Analysis of global trends that will eventually affect your wallet. Three weeks ago, the US eliminated the 'de minimis' exemption for imports from China and Hong Kong. Next Sunday, it will impose higher taxes on goods that previously benefited from that concept. The 'de minimis' rule states that any package entering the US with goods valued at less than $800 (709 euros) is tariff-free. Since May 2, those coming from China or Hong Kong are subject to rates of 30% or $25 (22 euros), which will increase on June 1. This measure targets Chinese online stores like Temu and Shein, which previously benefited from this exemption. The EU is now planning to adopt a similar approach, where the 'de minimis' is only 150 euros. The Commission will establish fees ranging from 50 cents to two euros for packages arriving from outside the bloc, citing the handling costs for postal services. The EU receives around 2 billion euros worth of packages annually, with 90% coming from China.
Will the US dare to go after Putin's 'ghost fleet'?
It will soon be a year since the start of the 'parallel diplomacy' -including secret trips- of retired US General Joseph Kellogg to Russia to negotiate a ceasefire in Ukraine if Donald Trump won the elections. Trump won. However, peace remains as elusive as a year ago. There is a growing idea within his team to intensify sanctions against Russia. The plan, cautiously supported by the Secretary of State, National Security Advisor, and Trump's potential political heir, Marco Rubio, involves a total escalation of the economic war against Russia: shutting down the 'ghost fleet' of 600 to 1,000 tankers that Russia uses to circumvent sanctions. This would amount to an economic blockade of Russia, potentially requiring the use of the US Navy. For now, Trump is reluctant, but Putin's stubbornness is making his team reconsider.
The case of Maxar Technologies' photos and the quasi-war between India and Pakistan
While arms exports have been a source of controversy, satellite imagery exports are now also under scrutiny. This follows the controversy surrounding the US company Maxar Technologies. According to some Indian media reports, in February, the Pakistani company BSI purchased high-resolution images of Pahalgam, a town with 9,250 inhabitants in Kashmir, a region claimed by Pakistan but controlled by India, from Maxar. If true -which Maxar denies- BSI's interest in a small Indian town raises suspicions, especially considering that Obaidullah Syed, the company's owner, spent a year in US prison for nuclear technology theft for Pakistan. In April, a pro-Pakistani terrorist group killed 25 tourists seven kilometers from Pahalgam, leading to armed clashes between Pakistan and India, two nuclear-armed nations.
The English obsession (always frustrated) with building new towns
If there's one thing that unites British politicians, it's the obsession with building towns. The Labour leader Gordon Brown had his ten 'ecotowns' for 100,000-200,000 people between 2007 and 2010, which failed. Conservative David Cameron had a project to accommodate a quarter of a million people between 2011 and 2016, also unsuccessful. Now, Labour's Keir Starmer is showing similar symptoms, aiming to create 12 towns with around 275,000 residents. However, this is likely to fail as providing services and infrastructure to these communities would cost £48 billion (¤57 billion), or ¤224,000 per person. The Anglo-Saxon subsidiarity system makes it challenging to build anything in the UK and the US, as every local authority, and even neighborhoods, can influence and delay projects. This hinders normal housing development, leading politicians to dream of building towns.
While Qatar gifts Trump a plane, China buys his cryptocurrency
How can Chinese companies listed on Wall Street prevent Donald Trump from forcing them to delist, a threat he has been making since his first presidency? Unable to gift him a Boeing 747 -as Qatar did- Chinese entrepreneurs have found another strategy: buying Trump's cryptocurrency, a memecoin trading under the symbol $TRUMP, with a value determined by perception. For instance, the Chinese textile company Addentax saw a 150% surge on May 12 when it announced negotiations with investors to purchase $800 million of $TRUMP and bitcoin, though it closed with a 7% decline. This showcases Trump's remarkable ability to capitalize on his presidency, even if his strategies resemble those of a banana republic rather than a global reserve currency nation.
The Indian state aims to intervene in the management of Muslim social works
Is the Indian government's law allowing state intervention in managing the finances of religious institutions an intrusion, harassment of a minority, or an attempt to enforce the rule of law? These three possibilities are being debated in India's Supreme Court regarding a law passed by the country's government -led by Hindu nationalists accused of anti-Muslim bias- to enable state involvement in managing wakfs (similar to trusts or endowments). Wakfs are assets -primarily real estate- managed by non-profit Muslim religious organizations to fund social works. Economically significant, these assets cover about 4,000 square kilometers, slightly less than the area of Pontevedra province. They represent India's largest private landowner, with a landmass equivalent to 0.5% of the country's territory, valued at ¤1.3 billion.