Blog

  • Carbon Border Adjustments and Trade

    The European Union is on the way to taxing many imports based on their greenhouse-gas emissions. The plan, which was agreed by the European Commission and the European Parliament on…

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  • Digits Aren’t Always Free

    On a recent road trip, after yet another cup of tasteless hotel coffee, my wife and I ordered lattes at a trendy roastery. “That’s $10.36,” the cashier told me, turning…

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  • Locked In

    Standardizing the shipping container in the mid-1960s was a pivotal step in globalization. Up until that point, containers came in a multitude of designs, so one ship line’s containers might…

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  • “Normal” Isn’t Coming Back

    “Supply chain ‘normal’ appears on the horizon,” Bloomberg’s Brendan Murray reports. Murray presents lots of evidence that fewer vessels are queuing at container ports, fewer sailings are being cancelled, and…

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  • The Queen Went Shopping

    The death of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth on September 8 triggered a slew of reminiscences about her many visits to the United States. On seven trips, first as princess and then…

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  • Rise and Fall

    What do Baltimore, Keelung, Jeddah, Belfast, and Melbourne have in common? Yes, of course, all are ocean ports. But only the most obsessive maritime historians are likely to note their…

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