PBOC governor, Bank of America senior executive discuss economy, financial markets
The Tuesday meeting included an exchange of views on the global economic and financial situation, China's macroeconomic policies, and its financial markets, the PBOC said.
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The Guardian
31 minutes ago
- The Guardian
‘Terrible fuel efficiency, no right-hand drive': why trade deal won't warm up Japan to American cars
Donald Trump has declared that Japan is opening up its domestic market to US cars as part of the bilateral trade deal announced this week. But American manufacturers will find it no easy task convincing Japanese drivers to choose what they see as oversized, unreliable gas-guzzlers. Announcing the agreement – which includes 15% tariffs on imports from Japan, including cars – Trump posted: 'Perhaps most importantly, Japan will open their country to trade including cars and trucks, rice and certain other agricultural products.' Earlier this month, the US president had complained: 'We didn't give them one car in 10 years – they send out millions but they won't take any of ours.' The US claims Japan uses non-tariff barriers (NTBs) to keep out American cars. Japan imported 16,707 American vehicles in 2024, according to the Japan Automobile Importers Association (JAIA). European brands, led by Mercedes-Benz and other German automakers, sold more than 250,000 into the same market, which overall is dominated by Japan's huge domestic auto industry. 'We don't receive any requests from our member companies to address non-tariff barrier issues,' said the JAIA's Sho Matsumoto. Takeshi Miyao, head of the Carnorama auto consultancy's Tokyo office, also says no such hurdles exist for US imports. 'There are non-tariff barriers on rice [another sticking point in the trade negotiations], because the government feels it has to protect Japanese farmers, but not on vehicles,' he says. US manufacturers like GM and Ford simply don't focus on the Japanese market, according to Miyao. 'They don't really do any marketing, and often don't even offer right-hand drive models. So the cars don't sell.' Size is also a problem, Miyao notes. The Ford F-150 pickup is around six metres long and 2 metres high. That kind of vehicular behemoth is particularly ill suited to Japan's narrow roads and tight parking spaces. US cars also have longstanding image problems, says Takahisa Matsuyama, an instructor for chauffeurs and private hire drivers in Tokyo. 'Going back to the days when we first came across US cars like Cadillacs, they're seen as having terrible fuel efficiency and breaking down easily; that impression hasn't changed much,' says Matsuyama. The 2025 car reliability rankings from Consumer Reports, a US non-profit organisation, bear this sentiment out. The top four marques were Subaru, Lexus, Toyota and Honda – all Japanese. The bottom four – Jeep, GMC, Cadillac and Rivian – were all American. Matsuyama points out that the biggest sellers in Japan have long been kei cars. Short for kei-jidosha (light vehicle), these compact cars and trucks are only allowed a tiny 660cc engine, and have topped sales rankings for decades – even as the government has gradually eroded the tax and insurance advantages they receive over regular vehicles. The automotive antithesis of the giant pickup, the kei truck has actually gained a cult fanbase in the US, mostly through private imports. Japan's automakers will now face 15% tariffs on their exports to the US, up from 2.5% and the highest levy in decades. But investors have welcomed the figure as much less than the originally threatened 25% hike, to a total of 27.5%. The news sent the Nikkei 225 index up more than 4% this week, and shares in Japan's biggest carmakers surged even higher – Toyota, Honda and Nissan all gaining more than 10%. One of Trump's perennial complaints in his trade and tariff war has been that other companies 'rip off' the US by selling it more than they buy from it. In that vein, as part of the bilateral negotiations, Tokyo has agreed to encourage Japanese auto brands that also build cars in US factories to import some of them into Japan. That may at least put some US-built vehicles into the showrooms of Japan that motorists might actually buy.
Reuters
2 hours ago
- Reuters
US lifts some Myanmar sanctions, says no link to general's letter to Trump
WASHINGTON, July 24 (Reuters) - The United States has lifted sanctions designations on several allies of Myanmar's ruling generals that had been imposed under the former Biden administration. The U.S. Treasury Department announcement on Thursday came two weeks after the head of Myanmar's ruling junta praised President Donald Trump in a letter and called for an easing of sanctions in a letter responding to a tariff warning. Administration officials said there was no link between the letter and the sanctions decision. A notice from the U.S. Treasury Department said KT Services & Logistics and its founder, Jonathan Myo Kyaw Thaung; the MCM Group and its owner Aung Hlaing Oo; and Suntac Technologies and its owner Sit Taing Aung; and another individual, Tin Latt Min, were being removed from the U.S. sanctions list. The Treasury Department declined to say why the individuals had been removed from the list. In a statement to Reuters, Deputy Treasury Secretary Michael Faulkender said: "Individuals, including in this case, are regularly added and removed from the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List (SDN List) in the ordinary course of business." Early this month, as part of a slate of import tariffs ordered by Trump, Myanmar was notified of a 40% tariff to take effect on August 1. On July 11, Myanmar's ruling military general, Min Aung Hlaing, responded by proposing a reduced rate of 10% to 20%, with Myanmar slashing its levy on U.S. imports to a range of zero to 10%. He said he was ready to send a negotiating team to Washington if needed. "The senior general acknowledged the president's strong leadership in guiding his country towards national prosperity with the spirit of a true patriot," Myanmar state media said at the time. Min Aung Hlaing also asked Trump "to reconsider easing and lifting the economic sanctions imposed on Myanmar, as they hinder the shared interests and prosperity of both countries and their peoples." A senior Trump administration official said the decision to lift sanctions was unrelated to the general's letter. "The decision to lift sanctions reflects a lengthy process that began in the prior administration," said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity. "There is no connection between these decisions and the letter." White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said that sanctions delistings "were collected over the last year in accordance with standard Treasury course of business." John Sifton, Asia advocacy director of Human Rights Watch, called the sanctions move "extremely worrying." "The action suggests a major shift is underway in U.S. policy, which had centered on punitive action against Myanmar's military regime," he said in emailed comments. Myanmar's military overthrew a democratically elected government in 2021 and has been implicated in crimes against humanity and genocide. Kelly rejected the Human Rights Watch comments as "fake news," and a second senior Trump administration official said the sanctions decisions were not indicative of a broader shift in U.S. policy toward Myanmar. KT Services & Logistics and Jonathan Myo Kyaw Thaung were added to the sanctions list in January 2022 under the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden in a step timed to mark the first anniversary of the military seizure of power in Myanmar that plunged the country into chaos. Sit Taing Aung and Aung Hlaing Oo were placed on the sanctions list the same year for operating in Myanmar's defence sector. Tin Latt Min, identified as another close associate of the military rulers, was placed on the list in 2024 to mark the third anniversary of the coup. Representative Ami Bera, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Asia subcommittee, in a statement to Reuters called the decision to lift sanctions against the individuals "a bad idea" that "goes against our values of freedom and democracy." Other U.S. sanctions on Myanmar generals, including on Min Aung Hlaing, remain in place. Myanmar is one of the world's main sources of sought-after rare earth minerals used in high-tech defense and consumer applications. Securing supplies of the minerals is a major focus for the Trump administration in its strategic competition with China, which is responsible for 90% of rare earth processing capacity. Most of Myanmar's rare earth mines are in areas controlled by the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), an ethnic group fighting the junta, and are processed in China.
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
America's biggest retailer caught hiking prices of hundreds of essentials after promising not to
Amazon has raised prices on hundreds of everyday items, from Campbell's soup to Dove deodorant, despite promising to shield shoppers from tariff-driven inflation. A Wall Street Journal review of nearly 2,500 products found prices rose on about 1,200 items between January 20 and July 1. In contrast, big box rival Walmart lowered its prices on the same items by nearly two percent. Manufacturers of products that went up in price told the Journal they hadn't raised wholesale prices for Amazon. Even US-made products exempt from tariffs, like Campbell's soup, have become more expensive. Items with mixed origins saw even steeper jumps. A storage basket from Ohio-based Dayglow LLC, which imports parts from several countries including China, nearly doubled in price on Amazon—from $9.31 in early 2025 to $19.99 by late April. Dayglow told the publication it has not raised the prices it charges Amazon even though it is now paying more for its imported goods due to tariffs. 'Any container I had that was coming took a cost increase basically overnight,' CEO Nick Morrisroe said of the steel tariffs he now pays after they went in to effect last month. Jeff Bezos's retail giant insists the increases don't reflect a broader shift in its pricing. 'We have not seen the average prices of products offered in our store change up or down appreciably,' the company said. 'Our commitment to offering low prices — not relative percentage changes — is what delivers the most value to our customers.' Many of the items the Wall Street Journal tracked fall under Amazon's 'everyday essentials' — a category that accounted for about one in three products the company sold in the US in the first quarter of 2025. The biggest single-day jump in price for Amazon's items came on February 15, two days after Trump signed an order that suggested he would hit most of the US's trading partners with tariffs. Economists have warned that tariffs will push up the price of everyday essentials and big ticket items for American consumers. Big box competitor Walmart lowered its prices on the same items by nearly two percent Inflation ticked up last month as some of these price changes have begun to make their way into the economy. Overall inflation hit 2.7 percent in June compared to a year earlier, up 0.3 percent than the month before. Car dealers, which are subject to tariffs of 25 percent on imported auto parts, have also begun to raise prices on new vehicles. Other have found sneaky way to raise prices without bumping up the sticker price, including slashing rebates and cheap financing deals.
