Tag - trade

 
 

TRADE

Visitors at Matryoshka Square, a theme park in the border town of Manzhouli, in China’s Inner Mongolia, on July 10. Much of the trade between China and Russia has long run through Manzhouli.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 25, 2025
How a Chinese border town keeps Russia’s economy afloat
The economic strategy of the town of Manzhouli underlines Russia’s evolution into a supplier of raw materials to China’s vast manufacturing sector.
Officials, including Russian President Vladimir Putin (second from right), Defense Minister Andrei Belousov (third from right) and Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh (left), attend a meeting in Moscow on Dec. 10, 2024.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 25, 2025
Indian firm shipped explosives to Russia despite U.S. warnings
Two shipments sent in December by an Indian firm, both of which were unloaded in St. Petersburg, have been identified in Indian customs data.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday in Washington, the day after he agreed to an 11th-hour trade deal with Japan.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 24, 2025
Big unanswered questions follow Japan's big, beautiful deal with the U.S.
The $550 billion investment plan, in particular, is the subject of doubt and discussion.
A boy and his father walk through the toy section of Walmart in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, on Nov. 29, 2019.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jul 24, 2025
Toy makers nix batteries and other materials to save costs amid tariff war
The duties imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump are particularly painful for companies like Hasbro and Mattel, as 80% of toys sold in the U.S. come from China.
As U.S. tariffs caused global uncertainty, Japanese carmakers in particular have been losing momentum as the industry faced pressure from levies.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jul 24, 2025
Firms in Japan likely to log lower profits amid tariff and political uncertainty
While tariffs caused global uncertainty, Japanese carmakers in particular have been losing momentum as the industry faced pressure from the levies.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s last-minute trade deal with the U.S. may calm tariff fears but has cost him politically, leaving Japan’s ruling party divided and his leadership on the brink.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 24, 2025
‘Mr. Japan’ bends the knee — and falls on his sword
Shigeru Ishiba’s trade deal with Donald Trump will be his last act as leader
U.S. President Donald Trump gestures after signing executive orders in Washington on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 24, 2025
Trump says Tokyo agreed to buy U.S. defense gear, but questions remain
Touting the surprise trade agreement with Japan, the U.S. president claimed that Tokyo agreed to buy billions of dollars in defense equipment.
European Council President Antonio Costa (left) and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (right) join hands with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba prior to a meeting at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 23, 2025
Japan and EU launch trade ‘alliance’ amid concerns over U.S. and China
The new agreement will expand bilateral trade ties, promote business cooperation and explore ways to diversify critical mineral supply chains.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba looks on after meeting with the Liberal Democratic Party executives at the party's headquarters in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 23, 2025
Ishiba denies reports he will resign next month, leaving his fate unclear
Some media outlets had reported that the prime minister was poised to step down in the coming weeks.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Ryosei Akazawa, Japan chief tariff negotiator, in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Jul 23, 2025
Japan and U.S. both claim win in surprise 11th-hour tariff deal
The "reciprocal" rate is set at 15%, while the rate on autos is 12.5%
A worker places blank guitar picks into a tray at D'Addario's production facility in Farmingdale, New York, on July 10.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jul 23, 2025
Inside a U.S. guitar string-maker's strategy to navigate the trade war
While the company makes nearly all its music accessories in the U.S., its supply chain and distribution are global, with its biggest foreign market being Japan.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s aggressive tariff threats seemed effective at first because markets expected him to back down, but as investors grow numb, the risk rises he’ll follow through, triggering the very economic harm his threats were meant to avoid.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 23, 2025
Why markets may soon call America’s tariff bluff
Complacency brings new risk: If markets tune out Trump’s tariff threats, they may stop checking harmful policies.
U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks on tariffs with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick at the White House on April 2.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 23, 2025
Trump’s tariffs undermine America's security, business and credibility
Donald Trump may have given up on free trade, but the American people have not.
Elon Musk leaves the stage after addressing a campaign rally for Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Oct. 5, 2024.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 23, 2025
SpaceX warns investors Elon Musk could return to U.S. politics
Musk had said in May he would focus on his business empire and pull back his political spending, but after a spat with Trump, he vowed to form a new political party.
U.S. President Donald Trump announced a trade deal with Japan on Tuesday, saying the agreement would create "hundreds of thousands of jobs."
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 23, 2025
Japan and U.S. reach tariff deal with ‘reciprocal’ rate at 15%
The U.S. president did not mention sector-specific tariffs currently in place, but NHK reported the overall tariff rate on autos will be 15%.
U.S. President Donald Trump welcomes Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at the entrance to the West Wing of the White House in Washington on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 23, 2025
U.S.-Philippines trade talks yield modest tariff shift after Trump-Marcos meeting
U.S. President Donald Trump announced a new 19% tariff rate for goods from the Philippines after what he said was a "beautiful visit" by the Philippine leader.
U.S. President Donald Trump hosts Jensen Huang, chief executive of computer chip maker Nvidia for an event to discuss U.S. technology investments at the White House in Washington on April 30.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 22, 2025
As Trump courts a more assertive Beijing, China hawks are losing out
The Trump administration has dialed back aggressive measures against China and reversed its position on technology controls as the president angles for a Chinese trip.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth shakes hands with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. during a welcome ceremony at the Pentagon in Washington on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 22, 2025
Philippine president and top U.S. officials vow to ramp up deterrence
Philippine leader Ferdinand Marcos Jr. met separately with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says the administration of President Donald Trump's priorities in tariff deals are not the inner workings of the Japanese government, but the American people.
BUSINESS
Jul 22, 2025
U.S. seeking best deal for Americans in talks with Japan, Bessent says
The treasury secretary said the inner workings of the Japanese government are not a priority, in an apparent check on Tokyo's aim to review U.S. automobile tariffs.
U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the start of bilateral talks during the Group of 20 summit in Osaka in June 2019.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 22, 2025
Aides to Trump and Xi discussed autumn U.S.-China leaders' meeting
Ideas floated include a Trump stopover around the time of an APEC summit in South Korea or talks on the sidelines of the Oct. 30-Nov. 1 event.

Longform

Members of the nonprofit group Japan Youth Memorial Association search for the remains of dead soldiers in a cave in Okinawa Prefecture in February.
The long search for Japan’s lost soldiers