Search
AI-powered search, human-powered content.
scroll to top arrow or icon

{{ subpage.title }}

People bathe in the sun under parasols on a beach near the city of Larnaca, Cyprus, on August 11, 2024.

Christoph Reichwein/dpa via Reuters Connect

HARD NUMBERS: UAE carries Cyprus’ water, China toughens trade stance, Trump admin ignores court order, Americans expect price hikes, Germany’s economy remains stagnant, South Korea’s ex-leader indicted

15,000: The United Arab Emirates is literally helping Cyprus navigate troubled waters by providing portable desalination plants to the Mediterranean island free of charge so it can supply enough water to the deluge of tourists set to visit this summer. The Emirati nation’s plants will reportedly produce 15,000 cubic meters of potable water per day. It’s unclear if the UAE is receiving anything in return – it seems happy to go with the flow.

Read moreShow less

President Donald Trump at a bilateral meeting with China's President Xi Jinping during the G20 leaders summit in Osaka, Japan, on June 29, 2019.

REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo

Trump promises to be “very nice” with China – but Beijing won’t be flattered

On Wednesday, Donald Trump said he would deliver a “fair deal” with China. He also said he’d be “very nice” to the country after meeting with major retailers. CNN reports the retailers gave the president a “blunt message” about the risks of a prolonged trade war with China, warning shop shelves could “soon be empty.”

Read moreShow less

Containers on a cargo ship are seen at an industrial port in Tokyo, Japan April 3, 2025.

REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

Beijing tries to woo an uninterested Tokyo over joint tariff fight

Chinese Premiere Li Qiang sent Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba a letter asking that they “fight protectionism together,” according to local reports Tuesday, as both countries face potentially disastrous US tariffs.

Read moreShow less
Paige Fusco & Ari Winkleman / GZERO Media

The Graphic Truth: The foreigners who hold US debt

The US is the world’s biggest debtor, with more than $35 trillion of securities outstanding.

About a quarter of that is held by foreign investors, a detail which has drawn considerable attention since Donald Trump began walloping the world with tariffs to rebalance US trade ties and military alliances. That’s because if countries upset – or merely uneasy – about Trump’s policies sell those securities in response, the debt servicing costs for the US rise. This is no small matter on $35 trillion worth of paper.

In fact, one widely held explanation for Trump’s abrupt suspension of the “Liberation Day” tariffs on April 9 was that wary bond investors had begun to sell US Treasuries: In the week of April 11, yields on 10-year US treasuries saw their biggest leap in a quarter of a century, a sign that creditors were dropping US sovereign debt fast.

Could countries weaponize US debt more directly? China, Trump’s biggest trade war target, is the second largest foreign US creditor, officially holding more than $750 billion.

A selloff could be devastating. But analysts say it would be hard to find enough buyers for a sale that is both swift and large enough to catch the US off guard.

And even if it were possible, a seller would risk their own financial security as well global economic health by kneecapping the US. In other words: It would be, in financial terms, the nuclear option.

The graphic above looks at which countries hold the most US sovereign debt. Note that the last official data precede “Liberation Day” and that they depend on official reporting. Some countries may hold more than what is listed here via third parties.

Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Manet (not pictured) at the Peace Palace in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, April 17, 2025.

Agence Kampuchea Press/Handout via REUTERS

China warns world against harmful US trade deals

China warned Monday that it would “take countermeasures” against countries that try to curry favor with the US by hurting Beijing. More than 70 countries have reached out to Washington in hopes of brokering deals to avoid eye-watering tariffs, and US President Donald Trump said last week that Latin American countries should “maybe” choose between trade with China and America.
Read moreShow less

Two DHL delivery vans deliver parcels in Maximilianstrasse in Munich, Germany, on Feb. 20, 2025.

Michael Nguyen/NurPhoto via Reuters

Companies respond to Trump’s trade crackdown

The ripple effects of US President Donald Trump’s tariff policies continue to impact global supply chains. On Saturday, transport company DHL announced it would suspend international shipments over $800 to American consumers, citing that new tariff rules had overwhelmed its processing systems. Automaker Ford said it was “adjusting” its exports of vehicles like the F-150 Raptor, Lincoln Navigator, and Mustang to China, due to the impact of tariffs. And China’s Xiamen Airline reportedly returned a Boeing 737 MAX, freshly painted in company colors – the latest casualty of that country’s ongoing trade war with the US.

Read moreShow less

US President Donald Trump attends a Cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C., on April 10, 2025.

REUTERS/Nathan Howard

China strikes back at the US with massive tariffs of its own

Wednesday’s tariff respite is firmly in the rearview mirror, as China announced on Friday it was raising its duty on US imports to an astronomical 125%, taking effect Saturday. The announcement came less than 24 hours after the White House clarified that the new levy on Chinese imports would be 145%.

Read moreShow less

President Donald Trump speaks as he signs executive orders and proclamations in the Oval Office at the White House on April 9, 2025.

REUTERS/Nathan Howard

The Truth will set tariffs free

With stock markets plunging and US Treasury yields reaching new heights, US President Donald Trump finally reneged on parts of his widescale tariff plan on Wednesday, declaring a 90-day pause to the far-reaching “reciprocal” levies that he introduced just one week ago while leaving a 10% across-the-board duty in place. He also escalated the already-burgeoning trade war with China by increasing the tariff on their imports to 125%.

Read moreShow less

Subscribe to our free newsletter, GZERO Daily

Latest