We are in the Central American country of Guatemala to hear how temporary work permits to the United States are changing some Guatemalan’s lives. We find out how this circular migration is benefiting both businesses in the US, and the economy back home in Guatemala.

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Presenter/producer: Jane Chambers

(Photo: Sandra Noemi Bucu Saz in her plot of land that she rents with her family in Guatemala. Credit: Jane Chambers)

The French businessman was Director-General of the WTO from 2005–2013, and European commissioner for trade for five years from 1999 – 2004.

Ed Butler speaks to Pascal Lamy about the trading relationships between the US and China, and the US and the EU, what a second Trump presidency might mean for world trade.

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Producer: Amber Mehmood

(Picture: Pascal Lamy, photo taken in Paris, November 2022. Credit: Getty Images)

We look at what a second Donald Trump presidency could mean for Africa, hearing from economists and business owners.

We explore some of the existing trade pacts between the US and Africa, and consider the significance of remittances - the money sent back home by African migrants living overseas.

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Presented and produced by Michael Kaloki

(Picture: Then President Donald Trump walks with the former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta on the White House colonnade as they make their way to the Oval Office, on February 6, 2020 in Washington, DC. Credit: Getty Images)

Donald Trump has said he will impose new tariffs on goods entering the US from Canada on his first day in office. Tariffs are a central part of the President-elect's economic vision - he sees them as a way of growing the US economy, protecting jobs and raising tax revenue.

But some warn they could inflate consumer prices.

We look at how Canada is preparing, hearing from those in key sectors like farming and car manufacturing, and explore how the resignation of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau could affect things.

If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: [email protected]

Presenter: Sam Gruet Producer: Megan Lawton

(Picture: Ben Loewith, a third-generation dairy farmer, who runs summit dairy in Hamilton, Ontario, pictured in the dairy. Credit: Sam Gruet/Megan Lawton/BBC)

Even before taking office, President-elect Donald Trump has threatened to impose huge trade tariffs on Mexico, deport millions of undocumented Latino migrants out of the United States and crack down on the flow of drugs like fentanyl from Latin America into the US. And he's threatened to take control of the Panama Canal and re-name the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America”.

He has criticised the BRICS group of developing nations – which includes Brazil – for floating the idea of a new currency to challenge the dominance of the US dollar in international trade. And he has praised Argentina’s maverick right-wing president Javier Milei for cutting state expenditure.

So what will Trump’s second presidency mean for Latin America – a region that used to be known as “America’s back yard”?

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Presented and produced by Gideon Long Additional reporting by Vianey Alderete in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico

(Picture: The border wall on the US-Mexico border, as seen from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico October 23, 2024. Credit: Reuters)

As US president-elect Donald Trump prepares to re-enter the White House, global trade has become a contentious issue.

Mr Trump has threatened to impose tariffs – that is taxes at the border – on all goods imported from a host of nations, including neighbours Canada and Mexico as well as economic rival China. That risks igniting another trade war, with companies and consumers around the world affected.

Has global commerce always been so contentious? Rob Young looks at some of the key developments in international trade throughout history to work out how we got to the system and practices we have today.

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(Picture: Hands of woman showing seeds in a souk. Seeds are believed to be one of the earliest items to be traded in the world. Credit: Getty Images)

Sam Fenwick meets the renowned fashion designer and shoemaker, Jimmy Choo.

From learning the craft under his father's guidance in Malaysia, we hear about his journey building a fashion empire in London, starting from the basement of a run-down hospital.

Today, Jimmy Choo, who now designs for fashion house The Atelier, wants to share his knowledge with a new generation.

If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: [email protected]

Presenter: Sam Fenwick Producer: Amber Mehmood

(Picture: Jimmy Choo at an event run by his fashion college, the London Fashion Academy. Credit: BBC)

In our second programme looking at the future of the world's ports, we head to the South American country at the centre of a global tug-of-war between China and the US.

One key infrastructure project, in the small Peruvian fishing town of Chancay, is caught in the middle.

We speak to businesses and locals about what's happening.

Produced by Natalie Jiminez Presented by Ritika Gupta

(Image: Aerial view of the Chancay "megaport" in the small town of Chancay, 78km north of the Peruvian capital Lima, in October 2024.Credit: Getty Images)

In October 2024, dockworkers in the US went on strike for three days.

Members of the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) walked out at 14 major ports along the east and Gulf coasts, halting container traffic from Maine to Texas.

A tentative agreement was made over wages, and they've just returned to the bargaining table to negotiate "all other outstanding issues".

This includes plans to introduce automation to the ports.

In the first of two programmes looking at the future of ports, we head to the Rotterdam in the Netherlands, where the port has been using automation since the 1990s - and to Cape Town in South Africa which is looking for solutions to its efficiency issues.

Presented and produced by Matthew Kenyon, with additional reporting from Mohammed Allie.

If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: [email protected]

(Picture: Shipping containers are transported by automated guided vehicles (AGV) beside gantry cranes on the dockside at the Delta Terminal at the Port of Rotterdam in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Credit: Getty Images)

At the end of October 2024, deadly flash floods and torrential rain hit the Valencia region of Spain. More than 220 people were killed.

As well as claiming lives, the disaster also devastated livelihoods.

Valencia's chamber of commerce estimates that 48,000 companies have been affected.

Ashish Sharma visited the region shortly after the flooding, to speak to businesses and workers affected.

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Produced and presented by Ashish Sharma

(Image: Residents clean up a mud-and-debris-covered street after flooding hit large parts of the country on October 31, 2024 in the Paiporta municipality of Valencia, Spain. Credit: Getty Images)

How will countries handle challenges like rising debt, inflation, and political tensions? And what new opportunities might arise as the world adapts?

The BBC’s Economics Editor, Faisal Islam, and our Chief Economics Correspondent, Dharshini David, join Ed Butler to discuss the year ahead.

If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: [email protected]

Producer: Izzy Greenfield

(Picture: Numbers 2-0-2-5 printed on blocks of wood, each sitting on top of a stack of coins. Credit: Getty Images)

We meet the CEO of software firm, Forterro.

Dean Forbes twice became homeless as a teenager, then got dropped from a career as a professional footballer. He points to that failure as a key moment in his eventual success, because it made him more determined. Now the business executive has topped a list celebrating influential black Britons.

(Picture: Dean Forbes. Credit: Getty Images)

Presented by Theo Leggett Produced by Theo Leggett and Sam Clack