Two years of Sudan's civil war have dealt a devastating blow to the country's economy, putting the financial system on the verge of collapse, leading to high inflation and soaring prices and leaving the Sudanese people to struggle for a living.
Fighting broke out in the capital of Khartoum on April 15, 2023, between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), and has spread to other areas across the country. The brutal fighting has killed at least 29,700 people and displaced nearly 13 million people.
The conflict has severely damaged Sudan's roads, electricity, water supply, education, and medical care, and almost paralyzed its industrial system.
Sudan's Ministry of Industry and Trade said that about 90 percent of the country's industrial facilities were damaged, and nearly 4,000 factories of various types in Khartoum and its surrounding areas were destroyed in the war.
The 2023 conflict also periled the country's banking sector. According to statistics from the Central Bank of Sudan, the country's financial assets have shrunk by about half during the conflict as hundreds of bank branches were robbed, and more than 70 percent of bank branches were forced to close.
The Sudanese government has launched a currency swap plan in the seven eastern states under its control since December last year, replacing old banknotes with new ones. However, new money cannot be exchanged in areas controlled by the RSF, resulting in a "dual currency system" in Sudan.
"The financial system in western Sudan is separated from other regions. This is a very dangerous phenomenon. It is a heavy blow to Sudan's economy. Because the western Darfur and Kordofan regions are rich in resources, they are indispensable to the national economy," said Asim Ismail, a Sudanese economist.
Fueled by an economic recession, export decline and capital exodus, Sudan's inflation rate has kept rising and its exchange rate has continued to depreciate. From 560 Sudanese pounds against 1 U.S. dollar before the conflict to 2,600 Sudanese pounds against 1 U.S. dollar today, the country's currency has registered a depreciation rate of more than 400 percent.
More than 65 percent of its people are living in poverty. Food prices have soared to 2 to 3 times the price before the outbreak of war, plunging Sudan into a serious hunger crisis. Nearly half of the country's population, or about 24.6 million people, are experiencing acute food insecurity.
"After the conflict broke out, the logistics system was almost paralyzed. Many roads were interrupted, making it very difficult to transport goods. This is an important reason for price hikes. I hope the conflict will end soon and the country will return to peace and stability," said Ismail Salam, a Khartoum resident.
Sudan's conflict pushes banking sector to brink of collapse
Escalating tariff clashes between the United States and Canada have deepened into a full-scale trade confrontation, piling pressure on businesses as duties spread across autos, steel, lumber and consumer goods.
The tit-for-tat measures have disrupted cross-border supply chains and eroded profits, stoking concern over jobs and industrial stability in North America.
The impact of prolonged tariff tensions is now deeply felt across Michigan's industrial and small business sectors, a core hub tightly linked to Canada's cross-border supply chains.
Founded as a family business and expanded into a multinational enterprise, Detroit Axle, a Michigan-based auto parts manufacturer with global operations, now employs nearly 1,000 workers, generating over 500 million U.S. dollars in annual revenue. According to its CEO Mike Musheinesh, the company has witnessed drastic cost spikes over the past 18 months amid the ongoing trade dispute.
In April last year, the US announced a 25-percent tariff on all imports of non-US made automobiles and auto parts from Canada. Added to that, there is also a 50-percent tariff on steel and aluminum products.
"If I imported a million dollars' worth of product, once upon a time we'd pay the government 25,000 U.S. dollars in tariffs. Now it went up to 725,000 U.S. dollars in tariffs overnight," said Musheinesh.
The automotive industries of Michigan and Ontario are highly interdependent, with auto parts frequently crossing the U.S.-Canada border multiple times before final assembly.
"96 of the top 100 suppliers have a facility or a headquarters in Michigan. Those are global suppliers. 13 assembly plants. It's a 348-billion-dollar economic contribution. It is our signature industry," said Glenn Stevens Jr., executive director of the trade association MichAuto.
He emphasized that the sophisticated automotive supply chain operates on thin profit margins, leaving little room to absorb extra expenditures.
"The auto industry is an extremely complex, highly developed supply chain, and the margins are not huge. They're pretty thin, right? So every step counts. Every piece of equipment, every investment, every cost, every gasoline increase, everything adds to the cost of the system and tariffs do that too," he continued.
Beyond the automotive sector, local small businesses are also bearing the brunt of tariff escalation. In nearby Warren, Michael Howard busily works on a new piece of furniture. He began a wood furniture company after moving into a home without any and has grown his business to include everything from bookcases to chopping boards.
But he has been hit by a roughly 45-percent tariff on Canadian lumber.
"There was a medical facility that we were doing the receptionist desks for, and hopefully some other cabinets inside of their facility. And they gave us a budget, and we were already at the upper limits of that budget, and when the tariffs went into place, even the threat of those, we had to reach back out and say, this incoming increase in costs on supplies is going to be applied. And they decided not to go forward. And that one project alone cost our family 3,000 U.S. dollars in sales," said Michael Howard, Owner of Howard Family Designs.
The various tariffs and retaliatory tariffs between the US and Canada have already caused economic stresses on both sides. The two economies are deeply intertwined, exchanging some 720 billion dollars' worth of goods last year. But there is a concern that the situation could get even worse.
That is because U.S. President Donald Trump is threatening a further 50-percent tariff on all Canadian automotive and steel imports beginning January 1.
"It's not tenable. That's not something the industry can absorb. That's just something that would make things cost prohibitive to make. And it would really be quite paralyzing," said Glenn Stevens Jr.
US-Canada tariff conflict casts shadow over businesses on both sides
