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Tackling climate change and food insecurity
Published 15 November 2022
Read the World Trade Organization’s new report on trade as a cornerstone of climate action, how the US-China rivalry impacts globalization, and check out a WTO anti-dumping database in our latest reading list.
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Trade, climate action, and food insecurity | Growing US-China rivalry | With friends like these... | Impact of critical inputs on trade | Trade remedies | More research from Hinrich Foundation
Trade, climate action, and food insecurity
The World Trade Organization’s new report stresses that trade must be a cornerstone of climate action. WTO Director-General said that the WTO should attack barriers to a low-carbon transition. Developing countries’ debt burdens trap them in a vicious cycle, according to the Financial Times. Who should pay for developing countries to cope with climate change? The US says it will if China will, per Politico. Ending on a positive note, Sarah Taber writing in Foreign Policy explains that we have the tools and the means to solve food insecurity.
Mentioned publications
- Trade must be a cornerstone of climate action, urges World Trade Report released at COP27 – World Trade Organization, 7 November 2022
Trade and international cooperation can amplify global efforts to address climate change. - WTO should attack trade barriers to low-carbon transition: chief – Emma Farge, Reuters, 7 November 2022
The WTO wants to demonstrate effectiveness as a forum for cooperation on trade and climate change. - Debt burden traps global south in a vicious circle – Jessica Rawnsley, Financial Times, 8 November 2022
Developing countries struggle with the need to address climate change while paying back debt. - New U.S. message on climate change: Make China pay – Zack Colman and Karl Mathiesen, Politico, 5 November 2022
The US is willing to pay for developing countries to adapt to climate change, but only if China does too. - The Solution to the Global Food Crisis Isn’t More Food – Sarah Taber, Foreign Policy, 8 October 2022
We have the tools and the supply to ensure food security, we just need to do more to get there.
Growing US-China rivalry
Aaron Friedberg discusses what might the future of globalization look like in the context of the US–China rivalry. The US warns Europe that a conflict over Taiwan will cause a global economic shock, reports the Financial Times. German Chancellor Scholz’s Beijing visit is a reflection of Germany’s deep economic entanglement in the country, writes Adam Tooze in Chartbook. Japan could provide a useful example of disentanglement. Taiwanese companies at the heart of US–China tensions decide whether to leave or to stay in Mainland China. Asian countries outside of China will benefit from the unraveling of US–China trade, explains the Economist. Will venture capital be the next front in US-China competition?; queries Dan Xing Huang in Foreign Policy.
Mentioned publications
- The Growing Rivalry Between America and China and the Future of Globalization – Aaron Friedberg, Texas National Security Review, Winter 2021/2022
Given current geopolitical tensions, what form will globalization take in the future? - US warns Europe a conflict over Taiwan could cause global economic shock – Kathrin Hille and Demetri Sevastopulo, Financial Times, 11 November 2022
US State Department report estimates annual economic losses of US$2.5 trillion over conflict with China. - Chartbook #168: Germany's economic entanglement with China – Adam Tooze, Chartbook, 7 November 2022
German industry is still deeply committed to China. - Japan’s Chinese lesson – diversifying only production is not enough – Mercator Institute for China Studies, 7 November 2022
Europeans can learn from Japan’s example in order to diversify production outside of China. - It’s Moving Time: Taiwanese Business Responds to Growing U.S.–China Tensions – Scott Kennedy, Center for Strategic and International Relations, October 2022
US-China tensions are leading Taiwanese businesses to move both into and out of Mainland China. - Who wins from the unravelling of Sino-American trade? – The Economist, 6 November 2022
Asian exporters outside of China have made the biggest gains. - Could Venture Capital Be the New Frontier in Great-Power Competition? – Dan Xin Huang, Foreign Policy, 2 November 2022
What role can private investment play in meeting industrial policy goals?
With friends like these…
US electric vehicle subsidies that exclude European manufacturers undermine US efforts to come closer to the EU. The EU warns of potential retaliation, per Bloomberg, as USTR’s Ambassador Tai urges the EU to join forces on subsidies, according to the Financial Times. Will this turn into a subsidy war? Alan Beattie comments in the Financial Times.
Mentioned publications
- EU Warns US of Potential Retaliation in Green Subsidies Dispute – Jorge Valero, Bloomberg, 5 November 2022
The EU claims that five measures offering tax credits and subsidies breach WTO rules. - Top US trade official urges EU to join forces on subsidies amid green deal tensions – Andy Bounds and Aime Williams, Financial Times, 2 November 2022
USTR advocates for EU adoption of complementary industrial policy measures. - Oh, what a lovely subsidy war – Alan Beattie, Financial Times, 7 November 2022
EU producers want to be eligible for subsidies, but the US is unlikely to include them.
Impact of critical inputs on trade
The Canadian Government ordered three Chinese companies to divest from Canadian lithium miners. Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile consider forming an OPEC–style cartel to control the price of lithium. Chinese ceramics companies are shifting their focus to lithium refining, according to Bloomberg. Germany has blocked the sale of two chip makers to Chinese investors, writes Bloomberg. Meanwhile, TSMC is doubling down on US production of high–end chips in Arizona, reports the Wall Street Journal. Nvidia has engineered a chip for the Chinese market that meets US export control requirements, notes Reuters. We must prepare for the chip wars, opines Rana Foroohar in the Financial Times. Chad Bown explains the ins and outs of national security and semiconductors in his latest Trade Talks podcast.
Mentioned publications
- Government of Canada orders the divestiture of investments by foreign companies in Canadian critical minerals companies – Government of Canada, 2 November 2022
- Canada Orders Chinese Companies to Divest From Miners After Security Review – Paul Vieira and Vipal Monga, The Wall Street Journal, 2 November 2022
Canada determines that Chinese companies must divest from investments in critical minerals. - China’s lithium hold won’t be undercut by Opec-style cartel as Argentina, Chile, Bolivia consider alliance – Connor Mycroft, South China Morning Post, 5 November 2022
Argentina, Chile, and Bolivia consider creating a cartel for lithium similar to OPEC. - Lithium Frenzy Sees China Ceramics Hub Refocus on Battery Metals – Annie Lee, Bloomberg, 7 November 2022
Demand for EV battery inputs is so high that even ceramics manufacturers are getting in on the action. - Germany Blocks Two Chip Facility Sales to Chinese Investor – Michael Nienaber and Arne Delfs, Bloomberg, 9 November 2022
Strategic and national security concerns take priority over commercial considerations in Germany. - Chip-Making Juggernaut TSMC Eyes Multibillion-Dollar Arizona Factory Expansion – Asa Fitch and Yan Jie, The Wall Street Journal, 9 November 2022
TSMC doubles down in US cutting–edge chip production with help from the CHIPS Act. - Exclusive: Nvidia offers new advanced chip for China that meets U.S. export controls – Jane Lanhee Lee, Reuters, 8 November 2022
To save its business in China, Nvidia has engineered an alternative to meet US export control requirements. - We must prepare for the reality of the Chip Wars – Rana Foroohar, Op–ed: Financial Times, 31 October 2022
US actions to restrict China’s access to semiconductors are a reaction to an uncomfortable geopolitical reality. - National security, semiconductors, and the US move to cut off China – Chad P. Bown, Trade Talks (Podcast), 2 November 2022
An indepth discussion of the recent evolution of US export controls toward China.
Trade remedies
Want to know all about anti–dumping and countervailing duties? Check out this database from the WTO.
Mentioned resource
- Trade Remedies Data Portal – World Trade Organization, 1 November 2022
A database of all reported anti–dumping and countervailing duty actions taken by WTO Members.
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