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Global economy

Yesterday

Robyn Denholm, chair of the review of Australia’s R&D system, says over the past 25 years Australia has “slid steeply backwards”.

Australia’s critical slide in R&D is now a national emergency

In a world reshaping through emerging technologies, the nation needs to put innovation at the centre of its competitive DNA to set up its fortunes for decades.

  • Robyn Denholm
A major steel mill in China’s Tangshan, Hebei Province.

Why China is to blame for Trump’s metals tariffs

Existing American taxes already restrict steel and aluminium shipments from the Asian nation, which is now flooding other markets with its exports instead.

  • Updated
  • Keith Bradsher
Congressman Joe Courtney with Australia’s ambassador to the US, Kevin Rudd.

Trump’s tariff plan attacked in Congress as ‘insult to Australians’

At least one US legislator has lambasted the president’s intention to slug Australian steel and aluminum imports into America.

  • Updated
  • Matthew Cranston

This Month

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One.

PM to go head-to-head with Trump on tariff threat

Australian exports to the US could be hit by taxes after the American president announced a duty on metals coming in from every other nation.

  • Updated
  • Phillip Coorey and Simon Evans
Trump has announced a stunning proposal of a US take-over of the war-torn Gaza Strip to redevelop the territory into the “Riviera of the Middle East”.

Albanese must stand up to Trump’s Gaza plan

Australia must be prepared to stick up for the international rule of law system that has contributed to our nation’s security, peace, and stability for decades.

  • The AFR View
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A wander around Beijing’s and Shanghai’s empty shopping malls and half-filled restaurants makes the point.  But in other cities, such as Hangzhou, the home of Alibaba and DeepSeek, a different story is told.

DeepSeek is a sign of China’s structural shift, not decline

Contrary to the narrative that China’s private sector has been squeezed into irrelevance, major developments in new industries are being led by young entrepreneurs.

  • Geoff Raby
A trade war looms between the world’s two biggest economies.

China’s Xi plays cool hand in Trump’s tariff war

The presidents face off in trade negotiations, but Beijing’s measured response to new levies shows just how much it has learned since last time.

  • Jessica Sier
Beijing will be watching closely for signs of a US retreat from spheres of influence where it can boost its own standing.

China’s Mr Big won’t cave to Trump for nothing

The US president thinks he has the upper hand in the trade war. But Xi Jinping might be ready to make some hard decisions.

  • Updated
  • Shuli Ren
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said a priority was to work on areas where EU and US interests converge, such as critical supply chains and emerging technologies.

EU seeks early US talks to avert Trump tariffs

The president has repeatedly complained about the US goods trade deficit with the 27-country European Union.

  • Philip Blenkinsop
Trump’s tariff war will force investors to recalculate their assumptions.

There is a price to be paid for Trump’s ‘deals’

Markets welcomed the president’s reprieve for tariffs on Mexico and Canada, and talks with China. But there’s a big price for using chaos as a bargaining tool.

  • James Thomson
Paul Bloxham, chief economist at HSBC.

Meet the most accurate economic forecaster of 2024

The Reserve Bank will cut the cash rate, according to Paul Bloxham, but don’t count on a big drop in borrowing costs as this cycle will be a short one.

  • Updated
  • Cecile Lefort
President Donald Trump suggested that efforts to boost diversity was the cause of the crash.

Trump is using tariffs as a weapon, no matter the cost

The US president’s use of tariffs against China in his first term is now in full bloom as a general panacea to impose on even close US allies for a range of problems.

  • Jennifer Hewett
President Donald Trump admitted Americans might feel some discomfort after the tariffs he imposed on imports from several countries.

Trump says EU tariffs will be next

Trump’s latest comments leave little room for optimism of an agreement to avoid a North American trade war that may spread across the world.

  • Skylar Woodhouse
The outlook for US equities is becoming less clear.

US exceptionalism is peaking: expert

The “magnificent seven” are poised to become the “lagnificent seven” as the tailwinds that have propelled American equities fade, Michael Hartnett argues.

  • Updated
  • Timothy Moore
President Donald Trump.

Trump to impose new tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China this weekend

The president said there was nothing the three countries could do to prevent the tariffs from going into force. He also said EU imports would be next.

  • Zeke Miller, Aamer Madhani and Josh Boak
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January

Jerome Powell of the US Federal Reserve is hopeful that inflation will slow further this year.

US Fed cools rate cut talk as prospects of RBA easing balloon

If Michele Bullock holds the cash rate steady on February 18, it will represent the most counter-consensus decision since that of Glenn Stevens in April 2015.

  • Cecile Lefort
The $TRUMP coin will serve as an online prediction market on the popularity of the Trump government.

Trump makes everyone a winner on bitcoin

The launch of $Trump is a clear signal that the president is serious about leaning into American exceptionalism and driving that innovation on cryptocurrencies.

  • Sinclair Davidson
President Donald Trump signs an executive order relating to cryptocurrency in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

War room, webinars: Corporate America tries to cope with Trump blitz

Businesses have been left trying to nail down what the tax, immigration, DEI and energy orders will mean for them.

  • Stephen Foley, James Fontanella-Khan and Jamie Smyth
 Shemara Wikramanayake, Rob Scott, Alexis George, Damien Nicks, Leah Weckert, Anthony Miller.

Top CEOs reveal 17 ways to make Australia great again

The executives were asked to think big picture about the risks and opportunities we’re not sufficiently considering. Here are their ideas for a better nation.

  • James Thomson
People in Davos following Mr Trump’s virtual speech.

Trump slams Europe, threatens ‘trillions’ in tariffs

The president lambasted Canada’s trade surplus with the US and also fired a verbal volley at the European Union’s restrictions on his country.

  • Updated
  • Hans van Leeuwen

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/global-economy-1n6f