The Preplay Continues: Inside the New U.S.–China Playbook
October 17, 2025
posted in
October 17, 2025

Same game, new moves In my last piece, I argued that Beijing’s export controls were never simple retaliation. They were the opening act of a negotiation. By creating a problem it could later solve, China built leverage. Now Trump has made his countermove. His 100% tariff on Chinese goods looks like retaliation, but it’s part […]

written by Sebastian Moritz
read more
China Just helped America’s Negotiating Position (And They Know It)
October 10, 2025
posted in
October 10, 2025

China announced sweeping new rare earth export restrictions today, tightening control over the minerals that power everything from jet engines to smartphones, according to Reuters yesterday. With 70% of global mining and 90% of processing under Beijing’s control, this looks like economic warfare. But here’s what most analysts are missing: this isn’t an attack – […]

written by Sebastian Moritz
read more
From 31% to 39%: How Not to Negotiate – and How to Start Again
October 1, 2025
posted in
October 1, 2025

When you walk into a negotiation at 31% and come out at 39%, something has gone fundamentally wrong. Not only is this an economic disaster for Switzerland – it is also a textbook example of how not to negotiate. On Liberation Day (April 2, 2025), Trump announced tariffs on Swiss goods at 31%. He signaled […]

written by Matthias Schranner & Sebastian Moritz
read more
Strategic Procurement in the Public Sector: Why the Game Changed
August 28, 2025
posted in
August 28, 2025

With the Public Procurement Act 2023 coming into force, a new set of rules has changed how public institutions in the UK must approach procurement. But beneath the regulatory surface lies a more fundamental shift: one that redefines the role of procurement itself. This shift is not about procedures. It’s about priorities. And at TWS […]

written by Konstantinos Karampelas & Álvaro Catalán Merino
read more
US Tariffs and Game Theory: Harnessing the uncontrollable urge to heed the price increase siren songs
March 17, 2025
posted in
March 17, 2025

Sometimes it takes only one headline for an industry to stiffen its muscles and buckle up for a ride through a vast sea of uncertainty.  We live in the times of headlines aplenty, when executives and policy makers around the world are forced to adjust their course with decisions that will affect millions of constituents […]

written by Konstantinos Karampelas & Korbinian Borchert
read more
The Game Theory Behind AI: The Paradox of Why DeepSeek’s Efficiency Breakthrough Won’t Stop the Spending Race
February 4, 2025
posted in
February 4, 2025

When DeepSeek unexpectedly outperformed existing AI models, the world took notice. It wasn’t just an incremental improvement – it was a fundamental shift. The most shocking part? DeepSeek achieved this with significantly fewer resources than anyone thought possible. For a moment, the implications seemed clear: if AI could be trained more efficiently, the insatiable demand […]

written by Felix Mylius & Roland Wehner
read more