China and Europe vow to respond to US's tariff war

President Donald Trump declared that foreign trade and economic practices have created a national emergency, and his order imposes responsive tariffs to strengthen the international economic position of the United States and protect American workers.

 

   The president of the United States said on April 2, 2025, on a new global trading order announcement, that a levy of 10% would apply to nearly all US imports from April 5 as he also revealed additional so-called reciprocal duties, meaning total tariffs as high as 20% on the EU and 24% on Japan will go into effect on April 9.

 

 

   US tariffs on China, the world’s biggest exporter of goods, will rise to 54% after Trump imposes a further 34% duty on top of 20% levies he placed on China earlier this year. Country’s commerce ministry on Thursday warned it would retaliate against US decision.

   “History has shown that raising tariffs will not resolve the US’s own problems,” said a commerce ministry spokesperson.

   The EU is “prepared to respond”, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said on Thursday, while emphasising the bloc first wished to negotiate. Germany’s finance minister said he expected a “strong response” from the EU.

   Japan’s chief government spokesperson Yoshimasa Hayashi expressed “serious concern” over the US. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of Italy said President Trump’s tariffs were “a measure that I consider wrong.”

 

 

   According to the White House, the annual cost to the US economy of counterfeit goods, pirated software, and theft of trade secrets is between 225 billion and 600 billion US dollars. In 2024, the US trade deficit in goods exceeded 1.2 trillion US dollars.

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Ukraine's deal with US over rare earth minerals and reconstruction fund

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is preparing to meet US President Donald Trump in Washington this Friday to sign a deal that will provide the United States access to Ukraine's rare earth mineral resources, including vital materials like graphite, titanium, lithium, and other key minerals used in technology and defense industries.
 

    The agreement will establish an "investment fund" aimed at Ukraine's reconstruction, with both countries managing the fund equally. In exchange, Ukraine will contribute 50% of future proceeds from state-owned mineral resources, oil, and gas to the fund, which will then be used for infrastructure and development projects across the war-torn nation.

   This agreement comes as a strategic move to bolster Ukraine's economy (they hope so) while providing the US with access to critical raw materials (the main purpose of this story).

   Zelensky seems that has been pushing for clear security guarantees from the US, which would help Ukraine defend itself amidst the ongoing war with Russia. US officials have made it clear that they will not offer extensive security guarantees, asserting that the responsibility for Ukraine's defense largely falls to Europe.

   Ukraine's mineral deposits are considerable, with reserves that account for a significant share of the world's critical raw materials. Both Russia and United States managed to have access to its deposits of rare earth minerals, by implementing different approaches.

   Kyiv estimates that about 5% of the world's "critical raw materials" are in Ukraine, despite covering only 0.4% of the globe's surface. This includes some 19m tonnes of proven reserves of graphite, which the Ukrainian Geological Survey state agency says makes the nation "one of the top five leading countries" for the supply of the mineral. Graphite is used to make batteries (for electric vehicles etc.).

    The country has deposits of 22 of the 34 minerals identified as critical by the European Union, including rare earths such as lanthanum, cerium, neodymium, erbium and yttrium, according to reports.

   Ukraine also has significant deposits of titanium, lithium and rare earth metals - a group of 17 elements that are used to produce weapons, wind turbines, electronics and other products vital in the modern world. A total resources worth of over 350 billion dollars have been seized by Russia, according to unofficial reports.

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EU and NATO allies will support a war by 0.25% of their annual GDP?

In light of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine lands and the increasing involvement of global powers like China and North Korea, it is time for the European Union (EU) member states and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies to reassess their military support commitments, according to a recent EU decision.

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Regional variations in EU employment rates and the secret of Germany

The European Union (EU) employment rate in 2022 reached its historical high at 74.6%, however, when examining regional data, significant differences emerge beneath the EU average, according to the latest Eurostat announcement.

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The soft saving trend can become a huge headache

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Artificial intelligence boost unemployment through hiring

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The digitalization of money and the major transformations it brings

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Rules to protect the essential infrastructure of the European Union

The European Parliament has recently given its final approval to rules on improving the protection of the European Union’s (EU) essential infrastructure, with 595 votes in favor. The event of boosting critical infrastructure protection in the EU means that we are facing new challenges in this globalized environment.

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The future of human resources in the age of automation

Until today, the influence of the human resources (HR) department rises and falls depending on how professionals respond to the constant challenge of keeping a workplace functional, profitable, and valuable enough for its core elements. However, the speed of current technological breakthroughs has no historical precedent.

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New EU directive on minimum wage and standard of living

With 505 votes in favor, 92 against, and 44 abstentions, European Parliament adopted new legislation on adequate minimum wages in the European Union (EU) on September 14, 2022. The minimum wage should ensure a decent standard of living, while EU rules must respect national wage-setting practices.

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Guide on how to choose between two or more job opportunities

During the process of searching for a new job it is possible to end up with multiple options. This means that you can be both exciting and stressful, concerning your needs, the environmental factors, and the actual plan that you want to develop for your career.

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Paying for natural gas in rubles will not change anything

Europe imports large amounts of Russian natural gas, even today, despite the war in Ukraine. According to officials, around 60% of imports are paid in euros, and the rest in dollars. However, Putin wants to change that by requiring foreign gas importers to purchase rubles and use them to pay for the natural gas.

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Borders and sanctions: Russia out of the economic game

A sanction is actually a penalty imposed by one country (or a group) on another, and it is used as a tool to stop the country acting aggressively or breaking international law. Sanctions are designed to hurt the economy in general and the finances of individual citizens of a given country. So, is Russia still in the global economic game?

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What is the SWIFT system? Western logic against “Putin thinking” (maps)

Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin (born 1952), launched an invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. As the aftermath of the dramatic escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War that began in 2014, this new war is the largest conventional military attack on European lands since World War II.

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The AI digitalization of employment and our future

The digitalization of all sectors of the global economy is on the way. As far as governments around the world invest on digital infrastructure and reskilling the workforce, artificial life is going to be inevitable. However, funding levels in terms of public or private investments are still very low.

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A 1997 story about virtual money and the global economy

Interestingly, virtual money and the globalization of our economy is a field with depth and many publications refer to this topic. Particularly, the global economy cannot be stopped, unless we understand how to make everything by ourselves. But, as the latter is impossible, we must link our local economies to external competitive advantages of other countries and their economies.

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WEF’s reskilling revolution platform ignores ethics?

World Economic Forum (WEF) recently launched the reskilling revolution platform to provide better jobs, education, and skills to one billion people in the next 10 years.

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Internet of Things in 1980s, today, and the future

The role of Internet of Things (IoT) as a network of physical objects and devices (mechanical and digital machines) with unique identifiers (UIDs) that communicate and interact with each other via an internet connection without requiring human-to-human or human-to-computer interaction is quite critical. This technology allows devices to become integrated and increase business efficiency in various sectors, helping people on their daily activities.

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Primary income in the EU before COVID-19 and the future

According with the latest news release by Eurostat, the primary income per inhabitant in the European Union (EU) was 18,800 euros. Across EU NUTS 2 (Nomenclature of territorial units for statistics) regions, it ranged from 37,900 euros per inhabitant in Luxemburg to only 2,500 euros in Severozapaden (Bulgaria).

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Over 81% of global workforce affected by full or partial workplace closures

International Labor Organization (ILO) recently reported that the COVID-19 pandemic is having a catastrophic effect on working hours and earnings globally. The current crisis is expected to wipe out 6.7% of working hours across the world in the second quarter of 2020, which is equivalent to 195 million full-time workers.

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