Trade and Tariffs with Fexingo: International Commerce, Trade Wars, and Global Supply Chains

Lucas and Luna examine how the trade war is forcing central banks into a new era of currency competition. With the trade-weighted US dollar index at 120.7 and the yen weakening past 160 per dollar, they explore how countries like Japan, China, and emerging markets are responding. The episode dives into the Bank of Japan's dilemma, China's yuan strategy, and why the Federal Reserve's next move coul...

Episode 106 of Trade and Tariffs with Fexingo dives into how currency wars are becoming the hidden front of today's trade conflicts. Lucas and Luna examine Japan's recent yen intervention, China's quiet yuan devaluation, and what the weakening dollar means for exporters and importers alike. With the trade-weighted U.S. dollar index slipping to 120.7 and the yen touching 161 per dollar before snapp...

This week on Trade and Tariffs with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna break down how South Korea's semiconductor giants—Samsung and SK Hynix—are recalibrating their supply chains as the US-China trade war enters a new phase. With the KOSPI up 2.6% in five days and SK Hynix preparing a Wall Street debut, the hosts explore the 'Korea discount' and whether chip export restrictions are actually helping Korean f...

This episode of Trade and Tariffs with Fexingo examines how global trade wars are accelerating Africa's emergence as a manufacturing alternative to Asia. With the US-China tariff rate exceeding 60 percent on many goods and the US trade deficit widening to $77.6 billion in May 2026, multinationals are diversifying supply chains. We focus on Kenya and Ethiopia, where textile and electronics exports...

Episode 103 of Trade and Tariffs with Fexingo: Lucas and Luna drill into a quiet but consequential trade story—how China's steel exports hit a new record in the first half of 2026, pushing deflation into global markets. They unpack the mechanism: weak domestic demand, a stable yuan, and massive state-subsidized overcapacity. They tie it to the producer price data out of China this week—PPI up near...

China's e-commerce giants are upending global trade logistics in 2026. Alibaba's Cainiao network now ships directly from US warehouses to American consumers, bypassing traditional import channels. Pinduoduo's Temu is sourcing from Southeast Asian factories instead of Chinese manufacturers to dodge tariffs. Meanwhile, Chinese exports of goods fell 2.3% year-over-year in May, and the trade surplus n...

Episode 101 of Trade and Tariffs with Fexingo: Lucas and Luna break down a striking divergence in emerging markets during the 2026 trade war. While the broad EEM ETF is down nearly 4% over the past week, China's FXI is up 2.8%. The real standout is South Korea's EWY, plunging 10.2%. The hosts drill into why Korea—a bellwether for global trade—is getting crushed while China's domestically-driven ec...

Episode 100 of Trade and Tariffs with Fexingo: the US dollar has started to slip from its peak, and that quiet shift is reshaping trade flows in unexpected ways. Lucas and Luna break down the numbers — the dollar index down to 120.7, the yen strengthening past 161 per dollar — and look at real-world effects: South Korea's KOSPI and export stocks are getting hammered (the EWY ETF dropped 10.2% in f...

Episode 99 of Trade and Tariffs with Fexingo examines how India's generic drug industry, a global powerhouse supplying 20% of U.S. generic pills, is being squeezed by geopolitical tensions and tariff escalations. Lucas and Luna break down the specific case of Cipla's U.S. import delays, the impact of new U.S. customs audits on Indian API shipments, and why the FDA's 2026 inspections are adding wee...

Container shipping rates have diverged dramatically in mid-2026: rates from Asia to the US West Coast have fallen 18 percent year-over-year, while rates from Asia to Europe are up 22 percent. Lucas and Luna unpack why the trade war is fragmenting the container shipping market into two separate worlds — one for goods covered by tariffs, one for goods that aren't. They trace how rerouting, front-run...

Lucas and Luna dig into a shift the headlines are barely covering: Europe is building its own defense industrial base outside NATO's traditional procurement system. They trace the story through a specific case — the Franco-German-led European Defence Fund's latest €8 billion tranche — and show how it's already pulling production away from US suppliers. They connect this to a data point that jumps...

In this episode of Trade and Tariffs with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna examine the quiet breakup of the world's biggest container shipping alliances—the 2M, Ocean Alliance, and THE Alliance—and what that means for global supply chains in mid-2026. With the trade-weighted dollar still elevated at 120.9 and the Baltic Dry Index flashing warning signs, shipping lines are fighting for market share by under...

In episode 95 of Trade and Tariffs with Fexingo, hosts Lucas and Luna examine how the yen's persistent strength is reshaping Japan's export strategy. With the yen trading at 161.7 per dollar, Japanese manufacturers are losing competitiveness to South Korean rivals. The episode explores why Toyota is shifting production to the US, how electronics firms are pivoting to premium products, and what the...

Episode 94 of Trade and Tariffs with Fexingo: Lucas and Luna unpack the widening gap between container shipping rates on major east-west routes and regional north-south lanes in mid-2026. With the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index up 28% year-over-year on Asia-Europe routes but intra-Asia rates near flat, they examine how trade-war rerouting, carrier consolidation, and inventory destocking are...

In episode 93 of Trade and Tariffs with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna explore how ongoing trade wars are fundamentally rewiring global supply chains in mid-2026. They anchor the discussion around South Korea's export troubles, with the EWY ETF dropping 8.7% in five days, and examine the shift of manufacturing to Vietnam and India. Using the latest trade balance data and the strong dollar's impact, they...

This episode of Trade and Tariffs with Fexingo examines how Mexico is leveraging near-shoring trends to rebuild its domestic auto supply chain in mid-2026. Lucas and Luna discuss the latest trade data showing a narrowing U.S. trade deficit, the impact of the strong dollar on Mexican exports, and how new USMCA rules of origin are pushing automakers to move production from Asia to Mexico. They highl...

Coffee is one of the most traded commodities in the world, but a new wave of tariffs and export restrictions is scrambling the global supply chain. In this episode, Lucas and Luna look at how Vietnam's recent coffee export tax is reshaping the market, with robusta prices hitting a 15-year high. They break down why Brazil can't fill the gap, how roasters are reformulating blends, and what it means...

China's exports to Africa hit a record $85 billion in Q2 2026, while US exports to the continent fell 12% year-over-year. Lucas and Luna explore how tariff escalation between the US and China is spilling into Africa as both superpowers compete for access to critical minerals, infrastructure contracts, and diplomatic influence. The show examines the case of Zambia's copper mines, Kenya's tech hubs,...

Episode 89 dives into Vietnam's booming export sector, which has surged 18% year-over-year in mid-2026, making it the biggest winner of the US-China tariff war. Lucas and Luna break down how Vietnam is capturing manufacturing relocations from China, from Samsung assembling half its smartphones in Thai Nguyen to textile factories moving from Guangdong to Ho Chi Minh City. The hosts examine whether...

Episode 88 of Trade and Tariffs with Fexingo examines the quiet collapse of foreign auto market share in China. Lucas and Luna dig into specific data: foreign-brand sales in China have dropped from 64% in 2020 to below 40% in mid-2026, while domestic EV makers like BYD and NIO now dominate. They explore how this shift changes global trade flows, as European and Japanese automakers lose a key profi...

The US announced it won't renew USMCA on July 1, 2026, opening negotiations with Canada and Mexico. Lucas and Luna break down what this means for the $1.5 trillion trade bloc — from auto supply chains to agriculture tariffs — and why the trade-weighted dollar's slight dip to 120.9 might signal market unease. They dig into how Mexico's EWW ETF is flat while Thailand's EWT is up, and whether this is...

Iran says it is selling oil at a 20% premium as the end of the US blockade sees 40 million barrels exported. Lucas and Luna unpack how Iran is bypassing sanctions using a shadow fleet of tankers, Chinese refineries, and a complex network of middlemen. They explore the implications for global oil markets, the recent softening of US enforcement, and what this means for trade dynamics in the Middle E...

On this episode of Trade and Tariffs with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna examine how liquefied natural gas cargo diversions are redrawing energy trade flows in mid-2026. With a top producer withholding Italian shipments and Europe scrambling for supply, the hosts break down the specific mechanics of cargo redirection, the role of arbitrage, and what this means for energy-dependent economies. They referen...

Lucas and Luna explore how copper has become a flashpoint in global trade, with nations stockpiling the metal for energy transition and military needs. They discuss how Chile and Peru are leveraging their reserves, why the US is pushing for domestic mining, and what the copper rally means for supply chains. The episode ties in the latest trade-weighted dollar index and emerging market ETF data to...

In this episode of Trade and Tariffs with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna examine the dramatic impact of the yen's slide to a 40-year low of 161.7 per dollar. They explore how Japan's exporters, from Toyota to Nintendo, are navigating the currency tailwind, and why the Bank of Japan is reluctant to intervene despite the risk of retaliation from trading partners. The conversation also touches on the surpri...