Trade [New] The World Trade Organization is predicting that global trade in merchandise - goods being shipped from one country to another, including finished products and parts - will fall by anywhere from 13% to 32% in 2020. [New] The COVID-19 pandemic has exacted a heavy toll on the Singapore economy, which is projected by the Ministry of Trade and Industry to contract by 4-7% in 2020. [New] World trade could be 23% lower by the year 2060 'if the growth of investments in 3D printers continues at the current pace' - but if investment were to be accelerated, domestically printed goods could replace 40% of world imports by 2040. [New] UK net trade is expected to make a negative contribution of 0.2 percentage points to GDP in 2020 as exports of goods and services fall by 11.4% while imports decline by a lesser 10.6%. [New] Asia's trade is expected to contract significantly due to weaker external demand, with total trade (exports plus imports) projected to decline by about 20% in 2020 in Japan, India, and the Philippines. [New] With Sino-Indian trade heavily weighted in China's favour - the trade imbalance was about $56bn last year - New Delhi could impose damaging restrictions on imports from China. [New] Talks appeared to hit a buffer last week when the Trump administration suggested Washington would not sign a trade deal with Britain unless American farmers could sell their meat in Britain. [New] The European Union has a trade deal with Japan, but Britain will no longer benefit from it from the start of 2021 when the Brexit transition period ends. [New] The news for Queensland's major trading partners is grim - Japan's growth projection for this year is -5.9%, India -4.5% and the US -8% - only China is in the positive, but projected to grow at a miserly 1%. [New] In terms of cargo transportation, trade relations between China, North America and the European Free Trade Association are forecast to drive up traffic demand over the coming years. [New] Chinese investments in Brazil are expected to increase in 2020, and Bolsonaro has markedly softened his stance toward his country's largest trading partner, even announcing plans for a state visit to China in the near future. [New] Though the global reduction in oil prices, while reducing foreign exchange inflows, is expected to benefit Yemen's balance of trade overall according to the World Bank, any gains will be limited relative to the growing deficit. [New] The Automotive Wiring Harness market will have to witness a lot of challenges in the coming years owing to the changed economic and trading conditions globally. [New] Most City economists expect the Bank of England to hold interest rates at 0.1 pc until at least the end of next year, while financial markets are trading on the assumption the base rate could go negative later this year. [New] In 2020, the global economy is still running the risk of moving downhill because of, among other things, geopolitical tension, uncertainty of international trade, climate change and the spread of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in various countries around the world. Hong Kong and the US have long had a special trade relationship, and the potential for worsening geopolitical tensions could cause significant trade and economic disruption. With the U.S. economy forecast to experience a slump in domestic demand through the first half of 2020, economies that heavily rely on the U.S. as a large trading partner will be hurt. FAO expects world cereal trade in 2020/21 to rise by 2.2% to 433 million tonnes, setting a new record, with expansions expected for all major cereals, led by a 6.2% anticipated increase in the global trade in rice. The Sino-US trade war and Covid-related production disruption will spark a rethinking of global value chains, especially an excessive reliance on China for supplies. The US/China trade war reduced U.S. investment growth by 0.3 percentage points by the end of 2019, and is expected to shave another 1.6 percentage points off of investment growth by the end of 2020. The Trump administration will push for a broad reset of outdated tariff determinations at the World Trade Organization to fix what it sees as years of unfair treatment of the United States. The UK is expected to negotiate a partial free trade agreement with the EU covering some sectors that comes into force from 2021. In sThere are a number of forecasts saying that global bunker fuel demand is expected to fall by 5% -10% year-on-year in 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic slows trade and impedes shipping and ship crew movements in many countries. See full forecast Last updated: 12 July 2020 Hi, Would you like a quick online demo of our service from an experienced member of our team? Yes No Hi, Would you like a quick online demo of our service from an experienced member of our team? Yes No
