The trade war going on between the United States and China, two of the world’s biggest economic powers, is definitely making its effects felt across the globe. Because of Trump’s earlier promise to strengthen the American economy, he imposed additional tariff on some products coming from China, Mexico, Canada and the European Union. It was done to encourage more Americans to buy “homegrown”.
The repercussions are inevitable as these countries retaliated with counter-tariffs on American goods. As it turns out, the China-US trade war is by far the most intense. The US has imposed additional taxes three times this year, and the Chinese met these with equal measure.
The IMF has said that this situation could reduce global growth in 2020 by 0.5 percent. Morgan Stanley’s figure is at 0.81 percentage points, which is the decrease in worldwide GDP. One of the hardest hit is the car manufacturing business, which has to find ways to continuously cope with rising prices of raw materials like steel and aluminum. Currency exchange and the smaller economies that supply products into China, which it resells to the US are, likewise, feeling the pain.
Ironically, the very businesses that Trump says he is trying to protect have already spoken to the US Trade Representative to say that they are themselves getting hurt. Various experts in economics have presented possible outcomes, but many are hoping the two superpowers can find the wisdom to sit down, negotiate and reach a compromise. The sooner, the better.
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Recently, a testimonial dinner was held to honor Dr. Nelly R. Ledesma at the AG New World Manila Bay Hotel. It was “an evening of appreciation, memories and thanksgiving hosted by the Philippine Society of Audiology.” Dr. Ledesma is the first Filipino Fellow of the American Academy of Audiology and the founder of the Ledesma Audiological Center (LAC), a diagnostic and rehabilitation center for the deaf and hard of hearing.
For decades, Dr. Ledesma has served communities nationwide by providing hearing care to those who need it. Through LAC, which has branches in Makati, Quezon City, Valenzuela, Legaspi, Baguio, Iloilo, Cagayan de Oro, and Davao City, she has been able to provide excellent services to clients and patients from all over the country. Dr. Ledesma and LAC carry out the vision of helping the Philippines become a deaf-free country.
According to the DOH National Registry (2017), 17 percent of the country’s total population is hearing impaired. Out of this population, about 95 percent to 99 percent is unemployed. Through the work of Dr. Nelly Ledesma, those who have hearing impairment are given opportunities for education and employment. This translates to a brighter future for them and their loved ones, and ultimately to growth and development of community and country.