Economy | ANALYSIS
Households to take hit from tax hike
by Tomoko Otake
The consumption tax increase will hit every household in Japan hard, with many people’s financial future hanging on whether their wages rise enough to offset the hike's impact.
Asia Pacific Sep 24, 2013
China free trade zone 'to allow banned websites'
In a rare exception to strict Internet controls, a Hong Kong newspaper reported Tuesday that China’s first free trade zone will allow access to Facebook, Twitter and other websites that are currently banned nationwide. The Shanghai free trade zone, approved in August to boost ...
Asia Pacific | Focus Sep 19, 2013
Africans make it big in China
From a windowless room in a dilapidated Hong Kong high-rise, Ali Diallo sells Chinese electronics to retailers across Africa. The modest surroundings belie the multimillion-dollar business the West African trader has built in the five years since he moved to the city. The 39-year-old ...
Economy Aug 9, 2013
First talks with U.S. on TPP wrap up
by Kazuaki Nagata
The first Japan-U.S. talks held in parallel with the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade initiative ended Friday in Tokyo, setting the stage for further discussions on more specific issues. Since this was the inaugural round, the two sides basically stated their positions and tried to establish ...
Business | JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES Aug 4, 2013
Japan increases TPP possibilities but not its own competitiveness
by Teruhiko Mano
Japan finally entered the trade talks for hammering out the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement during the 18th round last month in the Malaysian resort of Kota Kinabalu.
Business | BALANCING INTERESTS Jul 23, 2013
Food looms large as trading houses plot overseas forays under new pact
by Hiroko Nakata
Second in a series When Marubeni Corp. announced in May it plans to launch services that will make it possible for people in Asia to purchase Japanese fruit and vegetables with just one click, it received dozens of phone calls from potential domestic partners, ...
Global-related Jul 15, 2013
China's media block violates trade commitments
by Jim Sciutto
From the moment they land in China, Americans must adjust to an aggressively censored version of the Internet, sanitized of Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.
Economy Jul 9, 2013
U.S., EU open tough talks on trade, spying
Landmark U.S.-EU trade talks opened in Washington on Monday as the two sides also discussed U.S. spying activities that infuriated Europeans and threatened to hold up what could be the world’s largest free trade deal. In the wake of disclosures that the United States ...
Business Jun 29, 2013
U.S. suspends trade privileges to Bangladesh
President Barack Obama announced Thursday the suspension of U.S. trade privileges for Bangladesh in response to growing concerns over labor rights and worker safety there. The decision is the culmination of a years-long review of labor conditions in the impoverished nation. Pressure on the ...
Economy Jun 20, 2013
Trade deficit in May was the third-highest ever recorded
Japan’s trade balance in May showed the third-largest deficit ever for any month, with the red-ink streak extending to a record 11th month as the depreciation of the yen continued to push up import prices despite a sharp gain in exports, the government said ...
Business Jun 6, 2013
EU imposes import duties on Chinese solar panels
The European Commission on Tuesday imposed anti-dumping duties on imports of Chinese solar panels, defying German-led opposition and dire warnings from Beijing the move could spark a trade war. “Today, the European Commission has decided unanimously to impose (punitive) tariffs” on Chinese solar panels, ...
Business Jun 5, 2013
EU to impose duties on Chinese solar panels
The European Commission on Tuesday imposed anti-dumping duties on imports of Chinese solar panels, defying German-led opposition and dire warnings from Beijing the move could spark a trade war. “Today, the European Commission has decided unanimously to impose (punitive) tariffs” on Chinese solar panels, ...
Global-related Jun 5, 2013
China's rise doesn't have to mean U.S. decline
by Noah Feldman
Someone steals your most sensitive secrets. Then, planning a face-to-face meeting, he says he wants to develop “a new type” of relationship with you. At what point, exactly, would you start thinking he was planning to drink your milkshake? Ahead of the first summit ...