Latest news with #foreigntrade
Associated Press
3 days ago
- Business
- Associated Press
China's factory activity contracts in May, but there are signs of improvement
BEIJING (AP) — China's factory activity contracted in May, according to an official survey released on Saturday, although the decline slowed from April as the country reached a deal with the U.S. to slash President Donald Trump's sky-high tariffs. China's purchasing managers index rose from 49.0 in April to 49.5 in May, the National Bureau of Statistics said. PMI is measured on a scale from 0 to 100, where 50 marks the cutoff between expansion and contraction. Meanwhile, the manufacturing index showed growth in the sector, although the index measuring new orders remained under 50 despite some improvement. National Bureau of Statistics senior statistician Zhao Qinghe said some companies with U.S. business reported accelerated resumption of foreign trade orders, and there was an improvement in import and export conditions. The U.S.-China deal, reached earlier this month, cuts Trump's tariffs from 145% to 30% for 90 days, creating time for negotiators from both sides to reach a more substantive agreement. China also reduced its taxes on U.S. goods from 125% to 10%. But the remaining tariffs are still higher than they were before Trump took office, and businesses and investors face uncertainty about whether the truce will last. Trump said Friday that he will no longer be 'Mr. NICE GUY' with China on trade, declaring in a social media post that the country had broken an unspecified agreement with the United States. He later said in the Oval Office that he will speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping and 'hopefully we'll work that out,' while still insisting China had violated the agreement. Over the past week, tensions between Beijing and Washington also intensified after the U.S. said it would start revoking visas for Chinese students studying in the country. China has lodged a protest with the U.S. over the matter, calling the decision unreasonable.
Zawya
6 days ago
- Business
- Zawya
Bahrain non-oil exports rise 22% to $896mln in April
The total value of Bahrain's non-oil exports (national origin) increased by 22% to BD338 million ($896.59 million) during April 2025, compared to BD277 million for same month in 2024. The value of Bahrain's non-oil imports increased by 20% reaching BD575 million in April 2025 in comparison with BD481 million for same month in 2024. The top 10 countries for imports recorded 68% of the total value of imports, said Information & eGovernment Authority's (iGA) April 2025 Foreign Trade report. According to the report, China ranked first for imports to Bahrain, with a total of BD64 million (11%), followed by Australia with BD55 million (10%) and the UAE with BD49 million (9%). Non-agglomerated iron ores and concentrates recorded as the top product imported to Bahrain with a total value of BD67 million (12%), followed by other aluminum oxide with BD51 million (9%) and jewellery of gold being the third with BD36 million (6%). EXPORTS The top 10 countries in exports (National Origin) accounted for 71% of the exports (National Origin) value. Saudi Arabia ranked first among countries for then non-oil exports (National Origin) with BD81 million (24%). The US was second with BD35 million (10%) and UAE was third with BD32 million (9%). Unwrought aluminum alloys recorded as the top products exported in April 2025 with BD105 million (31%), followed by agglomerated iron ores and concentrates alloyed with a value of BD54 million (16%) and aluminum wire not alloyed with BD18 million (5%). The total value of non-oil re-exports decreased by 9% to reach BD71 million during April 2025, compared to BD78 million for same month in 2024. The top 10 countries in re-exports accounted for 86% of the re-exported value. The UAE ranked first with BD30 million (42%) followed by Saudi Arabia with BD18 million (25%) and Luxemburg with BD5 million (7%). As per the report, turbo-jets was the top product re-exported from Bahrain with a value of BD7.2 million (10.1%), followed by four-wheel drive BD7 million (9.9%), and gold ingots came third with BD6 million (8%). As for the trade balance, which represents the difference between exports and imports, Bahrain recorded a deficit of BD166 million in April 2025 compared to a deficit of BD126 million in April 2024. - TradeArabia News Service Copyright 2024 Al Hilal Publishing and Marketing Group Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
Forbes
6 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
‘It Takes A World' To Achieve Life-Saving Cures. Let's Not Penalize It
The path to rapid attainment of pharmaceutical advances is a global endeavor. That's because the more hands, machines, and minds at work in the creation of that which will vanquish cancer in all its forms, heart disease, and surely future diseases we haven't lived long enough to get, the quicker we will arrive at those advances. What's sad is that the above even needs to be said. Going back to the pin factory that Adam Smith visited in the 18th century, to the car factories that Henry Ford designed in the 20th century, to the iPhones (aka supercomputers) that are a consequence of innovative production on six different continents, it's long been known that rapid progress is an effect of spreading production across as many as possible. Applied to life-saving drugs, it will take the 'closed economy' that is the world economy to turn global killers of today into yesterday's afterthoughts. Stop and think about this now, and with foreign income of U.S. pharmaceutical companies well in mind. They don't have overseas operations just because, or even to escape U.S. taxation, but instead because innovation doesn't stop at U.S. borders. Much as the iPhone wouldn't be the iPhone without foreign cooperation, present and future pharmaceutical advances won't come to be without the collaboration of minds, hands and machines the world over. In other words, a tax on foreign pharmaceutical production is a tax on domestic pharmaceutical production in two ways. To which some might say so what, American pharma is the best of the lot. No argument there. Just the same, the best American pharmaceutical firms have acquired businesses around the world to compliment their own production, and product mix. Which means if the tax code penalizes what U.S. firms earn overseas to theoretically 'onshore' everything, they'll be taxing advances overseen by American pharma. Only for it to get worse. The desire to excessively tax overseas production will put U.S. corporations at a disadvantage in acquiring foreign innovators in the first place. Never forget that taxes are a price, or better yet a charge levied on investment. Taxing what's not American will be paid for by American corporations. Which calls for recognition that American production is American production no matter where it takes place. With the latter in mind, the ideal corporate tax is zero exactly because corporations as taxpaying entities are fictional. Shareholders own corporations, which means shareholders pay corporate taxes. A corporate tax is just double taxation of untaxed individual earnings. But that's a digression, and one imaging rationality about a tax code that screams irrationality. Yet since wholly rational on the matter of taxes is an impossibility, let's at least acknowledge that great corporations generally are great because the avail themselves of global talent. That being the case, U.S. pharmaceutical companies should have their foreign production and profits taxed as it is stateside. If so, the global cooperation necessary for pharmaceutical advancement will crucially pick up speed. The simple truth is that it takes a world to cure what ails us, so let's bring the U.S. corporate tax code up to speed with this truth.
Trade Arabia
6 days ago
- Business
- Trade Arabia
Bahrain non-oil exports rise 22% to $896m in April
The total value of Bahrain's non-oil exports (national origin) increased by 22% to BD338 million ($896.59 million) during April 2025, compared to BD277 million for same month in 2024. The value of Bahrain's non-oil imports increased by 20% reaching BD575 million in April 2025 in comparison with BD481 million for same month in 2024. The top 10 countries for imports recorded 68% of the total value of imports, said Information & eGovernment Authority's (iGA) April 2025 Foreign Trade report. According to the report, China ranked first for imports to Bahrain, with a total of BD64 million (11%), followed by Australia with BD55 million (10%) and the UAE with BD49 million (9%). Non-agglomerated iron ores and concentrates recorded as the top product imported to Bahrain with a total value of BD67 million (12%), followed by other aluminum oxide with BD51 million (9%) and jewellery of gold being the third with BD36 million (6%). EXPORTS The top 10 countries in exports (National Origin) accounted for 71% of the exports (National Origin) value. Saudi Arabia ranked first among countries for then non-oil exports (National Origin) with BD81 million (24%). The US was second with BD35 million (10%) and UAE was third with BD32 million (9%). Unwrought aluminum alloys recorded as the top products exported in April 2025 with BD105 million (31%), followed by agglomerated iron ores and concentrates alloyed with a value of BD54 million (16%) and aluminum wire not alloyed with BD18 million (5%). The total value of non-oil re-exports decreased by 9% to reach BD71 million during April 2025, compared to BD78 million for same month in 2024. The top 10 countries in re-exports accounted for 86% of the re-exported value. The UAE ranked first with BD30 million (42%) followed by Saudi Arabia with BD18 million (25%) and Luxemburg with BD5 million (7%). As per the report, turbo-jets was the top product re-exported from Bahrain with a value of BD7.2 million (10.1%), followed by four-wheel drive BD7 million (9.9%), and gold ingots came third with BD6 million (8%). As for the trade balance, which represents the difference between exports and imports, Bahrain recorded a deficit of BD166 million in April 2025 compared to a deficit of BD126 million in April 2024. - TradeArabia News Service
Zawya
26-05-2025
- Business
- Zawya
El-Khatib participates in US-Egypt Policy Leaders Forum
Arab Finance: Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade Hassan El-Khatib has participated in the US-Egypt Policy Leaders Forum, organized by the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Egypt, as per a statement. The forum gathers leaders from major American companies operating in Egypt and the region, as well as several government officials and private sector representatives. El-Khatib noted that this forum represents an important platform for boosting the economic partnership between Egypt and the US, establishing new bridges of cooperation in light of rapid global changes. Egypt has witnessed a qualitative shift in infrastructure development over the past decade, including the establishment of new cities, road networks, ports, and airports, in addition to energy projects, El-Khatib added. The minister highlighted that these developments secured a more competitive and attractive environment for local and foreign investment. Additionally, he noted that the state is currently working to implement a package of financial, monetary, and commercial reforms that ensure transparency and promote growth. For the first time, El-Khatib announced a comprehensive inventory of all fees and non-tax financial burdens imposed on investors. This aims to reduce burdens and improve governance and transparency. This reform is being implemented in two phases, with the first focusing on burdens imposed on all sectors. This includes fees for the Training and Qualification Fund, which has been amended under the Labor Law to 0.25% of the minimum insurance wage, instead of 1% of net profit. Meanwhile, the second phase aims to reduce non-tax financial burdens, restructure the financial relationship between the state and the investor, while clarifying the investor's rights and obligations towards the state during the investment period. The minister also announced the launch of a temporary platform for investment licensing in the coming days, adding that the platform will include 389 services and electronic licenses in its first phase. Later on, the "Economic Entities" platform will be launched to cover the entire project lifecycle, from inception through licensing to operation. As for foreign trade, he stated that the government aims to double exports to reach 20% of gross domestic product (GDP). © 2020-2023 Arab Finance For Information Technology. All Rights Reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
