(C) Project Syndicate
Recently, it has become almost impossible to ignore media coverage of artificial intelligence. The accelerating progress of the technology is seen as an inevitability, a prospect that evokes both excitement and existential fear of the future. Judging by the inflated stock valuations of companies at the forefront of the industry, the markets seem convinced that we have entered a technological revolution.
It’s September in Washington, and everyone knows what that means: the U.S. Congress is trying…
Since the economic boom under Reagan in the ’80s, many foreign elites have been telling Americans that they have been duped: that tax cuts and deregulation are a reckless and unnecessary way to stimulate economic growth. They claim that countries that pay generous child subsidies and entangle businesses in paperwork bureaucracies still have the same level of income. Why, then, put up with the rough-and-tumble of cowboy economics?
Since returning to the White House, U.S. President Donald Trump has set a course to cut foreign aid. His administration eliminated the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), reducing the number of programs from more than 6,000 to fewer than 900. In late August, Trump renewed his assault on foreign aid, announcing the cancellation of $4.9 billion in congressionally approved aid through a rarely used mechanism that the Government Accountability Office ruled illegal in 2018.
Nearly six months after U.S. President Donald Trump announced the imposition of ultra-high “reciprocal” tariffs – a blatant violation of WTO rules – the global trading system is holding up well. No major economies have followed Trump’s lead, and according to UNCTAD, global trade is expected to increase by about $300 billion in the first half of 2025.
With the U.S. out of sorts, China increasingly authoritarian, and Russia in Dr. Evil mode, the world desperately needs a “good guy” to believe in. There is only one candidate for the job: Europe. No other country or region is free, prosperous, endowed with the right values – and big enough to be an example to the world.
The photo of President Donald Trump at the White House proudly showing off his MAGA (“Make America Great Again”) cap collection to European leaders hastily gathered for peace talks on Ukraine once again raised the question of what drives this strange man. In contrast to his campaign posters and official portrait of a strong man with a sullen Churchill-like expression, this image represented a different, very American stereotype: the ostentatious businessman flaunting his wealth and showing pictures of his children to strangers.
We should all welcome the publication of Chinese-Canadian analyst Dan Wang’s new book, Breakneck: China’s Quest to Engineer the Future.
Six months into Donald Trump’s second term as president, it is fair to recognize that he has won a complete victory in the realm of economic policy. At least by the standards he has set for himself. Moreover, no U.S. president since World War II has been so successful in imposing his will – maybe with the exception of Ronald Reagan.
One can censure Viktor Orban, a friend of U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, for many things. But the Hungarian prime minister was not wrong when he noted that Trump had just “eaten [European Commission President] Ursula von der Leyen for breakfast” before our eyes. The agreed draft trade agreement between the European Union and the United States imposes a 15% duty on most European goods exported to the U.S. and a 0% duty on American exports to Europe. Obviously, Trump won the match – by a score of 15-0.
When U.S. President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen shook hands at Trump Golf Club in Scotland on Sunday, they didn’t just announce a new trade agreement. They formalized Europe’s economic and ideological surrender. By agreeing to a 15% duty on most goods exported to the US, the EU capitulated to Trump’s worldview (a zero-sum game). In doing so, the EU abandoned the principles of multilateralism that had long guided world trade.
Today, a new major catastrophe is looming: the rapid warming of the planet and increasing environmental degradation are jeopardizing all sectors of the global economy. While many investors continue with business as usual, as if unaware of what is coming, there is a group of investors who are trying to get off the dangerous path – long-term asset owners, including pension funds and sovereign wealth funds.
