Below is a summary of the top stories this week.  To stay up-to-date, be sure to sign up to receive our emails and follow us on social media.

• China to Bring Up Measures Against WeChat and TikTok in Upcoming U.S. Trade Talks. China’s days as world’s factory are over, iPhone maker says.  More on Foxconn’s move to split its supply chain here.
• UK says trade talks with the U.S. continue to make positive progress. The UK officially in recession for the first time in 11 years.
• Last week, the U.S. announced tariffs on Canadian aluminum. LATEST: Canada Announces Retaliatory Tariffs on $2.7 billion in U.S. goods. Read Jerry Haar’s (professor at Florida International University and a global fellow of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C.) op-ed on Trump’s tariffs on aluminum undermine the USMCA.
• The U.S. set to hit Europe with more tariffs
• Soaring Costs to Move Goods by Plane and Ship Set to Go Higher.
• According to Moody’s the trend toward a more fragmented and protectionist global economy will likely accelerate as a result of the pandemic, with restrictions on trade, investment, and technology transfers.
• With Belarus in disarray, Russia and Putin see an opportunity to expand influence.  Putin pushes for more integration with Belarus after election unrest. Major US diplomatic push to counter Russia may be in jeopardy amid Belarus unrest.
• Global Trade in Services to Increase by $2trn  over the next five years, according to a new report by Western Union and Oxford Economics.
• A recent study by Harvard links business travel to a stronger economy. The more business travelers a country received, the better its industrial ventures fared, and the higher its GDP climbed. Read the report here.