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Apr 4, 2025 - World

There are major concerns about the potentially ‘catastrophic’ impact US policy will have on vehicle makers Emerging into the springtime sun from gate 17 at Volkswagen’s main factory in Wolfsburg at the end of his shift, Carsten, 63, pulled heavily on a cigarette and shook his head when asked about Donald Trump’s US tariff policies.“It’s just another nail in the coffin for the German car industry,” the assembly line worker said on Thursday. He cited managers’ plans to slash jobs and close factories earlier this year, and a decade before that the “dieselgate” scandal –costly financially and reputationally – when Germany’s largest carmaker was found to have falsified CO2 emissions tests. Continue reading...

Apr 4, 2025 - World

Impoverished African country is hit with highest tariff rate, overturning decades of global trade policyThe day after Donald Trump announced sweeping global tariffs, Lesotho’s garment workers feared for their jobs.Last year, Lesotho sent about 20% of its $1.1bn (£845m) of exports to the US, most of it clothing under a continent-wide trade agreement meant to help African countries’ development via tariff-free exports, as well as diamonds. Continue reading...

Apr 4, 2025 - World

by Joy CHIANGTaiwan has earmarked $2.7 billion to help industries affected by US President Donald Trump's new tariffs, the government said Friday.Taipei had sought to avoid Trump's threatened levies by pledging increased investment in the United States and more purchases of US energy, but it was still hit by a 32 percent tax on its imports, excluding semiconductor chips. The government has described the tariffs as "unreasonable" and "extreme", and plans to seek negotiations with Washington in the hope of reducing their impact.Announcing the NT$88 billion ($2.7 billion) assistance package, Premier Cho Jung-tai said the plan was to "address various needs of industries and society in the future."Taiwan's trade surplus with the United States is the seventh highest of any country, reaching $73.9 billion in 2024.Around 60 percent of Taiwan's exports to the United States are information and communications technology products, or ICT, which includes chips.The government has argued that the surplus reflected soaring demand in the United States for Taiwan's semiconductors and other tech products, further driven by US tariffs and export controls targeting China that Trump imposed during his first term.Cho told a news conference that the industrial and agricultural sectors would be the main targets of the assistance.The funds will be used for financial support, reducing administrative costs, improving competitiveness, offering tax incentives and diversifying markets, he said.Products expected to be hardest hit by Trump's tariffs include ICT, electronics, steel, metal and machinery, components and building materials.Tea, orchids and fish are also likely to be hurt, Cho said, flagging a possible "shrinking consumer market or a weakening of our competitive advantage".Vice Premier Cheng Li-chun told reporters the government had drawn up response measures based on a possible 25 percent tariff ahead of Trump's announcement."I must clarify that a 32 percent tariff falls under an extreme scenario," Cheng said."While we did run simulations based on it, that doesn't mean we consider it reasonable. In our view, it exceeds what would be a reasonable expectation -- it's neither reasonable nor fair."Semiconductor chips, a sector that Taiwan dominates and has been a source of friction between Washington and Taipei, were excluded from Trump's levies.However, analysts warned that tariffs on components would have a knock-on effect for the critical chip industry that is the lifeblood of the global economy.Trump has accused Taiwan of stealing the US chip industry and recently threatened to impose tariffs of up to 100 percent on semiconductor imports from the island."Taiwan will lobby for exemption or at least see what Trump wants -- Trump wants something," Andrew Kam Jia Yi, an associate professor at the National University of Malaysia told AFP."(Trump) gives you the worst-case scenario then batters you down to a deal that you might not want but seems more reasonable than the original threat."joy/amj/dhw© Agence France-Presse

Apr 4, 2025 - World

China responded to president Donald Trump's trade war threats with its own 34-percent retaliatory tariffs on all U.S. goods, and a CNN correspondent warned that farmers could be hit hard by the move.The president announced so-called reciprocal tariffs on imports from about 90 countries Wednesday, which he dubbed "Liberation Day," and claimed the new taxes were necessary to erase trade deficits between the U.S. and its trading partners, and China responded with a corresponding duty to that imposed by Trump.ALSO READ: 'Came as a surprise to me': Senators 'troubled' by one aspect of government funding bill"This is significant," said CNN's Marc Stewart. "I'm going to put that in boldface type. This is a really big deal, these tariffs, these 34-percent tariffs on all American imports are the fight back that China said it would do if pressured by the United States. These additional tariffs, because there are already tariffs of anywhere from 10 percent to 15 percent already in place. These tariffs will certainly hurt the American economy in the sense that they will really hurt the heartland of America, as in America's farmers, right now. If we look at all of the products that China imports in from the United States, soybeans topped the list. Soybeans are needed here in China because they are the ingredient that fuels the pork industry, which is one of the top commodities in this part of the world. So these additional tariffs are very strategic in the sense that they will hit farmers in the middle part of the United States.""We're still waiting for the timing and the implementation of all of this, but this sends a very big statement," Stewart added. "Also important in all of this is the timing of all of this. This is a very sacred holiday weekend right now, this is a time where families take time to remember those who have passed away. For the government to do this late on a Friday afternoon, early Friday evening here in Beijing, really talks about the weight of all of this as far as what is next. Beijing is giving us some lines here and there. We will keep track, but again, this is this is a very significant fight back from China." - YouTube youtu.be

Apr 4, 2025 - World

Thousands have protested plans of Central African Republic's president to run for a third term with the backing of Russian-led mercenaries from the Wagner group