Bolivia’s proposed electricity and renewable-energy law would mark one of the most consequential economic-policy reversals the country has made in years, because it would push the power sector away from the heavy state control that defined the Evo Morales era and toward a more investment-driven model.

The legislation would allow private firms to participate in generation, as well as in the export and import of energy, ending the monopoly of state-run utility ENDE if Congress approves it. Energy Minister Marcelo Blanco described the proposal as a move from a market largely controlled by the state to a more competitive one in which the private sector has a proper role.

Germany’s March industrial data suggest the country entered the second quarter in a weaker position than headline first-quarter GDP growth implied, and that matters because the full force of the Iran war had not yet hit industry. Official figures showed industrial production fell 0.7% from February, against expectations for a rise, driven mainly by weaker energy output and lower machinery and equipment manufacturing.

At the same time, exports rose 0.5%, but imports jumped 5.1%, with China remaining Germany’s largest source of imports. Exports to the U.S., Germany’s most important export market, fell sharply by 7.9%, and the trade surplus shrank to €14.3 billion from €19.6 billion.

The coming Trump-Xi summit is shaping up less as a venue for a broad reset in U.S.-China relations than as a tightly constrained encounter dominated by crisis management over Iran and the wider stability of the global economy. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has already made clear Iran will be a central topic when Donald Trump and Xi Jinping meet in Beijing on May 14-15, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio has separately said Taiwan is also likely to be discussed.

That alone narrows the room for progress on more commercial issues such as tariffs, rare earths, and technology restrictions, because the agenda is being pulled toward the most combustible strategic questions rather than the more technical work of economic de-escalation.

The Trump administration’s emergency approval of up to $25.8 billion in weapons sales to Middle Eastern partners is less important for what it delivers immediately than for what it reveals about Washington’s strategic posture after the Iran war.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio used emergency authority on May 1 to waive the normal congressional review period for sales to Bahrain, Israel, Kuwait, Qatar, and the UAE, and that the larger $25.8 billion figure reflects modifications to earlier approvals rather than only the $8.6 billion in new sales publicly highlighted last week.

Brazil’s record April export performance shows how a commodity-producing economy can benefit from a global energy shock even while trying to shield its own consumers from the same turmoil. Brazil’s exports reached $34.15 billion in April, up 14.3% from a year earlier and the highest monthly total since the current data series began in 1997.

The trade surplus rose 37.5% to $10.5 billion. Much of the lift came from the extractive sector, where export values increased 17.9% year on year, with both crude oil and iron ore benefiting mainly from higher international prices. What makes the result especially notable is that it came despite Brazil’s attempt to dampen the domestic impact of the oil shock.

The real damage from the Iran war is no longer best understood through crude futures, which still swing wildly with every rumor of diplomacy or escalation. It is showing up more clearly in Asia’s refined-fuel markets, where physical shortages are deepening even when oil benchmarks briefly retreat.

Brent fell 7.8% on Wednesday to $101.27 a barrel after another hint of a possible peace agreement, yet flows of jet fuel, diesel, and gasoline across Asia remain severely impaired because the Strait of Hormuz is still effectively shut to most normal trade.

Japan’s latest agreement with the United Arab Emirates is another sign that Tokyo is moving from short-term crisis management toward a more deliberate redesign of its energy-security strategy. Japan and the UAE agreed this week to deepen talks on energy cooperation, including the expansion of joint crude stockpiles in Japan and the possibility of additional Emirati crude supplies.

Japan’s industry ministry said the details, including volumes, would be worked out later, but the direction is already clear: Tokyo wants more physical buffer, more supply assurance, and more flexibility in case Middle East disruption lasts longer than hoped.

China’s electric heavy-truck market is being pushed into a faster phase of growth by the Iran war, because the conflict has made one of the country’s oldest transport cost equations suddenly look much less favorable for diesel. New-energy heavy truck sales in China, overwhelmingly electric, rose 45% year on year to 44,000 units in the opening months of 2026, taking more than a quarter of the segment.

The pace is expected to strengthen further, with CVWorld forecasting April electric heavy-truck sales growth of around 30%, helped by stronger seasonal demand and higher fuel prices. What has changed is not simply technology adoption, but economics. China has spent years building the conditions for electric truck growth through subsidies, charging infrastructure, and trade-in support. That already lifted electric heavy trucks from a niche product into a meaningful slice of new sales in 2025.