
Japan buys Russian crude oil for first time in over 2 years
TOKYO -- Japan has imported Russian crude oil for the first time in more than two years, delivered on a tanker sanctioned by both the U.S. and the European Union.
Data from Kpler, a ship tracking specialist, showed that the sanctioned vessel, Voyager, discharged its load at a refinery owned by Taiyo Oil on June 8. The company has confirmed the purchase of the Russian crude.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Asahi Shimbun
13 hours ago
- Asahi Shimbun
Trump says willing to extend trade talks deadline, but says that won't be necessary
WASHINGTON--U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he would be willing to extend a July 8 deadline for completing trade talks with countries before higher U.S. tariffs take effect, but did not believe that would be necessary. Trump told reporters before a performance at the Kennedy Center that trade negotiations were continuing with some 15 countries, including South Korea, Japan and the European Union. "We're rocking in terms of deals," he said. "We're dealing with quite a few countries and they all want to make a deal with us." He said he did not believe a deadline extension would be "a necessity." Trump said the U.S. would send out letters in coming weeks specifying the terms of trade deals to dozens of other countries, which they could then embrace or reject. "At a certain point, we're just going to send letters out ... saying, 'This is the deal. You can take it, or you can leave it,'" Trump said. "So at a certain point we'll do that. We're not quite ready." U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told lawmakers earlier that the Trump administration could extend the July trade deal deadline - or "roll the date forward" for countries negotiating in good faith, in certain cases. A 90-day pause in Trump's broadest, "reciprocal" tariffs will end on July 8, with only one trade deal agreed with Britain and some 17 others at various stages of negotiation. "It is highly likely that those countries - or trading blocs as is the case with the EU - who are negotiating in good faith, we will roll the date forward to continue the good-faith negotiations," Bessent told the House Ways and Means Committee. "If someone is not negotiating, then we will not." Bessent's remarks marked the first time a Trump administration official has indicated some flexibility around the expiration date for the pause. Bessent reiterated the possibility of more negotiating time at a second hearing before the Senate Appropriations Committee on Wednesday, saying it was "my belief that countries that are negotiating in good faith could be rolled forward." He said the European Union had previously been slower to come forward with robust proposals, but was now showing "better faith," without providing specifics. Trump echoed that more upbeat view on Wednesday, saying, "They do want to negotiate." A deal struck on Tuesday in London with China to de-escalate that bilateral trade war is proceeding on a separate track and timeline, with an August 10 deadline set last month. The president has been the final decision-maker on his administration's tariff and trade policies, but Bessent's influence has increased in recent months and the Treasury chief has been viewed by many trading partners as a moderating voice. Trump announced the pause on April 9, a week after unveiling "Liberation Day" tariffs against nearly all U.S. trading partners that proved to be so unexpectedly large and sweeping that it sent global financial markets into near panic. The S&P 500 Index plunged more than 12% in four days for its heftiest run of losses since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020. Investors were so rattled they bailed out of safe-haven U.S. Treasury securities, sending bond yields rocketing higher. The dollar sank. Markets started their recovery on April 9 when Trump unexpectedly announced the pause. The recovery continued in early May when the Trump team agreed to dial back the triple-digit tariff rates it had imposed on goods from China. Those events have given rise to what some on Wall Street have parodied as the "TACO" trade - an acronym for Trump Always Chickens Out. "The only time the market has reacted positively is when the administration is in retreat from key policy areas," Democratic Representative Don Beyer of Virginia told Bessent before pressing him on what to expect when the July deadline expires. "As I have said repeatedly there are 18 important trading partners. We are working toward deals with those," Bessent said before going on to signal a willingness to offer extensions to those negotiating in good faith.


Nikkei Asia
a day ago
- Nikkei Asia
Japan buys Russian crude oil for first time in over 2 years
TOKYO -- Japan has imported Russian crude oil for the first time in more than two years, delivered on a tanker sanctioned by both the U.S. and the European Union. Data from Kpler, a ship tracking specialist, showed that the sanctioned vessel, Voyager, discharged its load at a refinery owned by Taiyo Oil on June 8. The company has confirmed the purchase of the Russian crude.


Yomiuri Shimbun
2 days ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Five Nations and EU Urge Trump Not to Impose New Airplane Tariffs
Reuters A picture taken through a telescope shows a silhouette of an aircraft against the sun during a partial solar eclipse in the settlement of Kojori outside Tbilisi, Georgia October 25, 2022. WASHINGTON, June 10 (Reuters) – Five nations and the European Union, as well as airlines and aerospace firms worldwide, urged the Trump administration not to impose new national security tariffs on imported commercial planes and parts, documents released on Tuesday showed. Airlines and planemakers have been lobbying President Donald Trump to restore the tariff-free regime under the 1979 Civil Aircraft Agreement that has yielded an annual trade surplus of $75 billion for the U.S. industry. The documents made public by the U.S. Commerce Department bared concerns over the fallout of possible new tariffs expressed by companies as well as nations such as Canada, China, Japan, Mexico and Switzerland, besides the European Union. 'As reliable trading partners, the European Union and United States should strengthen their trade regarding aircraft and aircraft parts, rather than hinder it by imposing trade restrictions,' the EU wrote. It would consider its options 'to ensure a level playing field,' it added. Trump has already imposed tariffs of 10% on nearly all airplane and parts imports. 'No country or region should attempt to support the development of its domestic aircraft manufacturing industry by suppressing foreign competitors,' the Chinese government wrote. Separately, U.S. planemaker Boeing BA.N cited a recent trade deal unveiled in May with Britain that ensures tariff-free treatment for airplanes and parts. 'The United States should ensure duty-free treatment for commercial aircraft and their parts in any negotiated trade agreement, similar to its efforts with the United Kingdom,' Boeing told the Commerce Department in a filing. Mexico said in 2024 it exported $1.45 billion in aircraft parts, just a tenth of the total, to the United States. The EU said it took U.S. exports of aircraft worth roughly $12 billion, while exporting about $8 billion of aircraft to the U.S. In early May, the Commerce Department launched a 'Section 232' national security investigation into imports of commercial aircraft, jet engines and parts that could form the basis for even higher tariffs on such imports. Last week, Delta Air LinesDAL.N and major trade groups warned of tariffs' impact on ticket prices, aviation safety and supply chains. 'Current U.S. tariffs on aviation are putting domestic production of commercial aircraft at risk,' Airbus Americas CEO Robin Hayes said in a filing. 'It is not realistic or sensible today to create a 100% domestic supply chain in any country.' Boeing said it had been increasing U.S. content in its airplanes over the last decade and its newest airplanes, the 737 MAX 10 and 777X, would have 'more than 88% domestically-sourced content.' The United Auto Workers union, which represents 10,000 aerospace workers, said it supports tariffs and domestic production quotas, adding that U.S. aerospace employment has fallen to 510,000 in 2024 from 850,000 in 1990. 'To safeguard the entire aerospace supply chain across the commercial and defense sectors, comprehensive tariffs and production quotas on several products are needed,' it said. JetBlue Airways JBLU.O opposed new tariffs, however, saying, 'Trade policy should reinforce, not destabilize, the proven systems that keep our aircraft flying safely and affordably.'