Indonesia Says It Seeks to Complete US Trade Talks in 60 Days
Indonesia and the US agreed to try to complete negotiations on trade and investment partnerships in 60 days, Coordinating Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto said, as the Southeast Asian nation seeks to avert higher tariffs on its exports to the world's biggest economy.
Indonesia expects 20 of its main exports to the US, including textiles, furniture and shrimp, can be given balanced tariffs no higher than competitor countries, Hartarto said in an online briefing from the US on Friday morning, Jakarta time.
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Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
US, Vietnam Move Closer to Trade Framework as Deadline Nears
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The agreement would also reflect a series of US demands, such as stricter enforcement against the transshipment of Chinese products and the removal of non-tariff barriers, the people said. While the final details are unclear, Vietnam had earlier offered to remove all tariffs, as well as to step up trade enforcement and boost purchases of American goods. The final contours of the framework are still being fleshed out in ways needed to secure Trump's sign-off, said people familiar with the matter who asked for anonymity to speak candidly about the discussions. More meetings are expected Friday in Washington to address some technical details, they said. Vietnam's foreign affairs ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The White House had no immediate comment. Trump has struggled to reach trade accords by a July 9 deadline for higher tariffs to kick back in. The US has reached one framework plan — with the UK — and a tariff truce with China. Trump on Wednesday said he intended to send letters to trading partners setting unilateral tariff levels — effectively 'take it or leave it' offers — within one to two weeks. Vietnam poses a particular challenge for the Trump administration, as some in Washington consider it a strategic partner in efforts to counter China in Asia, while its exports of consumer goods become staples for American consumers. Vietnam is a critical production hub for companies such as Nike Inc., Gap Inc. and Lululemon Athletica Inc., which count on the nation's factories to manufacture goods ranging from T-shirts and jeans to basketball shoes. Brands raced to move manufacturing to Vietnam over the past decade as US-China tensions escalated, helping turn the country into one of the world's biggest production hubs. The 46% charge would have proved debilitating, threatening the historic industrial boom in one of Asia's fastest-growing economies. Vietnam's trade connections with China, however, have recently inflamed relations with Washington. During Trump's economic battle with Beijing in his first term, the manufacturing shift to Vietnam built the kind of massive trade surplus that has drawn the ire of the US president. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer nodded to the progress in talks on Thursday, telling Fox News that he 'just came from a meeting with the Vietnamese that was very helpful, and we'll see if we're able to land something with them.' Nations have presented plans to 'give us more market access, they change some of their harmful policies, and they could qualify for a type of modified tariff depending on how our president feels and how their leaders feel,' he said on Fox. For Trump, Vietnam offered the promise of a quick solution — and it's still a test case for the administration's ability to ink deals with Southeast Asian nations. Vietnam raced to launch trade talks with the US and was singled out by Trump for showing a willingness to negotiate. Still, the talks have been complicated by Trump's zeal to shrink trade deficits with China — and ongoing negotiations with Beijing that could further lower rates. Some US officials want to calibrate tariffs for Vietnam and others in Southeast Asia to ensure they're sufficiently lower than what's imposed on China to encourage production to leave the country, according to people familiar with the matter. Yet if they're too low, the rates may only exacerbate Vietnam's high trade surplus with the US and encourage further shipment of Chinese goods though the country, the people said. Trump said Wednesday the US is maintaining a total of 55% tariffs on Chinese imports after talks in London, but his aides have not said whether that number is a floor. Some of Trump's top trade officials also want to crack down on what they call transshipment — where Chinese goods are minimally finished or repackaged in other countries to avoid tariffs — yet it's unclear whether the US president sees the issue as a deal breaker. Hanoi has increased efforts to enforce country-of-origin standards in part to assuage US concerns. Trump's Trade War and the Economic Impact: Tariff Tracker White House trade adviser Peter Navarro sees Vietnam as a particularly notable offender when it comes to transshipment, having called the country 'essentially a colony of communist China' during an April interview with Fox News. Chinese products are brought into Vietnam, he said at the time, and 'they slap a made-in-Vietnam label on it, and send it here to evade the tariffs.' US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick echoed that concern earlier this month at a Senate hearing. 'They buy $90 billion from China, then they mark it up and send it to us,' Lutnick said. 'So it's just a pathway of China to us.' Yet Trump has previously signaled a clear interest at cutting deals — even if they're imperfect or not fully fleshed out. And an initial framework agreement leaves the opportunity for further concessions later. The industry's major players have pushed both the US and Vietnam to come to an agreement in recent months. A group of shoemakers including Nike, Adidas AG and Puma SE urged Trump to exempt shoes from tariffs in May. Vietnam's trade ministry also recently met with representatives from Nike, Gap, Walmart Inc. and Levi Strauss & Co. The sneaker companies, also including On Holding AG and Allbirds Inc., were at a heightened risk of disruption, since they make such a large proportion of their shoes in Vietnam, and few other countries have comparable manufacturing capacity and sophistication. About half of Nike brand shoes are made in Vietnam, according to regulatory filings. --With assistance from Ramsey Al-Rikabi and Kim Bhasin. 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Los Angeles Times
2 days ago
- Los Angeles Times
Cambodia bans Thai movies and TV shows in latest border feud tit-for-tat
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Cambodia escalated its cold war with Thailand on Friday when it announced a ban on Thai movies and TV shows and a boycott of the neighboring country's international internet links. Tensions between the Southeast Asian countries have soared since an armed confrontation in a border area on May 28 that each side blamed on the other and which left one Cambodian soldier dead. Cambodian officials said the import and screenings of Thai movies would be banned, and that broadcasters would be ordered not to air Thai-produced shows, which include popular soap operas. The government said it would inflict a financial blow on Thailand by rerouting its international internet traffic through other countries instead. Cambodian and Thai authorities engaged in saber-rattling last week, though they have since walked back much of their earlier statements emphasizing their right to take military action. But they continue to implement or threaten measures short of armed force, keeping tensions high. Thailand has added restrictions at border crossings. Much of their war of words actually has appeared intended to mollify nationalistic critics on their own sides. The confrontation reportedly took place in a relatively small 'no man's land' constituting territory along their border that both countries claim is theirs. The area is closed to journalists, but it appears that both sides withdrew soon after the fatal confrontation to avoid further clashes, without explicitly conceding the fact in order to save face. 'Neither side wants to use the word 'withdraw'. We say 'adjust troop deployments' as a gesture of mutual respect—this applies to both Cambodia and Thailand.' Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra was quoted telling reporters this past week. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said Friday on the Telegram social network that his government would act preemptively to establish self-reliance in response to exhortations by Thai nationalists to cut off electricity and internet connectivity to Cambodia. Camboia's Minister of Post and Telecommunication Chea Vandeth announced on his Facebook page that 'all telecommunications operators in Cambodia have now disconnected all cross-border internet links with Thailand,' and that the move would deprive Thailand of as much as hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue, a claim that could not be immediately checked. The reported move to use circuits bypassing Thailand temporarily disrupted internet connectivity for users of at least one Cambodian service provider. Thai officials said any plans to cut services to Cambodia were unrelated to the territorial conflict and would actually be targeting the infamous online scam centers in the Cambodian border town of Poipet that have been a problem for several years. Cambodia's Ministry of Fine Arts meanwhile informed all film distributors and cinemas owners that starting Friday, the import and screening of all Thai films must be immediately suspended. Som Chhaya, deputy director general of a popular Cambodian TV channel, People Nation Network, told The Associated Press that his company will comply with another government order to drop Thai-produced shows, and in their place broadcast Chinese, Korean or Cambodian dramas. Thai films and TV shows have a large audience in Cambodia. Friday's actions in Cambodia were taken one day ahead of a planned meeting in the capital Phnom Penh of the two countries' Joint Commission on Demarcation for Land Boundary to help resolve the conflicting territorial claims that led to last month's deadly confrontation. There is a long history to their territorial disputes, Thailand is still rankled by a 1962 ruling by the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands that awarded to Cambodia the disputed territory where the historic Preah Vihear temple stands. There were sporadic though serious clashes there in 2011, and the ruling was reaffirmed in 2023. Cheang writes for the Associated Press.
Hamilton Spectator
2 days ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Cambodia bans Thai movies and TV shows in latest border feud tit-for-tat
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodia escalated its cold war with Thailand on Friday when it announced a ban on Thai movies and TV shows and a boycott of the neighboring country's international internet links. Tensions between the Southeast Asian countries have soared since an armed confrontation in a border area on May 28 that each side blamed on the other and which left one Cambodian soldier dead. Cambodian officials said the import and screenings of Thai movies would be banned, and that broadcasters would be ordered not to air Thai-produced shows, which include popular soap operas. The government said it would inflict a financial blow on Thailand by rerouting its international internet traffic through other countries instead. Cambodian and Thai authorities engaged in saber-rattling last week, though they have since walked back much of their earlier statements emphasizing their right to take military action. But they continue to implement or threaten measures short of armed force, keeping tensions high. Thailand has added restrictions at border crossings. Much of their war of words actually has appeared intended to mollify nationalistic critics on their own sides. The confrontation reportedly took place in a relatively small 'no man's land' constituting territory along their border that both countries claim is theirs. The area is closed to journalists, but it appears that both sides withdrew soon after the fatal confrontation to avoid further clashes, without explicitly conceding the fact in order to save face. 'Neither side wants to use the word 'withdraw'. We say 'adjust troop deployments' as a gesture of mutual respect—this applies to both Cambodia and Thailand.' Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra was quoted telling reporters this past week. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said Friday on the Telegram social network that his government would act preemptively to establish self-reliance in response to exhortations by Thai nationalists to cut off electricity and internet connectivity to Cambodia. Camboia's Minister of Post and Telecommunication Chea Vandeth announced on his Facebook page that 'all telecommunications operators in Cambodia have now disconnected all cross-border internet links with Thailand,' and that the move would deprive Thailand of as much as hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue, a claim that could not be immediately checked. The reported move to use circuits bypassing Thailand temporarily disrupted internet connectivity for users of at least one Cambodian service provider. Thai officials said any plans to cut services to Cambodia were unrelated to the territorial conflict and would actually be targeting the infamous online scam centers in the Cambodian border town of Poipet that have been a problem for several years. Cambodia's Ministry of Fine Arts meanwhile informed all film distributors and cinemas owners that starting Friday, the import and screening of all Thai films must be immediately suspended. Som Chhaya, deputy director general of a popular Cambodian TV channel, People Nation Network, told The Associated Press that his company will comply with another government order to drop Thai-produced shows, and in their place broadcast Chinese, Korean or Cambodian dramas. Thai films and TV shows have a large audience in Cambodia. Friday's actions in Cambodia were taken one day ahead of a planned meeting in the capital Phnom Penh of the two countries' Joint Commission on Demarcation for Land Boundary to help resolve the conflicting territorial claims that led to last month's deadly confrontation. There is a long history to their territorial disputes, Thailand is still rankled by a 1962 ruling by the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands that awarded to Cambodia the disputed territory where the historic Preah Vihear temple stands. There were sporadic though serious clashes there in 2011, and the ruling was reaffirmed in 2023. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
