Japan has asked the Trump administration to exempt it from new 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Yoji Muto said during a Feb. 12 press conference.
Australia this week launched a review of its free trade agreements in Southeast Asia to assess whether it should upgrade any of those deals, including by examining whether their market access commitments are still “commercially meaningful,” the country’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said. It also said it’s looking at whether the FTAs support Australia's “trade diversification agenda, strengthen our economic integration with Southeast Asia, and bolster our supply chain resilience.”
The Trump administration is determined to impose tariffs on China “regardless” of any progress it makes on stopping fentanyl from flowing into the U.S., a Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson said Feb. 5 during a regular press conference in Beijing. The U.S. is “bent on levying a 10 percent additional tariff on Chinese imports under the pretext of the fentanyl issue,” the person said, adding that Beijing “firmly deplores and opposes this move and has taken necessary measures to defend its legitimate rights and interests.”
Taiwan is setting up task forces and a consultation hotline to assist Taiwanese companies overseas that may be affected by new tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump, Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs announced Feb. 4. The task forces will be set up in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Southeast Asia and South Asia to “provide real-time support” to Taiwanese businesses.
Moments after President Donald Trump’s 10% tariffs on all Chinese products took effect Feb. 4 (see 2502030034), China announced new tariffs and export controls against the U.S. and added two American companies to its so-called unreliable entity list, including one that it accused of adopting “discriminatory measures” when sourcing products from China's Xinjiang region.
Japan recently updated its foreign end user list, which includes a list of entities that may have ties to weapons of mass destruction and which may be subject to added export license requirements. The new list takes effect Feb. 5, Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said, according to an unofficial translation.
Japan has launched a “consultation hotline” for Japanese companies located in Canada, Mexico and China that may be affected by new U.S. tariffs announced by the Trump administration (see 2502030016), Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said Feb. 2. The hotline will provide “thorough support to Japanese companies affected,” according to an unofficial translation, including individual consultations from “experts specializing in North America and other areas.”
A business group representing American interests in China cites rising trade protectionism, policy uncertainties and escalating geopolitical tensions as headwinds faced by pro-American companies operating in China, according to a recent annual survey of the group's members.
China “firmly opposes” the Netherlands’ plan to expand export controls over certain semiconductor equipment (see 2501150057), which “threatens the stability of the global semiconductor industry chain and supply chain,” a Chinese Commerce Ministry spokesperson said this week at a regular press conference, according to an unofficial translation. The spokesperson said Beijing has “expressed its deep concern” to the Netherlands and said it hopes the country will “respect market principles,” the “spirit of contract” and the “legitimate rights and interests of companies from all countries, including Chinese and Dutch companies.”
China pushed back this week against the Biden administration’s latest round of semiconductor-related export controls (see 2501130026 and 2501150040) and Entity Listings (see 2501150016), saying they risk further straining trade ties between the two countries. Beijing also added four more U.S. defense companies to its so-called unreliable entity list and said it’s reviewing whether U.S. subsidies for the American chip industry are unfairly propping up U.S. exports of legacy semiconductors.