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Alan Beattie

Senior Trade Writer

Alan Beattie writes the Trade Secrets newsletter every Monday and an opinion column each Thursday, covering international trade, globalisation, the intersection of geopolitics and economics and the world financial system. Sign up for the newsletter here.

Based in London, he was previously the FT's international economy editor and world trade editor and has been also been based in Washington and Brussels for the FT. He is the author of False Economy (Penguin, 2009), a popular economic history of the world, and Who's In Charge Here? (Penguin, 2012), an account of governments' mishandling of the global financial crisis. Before joining the FT, Alan was an economist at the Bank of England.

Email Alan Beattie @alanbeattie.bsky.social  on Bluesky (link opens in a new browser window)
  • Friday, 1 May, 2026
    Trump tariffs
    Ask an Expert. What will Trump’s war on Iran mean for global trade?

    Take part in a live Ask an Expert Q&A with our trade columnist on Thursday May 7 at 1pm (BST)

  • Thursday, 30 April, 2026
    US-China trade dispute
    How the Trump-Xi threats of trade war softened into a quieter rivalry

    The forthcoming US-China leaders’ summit will be much less fraught than the last one

    Alan Beattie
    Donald Trump and Xi Jinping face each other and smile during a meeting, with U.S. and Chinese flags in the background.
  • Monday, 27 April, 2026
    Trade Secrets
    China’s minerals come with coercion but they do come cheap

    The US has no geoeconomic answer to Beijing controlling its trading partners via manipulating supply chains

    Premium content
    A worker wearing blue gloves holds several computer processor chips, with a pile of similar chips scattered on the ground below.
  • Thursday, 23 April, 2026
    Global trade
    Europe’s resistance to Chinese investment has stalled

    The European Commission’s repeated attempts to run a coherent green industrial strategy are showing few results

    Alan Beattie
    A customer inspects the open trunk of a white BYD electric car at a dealership, with a black BYD ATTO 3 model in the foreground
  • Monday, 20 April, 2026
    Trade Secrets
    The trade resilience that’s doing Trump a favour

    Absence of freight shipping crisis gives US time to pursue stand-off with Iran

    Premium content
    A large container ship carrying stacked cargo passes through the Strait of Hormuz with a city skyline in the background.
  • Friday, 17 April, 2026
    US foreign policy
    How Trump turned Iran into a stationary bandit

    Tehran’s new ability to charge tolls in the Gulf is a powerful bargaining chip

    Alan Beattie
  • Thursday, 2 April, 2026
    US trade
    Trump’s protectionist Nixon redux takes a darker turn than the original

    Tricky Dick’s trade and currency war gave way to a pivot towards the multilateral

    Alan Beattie
    President Richard Nixon gestures while seated at a desk after signing legislation. Behind him are J. Edgar Hoover and Representative Emanuel Cellar among others.
  • Monday, 30 March, 2026
    Trade Secrets
    Why food prices are resisting the oil and fertiliser shock — for now

    Good harvests and plentiful grain stocks will provide some cushion against the impact of the Iran war

    Premium content
    A farmer in a cowboy hat stands in a harvested wheat field next to a large red tractor and grain cart.
  • Monday, 30 March, 2026
    FT News Briefing podcast13 min listen
    How Trump's tariffs ripped up the global trade order

    In the first installment of a new FTNB series this week, we explore how President Trump’s so-called Liberation Day has shaken up the global trade order

  • Thursday, 26 March, 2026
    World Trade Organization
    The way out of WTO gridlock

    Governments need to copy, bypass and borrow from the institution where they can

    Alan Beattie
    A red pedestrian stop light is seen next to the World Trade Organization logo and sign on a stone wall.
  • Monday, 23 March, 2026
    Trade Secrets
    How attacks on ‘most-favoured nation’ weaken the unfavoured WTO

    Governments are wrong to assume the US is arguing in good faith for the organisation to reform

    Premium content
    View of modern office buildings and ministries in central Yaoundé, with construction cranes and traffic visible under a cloudy sky.
  • Thursday, 19 March, 2026
    Global trade
    The dynamic globalisation machine will overcome the Iran shock

    Short-term crisis management in shipping should not be mistaken for fatal weakness in trade

    Alan Beattie
    A cargo ship is docked at a container terminal at night, illuminated by large cranes and port lights, with shipping containers stacked nearby.
  • Monday, 16 March, 2026
    Trade Secrets
    Trump starts putting his new tariff wall together

    The administration is preparing to impose Section 301 duties supposedly against unfair trade

    Premium content
    Donald Trump walks outdoors in a dark coat and red tie at night, with wind blowing his hair.
  • Thursday, 12 March, 2026
    US-China trade dispute
    Trump’s Iran folly is handing Xi Jinping weapons in the trade war

    Despite China being a huge oil importer, US mismanagement will give Beijing the upper hand in upcoming talks

    Alan Beattie
    Two workers in safety gear stand on a small boat beneath rows of solar panels installed above a lake, surrounded by support columns.
  • Monday, 9 March, 2026
    Trade Secrets
    Beyond the stricken Gulf, global trade is relatively calm

    The Strait of Hormuz is vital for oil and related products but not a critical shipping thoroughfare

    Premium content
    Several large oil tankers are anchored offshore in hazy conditions, seen from the water near Fujairah.
  • Thursday, 5 March, 2026
    Global trade
    Iran attacks show the perils of following America’s economic lead

    A growth plan of renewable energy and diversified trade is far better than guzzling fossil fuels and aligning with the US

    Alan Beattie
    Donald Trump points during a joint press conference with Narendra Modi, who gestures while speaking at the podium. Both are reflected in a polished surface.
  • Monday, 2 March, 2026
    Trade Secrets
    Trump ponders Plans B to D after his favourite tariffs are taken away

    The replacement duties for those ruled illegal by the Supreme Court may be less vulnerable to legal challenge

    Premium content
    Donald Trump speaks at a White House press briefing, flanked by Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick.
  • Thursday, 26 February, 2026
    Unhedged Podcast22 min listen
    What the actual tariff?

    The US Supreme Court knocks old tariffs down. And new ones emerge

  • Thursday, 26 February, 2026
    Trump tariffs
    It’s payback time for Trump’s tariff fiasco

    The administration handing out refunds to Chinese companies will be a terrible look

    Alan Beattie
    Donald Trump points and speaks during a press conference, with raised hands visible in the foreground.
  • Monday, 23 February, 2026
    Trade Secrets
    The Supreme Court sends tariffs on a turbulent descent

    America’s trading partners and US Congress have a chance to claw back some control

    Premium content
    Donald Trump speaks at a podium in the White House press briefing room, gesturing with his right hand. An American flag is visible.
  • Monday, 16 February, 2026
    Trade Secrets
    Bashing Trump’s tariffs is slowly becoming a bipartisan sport

    Even the feeble congressional Republicans are recognising how disliked the president’s import taxes are

    Premium content
    The dome of the US Capitol building is visible behind trees under a mostly cloudy sky.
  • Thursday, 12 February, 2026
    Rare earths
    The US cannot be trusted to lead a critical minerals coalition

    A worthy goal of creating rare earths independence from China needs a more reliable anchor

    Alan Beattie
    A crowd of warmly dressed protesters carrying placards and Greenland flags
  • Monday, 9 February, 2026
    Trade Secrets
    How CEOs are grappling with the geopolitics of trade

    Companies are trying to protect themselves against unknown unknowns

    Premium content
    A television on the NYSE trading floor shows US President Donald Trump speaking at the World Economic Forum as a trader looks on.
  • Thursday, 5 February, 2026
    Trump tariffs
    There are good reasons to be cheerful about global trade

    Donald Trump’s inept tariff campaign hasn’t yet derailed globalisation

    Alan Beattie
    António Costa, Narendra Modi and Ursula von der Leyen smile and join hands before their meeting in New Delhi, India, in January
  • Monday, 2 February, 2026
    Trade Secrets
    EU’s geopolitical gesture is too cheap to be credible

    Brussels sacrificed its own principles when signing a trade deal with India

    Premium content
    Narendra Modi, Ursula von der Leyen, and Antonio Costa stand together holding hands aloft, smiling in front of EU and Indian flags.
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