Tag - trade

 
 

TRADE

Berlin's growing military engagement with Indo-Pacific allies and partners is meant to signal that Germany "stands firmly at the side of those countries that are committed to complying with international law and do not accept it being called into  question," German Navy chief Vice Adm. Kaack told The Japan Times.
JAPAN
Aug 20, 2024
Sea lane fears drive German military's Asian engagement, navy chief says
Developments in the Indo-Pacific, both economic and geopolitical, have direct implications for the security and prosperity of Germany, Vice Adm. Jan Christian Kaack says.
A tug boat assists a container ship to its berth in Long Beach, California, on June 17.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 19, 2024
Busiest U.S. ports absorb import surge nearing pandemic-era frenzy
The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, which account for roughly a third of all U.S. container imports, had their third-strongest month ever in July.
The Finance Ministry will apply foreign trade regulations to chipmaking equipment, requiring foreign investors to give prior notice when conducting direct investment in the sector.
BUSINESS
Aug 16, 2024
Japanese government tightens grip on chip supply-chain network
The move comes as Japan tries to revive its own capacity to produce semiconductors as a pillar of its economic security strategy.
The size of the carry trade strategy is hard to determine because currency transactions, unlike stock trades, aren't tracked on exchanges. We only have estimates.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 14, 2024
How big is the yen carry trade, really?
There is now worry that the unwinding of yen-funded carry trades would wreck investors’ frothy exposures to U.S. technology and AI-related companies.
The Kremlin in Moscow on Monday
WORLD / Politics
Aug 13, 2024
Billions in dollar and euro notes reach Russia despite sanctions
Russia has managed to circumvent sanctions blocking cash imports, suggesting that dollars and euros remain useful tools for trade and travel.
An unmanned cargo aircraft developed by Sichuan Tengden Sci-tech Innovation takes part in a maiden flight at an airport in Zigong, Sichuan province, China, on Sunday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 13, 2024
China test-flies biggest cargo drone as low-altitude economy takes off
China's civilian drone makers are testing larger payloads as the government pushes to build a low-altitude economy.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida meets with Chinese leader Xi Jinping at a summit in Bangkok in November 2022. Despite Japan-China relations stagnating in recent years, Xi's administration presents some interesting opportunities for an overture between the two countries.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Aug 12, 2024
Will Japan and China’s relations continue to stagnate?
Japan and China have historically been at odds and relations have stagnated. This pattern can be broken by seizing the moment, one that offers some key opportunities.
Avocados hang off a tree at an orchard in Tancitaro, Michoacan state, Mexico
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Aug 7, 2024
Avocado goldrush links U.S. companies with Mexico's deforestation disaster
The U.S. demand for avocados divides communities in Mexico, where it is both a driver of economic growth and a catalyst for environmental crises.
Japan's gasoline imports in June rose 20.4% from the previous month, with the Petroleum Association of Japan attributing it to maintenances and outages at plants owned by top oil refiners.
BUSINESS
Aug 6, 2024
Japan's gasoline imports seen rising through August as refinery outages cut output
Japan's gasoline imports are expected to stay elevated through August after rising 20% in June.
The entrance gate of the SEG electronics market in Shenzhen, China, on June 27.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 5, 2024
With smugglers and front companies, China is skirting U.S. AI bans
The U.S. worries advanced semiconductors could help China develop superior weaponry, launch cyberattacks and make faster decisions on the battlefield.
Freshly-caught bonito fish unloaded in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture. Japan's food exports to China plunged in the first half of 2024 due to Beijing's import ban on Japanese fishery products.
JAPAN
Aug 4, 2024
Japan's first-half food exports fall for first time in four years
The latest result reflected China's import ban on Japanese fishery products since last summer in response to the release of treated Fukushima water.
China always seems to be one step ahead of America in economic strategies, advancing in electric vehicle and battery production while the U.S. struggles to keep up with evolving trade and supply chain challenges.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 2, 2024
West plays 'whack-a-mole' as China dominates EV and battery sectors
A more proactive, multilateral approach by the U.S. to supply chain and trade policy is necessary to counter China’s economic influence.
A Samsung HBM chip
WORLD / Politics
Aug 1, 2024
U.S. weighs restrictions on China’s access to AI memory chips
The new restrictions are likely to be unveiled as soon as late August as part of a broader package that also includes sanctions against over 120 Chinese firms.
Traditional soap cakes are manufactured in Aleppo in northern Syria in February.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 31, 2024
Japanese importer fights to preserve traditional Aleppo soap
It is said that Aleppo has upheld the tradition of soapmaking for approximately 1,000 years, using olive and laurel oil with alkali made from charcoaled desert shrubs.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida shakes hands with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol as U.S. President Joe Biden looks on alongside other members of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders week in San Francisco in November.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 31, 2024
Japan to co-lead crisis response branch of the global trade initiative IPEF
Japan will be vice chair of the Crisis Response Network, a body under the U.S.-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris might maintain some of the economic policies of former President Donald Trump.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Jul 30, 2024
A President Harris might be decidedly Trumpy in approach to Asia trade
The efforts to contain China economically is a common theme that is likely to be maintained after the election.
The Bonham Strand Trade Centre, a location housing shell companies that ship restricted military technology to Russia, according to an analysis by The New York Times, in Hong Kong on June 14
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 27, 2024
The illicit flow of technology to Russia goes through this Hong Kong address
Defying sanctions, Moscow has obtained nearly $4 billion in restricted chips since the war began in Ukraine.
International Monetary Fund guidance on industrial policy must balance protection with market discipline and emphasize fiscal prudence.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 25, 2024
What fiscally sound industrial policy can do
Industrial policy can help countries cope with growing economic and political uncertainty. But the details matter.
The Ukedo fishing port in the town of Namie in Fukushima Prefecture in March. In 2022, Taiwan lifted most of its import restrictions on food produced in five prefectures including Fukushima.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 24, 2024
Taiwan set to lift remaining import restrictions on Japanese food
The latest measure will cover products such as mushrooms and the meat of wild animals.
Turkey has facilitated the flow of Russian oil to the European Union, enabling the Kremlin to circumvent the bloc’s sanctions and prolonging the Ukraine war.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 24, 2024
Europe must clamp down on Russian oil flows through Turkey
Turkey has facilitated the flow of Russian oil to the European Union, enabling the Kremlin to circumvent the bloc’s sanctions and prolonging the Ukraine war.

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Dangami House is a 180-year-old former samurai residence of the Kato clan, who ruled over Ozu, Ehime Prefecture, until the Meiji Restoration.
A house, a legacy and the quiet work of restoration in rural Japan