Latest news with #-ChinaBusinessCouncil
New Indian Express
18 hours ago
- Business
- New Indian Express
US and China extend trade truce another 90 days, easing tension between world's largest economies
The pause buys time for the two countries to work out some of their differences, perhaps clearing the way for a summit later this year between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, and it has been welcomed by the U.S. companies doing business with China. Sean Stein, president of the U.S.-China Business Council, said the extension is 'critical' to give the two governments time to negotiate a trade agreement that U.S. businesses hope would improve their market access in China and provide the certainty needed for companies to make medium- and long-term plans. 'Securing an agreement on fentanyl that leads to a reduction in U.S. tariffs and a rollback of China's retaliatory measures is acutely needed to restart U.S. agriculture and energy exports,' Stein said. Reaching a pact with China remains unfinished business for Trump, who has already upended the global trading system by slapping double-digit taxes – tariffs – on almost every country on earth. The European Union, Japan and other trading partners agreed to lopsided trade deals with Trump, accepting once unthinkably U.S. high tariffs (15% on Japanese and EU imports, for instance) to ward off something worse. Trump's trade policies have turned the United States from one of the most open economies in the world into a protectionist fortress. The average U.S. tariff has gone from around 2.5% at the start of the year to 18.6%, highest since 1933, according to the Budget Lab at Yale University. But China tested the limits of a U.S. trade policy built around using tariffs as a cudgel to beat concessions out of trading partners. Beijing had a cudgel of its own: cutting off or slowing access to its rare earths minerals and magnets – used in everything from electric vehicles to jet engines. In June, the two countries reached an agreement to ease tensions. The United States said it would pull back export restrictions on computer chip technology and ethane, a feedstock in petrochemical production. And China agreed to make it easier for U.S. firms to get access to rare earths. 'The U.S. has realized it does not have the upper hand,'' said Claire Reade, senior counsel at Arnold & Porter and former assistant U.S. trade representative for China affairs. In May, the U.S. and China had averted an economic catastrophe by reducing massive tariffs they'd slapped on each other's products, which had reached as high as 145% against China and 125% against the U.S.
Boston Globe
19 hours ago
- Business
- Boston Globe
Trump extends trade truce with China for another 90 days
The pause buys time for the two countries to work out some of their differences, perhaps clearing the way for a summit later this year between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, and it has been welcomed by the U.S. companies doing business with China. Advertisement Sean Stein, president of the U.S.-China Business Council, said the extension is 'critical' to give the two governments time to negotiate a trade agreement that U.S. businesses hope would improve their market access in China and provide the certainty needed for companies to make medium- and long-term plans. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up 'Securing an agreement on fentanyl that leads to a reduction in U.S. tariffs and a rollback of China's retaliatory measures is acutely needed to restart U.S. agriculture and energy exports,' Stein said. Reaching a pact with China remains unfinished business for Trump, who has already upended the global trading system by slapping double-digit taxes – tariffs – on almost every country on earth. The European Union, Japan and other trading partners agreed to lopsided trade deals with Trump, accepting once unthinkably U.S. high tariffs (15% on Japanese and EU imports, for instance) to ward off something worse. Advertisement Trump's trade policies have turned the United States from one of the most open economies in the world into a protectionist fortress. The average U.S. tariff has gone from around 2.5% at the start of the year to 18.6%, highest since 1933, according to the Budget Lab at Yale University. But China tested the limits of a U.S. trade policy built around using tariffs as a cudgel to beat concessions out of trading partners. Beijing had a cudgel of its own: cutting off or slowing access to its rare earths minerals and magnets – used in everything from electric vehicles to jet engines. In June, the two countries reached an agreement to ease tensions. The United States said it would pull back export restrictions on computer chip technology and ethane, a feedstock in petrochemical production. And China agreed to make it easier for U.S. firms to get access to rare earths. 'The U.S. has realized it does not have the upper hand,'' said Claire Reade, senior counsel at Arnold & Porter and former assistant U.S. trade representative for China affairs. In May, the U.S. and China had averted an economic catastrophe by reducing massive tariffs they'd slapped on each other's products, which had reached as high as 145% against China and 125% against the U.S. Those triple-digit tariffs threatened to effectively end trade between the United States and China and caused a frightening sell-off in financial markets. In a May meeting in Geneva they agreed to back off and keep talking: America's tariffs went back down to a still-high 30% and China's to 10%. Advertisement Having demonstrated their ability to hurt each other, they've been talking ever since. 'By overestimating the ability of steep tariffs to induce economic concessions from China, the Trump administration has not only underscored the limits of unilateral U.S. leverage, but also given Beijing grounds for believing that it can indefinitely enjoy the upper hand in subsequent talks with Washington by threatening to curtail rare earth exports,'' said Ali Wyne, a specialist in U.S.-China relations at the International Crisis Group. 'The administration's desire for a trade détente stems from the self-inflicted consequences of its earlier hubris.' It's unclear whether Washington and Beijing can reach a grand bargain over America's biggest grievances. Among these are lax Chinese protection of intellectual property rights and Beijing's subsidies and other industrial policies that, the Americans say, give Chinese firms an unfair advantage in world markets and have contributed to a massive U.S. trade deficit with China of $262 billion last year. Reade doesn't expect much beyond limited agreements such as the Chinese saying they will buy more American soybeans and promising to do more to stop the flow of chemicals used to make fentanyl and to allow the continued flow of rare-earth magnets. But the tougher issues will likely linger, and 'the trade war will continue grinding ahead for years into the future,'' said Jeff Moon, a former U.S. diplomat and trade official who now runs the China Moon Strategies consultancy. Associated Press Staff Writer Josh Boak contributed to this story.
16-07-2025
- Business
Faced with geopolitics and trade war, US companies in China report record-low new investment plans
WASHINGTON -- American companies in China are reporting record-low new investment plans for this year and declining confidence in profits, while uncertainty in U.S.-China relations and President Donald Trump's tariffs have become their top concerns, according to a business survey released Wednesday. The companies are also challenged by China's slowing economy, where weak domestic demand and overcapacity in local industries are eroding profitability for the Americans. 'Businesses in China are less profitable now than they were years ago, but risks, including reputational risk, regulatory risk, and political risk, are increasing,' said Sean Stein, the president of the U.S.-China Business Council, a Washington-based group that represents American companies doing business in China, including major multinationals. The survey, conducted between March and May and drawing from 130 member companies, came after the two countries clashed over tariffs and nontariff measures, including export controls on critical products such as rare-earth magnets and advanced computer chips. Following high-level talks in Geneva and London, U.S. and Chinese officials agreed to pull back from sky-high tariffs and restrictions on exports, but uncertainty persists as the two sides are yet to hammer out a more permanent trade deal. Kyle Sullivan, vice president of business advisory services at the USCBC, said more than half of the companies in the survey indicated they do not have new investment plans in China 'at all' this year. "That's a record high,' Sullivan said, noting that it is 'a new development that we have not observed in previous surveys.' Around 40% of companies reported negative effects from U.S. export control measures, with many experiencing lost sales, severed customer relationships, and reputational damage from being unreliable suppliers, according to the survey. Citing national security, the U.S. government has banned exports to China of high-tech products, such as the most advanced chips, which could help boost China's military capabilities. Stein argued that export controls must be very carefully targeted, because businesses from Europe or Japan, or local businesses in China would immediately fill the void left by American companies. Silicon Valley chipmaker Nvidia won approval from the Trump administration to resume sales to China of its advanced H20 chips used to develop artificial intelligence, its CEO Jensen Huang announced on Monday, though the company's most powerful chips remain under U.S. export control rules. While 82% of U.S. companies reported profits in 2024, fewer than half are optimistic about the future in China, reflecting concerns over tariffs, deflation, and policy uncertainty, according to the survey. Also, a record high number of American businesses plan to relocate their business operations outside of China, Sullivan said, as 27% of the members indicated so, up from 19% the year before. In a departure from past surveys, concerns over China's regulatory environment, including risks of intellectual property misuse and lack of market access, didn't make it to the top five concerns this year. That's likely a first, and not for a good reason, Stein said. 'It is not because things got dramatically better on the Chinese side, but the new challenges, often coming from the U.S., are now posing as much of a challenge,' Stein said. Almost all the American companies said they cannot remain globally competitive without their Chinese operations. A survey from the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China in May found that European companies were cutting costs and scaling back investment plans in China as its economy slows and fierce competition drives down prices.
Axios
14-04-2025
- Business
- Axios
Georgia businesses caught in crosshairs of U.S.-China trade war
The fast-escalating trade war between the U.S. and China could deliver a stiff blow to Georgia businesses. Why it matters: If sky-high tariff rates announced Wednesday remain in place, many Peach State companies may no longer be able to compete in China's market, and vice versa. Catch up quick: China announced Wednesday that it would subject most U.S. goods to 84% tariffs in retaliation for President Trump 's 104% tariffs — which Trump promptly raised to 125%. Trump paused reciprocal tariffs for 90 days, saying dozens of countries had reached out to negotiate new trade deals. But he did not pause those against China, whom he blasted for retaliating. Zoom in: China is Georgia's third-largest trading partner behind Canada and Mexico, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. The state exported an estimated $4 billion in goods to China in 2023, the U.S.-China Business Council said. What they're saying: Gov. Brian Kemp called Trump's tariffs on China "a good move," according to WSB-TV, saying "they are a big trading partner, but they also have been, as many say, ripping us off in a lot of different ways." The intrigue: China is also a major market for Georgia's $6.7 billion poultry industry, the largest industry in the state. The tariffs war begins while Georgia tries to prevent H5N1 outbreaks that can spread quickly and two years after China's ban on U.S. poultry caused the state's exports to plummet, the AJC notes. The big picture:"For American farmers, who often operate on tight margins, an additional increase in export tariffs can be devastating," Georgia State University business professor Sina Golara told the outlet. "Some small- and medium-sized farms may struggle to remain competitive, potentially forcing some to shut down." Yes, and: On April 4, China included two Georgia-based poultry companies in a group of major U.S. agriculture firms barred from doing business in the country, citing concerns about product contamination.
Axios
09-04-2025
- Business
- Axios
China launches massive tariff retaliation on U.S. goods
China retaliated against President Trump's tariffs on Wednesday with a new 84% levy on exports from the U.S., Beijing announced. Why it matters: The levy is the latest escalation stemming from Trump's trade war. It will be devastating for U.S. farmers in particular, who are major exporters to China. Markets dove on the news. By the numbers: The U.S. exports about $145 billion in goods to China a year. That trade is dominated by oilseeds and grains, per the U.S.-China Business Council. Catch up quick: The trade tit-for-tat started when Trump put a 10% tariff on imports from China, alleging it was failing to control the flow of fentanyl out of the country. He later doubled that to 20%. Subsequently, Trump introduced a reciprocal tariff of 34% on China, which stacked on the drug tariffs. When the Chinese retaliated with a matching levy, Trump added another 50%. That mean that as of 12:01 a.m. ET Wednesday, the U.S. now charges a 104% tariff on imports from China. By the numbers: U.S. stock futures, which had been mostly flat in the early morning, took a sharp leg down on the retaliation news and were about 1.5% lower as of 7:30 a.m. ET. Oil continued to plunge, falling another 6% to around $56 a barrel. Meanwhile U.S. Treasury bonds, normally a safe haven in times of crisis, sank instead, with yields rising 13 basis points to about 4.39%.
