How a Yemeni rebel group is creating chaos in the global economy

Some countries may feel the impact directly, such as the cash-strapped government of Egypt, which earns more than $9 billion a year from Suez Canal transit fees. But given the complex web of global trade woven by maritime shipping, other nations will experience knock-on effects.

Rachel Ziemba, an energy and economics analyst at the Center for a New American Security, pointed out that the disruption comes at a time when many European economies have been forced to increase their reliance on shipborne oil and natural gas, much of it from the Middle East, in an effort to wean themselves off Russian pipelines. Russia, meanwhile, has increased its own oil exports to India, China, and other markets in Asia — and much of that oil travels by ship through the Red Sea as well. “If anything, when it comes to shipping, there’s been more reliance on shipping rather than less,” said Ziemba.

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