text: According to a report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the inflation rate in the United States, at 6.2%, is the highest in the world among developed countries. Gita Gopinath, Chief Economist at IMF, said that the Omicron variant could cost the global economy $5.3 trillion in addition to $12.5 trillion that has already been lost due to Covid. In a recent interview, Gopinath said that “We are now in the phase where countries around the world just don’t have the space to keep monetary policy very loose, to kind of keep interest rates extremely low. We are seeing inflationary pressures building up around the world.” Gopinath went on to add that when you “think of a situation where you could have this pandemic last longer, you have longer supply disruptions that are putting inflationary pressures, and then we have the real risk of something we have avoided so far, which is stagflationary concern.” In the developed world, Canada has the next highest inflation at 4.7%, followed by Germany and the United Kingdom at 4.5% and 3.8%. (AC: Stagflation occurs when inflation increases persist, economic growth slows, and high unemployment remains. Among developed nations, it’s likely that the United States will continue to lead inflation until Q2 of next year. After that, inflation in the US is expected to peak, when other countries may continue to experience inflation. – T.W.)RAND: US must step up and compete with ChinaA recent RAND Corporation report points out that the United States must step up competition with China. If the US ignores competition, China will likely continue to exploit loops in international standards to maintain a strategic advantage. First, RAND reports that the US needs to strengthen its domestic supply, using tax incentives “and other federal programs to diversify supply chains.” This means producing more machinery in the US and Western hemisphere and incentivizing companies to employ workers domestically. Producing inexpensive goods in the United States becomes challenging in some areas, but tax incentives could offset some of the increases to payroll for some businesses. This ties directly to RAND’s second area of focus, which is to “actively counter economic practices that give China an outsized advantage.”The RAND Corporation also suggests the US beef up “leadership in cyberspace, bringing it under international laws of armed conflict” and encourage “the adoption of standards that prioritize security.” China has observed the US failure to maintain cybersecurity through events such as the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack that crippled the east coast’s fuel supply. Moving forward, if the US wants to ensure security for citizens and domestic assets, reads the report, they should increase direct investment into cybersecurity and address cyber threats promptly.Lastly, the Rand Corporation believes the US needs to “pursue development financing initiatives and offer carefully monitored incentives to encourage investment in countries that are vulnerable to Chinese economic coercion.” China has embedded itself in African and Latin American infrastructure and economic development. The United States needs to improve relationships with smaller countries and establish allies in the Saharan continent to regulate threats posed by a Chinese presence. – T.W.Qatar plans US port investments