Latest news with #tradeDisputes
Free Malaysia Today
5 hours ago
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
S. Korea's central bank cuts rate, slashes 2025 growth forecast
South Korea grew slower than expected in Q1 as political instability and intensifying trade disputes hurt its export and chip sectors. (Reuters pic) SEOUL : South Korea's central bank cut interest rates on Thursday in a bid to cushion the export-dependent economy from US President Donald Trump's tariff war, as it almost halved its annual growth forecast. The Bank of Korea lowered its benchmark interest rate 'from the current 2.75% to 2.5%' and said it predicted the economy to expand 0.8% this year, down from the 1.5% projected in February. Asia's fourth-largest economy grew less than expected in the first three months of the year as the export giant and semiconductor powerhouse reeled from political chaos at home and heightened trade tensions. The rate cut, which was flagged in April by bank governor Rhee Chang Yong, takes borrowing costs to their lowest level since October 2022. 'All six members of the Monetary Policy Board, excluding the governor, expressed the view that the door should be left open to a possible rate cut within the next three months,' Rhee said last month. 'Given what we've seen so far from the Trump administration's tariff policy, including reciprocal tariffs, China-specific tariffs, itemised duties, and a baseline 10% rate, the growth outlook scenario released in February now appears overly optimistic,' he added. The export-driven country has also been hit hard by the 25% tariffs on automobiles imposed by Trump in early April.
Wall Street Journal
3 days ago
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
What Is the Obscure Trade Court That Blocked Trump's Tariffs?
The Court of International Trade is a New York-based federal court. It has nationwide jurisdiction over tariff and trade disputes. Currently it has 14 judges, appointed by six presidents. A single judge typically presides over a case, but a three-judge panel hears cases that raise constitutional questions or have significant implications—like the Trump tariff case. Congress created the court in 1980 as a successor to the U.S. Customs Court. The customs court had operated for decades in Manhattan—a legacy of when New York City was the busiest harbor for U.S. imports. The current court has largely operated in obscurity. 'Most lawyers will get out of law school without knowing that it exists,' says one specialist attorney. Go deeper:
South China Morning Post
21-05-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
‘Special and different': Former envoys advocate for Hong Kong's unique global value
Hong Kong should approach the world with confidence rather than worry about its place in it, two former Western diplomats have said, with one suggesting that the city remaining 'special and different' from mainland China was in everyone's interests including the United States. The remarks were made at the Global Prosperity Summit on Wednesday, where the pair also discussed leveraging innovation within the Greater Bay Area and how Hong Kong should navigate the ongoing trade disputes between the US and China. The summit was co-organised by a local think tank, the Savantas Policy Institute, the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, and the European Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong. 'I've always thought that Hong Kong undersells itself,' said Sherard Cowper-Coles, who served as the head of Britain's Foreign and Commonwealth Office's Hong Kong Department from 1994 to 1997. Cowper-Coles, now chairman of the China-Britain Business Council, said that the city 'spends too much time worrying about its place in the world, not realising its extraordinary assets, which … in this time and this world make it exceptionally well placed.'
Reuters
20-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Trade disputes should be resolved as quickly as possible, Germany says ahead of G7
BERLIN, May 20 (Reuters) - Ongoing trade disputes with the United States should be resolved as quickly as possible for the benefit of all, German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil said on Tuesday, ahead of meeting his counterparts from other Group of Seven countries. "Tariffs and uncertainties are a burden on our economy and therefore also on job security," Klingbeil said in Berlin before leaving for a G7 finance ministers meeting in Banff, Canada. The Trump administration has imposed a 25% tariff on U.S. imports of steel, aluminium and cars, as well as a baseline 10% tariff on almost all countries, with additional "reciprocal" tariffs - making for a combined 20% in the EU's case - lined up if negotiations during a 90-day pause fail. Germany and the European Union want to find an agreement with Washington, but the clock is ticking. "At the same time, as the largest single market in the world, we are determined to defend our interests," Klingbeil said of the EU. He welcomed the opportunity of meeting his G7 colleagues in person after he took office two weeks ago, noting that strengthening international cooperation was more important than ever in view of global upheavals. "We must send a crystal-clear signal that the G7 will continue to stand firmly by Ukraine's side," Klingbeil said, adding that the group was doing everything it could to secure a fair and lasting peace. Another topic in G7 meetings will be the reconstruction of Ukraine after "the terrible destruction caused by Russian President Vladimir Putin's war", and especially how private investment can be mobilised, Klingbeil said.
