Aug 19, 2026The cost of imported goods was up 4.5% year-over-year, when you cut out volatile energy prices. Plus: Bond buybacks, Venezuela-U.S. oil deals, and a tariff standoff.
Kena Betancur/AFP via Getty ImagesSegments From This Episode"Marketplace" host Kai Ryssdal discusses the Treasury Department's latest move with Robin Brooks, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.Mark Felix/AFP via Getty ImagesStripping out the cost of imported energy, imports are about 4.5% more expensive than at the same time last year.
The deadline to impose 50% tariffs on some Canadian imports has been delayed. Gretchen Blough, customs brokerage manager at Logistics Plus in Erie, Penn., says the changes have lead "to a lot of frustration in planning for our customers."Maryorin Mendez/AFP via Getty ImagesVenezuela’s oil minister, Paula Henao, spoke to Venezuelan state television from Houston, Texas on Tuesday night to announce the investments.
Sofa Terenzio/MarketplaceMicrodramas are already big business in China, but can they make it in the States? The founders of Knockout Shorts, a new Hollywood studio, thinks they can.
Music from the episodeThe TeamKai Ryssdal HostNancy Farghalli Executive ProducerWill Storey Supervising Senior ProducerMaria Hollenhorst Producer IIAndie Corban Producer ISarah Leeson Producer ISean McHenry Director & Associate Producer IISofia Terenzio Associate ProducerJordan Mangi Associate Digital ProducerLivi Burdette Assistant Producer
