Reuters (December 22)
“China will impose provisional duties of up to 42.7% on dairy products imported from the European Union, the latest in a series of measures against EU exports widely seen as retaliation for the bloc’s electric vehicle tariffs.” There are a range of duties on “unsweetened milk and cream and fresh and processed cheeses, including the iconic French Roquefort and Camembert,” but “most companies will pay just under 30%.”
Tags: Camembert, China, Cream, Dairy products, Duties, EU, EV, Exports, Milk, Processed cheeses, Provisional duties, Retaliation, Roquefort, Tariffs
Wall Street Journal (August 18)
“The global economy appears to have taken a sharp rise in U.S. tariffs and increased uncertainty about the future of the international trading system in its stride, but faces stronger headwinds as tax rates continue to climb.” Many countries chose not to retaliate. “Forgoing retaliation may count as a series of losses for them and a sequence of wins for the U.S. But those choices are also wins for the global economy, and for now a return to the tit-for-tat mayhem of the 1930s seems unlikely.” The tariffs have nevertheless been detrimental, “but it will take some time before the impact of tariff increases that are already settled is clear, and it is likely that further increases in duties will add to the damage.”
Tags: 1930s, Climb, Damage, Duties, Global economy, Headwinds, Impact, International trading system, Mayhem, Retaliate, Tariffs, Tax rates, Tit-for-tat, U.S., Uncertainty
The Economist (August 9)
“With every passing day, America’s new trading order comes into sharper relief. In place of rules, stability and low tariffs is a system of imperial preference. Duties are not just higher, they are set by presidential whim.” While President Trump “thinks America is winning. It is not.”
Tags: Duties, Imperial preference, Low tariffs, New trading order, Presidential whim, Relief, Rules, Stability, System, Trump, U.S., Winning
South China Morning Post (May 19)
“China’s economy mostly remained resilient in April, despite feeling the effects of the astronomical tariffs in place before last week, when Washington and Beijing agreed to remove or pause most of the duties imposed as part of their tempestuous trade war.” Though consumption softened, manufacturing fared better than expected. “China’s industrial output rose 6.1 per cent, beating estimates, while domestic consumption up 5.1 per cent–slightly below expectations.”
Tags: Agreed, April, Beijing, China, Consumption, Duties, Economy, Estimates, Industrial output, Manufacturing, Resilient, Tariffs, Trade war, Washington
Bloomberg (May 12)
“Xi Jinping’s decision to stand his ground against Donald Trump could hardly have gone any better for the Chinese leader…. The Trump administration’s retreat from sky-high tariffs wouldn’t have occurred if China hadn’t responded so forcefully, not only with retaliatory duties but also export controls and other steps.”
Tags: China, Decision, Duties, Export controls, Forcefully, Leader, Responded, Retaliatory, Retreat, Sky-high tariffs, Trump, U.S., Xi
Reuters (February 13)
“U.S. President Donald Trump says trade wars are easy to win. If so, his 25% tariffs on steel and aluminium imports ought to have big overseas producers like Rio Tinto begging for mercy. Yet shareholders in the $107 billion miner and rivals like BHP have already shrugged off concerns. Granted, they may be overly optimistic, or reckon the levies, set to go into effect next month, won’t be imposed. But it also could be because the duties would hurt the U.S. the most.”
Tags: 25% tariffs, Aluminium, BHP, Duties, Hurt, Imports, Miner, Overseas producers, Rio Tinto, Shareholders, Steel, Trade wars, Trump, U.S., Win
New York Times (May 14)
President Biden unveiled “a wave of new tariffs on billions of dollars in Chinese products, ramping up duties on industries like electric cars and solar energy that are core to his economic agenda.” The new duties cover roughly $18 billion of annual Chinese imports and are in addition to the $300 billion worth of Chinese imports already covered by existing tariffs. The new tariffs will “appeal to voters in battleground states,” but it’s unclear if they will be “enough to rebuild America’s industrial base in a global race with China to lead in the new economy.”
Tags: $18 billion, $300 billion, Battleground states, Biden, China, Duties, Economic agenda, EVs, Imports, Industrial base, Solar energy, Tariffs, U.S., Unveiled, Voters
Straits Times (September 18)
On Monday, Donald Trump “effectively broadsided one of the world’s largest trade relationships, announcing plans to proceed with tariffs on another US$200 billion in US imports of Chinese goods.” Combined with previous tariffs, “this means roughly half of everything Americans buy from China…is now subject to punitive import duties. Whole industrial sectors stand to feel the effects, including agriculture, manufacturing, textiles and retail.”
Tags: Agriculture, Broadsided, China, Duties, Import, Imports, Manufacturing, Punitive, Relationships, Retail, Tariffs, Textiles, Trade, Trump, U.S.
South China Morning Post (July 6)
As the U.S. and China begin to “spar over trade, Japan may avoid a direct hit – for now.” While the first round of tariffs is “expected to have limited impact,” the dispute “could lead to further appreciation of yen and punitive duties on Japanese cars” if it continues to spiral out of control.
The Economist (October 22)
“Twentieth-century trade deals slashed tariffs. Newer ones between rich countries, such as CETA, focus on cutting other barriers to trade.” It took seven years to hammer out the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), a trade deal that would eliminate duplicative safety checks, as well as about 99% of customs duties between the Canada and the EU. But gaining final approval of any trade deal is increasingly difficult. Last week, the regional parliament of Wallonia blocked the deal, which was estimated to “make Europe €5.8 billion a year richer.”
Tags: Barriers, Canada, CETA, Customs, Duplicative, Duties, Europe, Parliament, Safety checks, Tariffs, Trade deals, Wallonia
