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Japan Today
15-05-2025
- Business
- Japan Today
APEC warns of tariff impact on trade as China, U.S. trade reps meet
FILE PHOTO: A view of the Balboa Port is pictured after Hong Kong's CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd agreed to sell its interests in a key Panama Canal port operator to a BlackRock Inc-backed consortium, amid pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump to curb China's influence in the region, Panama City, Panama, March 4, 2025. REUTERS/Enea Lebrun/File Photo By Jihoon Lee The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) grouping warned on Thursday that exports in the region will barely grow this year amid the onset of U.S. tariffs, as the U.S. and Chinese trade representatives met on the sidelines of the gathering. The 21-member APEC bloc projected exports in the region would rise by only 0.4% this year, compared with 5.7% last year, in a regional trends analysis report released at its 2025 meeting of ministers responsible for trade in South Korea's resort island of Jeju. The bloc also cut its regional economic growth forecast for this year to 2.6% from 3.3% previously. "Trade growth is set to decline sharply across APEC due to lower external demand, particularly in manufacturing and consumer goods, while rising uncertainty over goods-related measures weighs on services trade," APEC said in a statement. The Trump administration's sweeping tariffs have targeted more than half of the APEC grouping, where regional average tariff rates fell to 5.3% by 2021, from 17% in 1989, when the non-binding economic forum was established. This period saw merchandise trade increase more than nine-fold. Still, in a sign of potential further progress to address trade friction between the world's biggest economies, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer met Chinese trade envoy Li Chenggang on the sidelines of the gathering, South Korea's Trade Minister Cheong In-kyo told reporters without elaborating. The meeting comes after Greer and Li agreed to slash steep tariffs at their first face-to-face talks in Geneva on May 10-11. For two days from Thursday, trade representatives of the member economies will discuss multilateral trade and other cooperation agendas, including reform of the World Trade Organization amid current challenges. The Trump administration views the WTO as a body that has enabled China to gain an unfair export advantage and has recently moved to pause U.S. funding to the institution. RIPPLE EFFECTS OF TARIFFS As host of the annual conference, South Korea Trade Minister Cheong will highlight how global economy and trade face added strain from uncertainties and will urge the bloc to foster dialogue to tackle political and economic challenges, according to prepared remarks relayed by his ministry. Ahead of the main sessions, APEC policy director, Carlos Kuriyama, attributed the downgrading of the regional export outlook to the impact of U.S. tariffs and warned the reach of their ripple effects is still greater. "We notice U.S. tariffs are affecting not just goods trade, it's also affecting services trade and financial markets. That's why governments are having trade talks, but they are still not back to before early April," Kuriyama told reporters. Greer is also scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting with his South Korean counterpart, three weeks after their opening round of trade talks in Washington, D.C. He will also have his first face-to-face meeting with New Zealand and meet with representatives from other Asian countries. "We're moving as quickly as we possibly can with folks who want to be ambitious," Greer told CNBC television before he departed for Jeju on Tuesday. His office declined to comment on his schedule for bilateral meetings. The APEC gathering is being attended by trade ministers and envoys from member countries including Japan, Canada, Mexico and Russia. The trade ministers' meeting is being held as part of a second round of senior officials' meetings ahead of an APEC leaders' summit this year in Gyeongju, South Korea. APEC accounts for about half of global trade and 60% of global GDP. © Thomson Reuters 2025.
Reuters
07-04-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Panama's comptroller office to sue over renewal of CK Hutchison contract
[1/2] A ship sails near the Balboa Port after Hong Kong's CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd agreed to sell its interests in a key Panama Canal port operator to a BlackRock Inc-backed consortium, amid pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump to curb China's influence in the region, Panama City, Panama,... Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab Read more
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Hong Kong firm to sell Panama Canal stake to BlackRock-backed group amid Trump pressure
By Sabrina Valle, John Biju and Suzanne McGee (Reuters) -Hong Kong's CK Hutchison on Tuesday agreed to sell its interests in a key Panama Canal port operator to a BlackRock Inc-backed consortium, following intense pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump to curb China's influence in the region. The $22.8 billion sale, which also includes dozens of ports in other countries, appeared to be a win for Trump's aggressive diplomacy just hours before he is due to tout the successes of the first six tumultuous weeks of his second term in an address to the U.S. Congress. Trump had refused to rule out military action to assert U.S. control over the canal. Trump has complained about the presence of Chinese and Hong Kong-based companies in Panama, while U.S. officials and politicians have said CK Hutchison's control of ports at both entrances of the canal represents a security risk for the operation. The sale of licenses will result in the consortium gaining a 90% stake in Panama Ports Company, which has been the operator of the Balboa and Cristobal ports in the Central American country for more than two decades, CK Hutchison said in a statement. BlackRock has briefed the White House and Congressional leadership on the deal, a person familiar with the transaction said. This would be BlackRock's largest infrastructure investment to date, that person said. The U.S. State Department, White House, National Security Council and Panama's government did not immediately respond to requests for comment. CK Hutchison is a publicly listed company not financially tied to the Chinese government, though Hong Kong firms are subject to state oversight. Other ports in Panama are operated by companies from the U.S., Taiwan and Singapore. The canal is operated by the Panama Canal Authority, an autonomous agency overseen by the Panamanian government. Panama's authorities have announced an audit of CK Hutchison's contract, saying they are investigating its compliance with concession agreements. Panama's attorney general determined earlier this month that CK Hutchison's port contract was "unconstitutional." The Supreme Court was to have had the last word on its legal status. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio made his first overseas trip as top U.S. diplomat to Latin America last month, including to Panama, where he pressured the country over China's presence along the canal. After his departure, Rubio hailed Panama's decision to exit China's Belt and Road infrastructure plan, and he has expressed optimism in media interviews that Hutchison would not own the ports in the future. The sale of Panama ports licenses held by the unit of billionaire Li Ka-shing's conglomerate to a consortium that includes BlackRock, Global Infrastructure Partners and Terminal Investment will give it control of an 80% interest in Hutchison Ports for an equity value of $14.21 billion. It will get control of 43 ports comprising 199 berths in 23 countries while delivering cash proceeds in excess of $19 billion for the Hong Kong-based consortium. The sale does not involve any interest in Hutchison Port Holdings Trust, which operates ports in Hong Kong and Shenzhen, as well as South China, or any other ports in Mainland China, CK Hutchison said. The consortium has agreed that negotiations will be on an exclusive basis for a period of 145 days, the company said. BlackRock completed the acquisition of Global Infrastructure Partners for approximately $12.5 billion in cash and stock last October. At the time, chairman and CEO Larry Fink described infrastructure as 'a generational investment opportunity.' Sign in to access your portfolio
