Diplomacy

Viewsroom: Saudi fiasco sets Wall Street ablaze

18 Oct 2018

Bankers and officials have ditched a huge Saudi shindig after Turkey accused the kingdom of killing a prominent journalist – but big deal fees and oil reserves make the kingdom hard to shun. Breakingviews columnists discuss the financial ramifications of the diplomatic crisis.

U.S.-EU derivatives kumbaya could get canned

18 Oct 2018

The U.S. swaps regulator wants to increase global cooperation. But trade tensions, Iran sanctions and a long and painful history of overreach by the U.S. itself are reasons for Europe to say no. Even though both sides could benefit, attempts at playing nice could come to grief.

Oil makes Saudi Arabia slippery sanctions target

16 Oct 2018

U.S. lawmakers are invoking a law used to impose Russian sanctions to demand answers about a missing journalist. There’s momentum for a similar penalty for the kingdom. But Saudi retaliation could hike oil prices - the opposite of what President Trump has been agitating for.

Wall Street shows Trump the way on Saudi Arabia

15 Oct 2018

BlackRock’s Larry Fink and Steve Schwarzman of Blackstone have joined other CEOs in skipping Riyadh’s “Davos in the Desert”. Private sector boycotts usually follow state sanctions. The U.S. government’s inaction reflects its reliance on Saudi Arabia, and fear of high oil prices.

Cox: Global finance has a Saudi Arabia problem

14 Oct 2018

Wall Street bosses and their European and Japanese peers are reconsidering next week’s “Davos in the Desert.” Like China, there’s money at stake. Unlike Russia there’s no guidance from above. A coordinated pullout following Jamie Dimon’s withdrawal is their least-bad option.

Car parts could be China’s trade sledgehammer

10 Oct 2018

Beijing is running out of U.S. imports to tax but it has other ways to make things ugly. American carmakers depend on an uninterrupted flow of imported parts, and China is the No. 2 supplier. Any attempt to disrupt component shipments could throttle the likes of Ford and GM.

Anti-OPEC bill may squeeze U.S. oil industry

10 Oct 2018

The disappearance of a Saudi journalist is helping to breathe life into a bipartisan effort to subject the cartel to U.S. antitrust law. But it may prove more useful as a threat than reality. America’s energy producers benefit from OPEC’s price-fixing, too.

U.S.-China trade war morphs into loyalty test

4 Oct 2018

Vice President Mike Pence wants Google to halt a search-app project in China. He also said Beijing tried to get an American company to denounce U.S. policies in exchange for a license. With tariffs already imposed on most products, warped patriotism provides a new battleground.

U.S. fritters oil stockpile at worst time

1 Oct 2018

While President Trump chides OPEC, his Iran sanctions are pushing up prices. Meanwhile the government is selling down its stockpile to plug a budget hole, not calm the market. With shale producers constrained, the White House should be more strategic with its crude reserve.

Donald Trump sets WTO up for failure

27 Sep 2018

The system for resolving commerce disputes may grind to a halt after the United States blocked the reappointment of an appeal judge at the global trade body. The president’s disdain for the organisation is no secret, but the move undermines its value to other countries, too.

Congress is too close to crying wolf on trade

25 Sep 2018

America and Canada aren’t near a NAFTA deal and time is short. U.S. lawmakers have said they won’t accept the U.S.-Mexico only pact favored by Trump, but some have criticized Ottawa. If they back down, there’s little hope for any meaningful brake on steel tariffs and the like.

Delaying NAFTA deal is actually a win-win-win

31 Aug 2018

Canada and the United States will keep talking despite missing a deadline to resolve trade talks. Negotiators will need to move quickly to avoid the risk of fresh demands from the next Mexican government. But a NAFTA that all sides can sell is more important.

NAFTA survival rests on Ottawa showmanship

29 Aug 2018

Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland is talking up how Mexico’s U.S. “concessions” help Canada. Now she needs a deal, not least on the country’s punitive dairy tariffs, that keeps both the U.S. president and her anti-Trump fellow citizens happy. That’ll require some smooth talking.

UK-Africa trade is tiny plaster for Brexit wounds

28 Aug 2018

Prime Minister Theresa May hopes deeper ties with the continent will help cushion the blow of leaving the EU. But UK trade with sub-Saharan Africa is less than 3 pct of what it exchanges with Europe. With Nigeria and South Africa in the doldrums, prospects for growth look slim.

Viewsroom: Turkey’s financial crisis may spread

16 Aug 2018

The feud between President Tayyip Erdogan and U.S. President Donald Trump over steel tariffs threatens to turn other emerging markets cold. Breakingviews columnists discuss the global impact of Turkey’s currency meltdown. Plus: A bad bank in China gets whacked by political risk.

It’s time to take away Trump’s tariff toys

13 Aug 2018

Using steel duties to punish Turkey over a detained U.S. pastor is an abuse of the president's powers. While national security is a legitimate reason to restrict trade, doing so on a whim hurts America. Congress can be more muscular even if it's not yet prepared to rein Trump in.

Trump and Juncker revive Obama-era trade goals

25 Jul 2018

The EU will buy more American soybeans and LNG while U.S. steel tariffs may be resolved. The two also want to cut barriers in services and harmonize rules. Such issues featured with the last White House. Revisiting them in a new guise offers hope but auto levies may still loom.

WTO pullout is self-fulfilling prophecy for Trump

3 Jul 2018

About 70 pct of cases filed this year at the world body target new U.S. tariffs. The White House also isn’t strongly pursuing disputes. Tilting America’s winning record to losses would bolster WTO rancor. Congress can stop a withdrawal but anti-trade rhetoric still resonates.

Gary Cohn only delayed inevitable trade war

14 Jun 2018

The Goldman Sachs banker who went to the White House says U.S. trade spats could wipe out the benefits of tax cuts he championed. President Trump may yet escalate his campaign against China. Cohn was a helpful buffer, but Trump’s anti-globalist instincts are now in full control.

Hadas: This should be an anti-dollar moment

13 Jun 2018

Discontent with the world’s dominant currency is not new, but the Trump effect is something new. A trade circuit free from the U.S. president’s idiosyncratic America-first policies is urgently needed. The euro and renminbi can provide a base, but the politics are unpromising.