New World Is Too Big to Fail, But for How Long
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In this week's Hong Kong Edition, we delve into the state of the property market after New World's refinancing deal, highlight a bumper year for stock listings at the halfway mark and chat with Pure co-founder Colin Grant. For the Review, we took a tour of the city's newest cruise offering, so you don't have to.
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Yahoo
31 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump's Vietnam Deal Shows China Tariffs Won't Fall Much Further
(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump's new trade deal with Vietnam sends a clear signal about where US tariffs on Chinese goods might ultimately land, as talks between Washington and Beijing continue following their recent truce. NYC Commutes Resume After Midtown Bus Terminal Crash Chaos Struggling Downtowns Are Looking to Lure New Crowds Massachusetts to Follow NYC in Making Landlords Pay Broker Fees Foreign Buyers Swoop on Cape Town Homes, Pricing Out Locals What Gothenburg Got Out of Congestion Pricing Chinese goods currently face tariffs of around 55%, a level expected to remain through August. But under the latest Vietnam agreement, the US will slap a 20% tariff on Vietnamese exports to the US and a steeper 40% levy on goods deemed to be transshipped — the latter targeting a well-worn backdoor used by Chinese exporters since the first China-US trade war to dodge American tariffs. By closing the loopholes, the Trump administration is signaling what any future deal with China might look like. The 40% tariff on transshipped goods suggests that even if tariffs on China are eventually reduced, they're unlikely to fall significantly below that threshold. 'The 40% figure in the Vietnam deal might reflect a broader conviction in the Trump administration about the appropriate tariff level on China, which would be similarly reflected in other bilateral deals,' said Gabriel Wildau, a managing director at Teneo focused on political risk analysis in China. 'However, I am skeptical that Trump has a specific red line for minimum tariffs on China.' Beijing and Washington reached a trade framework last month following talks in London, which remains in effect through mid-August. As part of the deal, China agreed to resume shipments of rare earths — key inputs for wind turbines, electric vehicles and military hardware. In return, the US offered to ease some export restrictions on ethane, chip-design software and jet engine components. US tariffs on Chinese goods have been cut back to around 55%, down from as high as 145% in early April. But 20% tariffs tied to fentanyl remain in place. Beijing has since tightened controls on two precursor chemicals used to make the drug — one of the few obvious avenues it has to win further tariff relief. 'The 20% is really the focal point where all the attention is centered right now,' said Christopher Beddor, deputy China research director at Gavekal Research. 'The thinking is that the Chinese government is very willing to do a deal on something related to fentanyl. They've been telegraphing that months.' Still, those efforts are unlikely to bring Chinese tariffs below the 40% rate now applied to Vietnam. If China's duties were to fall to 35%, for instance, it would restore a competitive edge to China and encourage firms to shift operations back, running counter to the Trump administration's broader objectives. 'If China ends up with a lower tariff level than Vietnam that would certainly shift the competitiveness calculations somewhat, but keep in mind that moving production facilities is not as easy as flipping a light switch on and off,' said Stephen Olson, a former US trade negotiator now with the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute. 'From the perspective of Chinese companies, there is zero confidence that once Trump sets a tariff level that it will remain at that level.' For now, here are signs both sides are following through on the terms of the London agreement and displaying signs of goodwill. The Trump administration has lifted recent export license requirements for chip design software sales in China, and approved US ethane exports to China without additional approvals. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Chinese rare earth magnets are flowing, although they haven't yet bounced back to the levels seen before Chinese imposed export curbs in early April. The US remains hopeful that China will further ease restrictions on those exports after their London deal, he said in an interview Tuesday on Fox News. Meanwhile, a senior Chinese official on Thursday delivered one of Beijing's most positive messages about his nation's ties with the US in weeks. Liu Jianchao, head of the Communist Party's International Department, said at the World Peace Forum that he was 'optimistic' about future relations. 'China is keenly aware of what it's gained from China-US cooperation,' Liu said 'Our cooperation is mutually beneficial. The act of putting up barriers will hurt the other and ourselves as well.' Other Negotiations Apart from Vietnam, Beijing is growing increasingly cautious about US efforts to strike trade deals that could isolate China. With a July 9 deadline approaching, when Trump's higher 'reciprocal' tariffs are set to take effect, American officials are ramping up negotiations with key partners in Asia and Europe. Washington is pushing for new deals that would include limits on how much Chinese components in goods can be used in exports for the US, or commitments to counter what the US views as unfair Chinese trade practices. India, another nation racing to complete a deal, has been negotiating over 'rules of origin.' What Bloomberg Economics says... 'The looming question now is how China will respond. Beijing has made clear that it would respond to deals that came at the expense of Chinese interests and the decision to agree to a higher tariff on goods deemed to be 'transshipped' through Vietnam may fall in that category. Given China's position as Vietnam's largest trading partner and key source of inputs for domestic production, any retaliatory steps could have an outsized impact on Vietnam's economy.' — Rana Sajedi and Adam Farrar. Click here to read the full report. Beijing on Thursday said it's taken note of the US-Vietnam trade deal and is currently assessing the situation. 'We're happy to see all parties resolve trade conflicts with the US through equal negotiations, but firmly oppose any party striking a deal at the expense of China's interests,' He Yongqian, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce, said at a briefing. 'If such a situation arises, China will firmly strike back to protect its own legitimate rights and interests,' she added, repeating a familiar warning. Olson cautioned against relying too much on the US-Vietnam trade agreement as a blueprint for assessing Washington's approach to China. The stakes in US-China negotiations are significantly higher, shaped by strategic rivalry and a wider set of geopolitical considerations. There is also much less of a power discrepancy in the US-China discussions. 'One important takeaway for China from both the Vietnam deal and the previous deal with the UK is that the US intends to use these negotiations to apply pressure on China,' Olson said. 'This could lead China to a much more sober assessment of what it might be possible to achieve with the US in these negotiations.' --With assistance from Jacob Gu. (Updates with additional comments from ninth paragraph) SNAP Cuts in Big Tax Bill Will Hit a Lot of Trump Voters Too America's Top Consumer-Sentiment Economist Is Worried How to Steal a House China's Homegrown Jewelry Superstar Sperm Freezing Is a New Hot Market for Startups ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. 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Yahoo
33 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Singapore's Gan warns firms that US tariffs may stay after Trump
By Philip J. Heijmans (Bloomberg) – Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong warned that US tariffs may outlast President Donald Trump, urging businesses to adapt to a more protectionist global trade landscape. 'We cannot bank on the possibility that the tariffs will go away after four years with a different US administration,' he said in a speech at a conference in the city-state Thursday. 'There is growing bipartisan consensus within the US on the use of tariffs to achieve fair and balanced trade with the world.' The levies may be here to stay and exports to the US will cost more for some time, Gan said. 'Businesses must be prepared for greater scrutiny over their production and supply chains,' said Gan, who is also Singapore's trade minister. The remarks follow Trump's announcement of a trade deal with Vietnam after weeks of diplomacy and as trading partners race to cut agreements with the US ahead of a July 9 deadline. The pact with Vietnam risks provoking retaliatory steps from China, according to Bloomberg Economics. 'The US wants fair and balanced trade with the rest of the world,' Gan said, adding that Washington has asked these countries to buy more goods from the US. 'That does not mean the US is not concerned about free trade, or more specifically, trade barriers against its exports – in fact, the US is also looking to address non-tariff barriers in these discussions.' Prime Minister Lawrence Wong in April expressed disappointment over the proposed 10% tariff on exports from Singapore, saying 'these are not actions one does to a friend.' More stories like this are available on ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
Bloomberg
39 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
Lotte E&C's Bond Gets Limited Buyers After Failed First Attempt
A construction unit of South Korean conglomerate Lotte Corp. garnered limited institutional buyers for a bond sale that was initially rebuffed by investors, underscoring the financial difficulties the group faces. Lotte Engineering & Construction Co. sold 110 billion won ($80.5 million) of notes last month. Brokerages handling the deal initially failed to attract any orders after the builder's credit scores were cut in June.
