TRADE
US’ China tariffs to stay
US Trade Representative Katherine Tai (戴琪) has said the US is not yet ready to lift tariffs on Chinese imports, but could be open to talks with Beijing. Tai told the Wall Street Journal she understood that the levies were hitting some US companies and consumers, but they could also protect businesses. She said that suddenly axing the levies could harm the US economy unless a policy reversal is “communicated in a way so that the actors in the economy can make adjustments.”
UNITED KINGDOM
Exporters halt EU sales
More than one-fifth of small exporters have temporarily stopped sales to the EU and 4 percent have done so permanently, a survey showed yesterday, highlighting problems that have followed the Brexit trade deal. In the survey by the Federation of Small Businesses, 30 out of 132 exporters said that they had stopped sales to the EU temporarily, while five reported having done so permanently. Just more than one-10th said they had set up, or were thinking of establishing, a presence within an EU country, the research, conducted from March 1 to 15, showed.
GERMANY
Exporter optimism rises
Exporters are increasingly positive about benefiting from an increase in economic growth in Asia and the US a survey by the Ifo Institute for Economic Research showed yesterday. Their expectations rose to 24.9 points this month, the highest value since January 2011, from 11.9 points last month, the Munich-based institute said, adding that optimism had increased in nearly all sectors.
VIETNAM
GDP growth set to hit 6.5%
The economy remains on track to meet the government’s goal for the year, with officials bracing for a resurgence of demand that could send inflation to its highest level in years. GDP could still notch the 6.5 percent growth the government expects this year, said Le Trung Hieu, head of the General Statistics Office’s GDP department. He pointed to signs showing that the recovery is continuing, including gains in exports and foreign direct investment.
INTERNET
Bilibili down on HK debut
Video streaming site Bilibili (嗶哩嗶哩) yesterday sank on its first day of trading on Hong Kong’s stock exchange, as investors fretted over a global sell-off in Chinese tech shares. Bilibili’s opening price fell just more than 6 percent in early trading after the firm raised about US$2.6 billion in a secondary listing on Hong Kong’s bourse. Bilibili is already listed in New York. It is a fast-growing video streaming site with about 200 million mostly young Chinese users.
TELECOMS
Masmovil may buy Euskaltel
Masmovil Ibercom SA has offered 2.1 billion euros (US$2.5 billion) for smaller Spanish telecommunications rival Euskaltel SA, in a friendly deal set to shake up the country’s highly competitive market. Masmovil is offering 11.17 euros per share in cash — Euskaltel’s three largest shareholders, who own a combined 52 percent, have already accepted the deal, a regulatory filing on Sunday said. The offer marks a 16 percent premium to Friday’s closing price and Masmovil said that it already has financing in place, including bank debt.
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) is reportedly making another pass at Nissan Motor Co, as the Japanese automaker's tie-up with Honda Motor Co falls apart. Nissan shares rose as much as 6 percent after Taiwan’s Central News Agency reported that Hon Hai chairman Young Liu (劉揚偉) instructed former Nissan executive Jun Seki to connect with French carmaker Renault SA, which holds about 36 percent of Nissan’s stock. Hon Hai, the Taiwanese iPhone-maker also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), was exploring an investment or buyout of Nissan last year, but backed off in December after the Japanese carmaker penned a deal
SUPPORT: The government said it would help firms deal with supply disruptions, after Trump signed orders imposing tariffs of 25 percent on imports from Canada and Mexico The government pledged to help companies with operations in Mexico, such as iPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), shift production lines and investment if needed to deal with higher US tariffs. The Ministry of Economic Affairs yesterday announced measures to help local firms cope with the US tariff increases on Canada, Mexico, China and other potential areas. The ministry said that it would establish an investment and trade service center in the US to help Taiwanese firms assess the investment environment in different US states, plan supply chain relocation strategies and
WASHINGTON POLICY: Tariffs of 10 percent or more and other new costs are tipped to hit shipments of small parcels, cutting export growth by 1.3 percentage points The decision by US President Donald Trump to ban Chinese companies from using a US tariff loophole would hit tens of billions of dollars of trade and reduce China’s economic growth this year, according to new estimates by economists at Nomura Holdings Inc. According to Nomura’s estimates, last year companies such as Shein (希音) and PDD Holdings Inc’s (拼多多控股) Temu shipped US$46 billion of small parcels to the US to take advantage of the rule that allows items with a declared value under US$800 to enter the US tariff-free. Tariffs of 10 percent or more and other new costs would slash such
Three experts in the high technology industry have said that US President Donald Trump’s pledge to impose higher tariffs on Taiwanese semiconductors is part of an effort to force Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) to the negotiating table. In a speech to Republicans on Jan. 27, Trump said he intends to impose tariffs on Taiwan to bring chip production to the US. “The incentive is going to be they’re not going to want to pay a 25, 50 or even a 100 percent tax,” he said. Darson Chiu (邱達生), an economics professor at Taichung-based Tunghai University and director-general of