#supply-chains

#supply-chains

Markets are operating in a fragmented geopolitical environment where security concerns increasingly shape trade, investment, and technology policy. Geopolitical tensions, supply chains disruptions, and intense competition in areas such as artificial intelligence are influencing where capital flows and how risks are priced. Although US growth remains relatively strong, it exists alongside ongoing geopolitical uncertainty, stubborn services inflation, and uneven global policy direction.

Making cars is hard. Making good electric cars is even harder. Making good electric cars that are actually profitable? Well, very few automakers have pulled that off. Tesla only achieved consistent, long-term profitability once it got its China operations up and running. Most so-called "traditional" carmakers are still working toward that goal, and the startups have just as many headaches doing the same.

As the presidents of China and the US meet in South Korea, Zongyuan Zoe Liu at the Council on Foreign Relations says China may offer concessions on its rare earth minerals. As the presidents of China and the US meet in South Korea, Zongyuan Zoe Liu at the Council on Foreign Relations says China may offer concessions on its rare earth minerals.

Southeast Asia and its China Plus One' supply chain are feeling the fallout from the US trade war. Southeast Asia was one of the biggest winners from United States President Donald Trump's trade war with China in 2018, luring manufacturers to the region to avoid new tariffs on Chinese goods. It benefitted from investment, tax revenues and technology transfers that came with the expanding China Plus One supply chain concept.

Tesla's price point for its "more affordable" models is still higher than Elon Musk, Tesla's CEO, floated in 2020. The reasons for these sticky prices may be bigger than Tesla. On Tuesday, Tesla launched "standard" versions of the Model Y and Model 3, at $39,990 and $36,990, respectively. The "standard" models are between $5,000 and $5,500 cheaper than the flagship versions - sans Autosteer and a radio - and the market was not enthusiastic.

India and China are resuming direct flights after five years of suspension and say they will strengthen trade ties. Their relationship has long been defined by rivalry, competing ambitions and a disputed border. Now, India and China are resuming direct flights after a five-year suspension. United States President Donald Trump's tariffs and a shifting trade landscape could push them closer together.

President Donald Trump announced a new wave of tariffs on Thursday, including a 100% levy on branded or patented drug imports from 1 October, unless a company is building a factory in the US. The move could hit major pharmaceutical exporters from the UK, Ireland, Germany, Switzerland, and Japan. The UK alone shipped more than $6 billion (£4.5bn) worth of pharmaceutical products to the US last year, according to the UN.

Market share was a zero-sum game; if your rival won, you lost. But in today's interconnected economy, that thinking feels outdated. Companies that are thriving in 2025 aren't just fighting competitors harder; they're practicing something counterintuitive: co-opetition. Co-opetition, the blend of cooperation and competition, is about partnering with rivals when doing so creates mutual value. You may still compete for customers, but you also collaborate where interests align. Think of it less like a boxing match and more like building a bigger stadium where both

Trump has suggested those could come in August, but nearing the end of the month, there's still no clarity there. As tech firms brace for chip tariffs, Brzytwa will share CTA's forecast based on a survey of industry experts, revealing the unique sourcing challenges chip tariffs will likely pose. It's a particular pain point that Trump seems likely to impose taxes not just on imports of semiconductors but of any downstream product that includes a chip.

Trump has promised to impose hefty import taxes on pharmaceuticals, a category of products he's largely spared in his trade war. For decades, in fact, imported medicine has mostly been allowed to enter the United States duty free. That's starting to change. U.S. and European leaders recently detailed a trade deal that includes a 15% tariff rate on some European goods brought into the United States, including pharmaceuticals. Trump is threatening duties of 200% more on drugs made elsewhere.

The 2021 letter then detailed allegations of brutal working conditions for members of China's Uyghur minority, reportedly forcibly transported hundreds of kilometres and arbitrarily detained for re-education and forced labour. Workers are reportedly required to work in fenced-in factories allegedly exposed to intimidation, coercion, threats, and restriction on their freedom of movement, and are subjected to surveillance by security personnel and through digital tools.

Brazil is the world's biggest soya bean exporter. The legume, used largely for animal and fish feed, is one of the most widely grown crops in Brazil, and posed a huge deforestation threat to the Amazon rainforest until stakeholders voluntarily agreed to impose a moratorium and no longer source it from the region in 2006. The voluntary agreement brought together farmers, environmentalists and international food companies such as Cargill and McDonald's, and determined that any detection of soya beans planted on areas deforested after 2008