Current Affairs
September 13, 2026
Changes in Trade Flows
Chinese imports fall sharply in first half of 2026 U.S. imports from China are down 23% in H1 2026, but the country still dominates critical consumer and industrial categories 5-MINUTE READ
What you’ll learn in this article:
How America’s trade with China has evolved since the start of President Trump’s second term. Which industries have weathered the tariff wars, and which have not. What to expect from Xi Jinping’s upcoming meetings in Washington DC.
🎯 Best for: Business planners and strategists, supply chain managers, VPs of Procurement. As U.S. President Donald Trump prepares to host Chinese President Xi Jinping on September 24, America’s efforts to reduce its trade dependency on China are reshaping supply chains, but the results vary dramatically by industry, according to U.S. Census Bureau data analyzed by ImportGenius.
The data shows that total U.S. imports from China are down 23% in the first 6 months of 2026 compared to the same period last year. China continues to dominate the market for products such as children’s goods and some crucial industrial inputs. But China’s dominance in other areas — particularly the lucrative computer industry — is experiencing significant decline. “China still has a chokehold on the supply of certain goods, but in other areas it has now lost substantial ground,” says ImportGenius CEO Michael Kanko. “The data shows that some global supply chains are being reorganized right before our eyes.” On the decline: computers, electronics, aluminum goods During the six-month period from January to June 2026, China’s role as a source of computers, computer accessories, and electronic equipment for the United States has continued to erode. The table below shows some of the largest declines for the most significant import categories by value. 
Source: ImportGenius In addition to electronics, the table shows that American businesses and consumers are also finding new sources for such products as aluminum wheels, gas-powered appliances, and lithium-ion batteries. Countries such as Mexico and Vietnam have stepped in to make up the shortfalls.
“In essence, for computers and everything that connects to them, China now accounts for less than 50% of total U.S. imports,” says Kanko. “It’s a remarkable shift that’s taken place in only about two years.”Still made in China: Kid stuff, microwave ovens, herbicide Meanwhile, China still dominates some other import markets, most notably for anything to do with children’s transportation — from strollers to car seats — as well as children’s books. It remains impossible to raise a family in America without Chinese goods.
As the table below shows, China also provides more than 90% of America’s total imports for multiple other high-value categories, from fireworks to artificial plants to microwave ovens. And its dominance in some industrial inputs, such as glyphosate and glufosinate, has raised national security alarms. 
Source: ImportGenius Glyphosate and glufosinate are broad-spectrum herbicides. Glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, is manufactured in the United States by Bayer. The company recently petitioned for antidumping and countervailing duties against Chinese glyphosate, prompting the U.S. International Trade Commission to launch an investigation. Global trade is changing in real time This latest data on U.S.-China trade underlines two of the themes in ImportGenius’ Global Trade Outlook report from earlier this year. First, America’s trade diversification is real, but still evolving — and creating opportunities as supply chains adjust. Second, trade data has become a leading indicator for signaling competitive shifts and policy impacts.
That next policy shift could come soon, because America’s shrinking dependency on Chinese goods has yet to apply much pressure on China. The country has replaced its shrinking American imports with sales to countries in Latin America, Africa and beyond, insulating its economy from any shock. At the G20 meeting earlier this month, the United States and 18 other countries criticized “non-market based economies pushing out a never-ending stream of cheap exports.”
“The trade data shows how policies set in Washington reverberate on the other side of the globe,” says Kanko. “And if Xi’s visit to Washington this month results in new policy shifts and decisions, their impact will show up first in the data.”
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?shva=1#inbox/FMfcgzQhWLSTJNSppLStkWRdKvNGlhXq
September 2, 2026
New Home Sales Update
Economic uncertainty weighs on new home sales, reports homebuilding association
By Dakota Smith
August 31, 2026 | 9:42 pm CDT
Elevated borrowing costs, rising inflation and broad economic uncertainty continue to curb buyer demand and hold back new home sales.
Sales of newly built single-family homes declined 10.5% in July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 607,000, following a sharply upwardly revised June estimate, according to newly released data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. The pace of new home sales was 6.3% lower than a year earlier.
“New home sales fell in July to their slowest pace since the start of the year as affordability challenges limited home buyer traffic,” said Bill Owens, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder and remodeler from Worthington, Ohio. “NAHB surveys show that a majority of builders continue to offer sales incentives, including mortgage rate buydowns, to support new home sales.”
“The single-family home building market is on track for a second consecutive annual decline in 2026,” said NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz. “New home sales are down more than 4% on a year-to-date basis. NAHB research and economic data show community builders continue to outperform the broader market, while the Northeast remains a relative bright spot, with new home sales up nearly 9% year-to-date.”
A new home sale occurs when a sales contract is signed, or a deposit is accepted. The home can be in any stage of construction: not yet started, under construction or completed. In addition to adjusting for seasonal effects, the July reading of 607,000 units is the number of homes that would sell if this pace continued for the next 12 months.
New single-family home inventory in July rose to 488,000 units, up 1.9% from June, and down 1.6% compared to a year ago. This represents an elevated 9.6 months’ supply at the current building pace, the highest measure since January.
The median new home sales price in July fell 2.3% from June to $393,800 and was down 0.9% from a year ago. The new home sales market is showing relative strength at the higher end of the market. The market share of new home sales priced above $800,000 increased from 5% a year ago to 8% in July.
Regionally, on a year-to-date basis, new home sales are up 8.8% in the Northeast but fell in the other three regions, with declines of 6.4% in Midwest, 3.7% in the South and 6.4% in the West.
August 12, 2026
Residential Furniture Growth
Residential furniture orders show YOY growth for second straight month
August 10, 2026 | 12:07 pm CDT
Photo by Lotus Design N Print on Unsplash
HIGH POINT, N.C. — New residential furniture orders rose 13% in May compared to the prior month, and grew 8% compared to May 2025’s numbers, according to the July issue of Furniture Insights. Approximately two-thirds of participants reported increases for the month compared to a year ago.
The increase in May new orders also marks the second consecutive month of year-over-year growth, “the first such trend since June-July 2025,” said Mark Laferriere, assurance partner at Smith Leonard, the accounting and consulting firm that produces the monthly report.
Year to date, new orders are up 2% over 2025 figures
Shipments were flat compared to April, but up 1% compared to May 2025, with approximately one-half of the survey participants reporting increases compared to the year prior, according to Laferriere. Year to date, shipments are now flat with 2025.
May backlogs were up 5% compared to both April and May 2025. Receivable levels were down 4% from April and down 5% from May 2025, according to the report. Inventories were down 1% from April, but up 3% from last year, “continuing the trends from recent months,” Laferriere said.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, sales at furniture and home furnishings stores in June were flat compared to both the prior month and past year. Year to date on a non-adjusted basis, sales were down 2% compared to 2025, according to July’s Furniture Insights.
Sales at furniture and home furnishings stores in June 2026 were flat compared to both May 2026 and June 2025 on a seasonally-adjusted basis,. Year to date on a non-adjusted basis, sales were down 2.0% (down 3.1% last month).
In his comments, Laferriere said, “Tariffs, both new and old, continue to be top of mind, as new rates went into effect in late July and affected companies figure out how operations will be impacted. Consumer confidence, housing, and other economic indicators also remain mixed as uncertainty driven in part by current world events continues.”
“However,” he added, “recent financial and other reporting from public companies in the industry seems generally positive, so hopefully the positive trends will continue through the remaining summer months.”
August 11, 2026
Don’t Believe What You Read
How The UAE Has Kept Its Oil Flowing Through Hormuz
by Tyler Durden
Saturday, Aug 08, 2026 – 03:10 PM
By Tsvetana Paraskova of OilPrice.com
The United Arab Emirates has managed to boost its oil exports to pre-crisis levels as early as June, as it has kept pushing crude through the Strait of Hormuz and outside it.
The UAE, which left OPEC on May 1, has found workarounds to the blockage at the Strait of Hormuz. It has been shuttling crude through the chokepoint to load it on larger vessels outside the Strait, maximizing the use of its onshore pipeline to ship crude from the west to the east of the country, bypassing Hormuz, and shipping tankers through the Strait in dark mode.
The UAE has managed to ship over June and July the most crude oil out of the Strait of Hormuz than any other Gulf producer, according to vessel-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg.
The UAE has also issued an unprecedented number of tenders to sell cargoes of millions of barrels of crude oil in recent weeks.
At the end of July, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company ADNOC issued its seventh tender offering crude from the United Arab Emirates since the beginning of June, expecting to sell millions of barrels of oil between August and October, both from within and outside the Persian Gulf.
ADNOC was offering cargo loadings from the UAE ports Zirku and Das Island inside the Persian Gulf, as well as the port of Fujairah outside the Gulf, or via ship-to-ship transfers offshore Fujairah or Malaysia.
The UAE is estimated to have produced 4.1 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil in June, its highest output ever.
The UAE’s crude oil production jumped from 3.3 million bpd in May to 4.1 million bpd in June after the country left OPEC effective May 1, started raising output, and managed to sneak a lot of exports out of the Middle East even as the Strait of Hormuz was mostly blockaded for the first half of June, according to estimates by the International Energy Agency (IEA).
The UAE has sought to adapt to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz by sneaking tankers in dark mode through the Strait and increasingly offering to sell many of its crude grades for loading offshore Fujairah and at Sohar in Oman, outside the Strait.
https://www.zerohedge.com/commodities/how-uae-has-kept-its-oil-flowing-through-hormuz
August 6, 2026
Third Settlement
Wanhua’s US subsidiary reaches MDI/TDI lawsuit settlement for $7.75 million
2026-08-06 08:50:21Source:ChemNet中文
Wanhua’s US Subsidiary Files Settlement Application, Marking the Third Settlement in the Case
On July 31, 2026, a judicial document submitted to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania disclosed that Wanhua Chemical America Co., LTD. has reached a settlement agreement with the plaintiffs in the diisocyanate (MDI/TDI) antitrust class action, with a settlement amount of US$7.75 million, equivalent to approximately RMB 52.3 million.
The timeline indicates that the parties finalized a principled settlement framework on June 3, 2026, and simultaneously signed confidentiality agreements as the basis for the settlement; the full settlement text was formally signed on July 9; and on July 31, documents were formally submitted to the court to apply for judicial approval of the settlement plan. This is also the third settlement agreement reached in this diisocyanate antitrust case, which has lasted for many years.
First Two Settlements Concluded, Court Grants Preliminary Approval
Prior to the settlement by Wanhua’s US subsidiary, two corporate settlements had already been completed in this case.
On May 4, 2026, BASF took the lead in reaching the first settlement in this case, paying a settlement amount of US$3 million to the plaintiffs, breaking the ice in the case. Following closely, on May 8, Covestro‘s US subsidiary, Covestro LLC, also reached a settlement with the plaintiffs, with a settlement amount of US$7 million.
On July 23, 2026, both settlement agreements from BASF and Covestro’s US subsidiary received preliminary approval from the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. The court scheduled the final approval hearing for December 7, 2026; the two settlement agreements can only officially take effect and be implemented after the hearing is completed.
Origin of the Case: Downstream Buyers Sued Chemical Companies in 2018 for Alleged Price Fixing Conspiracy
The entire lawsuit originated in June 2018, when downstream buyers of MDI and TDI initiated a class action, listing several global chemical manufacturers such as BASF, Dow Chemical, and Huntsman as defendants. The plaintiffs alleged that multiple companies artificially tightened supply by actively limiting production and colluded to raise market prices for MDI and TDI; they utilized the market structure of highly concentrated supply and scarcity of substitute products to implement price collusion.
The MDI and TDI involved are core raw materials for polyurethanes and are widely used in fields such as home furnishings, construction materials, automobiles, and insulation materials. Regarding the plaintiffs’ allegations, all implicated companies denied them. The companies argued that the lawsuit was initiated following relevant investigation reports by the U.S. Department of Justice, and that the Department of Justice’s investigation ultimately did not bring any charges.
In March 2020, District Judge Donetta Ambrose denied the defendants’ motion to dismiss the case, ruling that the clues submitted by the plaintiffs were supported by evidence and the case should proceed to trial. The judge cited multiple clues, including records of simultaneous price increases in industry products, planned plant shutdowns, supply disruptions, and communications between companies before price adjustments, as well as materials related to industry conferences. In the same ruling, the judge denied motions by BASF, Covestro, Mitsui Chemicals, MCNS, and Wanhua Chemical to dismiss the case on the grounds of lack of jurisdiction, and the case continued to proceed through the litigation process.
Major Ruling on Jurisdiction: Lawsuits Against Overseas Parent Companies Terminated, US Subsidiaries Continue to Defend
In 2022, the presiding judge in this case was changed, and a specialized factual investigation on jurisdiction was launched. Covestro and Wanhua Chemical’s parent companies again submitted motions to dismiss, arguing that the U.S. courts did not have judicial jurisdiction over the overseas parent companies.
In January 2026, Judge W. Scott Hardy made a key ruling, approving the two companies’ motions to dismiss. The ruling clarified that U.S. courts cannot exercise personal jurisdiction over China’s Wanhua Chemical and Germany’s Covestro, the two overseas parent companies. The plaintiffs’ claims against the two parent company entities were completely terminated, and they cannot sue the parent companies on this ground again. The ruling emphasized that the independent status of legal entities should be respected, and a simple equity relationship between a parent and subsidiary is insufficient to bring an overseas parent company under U.S. judicial jurisdiction.
This ruling only targets overseas parent companies; Covestro’s US subsidiary, Covestro LLC, remains a defendant in this case, and its status in the lawsuit is unaffected by this jurisdiction ruling; the entity reaching the settlement this time is also Wanhua Chemical’s US subsidiary, not the Wanhua Chemical parent company entity.
Future Outlook: Awaiting Court Approval for Settlement, Remaining Defendants to Continue Litigation
As of now, the US$7.75 million settlement by Wanhua’s US subsidiary is still pending court approval, and whether it takes effect depends on the results of judicial review. The settlements by BASF and Covestro’s US subsidiary await final confirmation following the hearing on December 7.
Following these three settlements, the remaining defendants, such as Dow Chemical and Huntsman, have not yet reached settlements, and the plaintiffs will continue to advance antitrust claim procedures against the remaining defendants. The progress of the settlements in this case will also serve as a reference sample for global MDI/TDI industry trade and for overseas companies responding to U.S. antitrust class actions.
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