supply chain
14 briefs
The Strike That Could Crack the Memory Market
Samsung's union wants 15% of operating profit. Management offered nothing. May 21 is the deadline. Micron stock is already up 6%.
Samsung Faces Its First Strike in 88 Years. Google, Apple, and Qualcomm Are Worried.
A 18-day planned walkout over performance bonuses could squeeze the memory supply chain at the worst possible moment for global AI hardware demand.
Thailand's National AI Strategy Was a Chip Laundering Operation
US prosecutors believe OBON Corp, the centerpiece of Thailand's AI national strategy, moved $2.5 billion in Nvidia-equipped servers to China for Alibaba. The export controls were not beaten by spies; they were beaten by a trade show partner.
The US Just Sanctioned a Nickel Mine in Cuba. China's Battery Supply Chain Is the Real Target.
Rubio's State Department hit the Moa nickel-cobalt joint venture between Canada's Sherritt International and Cuba's military. Sherritt's shares collapsed and the company ended its participation. The strategic target is not Cuba. It is China.
Samsung's Workers Want 15% of the AI Boom. The Company Says No. An 18-Day Strike Starts May 21.
Samsung's semiconductor division just posted a $32.6 billion first-quarter profit. The unions that made those chips want a share. Management says the timing is wrong. The timing is never going to get better.
The Workers Who Could Break the AI Boom
Samsung's largest-ever labor action threatens to disrupt HBM memory production at the exact moment AI chip demand has outpaced every forecast.
China's New Trade Law Lets It Seize Foreign Assets. Trump Visits in Two Weeks.
Beijing quietly amended its Foreign Trade Law to authorize punishment of companies that reduce their business with China, just as US firms are quietly doing exactly that. The timing is not coincidental.
China Used the Trade Truce to Build a Better Weapon
While Trump called the October summit a '12 out of 10,' Beijing enacted laws to punish supply chain offshoring, tightened rare earth licensing, and banned foreign AI chips from state data centers. The truce is real. The preparation for what comes after it is also real.
America Is Winning the AI Race and Losing the War
China isn't trying to build the best AI model. It is building the best factory. Those are different competitions, and the US has barely started the second one.
Washington and Brussels Just Signed an Anti-China Deal They Cannot Say Is Anti-China
The US-EU critical minerals memorandum of understanding targets supply chains 'dominated by non-market practices' and does not name China once.
The Free Trade Deal That Isn't Free Anymore
The USMCA review hits July 1 with a US Trade Representative telling Mexico its tariffs on steel, autos, and aluminum are staying. The agreement's survival now depends on what Mexico does with Chinese factories inside its borders.
86% of US CEOs Are Planning as If Trump's Tariffs Will Outlast Trump
A PwC survey of 633 executives found the planning assumption has shifted: tariffs are no longer a negotiating tactic to wait out. They are structural. The Supreme Court struck down IEEPA tariffs. Congress didn't replace them. CEOs adapted anyway.
China's Green Weapon
China is considering restricting solar panel equipment exports to the US. The US clean energy buildout depends almost entirely on Chinese-made manufacturing tools. Tesla, Google, and Amazon are directly exposed.
The Toll Booth at the End of the War
The ceasefire is two weeks old. The Strait of Hormuz is still closed. Iran is charging ships for the privilege of passing through.