Same Old with China U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai detailed today how the Biden Administration would largely continue the status quo approach to China. Punitive tariffs will remain, the process for withdrawing some tariffs will resume, and the Biden Administration says it will directly engage with Beijing to enforce current trade deal commitments. The Phase One trade deal expires in just over two months and as in the past, Beijing is likely to come up short. American officials can brow beat their Chinese counterparts, but they cannot change a deep-rooted philosophical commitment to a state-run economy. Threats to retaliate only worsen the outlook for U.S. exporters, at the same time it will take decades to unwind American dependen...
What You Need to Know Today: The hot, dry weather forecast continues to drive strength in grain futures with corn and soybeans hitting another day of strong gains. Monday’s Crop Progress and Conditions data were in line with market expectations and showed relatively few concerns for the...
Yesterday we wrote about the Q1 GDP numbers and the June employment reports in an article entitled Real GDP for Q1 Relying on AI Buildout, Held Back by Consumer Spending. That article mentioned that consumer spending had become a drag on GDP. Nonetheless, real GDP in Q1 was revised upward to 2...
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.