Mexican Navy Ship Arm BravoU.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Brien Aho, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Brooke Bihl Two Mexican Navy ships carrying humanitarian aid have docked in Cuba after a U.S. blockade cut the island off from receiving fuel supplies. The ships reached a local port in Havana two... Continue Reading →
U.S. and Taiwan Finalize New Trade Agreement
Semiconductor PanelFritzchensFritz, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons By Katie Braman On February 12, 2026, the United States and Taiwan finalized a new trade agreement between the two nations. This agreement brings along major tariff reductions, lowering the U.S. tariff rate for imports from Taiwan to 15% from the previous 20,% as well as committing Taiwan to a schedule for lowering or eliminating tariffs on nearly all US goods. Taiwan... Continue Reading →
Uruguay and China Strengthen Ties Amid Washington’s “Donroe Doctrine”
President Yamandu Orsi Intendencia de Montevideo, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Jack Kolesar In January 2026, Uruguayan President Yamandú Orsi embarked on one of Montevideo's most ambitious diplomatic missions in decades. Orsi led a delegation of 150 to the Chinese cities of Beijing and Shanghai with aims of expanding trade, investment, and... Continue Reading →
Trump, Xi, and Managing Competition
By Sam Dantzler Last week’s Trump-Xi meeting in South Koreas was one of those diplomatic moments where the vibes and the substance didn’t totally match, but both administrations pretended they did. Both sides seemed to have a positive response and agreed that relations were headed in a more “stable” direction. Compared to the icy standoff... Continue Reading →
Japan’s Rightward Turn Towards Takaichi
By Sam Dantzler Japan is on the verge of a political milestone with the election of Sanae Takaichi as leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), setting her up to become the country’s first female prime minister. At 64, the veteran lawmaker and follower of the late Shinzo Abe has long been one of the most... Continue Reading →
Tariffs, Taiwan, and Trump: The Future of the Beijing-Washington Relationship
Sam Dantzler Following Election Day 2024 in the United States, China has braced for the impact of Trump 2.0. In the months between November 5th and Inauguration Day, Beijing’s leadership has been evaluating the outcome of Trump’s election and its implications on broader Chinese grand strategy. Trump’s first term was defined by aggressive diplomatic posturing... Continue Reading →
Trans-Caspian Trade: Growth and Development of the Middle Corridor
By John W. Parks As war in Ukraine continues to damage Russia’s credibility and economic security, other Eurasian producers have been forced to utilize alternative avenues of trade. In response, China, along with Turkey, the European Union, and Central Asian states have dedicated increasingly more resources to the development and expansion of a bypass route.... Continue Reading →
Turkey Attempts to Join BRICS
By Julian Fischer-Lhamon A few days ago Turkey attended a BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia. The significance of this is underline by Turkey’s bid to join the group, which would make it the first NATO country to do so. This maneuver does not necessarily imply that Turkey is shifting away from the West, although relations... Continue Reading →
Risk Index Dips Below 1,000 for Argentina
By Sophie Ritzenthaler In Argentia, the country’s risk index has been closely watched since it reflects how investors view the country’s debt and measures the possibility of a country defaulting on its debt. On Friday, the risk index dipped under 1000, the first time since August of 2019, the new index is currently set at... Continue Reading →
Banking Fraud in Vietnam
Written by Lexi Dean | April 22, 2024 Real estate businesswoman, Truong My Lan, was sentenced to death last week over her role in Vietnam’s largest fraud case. Death penalties are not uncommon in Vietnam’s system, but they are rare in financial cases. She was arrested in 2022 after illegally controlling Saigon Joint Stock Commercial... Continue Reading →