-March period, one of the highest such quarterly figures on record. "Outflows from China on the scale and intensity we are seeing

The country’s lithium-ion battery capacity will be twice as big as the rest of the world’s by 2031 In the Chinese county of Fuding, the world’s largest battery maker CATL is building its most ambitious gigafactory to date. The vast battery plant has a planned annual production capacity of 120 gigawatt hours (GWh) — enough to power around 1.2 million electric vehicles (EVs) when fully utilised. By comparison, the plant is more than three times the size of Tesla and Panasonic’s

Chip crunch reshapes FDI landscape as the sun sets on oil and gas Unprecedented levels of investment in new chip-production capacity redrew the investment matrix in 2021, with oil and gas dropping from the top 10 recipient sectors of foreign direct investment (FDI) for the first time since record-keeping began in 2003. Semiconductor producers set their most ambitious investment plans ever in motion last year, chasing the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that is the global chip

Last year, the editorial team at Visual Capitalist scoured through 200+ reports, articles, podcasts, and more, to create our 2021 Prediction Consensus—a big picture and aggregated look at the key trends that experts predict for the year ahead. If 2021 taught us anything, it’s that things can change at the drop of the hat. Amidst all this uncertainty, how many of the highlighted predictions came to fruition, and which ones didn’t pan out exactly as expected? Before we start, i

As if the foot soldiers of global trade needed more complications this holiday season, many logistics managers and customs brokers are starting to brace for a mini Y2K moment come Jan. 1. That’s when changes will take effect to the official nomenclature for hundreds of product groups used to classify imports and exports. So-called Harmonized System numbers — known as HS codes — exist on more than 5,000 product categories developed by the World Customs Organization, an intergo

TDM Insight: China Trade Statistics Show Supply Chain Disruption. By John W. Miller, Chief Economic Analyst - Trade Data Monitor The global economy is getting back to normal, but supply chains are not exactly returning to where they were before the Covid-19 pandemic. Consider this: In August, Chinese shipments of textiles fell 14.8% year-on-year, off a low base in 2020, to $12.5 billion, and exports of mobile phones declined 24.4% to $7.4 billion. However, sales of motor vehi

GDP per capita has steadily risen globally over time, and in tandem, the standard of living worldwide has increased immensely. This map using data from the IMF shows the GDP per capita (nominal) of nearly every country and territory in the world. GDP per capita is one of the best measures of a country’s wealth as it provides an understanding of how each country’s citizens live on average, showing a representation of the quantity of goods and services created per person. The S

Dentsu Tracking joins the EU-ASEAN Business Council to support supply chain digitisation and the fight against illicit trade with its tracking and tracing expertise. Managing Director, Philippe Castella said: "Dentsu Tracking is delighted to become a member of the EU-ASEAN Business Council. As the operator of the European Union Tobacco Tracking & Tracing System, we are a trusted partner for authorities worldwide to help implement digital supply chain control solutions based o

System will strengthen tax and customs cooperation, enabling instantly the sharing and exchange of data and information, including corporate tax registration, corporate import and export declaration documents, sales and purchase records, as well as other related documents. The introduction of the data automation system represents Cambodia’s optimisation of new technology to strengthen inter-institutional cooperation. Under the automated exchange system, the two tax authoritie

We are pleased to share the October China Preliminary Data from our partners Trade Data Monitor, summarised by John Miller. For a copy of 'October Preliminary China Trade Data' feel free to email andrewk@kwconfex.com Trade Data Monitor Partner APAC China maintained its strong 2020 export performance in October, buoyed by a summer of consumer spending in the U.S. and Europe after a locked-down spring. Overall, outbound shipments increased to $237.2 billion, up 11.4% compared t

By Michael DiPaula-Coyle - Central to any #digitaltrade agenda should be three core principles: 1. Enable the Free Flow of Data 2. Protect Source Code and Algorithms 3. Ensure technology choice and encourage open digital architectures COVID-19 has created unprecedented disruptions in the global economy, the full impact of which will not become clear for years to come. Companies of all sizes are grappling with how to conduct business, reach customers, and maintain supply chain

Designing ‘human-centred’ trade facilitation solutions: How does it work? By Craig Atkinson for Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) Following digitisation of commercial documents, the digitalisation of trade implies functional use of data to improve the automation potential of cross-border processes. By taking a human-centred approach to policy design in conformity with global semantic standards, trade rules in a ‘data driven’ format can address inequalities in access to info

Insight perspectives by ALEXANDER DE VOET, Manager, Global Consulting Lead, Accenture Border Services In my previous blog, I looked at some of the challenges border agencies face as they address the flows of people and goods in a world that is increasingly volatile, unpredictable, complex and ambiguous (‘VUCA’).  To adapt and evolve their services to better meet these challenges, agencies need to start seeing the world from the point of view of the travellers and traders that

''Leveraging Data & Innovative Technologies to Comply with Trade Regulations, Mitigate Risks & Maintain Operating Margins in an Increasingly Uncertain Cross-Border Trade Environment" As part of the preparations for GTDW China Trade Development Forum, June, Shanghai we are pleased to announce the Trade Compliance Leaders Panel Discussion and welcome top international speakers; Dr Ali Salamat, Economic Adviser-Trade Economist, the Directorate of International Trade, Oceans and

Welcome back to the new year and a new decade for The 4th GTDW Anti Illicit Trade, Brand & IPR Protection Conference + GTDW Trade Facilitation, Compliance & Digitalisation Conference & Exhibition our biggest edition to date returns to Shanghai Pudong, China from 16-18 June, presented in English & Mandarin as part of the 19th Edition of Global Trade Development Week. Theme: Digitalization, Standardization & Interoperability of Technologies. 800 International delegates, 80 Spea