In this special edition of the Hinrich Foundation’s podcast on global trade, Bloomberg's technology editor Vlad Savov sits down with Hinrich Foundation research contributor Michael Enright, professor in Global Business at Northeastern University, to unpack how smartphones have become a central battleground in the US-China tech rivalry.

The smartphone industry has become a key front in the US-China tech rivalry, with Chinese brands holding 60% of the global market share. China's industrial policies, such as Made in China 2025, have been crucial in advancing its tech sector though Chinese firms still rely on foreign technology. The US-China trade tensions have led to a decoupling in tech, but deep interdependence in manufacturing makes full separation difficult. Enright presents that going forward, both nations will likely pursue separate supply chains, with the US leading in advanced tech while global manufacturing becomes more dispersed. Both the governments and the tech companies will need to delicately balance the cost, competitiveness, and strategic independence in a rapidly shifting trade environment.

Tune into this podcast as Michael Enright, Pierre Choueiri Family Professor in Global Business at Northeastern University, joins Bloomberg tech editor Vlad Savov in a podcast co-organized by the Association of Foreign Press Correspondents-USA and the Hinrich Foundation to break down how smartphones now represent a convergence of national security, corporate interests, and supply chain economics in the US-China technology competition. The podcast follows up on Enright’s recent article for the Hinrich Foundation, "China’s smartphone producers take on the world."

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Tune into the Hinrich Foundation’s podcast series for insights on international trade.

In this special edition of Current Accounts, the Hinrich Foundation’s podcast on global trade, the Association of Foreign Press Correspondents-USA sits down with Naoise McDonagh, Senior Lecturer, Edith Cowan University, to unpack the crucial role of rare earth minerals in the global economy.

Rare earths are vital for advanced manufacturing, powering industries like electric vehicles, defence, and robotics. China dominates their supply, controlling 90% of processed rare earths, which gives it significant geopolitical leverage. Rare earths are classified as critical minerals due to their strategic importance and supply chain vulnerabilities. While countries like the US and Australia are seeking alternatives, China's processing monopoly and price volatility complicate efforts. Australia, with projects like Lynas, aims to reduce dependency, but global demand, especially from China, poses ongoing challenges. McDonagh concludes that the rare earth market is shifting towards strategic, state-backed production partnerships, particularly with allied nations.

Tune into this podcast as Naoise McDonagh, Senior Lecturer, Edith Cowan University, joins the Association of Foreign Press Correspondents-USA to break down the crucial role of rare earth minerals and how Australia is laying the grounds to position itself as an alternative supplier of China in rare earth elements. The podcast follows up on McDonagh’s recent paper for the Hinrich Foundation, “Australia’s rare earths lie between economic security and liberal markets.”

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Tune into the Hinrich Foundation’s podcast series for insights on international trade.

In this special edition of Current Accounts, the Hinrich Foundation’s podcast on global trade, the Association of Foreign Press Correspondents-USA sits down with Senior Research Fellow Stewart Paterson to unpack the US dollar’s global dominance and what we are still getting wrong.

As the linchpin of the international monetary system, the US dollar’s role extends far beyond America's borders, influencing trade flows, shaping investment decisions, and anchoring global financial stability. Beneath the surface of this dominance lies a host of unresolved tensions, from sustained trade imbalances and currency misalignments to the political and economic strains these dynamics impose on both emerging and advanced economies alike.

While the Trump administration has imposed protectionist measures, such as tariffs, to address concerns about domestic industry and employment, the prolonged weakening of the dollar since January has resulted not from these policies but from a deeper set of worries among investors across asset classes over the intense and ongoing fiscal and business uncertainty created by the administration’s policies. Though Paterson found much to dislike about the way Trump’s tariffs were derived, he notes that an inadvertent outcome may be the real effective depreciation of the US dollar. Such weakening is needed if the policy goal is to return the American economy to external balance, given the dollar’s overvaluation and persistent US deficit spending.

Tune in to this podcast as Senior Research Fellow Stewart Paterson joins the Association of Foreign Press Correspondents-USA to break down the driving factors behind the dollar’s global dominance, which follows up on Paterson’s research paper for the Hinrich Foundation, “Trump, the US dollar, and American trade policy.”

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Tune into the Hinrich Foundation’s podcast series for insights on international trade.