China’s robotaxi revolution is moving along at an accelerated rate when compared to any other country. By the decade’s end, Goldman analysts forecast that half a million autonomous robotaxis will be operating across ten major cities. 

“We see Robotaxis as one of the earliest and most visible avenues to commercialization of the autonomous technology, with growing consumer acceptance across large Tier 1 cities, a tightening supply of human drivers as the fleets mature and drivers retire, and with Government and insurance industry as enablers to support growth,” Goldman analysts Allen Chang, Verena Jeng, and others wrote in a note on Tuesday. 

Chang said the total addressable market opportunity could be as much as $47 billion by 2035.

Early movers like Pony.ai, WeRide, and Baidu Apollo are well-positioned to benefit from China’s accelerating shift toward autonomous mobility.

Robotaxi by Baidu — the future rides in Yongchuan. #yongchuan #baidu pic.twitter.com/dEzEiYCzNv

— DiscoverYongchuan🦕 (@DYongchuan) April 27, 2025

Goldman analysts broke down the underlying supply chains for clients, emphasizing that China’s robotaxi sector offers many compelling investment opportunities.

The analysts forecast that China’s robotaxi industry will increase 700x over the next ten years:

We expect China’s Robotaxi market to grow from US$54 million in 2025 to US$12 billion in 2030 and US$47 billion in 2035 (Exhibit 4). The TAM will grow 757x in the 10 years of 2025-35, indicating a strong market opportunity. Revenue generation is mainly from riding fare charges, which we will discuss further in the revenue generation session of the report. Overall, we expect each Robotaxi can generate US$69 per day by 2035 (vs. US$36 in 2025), which will be higher than traditional ride-hailing vehicles which on average generate US$28-56 (Rmb200-450) per day, due to longer operating times.

Robotaxi operations are already available in more than ten cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Wuhan and Chongqing etc.

This is wild. So what about a humanoid robot to load luggage? 

Analysts provided clients with a list of robotaxi operators, automotive semis, and automotive components companies that will benefit from the rise of robotaxis in the world’s second-largest economy. 

As well as additional stock ideas in the robotaxi supply chains.

Meanwhile, in the U.S., robotaxi operations have been lagging behind China, primarily due to regulatory fragmentation, a slower pace of infrastructure adaptation, and cautious public sentiment. 

Waymo (previously Google’s self-driving car division), Zoox, Cruise, and Tesla are all either in the testing phase or have launched small-scale commercialization. The next robotaxi launch in the U.S. will be in June with Tesla. 

What’s becoming very clear is that automation is set to displace hundreds—if not millions— of transport jobs globally by 2035, as robotaxis, autonomous trucks, and drones become cheap enough to be deployable for the mass market. 

The age of transportation automation is beginning to rev up and could go full throttle by the end of the decade. For the U.S., it’s crucial to re-shore and friend-shore the critical supply chains—especially in semiconductors and rare earths—needed to power this automation wave or risk another decade of Beijing holding America’s critical supply chains hostage. 

Also, what happens to transportation drivers displaced by automation?

Well Goldman in 2023 covered that in the note titled “AI Will Lead To 300 Million Layoffs In The US And Europe.” 

Authored by Brad Jones via The Epoch Times,

California gas prices could skyrocket by as much as 75 percent by the end of 2026 with the expected shutdown of oil refineries in the state, according to an analysis released May 5 by a researcher at the University of Southern California (USC).

Regular gasoline prices could rise from an average of $4.82 in April 2025 to as high as $8.44 a gallon by the end of next year, said the report, authored by Professor Michael Mische at the Marshall School of Business.

Two Phillips 66 refineries in Los Angeles—about 8 percent of the state’s oil refining capacity—are slated to close by the end of this year. Valero Energy Corp. also announced last month it will shut down or restructure its Benicia refinery in the San Francisco Bay area—which accounts for about 9 percent of refining capacity—by April 2026, increasing concerns over gas prices and supply.

The USC analysis states that based on current demand, consumption, state regulations, and other factors, the refinery closures could result in a potential 21 percent drop in refining capacity from 2023 to April 2026.

This could create a gasoline deficit potentially ranging from 6.6 million to 13.1 million gallons a day, said Mische.

“Reductions in fuel supplies of this magnitude will resonate throughout multiple supply chains affecting production, costs, and prices across many industries such as air travel, food delivery, agricultural production, manufacturing, electrical power generation, distribution, groceries, and healthcare,” he wrote.

Industry experts have also warned that gas prices will spike dramatically when the refineries close.

Phillips 66 said it was shutting down its LA refinery because of the uncertainty surrounding its long-term sustainability, and because of “market dynamics.”

The state of California is currently suing major oil companies over alleged deception regarding the risks of climate change and fossil fuel combustion.

Governor Urges Energy Commission to Take Action

In an April 21 letter, Gov. Gavin Newsom directed California Energy Commission (CEC) vice chair Siva Gunda to “redouble” the state’s efforts to work closely with oil companies to ensure a “safe, affordable, and reliable supply of transportation fuels, and that that refiners continue to see the value in serving the California market, even as demand for fossil fuels continues its gradual decline over the coming decades.”

Newsom directed Gunda “to reinforce” the state’s “openness to a collaborative relationship and our firm belief that Californians can be protected from price spikes and refiners can profitably operate in California—a market where demand for gasoline will still exist for years to come.”

The governor also referred to the CEC’s Transportation Fuels Assessment report, which lists a state takeover of oil refineries in California as one of several options, and directed Gunda to recommend “any changes in the state’s approach that are needed” by July 1.

Republican state Sen. Brian Jones from San Diego, the Senate minority leader, issued a May 6 statement citing the USC study and calling the refinery closures “a looming energy and economic crisis.”

“If the Governor doesn’t act now, Californians will be blindsided by sticker shock at the pump and skyrocketing prices on everyday goods,” Jones said.

In a May 6 letter to Newsom, Jones called for urgent measures to prevent further refinery closures and support long-term energy stability, such as investment tax credits or other relief from taxes and regulations.

Meanwhile, Republican state Sen. Shannon Grove from Bakersfield urged the governor to increase new drilling permits to support in-state oil production instead of relying on “expensive foreign imports, often from hostile nations,” she told The Epoch Times.

New permits have plummeted 97 percent over the last five years, according to data from the California Department of Conservation. New drilling permits in the state dropped from 2,676 in 2019 to 86 in 2024.

“This is catastrophic for every Californian at the gas pump,” Grove said in an April 16 social media post.

“Refineries are shutting down or barely hanging on because they can’t get the oil they need to produce the gas used every day by California families.”

‘Controlling the Damage’

Mike Umbro, founder and CEO of Californians for Energy and Science—a nonprofit advocate for energy economics and environment—and a developer of an oil field project west of Bakersfield, told The Epoch Times that Newsom’s letter appears to be conducting damage control with oil companies.

“He is trying to task Siva Gunda with controlling the damage,” Umbro said.

Umbro urged the governor to take a more direct and deliberate approach by signing an executive order declaring an energy crisis, issuing permits to drill, and allowing refineries to produce gasoline.

He applauded the USC study, saying it and other independent studies are what’s needed to fully evaluate the oil-and-gas supply and ensure there is no shortage of affordable gas at the pumps for consumers.

Daniel Villaseñor, a spokesman for the governor’s office, told The Epoch Times in response to questions that Newsom’s letter to Gunda “speaks for itself.”

Sandy Louey, a CEC spokeswoman, told The Epoch Times in an email that the agency is “committed to working with stakeholders to explore options to ensure an affordable, reliable, and safe transportation fuel supply.”

Louey said the concept of a state-owned refinery is “just one in a list of many potential options for the state to consider” that the CEC proposed as possible solutions to mitigate gas price spikes in a report released last August.

In the report, the CEC identified that a state-owned refinery may provide relief to consumers but recognized many challenges to overcome, including high costs, the expertise necessary to manage refinery operations, and how the refinery would fit into the state’s transition away from petroleum fuels, she said in the email.

The California Air Resources Board is also required to develop and submit a Transportation Fuels Transition Plan to be released by the end of the year, Louey said.

According to a statement by Valero, a fire broke out at its Benicia refinery on May 5 but was extinguished within hours.

No injuries were reported, and the cause of the fire is under investigation, said the oil company. Valero did not say whether the fire would significantly disrupt production at the refinery.

Asian nations are ramping up energy imports from the U.S. to gain leverage in tariff talks with President Trump, though concessions in areas like autos and agriculture may prove harder to secure, according to a new report from Nikkei.

“Asian trading partners have been the most forthcoming in terms of doing the deals,” said Scott Bessent, Trump’s chief tariff negotiator, pointing to India, South Korea, and Japan.

Negotiations are underway with Vietnam, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, and India ahead of the July 9 deadline, after the U.S. paused tariffs for 90 days in April. Except for China—which has retaliated—over 100 countries are engaging to avoid fallout.

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is a key bargaining chip. Asian economies are pledging more imports of U.S. LNG, which is expected to see demand rise as countries shift from coal. “In the longer term, Asia could buy more U.S. LNG for future decades,” said Alex Froley of ICIS.

The Nikkei report says that Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam are expanding LNG purchases, while Indonesia may focus on other fuels like LPG and crude oil. Some are eyeing a potential $44 billion LNG project in Alaska. Bessent hinted that a “big energy deal” there involving “the Japanese and perhaps the Koreans, perhaps the Taiwanese” could influence tariffs.

South Korea is coordinating a visit to Alaska, and Taiwan’s CPC signed a non-binding letter to participate. Japan’s JERA called it “one of the promising procurement sources,” though cost remains a barrier.

Automotive trade remains tense. Trump has criticized the lack of U.S. cars in Asia. Japan had a $48 billion auto surplus with the U.S. in 2024. While Tokyo may ease crash-test rules and expand preferential treatment for imports, actual gains are doubtful. “It’s difficult to drive large and powerful American cars on narrow Japanese streets,” said Takashi Imamura of Marubeni Institute.

Japan’s automakers already produce extensively in the U.S. “Trump’s complaints may be just a ploy to have the upper hand in the overall negotiations,” Imamura added.

In agriculture, the U.S. is pushing for expanded exports of rice, soybeans, and corn. Japan is a key target, though Tokyo refuted claims of a “700%” tariff on rice. Political resistance is strong, particularly ahead of Japan’s upper-house elections.

Still, Japan and South Korea are already top buyers of U.S. rice, pork, and wheat. “Asia already relies on the U.S. for agricultural imports like soybeans, wheat and corn,” said Keisuke Sano of Nomura Research Institute. But broader shifts will be slow: “It will take more time, as that requires a change in culture,” he noted.

Thailand is exploring expanded U.S. imports but faces opposition from farmers and environmental groups.

South Korea is also leveraging shipbuilding. Its Hyundai Heavy Industries signed an MOU with Huntington Ingalls to explore U.S. shipyard investments. The U.S., once a global shipbuilding leader, now seeks Asian investment to revive the industry. “We’ve got to look at all options,” said U.S. Navy Secretary John Phelan.

Security spending may factor in too. Trump called the U.S.-Japan defense treaty “one-sided” and wants allies to pay more. Before an April 16 meeting, Trump said Japan was negotiating both tariffs and “the cost of military support.” Later, he clarified the military issue was “another subject” but repeated that allies “have gone rich” while the U.S. “has been ripped off.”

Defense imports may be included in deals. Taiwan’s President Lai pledged “additional arms procurements” to help reduce its trade gap with the U.S., according to the report. 

Recall, we wrote late last month that India could be the most likely to sign a major U.S. trade deal. 

We noted that India is the nation most likely to announce the first major trade deal with the Trump admin not only because of Apple’s decision to shift all US-focused iPhone production from China to India, but because India and China have a bit of a regional superpower rivalry between them, with the former recently surpassing the latter as the world’s most populous country (China is facing a crippling demographic crisis in several decades that would rival Japan’s), and with ambitions to overtake China’s GDP over the next 2 decades.

Case in point, Indian trade negotiators are planning to showcase the country’s large pipeline of Boeing plane orders and the potential for more to come as they seek a favorable deal with the US, Bloomberg reported citing people familiar with the matter. In the absence of a deal, Indian goods exports to the US face up to 26% levies after Trump’s 90-day pause on implementation of reciprocal tariffs ends in July.

The plan is to get Indian carriers’ existing orders and under-negotiation deals with the American planemaker counted in discussions for a bilateral trade pact that could potentially shield the country from higher US tariffs.

Along with Air India, Akasa Air-operator SNV Aviation and SpiceJet have placed a combined order for 590 aircraft worth $67 billion with Boeing in recent years. With deliveries and payments for 506 of those planes staggered over several years, India wants to highlight how these private purchases would serve to narrow the more than $47 billion trade surplus New Delhi runs with Washington — a key gripe of President Donald Trump.

Via Middle East Eye

Saudi Arabia has been lobbying the US to stop all US attacks on Yemen ahead of President Donald Trump’s visit to the kingdom, warning that it would create an “embarrassing situation” for Riyadh and the US, Middle East Eye can reveal.

Saudi Arabia has resisted the US bombing campaign in Yemen since the Biden administration began strikes in 2024, but their insistence that attacks stop picked up last week as they became more concerned about the scope of the strikes, two US officials told MEE on the condition of anonymity. “Trump appears to be meeting a Saudi ‘ask’ to stop strikes ahead of his visit,” one of the US officials told MEE.

“The pressure from the Saudis to end this has intensified since last week. They told us that attacks on Yemen while POTUS is there would be playing with fire,” the official added, using an acronym for the US President.

Trump announced on Tuesday that “effective immediately”, the US would stop bombing Yemen. The officials could not confirm whether Trump was swayed by the Saudi lobbying alone or decided to stop the campaign based on his calculations.

The US strikes also came under intense criticism from some of Trump’s closest allies, such as media personality Tucker Carlson and Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene.

Shortly before Trump’s announcement, Greene mocked the entire premise of the campaign, writing, “I’ve never seen a Houthi. Nor has anyone else I know.”

Trump says he will ‘honour’ his word with Houthis 

Trump said the Houthis informed the US on Monday night that “they don’t want to fight anymore, they just don’t want to fight”.

“We will honour that. We will stop the bombings,” Trump said, saying that the group promised not to attack ships.

Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi confirmed Trump’s announcement on X, adding that his country had been mediating a “ceasefire” between the US and the Houthis. “In the future, neither side will target the other, including American vessels, in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait, ensuring freedom of navigation and the smooth flow of international commercial shipping,’ al-Busaidi wrote on X.

Arab and US officials told MEE that Saudi Arabia has been fiercely “pre-negotiating” Trump’s visit. Saudi Arabia wants to focus on economic deals and military sales, Arab officials say.

MEE reported last week that Riyadh sought assurances from the US it would keep discussions of normalization with Israel off the agenda during Trump’s visit.

Saudi Arabia says it needs to see steps toward the creation of a Palestinian state and a ceasefire in Gaza before it recognizes Israel. 

Israel bombs Sanaa same day as US ‘ceasefire’

The “ceasefire” between the US and the Houthis could also reveal deeper schisms between Trump and Israel. Trump announced his halt in attacks the same day Israel pummeled Sanaa airport.

Neither Trump nor Oman’s foreign minister made any mention of the Houthis stopping their attacks on Israel in their announcements. Over the weekend, a Houthi ballistic missile hit a parking lot close to Terminal three at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, sending shockwaves through Israel.

Saudi Arabia has been deeply sceptical of the US bombing campaign against the Houthis since it began under the Biden administration in 2024.

All the narratives are wearing off.
Vietnam was a pointless war and we lost.
There were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
Afghanistan was a waste.
And we gained nothing from any of those wars.
Saudi Arabia has nuclear weapons and the 19 terrorists from 9/11 were all Saudis.…

— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) May 6, 2025

Yemen descended into civil war in 2014 when the Iran-aligned Houthis seized Yemen’s capital, Sanaa. A year later, Saudi Arabia led a coalition of Arab states, including the United Arab Emirates, to restore the internationally recognized government.

The Saudi-led coalition launched thousands of air strikes on Yemen, which failed to dislodge the Houthis but resulted in hundreds of thousands of civilian deaths and a major humanitarian crisis. The Houthis responded by lobbing missiles and drones at civilian infrastructure in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Saudi Arabia and the Houthis struck a truce in 2022. Although technically expired, the two sides have refrained from attacking each other. The Saudis’ efforts to reach a political settlement with the Houthis have been complicated by the group’s attacks on international shipping and US and Israeli strikes.

It’s no secret that US schooling has been in steep decline since the founding of the federal Department of Education in 1980 and the normalization of centralized government curriculum.  Reading, math and science scoring is dismal.  The US ranks 28th out of 37 countries participating in OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) math scores and 12th in science.  The US is 36th in the global literacy rankings.  For the richest nation on Earth, these are not encouraging results.

To be sure, demographics do play a role in dragging national scores down, but a greater threat to the learning experience of young Americans is the largely progressive controlled education system infested by a majority Democrat teachers union.  For decades there’s been no escape for children and parents from leftist indoctrination, and Democrats would like to keep it that way. 

This is why the concept of private school vouchers has been stuck in political limbo for years; the ability to choose threatens the status quo.  Democrats claim that school vouchers would primarily benefit students from wealthy families, but the wealthy already have the option of a private education.  The middle class does not, and those are the kids that Dems want to keep on the plantation.

Texas conservatives have something to say about that.

Governor Greg Abbott has just signed school choice vouchers into law after a long fought legislative battle.  Abbott signed the school choice bill on May 3rd, allowing for taxpayer money to be used to help qualifying students pay for private school tuition.

“Today is the culmination of a movement that has swept across the state and our country,” Abbott said Saturday.  The governor also said it wouldn’t have been possible without the “fearless commitment of the members of the House and Senate who put families first.”

“When I ran for reelection in 2022, I promised school choice for the families of Texas. Today, we deliver on that promise,” said Abbott during the bill’s signing before hundreds of applauding supporters gathered outside the Governor’s Mansion. “Gone are the days that families are limited to only the school assigned by government. The day has arrived that empowers parents to choose the school that’s best for their child.”

As part of the $1 billion bill, most students who attend an accredited private school will receive $10,000 per year. Students with disabilities will receive up to $30,000 per year, and home-schooled students will get $2,000 a year.  The money is intended to help students cover what might otherwise be unattainable private school tuition.  The average cost of private schooling is $12,000 a year per student.  Meaning, Texas is likely to see the biggest surge in private school attendance of any state in recent history. 

Democrats are crying doom at the prospect. 

“Remember this day next time a school closes in your neighborhood,” state Rep. James Talarico, D-Austin, said at a news conference with other voucher opponents. “Remember this day next time a beloved teacher quits because they can’t support their family on their salary. Remember this day next time your local property taxes rise because the state government is not doing its fair share of school funding. And if recession comes and we are forced to make even deeper cuts to public education, remember this day.”

In other words, Democrats hate the free market.  If public schools were effective, if public school teachers were actually doing their job, and if schools were teaching academics instead of enforcing propaganda, then no parent would want to pull their child out of class.  If the mere existence of private schools as an option for the average child is enough to implode public institutions, then perhaps they are not worth saving.

The momentum for school vouchers has been gaining in recent years because of two factors:  First, the hysteria over Covid, the useless mandates and attempts to force vaccinate have made millions of parents wary of placing their children within the power of government schools again.  Second, the insane spread of woke ideology and LGBT “sexual awareness” in the classroom, mainly spearheaded by groomer teachers, has left parents utterly disenchanted with government education.

In other words, the teachers did this to themselves.  And, if some of them lose their jobs because Americans now have other alternatives, all the better.

Authored by Debra Heine via American Greatness,

Joe Biden’s floating aid pier in Gaza, which was only operational for 20 days in the summer of 2024, was a much bigger failure than initially reported, according to new Pentagon Inspector General report.

The ill-fated pier system, dubbed “Operation Neptune Solace” and operated by an Army and Navy outfit known as Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore (JLOTS), took about 1,000 U.S. forces to execute at a cost of $230 million.

More than 60 service members were injured and one died during non-combat duties on the mission, according to the Pentagon IG, although the manner of the injuries was not clear.

“Based on the information provided, we were not able to determine which of these 62 injuries occurred during the performance of duties or resulted off duty or from pre-existing medical conditions,” the report said.

Army Sgt. Quandarius Stanley was “critically injured in May when high winds and heavy seas damaged the pier, causing four Army vessels to become beached,” The Air Force Times reported. Stanley died from the injuries he sustained months later.

The Navy reported damage to 27 boats and (Improved Navy Lighterage System) INLS equipment totaling about $31 million, according to the Times. 

The Army’s damage assessment is redacted.

Plagued by bad weather, the 1,200-foot-long floating pier reportedly had to be removed multiple times due to high winds and sea.

The Pentagon IG found that mission planners failed to identify such environmental factors, and that Army and Navy equipment malfunctioned because it was “not interoperable.” 

Lack of training and resources also reportedly hindered the operation’s success.

The Inspector General said that the U.S. military under Biden failed to “organize, train, and equip their forces to meet common joint standards.”

The pier debacle became a major embarrassment to the Biden administration, with congressional Republicans branding it a political stunt to placate the Democrats’ pro-Hamas base during an election year.

Authored by Jeff Louderbeack via The Epoch Times,

President Donald Trump announced on May 7 that Dr. Casey Means – a functional medicine physician aligned with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. – to be his new nominee for surgeon general after withdrawing his initial pick for the role.

In a Truth Social post, Trump said that Means has “impeccable ‘MAHA’ credentials,” referencing the “Make America Healthy Again” platform introduced by Kennedy.

Means will work to eradicate chronic disease and improve the health and well-being of Americans, Trump added.

“Her academic achievements, together with her life’s work, are absolutely outstanding,” Trump said.

“Dr. Casey Means has the potential to be one of the finest Surgeon Generals in United States History.”

Initially, Trump nominated Dr. Janette Nesheiwat for the surgeon general post.

Nesheiwat, a medical doctor for an urgent care company, was originally scheduled to appear before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee for her confirmation hearing on May 8.

Means graduated from Stanford University Medical School.

Her brother, Calley Means, is also a Kennedy ally who serves as a special government employee at HHS.

One month ago, just as our long-running narrative that US consumers had been living with maxed out credit cards for the past year was becoming mainstream, the Fed’s February consumer credit data confirmed as much: a huge, 6-sigma miss to expectations of a $15BN print, when the actual number came in at a negative $1BN (and far below the lowest estimate)….

… as a result of both Revolving and non-revolving credit coming in flat or negative.

Fast forward to today when amid rising hopes that we would finally get some trend in the soft credit data, the Fed reported that in March, consumer credit… spiked right back to normal, if largely on the back on non-revolving credit. As shown in the chart below, after February $0.6BN contraction, in March consumer credit rose by $10.2BN, just above the $9.4BN expected, and the first time in months consumer credit wasn’t a shock outlier either up or down.

The composition was familiar: revolving credit (i.e., credit card debt) rose by a modest $1.9BN, better than the $0.3BN drop in February, but excluding that, the lowest print since December.

Meanwhile, non-revolving credit jumped by $8.3 billion, the second highest monthly increase since July 2024.

Why? Well, the answer is rather bizarre because while auto loans shrank by $10 billion in Q1, the biggest quarterly decline in a decade, it was student debt, that debt which is now causing widespread defaults as millions can not afford to pay it as the moratorium is over, that unexpectedly surged by $22BN in Q1 to $1,797 billion, a new all time high.

How realistic is it that in a time when millions of former “students” are about to start defaulting en masse, that it is student loans which are again propelling consumer spending, we keep a close eye on this series because while many expect that the student loan bubble bursting will accelerate the recession, we may be getting just the opposite as Trump takes another page from the Biden playbook and starts firehosing “student” loans to anyone with a pulse who can fog a mirror.

U.S. importers who ignored President Trump’s first-term warnings about shifting supply chains out of China have been stunned—some into paralysis—by the renewed tariff war in his second term, which includes a 145% levy on Chinese goods entering the U.S. Now, many importers are frantically reassessing product lines and supply chains amid soaring costs, with some desperately needing financial lifelines to stay afloat. 

HSBC Holdings Plc has understood this need and launched ‘HSBC TradePay for Import Duties’ on Wednesday. The platform allows struggling importers to borrow to meet the increased expenses of shipping products to the U.S. market.

“Many corporates are currently facing changing working capital needs and increased upfront commitments,” HSBC wrote in a press release, adding, “By settling payments of import duties directly and frictionlessly through HSBC TradePay, businesses can simultaneously access credit and complete payments, leading to more efficient settlement times and better visibility over cash flows.” 

The new loans allow import payments to be automatically settled through pre-arranged credit with brokers or direct ACH transfers, enabling companies to manage cash flow more effectively and streamline duty payments.

“Clients’ working capital needs are evolving – and we’re responding swiftly with solutions that deliver the most value to them. By settling import duties directly and frictionlessly through HSBC TradePay, our U.S. clients have more visibility and control over their working capital at the time they need it most,” Vivek Ramachandran, Head of Global Trade Solutions at HSBC, stated. 

Last week, we provided the example of a Seattle, Washington-based Wyze Labs, a popular seller on Amazon of smart home and wireless camera products from China, revealed on X: “Just got our first tariff bill. We imported $167k of floodlights and then paid $255k in tariffs. That’s more than any of our founders were paid last year.”

Wyze said their “first tariff bill” has “accelerated” efforts to leave China in two months, and they are seriously considering restoring supply chains in the United States.

Wyze’s steep tariff bill is just one example of the tariff bills impacting importers with weaker balance sheets—creating an opening for HSBC to step in with targeted financing options.

HSBC Chairman Mark Tucker recently warned that global trade faced a “period of deep and profound change” and “the over-arching impact of the changing approach to global trade relations has been to increase economic uncertainty with serious potential risks to global growth.” 

Goldman offered some good news last week: Peak trade war.

Goldman chief economist Jan Hatzius noted earlier this week: “The mood music with China has improved, and we expect the U.S. tariff rate on China to drop from around 160% to around 60% relatively soon. (China is likely to reduce tariffs on the U.S. by a similar amount.)”

More peak trade headlines appeared in the overnight session:

US, Chinese Delegations To Meet In Switzerland To Launch Trade Talks; S&P Futures Surge https://t.co/8QFfQhOmCb

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) May 6, 2025

In the meantime, HSBC has identified a growing need among importers struggling to manage tariff-related costs—offering working capital solutions to bridge gaps. Some of these importers are now paying the price for not acting sooner on earlier warnings to shift away from China.

Authored by Simon Olech via Campus Reform,

The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), which develops and administers the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT), was believed to have left DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) behind until The Daily Wire published an article stating otherwise. 

The AAMC was exposed for continued DEI efforts after a scrutinizing report from the nonprofit Do No Harm, which stated that the group works “to create, promote, and ingrain philosophies that are rooted in controversial belief systems instead of established science.”

However, The Daily Wire received information from an “AAMC insider” who says that the organization is using unorthodox measures to further its DEI agenda, despite recent changes.

An internal “Language Suggestions” document provided by The Daily Wire reveals that the medical association continues to promote DEI by telling employees to “[C]hoose language that defines and translates diversity, equity, and inclusion principles into actionable steps that promote the AAMC’s mission.”

It also tells employees to use clarifying language that it believes “are widely misunderstood or misinterpreted.” Examples include “birthing people,” “Anti-racism,” “Minority” and “DEI.”

Additionally, The Daily Wire reports that employees are introduced to “Reframing the Conversation” so that in order to “communicate the impacts of these efforts more effectively,” they should “focus on the positive outcomes they bring, aligning them with our mission and work.” 

The AAMC states that “[b]y emphasizing the broader benefits, we can better illustrate how these initiatives contribute to our shared goals and long-term success.”

According to the insider, “the AAMC has pushed DEI for about a decade. The leaders are not going to change their views overnight…Even though we now talk about it differently, the AAMC is still very much committed to DEI.”

In its report, Do No Harm revealed that tens of millions of dollars were donated to the AAMC in order to promote initiatives such as “gender-affirming care” and “systemic inequities,” embedding these kinds of goals into medical school accreditation and testing.

Most significantly, the biggest benefactor has been the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which contributed more than $24,000,000 for a program called “Confronting Structural Racism to Transform Health.” 

After the release of the report, the AAMC began to delete certain messages and resources dedicated towards expanding and promoting DEI across its network. 

The AAMC deleted a page titled “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion,” which was archived, along with the “Underrepresented in Medicine Definition,” also archived.

Additionally, a web page capture of a previous AAMC report, “Creating Action to Eliminate Racism in Medical Education,” has also been removed.

Campus Reform has contacted the Association of American Medical Colleges. This article will be updated accordingly.