Latest news with #tradeWar
New York Times
10-07-2025
- Business
- New York Times
His Start-Up May Not Survive Chaotic Rollout of Trump's Tariffs
Erik Fabian figured his new product would have landed in American kitchens by now. The DoughBed, a suitably warm resting place for flour and yeast on its way to becoming a loaf of sourdough bread, would ideally have been generating positive reviews and cash to finance his business. Instead, Mr. Fabian, 49, is waiting for a container ship bearing the first DoughBeds from his factory in China to dock at the Port of Houston, about three months later than expected. He is scrambling to secure credit in the face of a cash crunch. Rather than plotting growth strategies for his start-up, Sourhouse, he is consumed with survival. The reason for his distress is the global trade war championed by President Trump. Months of extraordinary volatility — with tariffs announced, then delayed, then changed — have left Mr. Fabian confused about the basic economics of his business. Like millions of small-business owners dependent on imports, he has grown accustomed to a menu with no palatable options: Pay an expensive tax now, or wait and hope for better while accepting delays. Mr. Fabian had planned to ship his new product from China in early April. At the time, tariffs on Chinese imports reached 145 percent. So he waited until late May, when the tariffs had been reduced to 30 percent. His decision pushed the arrival of the DoughBeds from spring — an excellent time to launch a new kitchen product — into summer, a miserable season to introduce a gadget tied to turning on the oven. He has postponed a marketing push until fall. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Reuters
09-07-2025
- Business
- Reuters
BOJ will hold off rate hikes until March due to US tariff hit, ex-policymaker says
TOKYO, July 9 (Reuters) - The Bank of Japan will likely hold off raising interest rates again until at least next March to assess the damage that U.S. tariffs could inflict on the economy, former central bank policymaker Makoto Sakurai said on Wednesday. U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday ramped up his trade war by notifying 14 nations, including Japan, that they now face higher tariffs from a new deadline of August 1. The hit to exports and a lack of progress in Japan's trade negotiations with Washington will likely force the BOJ to downgrade its growth forecasts in new quarterly projections due on July 31, said Sakurai, who retains close contact with incumbent policymakers. The central bank will also put off raising rates until it can confirm whether firms will keep increasing wages and capital spending, he said. Among key factors the BOJ will scrutinise include its "tankan" business sentiment survey due in early October, and signals from companies on next year's wage outlook due around September through October, Sakurai told Reuters in an interview. "Conditions that would have allowed the BOJ to raise rates this year are crumbling due to Trump's latest announcement," he said, adding Japan will likely struggle getting exemptions from U.S. automobile tariffs. "The BOJ probably wants to raise rates further. But given the difficult economic environment, the earliest the BOJ could resume rate hikes will be March," he said. The timing could be delayed further to fiscal 2026, which begins in April next year, if Trump's tariffs hit companies' profits hard, he said. The BOJ exited a decade-long, massive stimulus last year and raised interest rates to 0.5% in January on the view Japan was on the cusp of sustainably achieving its 2% inflation target. While the central bank has signalled readiness to raise rates further, the expected impact of U.S. levies forced Governor Kazuo Ueda to signal a pause in hiking borrowing costs. Further muddling the policy outlook, consumer inflation has exceeded the BOJ's 2% target for more than three years as companies continue to pass on rising raw material costs. "Inflation-adjusted, real borrowing costs are still very low, so the BOJ probably wants to eventually raise rates at least to 1%, and ideally to around 1.5%," Sakurai said. "But with Trump's tariffs, it's hard to justify raising rates for the time being."
Yahoo
09-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
BOJ will hold off rate hikes until March due to US tariff hit, ex-policymaker says
By Leika Kihara and Takahiko Wada TOKYO (Reuters) -The Bank of Japan will likely hold off raising interest rates again until at least next March to assess the damage that U.S. tariffs could inflict on the economy, former central bank policymaker Makoto Sakurai said on Wednesday. U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday ramped up his trade war by notifying 14 nations, including Japan, that they now face higher tariffs from a new deadline of August 1. The hit to exports and a lack of progress in Japan's trade negotiations with Washington will likely force the BOJ to downgrade its growth forecasts in new quarterly projections due on July 31, said Sakurai, who retains close contact with incumbent policymakers. The central bank will also put off raising rates until it can confirm whether firms will keep increasing wages and capital spending, he said. Among key factors the BOJ will scrutinise include its "tankan" business sentiment survey due in early October, and signals from companies on next year's wage outlook due around September through October, Sakurai told Reuters in an interview. "Conditions that would have allowed the BOJ to raise rates this year are crumbling due to Trump's latest announcement," he said, adding Japan will likely struggle getting exemptions from U.S. automobile tariffs. "The BOJ probably wants to raise rates further. But given the difficult economic environment, the earliest the BOJ could resume rate hikes will be March," he said. The timing could be delayed further to fiscal 2026, which begins in April next year, if Trump's tariffs hit companies' profits hard, he said. The BOJ exited a decade-long, massive stimulus last year and raised interest rates to 0.5% in January on the view Japan was on the cusp of sustainably achieving its 2% inflation target. While the central bank has signalled readiness to raise rates further, the expected impact of U.S. levies forced Governor Kazuo Ueda to signal a pause in hiking borrowing costs. Further muddling the policy outlook, consumer inflation has exceeded the BOJ's 2% target for more than three years as companies continue to pass on rising raw material costs. "Inflation-adjusted, real borrowing costs are still very low, so the BOJ probably wants to eventually raise rates at least to 1%, and ideally to around 1.5%," Sakurai said. "But with Trump's tariffs, it's hard to justify raising rates for the time being." Sign in to access your portfolio
CNA
09-07-2025
- Business
- CNA
BOJ will hold off rate hikes until March due to US tariff hit, ex-policymaker says
TOKYO :The Bank of Japan will likely hold off raising interest rates again until at least next March to assess the damage that U.S. tariffs could inflict on the economy, former central bank policymaker Makoto Sakurai said on Wednesday. U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday ramped up his trade war by notifying 14 nations, including Japan, that they now face higher tariffs from a new deadline of August 1. The hit to exports and a lack of progress in Japan's trade negotiations with Washington will likely force the BOJ to downgrade its growth forecasts in new quarterly projections due on July 31, said Sakurai, who retains close contact with incumbent policymakers. The central bank will also put off raising rates until it can confirm whether firms will keep increasing wages and capital spending, he said. Among key factors the BOJ will scrutinise include its "tankan" business sentiment survey due in early October, and signals from companies on next year's wage outlook due around September through October, Sakurai told Reuters in an interview. "Conditions that would have allowed the BOJ to raise rates this year are crumbling due to Trump's latest announcement," he said, adding Japan will likely struggle getting exemptions from U.S. automobile tariffs. "The BOJ probably wants to raise rates further. But given the difficult economic environment, the earliest the BOJ could resume rate hikes will be March," he said. The timing could be delayed further to fiscal 2026, which begins in April next year, if Trump's tariffs hit companies' profits hard, he said. The BOJ exited a decade-long, massive stimulus last year and raised interest rates to 0.5 per cent in January on the view Japan was on the cusp of sustainably achieving its 2 per cent inflation target. While the central bank has signalled readiness to raise rates further, the expected impact of U.S. levies forced Governor Kazuo Ueda to signal a pause in hiking borrowing costs. Further muddling the policy outlook, consumer inflation has exceeded the BOJ's 2 per cent target for more than three years as companies continue to pass on rising raw material costs. "Inflation-adjusted, real borrowing costs are still very low, so the BOJ probably wants to eventually raise rates at least to 1 per cent, and ideally to around 1.5 per cent," Sakurai said.
South China Morning Post
09-07-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
China's domestic economic challenges
China's domestic economic challenges In this series, the Post explores the various domestic economic issues that China faces as it navigates an unprecedented trade war with the United States.
