Summarized policy ideas under current debate. Technology Revolutions: The U.S. has not missed many (computers, space, nuclear power, semiconductors, solar, the internet, fracking, genetics, AI) but it has been late to the battery revolution. Economist Noah Smith Transatlantic Trade War: The EU trade surplus with the U.S. has increased since 2017 despite actions by the Trump and Biden administrations. The EU is preparing for a second Trump presidency by preparing a quick trade deal wherein Europe offers to buy more from the U.S., or it imposes retaliatory tariffs of 50 percent or more if Trump imposes 10 percent tariffs. But changing the trade deficit is difficult because Americans export low value commodities and import expensive va...
Illuminating the value of technical research
On behalf of a commodity producer organization, WPI evaluated the outputs from a project that featured a $5 million investment into technical research over multiple years. WPI’s team captured the results of this extensive effort and synthesized them for presentation to the organization’s governing board; among the findings uncovered and presented for the first time was the development of genomic traits proven, via rigorous testing, to provide crop yield advantages of 50 percent or more to U.S. farmers in times of drought. Capturing measurable results from long-term efforts can be challenging. Educating clients on the dynamics of success measurement when quantifiable results are not readily available requires deep client-consultant collaboration and an ability to consider both near- and long-term client aspirations with market/policy dynamics – attributes that WPI brings to every consulting engagement.
Key Market Insights The broad market is locked in on this week’s Trump-Xi meeting in Beijing, but this is no longer just a trade summit. Increasingly, the meeting is becoming tied directly to Iran, energy security, and the growing global economic fallout from disruptions through the Strai...