cross-posted from: https://mander.xyz/post/41645330

Archived version

Here is s brief summary by a news agency: Chinese goods dumping started before tariffs, ECB study finds

Weak domestic demand appears to be the missing link in explaining China’s strong exports to Europe – more so than tariff-related trade diversion, according to an analysis by the European Central Bank (ECB).

Escalating trade tensions between the United States and China might result in a further diversion of Chinese exports to Europe. However, the rise in China’s exports to the EU predates the latest tensions and coincides instead with the onset of weakness in domestic demand in China, the ECB says.

In the fourth quarter of 2024 the average monthly value of domestic sales was around four times higher than total exports and over 28 times larger than exports to the United States. This suggests the pool of goods that could be redirected to the EU is much broader than trade data alone would suggest. Redirecting even a small share of domestic sales abroad could boost overall exports – including to the EU – more than a sizeable diversion of exports from the United States.

The ECB argues that the start of rising exports and slowing imports dates back to 2021, when China's crisis in its domestic real estate market - typically an import-sensitive sector - sharply curtailed household demand.

At the same time, state-imposed manufacturing investment created overcapacity in industries that would otherwise face market-driven constraints, which eventually resulted in fierce price wars in Chinese home markets forcing companies to seek relief in exports.

The ECB writes:

This has eroded profit margins and discouraged spending in a deflationary environment with significant labour slack – prompting firms to redirect sales toward foreign markets.This shift reflects the “vent-for-surplus” theory of international trade, which posits that a demand-driven decline in domestic sales generates excess capacity that can be redirected abroad. The mechanism assumes fixed investment in the short term, which is particularly relevant in China, where investment is often guided by central planning. To expand abroad, firms must gain competitiveness in foreign markets. They typically do so by reducing short-run marginal costs and prices, or by accepting narrower profit margins, and in some cases even losses.

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Belgium is getting in on the act with a party named after Trump himself – the “Tous Réunis pour l’Union des Mouvements Populistes” (Trump) party.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.zip/post/52893857

Japan decried as "absolutely unacceptable" on Wednesday Russia's extension of an entry ban to 30 more citizens

Japan, however, continues to import energy from the far-eastern Russian island of Sakhalin, despite calls by the United States for allies to sever ties to pressure Moscow.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.zip/post/52893857

Japan decried as "absolutely unacceptable" on Wednesday Russia's extension of an entry ban to 30 more citizens

Japan, however, continues to import energy from the far-eastern Russian island of Sakhalin, despite calls by the United States for allies to sever ties to pressure Moscow.

I do not doubt that caving now might well be the optimal political move.

And this is one reason—one of many—why I am not a politician.

Because if caving is the right thing to do now, it was the right thing to do 41 days ago and Democratic senators should have been willing to stand up and look their constituents in the eye and say, “I don’t think we will get anything in a shutdown that exceeds in value the pain we will inflict.” Some did this, and that actually took courage.

But if caving was not the right thing to do then, it is no more so the right thing to do now. Because nothing has changed except that reasonably anticipatable pain is now realized pain. It took exactly no imagination to fathom that this would happen.

“Before Wallwork got involved with HIP, we had relatively little exposure to the 3D market,” concludes Collins. “Once we purchased the first unit and particularly with it being a Quintus unit - plus its suitability to the 3D arena - we started to see how advanced the sector was, particular the materials being used to print. Early on, designers were very quick to notice our capability to rapid cool their printed parts and provide secondary heat treatment when required. We can really push the limits of what can be achieved.

Dozens of athletes have joined rights groups in calling for the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) to suspend Israel due to rights abuses against Palestinians.

In a letter delivered to UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin on Tuesday, Athletes for Peace, a group that includes more than 70 sports professionals, backed a call for the governing body to sever ties with the Israel Football Association (IFA).

Reject Electronics, Return to Pen and Paper?

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.zip/post/52889334

The UK's communications regulator, Ofcom, has told TechRadar that it's using an unnamed third-party tool to monitor VPN use in the UK.

The UK's communications regulator, Ofcom, has told TechRadar that it's using an unnamed third-party tool to monitor VPN use in the UK.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.zip/post/52889143

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.zip/post/52889139

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.zip/post/52882455

An investigation by LRT, 15min, Eesti Ekspress, and Nekā personīga found that between June 2024 and March 2025, the bunker tankers Rina and Zircone conducted 286 ship-to-ship operations, refuelling 177 oil and oil product tankers, of which at least 159 had called at Russian ports shortly before or after these transfers.

In April 2024, Fast Bunkering had to deny allegations once again, this time about supplying fuel to the Russian shadow fleet. An investigation by the Swedish broadcaster SVT revealed that ships owned by these Estonian and Latvian companies had, over the course of two months, supplied fuel to more than 50 oil tankers travelling to and from Russian ports across international waters near Gotland.

After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Dubai became a haven for companies seeking to operate in the EU market while remaining difficult to trace. Access to corporate registries in the United Arab Emirates is extremely limited, often making it impossible to identify the ultimate beneficiaries of companies.

Fast Bunkering isn’t the only company providing bunkering services that help transport Russian oil around the world. According to the financial analytics firm S&P Global, over the 12 months before April 2024, at least 3,100 refuelling operations involving Russia’s shadow fleet tankers had occurred near the coasts of Malta, Greece, Spain (Gibraltar), the Netherlands, and other European countries.