Finance & Economics

USA-India hails significant progress in Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA)

By Wyatt Mingji Lim | April 23, 2025 |

Here’s a focused summary of the latest developments between the U.S. and India during U.S. Vice President JD Vance’s four-day visit to India (April 21–24, 2025), emphasizing trade, energy, defense, and strategic ties, based on the most recent and reliable information available. The response integrates relevant details from web sources and X posts, with X…

USTR Section 301 Action’s New Maritime Fee Structure against China

By Wyatt Mingji Lim | April 19, 2025 |

The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) introduced a new maritime fee structure in April 2025 to counter China’s dominance in the maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding sectors while promoting U.S. shipbuilding. The initiative stems from a Section 301 investigation, prompted by five U.S. labor unions in March 2024, which concluded that China’s state subsidies and policies unfairly…

[ Trade War SITREP: 13-16 April 2025 ] CHINA SIGNS 40 AGREEMENTS W VIETNAM; Trump to help car industry; decoupling continues…

By Wyatt Mingji Lim | April 16, 2025 |

KEYSTONE DEVELOPMENT US probes into imports of pharmaceuticals and semiconductors Federal Register filings reveal probes into imports of pharmaceuticals and semiconductors as part of a bid to impose tariffs on both sectors on grounds that extensive reliance on foreign production of medicine and chips is a national security threat. The filings announce 21-day public comment periods…

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[ Reuters ] UK and Singapore agree post-Brexit deal for financial services

By Wyatt Mingji Lim | July 1, 2021

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain said on Wednesday it had agreed a partnership for financial services with Singapore as part of its push for post-Brexit trade and investment deals. “Our financial partnership will help increase investment and trade with Singapore and the Asia-Pacific region and boost collaboration on important areas such as fintech and green finance,”…

[ Interesting Engineering ] Here’s What the US Tech Bill Really Means for the Next Industrial Revolution

By Wyatt Mingji Lim | June 13, 2021

The U.S. Senate just voted in overwhelming approval for a bill designed to jump-start key technological advancements of the 21st century, taking up the challenge of outpacing growing economic competition from its new rival: China. Called the “U.S. Innovation and Competition Act” (formerly the “Endless Frontiers Act”), the new bill passed on a 68-32 vote, and it…

[ CNN ] Keystone XL pipeline project canceled by developer

By Wyatt Mingji Lim | June 12, 2021

The developer of the Keystone XL pipeline announced Wednesday it is pulling the plug on the controversial project after the Biden administration revoked its permit in January. TC Energy, the Canadian company behind the project, said it decided to terminate the project after a comprehensive review of its options and consulting with the government of Alberta, Canada. The company…

[ USA Today ] Starbucks shortage: Menu options such as oat milk and other items in short supply

By Wyatt Mingji Lim | June 11, 2021

In a statement emailed to USA TODAY, Starbucks spokesperson Sanja Gould confirmed shortages will vary by store or market. The nondairy oat milk option was temporarily pulled from some Starbucks stores, and drinks with oat milk will not be available until the company is able to restock.

[ Daily Mail ] Blocked by Biden: Keystone XL Pipeline is finally AXED five months after President revoked permit: Trump claims 48,000 Americans will lose their jobs

By Wyatt Mingji Lim | June 10, 2021

Canadian developer TC Energy announced Wednesday it was pulling the plug on the controversial $8 billion pipeline  Biden revoked its permit on his first day in office, undoing Trump’s approval  TC Energy alluded to Biden’s decision in its cancellation announcement  The pipeline would have carried oil from the tar sands of Canada to Texas Environmentalists…

[ Global News ] Alberta finance minister defends $1.3B loss on Keystone XL pipeline as ‘calculated decision’

By Wyatt Mingji Lim | June 10, 2021

Alberta’s finance minister says the province’s $1.3-billion investment of taxpayers’ money in the now-defunct Keystone XL oil pipeline project was a prudent gamble given the potential payoff in profits and jobs. … Premier Jason Kenney and his United Conservative government, in early 2020, committed $1.5 billion in direct financing and $6 billion more in loan guarantees to…

Renaming NAFTA and not changing anything substantial is not a victory.

By Wyatt Mingji Lim | September 30, 2019

Written by Dan Murawski, Edited by Wyatt Mingji Lim.Cover Photo from Getty Images Being from Michigan and working in the finance department for one of the largest auto suppliers, I know a bit about how the industry works and I can tell you that there is a substantial amount of goods that are imported before…

And it’s not even a trade war, and China is destined to lose

By Wyatt Mingji Lim | September 27, 2018

In my previous article on the soybeans ( http://defensepoliticsasia.com/why-china-import-soybeans-from-the-us/ ), we could already see that China had no choice but to import soybeans from abroad; and most notably, from the United States. China, throughout history, had always been a civilisation that opts for self-sufficiency over depending on any outside countries/import/resources. As part of the Chinese psyche,…

Freight Waves: Five years in, China’s Belt and Road looks like a giant debt trap

By Wyatt Mingji Lim | August 30, 2018

Five years in, China’s Belt and Road looks like a giant debt trap There’s mounting pushback among developing nations that China’s ambitious infrastructure project, the Belt and Road Initiative, is a debt trap. Countries using Chinese financing have seen public debt soar to unsustainable levels, and they’re increasingly worried about asset seizures. The Belt and…

SCMP: Many Chinese companies ‘will go bankrupt’

By Wyatt Mingji Lim | July 26, 2018

Original Article: Many Chinese companies ‘will go bankrupt’, if US delivers on tariff threats, court newspaper warns In an opinion piece published on Wednesday by People’s Court Daily, Du Wanhua, deputy director of an advisory committee to the Supreme People’s Court, said that courts needed to be aware of the potential harm the tariff row could cause. “It’s…

Why China imports soybeans from the US?

By Wyatt Mingji Lim | April 7, 2018

source: https://atlas.media.mit.edu/en/visualize/tree_map/hs92/export/usa/chn/show/2016/ The entire squabble between Beijing and Trump, where they slap tariffs on each other like its just same children game, had shine the spotlight on one particular item, that China had just slap the tariff on: Soybean. A quick search on the MIT’s Observatory of Economic Complexity app, you will find the above visualisation (screenshot)…

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