China

The region is not abandoning the dollar, but it is increasingly refusing to rely on it alone. Argentina keeps a yuan credit line, Brazil is building direct payment channels with China, and Cuba and Venezuela are hunting for workarounds. How does it all work? What do the numbers show? And how is Washington responding?

The Dollar Stays, but Not Alone

In 2026, Latin America became more than a raw-materials region. It is now a place where oil, sun, wind and critical minerals converge. Who is building, who is selling, and who is buying? Let's break it down by country and by player.

The Big Picture

Can Russia get access to TSMC chips? Formally, no, and the situation has not changed since 2022. What is stuck in Taiwan? What workarounds remain? What is being used instead? Let's take it step by step.

What Russia Actually Lost

Pacific Link: Canada Launches a Pipeline to Stop Feeding the American Market

Canada has designated the Pacific Link pipeline a project of national interest: 1 million barrels per day, C$35.2–43.7 billion, and exports to Asia. What this means for the United States.

China has launched an anti-dumping investigation against the European Union. Beijing announced the probe on the eve of trade talks with the EU. Why is this happening now, which industries will be hit first, and how will it affect European business?

The Core of the Conflict: A Mirror Response or a Preemptive Strike

Just five years ago, most experts greeted the idea of the Northern Sea Route as a serious alternative to the Suez Canal with an indulgent smile. The navigation window was too short, icebreaker escorts too expensive, and ice conditions too unpredictable for major global carriers to consider the Arctic route over the familiar southern path through Suez, even for a moment. Today, in autumn 2026, that same route supports a regular weekly container service between China and the United Kingdom, and cargo volumes are heading for an annual record.

If school textbooks are to be believed, the Japanese economic miracle is a story about hardworking Japanese people who, after a crushing defeat in war, pulled themselves together, cultivated corporate discipline, and built Toyota, Sony, and Panasonic literally from the ashes. A beautiful fairy tale. There's just one problem: it barely explains where a bombed-out country, stripped of its army and sovereignty, suddenly got the capital, the technology, and — most importantly — the market for all this splendor.

On September 23, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that Washington had invited Vladimir Putin to the G20 summit scheduled for December 14-15 in Miami. The venue will be Trump National Doral, a resort complex owned by the U.S. president's family. Rubio said at a briefing on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly: "We think this is a good opportunity for him to engage not just with the president, but with other world leaders. We hope he accepts this invitation."

Mikhail Azhgirevich, editor-in-chief of VIGIL Journal: It's the morning of September 18, and I'm sitting down to untangle a mess of numbers that has been circulating in the information space for a week now. The fact is simple. On September 16, the House of Representatives passed the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026. The vote was 262 to 159.

The world is offloading American bonds, and faster than almost anyone would have predicted just a couple of years ago. The share of Treasuries held in foreign central bank reserves has collapsed to 12%. After the 2008 crisis, that figure held above 40%. Back then, US Treasury debt was considered practically the safest place on the planet to park money. Today, money still flows there - but with hesitation.

Where the Distrust Comes From