Stories with trade data
Read articles published by experts in economics and global trade from the OEC team.

Drones: Beyond the Battlefield – In War and Peace The Sky is No Limit

By Gilberto García-Vazquez
November 2023
Drone technology is probably watching you right now. Diplomacy, military strategy, recreation, culture are all being transformed by drones. The trade numbers for the drone sector, we can say, are taking off. We are also confident that this is an understatement.




Water Water Everywhere, and Every Drop For Sale: The Global Water Trade

By Gilberto García-Vazquez
October 2023
From bottled water to the flow of H2O in countless products and industrial processes, the global water trade is the ultimate "Zero Sum Game" as all life on the planet participates in the search for water. This month we uncover the economic, environmental, and geopolitical implications of the commodity that no part of the global economy can do without.

The UAW Strike Aims to Demonstrate Labor's Global Impact

By Gilberto GarcÍa-Vazquez
September 2023
From the heart of Detroit to the bustling trade hubs in the Southern US, a labor union's strategy of gradual strike expansion slowly turns the screws on industry at a time of unprecedented change and potential vulnerability for the auto giants.

Storm on the Sun: China's Solar Flare Dominates An Emerging Technology

By Gilberto García-Vazquez
August 2023
Four key metrics—Degree Centrality, Betweenness Centrality, Closeness Centrality, and PageRank—offer valuable insights into network robustness. China consistently ranks at the top across all these metrics within the solar energy sector. How can we better understand and anticipate the impact of that dominance?

When is a Chain NOT a Chain? Does China's Dominance in Critical Supply Chains Strengthen or Weaken the Global Economy?

By Gilberto García-Vazquez
August 2023
Green technology from China drives innovation and sustainability. But does reliance on one nation's expertise create risk and increase the need for international cooperation in a time of geopolitical tensions?

A Climate Catastrophe. El Niño Meets the Great U.S. Drought: A Global Food Crisis Looms

By Gilberto García-Vazquez
June 2023
DAMNING DATA: You are looking at the geographic signature of El Niño colliding with the drought in the Western United States. We must address an urgent question: how can we identify sustainable solutions before food insecurity disrupts the global food supply?





Electrifying Times: The Surge of the Electric Mobility Revolution

By Gilberto García-Vazquez
March 2023
The electric mobility revolution is gaining momentum, driven by increasing exports of electric vehicles, bikes, and buses. This is how supportive policies and supply chain challenges shape the future of sustainable transportation.

How Trade Bounced Back in 2021: Four Trends You Need to Know

By Gilberto García-Vazquez
March 2023
The COVID-19 pandemic shook the world economy and disrupted global trade like never before. But 2021 brought some good news for traders and consumers alike. Here are four surprising trends that shaped trade in 2021 and what they mean for the future.



2022 Trade Highlights: Record Growth, but a Slowdown in Manufacturing

By Gilberto García-Vazquez
January 2023
According to recently released trade data, in 2022, trade registered record highs primarily due to increases in the value of energy and food. Although other industries also grew in trade value, recent trends highlight challenges for several sectors, including electronics, chemical products, and transportation.

Multidimensional Economic Complexity and Inclusive Green Growth

By Stojkoski, Koch, & Hidalgo
January 2023
Metrics of economic complexity are used routinely by international organizations, national ministries, and regional development agencies to explain international differences in inclusive green growth. But the metrics of economic complexity used commonly in these international comparisons are based on trade data, which while being internationally comparable, has the disadvantage of favoring countries that are close to advanced economies. That is, trade-based metrics can overestimate the economic complexity of countries integrated into the value chains of sophisticated neighbors (e.g., Slovakia) and underestimate the complexity of countries that are geographically distant to global markets (e.g., Australia).


Will New Export Controls Hinder China's Progress in High-End AI Chip Development?

By Gilberto García-Vazquez
October 2022
The US government has imposed new export controls to limit China's development of high-end chips with AI applications. However, even if the US government is successful in restricting the sale of specific chips and chip-making equipment to China, China would likely be able to develop high-end AI chips using other means.



Bottlenecks in the Fertilizer Industry are a Threat to the Food Supply

By Gilberto García-Vazquez
September 2022
The war in Ukraine, rising energy costs, and restrictive trade policies have reduced fertilizer supplies while raising prices. While the repercussions of shortages will be felt globally, some countries like India and Brazil are among the most impacted.

What the U.S. Climate Law Means for International Trade

By Gilberto García-Vazquez
August 2022
US President Joe Biden signed a climate bill with global implications for international trade. The roughly $370 billion in federal financing would significantly impact critical sectors, such as home appliances, transportation, and energy.

Amid Escalating Mortgage Crisis, China Sees a 15% Decline in June Imports of Residential Construction Materials

By Gilberto García-Vazquez
July 2022
It started with China's real estate bonds falling due to the country's property debt crisis last December. Now, thousands of people around China are refusing to make mortgage payments for homes yet to finish. As China’s mortgage crisis deepens, it creates a crater that threatens exporters everywhere.

Bavaria's Dependency on Russian Gas Runs Deep

By Gilberto García-Vazquez
July 2022
In 1970, West Germany and the Soviet Union signed a contract for a gas pipeline connecting Siberia to Bavaria. Today, Russia supplies more than half of Germany's natural gas, roughly half of its coal, and a third of its oil.


How COVID Changed International Trade

By Gilberto García-Vazquez
May 2022
It only took a few months for the pandemic to change the economy. Some shifts, such as the rush for gold, were temporary, others, such as the electrification of transportation, accelerated. Here is a summary of what the recently released international trade data tells us about the winners and losers of 2020.






How China & Korea Became Leaders in Electric Vehicle Exports

By Gilberto García-Vazquez
February 2022
Electric Vehicles and associated supply chains are a crucial technology where the United States' lead has, in the past decade, moved to China and South Korea. Understanding how this happened is essential to developing other areas of essential innovation for a net-zero economy.



