Tag - trade

 
 

TRADE

Ryosei Akazawa (third from right), Japan's tariffs negotiator, in a meeting with U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent (second from right) and other senior government officials on Wednesday in Washington
BUSINESS
Apr 18, 2025
Trump reiterates opposition to Nippon Steel’s purchase of U.S. Steel
Whether there is interplay between the tariff negotiations and the Nippon Steel-U.S. Steel deal has never been made clear.
A video circulating on Chinese social media depicting a "U.S. sweatshop"
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 18, 2025
Chinese vent anger at Trump's trade war with memes and mockery
Chinese online warriors have taken advantage of the massive strides in AI to create memes highlighting that many of the goods bought by Americans are made in their country.
U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington on Thursday
BUSINESS
Apr 18, 2025
Trump’s tariff policies are hurting the businesses he’s trying to help
Some firms are putting hiring and expansion plans on hold while they come up with short-term plans to cope with the tariffs.
Container ships at the Port of Los Angeles on April 7. U.S. President Donald Trump has long argued that China’s dominant role in the maritime industry has made the U.S. overly dependent on the Asian nation.
BUSINESS
Apr 18, 2025
Trump moves to levy Chinese vessels in trade war shakeup
The proposal follows a monthslong investigation ordered by the Biden administration into whether Chinese shipbuilding threatens U.S. national security.
Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet at the Peace Palace in Phnom Penh on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 18, 2025
Xi meets Cambodian leader on final stop of regional diplomatic blitz
Xi wrapped up his Southeast Asia tour in Cambodia, where he signed new trade deals and pushed back against U.S. tariffs imposed under Trump’s latest “Liberation Day” policy.
Workers iron items of clothing at a Thai Son S.P. Co. garment factory in Binh Thuan province, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, on April 10.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 17, 2025
Vietnam’s factory-based growth model at risk in global trade war
For factory owners, what happens beyond a 90-day pause in tariffs announced by U.S. President Donald Trump is a big question mark.
Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's chief tariff negotiator, speaks to reporters in Washington on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 17, 2025
Japan and the U.S. begin tariff talks on good terms, but without breakthroughs
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said there are still gaps between the respective stances of Japan and the U.S.
Chinese President Xi Jinping waves upon his departure to Cambodia at the Bunga Raya VIP complex of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang, Malaysia.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 17, 2025
Xi urges ‘Asian family’ unity as Trump seeks to confine China
The Chinese president seeks to keep countries from cutting deals with the U.S. at the expense of his nation.
Chinese President Xi Jinping during his visit to Hanoi on Tuesday. Xi is also visiting Malaysia and Cambodia as part of a charm offensive related to recent U.S. tariffs.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 17, 2025
Cambodia seeking China's financial support as Xi visits amid U.S. tariffs
Phnom Penh is a close partner of China, which has invested billions of dollars in projects including roads and airports and is the country's largest creditor.
Japan's exports measured by value gained 3.9% in March from a year earlier, slower than estimated.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 17, 2025
Japan’s exports rise at slower pace as Trump tariffs begin
The outlook for Japan's economy appears increasingly uncertain as Trump deepens his tariff campaign, prompting nations like China to retaliate.
The crude oil tanker New Odyssey arrives at the port in Qingdao, in China's eastern Shandong province on April 15. The U.S. has issued new sanctions targeting Iran's oil exports, including against a China-based independent oil refinery.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 17, 2025
U.S. issues new sanctions targeting Chinese importers of Iranian oil
The move comes as Washington seeks to ramp up pressure on Iran as it reentered talks with Tehran over its nuclear program this month.
Economists fail to understand that Donald Trump's tariff policy is part of a broader strategy to prepare the U.S. for long-term competition with China, driven by national security concerns rather than traditional economic or trade policy.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 17, 2025
What economists 'don’t get' about Trump tariffs
My view is that the U.S. has started to prepare seriously for a long-term competition with China for global dominance.
Hyundai Motor vehicles bound for export are loaded aboard a cargo ship at the port in Ulsan, South Korea, in July 2015.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 17, 2025
Can Trump’s tariffs restore U.S. manufacturing?
Rather than encouraging foreign direct investment in local manufacturing, Trump’s tariffs are deterring it.
A drone view shows a cargo ship at Kwai Tsing Container Terminals in Hong Kong on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 17, 2025
U.S. looks to box in China by recruiting other trading partners
Washington is set to ask nations to limit Beijing’s might when they negotiate tariffs.
Bottles of Hakkaisan-brand sake for export
BUSINESS
Apr 17, 2025
U.S. tariffs overshadow Japan's agriculture and food exports
Japanese goods need to be sold by "emphasizing that there are no alternatives" to them, said Kazuhito Yamashita, senior researcher at the Canon Institute for Global Strategies.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a Cabinet meeting at the White House on Thursday in Washington.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Apr 16, 2025
Trump calls the U.S.-Japan alliance ‘one-sided.’ Tokyo says otherwise.
Some observers believe the U.S. president’s worldview is stuck in the 1980s, a time when trade deficits with Japan captured the attention of U.S. policymakers.
Economic revitalization minister Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's chief tariff negotiator, responds to a question at Haneda Airport in Tokyo ahead of his visit to the United States on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 16, 2025
Akazawa, Japan’s tariff czar, jets to Washington for mission impossible 
Tokyo realizes that achieving a satisfactory meeting of the minds with Washington will be a real challenge.
ASEAN should use the 90-day pause on Donald Trump’s punishingly high tariffs to develop a unified position and broaden its membership by admitting East Timor and opening accession talks with Sri Lanka.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 16, 2025
ASEAN should expand to counter Trump’s tariffs
It came as no surprise that China would be the hardest hit, but the punishing duties imposed on most Asian countries were a profound shock.
Donald Trump’s punitive tariffs have dealt a blow to U.S. credibility and the greenback. It’s a bigger leap to project the currency's demise.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 16, 2025
King dollar’s reign looks secure — for now
The greenback survived Trump's first term at the pinnacle and will likely endure his second.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has sent a delegation to Washington for high-stakes tariff talks, as other nations watch to see if Tokyo can secure favorable terms from the Trump administration.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 16, 2025
If Japan can’t get a good trade deal, can anyone?
The Asian nation is the canary in the tariff coal mine. If it can’t secure a good deal, there’s little hope for others.

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Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.