I spoke with @abenewman.bsky.social about how the US started weaponising control of international networks in the wake of 9/11 and how globalisation laid the foundations for economic coercion we see today. Watch the Economic Security Watch's podcast here: www.fdiintelligence.com/video/ed0d7a...

Economic Security Watch podcast | The weaponisation of globalisation

Political scientist Abraham Newman on the genesis and future of modern-day economic statecraft

fdiintelligence.com

Fresh US tariffs on 60 countries on the grounds they aren't tackling forced labour in imports have been labelled "meritless", "ill-judged" and as risking "workers becoming collateral damage in a trade agenda" ft.trib.al/7b4pboJ

Business groups warn Trump’s forced labour tariffs will hit workers

Motives queried over ‘meritless’ levies on 60 countries amid warnings won’t tackle modern-day slavery

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Head of the Australian miner stuck in a legal dispute with Greenland's gov over bringing to fruition one of the biggest rare earth deposits outside China is confident he can get the site back online. Not least because the Kvanefjeld project would buoy its fisheries-reliant economy ft.trib.al/PZNJEbk

Rare earth miner vows to fight Greenland licence block

Aussie group seeks to restart work on one of biggest deposits outside China

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US is talking about redistributing AI wealth. South Korea is much further ahead in actually doing it. Seoul is moving fast on its Future Response fund. Disaffected youth, unionised workers and striking inequalities fuels public pressure to share chip windfalls www.fdiintelligence.com/content/308e...

South Korea chip fund at vanguard of AI SWF push

Tax windfall investment vehicle comes amid reports Seoul is cancelling a Temasek-style fund

fdiintelligence.com

European policymakers' bid for digital sovereignty is getting a helping hand from US government interventions like Greenland and bans on foreigners using Anthropic's latest models. They are accelerating uptake of local solutions, the region's tech firms tell me ft.trib.al/qSwGfk6 #techsovereignty

Geopolitics boosting European tech demand

Greenland crisis and Anthropic ban accelerate uptake of local solutions amid digital sovereignty push

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Are Trump's latest tariffs (tackling forced labour in imports) human rights measures dressed up as trade policy? Or trade measures that happen to cite human rights? Justin Dillon, CEO of supply chain risk firm FRDM AI, asks the bigger question in this op-ed: does it even matter? ft.trib.al/NkLRksi

Have Trump’s new tariffs created a real ‘liberation day’?

Arguing over US duties on forced labour risks in supply chains misses the bigger opportunity

fdiintelligence.com

Ex USMCA negotiators tell me the US is considering new-style capital restrictions to stop Chinese (auto component) manufacturers using Mexico as a backdoor to jump tariffs into the US. 'Rules of origin' could soon be matched by 'capital origin rules'. ft.trib.al/eUQQnae

USMCA: new capital rules rumoured to close China’s back door through Mexico

US considering new limits on factory ownership under trade pact review, say ex-negotiators

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Almost 10 years to the day after the #Brexit referendum, the UK sees yet another PM resignation. But political change can spark new business beginnings as York-based online retailer Monster Group found in the years following the UK's exit, its founder told me www.fdiintelligence.com/content/8463...

Brexit among ‘best things that happened’ to Monster Group

One decade after the vote, UK retailer’s Dutch expansion makes EU its biggest growth market

fdiintelligence.com

For anyone wondering if American democracy still works, Scotus’s IEEPA tariff ruling gives the answer. “Democratic government is not supposed to be frictionless…but to resolve conflict through law not raw power”: Liberty Justice Center’s Sara Albrecht. www.fdiintelligence.com/content/c7d1...

When small businesses defended the US’s constitutional order

If you wondered if American democracy still works, the Supreme Court’s tariff ruling gives the answer

fdiintelligence.com

Europe's wind & solar leaders are renewing calls for an 'Airbus' of renewables to compete with cheap Chinese imports and improve energy security. The EU's biggest revamp of its strict merger guidelines in two decades could help. Insights from @solarpowereu.bsky.social among others ft.trib.al/8sJGQFx

Calls grow to create ‘Airbus’ of EU cleantech

Renewables leaders push for policy support to scale as Brussels revamps merger rules

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40 years since the EU flag was raised in front of our headquarters in Brussels for the very first time. Twelve stars. A single market. Four decades of standing together for unity, solidarity, and diversity. The symbol that fosters Europeans’ sense of community. 🇪🇺

Pleasure sitting down with @mattmeyerde.bsky.social this month to hear the reality behind the rhetoric about firms moving their incorporations out of Delaware. The numbers speak for themselves. No state worldwide can replicate trust established over 100+ years of legal precedent ft.trib.al/zso9t0S

Delaware governor hits back at Dexit claims

Matt Meyer says incorporation numbers ‘better than ever’ despite competition from Texas and Nevada

fdiintelligence.com

10 years ago China's Midea acquired German robotics group Kuka for €4.5bn. It helped catalyse the EU's pivot towards stronger national security screening, protecting strategic industries and its "loss of naivety" re FDI. But does the outcome today suggest things ahve gone to far? ft.trib.al/yPwSs55

Kuka–Midea: one decade of a deal that changed EU economic security

The megadeal’s legacy lives on through tougher screening and FDI’s loss of ‘naivety’

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A critical minerals mine redeveloped by Bunker Hill Mining in the US north-west will open in June after being closed more than 4 decades. Its one of many dormant mines the company plans to reopen as part of its plan to become a mid-cap diversified US miner www.fdiintelligence.com/content/666e...

Idaho mine reopening after 45 years shows new critical minerals playbook

New prospects for localising supply chains lie in decommissioned sites across North America

fdiintelligence.com

North Carolina's governor didn't mince his words describing Trump's stance on offshore wind — particularly paying two European developers to cancel projects and reinvest in oil and gas. Highlights from my interview with @joshsteinnc.bsky.social this month www.fdiintelligence.com/content/67e3...

Trump’s $1bn offshore wind payout ‘senseless’, says North Carolina governor

Josh Stein on the executive’s deal with TotalEnergies, human capital and its Toyota success

fdiintelligence.com

In the latest Economic Security Watch podcast I spoke with Mark Wall, CEO of American Rare Earths, about its bid to create a China-free supply chain. It's not about security, he told me. "It's a matter of survival". Full episode here: www.fdiintelligence.com/video/f69598...

Democrat and Republican governors agree that tackling electricity and water issues is the best way to contain side effects from data centres. Bans or moratoriums are not the solution, despite community pushback. #NorthCarolina #Oklahoma www.fdiintelligence.com/content/a2c6...

US data centre challenges spur bipartisanship in AI race

Republican and Democrat governors want higher rates for hyperscalers, not bans

fdiintelligence.com

In the US for SelectUSA Investment Summit this week and one takeaway is how hard Chinese firms — across industries — are finding it hard to grow here. My interview with Nebraska's governor Jim Pillen reveals the sentiment among some leaders. www.fdiintelligence.com/content/7b6d...

Nebraskan governor says ‘absolutely not’ to Chinese investment

Pillen’s comments coincide with record-low sentiment among Asian giant’s firms about US

fdiintelligence.com

Beijing's yesterday blocking Meta's $2bn acquisition of Manus has shocked investors and shows China will not allow 'Singapore-washing' for strategic technologies. Beijing has put Chinese founders wanting to inernationalize, and foreign investors, on notice ft.trib.al/gtfExJy #Meta #Manus #Metamanus

China’s Meta-Manus block slams door on ‘Singapore-washing’

Ban of $2bn deal puts firms and founders falling within Beijing’s AI ambitions on notice

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Our first episode of the Economic Security Podcast is out. I spoke with Genenta Science's CEO Pierluigi Paracchi about its transformation from biotech to industrial consolidator of scale-ups aligning with Italy's golden power framework. Full episode here: www.fdiintelligence.com/video/70c2af...

More college students are building startups instead of getting beaten down by a bad job market

Getting Hired Is Too Hard, So They’re Starting Companies Instead

Starting your own thing can build your résumé—and maybe get you paid too.

bloom.bg

Economic Security Watch is growing. Our first podcast episode drops next week — here is a glimpse of what we have in store for this monthly series. www.fdiintelligence.com/video/521a57...

Economic Security Watch | Podcast launch

fDi’s new video series brings to you the individuals shaping the new investment landscape

fdiintelligence.com

Heading to SelectUSA Investment Summit in May? DM me if you'll be there and want to talk all things - the good and the not so good - about investing in the US.

#TikTok's US divestiture is facing new scrutiny this month. A lawsuit led by @publicintegritylaw.bsky.social claims the ownership structure doesn't create enough distance with Beijing and breaches the 2024 law requiring its sale. Thanks to @brendanballou.bsky.social for insights ft.trib.al/6aWMKnl

TikTok lawsuit casts doubt over US divestiture

Litigation against president and lawmaker scrutiny spark fresh queries over app’s local operations

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Iran says it will start targeting US-linked tech assets in the Gulf. Foreign-owned ports, buildings and energy assets have already been hit and expats killed. But the Gulf's IPAs and FDI advisors firmly believe in the region's resilience —even if some projects are being paused ft.trib.al/5Cl8jQK

Gulf FDI community defiant in the face of war

IPAs and advisories says it’s business as usual, but deals rethought as Iran targets foreign assets

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The EU Industrial Accelerator Act has eased its draft 49% universal cap for FDI in strategic sectors. But Chines and other investors in batteries, EV, photovoltaics and #criticalminerals face tough new rules. My take on the #IAA and EU Ports Strategy (which also targets China): ft.trib.al/m081TIe

EU eases 49% proposed FDI cap on strategic sectors, zeroes in on China

Industrial Accelerator Act targets Chinese investment promising ‘completely new’ rules

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The US's uptick in FDI under Trump 2.0 has not not been equally distributed across the economy. Projects in traditional FDI magnets like software and IT, and areas framed as national priorities like biotech, have dropped compared with the Biden era ft.trib.al/dES81u2

Trump 2.0 | Best and worst FDI sectors so far

The 10 industries experiencing the biggest gains and declines since his return to the White House

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Trust and the ability to bridge seemingly irreconcilable differences are the crux of delivering FDI. These are qualities that FDI consistently rewards, yet undervalues. And women have spent years honing them with little fanfare, writes Zoë Harries #IWD2026 #InternationalWomensDay ft.trib.al/SQlAyPK

The real infrastructure of FDI is built on trust

Women have quietly developed the most important, and undervalued, skills in investment promotion

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Iran's retaliatory strikes to US-Israel attacks are hitting commercial and civilian sites across the #GCC — in the Middle East's biggest FDI magnets thanks to years of work building reputations for safety and stability ft.trib.al/mXQuIkO Insights from @reziemba.bsky.social and others. #Iranwar

Iran war tests Gulf FDI hotspots

Foreign firms in Middle East face regional security crisis amid Tehran’s retaliatory strikes

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Epstein helped facilitate the £1.5bn London Gateway port project — from his Florida jail — by coordinating dialogue between DP World's then CEO Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem and UK business secretary Mandelson. Story by fDi's editor here ft.trib.al/uY9Ko6I #Epsteinfiles #LondonGateway #Epstein

Epstein, Sulayem and Mandelson. How London Gateway came together

The sex offender co-ordinated DP World’s then CEO and the UK Lord from a Florida jail

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