Zoé IT Customs – Page 10 – Specialists in Annex 24 and Customs Traffic

Slovak Parliament Approves NATO Membership for Finland, Sweden

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Slovakia’s parliament on Tuesday ratified the entry of Finland and Sweden to NATO, becoming one of the last countries to back the military alliance’s expansion.

Finland and Sweden sought to join NATO this year in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

NATO’s 30 members have been ratifying their entry since accession protocols were signed in July. With Slovakia’s vote, only Hungary and Turkey remain to approve the expansion.

Turkey had been opposed, accusing the Nordic countries of imposing arms embargoes on Ankara and supporting groups it deems terrorists. But the three signed an accord to lift Ankara’s veto in exchange for counter-terrorism promises.

Turkey has said it will block the membership bids if pledges are not kept.

In the 150-seat parliament, 126 lawmakers supported Finland’s entry, and 124 voted in favor of Sweden’s membership bid.

Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger’s government has been a strong backer of Ukraine since war started in February. The country, which borders Ukraine, has also agreed to host a NATO battlegroup as the alliance bolsters its eastern flank.

Support among the public in Slovakia is shakier, with a poll in September showing a slight majority backing Russia over Ukraine in the war.

Sentiment favorable towards Moscow is also held by some opposition parties, including former Prime Minister Robert Fico’s Smer, and some local media outlets known for spreading disinformation.

Hungary’s parliament has the motion on Finland and Sweden’s NATO membership on its agenda, but no date is set as lawmakers return after a summer recess.

Russia, which calls its actions in Ukraine “a special military operation”, sees the entry of Finland and Sweden as a destabilising move.

Source: U.S.News

India-UK free trade pact to boost joint ventures, investments -UKIBC head

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The proposed comprehensive free trade pact between India and the United Kingdom, likely to be signed by next month’s end, could accelerate joint ventures and boost bilateral investments, the head of the body promoting bilateral trade said on Thursday.

Richard Heald, executive chair of the UK India Business Council (UKIBC) said negotiation teams were working overnight to meet the deadline of Diwali, the Indian festival of lights falling on Oct. 24, as political leaders had already given a go-ahead.

“Negotiations teams no more have negotiation rounds, they are working 24X7,” to finalise the pact, he told Reuters in an interview noting UK businesses looked forward to collaborating with Indian companies in renewable energy, autos, education, health care and defence sectors once the pact was signed.

S.Korea 20-Day Exports Fall on Holiday Effects, Slow Global Economy

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South Korea’s exports fell 8.7% in the first 20 days of September from the same period a year earlier due to holiday effects and amid signs of slowing growth in major trading partners, customs agency data showed on Wednesday.

The country’s imports for the same 20-day period rose 6.1%, producing a trade deficit of $4.1 billion, the Korea Customs Service data showed.

The poor export performance, compared with positive growth seen in recent months, was due mainly to fewer working days this month than a year because of the Chuseok holidays.

Average exports per working day during the Sept. 1-20 period rose 1.8% from a year before, it added.

Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho held a meeting of senior government officials to review trade conditions and vowed to focus policy to help exporters.

Source: U.S.News

U.S., Paraguay Discuss Ways to Deepen Trade Ties

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Officials from the United States and Paraguay met this week in Washington to discuss ways to deepen trade ties between the two countries under a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement that entered into force in 2021, the U.S. said on Friday.

The U.S. Trade Representative’s office said the first meeting of a trade and investment council created under the framework touched on issues including anti-corruption, agricultural trade and the digital economy.

“They affirmed the importance of the bilateral relationship, including working together to deepen engagement on trade and promote pandemic recovery,” USTR said in a statement.

It said technical work was planned through the next year on several key issues, and the two sides would meet again in Asunción in 2023.

Both countries discussed the importance of trade facilitation and re-committed to reviewing their customs fees and procedures with the aim of reducing the time and cost of compliance for traders and operators. They also agreed on the importance of transparency and anti-corruption measures.

USTR said Paraguay was considering Washington’s invitation to join the work of the Inter-American Coalition for Business Ethics in the Med Tech Sector.

Paraguay also provided an update on planned changes to its procurement law to enhance transparency and encourage greater participation in its procurement regime, it said.

The two countries agreed a road map for working to address issues on the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights in Paraguay.

In the area of agricultural trade, they discussed efforts under way to authorize the import of raw beef products from Paraguay into the United States, with an eye to completing the necessary processes as soon as possible in 2023.

The two countries also explored possible ways to expand agricultural trade, including through the import of non-traditional products from Paraguay.

Source: U.S.News

U.S., Indo-Pacific Countries Agree on Roadmap to Strengthen Trade Ties

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The United States and 13 Indo-Pacific countries on Friday agreed on parameters for negotiating closer trade, environment and economic ties that U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said would boost investment and jobs in the partner countries.

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said that India, the world’s largest democracy, did not initially join the U.S.-led Indo Pacific Economic Framework’s (IPEF) trade negotiations for now but that she was discussing similar issues bilaterally with her Indian counterpart.

At the conclusion of a ministerial meeting in Los Angeles, the 14 countries agreed on the key outlines for negotiating four major “pillars” of a future agreement: trade including data flows and labor rights, supply chain resilience, green energy and environmental standards, and anti-corruption and tax measures.

IPEF will not include tariff cuts that are the bedrock of traditional free trade deals, but the talks are part of a U.S. effort to re-engage economically with countries in Asia.

The Los Angeles talks included ministers from Australia, Brunei, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Together with the United States, the participants represent some 40% of global GDP.

Tai said President Joe Biden launched the framework in May to put workers at the center of the economic agenda and work for more equitable, sustainable growth.

“After several days of intensive discussions, we have made real progress toward that goal, and the ministerial statements demonstrate both our ambition and our innovation,” she said. “Our intention now is to move towards negotiations with our partners on each pillar with the first round of discussions taking place after this ministerial.”

Raimondo, who also participated in the talks, said that a second ministerial IPEF meeting would be held early in 2023, but she declined to say whether an agreement could be reached in time for a U.S.-held leaders summit of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) countries in November 2023.

Source: U.S.News

EU Races to Shield Industry as Russia Gas Stoppage Shakes Markets

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European gas prices surged, stocks slid and the euro sank on Monday after Russia halted gas flows via a major pipeline, sending another shock wave through economies in the region still struggling to recover from the pandemic.

European Union governments are pushing through multi-billion euro packages to prevent utilities buckling under a liquidity squeeze and to protect households from soaring energy bills.

Prices could rise further after Russia’s state-controlled Gazprom said it would stop pumping gas via Nord Stream 1.

Europe has accused Russia of weaponising energy supplies in retaliation for Western sanctions imposed on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine. Russia blames those sanctions for causing the gas supply problems, which were down to a pipeline fault.

Many European power distributors have already collapsed and some major generators could be at risk, hit by caps that limit the prices rises they can pass to consumers or caught out by hedging bets, with gas prices now 400% more than a year ago.

Finland aims to offer 10 billion euros ($10 billion) and Sweden 250 billion Swedish crowns ($23 billion) in liquidity guarantees to their power companies.

“The government’s programme is a last-resort financing option for companies that would otherwise be threatened with insolvency,” Finland’s Prime Minister Sanna Marin said.

Utilities often sell power in advance to secure a certain price but must maintain a “minimum margin” deposit in case of default before they supply the power. This has raced higher with surging power prices, leaving companies struggling to find cash.

The benchmark gas price rose as much as 35% at one point on Monday after Gazprom said on Friday a leak in the Nord Stream 1 pipeline’s equipment meant it would stay shut beyond last week’s three-day maintenance halt.

European financial markets reeled on the news, with the euro sinking to a 20-year low and shares tumbling.

Nord Stream 1, which runs under the Baltic Sea to Germany, historically supplied about a third of the gas Russia exported to Europe, although it was already running at just 20% of capacity before last week’s maintenance outage.

WESTERN SANCTIONS

“Problems with gas supply arose because of the sanctions imposed on our country by Western states, including Germany and Britain,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday.

“There are no other reasons that lead to problems with supplies,” Peskov added.

Adding to the standoff, he also said Russia would retaliate if G7 states imposed a price cap on Russian oil.

Although Russia also sends gas to Europe via pipeline across Ukraine, those supplies have also been reduced during the crisis, leaving the EU racing to find alternative supplies to refill gas storage facilities for winter.

Germany, more reliant than most EU states on Russian gas, has offered a multibillion-euro bailout to power utility Uniper. Berlin said also it would spend at least 65 billion euros to shield customers and businesses from soaring inflation, stoked by surging energy prices.

Berlin said on Monday it plans to keep two of its three remaining nuclear power stations on standby, beyond a year-end deadline to ditch the fuel altogether, to ensure it has enough electricity through the winter.

German Economy Minister Robert Habeck said in a statement on Monday that the move did not mean Berlin was reneging on its long-standing promise to exit nuclear energy by the end of 2022.

Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron said after a call with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz that in the event of energy shortages arising from the Ukraine conflict, Berlin and Paris will support one another.

“Germany needs our gas and we need power from the rest of Europe, notably Germany,” Macron told a news briefing.

And Ukraine’s Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal urged the EU to supply Kyiv with more weapons, while offering to help out with gas deliveries to reduce the bloc’s dependence on Russia, which supplied around 155 bcm of gas to Europe last year.

RECESSION FEARS

Some energy-intensive industries in Europe, such as fertiliser makers and aluminium producers, have already scaled back production. Other industries, already grappling with chip shortages and logistics logjams, face rocketing fuel bills.

Several EU states have triggered emergency plans that could lead to energy rationing and fuelling recession fears, with inflation soaring and interest rates on the rise.

“We cannot rule out that Germany might look at rationing gas,” Uniper Chief Executive Klaus-Dieter Maubach told Reuters on the sidelines of the Gastech conference in Milan.

Germany, which is installing liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals so it can ship in fuel and expand its range of global suppliers, is at phase two of a three-stage emergency gas plan. Phase three would see some industry rationing.

German households will be prioritised in the event of the plan being activated but will not be able to heat swimming pools or saunas, the energy regulator said on Monday.

The global market for LNG was already tight as the world economy sucked up supplies in the recovery from the pandemic. The Ukraine crisis has added further demand.

Norway, a major European producer, has been pumping more gas into European markets but cannot fill the gap left by Russia.

EU countries’ energy ministers are due to meet on Sept. 9 to discuss options to rein in soaring energy prices including gas price caps and emergency credit lines for energy market participants, a document seen by Reuters showed.

Klaus Mueller, president of Germany’s Federal Network Agency energy regulator, said in August that even if its gas stores were 100% full, they would be empty in 2-1/2 months if Russian gas flows were halted completely.Germany’s storage facilities are now about 85% full, while facilities across Europe hit an 80% target last week.

Source: U.S.News

Japan Aug Factory Activity Growth Drops to Near One-Year Low – PMI

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Japan’s manufacturing activity grew at its weakest rate in nearly a year in August, as businesses took a hit from worsening conditions in the global economy and declining demand from China and South Korea.

The weaker expansion sends a warning sign about the outlook for global growth to policymakers hoping that the world’s third-largest economy will benefit from stronger trade.

The final au Jibun Bank Japan Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to a seasonally adjusted 51.5 in August from a final 52.1 in the prior month.

The reading remained above the 50-mark that separates contraction from expansion, but was the weakest growth rate since September 2021. It was higher than a 51.0 flash reading.

The headline figure suffered from the second straight month of declines in output and overall new orders. New orders shrank at the fastest rate since October 2020, with export orders falling for the sixth month in a row.

The dip in manufacturing activity was likely to continue in the near term, said Usamah Bhatti, economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, which compiles the survey.

“The absence of new orders amid dampening client confidence lifted capacity pressure on manufacturers,” he added.

“A benefit that has come from softer demand conditions is that pressure on supply chains has been given the opportunity to ease.”

Japan’s factories extended an expansion to a second month in July on a jump in motor vehicle production, government data showed on Tuesday.

But it also showed electronic parts and devices production suffered its biggest one-month decline since comparable data became available in February 2013, suggesting deeper cracks in the outlook for economic growth.

The frail conditions faced by Japanese manufacturers were also visible in the PMI survey, which showed the first decrease in backlogs of work that are an indicator of the state of outstanding business since February 2021.

Input costs continued to rise rapidly, though at a slightly easier pace than in July.

Source: U.S.News

Turkey Dismisses ‘Meaningless’ Concerns Over U.S. Sanctions Warning

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Turkey’s Finance Minister on Friday dismissed as “meaningless” concerns among Turkish businesses over a U.S. Treasury warning that they risked being penalised if they maintained commercial ties with Russians under sanctions.

NATO-member Turkey has sought to strike a balance between Moscow and Kyiv by criticising Russia’s invasion and sending arms to Ukraine, while opposing the Western sanctions and continuing trade, tourism and investment with Russia.

Minister Nureddin Nebati said Turkey was determined to improve economic and trade relations with its neighbours “within a framework that is not subject to sanctions”.

Some Turkish firms have purchased or sought to buy Russian assets from Western partners pulling back, while others maintain major assets in Russia. Ankara has said Western sanctions will not be circumvented in Turkey.

The U.S. Treasury warned both the country’s largest business group TUSIAD and Nebati’s ministry this month that Russian entities were attempting to use Turkey to bypass Western sanctions.

“It is meaningless for a letter relayed to Turkish business groups to create concern in our business circles,” Nebati said in a tweet. “We are pleased to see that the United States, our ally and trade partner, is inviting its businesses to invest in our economy.”

All players in Turkey’s economy are tied to free market principles and are working to obtain a bigger share of global trade, and the government is “beside its business world on this path,” he said.

Tim Ash, a strategist at BlueBay Asset Management, said Nebati’s response risked annoying Washington, making secondary sanctions on Turkey more likely.

“It reads like telling the Yanks, the Turkish state is strong… enough to withstand any actions you might take against us,” Ash wrote on Twitter.

Turkey, which has Black Sea borders with both Russia and Ukraine, has said joining sanctions against Russia would have hurt its already strained economy and argued that it is focused on mediation efforts.

One benefit for Turkey has been a jump in foreign arrivals, thanks largely to Russian visitors with few other options due to Western flight restrictions.

The head of a metal exporters group said this month that Russian demand for Turkish products had increased, and that Turkish companies had received enquiries from European businesses about supplying Russia via Turkey.

Source: U.S.News

Germany Exports Power to France, Urges Savings at Home

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Germany will keep exporting electricity to neighboring France despite calling on people to help fend off winter shortages by saving energy at home, officials said Wednesday.

Problems at French nuclear plants have driven up electricity prices there in recent months, prompting power companies in neighboring countries to sell excess energy to France.

“Only half of France’s nuclear power plants are operating,” said Patrick Graichen, Germany’s deputy economy and energy minister. “That’s why we, as well as the Italians and others, are all basically exporting to France. That’s the way the electricity market is in Europe.”

It’s another sign of the energy crisis gripping Europe. Both natural gas and electricity prices have hit record highs, with power costs ballooning as Russia reduces gas flows to Germany and other countries and renewables and nuclear contributing less to the power mix lately, analysts at Rystad Energy said. High energy prices are driving inflation and fueling the prospect of a recession in Europe.

Even precious natural gas, which Germany is trying to conserve for the winter heating season in case Russia cuts of supplies entirely, is being burned in large volumes to produce electricity for export to France.

“We can’t say that our gas power plants in Germany won’t export to France anymore unless we want to bring their entire European electricity market to a standstill,” Graichen said.

Government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said there were no plans to stop this practice, citing the need for European solidarity.

“That’s the way the European electricity market is set up and it could equally be the case, if we look to autumn and winter, that we might be grateful if others can help us out,” he said.

Meanwhile, the German Cabinet approved a series of measures Wednesday designed to reduce energy consumption, including restrictions on heating private pools and a cap of 19 C (66 F) in public offices. Shops will also have to close their doors in winter to conserve heat, while illumination on advertising and public buildings has to be switched off at night.

France, Spain, the Netherlands and other countries also have passed similar measures to conserve natural gas.

Germany supplying electricity to neighboring countries is part of a “stress test” study due to be published next week that could determine whether the government decides to extend the operating licenses for Germany’s three remaining nuclear power plants. This would defer the country’s long-standing plans to end the use of nuclear power this year.

“In principle, the nuclear power plants could suck a bit more out of their fuel rods, so to speak, in January, February and March,” Graichen said. “But after that there won’t be much more left.”

Source: U.S.News

Oportunidades para México si avanza TLC EU-Taiwán

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Más allá de representar una competencia para la industria mexicana, un eventual Tratado de Libre Comercio entre Estados Unidos y Taiwán podría favorecer a México a través del nearshoring, con el traslado de empresas taiwanesas a territorio mexicano, consideró José Abugaber, presidente de la Confederación de Cámaras Industriales de la República Mexicana (Concamin).

Explicó que la posible negociación de un acuerdo comercial entre nuestro principal socio comercial con Taipei provocará mayor tensión comercial entre Estados Unidos y China, lo cual, “sin duda favorece el nearshoring con México”, sobre todo en sectores estratégicos como el electrónico y eléctrico, en donde la nación asiática es la mayor fabricante de chips en el mundo.

En entrevista con El Economista, el presidente de la Concamin destacó la importancia de que el gobierno mexicano sepa capitalizar la oportunidad y ofrezca condiciones para las inversiones.

“Será necesario atraer inversión que busque proveer a Estados Unidos, desde fuera de China. Esto es, más empresas de Estados Unidos buscarán salirse de China; mientras existe un gran interés de los taiwaneses de operar desde México”, comentó Abugaber.

Sin embargó admitió que también pudiera existir un riesgo para México en caso de darse el tratado comercial entre Estados Unidos y Taiwán, enfocado es en los productos importados nuestro vecino del norte desde Taipei que compiten directamente con los productos hechos en México.

Las principales exportaciones de Taiwán son: productos electrónicos (33.1% del total), productos de información, comunicación, audio y video (10.8%), metálicos básicos (8.8%), plásticos (7.1%) y maquinaria (7.5 por ciento).

Esta semana se divulgó que los gobiernos de Estados Unidos y Taiwán acordaron iniciar negociaciones para buscar un pacto comercial y de inversiones que se podría afinar tan pronto como en este otoño.

Lo anterior bajo el argumento de que los taiwaneses necesitan ampliar las relaciones comerciales bilaterales, luego de la oposición de China, que considera a Taiwán una provincia rebelde que debe reintegrarse a su territorio, situación que ha marginado a la isla para expandir sus relaciones comerciales.

La oficina de la Representación Comercial de los Estados Unidos (USTR, por su sigla en inglés) anunció el miércoles el inicio de las negociaciones, con lo que dará seguimiento a la iniciativa Comercio del Siglo XXI, anunciada por Washington y Taipei el pasado 1 de junio.

Las negociaciones abarcarán temas como la facilitación comercial, el fomento de buenas prácticas regulatorias, estándares contra la corrupción, el apoyo a las micro, pequeñas y medianas empresas, profundizar el comercio agrícola y eliminar prácticas discriminatorias.

También incluiría capítulos con comercio digital, estándares laborales y medioambientales, así como mecanismos para solucionar prácticas que distorsionan el mercado por parte de empresas públicas y prácticas y políticas que no responden ante los mercados, lo que se consideraría una referencia velada a China.

“Con 114,100 millones en comercio bilateral, Taiwán fue el octavo socio comercial de mercancías más grande de Estados Unidos el año pasado, superando a India, Francia e Italia”, destacó la Concamin.

Ganan mercado

En los cuatro años de guerra comercial entre Estados Unidos y China, Vietnam y Taiwán lideran las ganancias de participación en el total de importaciones de productos a Estados Unidos, según datos del Departamento de Comercio.

Entre las primeras mitades de 2018 y 2022, la participación de Vietnam pasó de 1.8 a 3.9%, ganando 2.1 puntos porcentuales.

En la misma comparativa, Taiwán incrementó su participación de mercado un punto porcentual, de 1.8 a 2.8%, hasta sumar 44,800 millones de dólares en el primer semestre de 2022.

El comercio de bienes entre Taiwán y Estados Unidos ha mantenido una tendencia creciente en los últimos años y las cadenas de suministro entre ambas economías implican una cantidad significativa de producción por parte de las empresas de Taiwán en la República Popular China para la exportación a los Estados Unidos.

Otros de los mayores ganadores en la participación de mercado fueron Corea del Sur (0.6 puntos porcentuales, a 3.5%), India (0.5 puntos porcentuales, a 2.7%), Tailandia (0.5 puntos porcentuales, a 1.8%) y Suiza (0.4 puntos porcentuales, a 2.1 por ciento).

Por el contrario, China fue el país con la más grande pérdida de mercado, al pasar de 20.2% en la primera mitad de 2018 a 16.7% en el primer semestre de 2022 (-3.5 puntos porcentuales).

Fuente: El Economista

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Slovakia’s parliament on Tuesday ratified the entry of Finland and Sweden to NATO, becoming one of the last countries to back the military alliance’s expansion.

Finland and Sweden sought to join NATO this year in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

NATO’s 30 members have been ratifying their entry since accession protocols were signed in July. With Slovakia’s vote, only Hungary and Turkey remain to approve the expansion.

Turkey had been opposed, accusing the Nordic countries of imposing arms embargoes on Ankara and supporting groups it deems terrorists. But the three signed an accord to lift Ankara’s veto in exchange for counter-terrorism promises.

Turkey has said it will block the membership bids if pledges are not kept.

In the 150-seat parliament, 126 lawmakers supported Finland’s entry, and 124 voted in favor of Sweden’s membership bid.

Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger’s government has been a strong backer of Ukraine since war started in February. The country, which borders Ukraine, has also agreed to host a NATO battlegroup as the alliance bolsters its eastern flank.

Support among the public in Slovakia is shakier, with a poll in September showing a slight majority backing Russia over Ukraine in the war.

Sentiment favorable towards Moscow is also held by some opposition parties, including former Prime Minister Robert Fico’s Smer, and some local media outlets known for spreading disinformation.

Hungary’s parliament has the motion on Finland and Sweden’s NATO membership on its agenda, but no date is set as lawmakers return after a summer recess.

Russia, which calls its actions in Ukraine “a special military operation”, sees the entry of Finland and Sweden as a destabilising move.

The proposed comprehensive free trade pact between India and the United Kingdom, likely to be signed by next month’s end, could accelerate joint ventures and boost bilateral investments, the head of the body promoting bilateral trade said on Thursday.

Richard Heald, executive chair of the UK India Business Council (UKIBC) said negotiation teams were working overnight to meet the deadline of Diwali, the Indian festival of lights falling on Oct. 24, as political leaders had already given a go-ahead.

India’s merchandise exports to the UK rose over 28% to $10.5 billion in 2021/22 financial year ending March, while imports rose to $7 billion.

Both countries launched negotiations in January this year for the trade pact that aims to double bilateral trade to $100 billion by 2030.

UKIBC, which provides inputs to both countries on trade, expects the agreement would also address non-trading barriers and facilitate ease of doing business, besides “sensitive” issues of data protection as well, Heald said.

South Korea’s exports fell 8.7% in the first 20 days of September from the same period a year earlier due to holiday effects and amid signs of slowing growth in major trading partners, customs agency data showed on Wednesday.

The country’s imports for the same 20-day period rose 6.1%, producing a trade deficit of $4.1 billion, the Korea Customs Service data showed.

The poor export performance, compared with positive growth seen in recent months, was due mainly to fewer working days this month than a year because of the Chuseok holidays.

Average exports per working day during the Sept. 1-20 period rose 1.8% from a year before, it added.

Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho held a meeting of senior government officials to review trade conditions and vowed to focus policy to help exporters.

Officials from the United States and Paraguay met this week in Washington to discuss ways to deepen trade ties between the two countries under a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement that entered into force in 2021, the U.S. said on Friday.

The U.S. Trade Representative’s office said the first meeting of a trade and investment council created under the framework touched on issues including anti-corruption, agricultural trade and the digital economy.

“They affirmed the importance of the bilateral relationship, including working together to deepen engagement on trade and promote pandemic recovery,” USTR said in a statement.

It said technical work was planned through the next year on several key issues, and the two sides would meet again in Asunción in 2023.

Both countries discussed the importance of trade facilitation and re-committed to reviewing their customs fees and procedures with the aim of reducing the time and cost of compliance for traders and operators. They also agreed on the importance of transparency and anti-corruption measures.

USTR said Paraguay was considering Washington’s invitation to join the work of the Inter-American Coalition for Business Ethics in the Med Tech Sector.

Paraguay also provided an update on planned changes to its procurement law to enhance transparency and encourage greater participation in its procurement regime, it said.

The two countries agreed a road map for working to address issues on the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights in Paraguay.

In the area of agricultural trade, they discussed efforts under way to authorize the import of raw beef products from Paraguay into the United States, with an eye to completing the necessary processes as soon as possible in 2023.

The two countries also explored possible ways to expand agricultural trade, including through the import of non-traditional products from Paraguay.

Source: U.S.News

The United States and 13 Indo-Pacific countries on Friday agreed on parameters for negotiating closer trade, environment and economic ties that U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said would boost investment and jobs in the partner countries.

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said that India, the world’s largest democracy, did not initially join the U.S.-led Indo Pacific Economic Framework’s (IPEF) trade negotiations for now but that she was discussing similar issues bilaterally with her Indian counterpart.

IPEF will not include tariff cuts that are the bedrock of traditional free trade deals, but the talks are part of a U.S. effort to re-engage economically with countries in Asia.

The Los Angeles talks included ministers from Australia, Brunei, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Together with the United States, the participants represent some 40% of global GDP.

Tai said President Joe Biden launched the framework in May to put workers at the center of the economic agenda and work for more equitable, sustainable growth.

Raimondo, who also participated in the talks, said that a second ministerial IPEF meeting would be held early in 2023, but she declined to say whether an agreement could be reached in time for a U.S.-held leaders summit of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) countries in November 2023.

European gas prices surged, stocks slid and the euro sank on Monday after Russia halted gas flows via a major pipeline, sending another shock wave through economies in the region still struggling to recover from the pandemic.

European Union governments are pushing through multi-billion euro packages to prevent utilities buckling under a liquidity squeeze and to protect households from soaring energy bills.

Prices could rise further after Russia’s state-controlled Gazprom said it would stop pumping gas via Nord Stream 1.

Europe has accused Russia of weaponising energy supplies in retaliation for Western sanctions imposed on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine. Russia blames those sanctions for causing the gas supply problems, which were down to a pipeline fault.

Many European power distributors have already collapsed and some major generators could be at risk, hit by caps that limit the prices rises they can pass to consumers or caught out by hedging bets, with gas prices now 400% more than a year ago.

Finland aims to offer 10 billion euros ($10 billion) and Sweden 250 billion Swedish crowns ($23 billion) in liquidity guarantees to their power companies.

“The government’s programme is a last-resort financing option for companies that would otherwise be threatened with insolvency,” Finland’s Prime Minister Sanna Marin said.

Utilities often sell power in advance to secure a certain price but must maintain a “minimum margin” deposit in case of default before they supply the power. This has raced higher with surging power prices, leaving companies struggling to find cash.

The benchmark gas price rose as much as 35% at one point on Monday after Gazprom said on Friday a leak in the Nord Stream 1 pipeline’s equipment meant it would stay shut beyond last week’s three-day maintenance halt.

European financial markets reeled on the news, with the euro sinking to a 20-year low and shares tumbling.

Nord Stream 1, which runs under the Baltic Sea to Germany, historically supplied about a third of the gas Russia exported to Europe, although it was already running at just 20% of capacity before last week’s maintenance outage.

WESTERN SANCTIONS

“Problems with gas supply arose because of the sanctions imposed on our country by Western states, including Germany and Britain,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday.

“There are no other reasons that lead to problems with supplies,” Peskov added.

Adding to the standoff, he also said Russia would retaliate if G7 states imposed a price cap on Russian oil.

Although Russia also sends gas to Europe via pipeline across Ukraine, those supplies have also been reduced during the crisis, leaving the EU racing to find alternative supplies to refill gas storage facilities for winter.

Germany, more reliant than most EU states on Russian gas, has offered a multibillion-euro bailout to power utility Uniper. Berlin said also it would spend at least 65 billion euros to shield customers and businesses from soaring inflation, stoked by surging energy prices.

Berlin said on Monday it plans to keep two of its three remaining nuclear power stations on standby, beyond a year-end deadline to ditch the fuel altogether, to ensure it has enough electricity through the winter.

German Economy Minister Robert Habeck said in a statement on Monday that the move did not mean Berlin was reneging on its long-standing promise to exit nuclear energy by the end of 2022.

Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron said after a call with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz that in the event of energy shortages arising from the Ukraine conflict, Berlin and Paris will support one another.

“Germany needs our gas and we need power from the rest of Europe, notably Germany,” Macron told a news briefing.

And Ukraine’s Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal urged the EU to supply Kyiv with more weapons, while offering to help out with gas deliveries to reduce the bloc’s dependence on Russia, which supplied around 155 bcm of gas to Europe last year.

RECESSION FEARS

Some energy-intensive industries in Europe, such as fertiliser makers and aluminium producers, have already scaled back production. Other industries, already grappling with chip shortages and logistics logjams, face rocketing fuel bills.

Several EU states have triggered emergency plans that could lead to energy rationing and fuelling recession fears, with inflation soaring and interest rates on the rise.

“We cannot rule out that Germany might look at rationing gas,” Uniper Chief Executive Klaus-Dieter Maubach told Reuters on the sidelines of the Gastech conference in Milan.

Germany, which is installing liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals so it can ship in fuel and expand its range of global suppliers, is at phase two of a three-stage emergency gas plan. Phase three would see some industry rationing.

German households will be prioritised in the event of the plan being activated but will not be able to heat swimming pools or saunas, the energy regulator said on Monday.

The global market for LNG was already tight as the world economy sucked up supplies in the recovery from the pandemic. The Ukraine crisis has added further demand.

Norway, a major European producer, has been pumping more gas into European markets but cannot fill the gap left by Russia.

EU countries’ energy ministers are due to meet on Sept. 9 to discuss options to rein in soaring energy prices including gas price caps and emergency credit lines for energy market participants, a document seen by Reuters showed.

Source: U.S.News

Japan’s manufacturing activity grew at its weakest rate in nearly a year in August, as businesses took a hit from worsening conditions in the global economy and declining demand from China and South Korea.

The weaker expansion sends a warning sign about the outlook for global growth to policymakers hoping that the world’s third-largest economy will benefit from stronger trade.

The final au Jibun Bank Japan Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to a seasonally adjusted 51.5 in August from a final 52.1 in the prior month.

The reading remained above the 50-mark that separates contraction from expansion, but was the weakest growth rate since September 2021. It was higher than a 51.0 flash reading.

The headline figure suffered from the second straight month of declines in output and overall new orders. New orders shrank at the fastest rate since October 2020, with export orders falling for the sixth month in a row.

The dip in manufacturing activity was likely to continue in the near term, said Usamah Bhatti, economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, which compiles the survey.

“The absence of new orders amid dampening client confidence lifted capacity pressure on manufacturers,” he added.

“A benefit that has come from softer demand conditions is that pressure on supply chains has been given the opportunity to ease.”

Japan’s factories extended an expansion to a second month in July on a jump in motor vehicle production, government data showed on Tuesday.