Tag - trade

 
 

TRADE

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (left) and Chilean President Gabriel Boric at the Prime Minister's Official Residence in Tokyo on Sunday
JAPAN / Politics
May 11, 2025
Ishiba and Boric reaffirm importance of free trade
Ishiba told Boric that Japan wants to deepen bilateral cooperation with Chile in the mining sector, given that Chile is the largest source of copper and lithium for Japan.
Yantian port in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, China. Investors are cautiously optimistic that U.S.-China trade talks underway in Switzerland will ease tensions and market volatility, though few expect a major breakthrough amid deep-rooted disputes and high tariffs.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 11, 2025
Wary investors hope U.S.-China talks cool high-stakes trade war
The highly anticipated meeting in Switzerland could mark one of the biggest developments since U.S. President Donald Trump launched sweeping tariffs on April 2.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks during a Lower House committee meeting on Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 11, 2025
Ishiba vows Japan will stand its ground, demanding U.S. lift auto tariffs
The U.S. is an important market for the Japanese automobile industry, accounting for about 20% of its total car exports in terms of volume and about 30% in terms of value.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent takes questions at the White House on April 29. Bessent, a former hedge fund manager, is leading trade talks with China in Geneva.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 11, 2025
U.S. and China conclude first day of talks in bid to ease trade war
U.S. President Donald Trump said negotiators had "a very good meeting” on their first day of an effort to deescalate the rivals' trade war.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent leaves his hotel for a meeting with Chinese officials on tariffs in Geneva on Saturday.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 10, 2025
U.S. and China begin talks in bid to 'de-escalate' trade war
The talks were the first between the world's two largest economies since U.S. President Donald Trump slapped steep new levies on China last month.
U.S. President Donald Trump makes a trade announcement as U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick (second from left), U.S. Vice President JD Vance (third from left), British Ambassador to the United States Peter Mandelson (third from right),  U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer (second from right) and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins (right) look on in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
May 10, 2025
Trump’s first trade pact offers faint glimpse of art of the deal
For global leaders puzzling over how to negotiate with Donald Trump, the U.S. president’s inaugural pact with the U.K. offers a few clues on how much ground he’s prepared to give.
An attendee wearing a Super Mario costume plays a Nintendo Switch 2 game console at the ExCeL London international exhibition and convention center in London on April 11.
BUSINESS / Tech
May 10, 2025
Nintendo doesn’t rule out Switch 2 price hike after soft outlook
The firm expects shipments of the system to be nearly 1.8 million shy of analysts' estimates, and could raise the price, depending on how Trump administration tariffs work out.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters during the announcement of a trade agreement with Britain in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
May 10, 2025
China and the U.S. to talk trade war ceasefire — not peace
Ahead of the meeting, the two sides seem much further apart and at greater risk of a major fallout than during their first trade war in Trump's previous term.
Ryosei Akazawa, Japan’s top tariff negotiator, speaks to the press on Friday. Japan and the United States are still discussing what to negotiate.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 9, 2025
Japan stuck at starting line in tariff talks with U.S. as U.K. inks deals
The U.S. has warned that comparing Japan with the U.K. was apples and oranges, and that getting over the line with many countries will be a slow and arduous process.
Nominal cash earnings rose 2.1% from a year earlier, decelerating from a revised 2.7% pace in February and below a median economist forecast of 2.5%, according to the labor ministry.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 9, 2025
Japan’s nominal wage growth slows, backing case for BOJ caution
Nominal cash earnings rose 2.1% from a year earlier, decelerating from a revised 2.7% pace in February and below a median economist forecast of 2.5%.
According to earnings reports released by Thursday, net profit is forecast to fall 47.7% to ¥250 billion at Nippon Yusen K.K., 60% to ¥170 billion at Mitsui O.S.K. Lines and 67.3% to ¥100 billion at Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 9, 2025
Three major Japan shipping firms expect sharp falls in profit
The companies are projecting a drop in the transport of autos and other goods due to U.S. tariff measures.
A Japanese newspaper headline includes the word "tariff" in Japanese.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
May 9, 2025
Trump once called it his favorite word. Now, the Japanese version is all over the news.
Learning how to talk about tariffs, imports and exports is becoming increasingly necessary in everyday conversation.
A pullback by some of Asia's richest families from U.S. assets marks a rapid change from just a few months ago, when many in region’s business elite cheered U.S. President Donald Trump’s election win, sending share prices at banks and major tech firms to record highs.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 9, 2025
Asia’s superrich rapidly scale back U.S. exposure amid trade war
The pullback marks a rapid change from just a few months ago, when many in the region’s business elite cheered the election win of U.S. President Donald Trump.
Chinese President Xi Jinping attends a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
May 9, 2025
China can play hardball at looming trade talks with U.S., analysts say
After weeks of tit-for-tat escalation that sent global markets into a tailspin, the two powers will meet this weekend for a chance to break the ice.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (second right) and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer (left) meet with Japan’s economic revitalization minister, Ryosei Akazawa, in Washington on May 1. In an attempt to ease trade tensions, Bessent and Greer will meet with a Chinese team in Switzerland from Saturday. 
EDITORIALS
May 9, 2025
A moment of hope for U.S-China trade frictions
The U.S. and China will meet in Switzerland to discuss trade tensions, but deep mistrust and structural issues are hurdles they will have to overcome to make progress.
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer during a phone conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump from a Jaguar Land Rover automobile manufacturing plant in the West Midlandson, U.K., on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
May 9, 2025
Starmer gets diplomatic win he needs, if not the economic boost
The framework the two leaders unveiled goes some way to reversing the worst impacts on the U.K. of U.S. tariffs.
U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hands with Britain's ambassador to the United States, Peter Mandelson, after announcing a trade deal with the U.K., in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 9, 2025
Trump and Starmer hail limited U.S.-U.K. trade deal, but 10% duties remain
Trump pushed back against seeing the U.K. deal as a template for other negotiations, saying that many other trading partners may end up with much higher final tariffs.
U.S. President Donald Trump takes questions from the media at the White House in Washington on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 8, 2025
Trump administration to announce trade deal with Britain
The agreement would be the first deal announced since Trump imposed stiff tariffs on dozens of U.S. trading partners.
A semiconductor wafer is magnified through the lens of a microscope in Seoul on April 30. A rule introduced by former U.S. President Joe Biden to restrict the export of sophisticated chips has been described as "unenforceable."
BUSINESS / Tech
May 8, 2025
Trump administration to rescind and replace Biden's AI chip export curbs
A spokeswoman for the Department of Commerce said the rule is "overly complex" and "unenforceable."
Since U.S. President Donald Trump's return to the White House, the greenback is down more than 9% against a basket of major currencies as investors pull back from owning U.S. assets.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 8, 2025
Ukraine considers shift from dollar to euro amid geopolitical realignments
"This work is complex and requires high-quality, versatile preparation," Central Bank Gov. Andriy Pyshnyi said.

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