Faced with the prospect of the US government imposing higher trade tariffs, European consumers are rethinking what they buy. This column explores how European consumers are reacting to the 2025 US tariff hikes and the reasons behind their responses. European consumers are very willing to switch away from US products, and the more they earn, […]
Tariffs affect both supply and demand, possibly with contrasting effects on prices. This column shows that renewed US-China tensions could redirect Chinese exports to the euro area, boosting supply and lowering prices. Using detailed trade and inflation data, it estimates that such diversion could cut core euro area inflation by 0.3 percentage points over two […]
When the Trump administration pledged to impose “reciprocal tariffs” on countries with “unfair” trade practices, trade economists scrambled to determine what such tariffs might look like. But modelling any tariff-based intervention requires reliable data on what countries actually impose, and this column argues that the tariff data we rely on are incomplete and often wrong. […]
Government procurement—the process in which public entities buy goods and services from private companies—represents between 5% and 20% of a country’s GDP, depending on the country. Public procurement policies allow governments to strategically support certain firms and sectors, for example, small businesses or eco-friendly products. In using public procurement systems, policymakers must navigate a trade-off: […]
