The Call by the Global Intelligence Desk

Britain faces a difficult economic reckoning. Taxes are at their highest levels since World War II, public debt is approaching 100% of GDP, and economic growth remains stubbornly weak. With the government unveiling its latest budget, can Britain find a way to revive growth without making its fiscal problems worse?

On this episode of The Call, Jay Sapsford speaks with Lord Karan Bilimoria, founder of Cobra Beer, former president of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), and member of the House of Lords, about the hard choices facing Britain's economy.

Bilimoria argues that Britain cannot tax its way to prosperity. Instead, it must rein in government spending, restore business confidence, and invest in the innovation and skills needed to unlock stronger growth.

But Britain's challenges extend well beyond its borders. From France to Japan to the United States, advanced economies face the same dilemma: raise taxes, cut spending, or borrow more. Each comes with a price.

Can Britain chart a path back to prosperity—and offer lessons for other economies facing the same pressures?

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The Call is a series of live video conversations featuring expert guests from the U.S. Chamber's Global Intelligence Desk. Live access to The Call is a benefit to the Chamber’s members; however, we are pleased to provide recordings of the calls for wider listening thereafter.

Learn more about the Global Intelligence Desk: https://globalintelligencedesk.com/
Join the conversation on LinkedIn:   / global-intelligence-desk  

One of America's biggest uranium producers is making a billion-dollar bet on a new business: challenging China's dominance of the rare earth minerals industry. The potential payoff is enormous. But so are the risks.

Energy Fuels is attempting an ambitious transformation, expanding beyond uranium into the mining, refining, and manufacturing of rare earth materials essential to everything from electric vehicles and robotics to fighter jets.

But can a uranium company really beat China at its own game?

China has spent decades building its dominance over the rare earth supply chain, and previous Western efforts to compete have struggled against Chinese pricing power, enormous capital requirements, and technical challenges.

On this episode of The Call, Jay Sapsford speaks with Ross Bhappu, President and CEO of Energy Fuels, about the company's high-stakes gamble to build a rare earth supply chain from mines to magnets.

They discuss what's at stake, the lessons from past failures, the role of government financing, and whether Energy Fuels can pull off one of the most ambitious transformations in American mining.

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The Call is a series of live video conversations featuring expert guests from the U.S. Chamber's Global Intelligence Desk. Live access to The Call is a benefit to the Chamber’s members; however, we are pleased to provide recordings of the calls for wider listening thereafter.

Learn more about the Global Intelligence Desk: https://globalintelligencedesk.com/
Join the conversation on LinkedIn:   / global-intelligence-desk  

Global trade is under pressure. Tariffs are rising, governments are embracing industrial policy and economic security, and businesses are rethinking their supply chains. Even the institutions and rules built to keep commerce moving are themselves, under strain. 

Yet trade has proved remarkably resilient. Goods and services continue to flow even as the politics around them grow more contentious. AI investment in particular has bolstered markets around the world. But how sound is that AI foundation? And what happens if it busts? 

The Atlantic Council and their Vice President & Chair of International Economics Josh Lipsky co-hosted with Jay Sapford from the IMF meetings in Bangkok. Josh spoke with WTO Director-General Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala about what is keeping trade moving, how much more pressure the system can absorb, and what companies should prepare for next.

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The Call is a series of live video conversations featuring expert guests from the U.S. Chamber's Global Intelligence Desk. Live access to The Call is a benefit to the Chamber’s members; however, we are pleased to provide recordings of the calls for wider listening thereafter.

Learn more about the Global Intelligence Desk: https://globalintelligencedesk.com/
Join the conversation on LinkedIn:   / global-intelligence-desk  

Economic policy and national security are now inseparable. Tariffs, sanctions, export controls, industrial policy and supply-chain security are reshaping competition with China and testing the balance between openness and resilience.  Secretary Yellen joined Jay Sapsford at the Decatur House in Washington DC in front of a live audience to examine those tradeoffs, along with the risks posed by rising U.S. debt and the dollar’s role in sustaining American power. 

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The Call is a series of live video conversations featuring expert guests from the U.S. Chamber's Global Intelligence Desk. Live access to The Call is a benefit to the Chamber’s members; however, we are pleased to provide recordings of the calls for wider listening thereafter.

Learn more about the Global Intelligence Desk: https://globalintelligencedesk.com/
Join the conversation on LinkedIn:   / global-intelligence-desk  

For years, economists warned that nobody wins a trade war. Now tariffs, subsidies, and export controls are a regular part of the landscape, reshaping how countries compete & how companies decide where to invest and build their supply chains.

Our guest, Chad Bown, argues America must be more selective about the fights it takes on. China’s control of key industrial inputs presents a challenge that tariffs alone cannot solve. At the same time, U.S. trade disputes with Canada and Mexico risk weakening the very supply chains America needs to compete. He joins guest host Masha Angelova to discuss when tariffs work, when they backfire, and what a sustained period of trade conflict means for global business.

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The Call is a series of live video conversations featuring expert guests from the U.S. Chamber's Global Intelligence Desk. Live access to The Call is a benefit to the Chamber’s members; however, we are pleased to provide recordings of the calls for wider listening thereafter.

Learn more about the Global Intelligence Desk: https://globalintelligencedesk.com/
Join the conversation on LinkedIn:   / global-intelligence-desk  

This month, President Trump is expected to host Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Washington. The two sides are likely to seek greater stability on trade, advanced technology and, most importantly, critical minerals. Any agreement, however, will raise a larger question: Is Washington reducing America’s vulnerability to China, or trading long-term leverage for short-term calm? 

China’s control over massive manufacturing capacity and key supply chains gives Beijing powerful leverage over the United States and its allies. At the same time, American restrictions on advanced technology are accelerating the divide between the world’s two largest economies. Our members are left making increasingly consequential decisions about where they invest, manufacture and source key inputs.  Liza Tobin, former China Director on the National Security Council, joins host Jay Sapsford to discuss if the U.S. economy is too dependent on China.

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The Call is a series of live video conversations featuring expert guests from the U.S. Chamber's Global Intelligence Desk. Live access to The Call is a benefit to the Chamber’s members; however, we are pleased to provide recordings of the calls for wider listening thereafter.

Learn more about the Global Intelligence Desk: https://globalintelligencedesk.com/
Join the conversation on LinkedIn:   / global-intelligence-desk  

Washington faces a daunting fiscal reality: a structural deficit or roughly $2 trillion, a rising debt burden and a political system deeply divided over how to address either. But former Federal Reserve Vice Chair Randal Quarles sees another path: growth. Faster productivity gains, smarter regulation, greater investment and a more dynamic private sector can expand the economy, strengthen the fiscal picture and help the United States manage its debt burden without waiting for a grand political bargain that may never come. 

He joins Jay to discuss this message that has particular resonance, not only for business, but also as the B20 prepares to meet in Washington this November around a Growth Agenda focused on unlocking investment, raising productivity and strengthening the conditions for private-sector-led growth.

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The Call is a series of live video conversations featuring expert guests from the U.S. Chamber's Global Intelligence Desk. Live access to The Call is a benefit to the Chamber’s members; however, we are pleased to provide recordings of the calls for wider listening thereafter.

Learn more about the Global Intelligence Desk: https://globalintelligencedesk.com/
Join the conversation on LinkedIn:   / global-intelligence-desk  

For decades, companies operated on a global playing field optimized for efficiency, scale, and the search for low-cost, high-quality inputs across borders. But the playing field has shifted, and boardrooms are ever more concerned with supply-chain vulnerability, industrial policy, and national security concerns. Corporate priorities now include resilience alongside efficiency - diversified sourcing, larger inventories, alternative suppliers and production locations.

As our first guest of the fall season, Joshua Walker joins The Call just weeks after taking the helm of the Chamber's International Affairs Division - and weeks before the Chamber hosts the B20 in November. We asked Joshua how national security concerns are shifting priorities across countries and regions, and what those shifts mean for business leaders navigating a more strategic and less predictable global economy.

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The Call is a series of live video conversations featuring expert guests from the U.S. Chamber's Global Intelligence Desk. Live access to The Call is a benefit to the Chamber’s members; however, we are pleased to provide recordings of the calls for wider listening thereafter.

Learn more about the Global Intelligence Desk: https://globalintelligencedesk.com/
Join the conversation on LinkedIn:   / global-intelligence-desk  

For decades, defense acquisition followed a familiar path: develop, test, procure, then deploy. Ukraine has turned that model on its head, deploying systems into combat, refining through operational experience, returning to the field rapidly with improvements compressing development cycles from years to weeks. 
 
UFORCE, led by our guest today, entrepreneur and CEO Oleg Rogynskyy, is now bringing that approach to allied militaries in the West, reflecting a broader shift in how military capability is created. The young company has attracted significant attention from Western governments, defense partners, and investors, helping establish UFORCE as one of Europe's fastest-rising defense technology companies. He talks with host Jay Sapsford about his approach and how the Ukrainian model of stimulating defense innovation is changing the face of the battlefield.

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The Call is a series of live video conversations featuring expert guests from the U.S. Chamber's Global Intelligence Desk. Live access to The Call is a benefit to the Chamber’s members; however, we are pleased to provide recordings of the calls for wider listening thereafter.

Learn more about the Global Intelligence Desk: https://globalintelligencedesk.com/
Join the conversation on LinkedIn:   / global-intelligence-desk  

On Tuesday July 28th, the Federal Reserve began its two-day policy meeting, ahead of Wednesday's announcement on the benchmark interest rate that shape borrowing costs for businesses around the world. Six months ago, our guest Richard Clarida expected two or three rate cuts this year. Today, he says the inflation fight isn't over. The market debate has shifted from "When will the Fed cut?" to "Could the next move eventually be a rate hike - if not this week, then in the months ahead?" An even bigger question goes beyond this week's decision. Public debt is climbing around the world. Inflation remains stubborn. And Fed Chair Kevin Warsh has signaled his determination to shrink the Fed's balance sheet. Together, those forces raise the prospect of structurally higher interest rates - and a higher cost of capital - for businesses everywhere. So we ask former fed vice chair Clarida Is This the End of Easy Money?

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The Call is a series of live video conversations featuring expert guests from the U.S. Chamber's Global Intelligence Desk. Live access to The Call is a benefit to the Chamber’s members; however, we are pleased to provide recordings of the calls for wider listening thereafter.

Learn more about the Global Intelligence Desk: https://globalintelligencedesk.com/
Join the conversation on LinkedIn:   / global-intelligence-desk