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Op-ed

US Trade Wars and Military Globalization Spark Complex Alignments

President Trump’s new round of reciprocal and universal tariffs will escalate trade tensions, lower investment, hit market pricing, distort trade flows, disrupt supply chains, and undermine consumer, business and investor confidence. It will certainly penalize global economic prospects. As fears of a recession mount and mass protests in …

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The drums of war are beating closer to Europe

Russia’s deadly attack on Ukraine’s northeastern city of Sumy, which killed at least 34 people, is yet another war crime and a challenge to U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent suggestion that it was a “mistake.” For several weeks now, concern over the growing threat of conflict with Russia …

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Trump’s misreading of China’s resolve: This could be a legacy breaker

One could interpret US President Donald Trump’s tariff imposition on some 49 countries as an invitation to negotiate their respective trade positions with the United States. The response of most countries has been to take up the invitation very seriously. Three months into the Trump presidency, there has …

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Trump’s Grand Strategy of American Energy Dominance: Effect on Europe and the East Mediterranean

Energy security is a significant pillar of interdependence in international relations that is translated into continuous access of states to sufficient energy at an affordable price through smooth operation of critical energy infrastructure and supply chains that ensure delivery. Energy security is critical for national security and economic …

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Russia-China Relations: Can Trump create a Wedge between Moscow and Beijing?

It follows that in the aftermath of the Russian military intervention in Ukraine in February 2022, as the West “attempted to ‘cancel’ Russia by severing economic and cultural links” with it, Beijing’s significance as Moscow’s economic, political and strategic ally has undeniably grown. In the US and in …

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The challenges of decoupling manufacturing from China

Back in the late 1980s, the relocation of American manufacturing to China, labeled the ‘factory of the world,’ became the latest trend in strategic management. As environmental laws tightened around industry, governments implicitly encouraged American industry to pack up and leave. From the corporation’s perspective, relocating manufacturing to …

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Dumb, Dumber and Dumbest: The Three Rounds of the Trump Tariff Wars

The first round of Trump tariffs, which still built on traditional trade wars, involved mainly Canada, Mexico and China. The second round began with “reciprocal tariffs”, which are unilateral, flawed as stated and wrongly calculated. This round covers most trading economies worldwide. But the trade wars will drastically …

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Reforging Armenia: Crossroads to Clout

Armenia’s rugged terrain at the South Caucasus nexus — bridging Europe, Asia, and the Middle East — teeters between peril and promise. It straddles a hazardous crossroads of vital trade corridors, where it could emerge as a connector economy in a fracturing world of geo-economic blocs. Stability here …

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De-Dollarization & BRICS: A New Global Power Shift?

In recent years, the term “de-dollarisation” or trade in non-dollar currencies instead of the US Dollar has begun to draw attention in discussions on international affairs. This has increased even more so after US President Donald Trump’s threats to countries pursuing ‘de-dollarisation’.  Apart from warning countries against “de-dollarisation”, Trump …

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