Hey all!
Look! It's a new video!
In this second instalment in my Vape-o-omics trilogy, we're looking at what the rise of disposable vapes such as Elf Bars can tell us about current economic tensions between the US (and Europe) and China.
Putting the final touches to this video over the past week has been really tough. There's some incredible map-based graphics in this one but our computers did not like trying to render them!
As such, we've spent days and days working on this pretty relentlessly, fixing and patching things as we go.
It's always a bit of a squeeze to get these out the door but this video has been something else!
A massive shout out is due to Georgia who has gone above and beyond in all this chaos.
Anyway, AfterEffects-related trauma aside, I'm pretty pleased with how this video turned out and I hope you come away from it having learned something new.
And, as ever, thanks so much for supporting my work here on Patreon. The last video got falsely flagged as breaking YouTube community guidelines and I'm a little worried the same might happen to this one. So, knowing we've got some external support through Patreon provides a little reassurance that it won't completely bankrupt us!
Let me know what you think!
Tom
Amnesty International. ‘China 2022’, 2022. https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/asia-and-the-pacific/east-asia/china/report-china/.
Baca, Marie C. ‘How Two Stanford Grads Aimed for Big Tech Glory and Got Big Tobacco Instead’. Washington Post, 25 September 2019, sec. Tech. https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/09/04/how-two-stanford-grads-aimed-big-tech-glory-got-big-tobacco-instead/.
Bacchus, James. ‘China’s Economic System Isn’t “Incompatible” with WTO Rules’. Cato Institute, 13 December 2023. https://www.cato.org/blog/yes-china-violates-wto-rules-doesnt-mean-its-system-incompatible-wto.
Bannock, Graham, Ron Baxter, and R Rees. A Dictionary of Economics. Middlesex: Penguin Books, 1972.
Barboza, David. ‘How China Built “iPhone City” With Billions in Perks for Apple’s Partner’. The New York Times, 29 December 2016, sec. Technology. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/29/technology/apple-iphone-china-foxconn.html.
BBC News. ‘TikTok: Why Do Countries Think Chinese Tech Firms Are a Security Risk?’ 23 March 2023, sec. Technology. https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-65019279.
Broadberry, Stephen N., and Douglas A. Irwin. ‘Labor Productivity in the United States and the United Kingdom During the Nineteenth Century’. Working Paper. NBER Working Paper Series. Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research, 2004. https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w10364/w10364.pdf.
Chang, Ha-Joon. 23 Things They Don’t Tell You About Capitalism. London: Penguin Books, 2011.
———. Kicking Away the Ladder: Development Strategy in Historical Perspective. London: Anthem Press, 2002.
Chapman, Matthew. ‘Rise of Single-Use Vapes Sending Tonnes of Lithium to Landfill’. The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, 15 July 2022. https://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2022-07-15/rise-of-single-use-vapes-sending-tonnes-of-lithium-to-landfill.
Chee, Foo Yun. ‘EU Asks Alibaba’s AliExpress for Details on Measures against Illegal Products’. Reuters, 6 November 2023, sec. Boards, Policy and Regulation. https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/eu-asks-alibabas-aliexpress-information-illegal-products-sold-its-platform-2023-11-06/.
China Power Team. ‘How Influential Is China in the World Trade Organization?’ China Power(blog), 31 July 2019. https://chinapower.csis.org/china-world-trade-organization-wto/.
Clark, Travis, Erin Brodwin, and Alex Bitter. ‘The Rise and Fall of Juul: The e-Cigarette Maker’s Comeback Plan Includes a High-Tech Vape and a “shots-on-Goal” Approach to the FDA’. Business Insider, 19 July 2023. https://www.businessinsider.com/juul-timeline-from-startup-to-tobacco-company-challenges-bans-2019-9.
Clinton, Bill. ‘Clinton’s Words on China: Trade Is the Smart Thing’. The New York Times, 9 March 2000, sec. World. https://www.nytimes.com/2000/03/09/world/clinton-s-words-on-china-trade-is-the-smart-thing.html.
DeFrancesco, Anthony. ‘A Brief History of Intellectual Property Protection in China’. Pace Intellectual Property, Sports and Entertainment Law Forum, 12 March 2012. https://pipself.blogs.pace.edu/2012/03/12/a-brief-history-of-intellectual-property-protection-in-china/.
ELFBAR. ‘Verify Your ELFBAR Product’. Accessed 23 January 2024. https://www.elfbar.co.uk/verify-elfbar-product#:~:text=Locate%20the%20authentication%20label%2C%20then,This%20field%20is%20required.&text=During%20the%20transition%20between%20old,be%20an%20official%20genuine%20item.
Elsig, Manfred, Mark Pollack, and Gregory Shaffer. ‘The U.S. Is Causing a Major Controversy in the World Trade Organization. Here’s What’s Happening.’ The Washington Post, 7 December 2021. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2016/06/06/the-u-s-is-trying-to-block-the-reappointment-of-a-wto-judge-here-are-3-things-to-know/.
European Commission, Directorate-General for Communication. Single Market. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2020. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2775/282406.
Gammon, Katharine. ‘US Bans Juul but Young Vapers Are Already Switching to Newer Products’. The Guardian, 26 June 2022, sec. Society. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/jun/26/us-bans-juul-young-people-newer-products.
Gan, Tammy. ‘Why Are Massive Shein Hauls so Popular on TikTok?’ Green is the New Black, 24 June 2021. https://greenisthenewblack.com/shein-ultra-fast-fashion-consumerism-tiktok-influencer/.
Hadero, Haleluya. ‘Congressional Report Says There’s an Extremely High Risk Temu’s Supply Chains Have Forced Labor’. AP News, 22 June 2023. https://apnews.com/article/temu-shein-forced-labor-china-de7b5398c76fda58404abc6ec5684972.
Hamilton, Alexander. ‘Alexander Hamilton’s Final Version of the Report on the Subject of Manufactures, [5 December 1791]’. National Archives. Accessed 18 January 2024. http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Hamilton/01-10-02-0001-0007.
Harvey, Fiona. ‘World Likely to Breach 1.5C Climate Threshold by 2027, Scientists Warn’. The Guardian, 17 May 2023, sec. Environment. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/may/17/global-heating-climate-crisis-record-temperatures-wmo-research.
Hasell, Joe, Max Roser, Esteban Ortiz-Ospina, and Pablo Arriagada. ‘Poverty’. Our World in Data, 28 December 2023. https://ourworldindata.org/poverty.
Hawkins, Amy. ‘Chip Wars: How Semiconductors Became a Flashpoint in the US-China Relationship’. The Guardian, 5 July 2023, sec. World news. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jul/05/chip-wars-how-semiconductors-became-a-flashpoint-in-the-us-china-relationship.
Heilpern, Will. ‘17 of the Most Shameless Chinese Rip-Offs of Western Brands’. Business Insider, 6 May 2016. https://www.businessinsider.com/things-that-china-copied-from-the-world-2016-5.
Hong, Jie, Jakob Edler, and Silvia Massini. ‘Evolution of the Chinese Intellectual Property Rights System: IPR Law Revisions and Enforcement’. Management and Organization Review18, no. 4 (August 2022): 755–87. https://doi.org/10.1017/mor.2021.72.
Huawei. ‘MateBook D 16’. Accessed 23 January 2024. https://consumer.huawei.com/uk/laptops/.
Hvistendahl, Mara. ‘As Trump and Biden Trade Anti-China Ads, Hate Crimes Against Asian Americans Spike’. The Intercept, 11 May 2020. https://theintercept.com/2020/05/11/china-trump-biden-asian-american-hate-crimes/.
International Trade Administration. ‘North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)’. International Trade Administration, n.d. https://www.trade.gov/north-american-free-trade-agreement-nafta.
Jaaravel, Xavier, and Erick Sager. ‘Trade with China Benefited US Consumers’. LSE Business Review(blog), 20 August 2019. https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/businessreview/2019/08/20/trade-with-china-benefited-us-consumers/.
Juul Labs. ‘Juul Labs Purchases New Office Space in San Francisco’, 18 June 2019. https://www.juullabs.com/juul-labs-purchases-new-office-space-in-san-francisco.
Knowlton, Brian. ‘Final Passage of Bill To Normalize U.S. Ties Is Approved, 83 to 15 : Senate Vote Introduces New Era in China Trade’. The New York Times, 20 September 2000, sec. World. https://www.nytimes.com/2000/09/20/news/final-passage-of-bill-to-normalize-us-ties-is-approved-83-to-15-senate.html.
Krugman, Paul. ‘Hope I’m Wrong, but in Retrospect Trump’s Latest Tariffs May Look like the World Trade Equivalent of the Assassination of Franz Ferdinand — the Event That Tripped an Uneasy Situation into All-out Trade War 1/’. X (formerly Twitter), 5 August 2019. https://twitter.com/paulkrugman/status/1158373855498579968.
Long, Yang. ‘Self-Reliance’. In Afterlives of Chinese Communism, edited by Christian Sorace, Ivan Franceschini, and Nicholas Loubere, 231–36. Political Concepts from Mao to Xi. ANU Press, 2019. https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvk3gng9.40.
McBride, James, and Andrew Chatzky. ‘Is “Made in China 2025” a Threat to Global Trade?’ Council on Foreign Relations, 13 May 2019. https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/made-china-2025-threat-global-trade.
McDonald, Brad. ‘Back to Basics: Why Countries Trade’. Finance and Development, 2009.
Miles, Tom. ‘Antigua “Losing All Hope” of U.S. Payout in Gambling Dispute’. Reuters, 22 June 2018, sec. World. https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN1JI0VW/.
Moens, Barbara, and Douglas Busvine. ‘Von Der Leyen Hits China with Electric Vehicle Subsidy Probe’. POLITICO(blog), 13 September 2023. https://www.politico.eu/article/von-der-leyen-hits-china-with-electric-vehicle-subsidy-probe/.
Narlikar, Amrita. The World Trade Organization: A Very Short Introduction. Very Short Introductions. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005.
Our World in Data. ‘Population’. Accessed 20 January 2024. https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/population?time=1700..latest&country=CHN~IND.
Peebles, Angelica. ‘Popular E-Cigarette Juul’s Sales Have Surged Almost 800 Percent over the Past Year’. CNBC, 2 July 2018. https://www.cnbc.com/2018/07/02/juul-e-cigarette-sales-have-surged-over-the-past-year.html.
Perrone, Matthew. ‘Elf Bar and Other E-Cigarette Makers Dodged US Customs and Taxes after China’s Ban on Vaping Flavors’. The Independent, 19 December 2023. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/ap-chinese-china-food-and-drug-administration-shenzhen-b2466336.html.
———. ‘Elf Bar Finds an Easy Way around US Vape Import Ban: A Name Change’. AP News, 13 October 2023. https://apnews.com/article/ecigarettes-elf-bar-fda-disposable-vaping-5245aed253ca9cdcf119483bd9cee1f1.
———. ‘US Officials Block Elf Bar-Maker and Others from Importing 1.4 Million Illegal e-Cigarettes’. AP News, 14 December 2023. https://apnews.com/article/ecigarettes-elf-bar-fda-teen-vaping-434dc600866cf2a626aa8c7a0063ac43.
Pomfret, James. ‘U.S. Trade War Fears Ripple through China’s “Workshop of the World”’. Reuters, 13 April 2018, sec. United Kingdom. https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN1HK0IL/.
Radding, Ben. ‘Pax Juul: The iPhone of E-Cigs?’ Men’s Journal, 28 June 2018. https://www.mensjournal.com/gear/pax-juul-iphone-e-cigs.
Rajvanshi, Astha. ‘Shein’s Massive Popularity Comes at a Huge Cost to Us All’. Time, 17 January 2023. https://time.com/6247732/shein-climate-change-labor-fashion/.
Reuters. ‘Trump Imposes Steep Tariffs on Imported Solar Panels and Washing Machines’. The Guardian, 23 January 2018, sec. Environment. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/jan/23/trump-imposes-steep-tariffs-on-imported-solar-panels-and-washing-machines.
Ricardo, David. On the Principles of Political Economy and Taxation. Third Edition. London: John Murray, 1821.
Rogers, Katie, Lara Jakes, and Ana Swanson. ‘Trump Defends Using “Chinese Virus” Label, Ignoring Growing Criticism’. The New York Times, 18 March 2020, sec. U.S. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/18/us/politics/china-virus.html.
Schlott, Rikki. ‘China Is Hurting US Kids with TikTok, but Protecting Its Own’. New York Post, 25 February 2023, sec. Opinion. https://nypost.com/2023/02/25/china-is-hurting-us-kids-with-tiktok-but-protecting-its-own/.
Shariff, Ismail. ‘Growing Discontent With Globalisation’. World Affairs: The Journal of International Issues 7, no. 3 (2003): 9–22.
Steeber, Michael. ‘Before the Spaceship: A Look Back at the Previous Campuses That Apple Called Home’. 9to5Mac, 13 November 2017. https://9to5mac.com/2017/11/13/apple-original-campus-headquarters/.
Taylor, Josh. ‘TikTok Data Collection Could Reveal What Floor a User Is on, Cybersecurity Firm Says’. The Guardian, 20 April 2023, sec. Technology. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/apr/21/tiktok-data-collection-could-reveal-what-floor-a-user-is-on-cybersecurity-firm-says.
The Economist. ‘How China Inc Is Tackling the TikTok Problem’. 7 March 2023. https://www.economist.com/business/2023/03/07/how-china-inc-is-tackling-the-tiktok-problem.
The White House. ‘FACT SHEET: CHIPS and Science Act Will Lower Costs, Create Jobs, Strengthen Supply Chains, and Counter China’. The White House, 9 August 2022. https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/08/09/fact-sheet-chips-and-science-act-will-lower-costs-create-jobs-strengthen-supply-chains-and-counter-china/.
Thomas, Gareth, Catherine Cherry, Chris Groves, Karen Henwood, Nick Pidgeon, and Erin Roberts. ‘“It’s Not a Very Certain Future”: Emotion and Infrastructure Change in an Industrial Town’. Geoforum132 (June 2022): 81–91. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2022.04.003.
Thrift, N. J., and Rob Kitchin. International Encyclopedia of Human Geography. Amterdam Boston: Elsevier, 2009.
Time Staff. ‘Here’s Donald Trump’s Presidential Announcement Speech’. TIME, 16 June 2015. https://time.com/3923128/donald-trump-announcement-speech/.
United States Trade Representative. ‘2022 Report to Congress on China’s WTO Compliance’, February 2023. https://ustr.gov/sites/default/files/2023-02/2022%20USTR%20Report%20to%20Congress%20on%20China's%20WTO%20Compliance%20-%20Final.pdf.
World Trade Organization. ‘Annex 1C: Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights’. In The Legal Texts: The Results of the Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations, 320–53. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999.
World Trade Organization. ‘China: Dispute Settlement News Archive’. Accessed 31 January 2024. https://www.wto.org/english/news_e/archive_e/country_subj_arc_e.htm?country1=CHN&subject1=DISP.
World Trade Organization. ‘The WTO and the United Nations’. Accessed 10 January 2024. https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/coher_e/wto_un_e.htm.
Amro
2024-03-18 13:19:19 +0000 UTC