Economic Conundrum The West turned unhappy with China’s trade and economic practices before Donald Trump, but it is unclear that his approach to the problem is working. While the trade hit on U.S. agriculture is clear, the American side is generally faring worse from the trade war. China’s overall exports to the U.S. were down 12.4 percent during January-June 2019 versus a year earlier, but American sales to China were off 19 percent. Indicative of Beijing’s stronger level of economic control over Washington is its foreign direct investment (FDI) in the U.S., which plummeted from $46 billion in 2016 to just $5 billion in 2018. By contrast, U.S. annual FDI into China has stayed consistent at around $13-14 billion. Even i...
From WPI Consulting
Weighing in on strategic realignment
WPI’s team was retained by the governing board of a U.S. industry organization to review a decision, reached by vote, to invest significant assets into the development and management of an export trading company. WPI’s team conducted a formal review of this decision and concluded that the current level of market saturation would limit the benefits of the investment. Based on WPI’s analysis and recommended actions, the board subsequently reversed its decision and undertook a strategic planning effort to identify more impactful investments. On behalf of numerous clients, WPI has not only assisted in identifying strategic paths but also advised their implementation.