Asia First - Thu 14 Aug 2025
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Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Trump says semiconductor tariffs coming soon, could reach 300%
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox US President Donald Trump said he would set levies on semiconductors in the coming two weeks. US President Donald Trump said he would set levies on semiconductors in the coming two weeks, the latest indication he is readying a substantial expansion of his tariff regime. 'I'll be setting tariffs next week and the week after, on steel and on, I would, say chips – chips and semiconductors, we'll be setting sometime next week, week after,' Mr Trump told reporters on Aug 15 aboard Air Force One en route to Alaska for a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. It w as not clear if Mr Trump misspoke about steel tariffs. He already hiked duties on steel and a luminium imports to 50 per cent in June. The president has repeatedly promised that levies on chips and pharmaceuticals are coming within weeks, but no formal announcements have yet been made. Both sectors have been under Commerce Department investigation since April, a prerequisite for Mr Trump to impose tariffs on national security grounds. That process can prove complicated and probes can take months or longer to resolve. Manufacturers and artificial intelligence firms have been eager for more clarity about his plans for semiconductor rates, since chips are included in a wide range of modern consumer products. Last week, Mr Trump said during an event with Apple c hief executive officer Tim Cook that he planned a 100 per cent tariff on semiconductors, while exempting products from companies that are moving manufacturing to the US. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Ong Beng Seng fined $30k in case linked to ex-minister Iswaran after judge cites judicial mercy Singapore Why was Ong Beng Seng fined instead of jailed? Key points from the case Asia Sun Haiyan, ex-China ambassador to S'pore, detained for questioning: Sources Singapore Love that saves lives: Seniors in Singapore overcome challenges to donate organs Singapore Over 600 orchids on display at Gardens by the Bay to mark 60 years of Singapore-Malaysia ties Singapore Father of 4 among S'poreans arrested in CNB raids; drugs worth over $128k seized The White House has not offered a subsequent explanation for how that exemption would work, but Mr Trump implied that Apple – which has pledged a US$600 billion (S$769 billion) domestic manufacturing initiative – could be exempt. On A ug 15, Mr Trump suggested the charge on imported semiconductors could be even higher. 'I'm going to have a rate that is going to be 200 per cent, 300 per cent?' Mr Trump said. The US president indicated that he could speak about tariffs with Mr Putin, and said he believed the Russian leader planned to bring business leaders to the summit. 'I noticed he's bringing a lot of business people from Russia, and that's good I like that because they want to do business,' Mr Trump said. 'But they're not doing business until we get the war settled.' Mr Trump in recent weeks has threatened to impose higher tariff rates on purchasers of Russian energy, including a pledge to impose a 50 per cent levy on goods from India. He has also suggested he could ratchet up economic costs on Moscow if the meeting does not go well. BLOOMBERG
CNA
an hour ago
- CNA
Malaysia's Q2 GDP grows 4.4% on-year
Malaysia's economy grew 4.4 per cent in the second quarter of 2025, from a year earlier, and was unchanged from the first quarter. Bank Negara said growth was driven by robust household spending and positive labour market conditions. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the economy grew 2.1 per cent, three-times the pace of growth in the previous three months. Melissa Goh reports.
CNA
an hour ago
- CNA
Singapore shipowner slams US$1 billion damages award after Sri Lanka marine disaster
COLOMBO: Owners of a Singapore-registered vessel urged Colombo on Friday (Aug 15) to consider more "rational" compensation after they were ordered to pay US$1 billion in damages for causing Sri Lanka's worst case of environmental pollution. Sri Lanka's Supreme Court ordered X-Press Feeders in July to pay the damages within a year for causing marine pollution when its vessel caught fire in 2021. The Supreme Court also ordered criminal charges against the skipper and local agents of the MV X-Press Pearl, which sank off Colombo Port after the fire. "From the very start, X-Press Feeders has expressed deep regret to the people of Sri Lanka for the impact ... and remained committed to fully assist ... in all clean-up operations," the owners said in a statement. They recognised the need for compensation but said "it must be done in an equitable and fair manner that identifies the failings in the response and clean-up operations of the Sri Lankan government". The vessel was carrying 81 containers of "dangerous cargo" that included acids, lead ingots and plastic raw materials. Tons of microplastic granules from the ship inundated an 80km stretch of beach along Sri Lanka's western coast. Fishing was prohibited for months. X-Press Feeders said it had already spent US$150 million to remove the wreck, clean the beaches, and compensate affected fishermen. It said the damages awarded established an "unprecedented level of risk" that it and other shipping companies would struggle to meet, and called for more "rational decision-making". Sri Lankan authorities believe the fire was caused by a nitric acid leak. Ports in Qatar and India had refused to offload the leaking nitric acid before the vessel arrived in Sri Lankan waters. Environmentalists who filed the case alleged that both the government and the vessel's owners had failed to prevent the fire from becoming an unprecedented ecological disaster.
