By Reuters
June 19, 2025
A general view shows a Security Council meeting at the United Nations headquarters, Friday, March 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
GENEVA -- Global foreign direct investment fell for the second consecutive year in 2024, with fears this year could be even worse as trade tensions rock investor confidence, the United Nations agency for trade and development said in a report published on Thursday.
Foreign Direct Investment transactions, which do not include several European conduit economies, declined by 11%, indicating a significant reduction in actual productive investment activity, according to UNCTAD.
Geopolitical tensions and trade fragmentation contributed to lower investment last year as they created uncertainty, which UNCTAD Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan described as a “poison” for investor confidence.
“We are even more worried about the picture in 2025...We already feel that investment is halted...Tariffs are affecting growth,” Grynspan told Reuters, with short-term risk management being prioritized over long-term investment.
UNCTAD said its outlook for international investment in 2025 was negative due to trade tensions. Early data for the first quarter of 2025 shows record low deal and project activity.
When several European conduit economies - which act as intermediary hubs where investments temporarily pass through before reaching their final destinations - are included, the data showed that FDI increased by 4% to US$1.5 trillion.
However, UNCTAD noted that this figure masks the reality that much of this investment is merely passing through these jurisdictions and was not productive.
“We see a very worrying tendency...Investment that has a real impact on jobs and infrastructure is going down,” she said.
Developed economies suffered a sharp drop in investment, with a 58% decrease in Europe. North America, however, observed a 23% increase in FDI, led by the U.S., while countries in Southeast Asia reached the second-highest level of FDI on record with a 10% rise, representing $225 billion.
Though capital inflows in developing countries were broadly stable, UNCTAD observed that capital was not being injected into crucial job-creating sectors such as infrastructure, energy and technology.
Reporting by Olivia Le Poidevin, editing by Ed Osmond, Reuters
GENEVA -- Global foreign direct investment fell for the second consecutive year in 2024, with fears this year could be even worse as trade tensions rock investor confidence, the United Nations agency for trade and development said in a report published on Thursday.
Foreign Direct Investment transactions, which do not include several European conduit economies, declined by 11%, indicating a significant reduction in actual productive investment activity, according to UNCTAD.
Geopolitical tensions and trade fragmentation contributed to lower investment last year as they created uncertainty, which UNCTAD Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan described as a “poison” for investor confidence.
“We are even more worried about the picture in 2025...We already feel that investment is halted...Tariffs are affecting growth,” Grynspan told Reuters, with short-term risk management being prioritized over long-term investment.
UNCTAD said its outlook for international investment in 2025 was negative due to trade tensions. Early data for the first quarter of 2025 shows record low deal and project activity.
When several European conduit economies - which act as intermediary hubs where investments temporarily pass through before reaching their final destinations - are included, the data showed that FDI increased by 4% to US$1.5 trillion.
However, UNCTAD noted that this figure masks the reality that much of this investment is merely passing through these jurisdictions and was not productive.
“We see a very worrying tendency...Investment that has a real impact on jobs and infrastructure is going down,” she said.
Developed economies suffered a sharp drop in investment, with a 58% decrease in Europe. North America, however, observed a 23% increase in FDI, led by the U.S., while countries in Southeast Asia reached the second-highest level of FDI on record with a 10% rise, representing $225 billion.
Though capital inflows in developing countries were broadly stable, UNCTAD observed that capital was not being injected into crucial job-creating sectors such as infrastructure, energy and technology.
Reporting by Olivia Le Poidevin, editing by Ed Osmond, Reuters
U.S. Supreme Court rejects toy company’s push for a quick decision on Trump’s tariffs
By The Associated Press
Updated: June 20, 2025
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday rejected an appeal from an Illinois toy company pushing for a quick decision on the legality of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Learning Resources Inc. had asked the justices to take up the case soon, rather than let it continue to play out in lower courts. The company argues the tariffs and uncertainty are having a “massive impact” on businesses around the country and the issue needs swift attention from the nation’s highest court.
The justices didn’t explain their reasoning in the brief order rebuffing the appeal, but the U.S. Supreme Court is typically reluctant to take up cases before lower courts have decided.Latest news & updates on tariffs and the trade war here
The company argues that the Republican president illegally imposed tariffs under an emergency powers law, bypassing Congress. It won an early victory in a lower court, but the order is on hold as an appeals court considers a similar ruling putting a broader block on Trump’s tariffs. The appeals court has allowed Trump to continue collecting tariffs under the emergency powers law ahead of arguments set for late July.
The Trump administration has defended the tariffs by arguing that the emergency powers law gives the president the authority to regulate imports during national emergencies and that the country’s longtime trade deficit qualifies as a national emergency.
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Lindsay Whitehurst, The Associated Press
By The Associated Press
Updated: June 20, 2025
The Supreme Court is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday rejected an appeal from an Illinois toy company pushing for a quick decision on the legality of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Learning Resources Inc. had asked the justices to take up the case soon, rather than let it continue to play out in lower courts. The company argues the tariffs and uncertainty are having a “massive impact” on businesses around the country and the issue needs swift attention from the nation’s highest court.
The justices didn’t explain their reasoning in the brief order rebuffing the appeal, but the U.S. Supreme Court is typically reluctant to take up cases before lower courts have decided.Latest news & updates on tariffs and the trade war here
The company argues that the Republican president illegally imposed tariffs under an emergency powers law, bypassing Congress. It won an early victory in a lower court, but the order is on hold as an appeals court considers a similar ruling putting a broader block on Trump’s tariffs. The appeals court has allowed Trump to continue collecting tariffs under the emergency powers law ahead of arguments set for late July.
The Trump administration has defended the tariffs by arguing that the emergency powers law gives the president the authority to regulate imports during national emergencies and that the country’s longtime trade deficit qualifies as a national emergency.
___
Lindsay Whitehurst, The Associated Press
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