Opportunities in Economic and Regulatory Changes

Opportunities in Current Economic Trends:

Opportunity: On February 14^th, China will cut half of their tariffs on US goods

Source: https://www.wsj.com/articles/china-to-cut-tariffs-on-75-billion-of-u-s-goods-11580967540

  By cutting half of their tariffs on US goods, this serves as an opportunity for China to improve their country’s economic position. Since September of last year, the trade war between the two countries has impacted both of their economies and has increased the cost of goods. However, with the US lowering their tariffs on $120 billion dollars of Chinese goods, China had decided to lower their portion of the tariffs as well. Also, with the recent coronavirus outbreak, China has been suffering a “stand-still” economy as parts of China are on lockdown.

  In this case, China and the US are the prototypical customers because it was an issue that included both countries and had affected their economies. However, China is mainly impacted by this because the issue with the coronavirus has negatively impacted China’s economy on an even deeper level.

  This opportunity is relatively difficult to exploit because it involves various representatives and leaders to agree and formulate such decisions. Since September, it has been difficult for both countries to see eye to eye in regard to their trade regulations.

  I think that I may have seen this opportunity more than someone else because I am interested in knowing what is going on in international markets and the effects of certain events that may impact a country’s economy. I believe a lot of this has to do with me being a finance major and wanting to stay informed of the current financial events in the world.

Opportunity: The negative impacts climate change has had on the economy

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/17/upshot/how-to-think-about-the-costs-of-climate-change.html

  Climate change is a social issue that continues to show the detrimental effects on the US economy. Due to extreme changes in weather and temperature, crop yields are gradually decreasing and money has to be continuously spent to rebuild infrastructure after natural disasters. The decrease in farmland yield has reduced the number of crops that can be produced with limited resources. Although the rebuilding of infrastructure does not affect the economy as much as the issue with the crop yields, it is still money that could be distributed for something that provides more value or purpose.

  This is an opportunity that may exist because it is a vital and existing global issue that has been affecting the economies of many countries. Although this article specifically focuses on the US economy, it is an opportunity that countries all over the world are forced to face with and have to create solutions to reduce the effects of climate change.

   It is an issue that is relatively difficult to exploit because there has to be approval for certain regulations to improve climate conditions. Also, many people do not believe in the idea of climate change. It is hard to address such an issue to individuals that “genuinely” do not believe in it or chose to not face the problem because they prefer the money to be invested elsewhere.

  I believe this was an opportunity that was easy for me to see because I am passionate about this topic and grew up in a generation where we see the importance of addressing the issue.

Opportunities in Regulatory Trends:

Opportunity: The vast number of mass shootings in the United in the past year

Source: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mass-shootings-2019-more-than-days-365/

  According to a research gun violence group, 2019 had the largest number of mass shootings in comparison to previous years. There was a total of 417 mass shootings in which 31 of them were mass murders.

  This lead me to believe that there is an opportunity to reduce these numbers by incorporating stricter gun regulations through more thorough background checks and banning the selling of assault rifles. The people who would most likely be a prototypical customer of such an opportunity are citizens of the United States who are concerned about their personal safety as well as the safety of their loved ones. This issue is relatively difficult to exploit because this is a continuous debating issue that most people have a hard time agreeing on. Typically, people who want stricter gun laws (Democrats) and the people who do not agree on it (Republicans), cannot come up with a negotiable solution because one side believes it is taking away from their Second Amendment right.

   I saw this opportunity because it is an issue that has become “normalized” in my generation and has greatly impacted how many of us live our lives. For instance, after the Marjory Stoneman Douglas shooting, some schools had kids wear clear backpacks so that their belongings were visible to school faculty and students. Also, as I had reached my final years of high school, I had noticed a greater number of active shooter drills than fire drills throughout the school year. When I was in elementary school, the only drills that I had ever known were fire and tornado drills.

Opportunity: FDA changes the age to buy cigarettes from 18 to 21

Source: https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/12/26/tobacco-minimum-age-fda-raises-age-buy-tobacco-18-21/2753807001/

  As of December 2019, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had changed the legal age to buy cigarettes from 18 to 21. This information leads to a potential opportunity because people can always find a way around the law and get the tobacco products from someone of 21 years of age or older. Although it may try to discourage someone of a younger age to smoke, there is still an easy way for them to have access to it. Also, this new regulation does not decrease the negative effects of smoking and other e-cigarette products so it does not have much effect.

  In this case, the prototypical customer would be the young smokers who will no longer be able to buy cigarette products on their own. This opportunity is relatively easy to exploit in comparison to other trends because it is not as a controversial topic since there are no health benefits from smoking. Creating such a regulation would try to reduce the number of young kids from using such products.

  I was able to easily find this opportunity because I have friends who smoke cigarettes or use other tobacco products. Since they are not of legal age yet, they have a friend, who is 21 or older, buy the product for them.