Trade continues elsewhere

Daily update

South Korean export data for the first part of July showed growth, adjusted for differences in working days. Semiconductor sales were strong, and exports to Europe continued to grow. The US habit of taxing its consumers if they buy foreign steel meant exports in that sector were weaker. The data is a reminder that while the US is an important economy, there are other important economies that are not burdening their consumers with additional taxes.
Japan’s Prime Minister Ishida has pledged to remain in office after the governing coalition lost its upper house majority. The anti-immigration Sanseito party increased its representation from two to 15 seats. This reflects a global trend toward scapegoat economics and the associate prejudice politics, at a time of considerable structural change.
European leaders will be discussing possible retaliatory measures against US trade taxes this week. The US taxes obviously hurt US consumers. The question is to what extent the EU’s desire to retaliate outweighs the potential economic pain of imposing taxes on EU consumers of imported goods.
An EY-Pantheon report suggests that rising political and economic uncertainty has cost the global economy USD 300bn in listed company profits since 2017. One solution to such costly uncertainty might be to employ more economists.