trade-war
19 briefs
Trump Sanctioned China's Oil Supply Chain to Gain Leverage Before the Summit. China Already Priced It In.
Washington's April 24 sanctions targeting Hengli Petrochemical and 40 shipping entities were supposed to be summit leverage. A CounterPunch analysis argues they were actually America's last chip, spent.
The Trump-Xi Summit Is About Iran. China Wants It That Way.
The US-China summit next week was supposed to be about tariffs and rare earths. Iran has displaced both topics. That displacement is not accidental — it is the best outcome China could have engineered.
Tariffs Ruled Unlawful, Again. It Still Won't Matter.
A federal trade court struck down Trump's 10% global tariffs, but the ruling only protects two importers and one state.
Trump Goes to Beijing. China Holds the Iran Card.
The first US presidential visit to China in eight years arrives after two months of war in Iran, with Beijing in a position it has rarely occupied: indispensable to both sides.
China Told Its Banks: Ignore Washington.
Beijing invoked blocking rules for the first time, ordering Chinese companies not to comply with US sanctions on five oil refiners. It puts every Chinese bank with US dollar exposure in an impossible position.
Trump Is Coming for European Cars Again
The USTR confirmed 25% tariffs on EU autos are moving forward. Europe's car industry was already struggling. This time, the trigger is geopolitical, not just protectionist.
China Just Ordered Its Companies to Ignore US Sanctions. The Banks Are Next.
Beijing used its blocking law for the first time, telling domestic oil refiners not to comply with Treasury sanctions. The move puts Chinese banks in an impossible position ten days before Trump arrives in Beijing.
Trump Broke the EU Car Deal He Made at His Own Golf Course. The Reason He Gave Does Not Hold.
The Turnberry deal lowered EU auto tariffs to 15% last July. Trump raised them back to 25% without citing a specific EU violation. The EU's trade chief meets his US counterpart in Paris tomorrow.
Trump Rips Up the EU Car Deal and Announces 25% Auto Tariffs. Europe Has No Good Response.
The US-EU trade agreement was supposed to hold at a 10% baseline tariff. Trump has now raised the rate on cars and lorries to 25%, accusing the EU of non-compliance. The EU has no leverage it is willing to use.
Volkswagen Says Its Future Is at Risk. It Is Now Considering Letting Chinese Rivals Build Cars in Its Own European Factories.
VW reported a 14% profit collapse in Q1 2026 while warning cuts so far are not enough. The proposed solution is to share underutilized European plants with BYD and other Chinese brands that are competing with it everywhere.
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.
The EU Sanctioned China to Hurt Russia. Now China Is Sanctioning the EU's Defense Industry.
Brussels put 27 Chinese firms on its Russia blacklist; Beijing responded by targeting European defense companies and warning the EU will 'bear all consequences' of not reversing course.
Congress Moves to Ban China From the Factory Floor, Not Just the Chip Aisle
The MATCH Act targets the tools that make chips, not just the chips themselves. That is either a precision strike or a supply chain catastrophe, depending on who you ask.
China Blocked Nvidia's H200 Chips Even After Trump Gave the Green Light
The White House approved the deal. Beijing's customs officials stopped it anyway. The chip war now has two fronts: one in Washington, one inside the US bureaucracy.
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.
Approved, Blocked, Halted
Trump approved Nvidia H200 chip sales to China. Chinese customs blocked the shipments anyway. Nvidia's suppliers have now stopped production. Nobody is in control of this trade.
The Shoulder Missile Gambit
Trump threatened China with 50% tariffs over a reported MANPADS shipment to Iran. The shipment is unverified. The tariff is untriggered. Both sides are using the threat as a bargaining chip before a May summit.
Trump Threatened 50% Tariffs on Iran's Arms Suppliers. The Supreme Court Already Took Away His Authority to Do That.
Hours after signing a two-week ceasefire with Iran, Trump announced tariffs on any country arming Tehran. citing no legal basis, just days after the Supreme Court stripped his primary enforcement mechanism.
Trump Threatened 50% Tariffs on Iran's Arms Suppliers. He Has No Law to Do It With.
The same Supreme Court that struck down $166 billion in IEEPA tariffs in February is now being asked to validate a new 50% tariff threat posted on Truth Social. The UK is expecting to be hit. No one has named the legal authority.