17 May 2024
International Economy
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3 Dec 2018
On the sidelines of the G20 meetings in Buenos Aires, Argentina on December 1, 2018, US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping struck a temporary truce, agreeing not to increase punitive tariffs for 90 days after the G20 meetings to pave the way for negotiations to end the trade war. President Trump agrees to postpone increasing tariffs on USD200 billion of Chinese goods from 10 to 25 percent from the original schedule of January 1, 2019 for another 60 days to March 1, 2019. China, meanwhile, pledges to buy a larger amount of agricultural produce, energy and industrial goods from the US to address trade imbalances between the two countries. Moreover, both leaders agree to begin negotiations on structural changes with respect to forced technology transfer, intellectual property protection, non-tariff barriers, cyber intrusions and cyber theft.... Read more
19 Jul 2018
From the beginning of 2018 to July 19, the Yuan weakened by more than 3.5 percent against the US Dollar, representing a new record low of CNY6.73/USD. Factors contributing to a rapid softening of the Yuan over the past few months include heightened risks stemming from the US-China trade war, which have prompted China to switch to more accommodating monetary policy in an effort to ensure economic stability at home and maintain its economic growth. In so doing, China has injected liquidity into its banking system and cut the reserve requirement ratio (RRR) for commercial banks by 1.50 percent this year. Moreover, China has injected additional liquidity into its banking system via medium-term lending facility (MLF) while new Yuan loans grew to CNY1.84 trillion in June, bettering the CNY1.22 trillion reported over the past 12 months. If China sends signals to ease its monetary policy further or its economic performance continues to slow, it is expected that the Yuan will tumble even further and this warrants close monitoring in the future. ... Read more
4 Jun 2018
The economic policies recently announced by newly-elected Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad mark a major shift from those under the ousted Barisan Nasional government, especially the country’s policies on large-scale infrastructure investments. On May 28, 2018, Prime Minister Mahathir announced the scrapping of a planned high-speed rail project to connect Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Singapore worth over USD28 billion.... Read more
23 Mar 2018
US President Donald Trump has signed an executive memorandum to slap tariffs worth USD60 billion on Chinese exports, reasoning that China has infringed on US intellectual property per Section 301 Anchorof the 1974 Trade Act. Although this round of trade measures is the most serious so far against foreign goods since the present US administration began its trade protection initiatives, the impact on Chinese exports is forecast to be limited, perhaps accounting for only 11 percent of their total exports to the US, currently valued overall at USD505 billion.... Read more
2 Mar 2018
Throughout 2018, the US administration’s continual pursuit of protectionist trade measures has tended to increase volatility in global trade. Most recently, President Donald Trump announced that new “safeguard” tariffs would be imposed on steel and aluminum imports at 25 percent and 10 percent, respectively. Although no details have been released yet, it seems undeniable that trade with the US will become difficult, going forward.... Read more