More so than retailers and service providers, manufacturing companies have foreign suppliers and must import raw materials from around the world.
To make their products, manufacturers -- some of whom are represented here today -- often have to import certain materials from other countries and pay tariffs on those materials.
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This could be a trend, but it could also be part of a seasonal production cycle where Chinese companies import raw materials and components in the spring, in order to gear up to export finished products later in the year.
The government promoted the import of raw materials and technology at the expense of consumer goods, and encouraged savings and investment over consumption.
Dangote has made a fortune by providing cement to Nigeria and other African countries that otherwise would likely have to pay to import much of the materials.
China is a prominent export-processing economy, which means that its factories import lots of raw materials and intermediate goods to stoke the machines and processes that manufacture and assemble the finished goods it exports to the United States and elsewhere.
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Britain was thus able to concentrate on manufacturing and import its food and raw materials.
Many factories are operating at a fraction of their capacity because they are unable to import spare parts or raw materials.
Admittedly these gains for developed economies are being partly offset by higher prices for oil and other raw materials, which China also needs to import (of which more in the next article).
However, some materials, such as cement, that are expensive to import have suffered from shortages and price spikes.
Since the import slump means that the region is bringing in fewer raw materials and intermediate goods for manufacturing, it implies a continuing export downturn.
Although Israel lifted most restrictions on the import of goods into Gaza following the flotilla incident, restrictions on some construction materials and most exports remain in effect.
If you need more evidence that the antidumping status quo is weighted heavily against import-consuming U.S. industries, consider this gem: three of the nine mineral raw materials that are the subject of the U.S. case against China in the WTO (magnesium, silicon metal, and coke) are simultaneously subject to U.S antidumping restrictions.
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