U.S. experts in law and international business expressed positive views on China’s pledge to lower tariffs and import more goods and services from other parts of the world. Chinese President Xi Jinping’s statement about China’s plan to have more imports “is, of course, welcome,” and its willingness to provide a “level-playing field” is an important factor in bilateral trade, said Mei Gechlik, a law professor at Stanford University, on Thursday. In April, Xi said in his keynot

The Trump administration’s trade war is sending a bit of a chill across the Chinese economy, and that has U.S. executives over a wide swath of industries bracing for a tough beginning to the new year. Apple AAPL CEO Tim Cook made a rare cut to the company’s sales forecast Wednesday, laying the blame entirely on falling sales in China and the trade war that has levied high tariffs over the last several months across hundreds of products and commodities sold between the U.S. an

The United States and China launch a second round of trade talks on Thursday to try to avert a damaging tariff war, with the Trump administration demanding a $200 billion (148 billion pounds) cut in China’s U.S. trade surplus and greater protections for intellectual property. U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to impose up to $150 billion in punitive tariffs to combat what he says is Beijing’s misappropriation of U.S. technology through joint venture requirements and

Escalating trade tensions between the U.S. and China shook up financial markets Wednesday, although the economic fallout from the tariffs announced by the U.S. and China’s countermeasures so far remain limited, economists say. U.S. stocks fell sharply at the open before trimming or erasing losses. The drop came after Chinese officials said they plan to impose tariffs of up to 25% on 106 American products ranging from soybeans to airplanes. The move comes after the Trump admin

The announcement of a covered agreement between Europe and the US to enhance international insurance and reinsurance regulation has been long anticipated. When the IUA first began actively advocating the case for mutual recognition between authorities on both sides of the Atlantic, Hilary Clinton was First Lady of the US and everyone was worrying about the millennium bug. Now, 20 years later the case is finally being recognised at the most senior levels of government. Before

U.S.-based commodities funds posted the largest withdrawals of 2017, bleeding $1.2 billion during the latest week and sending a contrarian signal to rising oil and gold markets, Investment Company Institute (ICI) data showed. Crude oil futures and gold have both generated more than 4 percent returns apiece over the last month, but withdrawals accelerated for U.S. funds heavily invested in those assets. Kristina Hooper, global market strategist at Invesco Ltd, said the selling

Palm oil demand is seen rising on a widening price differential with its rival oilseed soy, spurred by dry weather in the United States, prompting buyers to switch to the cheaper tropical oil, as key purchasing market China replenishes its palm oil port stocks, which have slid to seven-month lows. Benchmark palm oil prices are expected to decline in the second half of the year as production sees seasonal gains. Palm has shed about 17 percent of its value so far this year, and

The agreement gives US farmers access to the world’s biggest rice consumer, with China importing about 5 million tonnes last year. It follows trade talks between the two countries that resulted in little progress on other issues. While China opened its rice market in 2001, a lack of protocols on pests and plant diseases effectively stopped imports taking place. Inspections The organisation representing the US rice industry said the new agreement was the most complex of its ki

There is a popular game to play during team building – try to get a bucket full of water across an obstacle course without spilling any drops. In a way, it is the same with the circular economy. This idea promotes greater resource productivity. Cirkellab, a company from Dordrecht that promotes the circular economy, is looking at the maritime industry with the idea to change the production process with the goal to keep the bucket as full as possible. “We cannot exploit Earth a

European Union voters in France, Germany, Italy and Greece think their countries are heading in the wrong direction but there is not yet any Europe-wide inclination to follow Britain towards exiting the bloc, according to a poll published on Thursday. Britain’s shock June 23 Brexit vote, which was praised at the time by then U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump as a “miracle”, has raised questions about the future of post-World War Two attempts at European integration. Af

Investors seem to think that the newly elected American President, Donald Trump will prove beneficial to the shipping industry, as the latest shipping stocks surge has shown. On the other hand, it could just be a blip of the markets and normal service will be resumed as soon as more information regarding policies emerge. Still, as Allied Shipbroking pointed out in its latest weekly report, it looks as though the market started to have severe mood swings as to what a Trump pre

The fall of South Korea’s biggest container line Hanjin Shipping Co. is similar to the 2008 collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and has materially impacted the shipping industry, Seaspan Corp. Chief Executive Officer Gerry Wang said. Seaspan, the Hong Kong-based container-ship leasing company that has three vessels chartered to the distressed line, is evaluating all options and examining systemic risks resulting from Hanjin’s bankruptcy filing, Wang said in an interview

Household confidence eased for a second week as Americans’ views of the economy deteriorated in the wake of Britain’s vote to leave the European Union, according to the weekly Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index released Thursday. - Consumer comfort index fell to 43.5 for the week ended July 3 from 43.9 - Sentiment on the economy retreated 2.2 points to 33.1, matching the largest drop in eight months - Personal finances gauge improved to 56.9 from 56.5 - Buying climate measure r

Ironically so, the new expanded and widened Panama Canal could mean that the ever popular Panamax size segment is faced with the threat of extinction. In its latest report, Allied Shipbroking noted on the new Panama Canal that “being one of the most vital passage ways in shipping, it is set to create a real shake up in several shipping sectors, while current trade patterns might also be set to change”. Allied’s George Lazaridis, Head of Market Research & Asset Valuations note