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Economist Podcasts

It’s bean difficult: the China-America trade war

Economist Podcasts

The Economist

News & Politics, News

4.35K Ratings

🗓️ 25 February 2019

⏱️ 23 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

As President Donald Trump delays further tariffs on $200bn-worth of Chinese goods, there are hints of an end to the trade war. We assess the damage already done by looking at the global soyabean market. Countries around the world are struggling with the ethics and security concerns around re-admitting their citizens who have fought with Islamic State. And, there’s a rising favourite among wine investors—but it could represent a bubble.

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Transcript

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0:00.0

Hello and welcome to the Intelligence on Economist Radio. I'm your host, Jason Palmer.

0:09.1

Every weekday, we provide a fresh perspective on the events shaping your world.

0:17.5

As Islamic State loses its grip in the Middle East, foreign fighters who came to join the Caliphate want to go home.

0:23.6

Governments around the world face a troubling choice about whether and how to readmit their radicalized citizens.

0:30.6

And some people see wine as more than just a drink. They see an investment.

0:36.6

For years, that usually meant wines from B a drink. They see an investment.

0:37.9

For years, that usually meant wines from Bordeaux.

0:40.8

But that's changing.

0:42.2

A rising fermented favorite is Burgundy, and buyers are intoxicated by it. But first...

0:57.0

There's more hope that a costly trade war between China and America may be coming to an end.

1:07.1

This weekend, there were talks between America's trade representative, Robert Lightheiser,

1:11.6

and the Chinese vice-premier Liu He.

1:14.4

Things went well enough that President Donald Trump delayed America's next campaign in the trade

1:19.4

war, a big boost to tariffs on Chinese goods that had been scheduled for this coming Friday.

1:25.3

That sent Chinese stocks on a tear earlier today. China's currency

1:29.3

hit a seven-month high. But the tit-for-tat tariffs, the countries have been imposing

1:34.0

on each other for more than a year, have already had serious effects. How hard will it be to

1:39.4

heal the wounds inflicted so far? A single commodity provides clues.

1:52.7

Soybeans have really been at the heart of this trade war. Soybeans alone were around 9% of total American exports to China in 2017.

1:55.9

Samaya Keynes is our US economics correspondent.

1:59.0

I went to visit Tim Bardol, who runs this family farm

2:03.3

near Rippie in central Iowa.

...

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