Ontario farm fined $125K after pleading guilty in COVID-19 outbreak behind Mexican worker's death

Kate Dubinski - Yesterday 

An Ontario farm where a COVID-19 outbreak led to the death of a worker from Mexico was fined $125,000 in a Simcoe court Monday after Scotlynn Sweetpac Growers pleaded guilty to one count of failing to take reasonable precautions to protect employees.

The farm group had faced 20 charges after an inspection by the provincial Labour Ministry in September. The Ontario Court of Justice was provided with an agreed statement of facts between the ministry and the farm.

Some 200 workers tested positive for COVID-19 during the spring 2020 outbreak at the Norfolk County vegetable farm in Vittoria, about 75 kilometres south of Hamilton. Juan Lopez Chaparro, 55, died that June.

The $125,000 fine is far short of the $1.5 million the court could have imposed. That doesn't do justice to the migrant workers who were sick and living in cramped conditions during the pandemic, said Syed Hussan, executive director of the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change.

"This fine is mere peanuts to a multimillion-dollar corporation, and it shows yet again that what's needed is change at the federal government level," Hussan told CBC News. "Migrants need permanent resident status to protect themselves."

Scott Biddle, owner of Scotlynn Growers, which is based in Norfolk County, would not comment on the guilty plea, said a representative of the farm operation.

"Honestly, we are disappointed in the judgment," Hussan said. "These minimal fines are simply the cost of doing business for corporations like Scotlynn, who can have a person die on their farm and hundreds of workers get sick, but they continue to make massive profits off the backs of migrants."


© Provided by Chaparro FamilyJuan Lopez Chaparro died June 20, 2020, after contracting COVID-19 while working at the Scotlynn Group farm.

At the time of the 2020 outbreak, Scotlynn Growers workers were living in bunkhouses that slept up to 50 men, but they purchased and cooked their own food. They were transported by Scotlynn Growers to various fields by bus or van.

 
No consistent screening

According to the agreed statement of facts, "The deceased worker had been bedridden for several days in the bunkhouse he lived in. He had symptoms that were typical of COVID-19 but was not isolated.

"The employer failed to take the reasonable precaution of isolating COVID-19 symptomatic workers from other workers to protect workers from the transmission of COVID-19 at the workplace."

The employer didn't consistently enforce COVID-19 screening and some workers didn't report their cold-like symptoms to supervisors, the agreed statement of facts says.

"If symptoms were self-disclosed to supervisors, they were not communicated consistently to Sweetpac management. Supervisors only communicated that workers had symptoms if the supervisor felt it was necessary, meaning if the symptoms were persistent or required medical attention."

Chaparro, like thousands of workers who come to Ontario each growing season, was in Canada as part of the federal Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program, which allows farmers to hire temporary foreign workers.

Luis Gabriel Flores, Chaparro's bunkmate at Scotlynn Sweetpac, was fired after speaking out about conditions at the farm.

The province's Labour Relations Board ordered Scotlynn Growers to pay Flores $20,000 in lost wages and $5,000 in damages.

Migrant workers typically live in communal bunkhouses with shared kitchens and bathrooms, conditions that health officials and advocates for migrant workers had warned, prior to the outbreak, created unsafe conditions in a pandemic.

Advocates say the workers' families rely on money they earn in Canada, and many don't speak out for fear of losing their jobs and the ability to earn during the growing season.

Deadly Bangladesh container depot fire brought under control

By Ruma Paul - Yesterday

© Reuters/AL MAHMUD BS

Smoke rises from the spot after a massive fire broke out in an inland container depot at Sitakunda, near the port city Chittagong

DHAKA (Reuters) - Firefighters in Bangladesh brought a blaze at a container depot under control on Tuesday, three days after fiery explosions killed at least 41 people at a facility that a senior fire service official suspected had not followed safety guidelines.

Drone footage showed smoke and rows of burnt-out containers from the fire that began late on Saturday, triggering blasts and blazes at Sitakunda, 40 km (25 miles) from the southeastern port city of Chittagong.

Authorities have not determined the cause of the disaster but suspect a container of hydrogen peroxide was the source.

"The fire has not been put out completely but there is no risk of further explosion as our team has sorted out the chemical containers .. one by one," senior fire service official Monir Hossain told Reuters from the scene.

"We haven't found any basic fire safety measures ... There were simply some extinguishers. Nothing else. They didn’t follow storage guidelines for hazardous chemicals."

The director of the facility, the BM Container Depot, did not answer calls to his mobile telephone seeking comment.

Ruhul Amin Sikder, secretary of the Bangladesh Inland Container Depots Association said on Monday its members, including BM Container Depot, regularly handled hydrogen peroxide without any incident and as far as he knew, the company followed guidelines.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said an investigation had been launched and those responsible would face justice.

Bangladesh has grown quickly over recent decades to become the world's second-biggest exporter of garments but its industrial safety standards have not kept pace with its economic development and fires are common in factories and other places of work.

The confirmed death toll was revised down to 41 from 49 because of some double counting of victims, police said. At least nine firefighters were among the dead and three were missing, they said.

Chittagong's chief doctor, Mohammed Elias Hossain, said some of the injured were in critical condition. Of the 200 or so injured, 50 were rescue officials, police said.

Troops were deployed to try to prevent the spread of chemicals into canals and along the nearby coast, officials said.

The last major fire in Bangladesh was in July last year when 54 people were killed at a food processing factory outside the capital, Dhaka.

Bangladesh's deadliest fire was in 2012, when a blaze swept through a garment factory killing 112 workers.

(Reporting by Ruma Paul; Editing by Robert Birsel)

SEE https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2022/06/bangladesh-officials-accuse-depot.html

Wage gap between CEOs and US workers jumped to 670-to-1 last year, study finds

The wage gap between chief executives and workers at some of the US companies with the lowest-paid staff grew even wider last year, with CEOs making an average of $10.6m, while the median worker received $23,968.


© Provided by The GuardianPhotograph: Frederic J Brown/AFP/Getty Images

Dominic Rushe - THE GUARDIAN- YESTERDAY

A study of 300 top US companies released by the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) on Tuesday found the average gap between CEO and median worker pay jumped to 670-to-1 (meaning the average CEO received $670 in compensation for every $1 the worker received). The ratio was up from 604-to-1 in 2020. Forty-nine firms had ratios above 1,000-to-1.

At more than a third of the companies surveyed, IPS found that median worker pay did not keep pace with inflation.

The report, titled Executive Excess, comes amid a wave of unionization efforts among low wage workers and growing scrutiny of the huge share buyback programs many corporations have been using to inflate their share prices. US companies announced plans to buy back more than $300bn of their own shares in the first quarter of the year and Goldman Sachs has estimated that buybacks could top $1tn in 2022.

Share-related remuneration makes up the largest portion of senior executive compensation and as buybacks generally boost a company’s share price, they also boost executive pay. Senator Elizabeth Warren has called buybacks “nothing but paper manipulation” designed to increase executive pay.

The report found that two-thirds of low-wage corporations that cut worker pay in 2021 also spent billions inflating CEO pay through stock buybacks.

The biggest buyback firm was home improvement chain Lowe’s, which spent $13bn on share repurchases. That money could have given each of its 325,000 employees a $40,000 raise, according to IPS. Instead, median pay at the company fell 7.6% to $22,697.

“CEOs’ pandemic greed grab has sparked outrage among Americans across the political spectrum,” said report lead author Sarah Anderson, director of the IPS Global Economy Project. She cited one recent poll that showed that 87% of Americans see the growing gap between CEO and worker pay as a problem for the country.

IPS noted that many of the companies in its sample were also the recipients of large federal government contracts. Forty companies in the sample were awarded $37.2bn in government contracts between 1 October 2019 and 1 May 2022.

The biggest recipient was Maximus, a company that manages federal student debts and Medicare call centers, which received $12.3bn in federal contracts. In 2021, Maximus CEO Bruce Caswell collected $7.9m in compensation, 208 times the firm’s median paycheck. Maximus workers have recently staged walkouts over pay and benefits.

Amazon, the second-largest federal contractor in the sample, amassed $10.3bn in federal contracts. Last month shareholders approved a $212m pay deal for Amazon’s CEO, Andy Jassy, 6,474 times the company’s median pay.

This report offers a number of policy solutions, including actions president Joe Biden could take without waiting for Congress. “The president could wield the power of the public purse by introducing new standards making it hard for companies with huge CEO-worker pay gaps to land a lucrative federal contract,” Anderson said. The report also urges Biden to ban top executives at federal contractors from selling their personal stock for a multi-year period after a buyback.

N.B. vet clinic switches to emergency only due to skyrocketing demand

Suzanne Lapointe - Yesterday 



© Suzanne Lapointe / Global News

The Riverview Animal Hospital is switching to emergency visits only as of August

In her 20 years of experience in the veterinary field, Riverview Animal Hospital operations manager Kelli Cormier said she's never witnessed anything close to the spike in demand she's seen recently.

She said that's what led the clinic, which has been open for more 50 years, to make a difficult decision.

"Balancing the demands of emergency and general medicine over the last two years have become increasingly challenging, so we had to make a decision to close our general practice," she said in an interview on Monday.

The clinic will now only offer emergency drop-in services, forcing those who came in for regular veterinary appointments to find a new veterinarian by early August.

Cormier said her staff are trying to help their clients find spaces for their four-legged friends, but it's been challenging.

"I think all animal hospitals across the province are having similar issues. There's not enough time in the day to see the amount of pets that are needing our care," she said.

She believes the sharp increase in demand is due to a combination of pandemic-related factors, like the rise in remote work allowing people to have more time to care for pets, as well as people seeking the comfort of a pet in troubling times.

Read more:

Pandemic pets a lifesaver to many Canadians during COVID-19 isolation

That was the case for Siobhan Curry, who adopted her dog in August 2020.

"It's mostly because my son experienced bouts of depression during the lockdown and it was very difficult for him so I figured getting a dog would be helpful for that," she said on Monday.

Curry, who had brought her dog Winnie into the animal hospital for emergency services on Monday, will be unaffected by the changes as she already has a regular vet for Winnie.

She said adopting Winnie definitely boosted her family's morale.

Cormier said there wouldn't be reductions to staffing levels or hours at the Riverview Animal Hospital, as there was sufficient demand for emergency services.

"It takes a lot of people to make a 24-hour facility go around. We are constantly recruiting (staff)," she said.

WTF IT'S A STAR CHAMBER
Lawyers ask Quebec Court of Appeal to shed more light on secret trial

MONTREAL — Lawyers for the province's attorney general, the chief justice of the Quebec court and several media organizations went before the Quebec Court of Appeal Monday to demand details about a secret trial for which there's no publicly available record.



The existence of the trial only became public earlier this year because a police informant accused in the case appealed his or her conviction, and the appeals court issued a heavily redacted ruling in February critical of the lower court proceedings. The Court of Appeal has criticized the trial for being conducted in a way "contrary to the fundamental principles" of the country's justice system.

Christian Leblanc, a lawyer for media organizations — including The Canadian Press — told the Court of Appeal that legal proceedings must be conducted in public.

"The very confidence of the public in its legal system depends on justice being rendered publicly," Leblanc said following Monday's hearing.

Most details in the original case are sealed and being kept from the public, including the nature of the alleged crime and where it allegedly took place, the name of the police force involved and the names of the lawyers. As well, the original case had no official docket number.

"We recognize that we must protect a police informant," Leblanc said. "That said, once we say that, we have to draw the line at where that protection ends, and we certainly think it's not a total in-camera hearing."

The police informant involved in the case was convicted of participating in a crime that he or she had initially revealed to police. The informant claimed he or she was a victim of an abuse of process, but the lower court judge disagreed. The Appeal Court panel, however, sided with the informant and stayed the conviction and the legal proceedings.


Leblanc told the panel of three justices on Monday that in his 25 years of practising law, he had never heard of a case being held entirely in camera. He also questioned how the information could be identified if basic information about the trial is revealed. The wide-ranging seal, Leblanc said, may be "exaggerated."

"That's why I told the Court of Appeal that for us, these are clues, little hints that maybe the sealing order is too wide here and maybe we should have a debate so that the court can hear both sides … and review its decision," Leblanc said.

Pierre-Luc Beauchesne, a lawyer representing the attorney general, told the court his office had not been made aware of a request to stay the lower court decision, which is customary for cases that are appealed. He said his office wants the information to create a court file, noting that keeping a record of a case is not optional.

The hearing on Monday was heard in two parts. Part 1 included public arguments with the lawyers representing the attorney general, Quebec court Chief Justice Lucie Rondeau and several media organizations. Part 2 included lawyers representing the informant as well as the lawyer for Rondeau, who is also seeking further details about the case.

Monday's hearing was held before Court of Appeal justices Marie-France Bich, Martin Vauclair and Patrick Healy, the same three justices who rendered the heavily redacted ruling critical of the lower court proceedings. The Court of Appeal ruling was from February and released in March.

In their decision, the appeals court judges wrote that "no trace of this trial exists, other than in the minds of the individuals implicated."

The court said at the time that it is "of the opinion that if trials must protect certain information disclosed therein, a procedure as secret as the present one is absolutely contrary to modern criminal law and to the respect of the constitutional rights not only of the accused, but also of the media, and it is equally incompatible with the values of a liberal democracy."

The same panel of judges will render a decision at a later date after deliberations.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 6, 2022.

Sidhartha Banerjee, The Canadian Press

N.B. doctor tackles footwear affordability for kids by starting own shoe company

Dr. Maryse Tadros, a family physician by profession, found out first-hand how quickly children outgrow their shoes and how pricey it is to replace them with a durable pair.

Chameleon Shoes was created by Maryse Tadros to help keep up with how quickly children outgrow their shoes while maximizing the affordability.

 Nathalie Sturgeon / Global News

So she set out to do something about it. She created a company called Chameleon Shoes.

Tadros, who has three small children, said the company began after one of her children made a hole in her winter boots in February. She went in search of a new pair but many stores had transitioned to summer footwear already.

After a search online, she said a durable pair was more than $50.

Read more:
How much does it cost to raise a kid in Canada?

“There's got to be a better way to do this,” she recalled in an interview on Monday. “I know they're going to wear all the sizes, there should just be a way to buy all the sizes from the moment they are little because you know you're going to need all of them.”

The company has individual kits which include a hanging organizer and six pairs of gender-neutral rainbow-coloured shoes. It’s all in one package, and Tadros said the shoes are durable and can last multiple generations of children. She has shoes for toddlers and infants.

“We picked the shoes that were the most durable,” she said. “They last as long as your kids need them.”

She says the company doesn't just address the pace at which children outgrow shoes, but also affordability.

“That's something a lot of parents have told me,” she said. “They have a very hard time finding shoes that are affordable but also durable. So, this is a bigger investment upfront. You're paying $109 or $139 depending on the kit, but you're getting six pairs of shoes.”

The infant kits are for kids age zero to one and a half years old, while the toddler kits go from two to five years old.

Read more:
Here’s why Canadians are having fewer children

“It was important to me to make sure all kids have access to shoes ... $60 a pair is not nothing for a lot of families,” she said. “It’s a considerable expense when your kids is outgrowing shoes every two to four months.”

The company name was inspired by an ever-adapting chameleon who not only changes its colour but sheds its skin when it doesn’t fit anymore – just like a growing child’s feet.

For every 10 kits that Tadros sells, she donates one kit to a daycare or a shelter.

She said there are plans to expand into running shoes and sandals next.

Chameleon Shoes are available online and at Jumping Jacks in Fredericton.

30 dead dogs, cats found inside animal rescue CEO’s South Carolina home

Michelle Butterfield - Yesterday 2:54 p.m.
NOTE: The following article contains content that some might find disturbing. Please read at your own discretion.

© Courtesy / Richland County Sheriff's OfficeCaroline Dawn Pennington, 47, is charged with 30 counts of ill treatment of animals.

The CEO of a non-profit animal rescue organization in South Carolina has been charged after investigators found the remains of 30 decomposing animals in her home.

Caroline Dawn Pennington, 47, was taken into custody last week and is facing 30 counts of ill treatment to animals, reports USA Today.

Pennington, the director and CEO of GROWL, an animal rescue organization, turned herself in late last week, reports NBC News.

Deputies with the Richland County Sheriff’s Department told media outlets that they responded to a call on May 22, after someone reported a "smell of death" coming from Pennington's Columbia, S.C. home.

Thirty dead animals — 28 dogs and two cats — were found in various states of decomposition, reports NBC. The animals were in crates and cages, many of them dead in their own waste, and officials said it appeared as though they died from dehydration and starvation.

Authorities also said it appeared that many of the animals had been dead for several months.

Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott told USA Today the discovery was one of the worst cases of animal cruelty he had ever seen, describing the situation as "appalling" and "heartbreaking."

"This is someone who was entrusted by the community to care for these animals and find them homes," Lott said. "She betrayed that trust and she betrayed the trust of these innocent animals who relied on her."

In addition to her role at GROWL, Pennington was also employed at the Kershaw County Humane Society.

In a Facebook post on Friday, the shelter confirmed that Pennington was no longer working there, calling her a "former employee."

"We were unaware of the former employee’s actions and are truly shocked and heartbroken. Our dedicated staff will continue with our mission to serve the lost and homeless pets of Kershaw County," the post read.

“The home was in disrepair from general neglect,” Lt. Joe Clarke told local CBS affiliate WLTX. “The surfaces of the floor and the cabinets were covered in fecal matter, there were areas you could tell these animals had urinated. It smelled bad, it’s summer, it’s humid. As we were walking through the home, we kept finding dead animals in carriers… Some were unidentifiable as dogs or cats.”

In a statement to local NBC affiliate WIS-TV, Pennington's lawyer, Ally Benevento, called it "an incredibly tragic case with unimaginable horrific allegations.

"It is difficult for anyone to comprehend how someone could allow to happen what happened in this case, but there are some significant and serious mental health issues at play that Ms. Pennington is dealing with," Benevento wrote.

North Carolina's Lieutenant Governor Takes Sexism To Biblical New Low

Ron Dicker

Tue, June 7, 2022

If North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson wants women’s votes, he sure has a funny way of showing it.

Robinson, a Republican positioning himself to run for governor in 2024, interpreted biblical scripture to suggest that women should not be in charge. (Watch the video below.)

“We are called to be led by men,” he said last month in a Charlotte-area church speech reported by WRAL on Monday. He acknowledged at the same time that such remarks would get him “in trouble.”

“God sent women out … when they had to do their thing, but when it was time to face down Goliath, [he] sent David. Not Davida — David.”

By the same token, God picked Moses to lead the Israelites, he said.

“Not Momma Moses,” he preached. “Daddy Moses.”

“My God tells me that when I face adversity that, number one, I am to stand up like a man! M-A-N!” he added during a rant in which he chided churchgoers who “listen to the doctrine of social justice instead of listening to the doctrine of Jesus Christ.”

Well more than half of North Carolina’s registered voters are female, according to state records.

Robinson, a Donald Trump supporter who spoke at the former president’s North Carolina rally in April, has previously suggested on social media that Michelle Obama was a man.

He denies the existence of systemic racism and climate change, proudly owns AR-15 assault rifles and has called the LGBTQ community “filth.”

Representatives didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.

Top Economist Urges China to Seize TSMC If US Ramps Up Sanctions



Bloomberg News
Mon, June 6, 2022

(Bloomberg) -- A senior Chinese economist at a government-run research group called on authorities to seize Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. if the US hits China with sanctions on par with those leveled against Russia.

“If the US and the West impose destructive sanctions on China like sanctions against Russia, we must recover Taiwan,” said Chen Wenling, chief economist at the China Center for International Economic Exchanges. The research group is overseen by the National Development and Reform Commission, China’s top economic planning agency.

“Especially in the reconstruction of the industrial chain and supply chain, we must seize TSMC,” Chen said in a speech last month hosted by the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University, which was posted online Tuesday by the nationalistic news website Guancha.

“They are speeding up the transfer to the US to build six factories there,” she added. “We must not let all the goals of the transfer be achieved.”

The comments are some of the most prominent so far showing how Taiwan’s chip industry is seen in Beijing as a key strategic asset in the intensifying rivalry between the world’s two largest economies. TSMC is the world’s largest contract manufacturer of semiconductors, accounting for more than 50% of the global foundry market, which involves businesses purely making chips for other companies. Its customers include Apple Inc., which relies on Taiwanese chips for iPhones.

A TSMC representative declined to comment on Chen’s remarks. Media reports have said TSMC will build six chip fabs in the US, but the company has announced just one so far. It has bought more land for possible construction.

The Global Fight Over Chips Is About to Get Even Worse

It’s unclear how the scenario Chen described would occur, given the US and other nations only leveled harsh economic sanctions on Russia after it invaded Ukraine in February. Beijing claims Taiwan as part of its territory that must be brought under control by force if necessary, while the government in Taipei asserts it’s already a de facto independent nation in need of wider international recognition.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has sought to achieve tech self-sufficiency, and tapped economic czar Liu He to shepherd a key initiative aimed at helping domestic chipmakers overcome U.S. sanctions. Those sanctions, which emerged during Donald Trump’s presidency, are impeding longer-term efforts by chipmakers including Huawei Technologies Co.’s HiSilicon and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. from migrating toward more advanced wafer fabrication technologies.

At the same time, President Joe Biden has announced plans to put $52 billion into domestic semiconductor research, development and production as part of the administration’s broad China competition bill, which is still awaiting approval.

Global arms industry getting shakeup by war in Ukraine – and China and US look like winners from Russia’s stumbles


Terrence Guay, Clinical Professor of International Business and Director, Center for Global Business Studies, Penn State

THE CONVERSATION
Tue, June 7, 2022,

Russia is losing tanks at an astonishing rate. AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti

Russia’s war in Ukraine is upending the global arms industry.

As the U.S. and its allies pour significant sums of money into arming Ukraine and Russia bleeds tanks and personnel, countries across the world are rethinking defense budgets, materiel needs and military relationships. Countries that historically have had low levels of defense spending such as Japan and Germany are bulking up, while nations that purchase most of their weapons from Russia are questioning their reliability and future delivery.

My research in this area suggests that, however this war eventually ends, the repercussions for the global defense industry, and for the countries whose companies dominate this sector, will be enormous. Here are four takeaways.

1. Russia will be the biggest loser

Russia’s general sales pitch for its weapons has been they’re “cheaper and easier to maintain than Western alternatives.” This is why Russia accounted for 19% of the world’s arms exports from 2017 to 2021, second only to the U.S., which had 39% of the market.

However, this pitch may no longer be effective for many countries that have seen Russian equipment losses and failures in Ukraine.

To date, the U.S. estimates Russia has lost almost a thousand tanks, at least 50 helicopters, 36 fighter-bombers and 350 artillery pieces, according to Business Insider. Thousands of Russian soldiers have been killed, with estimates ranging from about 15,000 to as high as 30,000, and Russia is still unable to control Ukraine’s airspace.

The situation has become so dire that there are reports that commanders are trying to preserve equipment by forbidding troops from using them to evacuate wounded soldiers or to support units that have advanced too far.

Russia’s offensive weapons have also proved disappointing. Its missile failure rate – the share that either failed to launch, malfunctioned mid-flight or missed their target – may be as high as 50% to 60% due to design flaws and outdated or inferior equipment.

These problems, along with the Russian military’s slow progress achieving any of President Vladimir Putin’s stated objectives, have raised serious doubts among the country’s traditional customers for weapons exports. Russia sells almost 90% of its weapons to just 10 countries, including India, Egypt and China.

What’s more, Russia’s ability to replace these equipment losses has been hampered by economic sanctions, which bars key foreign components like circuit boards. And Russia will almost certainly need to replace its own military hardware before it exports anything abroad.

That means that even countries that want to keep buying Russian tanks and fighter jets will have to wait in line or turn elsewhere to fulfill their defense needs.

2. Russia’s loss is China’s gain

The country that will likely see the greatest gains from Russia’s displacement as a major arms supplier is China.

In recent years, the country has taken a 4.6% share of the global arms trade, putting it in fourth place behind France’s 11%. At the same time, seven of the top 20 global defense companies in terms of revenues earned from defense sales are Chinese, signaling the sector’s big ambitions.

Currently, the Chinese government buys most of its weapons and vehicles from these domestic arms makers, but China has the capacity to export more military products abroad.

For example, China is already the world’s largest shipbuilder, so exporting more naval ships is a natural next step. The country is expanding its niche role in drone technology and attempting to leverage modernizing its air force with domestically built aircraft to increase exports.

At the moment, only three of the world’s 40 biggest arms importers – Pakistan, Bangladesh and Myanmar – buy a majority of their weapons from China. That could change if China takes advantage of Russian weakness to position itself as a reliable national security, economic and political partner – a core feature of its Belt and Road Initiative.

China is not capable of supplanting U.S. and European weapons, which are considered “top shelf” because of their high quality and price. But China may well fill the market niche that Russian arms makers dominated, thereby increasing Beijing’s role as a major weapons exporter – and gaining the political and economic benefits that accompany that.

One of China’s biggest challenges will involve proving that its weapons work well in live combat situations.

The U.S. has given Ukraine a third of its Javelin anti-tank missiles.

Ukrainian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP

3. American arms makers will also be big winners

U.S. weapons manufactures dominate the global arms industry. The Ukraine war will likely ensure this stays that way for some time.

The world’s five largest arms companies are all American: Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Boeing, Northrop Grumman and General Dynamics. In fact, half of the top 100 producers of arms are based in the U.S. Twenty are European. Only two are Russian – despite the country being the world’s second-largest source of arms.

The massive amounts of weapons being transferred from the U.S. to Ukraine will keep American arms makers busy for some time to come. For example, the U.S. has transferred about one-third of its stock of Javelin anti-tank missiles to Ukraine, and it will take three to four years for the Raytheon-Lockheed Martin joint venture to replace them. The US$40 billion aid package recently signed by President Joe Biden includes $8.7 billion to replenish U.S. weapons stocks.

The companies’ soaring stock prices are a sign investors believe profitable days are ahead. Lockheed Martin’s stock price is up over 12% since the invasion began – with most of the gains occurring in its immediate aftermath. Northrop Grumman has jumped 20%. At the same time, the broader stock market as measured by the S&P 500 has slumped about 4%.

4. More countries will become arms makers

The flipside to this is that some countries that relied on others for their defense needs may seek to become more self-sufficient.

India, which relied on Russia for almost half of its weapons imports in recent years, is realizing that Russia will need most or all of its production capacity to replace tanks, missiles, aircraft and other weapons used or lost in Ukraine, with less leftover for export.

That means India will need to either source spare parts for vehicles and weapons from other former Russia arms customers such as Bulgaria, Georgia and Poland, or build up its own defense industry. In April, India announced it would ramp up production of helicopters, tank engines, missiles and early airborne warning systems to offset any potential reduction in Russian exports.

Concerns about Russian reliability are also growing. In May, India canceled a $520 billion helicopter deal with Russia. While there are reports U.S. pressure played a role, it also seems to be part of the government’s strategy over the past few years to build its own domestic defense industrial base.

Brazil, Turkey and other emerging market countries have also been developing their own defense industries over the past two decades to reduce their reliance on arms imports. The Ukraine war will accelerate this process.

Putin likely didn’t expect to shake up the global arms market with his effort to annex Ukraine – or cause the decline of his country’s weapons sector. But that’s just one more way his war is causing a geopolitical earthquake.

This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. It was written by: Terrence Guay, Penn State.

Read more:


Ukraine war: the US and UK missile systems which will challenge Russia’s artillery dominance


US aid to Ukraine: $13.6 billion approved following Russian bombardment marks sharp increase

SEE LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for PERMANENT ARMS ECONOMY