American politics, especially the quadrennial presidential election, is closely followed by people world over, and with good reason. America is the world’s most dominant economy, and there are literally hundreds of millions who, given a chance, wish to immigrate to America or have relatives & friends living there. No doubt, American government policies do have global implications.

Democrats’ luck

It is interesting, even for a casual observer, to look back three decades, to see how American two-party political system has been evolving. It seems that Republican presidents have been dealt poorer hands than Democrat presidents. Republican George H.W. Bush was successful in driving Saddam Hussain out of Kuwait in January 1991 during the Persian Gulf War. At that time, even though American economy was humming along a respectable clip of 3.5% annual GDP growth, Democrats and the media convinced Americans that the economy was struggling, thereby helping Clinton defeat Bush. In 2001, only a few months after President George W. Bush took office, America was attacked on 9/11/2001, that led to long wars with Iraq and Afghanistan and partly causing the great depression of 2008. During Trump’s 2017 – 2019 leadership, economy was growing solidly, but then COVID-19 hit in 2020 and Trump lost his reelection bid in 2020. Democrats and the media were successful in using the pandemic in a couple ways to defeat Trump, who has maintained that the election was “stolen” from him, alleging that many states took advantage of lockdown to conduct election without proper controls.

On the other hand, look at Democrat Presidents. Bill Clinton benefited from the 1994-to-2000 dot-com boom. In 2009, Obama became president when the 2008 depression had run its course, and it had nowhere to go but up. It looks like Biden is going to benefit from economy’s revival as vaccine availability controls the pandemic.

Current State of American politics

Cynicism towards entrenched politicians and government has been growing and that’s what fuelled Trump’s surprise win in 2016. Trump, an outsider, promised to push conservative agenda of smaller government, self-reliance and draining the “swamp” in Washington. Of course, it upset the “establishment” comprising of traditional politicians and liberal media. So, Trump had a bulls-eye painted on his back and the establishment tried to get rid of him from day one. It appears that an Unholy Trinity – Democrats, liberal media and high-tech companies -has been consolidating for the past four years, and the Republican party will suffer in future elections.

Biden presidency

Biden, the oldest president in recent history, ran mostly a virtual campaign, but was propelled to victory as the media and Democrats vilified Trump. Biden has pledged to unify the country after the tumultuous years of the Trump presidency, and Democrats are vowing to use their control of the House, the Senate and the White House, for the first time in more than a decade, to enact a “bold” agenda. The disappointed supporters of President Trump fear that Biden’s bold agenda means undoing Trump initiatives AND imposing more liberal / progressive policy initiatives. And Biden has done just that! On his very first day in office, he issued several executive orders and directives to re-join Paris Climate Accord, World Health Organization and undo Trump’s immigration initiatives, to mention a few. The Congress is proceeding with its unprecedented plan to impeach Trump, with two goals. One, to ensure that Trump can never run for a public office again, and second, to send a message to future “Trumps” that outsiders are not welcome in the traditional political club.

With the unholy trinity dominating American politics, the country appears to be headed away from capitalism and towards socialism. Although, the country is crushing under a whopping national debt of $30 trillion and growing, nobody seems to be overly concerned about it as America’s creditworthiness, due to huge economy, is good and government’s power to levy and collect higher tax.

Many observers do not expect Biden to complete his full-term in office, due to his advanced age, thus propelling Kamala Harris to presidency and America to more socialism. Stay tuned!

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The Alliance for the Future of Tires (AZuR) has confirmed its participation as a cooperation partner for the tyre material flow for an interactive event on the Digital Product Passport (DPP), scheduled for 16 June 2026 at the Bottrop campus of Ruhr West University of Applied Sciences. With the European Union planning to introduce DPP from 2028, the initiative aims to establish greater transparency, resource conservation and functional material cycles. The upcoming gathering will focus on practical applications and future prospects for industry, trade, recycling and the circular economy.

The European Union has classified tyres as a priority product group under the new Ecodesign Regulation. The digital passport will provide accessible data on a tyre’s entire lifecycle, including material composition, carbon dioxide emissions, repair history, retreading suitability and recycling methods, potentially via QR codes or radio-frequency identification technology on the tyre itself.

Significant potential exists for the tyre recycling sector. Retreaders will be able to quickly assess casing history, mileage and past repairs to determine suitability for retreading. Recyclers will gain improved material transparency regarding ingredients, additives and recycled content, thereby facilitating both mechanical and chemical recycling. Thus, the passport can support longer tyre use and more efficient recovery of valuable raw materials.

AZuR views DPP as a key step towards advancing the tyre circular economy. Several manufacturers are already working on pilot projects, including Michelin’s coordination of a scalable system through the CIRPASS-2 project, standardisation efforts by Bridgestone and Michelin via the Global Data Service Organisation and AZuR partners’ work on radio-frequency identification and digital traceability. The upcoming university event offers companies, researchers and municipalities an early opportunity to address the passport’s requirements and develop practical solutions.

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Continental marked a major milestone on 22 May 2026 during opening ceremonies for the second expansion phase of its Rayong plant in Thailand. The development includes growth for the Passenger and Light Truck Tires division and the start of radial production for motorcycle tyres.

The Rayong motorcycle tyre facility operates with fully in-house manufacturing, from rubber compounds to finished products, using modern equipment. All processes adhere to Continental’s global quality and control standards, enabling production of both radial and diagonal tyres with capacity for future expansion. A high degree of automation and automatic monitoring systems eliminate manual errors while maintaining strict quality checks at every step.

Continental’s Rayong production serves diverse riding styles, including sport-touring and adventure touring segments, with popular radial and diagonal tyre models already in production. In March 2026, the plant received IATF certification, meeting international automotive standards that guarantee continuous quality processes and supply reliability for original-equipment customers.

The expansion also reflects Continental’s sustainability commitment, with solar energy supplying about 13 percent of the plant’s electricity needs. Additionally, the project has created new jobs, strengthening the regional economy.

Christoph Ettenhuber, Head of Business Field Motorcycle Tires, Continental, said, “By expanding our facility in Thailand, we are strategically strengthening our global production structure for Continental Motorcycle Tires. Together with our established operations in our Korbach plant in Germany, we are laying the groundwork for a faster, more flexible response to market demands. Rayong is a key component of our international motorcycle tyre strategy and underscores our clear commitment to growth and state-of-the-art production processes. For our customers, this means premium quality made by Continental – no matter which continent they’re on or which roads they travel."

Sahil Agrawal, Head of Manufacturing Operations in Rayong, said, “Quality is our top priority – for our original equipment customers as well as for end consumers. Our system captures every detail: all tyres are fully traceable at every production step. Online monitoring systems such as automatic scales, profilometers and camera systems ensure that every component is within specification limits. Automation – from the green tyre spray system to automatic tool management – enables us to achieve maximum quality levels while creating an ergonomic and safe working environment.”

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Bridgestone Corporation has once again been selected as a constituent of several globally recognised environmental, social and governance (ESG) indexes, including the Dow Jones Best-in-Class World Index, the FTSE4Good Index Series, the MSCI Selection Indexes, the FTSE JPX Blossom Japan Index, the FTSE JPX Blossom Japan Sector Relative Index, the MSCI Japan ESG Select Leaders Index and the MSCI Japan Equity ESG Select Leaders Index.

The Japanese tyre giant’s continued inclusion in these rankings serves as a concrete and objective embodiment of its corporate mission to serve society with superior quality. Company leadership views the ability to sustain such ESG initiatives over many years as a distinct organisational strength.

Regarding the Dow Jones indexes, Bridgestone has been selected for the Best-in-Class World Index for four consecutive years since 2022, which recognises the top 10 percent of sustainability leaders among 2,500 major global companies. The firm has also maintained a place in the Best-in-Class Asia Pacific Index for 16 straight years since 2010.

In the FTSE Russell assessments, Bridgestone has achieved eight consecutive years of selection for the FTSE4Good Index Series since 2018, alongside the same duration for the FTSE JPX Blossom Japan Index. The company has also been included in the FTSE JPX Blossom Japan Sector Relative Index for five consecutive years since 2021. For MSCI, Bridgestone has secured three straight years of selection for the MSCI Selection Indexes since 2023 while receiving the highest AAA rating in the MSCI ESG Ratings for three consecutive years.

The company has additionally earned high marks from the international non-profit CDP, receiving an A minus rating in both Climate Change and Water Security for 2025, marking six consecutive years at the leadership level. Bridgestone also obtained an A rating in the Supplier Engagement Rating for the seventh time. Key initiatives behind these recognitions include the expansion of its sustainability business model towards carbon neutrality and a circular economy, actions supporting nature positive goals such as sustainable natural rubber and water resource management, a comprehensive due diligence system based on Plan-Do-Check-Act cycles for human rights and environmental risk and global policy execution guidelines.

Bridgestone places sustainability at the core of its management, aiming to implement and evolve its unique business model across the entire value chain from production and use to renewal and raw materials. These efforts link business operations directly to the realisation of carbon neutrality, a circular economy and a nature positive world.

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Tegeta Green Planet and Shine Energy, both affiliated with Tegeta Holding, have launched a joint educational initiative to raise environmental awareness and a sense of responsibility among young people. The project addresses modern challenges such as environmental protection and sustainable development.

Company representatives are visiting schools across Tbilisi to hold informational meetings, presentations and workshops. The programme begins with presentations, followed by interactive games and activities designed to help students retain the information. At the end of each session, participants receive symbolic gifts and prizes as motivation.

Tegeta Green Planet focuses on teaching students the principles of specific waste management, including how to properly handle used tyres, batteries and oils. The sessions explain why proper waste management is essential for environmental protection and how it connects to the circular economy. Meanwhile, Shine Energy educates young people on the importance of energy, its everyday use and why developing renewable and sustainable energy resources is crucial.

The initiative is not limited to schools. In the near future, both organisations will expand their efforts to universities, aiming to broaden awareness about environmental protection, waste management and energy efficiency. The ultimate goal is to foster environmentally responsible attitudes among the younger generation, helping build a more sustainable and conscious society.

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