As bilateral tariff negotiations bog down, President Trump says he will be sending out letters to countries in weeks imposing new “reciprocal” tariffs on the world. This, Trump believes, will solve the US problem of trying to make deals with too many countries and not enough time to deliver results. Deborah Elms assesses the US global negotiating position. How China got to dominate smartphone exports is a classic story and an object lesson in Chinese state-corporate strategy and industrial policy, Michael Enright writes. As protectionism rises around the world, Jia Hui Tee traces the rise of local content requirements, one of the most persistent of policy measures and among the most difficult to remove once ingrained into policy frameworks. Surendar Singh and Peter Draper examine the EU’s due diligence directive’s implications on global value chains and how it creates a foreign policy conundrum for EU policymakers. The Hinrich Foundation hosted the US Embassy's Acting Chief of Mission Casey Mace in Singapore to a private conversation with some of Singapore's key corporates, policymakers, and influential thinkers on US trade policy. Plus, check out what we've been reading on Trump's two "deals" with China and the UK.
TRADE POLICY
Worlds apart: US tariffs ask for too much in too little time
Deborah Elms 20 May 2025
The world is at about the halfway point of a 90-day negotiation period decided by Donald Trump when he retreated from his sky-high “reciprocal” tariffs one week after imposing them on 2 April. So far, only two US “deals” have been announced with the UK and China. As bilateral tariff negotiations bog down, Trump says he now will send letters to countries in coming weeks imposing new “reciprocal” tariffs on the world. Trump believes this will solve the US problem of negotiating with too many countries and not enough time. Our Trade Policy Head Deborah Elms assesses the US global negotiating position.
Smartphones have become China’s largest export and an object lesson in China’s state-corporate strategy and industrial policy, FDI expert Michael Enright writes. The recent US-China tariff wars, the superpowers’ larger contest over technology, and the exemptions for smartphones and smartphone components from both sides show how this modern consumer necessity now represent a convergence of national security, corporate interests, and global supply chains.
The prevalence and persistence of local content protectionism
Jia Hui Tee 20 May 2025
Once imposed, local content measures can be difficult to remove from the policy framework. With trade tensions at unprecedented levels among the world's largest economies, countries need to reassess the wisdom of relying on such protectionist measures that increase costs and compromise efficiency and pursue greater collaboration to mitigate non-tariff measures, our Senior Trade Policy Analyst Jia Hui Tee writes.
How the EU is shifting the paradigm in global value chains
Surendar Singh
Peter Draper
20 May 2025
The EU has been at the forefront of advocating global social and environmental governance through its sustainable supply chain initiatives under the EU Green Deal. Its Due Diligence Directive seeks to mitigate human rights and environmental impacts of companies’ global supply chain operations. Jindal Global University’s Surendar Singh and the University of Adelaide’s Professor and Executive Director of the Institute for International Trade Peter Draper examine the directive’s implications on the governance structure of global value chains and how it creates a foreign policy conundrum for EU policymakers.
A private conversation with the US Embassy in Singapore
The Hinrich Foundation was delighted to host the US Embassy's Acting Chief of Mission Casey Mace and his key aides Deji Okediji and Fred Brust to a private conversation with some of Singapore's major corporates, policy makers, and influential thinkers on the US effort to reimagine international trade for the future. Catch up on some snaps here.
The US and China have agreed to roll back tariffs by 115% and suspend retaliatory measures for 90 days. An agreement was reached with the UK as well, securing preferential access in sectors targeted by Trump's tariffs. These developments suggest willingness to negotiate, but don't mistake them as signs that global trade is returning to a rules-based order. Meanwhile, the rest of the world is moving on without the US. Check out what we’ve been reading.
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