On this episode of Guide to the Global Economy, Josh sits down with Sophia to talk about the prospect of Turkey joining the EU. It turns out that if Turkey were to join the bloc, it would be the second-fastest growing economy in the EU, and part of a larger trend of Southern European growth outpacing northern economic powerhouses, especially Germany. Sophia explains this is a return to an old pattern.

For his debut on the Guide, Ryan Murphy fills Josh in on how friend-shoring is going for Mongolia, a country sandwiched between Russia and China that may be a little weary of the its neighbors’ interests. As such, Ulaanbaatar has been turning to other potential partners, “third neighbors” with which it does not share a border, for trade in critical minerals, grain, and more. But Ryan couldn’t help but notice that when a US delegation visited to ink a new agreement, the prime minister had a scheduling conflict: a meeting with President Xi Jinping in Beijing. So, is Mongolia’s trade actually diversifying?

And making her debut on the show with By the Numbers this week, Mondrita Rashid shares her findings on a significant growth in South Korean trade with a variety of African Countries. What’s driving the uptick? Just last moth, eight African nations signed onto South Korea’s K-Rice Belt initiative, which will help them achieve self-sufficiency in their rice production with training, advanced farming technology, and materials.

ORIGINAL AIRDATE: 7/20/23