Economics
Trump’s government decided not to renew the “significant reduction exemptions” allowing the primary consumers of Iranian crude oil to continue importing it in limited quantities. This six-month waiver, which expired on May 2 2019, was granted last November to eight countries, after the US imposed sanctions on Iran. In this paper, we’ll provide a brief overview of the current situation post waiver expiration, lay out the possible impact on sea freight, and look at the rising geopolitical tensions.
Global trends
China’s grand European plan, along with Italy announcing its formal participation in the Belt and Road Initiative, means that China is on everyone’s lips. Since 2013, China has acquired shares in 14 European ports (not including ones with MoU agreements). While there is on-going debate regarding the strategic aim behind these acquisitions, this article looks one step further and asks whether Chinese trade flows are following China's acquisition pattern.
On March 23rd, Italy formally joined China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) upon Xi Jinping’s visit to Rome. Italy being the first G7 member joining this initiative, certainly has political significance to China. Italy's motivation is straight forward, to obtain better access to the Chinese market and to boost its underperformed economy in recent years.
