RIYADH -- The G20 on Thursday pledged to avoid "unnecessary" trade barriers on essential goods including food during the coronavirus pandemic, after the WTO and IMF warned over the growing use of export restrictions.
The pandemic has pushed the global economy and international trade into turmoil as they face downturns not seen since the Great Depression.
Global trade is expected to register "double-digit declines" in volumes in nearly all regions this year, the World Trade Organization has said.
G20 trade and investment ministers said export restrictions on vital medical supplies and other essential goods, if necessary, must be "proportionate, transparent, temporary" and must not create "unnecessary barriers to trade or disruption to global supply chains".
Following a virtual meeting hosted by Saudi Arabia, the ministers also pledged to "refrain from introducing export restrictions on agricultural products" and avoid "unnecessary food-stockpiling".
Last month, the International Monetary Fund and WTO expressed concern over possible "supply disruptions" from the growing use of export restrictions that limit trade of key medical supplies and food.
They called on global leaders to refrain from imposing such restrictions.
Disruptions to supply chains could "prolong and exacerbate the health and economic crisis", the two institutions warned.
Agence France-Presse
PARIS - The heads of three global agencies warned Wednesday of the risk of a worldwide "food shortage" if authorities fail to manage the ongoing coronavirus crisis properly.
Many governments around the world have put their populations on lockdown causing severe slow-downs in international trade and food supply chains.
Panic buying by people going into confinement has already demonstrated the fragility of supply chains as supermarket shelves emptied in many countries.
"Uncertainty about food availability can spark a wave of export restrictions, creating a shortage on the global market," said the joint text signed by Qu Dongyu, head of the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO) and Roberto Azevedo, director of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
"In the midst of the COVID-19 lockdowns, every effort must be made to ensure that trade flows as freely as possible, especially to avoid food shortage(s)" from developing, they said in their statement.
"When acting to protect the health and well-being of their citizens, countries should ensure that any trade-related measures do not disrupt the food supply chain," they added.
Over the longer-term confinement orders and travel restrictions risk causing disruptions in agricultural production due to the unavailability of agricultural labor and the inability to get food to markets.
"Such disruptions including hampering the movement of agricultural and food industry workers and extending border delays for food containers, result in the spoilage of perishables and increasing food waste," said the three leaders.
They also stressed the need to protect employees engaged in food production, processing and distribution, both for their own health and that of others, as well as to maintain food supply chains.
"It is at times like these that more, not less, international cooperation is essential," they said.
"We must ensure that our response to COVID-19 does not unintentionally create unwarranted shortages of essential items and exacerbate hunger and malnutrition."
Agence France-Presse
GENEVA - The World Trade Organization's capacity to settle international disputes, a core function throughout the body's 25-year history, is on the brink of collapse following relentless US opposition.
The appellate branch of the WTO's Dispute Settlement Body (DSB), sometimes dubbed the supreme court of world trade, was a target of US criticism before President Donald Trump took office.
His predecessor Barack Obama's administration began a policy of blocking the appointment of appeals judges over concerns that their rulings violated American interests.
Trump's trade team has both extended that policy and escalated the fight.
Barring a shock breakthrough in the coming days, the court will cease functioning on Wednesday.
The WTO appellate branch normally counts seven judges but has just three left -- the minimum required to hear an appeal. Two more judges are due to retire on Tuesday.
WTO Director General Roberto Azevedo warned on Friday that the organization was facing a stark choice.
"You could restore the impartial, effective, efficient two-step review that most members say they want," he said.
"Alternatively, your choices could open the door to more uncertainty, unconstrained unilateral retaliation -– and less investment, less growth, and less job creation."
Various reform proposals have secured broad support.
But according to EU trade commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom, there can no solution without US buy-in because the WTO works on consensus.
"This is a dispute between the 163 members of the WTO and the US," she told the European parliament last month.
US WTO envoy Dennis Shea argued on Friday that Washington had "engaged constructively over the past year" to resolve the crisis, but would not relent until its concerns were fixed.
"This is not an academic question; we will not be able to move forward until we are confident we have addressed the underlying problems and have found real solutions to prevent their recurrence," he told a WTO meeting.
TRUMP 'KILLED' IT
US concerns regarding the WTO appeals court include allegations of judicial overreach, delays in rendering decisions and bloated judges' salaries.
But top American trade officials have also insisted that the US Constitution does not permit a foreign court to supersede an American one -- and that WTO appellate judges assert such superiority in international trade law.
Washington reportedly threatened to block the WTO's 2020 budget over the dispute, raising the prospect of a January 1 shutdown.
The US ultimately backed a provisional budget compromise on Thursday but it included substantial appellate body cuts.
"There is no question the Trump administration has killed the appellate body," said Edward Alden, a trade expert at the Council of Foreign Relations think-tank.
"That was its intention, and it has succeeded."
WHAT NEXT?
The appellate body's demise will place international trade disputes in legal limbo.
Countries will still be able to file grievances and dispute panels can issue rulings, but nations unhappy with those rulings can simply delay enforcement by filing an appeal to a non-functioning court.
The European Union, Canada and others have reaffirmed their commitment to a two-step dispute process, arguing that the right of appeal is essential in any legal system.
Brussels and Ottawa have agreed to set up a temporary appellate process, which mirrors the WTO court, and would handle any bilateral disputes that arise during the impasse. Norway has joined that accord.
Leading WTO members also say they are open to wider reform.
"We have made clear that we are fully committed to tackling the root causes of the discontent around the existing system," the EU ambassador to the WTO Aguiar Machado told AFP.
Another Western diplomat who requested anonymity told AFP the European Union was willing to tackle concerns about the court's "excesses" but said the US must first agree to begin recruiting new judges -- a non-starter for Washington.
Some have suggested that a solution might have to wait until after next year's presidential election in the United States.
In the meantime, the WTO has been left diminished.
Since its founding in 1995, the organization has been tasked with promoting liberal international trade through a rules-based system backed by a dispute settlement process.
Trade promotion has faltered as the body has struggled to agree any major new deals and Alden of the Council on Foreign Relations predicted: "There will never be another big, liberalising trade round."
Certainly, court-backed rule enforcement appears certain to suffer a heavy blow next week.
"The WTO needs both its legs, litigation and negotiation" said Elvire Fabry of Jacques Delors Institute.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
WASHINGTON/BEIJING -- China and the United States have agreed to roll back tariffs on each others' goods in a "phase one" trade deal if it is completed, officials from both sides said on Thursday, sparking division among some advisers to President Donald Trump.
The Chinese commerce ministry, without laying out a timetable, said the two countries had agreed to cancel the tariffs in phases.
A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the rollback would be part of the first phase of a trade agreement that is still being put to paper for Trump and President Xi Jinping to sign.
White House spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham told Fox News Channel the United States is "very, very optimistic" about completing a deal that would defuse a 16-month trade war between the world's two largest economies.
"I cannot get ahead of the talks with China, but we are very, very optimistic that we will reach a deal soon," she said.
Experts warn the pact could still fall apart. US officials said a lot of work remained to be done when Trump announced the outlines of an interim deal last month.
Trump has used tariffs on billions of dollars of Chinese goods as his primary weapon in the protracted trade war. The prospect of lifting them, even in phases, has drawn fierce opposition from advisers in and outside of the White House who remain wary of giving up a key aspect of US leverage.
US stocks pared gains after Reuters reported that the plan faced internal opposition.
"There is no specific agreement for a phased rollback of the tariffs," said Michael Pillsbury, an outside adviser to Trump.
"The American side has been ambiguous when and which tariffs will be lifted. The Chinese have some wishful thinking and are trying to soothe their domestic hardliners that the tariffs will someday come off."
If an interim deal is finished and signed, it is widely expected to include a US pledge to scrap tariffs scheduled for Dec. 15 on about $156 billion worth of Chinese imports, including cell phones, laptop computers and toys.
Tariff cancellation was an important condition for any agreement, Chinese Commerce Ministry spokesman Gao Feng said, adding that both must simultaneously cancel some tariffs on each other's goods to reach the phase one pact.
"Both sides have agreed to cancel additional tariffs in different phases, as both sides make progress in their negotiations," Gao told a regular briefing.
A spokesman for the US Treasury department declined to comment and the US Trade Representative's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Republican lawmakers are urging the Trump administration to tie any tariff rollbacks to Beijing's compliance with specific elements of the agreement.
"The tariffs should be phased out piece by piece as China complies," one congressional source said.
TRUMP-XI MEETING
In what could be another gesture to boost optimism, China's state news agency Xinhua reported late on Thursday that the Chinese customs and Ministry of Agriculture are considering removing restrictions on US poultry imports.
China has banned all US poultry and eggs since January 2015 due to an avian influenza outbreak.
The optimism over a phase one trade deal boosted stocks globally; bond yields shuffled higher.
A source previously told Reuters that Chinese negotiators wanted the United States to drop 15 percent tariffs on about $125 billion worth of Chinese goods that took effect on Sept. 1.
They also sought relief from earlier 25 percent tariffs on about $250 billion of imports, ranging from machinery and semiconductors to furniture.
A person familiar with China's negotiating position said it was pressing Washington to "remove all tariffs as soon as possible".
A deal may be signed before the end of the year by Trump and Xi at a yet-to-be determined location.
Dozens of venues have been suggested for a meeting, which had originally been set to take place on the sidelines of a now-cancelled mid-November summit of Asia-Pacific leaders in Chile, a senior Trump administration official told Reuters on Wednesday.
One possible location was London, where the leaders could meet after a NATO summit that Trump is due to attend from Dec. 3-4, the official said.
Gao declined to say when and where such a meeting could be.
Since Trump took office in 2017, his administration has been pressing China to curb massive subsidies to state-owned firms and end the forced transfer of American technology to Chinese firms as a price of doing business in China.
The president's tough stance on China has earned him praise from his political base, and he may be reluctant to appear conciliatory on the issue going into his 2020 re-election campaign. But Trump has also sought to portray stock market gains as a reflection of his stewardship of the economy, and the market has reacted positively to any hints of an end to the two countries' trade dispute.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
GENEVA - The World Trade Organization (WTO) said on Thursday that its latest economic barometer showed that the growth in merchandise trade was likely to weaken further in the third quarter.
Its quarterly trade growth indicator showed growth in global goods trade was likely to weaken, with a reading of 95.7. In its previous quarterly report in May, the WTO said that growth was likely to remain weak, with a reading of 96.3.
A score of below 100 in the indicator, a composite measure of seven drivers of trade, signals below-trend growth.
Referring to a mid-year WTO report issued in July, it said that trade flows have been hit by new restrictions at historically high levels.
"Tensions leading to higher trade barriers and greater uncertainty pose significant downside risks to trade growth forecasts," it added.
Sustained weakness in the latest index was driven by below-trend values in all component indices, it said.
International air freight, electronic components indices now show readings well below previous levels, while automobile production and sales, and agricultural raw materials seem to have bottomed out, the WTO said.
(Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
source: news.abs-cbn.com
LONDON -- British foreign minister Dominic Raab will travel to Thailand on Wednesday to attend a meeting of 10 South East Asian countries, searching for new trading opportunities and stronger diplomatic ties ahead of Britain's exit from the European Union.
Raab, appointed last week as part of new Prime Minister Boris Johnson's pro-Brexit cabinet, will use his first international trip in his post to attend a meeting of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers in Bangkok.
"For too long, our trade focus has been on Europe. We need to expand our horizons, and raise our game. That means grasping the enormous global opportunities for the UK," he said in a statement ahead of the trip.
"This region is already worth 36 billion pounds ($43.80 billion) per year in trade with the UK - and there are opportunities for us to boost that trade to benefit UK businesses and consumers."
Under Johnson, Britain is due to leave the EU on Oct. 31 regardless of whether it has a transition deal to preserve trading arrangements with the bloc. Critics say that would badly disrupt the flow of goods with the EU -- its largest trading partner.
Advocates of Brexit have long argued that one of the biggest benefits of leaving the EU will be an ability to strike new bilateral trade deals rather than relying on EU-level agreements.
The ASEAN countries are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
WASHINGTON -- As the United States and China pursue trade talks, there is a "good chance" that more US firms will be granted licenses to sell products to controversial Chinese telecoms giant Huawei, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said Sunday.
Kudlow's comments came after President Donald Trump and China's Xi Jinping agreed on Saturday to a truce in their trade war, and Washington pledged to hold off on new tariffs while they negotiate.
While Trump had signaled the softer position on Huawei, a sticking point in trade talks, by saying US companies could sell equipment "where there's no great national security problem," Kudlow added a bit of detail.
The senior Trump aide told "Fox News Sunday" that "there's a good chance the Commerce Department, Secretary (Wilbur) Ross, will open the door on that and grant new licenses."
Trump told Fox News Channel's "Tucker Carlson Tonight" that after meeting with Xi, he believes the two sides are closer to a trade deal.
"We had a very good meeting. He wants to make a deal. I want to make a deal. Very big deal, probably, I guess, you'd say the largest deal ever made of any kind, not only trade," the president said, according to a transcript released by the channel.
The US has said it fears that systems built by Huawei -- the world leader in telecom network equipment and number two smartphone supplier -- could be used by China's government for espionage via built-in secret security "backdoors."
Huawei has vigorously denied that, saying the US has never provided proof to substantiate it.
Many US lawmakers, including Senate Republicans like Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, are concerned about any lifting of the effective ban against Huawei accessing crucial American technology or operating in the US market.
"If President Trump has agreed to reverse recent sanctions against Huawei, he has made a catastrophic mistake," Rubio tweeted Saturday.
Kudlow said Huawei would remain on the so-called US Entity List -- foreign companies and individuals that are subject to specific export and technology transfer licensing requirements.
"This is not a general amnesty," Kudlow said.
"The Commerce Department will grant some temporary additional licenses where there is a general availability" of the products to be sold, he added.
In a later interview on CBS talk show "Face the Nation," Kudlow said: "We understand the huge risks regarding Huawei."
On the general issue of US-China trade talks, Kudlow declined to offer any deadline for the resolution of the dispute between the world's top two economies, though he admitted the talks could "go on for quite some time."
"There are no promises, there's no deal made, no timetable," he said. "Just resuming the talks... is a very big deal."
source: news.abs-cbn.com
OTTAWA -- Canada is leaning on the United States to help settle a dispute with China, which has started to block imports of vital Canadian commodities amid a dispute over a detained Huawei executive.
In a sign of increasing frustration at what it sees as a lackluster US response, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government is signaling it could withhold cooperation on major issues.
China has upped the pressure on Canada in recent weeks over the arrest of Huawei Technologies Co Ltd Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou, arrested last December on a US warrant. It halted Canadian canola imports and last week suspended the permits of two major pork producers.
After Meng's Vancouver arrest, Chinese police also detained two Canadian citizens.
Beijing is refusing to allow a Canadian trade delegation to visit, forcing officials to use video conference calls as they try to negate a major threat to commodity exports.
With no cards to play against China without risking significant economic damage, Canada has launched a full-court press in Washington, which is negotiating its own trade deal with Beijing.
The results have been meager.
"It's a very challenging situation. When we raise it with the Americans they just say, 'Dealing with the Chinese is tough'," said a Canadian government source.
"It's also not clear who we should be targeting since you never know who is up and who is down in the administration at any given point," said the source, who requested anonymity given the sensitivity of the matter.
Among those the Canadians approached are Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Republican Senator Jim Risch, chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee.
The State Department said it was "concerned" by the canola ban. In March, the Foreign Relations Committee responded to Canada's concerns by passing a bipartisan resolution supporting the country.
Canada says the United States is obliged to help, given that the US arrest warrant triggered the crisis with Beijing.
US negotiators have rejected Chinese proposals to include the Huawei issue in their current trade deal discussions, according to a source familiar with the negotiations.
Canada's US ambassador David MacNaughton, who noted Canada has assisted the current US administration on diplomatic efforts with Venezuela, Latvia and NATO, strongly suggested future requests for aid would not be met so positively unless Washington cooperated more.
"How do you go to canola farmers and relatives of the two (Canadian detainees) and say 'Well, actually, notwithstanding all of this, we're going to try and do whatever we can to help?'" he said.
"It makes it much more difficult in public opinion terms for the prime minister to have permission to do some of the things that would be in both countries' interests."
MacNaughton, who has cabinet-level status in Trudeau's government, played a key role in negotiating a new North American trade deal last year.
Relations between Trump and Trudeau are formal at best. Officials in Ottawa have not forgotten that the president blew up last year's Group of Seven summit in Canada by describing Trudeau as very dishonest and weak.
"At the political level, this administration doesn't like us very much," said a second well-placed source.
Intertwined with the China crisis is a second problem: the tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum that Trump imposed last year on national security grounds.
Meng, who is under house arrest at her Vancouver mansion, next appears in court on May 8 ahead of an extradition hearing, in a process that could take years.
MacNaughton said part of Canada's frustration also stems from a lack of information on US intentions toward Meng. Trump has previously suggested the charges against her could be dropped if that would help the trade talks.
"What we've said is, 'We'd like to have a little better sense of what your plans are in terms of dealing with her. Are you engaged in negotiations over a plea deal?'," he said. "We're completely in the dark."
source: news.abs-cbn.com
WASHI(NGTON -- Trade frictions are seen as a the main source of uncertainty for a slowing global economy, but there are more glimmers of hope for a US-China agreement.
While there is no deadline for ending the protracted trade war with China, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Saturday the talks are nearing their conclusion, a fresh signal of progress.
Mnuchin's remarks came on the margins of spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank, which were once again dominated by fears US trade policy could upset global economic growth.
The IMF predicted this week that the slowing world economy should begin to rebound in the latter part of 2019 -- provided in part that the world's top two economies resolve their differences.
In a final statement from the meetings Saturday, the IMF's steering committee, which represents' the organization's 189 members, recognized the need to "resolve trade tensions" and support reforms of the World Trade Organization that have been demanded by the United States.
While the IMF itself has warned against the "self-inflicted wounds" of tariffs and trade barriers, the committee itself steered clear of what has become an unexpected hot button in a forum once devoted to trade liberalization.
IMF chief Christine Lagarde said many officials at the meetings in Washington "actually made their views well known about the benefits of trade" for economic growth.
China's deputy central bank governor, Chen Yulu, warned that "the protectionism of some countries has harmed mutual trust among countries," although he did not name the United States.
In the meantime, Washington this week rattled EU nations by threatening a new set of tariffs in retaliation for subsidies to the aviation manufacturer Airbus while separately prepare for new trade talks with Japan.
Close to final round
Mnuchin reiterated that President Donald Trump wants his team to focus more on a good deal with Beijing rather than on a quick one.
"It is more important to get it right than have arbitrary date," Mnuchin told reporters. But "I'm hopeful we're getting close to the final round of concluding issues."
In shuttle diplomacy since January between Washington and Beijing to resolve their nine-month trade war, both sides have continued to express cautious optimism without predicting success.
Mnuchin said officials in Washington and Beijing held a round of telephone talks last week, with more planned for the coming week, and are discussions on whether further in-person meetings are required.
A sticking point in the talks has been American officials' insistence that any final agreement have teeth -- and that they retain the ability to impose fresh tariffs should Beijing backslide on its commitments.
Mnuchin declined to get into details on Saturday.
"There are certain commitments the United States is making in this agreement and there are certain commitments that China is making," he said.
"And I would expect that the enforcement mechanism works in both directions."
"This is a very, very detailed agreement, covering issues that have never been dealt with before," Mnuchin added, noting that the text currently had seven chapters.
Trump said last week a conclusion in the talks was probably "four weeks" away but since discussions began earlier this year to end the nine-month trade war, the finish line has repeatedly slipped further into the future.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
MEXICO CITY -- US President Donald Trump's threats to shut the border with Mexico are now affecting what some might argue is the softest spot in bilateral relations - avocados.
Fearing that a border lockdown would prevent Mexico from shipping the 80 percent of avocados that the United States consumes, processors and wholesalers have started stockpiling the prized fruit used in guacamole or as spread on toast.
Avocado prices have jumped nearly 50 percent over the last week alone as a consequence.
Stefan Oliva, a research analyst at Gro Intelligence, which collects and analyzes agricultural data, said "procurement managers, wholesalers and processors" are "clamoring" for avocados in case the border is shut ahead of the Cinco de Mayo celebration.
Cinco de Mayo commemorates the 1862 Battle of Puebla in which Mexican troops defeated invading French forces and is celebrated all over the United States, but in Mexico the day is mainly celebrated in Puebla.
The United States imported nearly $2.1 billion worth in avocados from Mexico in 2018, or more than 900,000 tonnes, he said.
That is some 10 times the value of avocados it buys from the rest of the world and more than 10 times what the United States currently produces, Gro Intelligence data shows.
"Even those very, very vague threats are enough to scare wholesalers and processors that are relying on consumers," Oliva said. "If there is a border shutdown, they will have to circumvent the border and pay an extreme premium."
Trump has taken a step back from his threat to close the border to fight illegal immigration, as pressure mounted from companies worried that a shutdown would cause chaos to supply chains. It could disrupt millions of legal crossings and billions of dollars in trade.
David Magana, a senior analyst specializing in food and agribusiness at Rabobank, said he had observed a 44 percent jump in the price of avocados over the past week, and that it could go higher still.
"If the border closes, this would be unchartered territory," Magana said. "The prices could rise considerably."
Alejandro Saldana, chief economist at Ve Por Más, a Mexican bank that specializes in lending to the agricultural sector, said that a border shutdown could impact other produce.
"We could see a real impact on the industrial integration there is between Mexico and the US," Saldana said. "There will possibly be disruptions in manufacturing, particularly because a lot of the goods cross the border."
source: news.abs-cbn.com
SHANGHAI -- China's commerce ministry said on Thursday trade talks with the United States this week were extensive and detailed, and established a foundation for the resolution of each others' concerns.
The two sides "held extensive, deep and thorough exchanges on trade and structural issues of common concern, which promoted mutual understanding and established a foundation for the resolution of each others' concerns," it said.
Both parties agreed to continue to maintain close contact, the ministry said in a brief statement on its website.
The three-day talks in Beijing that wrapped up on Wednesday were the first face-to-face negotiations since US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping met in Buenos Aires in December and agreed a 90-day truce in a trade war that has disrupted the flow of hundreds of billions of dollars of goods.
Washington has presented Beijing with a long list of demands that would rewrite the terms of trade between the world's two largest economies. They include changes to China's policies on intellectual property protection, technology transfers, industrial subsidies and other non-tariff barriers to trade.
Nearly halfway into the 90-day truce, there have been few concrete details on progress made so far. The meetings in Beijing were not at a ministerial level, so were not expected to produce a deal to end the trade war.
On Wednesday, the US Trade Representative's offices said in a statement officials from the two sides discussed "ways to achieve fairness, reciprocity and balance in trade relations".
"The talks also focused on China's pledge to purchase a substantial amount of agricultural, energy, manufactured, and other products and services from the United States," the USTR said.
At stake are scheduled US tariff increase on $200 billion in Chinese imports. Trump has said he would increase those duties to 25 percent from 10 percent currently if no deal is reached by March 2, and has threatened to tax all imports from China if Beijing fails to cede to US demands.
US officials have long complained that China has failed to live up to trade promises, often citing Beijing's pledges to resume imports of American beef that took more than a decade to implement.
No schedule for further face-to-face negotiations was released after the talks, and USTR said the American delegation was returning to Washington to report on the meetings and "to receive guidance on the next steps".
source: news.abs-cbn.com
BEIJING/WASHINGTON -- The United States and China will continue trade talks in Beijing for an unscheduled third day, US officials said on Tuesday amid signs of progress on issues including purchases of US farm and energy commodities and increased access to China's markets.
People familiar with the talks said the world's two largest economies were further apart on Chinese structural reforms that the Trump administration is demanding in order to stop alleged theft and forced transfer of US technology and on how to hold Beijing to its promises.
"Talks with China are going very well!" US President Donald Trump tweeted without elaborating, as talks wound down late on Tuesday evening in Beijing.
Steven Winberg, assistant secretary for Fossil Energy at the US Department of Energy, told reporters in Beijing that the talks, which began on Monday, had gone well.
"I confirm we're continuing tomorrow, yes," Winberg said, declining to answer further questions.
This week's meetings are the first face-to-face talks since US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed in December to a 90-day truce in a trade war that has roiled global financial markets.
Trump is increasingly eager to reach an agreement to help lift the markets, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with internal White House deliberations. The S&P 500 Index has fallen about 8 percent since the truce began.
A spokeswoman for the US Trade Representative's office, which is leading the US negotiating team, said talks would continue on Wednesday and "a statement will likely follow then."
TARIFF PROFIT PAIN
If no deal is reached by March 2, Trump has said he will proceed with raising tariffs to 25 percent from 10 percent on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports at a time when China's economy is slowing significantly.
In the meantime, companies in both countries are feeling pain from the effects of US tariffs and retaliation from China, which are starting to mount.
El Paso, Texas-based Helen of Troy Ltd, a maker of consumer products from OXO kitchen utensils to Braun shavers, cut its sales and gross margin outlooks on Tuesday laid some of the blame on US tariffs on Chinese goods, which make up 70 percent of the company's cost of products sold.
Helen of Troy stock fell nearly 13 percent, the largest 1-day drop in more than 6 years.
"Tariff increases began to impact our cost of goods sold during the third quarter,” Helen of Troy Chief Financial Officer Brian Grass told investors on a conference call that featured 27 mentions of the words "tariff" or "tariffs". While the company is trying to offset tariffs through price increases, "that doesn't mean we'll be 100 percent successful."
A week ago, Apple Inc rattled global markets by cutting its own sales outlook, blaming weak demand in China.
SEEDS OF PROGRESS
In what is widely seen as a goodwill gesture, China on Tuesday issued long-awaited approvals for the import of five genetically modified crops, which could boost its purchases of US grains as farmers decide which crops to plant in the spring.
On Monday, Chinese importers made another large purchase of U.S. soybeans, their third in the past month.
Increased purchases by China of US soybeans, oil, liquefied natural gas and financial services are viewed as easier to achieve than major changes to China's industrial policies aimed at transferring US technology to Chinese firms.
"Overall the talks have been constructive. Our sense is that there's good progress on the purchase piece," said one person familiar with the talks. The person added that it was more difficult to determine how to hold China to its commitments to better protect intellectual property.
Scott Kennedy, director of the Project on Chinese Business and Political Economy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said the two sides for the first time were discussing topics that matter most to the Trump administration.
These include expanded Chinese purchases of American products, greater protections for US intellectual property, constraints on Chinese industrial policy, and enforcement and verification of follow-through by China.
"The minimum baseline for judging whether this week is a success is whether they can have an in-depth conversation on those areas," Kennedy said, adding that an announcement of another round of talks would be a positive outcome.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
The S&P 500 jumped to a 3-week high on Tuesday, led by Apple, Amazon, Facebook and industrial shares on bets that the United States and China would strike a deal to end their trade war.
The 3-day rally kicked off on Friday following robust US jobs data and dovish comments on interest rates by Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell has lifted the S&P 500 by over 9 percent from 20-month lows touched around Christmas.
The S&P 500 has gained in 7 of the past 9 sessions.
The United States and China will extend trade talks in Beijing for an unscheduled third day, a member of the US delegation said, as the world's two largest economies looked to resolve their bitter trade dispute. So far, officials from both sides have sounded optimistic, with President Donald Trump saying talks were going well.
"You're seeing some negotiations happen and the market is starting to think that perhaps we'll start to see a framework evolve," said Anik Sen, global head of equities at PineBridge Investments.
The trade-sensitive S&P industrials sector rose 1.41 percent. Boeing Co shares jumped 3.79 percent, contributing the most to the Dow's rise, after the company said it had delivered a record 806 aircraft in 2018.
Apple Inc rose 1.91 percent, regaining some ground after the company last week warned of weaker-than-expected demand for its iPhones. But tech sector gains were limited by a drop in chip stocks after Samsung blamed an estimated 29 percent drop in quarterly profit on weak chip demand.
The Philadelphia Semiconductor index slid 0.49 percent. Adding to the woes, Goldman Sachs forecast a tough year for chipmakers, particularly in the first half.
Other investors remained upbeat about upcoming US quarterly results.
"It's the new year and investors are really stepping back and taking a look at the fundamentals, and realizing it's not as bad a story as maybe we thought toward the end of the year," said Jeff Kravetz, a regional investment strategist at US Bank Wealth Management.
The communication services index climbed 1.58 percent, with Facebook Inc adding 3.25 percent after JPMorgan said the social media company was among its favorite internet picks for 2019.
Amazon.com Inc rose 1.66 percent, increasing its market capitalization to $810 billion and cementing its position as the most valuable US company.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 1.09 percent to end at 23,787.45 points, while the S&P 500 gained 0.97 percent to 2,574.41. The Nasdaq Composite added 1.08 percent to 6,897.00.
Financials was the only S&P index not to gain, ending unchanged as the US Treasury yield curve flattened.
PG&E Corp shares continued to decline, falling 7.34 percent after S&P Global Ratings stripped the California power utility of its investment-grade credit rating.
Union Pacific Corp rose 8.73 percent after the No. 1 U.S. railroad named industry veteran Jim Vena as chief operating officer.
Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 3.36-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 2.16-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The S&P 500 posted no new 52-week highs and one new low; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 28 new highs and 15 new lows.
Volume on US exchanges was 8 billion shares, compared to the 9.0 billion average over the last 20 trading days.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
GENEVA -- The world's biggest economies slapped import restrictions on nearly half a trillion dollars' worth of trade over the past six months, the World Trade Organization said Thursday, voicing "serious concern".
Forty new import barriers were erected by G20 states between mid-May and mid-October this year -- 6 times more than during the preceding 6 months -- impacting $481 billion in trade, a fresh WTO report showed.
That was the highest figure recorded since the WTO started calculating the measure in 2012.
"The report's findings should be of serious concern for G20 governments and the whole international community," WTO chief Roberto Azevedo said in a statement.
"Further escalation remains a real threat," he warned, calling for an immediate reversal of the trend.
"If we continue along the current course, the economic risks will increase, with potential effects for growth, jobs and consumer prices around the world," Azevedo said.
An average of eight new restrictions on international trade, including tariff increases, import bans and export duties, were imposed by the big economies each month, the report showed.
The report appears to show the impact of US President Donald Trump's relentlessly confrontational trade policy, including launching a trade war with China and slapping stiff tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from many countries.
On Wednesday, the WTO's Dispute Settlement Body agreed to review complaints from a range of countries over the US tariffs, as well as Washington's complaints over retaliatory duties.
"The WTO is doing all it can to support efforts to de-escalate the situation, but finding solutions will require political will and it will require leadership from the G20," Azevedo said.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
BEIJING - The United States and China are set to impose new tit-for-tat tariffs against each other's goods on Monday, the latest escalation in a heated trade war between the world's two largest economies.
US tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods and retaliatory tariffs by Beijing on $60 billion worth of U.S. products are scheduled take effect at 0401 GMT.
The two countries already exchanged tariffs on $50 billion worth of each other's goods earlier this year.
Though a senior White House official last week said the United States will continue to engage China for a "positive way forward," neither side has signalled willingness to compromise.
The US official said on Friday there was no date set for the next round of talks. The Wall Street Journal reported China has cancelled upcoming trade discussions with the United States and will not send vice-premier Liu He to Washington this week.
Economists warn that a protracted dispute will eventually stunt growth not just in the US and China but across the broader global economy. Worries about the confrontation have already rattled financial markets.
The trade tensions have also cast a pall over broader relations between Beijing and Washington, with the two sides butting heads on a growing number of issues.
China summoned the US ambassador in Beijing and postponed joint military talks in protest against a US decision to sanction a Chinese military agency and its director for buying Russian fighter jets and a surface-to-air missile system.
Trade talks in Washington last month produced no meaningful progress.
Rob Carnell, chief Asia economist at ING, said in a note to clients that in the absence of any incentives Beijing would likely hold off on any further negotiations for now.
"It would look weak both to the US and at home," he said, adding that there is "sufficient stimulus in the pipeline" to limit the damage of the latest tariffs on China's growth.
"The US-China trade war has no clear end in sight."
China may also be waiting for US mid-term elections early next month for any hints of changes in Washington's policy stance, Carnell added.
"With generic polls favouring the Democrats, they may feel that the trade environment will be less hostile after November 6."
The US administration will levy tariffs of 10 percent on the $200 billion of Chinese products, with the tariffs to go up to 25 percent by the end of 2018. Beijing's new levies will be 5-10 percent.
President Donald Trump on Saturday reiterated a threat to impose further tariffs on Chinese goods should Beijing retaliate, in line with his previous comments signalling that Washington may move to impose tariffs on virtually all imported Chinese goods if the administration does not get its way.
China imports far less from the United States, making a dollar-for-dollar match on any new US tariffs impossible.
Instead, it has warned of "qualitative" measures to retaliate. Though Beijing has not revealed what such steps might be, business executives and analysts say China could withhold exports of certain products to the US or create more administrative red tape for American companies.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
SHANGHAI -- Asian shares fell in early trade on Tuesday on growing concerns over escalating international trade disputes and as emergency austerity measures in Argentina highlighted turbulence in emerging markets.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.2 percent after European shares ended mostly flat, though a weak British pound helped to lift London's blue-chip FTSE almost 1 percent.
Japan's Nikkei slid 0.3 percent and Australian shares were 0.2 percent lower.
US markets were closed on Monday for Labor Day.
Growing turbulence in Argentina once again focused global attention on emerging markets.
On Monday, Argentine President Mauricio Macri announced new taxes on exports and steep cuts to government spending in what he termed "emergency" measures to balance next year's budget.
The Argentine peso closed 3.14 percent weaker on Monday and is expected to face further pressure in coming days.
Turkey's central bank signalled on Monday it would take steps to combat "significant risks" to price stability, comments seen as hinting at interest rate hikes.
The lira, which has lost 40 percent of its value against the US dollar this year, was 0.3 percent weaker at 6.6400 to the dollar.
Underscoring global uncertainty, manufacturing surveys released on Monday showed mounting stress on factories across Europe and Asia as the outlook for global trade dims.
US President Donald Trump gave fresh impetus to trade worries at the weekend when he said there was no need to keep Canada in the North American Free Trade Agreement and warned Congress not to meddle with the trade talks.
Trump was also reported to have said he is ready to impose tariffs on an additional $200 billion worth of imports from China as soon as a public comment period on the plan ends on Thursday.
"President Trump's war of words against Canada amid negotiations of the NAFTA trade agreement raised concerns that his stance against other countries such as China would remain combative. This wasn't helped by data showing some weakness in China's export-focused manufacturing sector," ANZ analysts said in a note on Tuesday.
The yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes rose to 2.8585 percent versus its US close of 2.853 percent on Friday.
The two-year yield, which rises with traders' expectations of higher Fed fund rates, touched 2.633 percent compared with a US close of 2.629 percent last week.
The dollar dropped 0.13 percent against the yen to 110.93 , while the euro was down 0.1 percent on the day at $1.1611.
The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of 6 major rivals, was flat at 95.144.
US crude ticked up 0.33 percent at $70.03 a barrel. Brent crude fell to $78.06 per barrel.
Gold was slightly higher, with spot gold traded at $1201.19 per ounce.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
HONG KONG -- Asian markets started Monday on a negative note as trade tensions returned to the fore with Donald Trump eyeing fresh tariffs on a swathe of Chinese goods and NAFTA talks with Canada hitting a wall.
The optimism that flowed through trading floors at the start of last week has been replaced by a now-familiar sense of dread after the US president hit out at Ottawa over the weekend as the two sides struggle to hammer out a new deal.
In a tweet over the weekend, Trump threatened to exclude Canada from a new North American Free Trade Agreement after negotiations to rewrite the 25-year-old pact ended without an agreement Friday.
He said there was "no political necessity to keep Canada in the new NAFTA deal. If we don't make a fair deal for the US after decades of abuse, Canada will be out".
While talks will resume Wednesday, his outburst seemed designed to ramp up pressure on Canadian negotiators.
The comments threw a spanner in the works for investors after the US and Mexico said earlier in the week they had agreed a revised pact.
Trump also roiled markets last week by saying he wanted to impose tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese imports as soon as public consultation ends on Thursday, adding to the $50 billion already targeted.
That rekindled fears of an all-out trade war between the world's top two economies, while European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker on Friday warned the EU would retaliate in kind if Trump pushes through duties on foreign cars.
The end of the month sees the Federal Reserve's next policy meeting at which it is expected to lift interest rates for a third time this year, with analysts poring over its statement for an idea about a possible fourth rise before January.
'LOOKING FOR EXITS'
"Batten down the hatches as the main feature that stands out about this week -- and the month of September for that matter -- is (that) the market risk is massive as the central bank and the political worlds collide," said Stephen Innes, head of Asia-Pacific trading at OANDA.
"Indeed, such collisions tend to escalate volatility exponentially, and I expect some episodic moments that will have traders looking for the exits or end up over the barrel."
Japan's Nikkei ended the morning session 0.5 percent lower, Hong Kong lost 0.9 percent and Shanghai fell one percent. Singapore lost 0.4 percent, Seoul shed 0.6 percent and Sydney was marginally lower.
There were also losses in Wellington, Taipei, Manila and Jakarta.
On currency markets, the Turkish lira continued its downward spiral -- losing more than one percent to 6.60 to the dollar -- having recovered slightly Friday after the government made it more expensive to hold foreign currency savings.
The Indonesian rupiah is also hovering around lows last seen during the Asian financial crisis 20 years ago, hit by a ballooning current account deficit.
Other emerging-market and high-yielding currencies were also under pressure with South Korea's won 0.2 percent off, the South African rand 0.5 percent lower and the Russian ruble down 0.4 percent.
KEY FIGURES AROUND 0230 GMT (10:30 a.m. in Manila)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.5 percent at 22,751.13 (break)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng: DOWN 0.9 percent at 27,630.18
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 1.0 percent at 2,698.41
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1598 from $1.1599 at 2100 GMT on Friday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2924 from $1.2961
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 110.98 yen from 111.02 yen
Oil - West Texas Intermediate: DOWN two cents at $69.78 per barrel
Oil - Brent Crude: DOWN seven cents at $77.57 (new contract)
New York - Dow Jones: DOWN 0.1 percent at 25,964.82 (close)
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 1.1 percent at 7,432.42 (close)
source: news.abs-cbn.com
GENEVA - World Trade Organization (WTO) head Roberto Azevedo said on Friday U.S. President Donald Trump's comments about potentially leaving the WTO were consistent with what the United States has said previously and did not reflect new concerns.
Trump said on Thursday that he could pull out of the WTO, potentially undermining one of the foundations of the modern global economy, which the United States was instrumental in creating.
"If they don't shape up, I would withdraw from the WTO," Trump said.
In a response on Friday, Azevedo, the WTO's director general, said there was no reason for "panic".
"The U.S. concerns about areas in the WTO that they would like to improve are not new. And I think what he said yesterday is consistent with what they have expressed before."
Trump has previously called the WTO a "disaster" and a "catastrophe".
During his election campaign he told NBC's Meet the Press programme that if the WTO rules blocked his policies, he would renegotiate U.S. membership or pull out.
Trump's ambassador has said the United States will not shy away from being disruptive to shake up what it sees as a complacent organisation, and has precipitated a crisis by blocking appointments of WTO appeals judges, forcing other countries to discuss potential reforms to assuage Trump.
Many diplomats say that although they dislike the U.S. tactics, they agree that the WTO needs reform, and hope that the situation can be used to make the 23-year-old trading club more efficient and effective.
The WTO is run on the basis of "consensus", meaning that every one of its 164 members has an effective veto and it is almost impossible to get agreement on any change to the rules.
Azevedo said many WTO members were now talking about improvements, which was a good development.
"Everyone that would like to see improvements in the WTO is very welcome to present their ideas and their suggestions to improve the organisation, sit down with the other members and get the job done," he said.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
NEW YORK -- A major global stock index jumped to a 5-1/2-month high on Wednesday as optimism on the potential for US trade deals cleared the path for technology stocks to resume their leadership mantle.
Talks to renew the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) hinge on Canada after Monday's deal between the United States and Mexico.
MSCI's world equity index, which tracks shares in 47 countries, gained 0.39 percent while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq US stock indexes hit all-time highs.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 60.55 points, or 0.23 percent, to 26,124.57, the S&P 500 gained 16.52 points, or 0.57 percent, to 2,914.04, and the Nasdaq Composite added 79.65 points, or 0.99 percent, to 8,109.69.
Andrew Milligan, head of global strategy at Aberdeen Standard Investments, said investor optimism was tinged with caution. He noted the difficulty of predicting U.S. trade negotiations, which could make markets choppy.
"It is an erratic rally," he said. "We need a bit more fuel to the fire."
US President Donald Trump threatened to proceed with Mexico alone and levy tariffs on Canada if it did not come on board with revised trade terms for NAFTA. But a trade deal without Canada might not win approval from the US Congress because such a deal would have to pass a higher bar.
"The final decisions are unlikely until 2019 at the earliest," Goldman Sachs analysts wrote in a note to clients.
But on Wednesday, at least, familiar leaders from the long bull-market run resumed their leadership role. Amazon.com Inc , Apple Inc and Microsoft Corp all hit record intraday highs and helped lift Wall Street indexes.
The dollar, which has been a safe haven from trade concerns, turned negative after early gains. The dollar index, which measures the US currency against several trading partners, fell 0.18 percent. The Mexican peso gained 0.59 percent versus the greenback, while the Canadian dollar rose 0.17 percent.
CHINA TARIFF DEADLINE
Elsewhere in the global trade conflict, a deadline for public comment on Trump's increased tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods was less than a week away on Sept. 5. The White House has said it wants to settle NAFTA before negotiating with China.
"There's a big debate taking place among investors: Is Trump hoping to reach agreement with all the big players to demonstrate what a successful negotiator he is, or is he trying to make sure he's got agreement with NAFTA and the EU and therefore can turn all the firepower on to China?" said Aberdeen Standard's Milligan.
Emerging market stocks rose 0.07 percent, but remained under pressure from weakening currencies. An index of those countries' currencies fell 0.3 percent in dollar terms.
Turkey's lira extended losses, down about 3 percent against the dollar, a two-week low, as concern grew about the effects of the country's currency crisis. Finance Minister Berat Albayrak was quoted as saying he did not see a risk to the economy.
Dollar-denominated Turkish bank bonds also fell after Moody's sounded the alarm over the sector.
Argentina's peso collapsed more than 7 percent to a record low of 33.9 per U.S. dollar on Wednesday, prompting the central bank to sell dollar reserves for a second straight day while the President Mauricio Macri asked the International Monetary Fund for early release of funds under a standby deal.
Oil prices shot higher, supported by news of falling Iranian crude shipments as US sanctions deterred buyers.
Brent crude jumped 1.6 percent, to settle at $77.14, while US oil moved 1.4 percent higher at $69.51 a barrel.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
