– Escalation has been a theme in the past week in global trade policy. The US decision to bar certain imports from Canada only covers about US$1.04 billion-worth of products, but is a sign of the path ahead for tariff policy. A move by the mainland Chinese government to apply 99.2% tariffs on imports of a key semiconductor processing material from Japan may be connected to deteriorating relations and reflects mainland China’s increased independence in the sector.
– Consumer goods sectors cannot avoid the disruptions, with Mexican strawberries facing US import duties....