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Malay Mail
16-05-2025
- Business
- Malay Mail
Apec warns of fragile global trade amid unease over US tariffs
JEJU, SOUTH KOREA, May 16 — The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation group said today that it was 'concerned' over the challenges to global trade, as ministers from Apec countries met in South Korea in the shadow of growing woes from US tariffs. Trade ministers from the top economies that make up Apec are meeting on South Korea's Jeju Island amid concerns for the global trading system since US President Donald Trump unveiled bombshell levies on most partners. The United States is a key Apec member and was represented by Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, who held a series of bilateral meetings with nations eager to soften the blow of Washington's tariffs. 'We are concerned with the fundamental challenges faced by the global trading system,' trade ministers from the 21-member group, which includes China, said in a joint statement. They urged greater cooperation, saying they 'remain committed' to Apec as a means of 'bringing us together to address the economic challenges facing our region'. South Korea's Minister for Trade, Cheong In-Kyo, said the joint statement was hard-won, with 'significant differences' in positions clear early on in the talks. But at the last minute, the countries 'dramatically' reached an agreement, he said, with the Apec emphasising the importance of global trading mechanisms such as the World Trade Organisation (WTO), as well as sustainable supply chains. This 'sends a highly positive signal to global markets', he said, adding that 'Apec members can work together to navigate the current highly uncertain global trade environment effectively'. No joint response to US Cheong said there had been no discussion of 'joint responses' to US tariffs, saying it was not possible as 'each country faces significantly different circumstances'. South Korea recorded a US$66 billion (RM283 billion) trade surplus with the United States last year — behind only Vietnam, Taiwan, and Japan — making it a key target of Trump's trade tirade. Highly dependent on exports, the country has been hit hard by the 25 per cent tariffs on automobiles imposed by Trump in early April. Greer also met South Korea's Trade, Industry and Energy Minister, Ahn Duk-geun, later in the day. Ahn said in a press conference that the two sides agreed to hold a 'second round of technical consultations'. The South Korean delegation will fly to Washington next week to discuss issues such as trade and economic security. Ahn said he emphasised to Greer that South Korea has a free trade agreement with the United States. 'I made it clear that, against this backdrop of strong industrial cooperation, the current tariff issue has become a significant concern.' Trump announced additional 'reciprocal' tariffs of up to 25 per cent on South Korean exports last month, but later suspended them until early July. 'Our objective is to finalise an agreement before that date, and we are making every effort to meet this timeline,' said Ahn. 'I believe other countries are in a similar situation, and the United States has no reason to delay either.' Seoul aims to leverage the talks with commitments to purchase more US liquefied natural gas (LNG) and offer support in shipbuilding, a sector in which South Korea is a leader, after China. Earlier today, Greer met Chung Ki-sun, the vice chairman of HD Hyundai, which owns South Korea's largest shipbuilding company. HD Hyundai said in a statement that discussions covered cooperation with US shipmaker Huntington Ingalls Industries. Greer also met the CEO of South Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean, which provides maintenance, repair and overhaul services for US Navy vessels. Shares of Hanwha Ocean rose nearly three per cent this morning, while HD Hyundai Heavy Industries gained as much as 3.6 per cent. — AFP
Free Malaysia Today
16-05-2025
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
Apec says ‘concerned' over challenges to global trade
South Korea's trade minister Cheong In-Kyo said Apec members can work together to navigate the current highly uncertain global trade environment. (EPA Images pic) JEJU : The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) group said today that it was 'concerned' over the challenges to global trade, as ministers from Apec countries met in South Korea in the shadow of growing woes from US tariffs. Trade ministers from the top economies that make up Apec are meeting on South Korea's Jeju Island amid concerns for the global trading system since US President Donald Trump unveiled bombshell levies on most partners. The US is a key Apec member and was represented by trade representative Jamieson Greer, who held a series of bilateral meetings with nations eager to soften the blow of Washington's tariffs. 'We are concerned with the fundamental challenges faced by the global trading system,' trade ministers from the 21-member group said in a joint statement. They urged greater cooperation, saying they 'remain committed' to Apec as a means of 'bringing us together to address the economic challenges facing our region'. South Korea's trade minister Cheong In-Kyo said the joint statement was hard-won, with 'significant differences' in positions clear early on in the talks. However, at the last minute, the countries 'dramatically' reached an agreement, he said, with the Apec emphasising the importance of global trading mechanisms such as the World Trade Organisation (WTO), as well as sustainable supply chains. This 'sends a highly positive signal to global markets', he said, adding that 'Apec members can work together to navigate the current highly uncertain global trade environment effectively'. No joint response to US Cheong said there had been no discussion of 'joint responses' to US tariffs, saying it was not possible as 'each country faces significantly different circumstances'. South Korea recorded a US$66 billion trade surplus with the US last year – behind only Vietnam, Taiwan, and Japan — making it a key target of Trump's trade tirade. Highly dependent on exports, the country has been hit hard by the 25% tariffs on automobiles imposed by Trump in early April. The auto industry accounts for 27% of South Korea's exports to the US, which takes in nearly half of the country's car exports. Trump announced additional 'reciprocal' tariffs of up to 25% on South Korean exports last month, but later suspended them until early July. Seoul aims to leverage the talks with commitments to purchase more US liquefied natural gas (LNG) and offer support in shipbuilding, a sector in which South Korea is a leader, after China. Earlier Friday, Greer met Chung Ki-sun, the vice chairman of HD Hyundai, which owns South Korea's country's largest shipbuilding company. HD Hyundai said in a statement that discussions covered cooperation with US shipmaker Huntington Ingalls Industries. Greer is also set to meet the CEO of South Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean, which provides maintenance, repair and overhaul services for US Navy vessels. Shares of Hanwha Ocean rose nearly 3% this morning, while HD Hyundai Heavy Industries gained as much as 3.6%.
CNA
16-05-2025
- Automotive
- CNA
APEC 'concerned' over challenges to global trade
JEJU: The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation group said on Friday (May 16) that it was "concerned" over the challenges to global trade, as ministers from APEC countries met in South Korea in the shadow of growing woes from US tariffs. Trade ministers from the top economies that make up APEC are meeting on South Korea's Jeju Island amid concerns for the global trading system since US President Donald Trump unveiled bombshell levies on most partners. The United States is a key APEC member and was represented by Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, who held a series of bilateral meetings with nations eager to soften the blow of Washington's tariffs. "We are concerned with the fundamental challenges faced by the global trading system," trade ministers from the 21-member group said in a joint statement. They urged greater cooperation, saying they "remain committed" to APEC as a means of "bringing us together to address the economic challenges facing our region". South Korea's Minister for Trade, Cheong In-Kyo, said the joint statement was hard-won, with "significant differences" in positions clear early on in the talks. But at the last minute, the countries "dramatically" reached an agreement, he said, with the APEC emphasising the importance of global trading mechanisms such as the World Trade Organisation (WTO), as well as sustainable supply chains. This "sends a highly positive signal to global markets", he said, adding that "APEC members can work together to navigate the current highly uncertain global trade environment effectively". NO JOINT RESPONSE TO US Cheong said there had been no discussion of "joint responses" to US tariffs, saying it was not possible as "each country faces significantly different circumstances". South Korea recorded a US$66 billion trade surplus with the United States last year - behind only Vietnam, Taiwan, and Japan - making it a key target of Trump's trade tirade. Highly dependent on exports, the country has been hit hard by the 25 per cent tariffs on automobiles imposed by Trump in early April. The auto industry accounts for 27 per cent of South Korea's exports to the United States, which takes in nearly half of the country's car exports. Trump announced additional "reciprocal" tariffs of up to 25 per cent on South Korean exports last month, but later suspended them until early July. Seoul aims to leverage the talks with commitments to purchase more US liquefied natural gas (LNG) and offer support in shipbuilding, a sector in which South Korea is a leader, after China. Earlier Friday, Greer met Chung Ki-sun, the vice chairman of HD Hyundai, which owns South Korea's country's largest shipbuilding company. HD Hyundai said in a statement that discussions covered cooperation with US shipmaker Huntington Ingalls Industries. Greer is also set to meet the CEO of South Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean, which provides maintenance, repair and overhaul services for US Navy vessels.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
APEC says 'concerned' over challanges to global trade
The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation group said Friday that it was "concerned" over the challenges to global trade, as ministers from APEC countries met in South Korea in the shadow of growing woes from US tariffs. Trade ministers from the top economies that make up APEC are meeting on South Korea's Jeju Island amid concerns for the global trading system since US President Donald Trump unveiled bombshell levies on most partners. The United States is a key APEC member and was represented by Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, who held a series of bilateral meetings with nations eager to soften the blow of Washington's tariffs. "We are concerned with the fundamental challenges faced by the global trading system," trade ministers from the 21-member group said in a joint statement. They urged greater cooperation, saying they "remain committed" to APEC as a means of "bringing us together to address the economic challenges facing our region". South Korea's Minister for Trade, Cheong In-Kyo, said the joint statement was hard-won, with "significant differences" in positions clear early on in the talks. But at the last minute, the countries "dramatically" reached an agreement, he said, with the APEC emphasising the importance of global trading mechanisms such as the World Trade Organisation (WTO), as well as sustainable supply chains. This "sends a highly positive signal to global markets", he said, adding that "APEC members can work together to navigate the current highly uncertain global trade environment effectively". - No joint response to US - Cheong said there had been no discussion of "joint responses" to US tariffs, saying it was not possible as "each country faces significantly different circumstances". South Korea recorded a $66 billion trade surplus with the United States last year -- behind only Vietnam, Taiwan, and Japan -- making it a key target of Trump's trade tirade. Highly dependent on exports, the country has been hit hard by the 25 percent tariffs on automobiles imposed by Trump in early April. The auto industry accounts for 27 percent of South Korea's exports to the United States, which takes in nearly half of the country's car exports. Trump announced additional "reciprocal" tariffs of up to 25 percent on South Korean exports last month, but later suspended them until early July. Seoul aims to leverage the talks with commitments to purchase more US liquefied natural gas (LNG) and offer support in shipbuilding, a sector in which South Korea is a leader, after China. Earlier Friday, Greer met Chung Ki-sun, the vice chairman of HD Hyundai, which owns South Korea's country's largest shipbuilding company. HD Hyundai said in a statement that discussions covered cooperation with US shipmaker Huntington Ingalls Industries. Greer is also set to meet the CEO of South Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean, which provides maintenance, repair and overhaul services for US Navy vessels. Shares of Hanwha Ocean rose nearly three percent on Friday morning, while HD Hyundai Heavy Industries gained as much as 3.6 percent. hs-jug/ceb/fox
Reuters
15-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
US tariffs take centre stage at APEC trade gathering, joint statement in doubt
SEOGWIPO, South Korea, May 16 (Reuters) - The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation's trade gathering comes to a close on Friday with divisions over U.S. tariffs and reforms to the world trade body putting the adoption of a joint statement in doubt, according to some diplomats. The annual meeting is the first major multilateral trade gathering since U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement of sweeping tariffs and more than half the 21 members of the bloc face new U.S. import duties in excess of the 10% minimum. APEC warned on Thursday that exports from a region that accounts for around half of world trade will slow sharply this year, and barely grow at all, in the wake of U.S. tariff announcements. The sessions are held with a focus on fostering multilateral cooperation on economies and trade, while contentious reforms to the World Trade Organization are also in the spotlight this year. 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. "Big economies in APEC might have strong views on certain issues," a top diplomat from one of the member economies told Reuters, expressing scepticism over the adoption of a joint statement by the close of the two-day meeting. "But, we never know," the diplomat added. "The chairman really wants it," referring to South Korea's Minister for Trade Cheong In-kyo. An official from a different country, also expressing doubt about member economies adopting a joint statement, said working-level negotiations were ongoing until late into the night on Thursday. For many of the member economies, the attendance of U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer raised the stakes of the conference held on South Korea's Jeju Island, ahead of a leaders' summit scheduled later in the year. On the first day, many, if not all, of the representatives had or sought a meeting with Greer, according to host country officials. "Quite a lot of countries had planned to send deputy ministers but later decided to send their ministers after Ambassador Greer's attendance was confirmed," Cheong said. Greer held talks with China's Vice Commerce Minister Li Chenggang, less than a week after their first face-to-face talks in Geneva on May 10-11, where they agreed to significantly lower tariffs for 90 days. Greer also met the host country's Cheong, three weeks after Seoul and Washington held their opening round of trade talks; and Malaysian Trade Minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz, who expressed optimism after Thursday's meeting, his second one in two weeks. Australia, Canada, Japan, Singapore and Russia are among countries whose trade chiefs did not attend the gathering. In late February, a Group of 20 meeting of finance ministers and central bankers held in Cape Town failed to adopt a joint communique, after top officials from several countries, including the United States, skipped it. The meeting concluded with a "chair's summary" issued by the host, which said participants "reiterated the commitment to resisting protectionism" and used several words the Trump administration has strongly objected to. Cheong is scheduled to hold a briefing on the meeting outcome on Friday afternoon.
