For this London honey seller, the buzz is about British bees

Jun 25, 2024
Business is strong for Samantha Wallace. But she's dealing with complicated import rules and seeking the right varieties of domestic honey.
A bee collects nectar from lavender in Knutsford, England. "Our passion is honey," says Samantha Wallace, who values "the diversity of flavor."
Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

The cost of imports from Asia and North America are moving in opposite directions

Apr 12, 2024
The things we buy from China and Japan became cheaper in March, while prices rose on automotive goods and energy from Mexico and Canada.
Each category of goods that the U.S. buys from Mexico, Canada, China and Japan has its own price trend, as does each country's currency.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Tradle brings Wordle-style game to global exports

Aug 24, 2023
Can you figure out what country exports, say, both crude oil and leather footwear? Gilberto García-Vazquez of Datawheel explains the game.
A screenshot of Thursday's Tradle. Which country is it?
Tradle/Observatory of Economic Complexity

For this customs broker, the Section 301 China tariffs are still top of mind

Aug 23, 2023
The tariffs placed on over $360 billion of Chinese goods is still a chief concern for Gretchen Blough of Erie, Pennsylvania.
"People are looking for more supply chain solutions," says customs broker Gretchen Blough. Above, shipping containers at the Port of Los Angeles.
Mark Ralston/AFP via Getty Images

China opens trade fair to rebrand itself as an importer

Nov 5, 2018
The world's top exporter aims to trim its trade surplus, but the U.S. and companies want faster liberalization.

Whirlpool feels the benefit, and burden, of Trump administration tariffs

Apr 20, 2018
Critics of President Donald Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs say the policies hurt U.S. manufacturers that use a lot of those materials. And one industry likely to feel the pinch of higher production costs: home appliance manufacturers. Still, at least one major domestic appliance company, Whirlpool Corp., may come out ahead, thanks to another protective […]
Whirlpool appliances are offered for sale alongside other brands at a Home Depot store on October 24, 2017 in Chicago, Illinois.
Scott Olson/Getty Images

Retailers launch TV campaign to battle proposed tax on imported goods

Mar 2, 2017
Best Buy released earnings this week, at a time when retailers are concerned about the imposition of a border adjustment tax. The National Retail Federation has launched a media campaign hoping to win consumers over by pointing out how costs of everyday purchases will go up. The TV ad is airing on “Fox and Friends” […]

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That shirt you’re wearing? It’s a global product

Jan 31, 2017
What will Trump's trade plans mean for the clothing industry?

Retailers are wary of a GOP plan that could increase taxes on imported goods

Nov 28, 2016
The plan is getting pushback from lobbyists for retailers who sell cheap items from abroad.
Wal-Mart employee Clara Martinez stocks the shelves at a store in 2015 in Miami. Big retailers that sell a lot of imported goods are starting to ring alarm bells over a GOP tax plan that relies heavily on import taxes.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

U.S. oil imports are down, narrowing the trade deficit

Feb 8, 2013
The transportation system for fuel in the U.S. is inadequate, though, so some oil always has to be imported to where it's needed.