Global Economic Analysis and News of Note: World Trade Could Slow This Year
- According to the World Trade Organization (WTO), global trade will expand by 2.4 percent in 2017 and between 2.1 percent and four percent in 2018. The WTO acknowledged, however, that there is “deep uncertainty about near-term economic and policy developments,” so trade growth for 2017 could be as little as 1.8 percent or as high as 3.6 percent.
- The Chinese government announced last week that the value of exports from the country increased 16.4 percent from March 2016 to March 2017 while the value of imports increased 20.3 percent. The nation’s trade surplus declined 20 percent year-over-year. China ran a $17.7 billion trade surplus with the United States in March and $7.7 surplus with European nations.
- According to China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, total vehicle sales in China increased three percent from March 2016 to March 2017. According to Manufacturing.Net, “Forecasters expect sales growth in mid-single digits this year, down from last year's 15 percent.”