■ TRADE
US imposes duties on pipe
The US Commerce Department imposed duties of more than 106 percent on imports of Chinese steel pipe used for fencing and plumbing after determining that producers in China get unfair subsidies. If that decision is affirmed in a ruling by a trade panel, it would mark the first time that countervailing duties would be imposed on Chinese imports. The US began accepting those complaints last year. The tariffs on the pipe include both countervailing duties of 37.2 percent and anti-dumping duties of 69.2 percent on 31 of the largest producers. All other companies got a higher anti-dumping rate of 85.6 percent, the Commerce Department said in a statement.
■ PETROLEUM
BP at 'watershed': CEO
Robert Dudley, chief executive officer of TNK-BP, BP Plc’s joint venture in Russia, said the company is at a “watershed” as its shareholders feud over management control. “TNK-BP’s direction is not irreversible” and the “road ahead is risky,” Dudley said at a conference in Moscow yesterday. “It has arrived at a watershed.” London-based BP has rejected a demand by four Russian billionaires to fire Dudley, intensifying a shareholder dispute amid reports state-run OAO Gazprom wants to buy the company. Len Blavatnik, Mikhail Fridman, German Khan and Viktor Vekselberg control half of TNK-BP, which was formed in 2003. BP owns the other half.
■ AVIATION
Workers volunteer for buyout
US carrier Delta Air Lines’ cost-cutting voluntary departure program for employees has drawn so much demand that 1,000 additional jobs will be cut, a company official said on Friday. There were 3,000 employees that volunteered for the buyout package, whereas the original offer was for 2,000 jobs, the official said on condition of anonymity. He explained that the bigger-than-expected response to the offer would give the company more financial flexibility to face soaring fuel prices, confirming that each request for a buyout would be accepted.
■ BANKING
Nomura to buy EU assets
Nomura Holdings Inc, Japan’s biggest investment bank, will form a 2.1 billion euro (US$3.3 billion) fund to buy European assets including equity and loans that lost value after the US mortgage crisis roiled global credit markets. Nomura will put up 25 percent of the fund and raise the rest from investors in Japan, Europe and the Middle East, Michiyori Fujiwara, spokesman at the Tokyo-based securities firm, said yesterday. The fund will seek assets in markets including Spain, France, Germany and the UK, Fujiwara said.
■ BANKING
Draghi blames oil prices
European Central Bank (ECB) council member Mario Draghi said record oil prices were dictating the level of borrowing costs. “The main element of concern remains the continued rise in the price of energy and other commodities,” Draghi said yesterday at the Bank of Italy’s annual assembly. This was “fueling inflation and limiting the direction of monetary policy. Medium-term price stability was and remains the objective.” The ECB defines price stability as keeping inflation just below 2 percent “over the medium term” and has struggled to meet that goal since taking charge of monetary policy in 1999. The central bank left its key rate at 4 percent on May 10 to try to curb the surge in energy and food prices. Still, the inflation rate in the euro economy rose to 3.6 percent, the ninth month it held above the ECB’s target.
TAKING STOCK: A Taiwanese cookware firm in Vietnam urged customers to assess inventory or place orders early so shipments can reach the US while tariffs are paused Taiwanese businesses in Vietnam are exploring alternatives after the White House imposed a 46 percent import duty on Vietnamese goods, following US President Donald Trump’s announcement of “reciprocal” tariffs on the US’ trading partners. Lo Shih-liang (羅世良), chairman of Brico Industry Co (裕茂工業), a Taiwanese company that manufactures cast iron cookware and stove components in Vietnam, said that more than 40 percent of his business was tied to the US market, describing the constant US policy shifts as an emotional roller coaster. “I work during the day and stay up all night watching the news. I’ve been following US news until 3am
Six years ago, LVMH’s billionaire CEO Bernard Arnault and US President Donald Trump cut the blue ribbon on a factory in rural Texas that would make designer handbags for Louis Vuitton, one of the world’s best-known luxury brands. However, since the high-profile opening, the factory has faced a host of problems limiting production, 11 former Louis Vuitton employees said. The site has consistently ranked among the worst-performing for Louis Vuitton globally, “significantly” underperforming other facilities, said three former Louis Vuitton workers and a senior industry source, who cited internal rankings shared with staff. The plant’s problems — which have not
UNCERTAINTY: Innolux activated a stringent supply chain management mechanism, as it did during the COVID-19 pandemic, to ensure optimal inventory levels for customers Flat-panel display makers AUO Corp (友達) and Innolux Corp (群創) yesterday said that about 12 to 20 percent of their display business is at risk of potential US tariffs and that they would relocate production or shipment destinations to mitigate the levies’ effects. US tariffs would have a direct impact of US$200 million on AUO’s revenue, company chairman Paul Peng (彭雙浪) told reporters on the sidelines of the Touch Taiwan trade show in Taipei yesterday. That would make up about 12 percent of the company’s overall revenue. To cope with the tariff uncertainty, AUO plans to allocate its production to manufacturing facilities in
TARIFF CONCERNS: The chipmaker cited global uncertainty from US tariffs and a weakening economic outlook, but said its Singapore expansion remains on track Vanguard International Semiconductor Corp (世界先進), a foundry service provider specializing in producing power management and display driver chips, yesterday withdrew its full-year revenue projection of moderate growth for this year, as escalating US tariff tensions raised uncertainty and concern about a potential economic recession. The Hsinchu-based chipmaker in February said revenues this year would grow mildly from last year based on improving supply chain inventory levels and market demand. At the time, it also anticipated gradual quarter revenue growth. However, the US’ sweeping tariff policy has upended the industry’s supply chains and weakened economic prospects for the world economy, it said. “Now
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