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TradeVistas | online trade in fake goods

Preventing Trade in Online Fakes

The Administration and Congress are fighting online trade in fake goods such as fake COVID-19 test kits and vaccines and other counterfeit products.

Cheerful happy woman enjoying shopping

American and Chinese Consumers are Shopping Like There’s No Trade War

If shoppers are worried about the U.S.-China trade war, it’s not showing up yet in measures of their buying confidence or holiday retail sales. After more than a year of dueling tariffs, American and Chinese consumers are still filling their real and virtual shopping carts to the brim.

Semiconductor Wafer (1)

This Tiny Chip is Playing a Big Role in the Trade War

The next generation of smarter and more powerful machines will rely on even more sophisticated semiconductors to achieve new capabilities. Pressure is on to “win” in the global chip race, which is why efforts to protect innovations in chipmaking are front and center in the current trade war – for better and for worse.

Businessman hands searching unfinished documents stacks of paper files on office desk for report papers, piles of sheet achieves with clips on table, Document is written, drawn,presented.

Blockchain Could Replace Mounds of Paper at the Border

Smoother and faster customs procedures could boost global trade volumes and economic output. Blockchain is a promising technology that, if widely adopted by shippers and customs agencies, could reduce the current mounds of paperwork and costs associated with import and export licenses, cargo and shipping documents, and customs declarations.

Factory worker using application on mobile smartphone to operate automation for modern trade. Checking order in large warehouse. Import and export the shipping cargo.

Small and Medium-Sized Global Traders Are Banking on Blockchain

80 percent of all global trade is transacted through third-party lenders and cargo insurers, but the process is complex, can be costly and many banks find it too risky to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Blockchain has the potential to increase transparency, speed and accuracy in assessing risk across the trade finance process, which in turn could expand the supply of credit available for SMEs.

The Growing Ranks of American Solopreneurs

More than one-fourth of Americans work for themselves. There’s no stereotype. Independent workers are spread almost evenly across generations, gender, and geographies from cities to suburbs to small towns and rural America. Will you join their growing ranks?

Low section of basketball player tying shoelace

Who’s Footing the Tariff Bill?

U.S. footwear production dates as far back as 1750, but today 98 percent of shoes are manufactured abroad. Historically, footwear tariffs have been out of step with the United States’ general approach to free trade. High tariffs on products like shoes hit low-income families the hardest – particularly those with children – as these families spend the highest share of their incomes on home goods that tend to be imported.

Alipay

Will China’s Big Techs Overtake Silicon Valley?

Tencent and Alibaba are names you need to know. They are leaders among China’s five Big Tech firms. They are growing fast and starting to rival American giants Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft, and Facebook. Whoever among these giants acquires the most consumer information on habits, preferences, spending patterns, and financial behaviors stands to win in our growing global digital economy.

Woman Holding Digital Tablet At Home

Toward a Global Cashless Economy

At some point between the start of the Thanksgiving holiday and Cyber Monday, did you reach for your credit card or use another secure payment system like PayPal to make a purchase online? You’re in good company: 259 million Americans routinely buy online. Last year, internet sales in China on “Single’s Day” reached $25.3 billion — $6 billion more than what Americans purchased online over the entire Thanksgiving weekend. In the future, the whole world just might be cashless.

Trade Trends

Trade Trends in 8 Charts

Today’s biggest trade trends in 8 colorful and easy-to-share charts. Topics include world’s largest importers and exporters, China’s explosive growth, Japanese investment in the United States, global oil flows, and more.