“One cannot live in the lie of mutual benefit through integration when integration is the reason for subordination”, said Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at the Davos Forum in January. And it is evident: global integration implies subordination to the big ones, the United States and China. Consequently, the strategy of second-tier states can be none other than to collaborate to ward off dependence; this is the policy that the BRICS practice, with success, and it must also be that of Europe.The US and China are preparing for economic confrontation. The former due to the scarcity of rare earths, and the latter because they aspire for the renminbi to become a reserve and trade currency, like the dollar. Today, the dollar represents 57% of central banks' reserves. In the new post-globalization commercial environment, which will be one of fragmentation and confrontation, even the big players will have to deploy trade weapons to protect themselves.Donald Trump assures that he will bend nations through tariffs because the US market is the most important in the world for imports. It is, but it accounts for only 13% of global imports. From a global perspective, not selling to the US will have little impact on any state's exports: in relation to world trade, trade with the US is small. Even Canada, with trade traditionally linked to the US, does not suffer particularly from American tariffs. It has found alternative markets; hence its approach to Europe.Tariffs only have important effects if trade is concentrated on a scarce good. When Trump imposed tariffs on most states in April 2025, China responded by limiting the export of rare earths. Ford temporarily closed some factories due to a lack of raw materials and Raytheon had problems maintaining the production of Tomahawk missiles. Within weeks, the US reduced its tariffs on China.Let's look at another case. When the US department's import rules tightened, China limited the export of equipment containing technological components. The US was forced to give China freedom to buy highly sophisticated material; for example, Nvidia chips. Thus, the US allowed the trade of its most strategic product with its greatest competitor. The gap between what Trump says and what he does continues to grow.

Goods exports rose last March aftera February marked by the poor performance of the external sectorIn the first three months of 2026, Catalan exports fell by 1.5% compared to the first quarter of last year, reaching 24,682 million euros, but imports fell even more, by 4.7%, to 27,751 million. Thus, the trade deficit also continued to close in the first quarter at almost one billion, going from 4,062 million recorded between January and March 2025 to 3,069 million euros in the same period this year.

Donald Trump has left China –where he met with Xi Jinping– with kind words, but without having resolved any of his concerns: neither the blockade in Hormuz, nor the Taiwan crisis, nor the trade balance. Manel Ollé, professor of Chinese studies at the UPF and expert in the Asian giant, analyzes the meeting between the two leaders, which has been more marked by gestures than by tangible agreements.

Donald Trump has taken another step in the trade war with Europe and has announced a 25% tariff on trucks and cars manufactured in the European Union that are marketed in the United States. According to a message published on Truth Social this Friday, he expects the measure to come into effect "next week".

The association dedicated to promoting internationalized industry, Amec, asserted on Monday that the war in the Middle East is a "temporary" problem and that 30 percent of its 500 members have considered revising their 2026 forecasts downward. Amec's CEO, Joan Tristany, argued that "the structural conflict is Chinese competition," and that due to the tariffs imposed by the United States government, Chinese products are "everywhere." In fact, in 2025, despite Donald Trump's tariff war, Amec members' exports increased by 5.54%, a growth that Tristan considers "surprising and extraordinary" given the international geopolitical landscape. However, according to the report prepared by the association and published on Monday, companies have grown during 2025, although the "playing field is shifting," as Tristan explained during the presentation. However, he points out that, looking ahead to this year, companies are working with "ambition and caution."

The American multinational courier and logistics company FedEx has filed a lawsuit against the United States government, demanding "full reimbursement of all tariffs" imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), after the Supreme Court struck down the levies last Friday. The company points out in its lawsuit that the high court overturned the tariffs, ruling that the law in question does not authorize the president to impose tariffs, in line with the justices' decision, which, by a 6-3 majority, determined that the Republican president had abused his emergency powers. For the moment, US President Donald Trump, He has threatened more tariffs and maintains that he does not need the House of Representatives' approval.FedEx argues that it imported goods from countries subject to these tariffs and, having to pay the U.S. government, suffered "damages caused by these orders." No figures for the claim have been released, but FedEx had already warned that the tariffs could represent a $1 billion charge in its 2026 fiscal year, according to EFE. It remains to be seen how all the tariffs will be finalized, as well as the issue of potential refunds like the one FedEx is claiming. FedEx asserts that it took the necessary steps to protect its right as a registered importer to request this tariff refund from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. It has also sued the agency's commissioner, Rodney Scott, and the U.S. government. In fact, more than $175 billion in U.S. tariff revenues are subject to potential refunds, Penn-Wharton budget model economists warned, according to Reuters.

Gold is back at record highs, with spot prices rising 1.2% to $5,163.60 per ounce and April futures reaching $5,184.90. This trend—which underscores the precious metal's role as a safe haven following Donald Trump's announcement of a 15% global tariff, after the Supreme Court struck down his previous tariffs imposed without congressional approval on Friday—is coupled with a weakening dollar. The euro is trading around $1.1833. Meanwhile, the Spanish stock market began the week largely ignoring US President Donald Trump's pronouncements. The Ibex 35, the main index of the Spanish equity market, opened higher, driven primarily by banks thanks to a Deutsche Bank report that revised its price targets upward. At the start of trading, all financial institutions were showing gains. However, it eventually returned to record levels and closed at 18,288.70 points, up 0.56%.

US President Donald Trump announced on Saturday that he will raise global tariffs from 10% to 15%. He made the announcement in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social. This announcement comes a day after the United States Supreme Court overturned the tariffs that Trump had imposed because he believed it should be approved by Congress.

The US Supreme Court's ruling that declares a large portion of Donald Trump's tariffs illegal is good news. Not so much because of its economic impact, which remains to be seen since the tariffs will continue in one form or another, but because it highlights that the justice system in the United States is not entirely subservient to the president's wishes. In his previous term, Trump made sure to appoint judges sympathetic to the Supreme Court, which is one of the most conservative in its history because of the nine justices on the court, only three were appointed by Democrats and the other six by Republicans. And it seemed that this had worked, because until now the high court had largely given leeway to the president's controversial decisions, from guaranteeing him immunity from prosecution for his public actions—which prevented him from being tried for instigating the storming of the Capitol—to giving provisional approval to many of his initiatives.

One of US President Donald Trump's key initiatives – perhaps the most important along with mass deportations – It has not passed the Supreme Court's filterAnd this, despite controlling an organization with a clear conservative majority. However, without questioning whether or not it is necessary to impose tariffs on third countries, the justices of the nation's highest court, by a 6-3 vote, consider that Trump overstepped his bounds by imposing tariffs on imports without congressional approval. They highlight one of the shortcomings of the leader of the world's leading power. And it is not the trade deficit he claims to want to combat, but rather the democratic one, by resorting to a law (IEEPA) that gives the president free rein to address "unusual and extraordinary threats" during national emergencies. The justices interpreted that the IEEPA "does not authorize tariffs imposed through executive orders."

Geopolitics has always been an important factor in explaining the economy, but at the current historical moment, the way in which major powers wield political power over the economic landscape represents a turning point. There has been extensive debate to find compelling economic reasons behind the US intervention in Venezuela. However, some analysts are beginning to suspect that a particular vision of the exercise of power, and not solely or even primarily economics, is the prevailing reason behind many of the Trump administration's decisions. Venezuelan crude is relatively expensive to extract, and it is unclear whether major oil companies consider it profitable, under current conditions, to invest the enormous sums required to substantially increase current production levels. The US administration may value control over Venezuelan crude as an opportunity to extend its influence over the market and manage future inflationary pressures, but this factor does not appear, for now, to be decisive. Despite the rebound in oil prices following the situation in Iran, the underlying trend is downward.

This week, the ARA reported on a study by four German economists analyzing millions of import transactions in the United States. The conclusion was devastating: between 94% and 96% of the cost of the tariffs imposed by Washington has not been borne by foreign exporters, but by Americans themselves. Prices have not fallen. They have risen. The tariffs have functioned as a hidden internal tax. An own goal. Read this way, the message seems reassuring for Europe. If the tariffs are paid by Americans and everything remains more or less the same, the damage is limited. This interpretation is incomplete. And, above all, misleading.

US President Donald Trump threatened Canada on Saturday with a 100% tariff on all its products if it strikes a trade deal with China. Through his social media platform, Truth Social, he asserted that if Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney "thinks he can turn Canada into a gateway for China to send goods and products into the United States, he is very wrong."

According to a study, 96% of the cost of tariffs on foreign exports to the United States is paid by American businesses and consumers. think tank German Kiel Institute. This means that 192 billion of the additional 200 billion dollars (163.6 billion and 170.4 billion euros, respectively) that were to be collected in 2025 in trade tariffs at US customs have ended up being a transfer of money from American citizens to their federal government.

Tariffs on European products imposed by US President Donald Trump have affected 2.9% of Catalan exports abroad, according to data published Tuesday by Acció, the Catalan government's foreign trade promotion agency. Exemptions to the trade tariffs agreed upon between US and European Union authorities have allowed a third of Catalan products sold in the US market to remain duty-free. According to calculations, of the €4.35 billion exported from Catalonia to the US, approximately €1.43 billion—or 33% of the total—remain tariff-free. Conversely, the remaining €2.92 billion "were subject to the tariffs" imposed by Trump, according to a statement from Acció. Compared to total Catalan exports outside of Spain, this latter figure represents 2.9% of the total exports by Catalan companies abroad. The effect of the tariffs, however, has been limited. In fact, Catalan exports to the US between January and October of last year fell by 1.9% compared to the same period in 2014. "The products most affected, for the moment, have been perfumes and cosmetics, jewelry, iron and steel manufactures, clothing, motorcycles, and meat," Acció adds in its statement.

A year ago, Donald Trump took office as President of the United States. Economically, this year has been marked by the trade war unleashed by the US president and his tariffs on foreign products, especially those manufactured by China. The Asian giant saw its exports to the US fall in 2025, but commercially it did not have a bad year: in 2025, China recorded a trade surplus of $1.189 trillion (€1.02 trillion), representing a 19.8% increase compared to 2024. During the past year, marked by tariff tensions between the world's two largest economies, Chinese exports totaled $3.77 trillion (€3.23 trillion), 3.2% more than in 2024, while imports remained stable (€2.8 trillion).

Catalan farmers will continue their road blockades across the country, they announced on Friday, hours after the 27 member states of the European Union approved the free trade agreement with Mercosur (the South American bloc), against which they had begun their protests in Catalonia. The farmers have accused the Catalan government of having "sold them out," while the Minister of Agriculture, Òscar Ordeig, defended the trade agreement, asserting that "Catalonia is the biggest winner." "We have a 105% agri-food trade surplus, which we want to maintain and expand," Ordeig stated regarding the Catalan primary sector. In this regard, he emphasized that, in an international context where "there are countries in the world that are isolating themselves and isolating us," it is necessary to "seek new trading partners." The regional minister met this Friday in Reus with representatives of the farmers who are blocking access to the port of Tarragona and asked them to act responsibly so as not to disrupt supplies.

China has imposed definitive tariffs of between 4.9% and 19.8% on pork imports from the European Union. The measure is a response to European tariffs on Chinese electric cars. Beijing has shown restraint and left the door open to future agreements with the EU, as in September it threatened provisional tariffs of up to 62.4% on European pork imports. The decision will particularly affect Spain, which is the main European exporter of pork to the Asian giant. The new tariffs take effect immediately this Wednesday, December 17, with the intention that they remain in force for a period of five years. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced the new tariffs through a brief statement on its website. With this, Beijing has concluded its investigation. antidumping which began in 2024 accusing the European pork sector of unfair competition.

"From an economic standpoint, it's certainly not a good agreement, but it's more or less tolerable. The political cost is another matter." With these words, he described the trade agreement between Brussels and Washington Ignacio García Bercero, analyst at the think tank Bruegel and for 35 years EU trade negotiator. At an event this Thursday at the Círculo de Economía (Circle of Economy) on the impact of tariffs, García Bercero lamented the European Commission's strategy in the face of the aggressive trade offensive by the US government under Donald Trump: "It has given a certain image of weakness to the EU," he opined, since the EU has ended up signing an agreement that is "just an agreement."

In these 15 years of the ARA, the Catalan economy, which three lustrums ago had a gross domestic product (GDP) of about 200 billion euros, has today more than 300 billion, more than 50% higher; it has experienced a total restructuring of the financial system, the flight of business headquarters with the referendum of October 1, 2017 and a fall in activity like in the Civil War due to the coronavirus crisis. This period has now ended with Banc Sabadell shareholders' refusal to accept BBVA's takeover bid, which BBVA had already attempted in 2020. But the story of this newspaper, which hit newsstands (there were still quite a few) on November 28, 2012, featuring Mois Noguera, the first Catalan born that year, on the front page, began two months after a general strike against labor reforms under the socialist José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero as Spanish Prime Minister. Following the biggest economic crisis since 1929, recovery was beginning to offer hope, but the world was reeling from the shock of the attacks on the debt of Greece and Ireland, and other countries with high deficits, including Spain.