The Department of Finance (DOF) has so far engaged 65 of the country’s 76 government regulatory agencies that are required to go online to streamline applications for permits on imports and exports in line with the Duterte administration’s goal of improving the ease of doing business. DOF Undersecretary Gil Beltran also said the initial tests on the country’s interconnection with other ASEAN economies, starting with Indonesia via the ASEAN Single Window (ASW), had been successful, […]
Tag: trade
China hits back after US tariffs
BEIJING, China (AFP) — China has launched an anti-dumping investigation into sorghum imports from the United States, spurring worries of a brewing tit-for-tat trade war between the world’s top two economies. The commerce ministry announced the self-initiated probe on Sunday, just weeks after President Donald Trump’s administration slapped its latest batch of tariffs on Chinese goods. The ministry did not immediately announce any new tariffs on the grain, though, and the results of the dumping […]
May arrives in China eyeing post-Brexit trade links
by Ben Dooley Agence France-Presse BEIJING, China (AFP) — British Prime Minister Theresa May arrived in China on Wednesday as she seeks to bolster her country’s global trade links ahead of its contentious divorce with the European Union. May began her visit in the central industrial city of Wuhan and will be in China until Friday in what the Chinese foreign ministry has touted as a “historic visit.” Later on Wednesday, May will head to […]
Global stocks mostly up after US government shutdown ends
NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Most stock markets around the world pushed higher Tuesday on investor relief over the end of the US government shutdown, dealers said. Leading bourses in Asia climbed more than one percent, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq finished at records for the third straight day. “A resolution to the US government shutdown has helped boost Asian and European indices,” said IG analyst Joshua Mahony. “However, with a short-term solution in place, […]
Trump trade crackdown gathering steam, China a target
by Douglas Gillison Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Donald Trump begins 2018 making good on his aggressive “America First” trade agenda, with China as a primary target. As he prepares to mingle this week with global leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, a traditional cheerleader of free trade, Trump has again ruffled feathers from Beijing to Berlin after imposing steep tariffs on imported washing machines and solar panels. And major decisions […]
US union rips Ford plan to move electric vehicles to Mexico
by Joseph Szczesny Agence France-PresseDETROIT, United States (AFP) — The United Auto Workers chief on Wednesday blasted Ford’s decision to send production of electric vehicles to Mexico, out of its home base in Michigan. UAW President Dennis Williams also complained that the massive tax bill approved by Congress on Wednesday failed to provide funding to key investments to make the US more competitive. “I’m not happy with Ford,” Williams told reporters at the union’s headquarters. “I think we’re […]
Japan trade surplus drops sharply on higher oil imports
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan’s trade surplus fell sharply in November, the government said Monday, as the rising cost of oil and smartphone imports outweighed strong exports of cars and steel. The world’s third-largest economy logged a surplus of 113.4 billion yen ($1.0 billion), a 22-percent drop from a 146.5-billion-yen surplus a year earlier, according to finance ministry data. Exports rose for the 12th consecutive month on sound exports of chip-making equipment, cars and steel. […]
US warns companies smuggling fuel to North Korea
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — White House National Security Advisor HR McMaster warned Tuesday that shipping companies caught smuggling goods into North Korea could be making their “last delivery” anywhere. McMaster said UN sanctions have not halted deliveries of essential goods like refined fuel products that North Korea wants. The smuggling is done by ship-to-ship transfers, he said, suggesting that foreign vessels are moving the goods on the high seas to North Korean ships that take them […]
Canada PM Trudeau aims to boost trade on China trip
OTTAWA, Canada (AFP) — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will travel to China next week to bolster trade ties as North American continental trade talks fizzle. During the December 3-7 official visit, Trudeau “will promote a progressive trade agenda and tourism initiatives,” said his office. He will meet with government and business leaders as part of Canada’s concerted push to diversify its trade, most of which is currently with its neighbor the United States. “A […]
Canada, Mexico share ‘common interests’ in NAFTA talks with US
MEXICO CITY, Mexico (Reuters) — Negotiations in Mexico to update NAFTA have not made much progress on tough U.S. demands that could sink the 1994 trade pact, but the current round of talks is progressing, participants close to the fifth round of talks told media on Monday (November 20). One sticking point that has emerged in the talks is rules of origin. With the details of the US proposal and Mexican and Canadian counter-proposals to […]
Japan trade surplus drops 40% in October
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan’s October trade surplus shrank 40.7 percent from a year earlier as growth in exports were eclipsed by higher costs of importing crude oil and petroleum products, the government said Monday. The world’s third-largest economy logged a surplus of 285.4 billion yen ($2.5 billion), down from a 481.2-billion-yen surplus a year earlier, according to data from the finance ministry. The latest figure was modestly lower than market expectations of a 330-billion-yen […]
Singapore suspends trade ties with North Korea
SINGAPORE, Singapore (AFP) — Singapore has suspended trade ties with North Korea in the latest move by a country to implement UN sanctions to curb Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program, a customs document showed Thursday. A circular by Singapore Customs on its website banned “all commercially traded goods… from or to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), regardless of whether they are imported, exported, transhipped or brought in transit through Singapore” with effect from November […]





