Weekly Roundup - 24/01/2021

The 46th US president:

Last week, Joe Biden officially became the 46th president, ending a challenging transfer of power and starting a new chapter in the American history. In a 20 minutes speech, he did mention his predecessor, Donald Trump, but he made some remarks regarding his refusal to concede defeat. He pointed out the importance of Americans to come together and go through the pandemic and economic struggles during what he described as a “winter of peril and significant possibilities”. Mr. Biden is the oldest incoming US president, at 78 years old, and he will be joined in leading the country by Kamala Harris, the former senator from California, who will become the first female, first black and first Asian-American Vice-President. She was invested in by Supreme Court justice Sonia Sotomayor. Democrats took control of the upper chamber of Congress on Wednesday afternoon.

Slow vaccination rollout in EU:

The EU countries are struggling to implement the vaccinations in the first weeks of the year. While the UK has administered almost 10 doses per 100 residents and the US has administered just over six per 100, the EU is behind with just two doses per 100 residents. The situation might be like that because of the slower regulatory approvals. The leading BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine was signed off in the UK on December 2, the US on December 11 and in the EU on December 21. Washington and London decided by giving emergency authorisations, that the government can take the risk of product liability away from the manufacturer. Because of the high demand of the vaccines, Pfizer and BioNTech needed, for the moment, to cut supplies in order to increase production in the future, a matter that put the EU member states on fire this month. They expect to receive more than 2bn doses of eight vaccines only from April, when the manufacturers will be able to deliver to member states. Pfizer ensured that it will honour the total first-quarter deliveries to which it has committed.

Consequences of China’s new Covid-19 outbreak:

Due to the new wave of Covid-19 in China’s Hebei province, the authorities imposed transport restrictions in the major steel-producing region. The lockdowns in Hebei include areas surrounding steel mills, limiting the ability to transport the metal to customers. China is considered the world’s top steel producer and the respective region contributes over 20% of the country’s total output. The authorities locked down the region and its capital Shijiazhuang, in an effort to prevent the spread of the virus. At the moment, the situation is still under control, but because of the major Lunar New Year holiday, the steel production can be affected by making the manufacturing sectors stop earlier than planned. Steel deliveries by truck have been suspended in Hebei, leaving rail as the only way to transport steel. The blocked roads have led to completed steel piling up at major mills in the region. For many manufacturing and construction companies it is vital to receive the steel for being able to finish their work before the beginning of the annual festivities between 11th - 17th of February, otherwise the demand for steel could be hit.

The return to Paris climate accord:

On his first day as president, Joe Biden tried to bring America to normality at home and abroad by signing the papers to include the US into the Paris climate accord. The decision to re-enter the Paris climate accord in one of his first days in the Oval Office marked a return to a multilateral approach to the climate change crisis from Washington. The re-enter of the Paris climate deal was a promise from Biden’s election campaign, who brought around him many supporters who have become increasingly alarmed about climate change. America’s return to the Paris agreement had been widely anticipated and for sure will be welcomed by many states and organisations. John Kerry, the presidential envoy for climate change, said the move would restore “America’s credibility and commitment, setting a floor, not a ceiling, for our climate leadership”. The re-enter of the Paris deal came with positive and negative sides. On one side, the environmental organisations and some business groups supported the decision, and on the other side, the opposite party, the Republicans, argued that the outcome of the decision will be revealed in the rise of energy costs.

Scotland claiming for independence:

After ending the Brexit saga, the United Kingdom might face another challenge. Scotland’s First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, is claiming that the Scots would like to express their vote on getting independence from the United Kingdom, but the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is against this will. Even if Scotland voted against independence by 55% to 45% in a 2014 referendum, a majority of Scots were in favour of staying in the European Union in the subsequent 2016 Brexit vote, taking into consideration another round of independence vote after the UK as a whole voted to leave. The First Minister, who is part of the Scottish National Party and runs the semi-autonomous Edinburgh executive, is thinking of a new referendum if the party wins Scottish elections in May. For Johnson a new referendum is unexpected without passing at least a 40 years gap since the last one. The situation has been changed, according to the Scottish National Party, because of the United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union, a matter which back in 2016 was voted against by more than a majority of Scots. Sturgeon’s party says that the EU membership was presented in 2014 as a key argument for Scotland to remain in the United Kingdom, however now the Scots are being dragged out of the bloc against their will.

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