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Trade wars

Yesterday

Wine for sale at a store in Shanghai. Chinese consumers have cut their spending on fine wines.

Fine wine market in the red as Chinese demand dries up

The falls mark a second consecutive tough year for the industry, which was hit in 2023 by higher interest rates and dwindling sales from Asia.

  • Laurence Fletcher

This Month

Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida, left, and Toshihiro Mibe, Honda CEO, this week confirmed merger talks.

Merge or die: Honda-Nissan talks mark pivotal moment in painful transition

Japanese discussions signal industry-wide consolidation as carmakers struggle with electric vehicle transition costs and growing competition from China.

  • Updated
  • Jessica Sier
Fiona Yue is the CEO of Merino & Co, a Perth-based wool company newly listed on the ASX.

Can a looming trade war revive this niche Australian industry?

Firms such as newly listed Merino & Co are positioning themselves between China and Donald Trump, who threatens to impose tariffs on Chinese products.

  • Updated
  • Jessica Sier
Xi Jinping

China’s ‘bazooka’ stimulus will have to wait - again

Beijing says “vigorous” efforts to boost domestic consumption are the country’s top economic priority, but details are once again lacking.

  • Updated
  • Jessica Sier
RBA deputy governor Andrew Hauser.

Trump trade war would be felt in Australia, RBA says

Tariffs would have very little impact on the Australian economy, but there are bigger risks from any US-China trade war, Reserve Bank deputy governor Andrew Hauser says.

  • John Kehoe
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Chinese Premier Li Qiang is still talking the talk on stimulus, but action is less certain.

China is still all talk on stimulus – for one good reason

Beijing is again hyping its willingness to revive its spluttering economy. But action is unlikely to come until we know more about Donald Trump’s plans.

  • Updated
  • James Thomson
The Chinese investigation comes as Washington has sought to slow China’s development of advanced chip technology.

China investigates Nvidia as tech war with US escalates

The State Administration for Market Regulation opened a probe into the chipmaker over suspicions that it broke anti-monopoly laws around a 2020 deal.

  • Amy Thomson
Andrew Boak at Goldman Sachs is tipping an Australian rate cut in February.

This US bank makes a bold call on the $A

The Australian dollar dropped below US64¢ last week, yet the investment giant says it’s time to offload the strong US dollar instead.

  • Cecile Lefort
Goldman Sachs’ Jan Hatzius.

Trump tariffs ‘not too disruptive’, Goldman’s top economist predicts

He expects the US president-elect’s slug on imports will be smaller than threatened, but warns they would hit growth hard if fully implemented.

  • John Kehoe
Chinese exporters hope to ship as much cargo as possible to the United States before Donald Trump enters the White House.

Australian rare earth miners warned on US-China trade war

Australian critical minerals companies reliant on China for processing or production could face more headwinds as the Beijing-Washington trade war heats up.

  • Matthew Cranston
ade Minister Don Farrell meets World Trade Organisation head Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala in Singapore.

How Australia plans to work around Donald Trump’s trade wars

Trade Minister Don Farrell wants to stitch together coalitions of like-minded countries, including bringing China into the fold, to keep free trade alive.

  • Andrew Tillett

November

Jamieson Greer, then chief of staff to the trade representative, in an APEC trade meeting in Chile.

Trump’s ruthless new trade tsar is surprisingly ‘nice’

Jamieson Greer shares his boss’ tough stance on Beijing. But he is also known as a French-speaking, co-operative diplomat.

  • Matthew Cranston
Concerns about a US-China trade war have accelerated the Aussie dollar’s fall.

Trump trade war could smash Aussie dollar below US60¢

The Aussie hasn’t fallen below US60¢ – outside the pandemic – since 2003. But NAB has warned it “would not be surprised” to see that happen next year.

  • Alex Gluyas
European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde.

Why Trump’s trade war doesn’t faze this central bank chief

ECB president Christine Lagarde takes aim at claim that tariffs will “make America great again” – but calls for negotiation, not retaliation with the US.

  • Roula Khalaf, Patrick Jenkins and Olaf Storbeck
Donald Trump has fired the first salvo in his trade war with China.

Australia to escape Trump trade war – and may even benefit

Australia is unlikely to be hit with tariffs because of a US trade surplus, but it faces secondary impacts, says former US trade official Sarah Bianchi.

  • Matthew Cranston and Michael Read
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President Donald Trump was more polite to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in 2019. New US tariffs will change that.

Trump’s tariff war won’t spare America’s allies

Donald Trump is promising 25 per cent tariffs on supposedly close allies like Canada and Mexico as well as China. Where does that leave Australia?

  • Jennifer Hewett
Engineering vehicles for export wait for transportation from a port in Yantai in eastern China’s Shandong province.

Trump’s tariffs mean crony capitalism is coming

The tariffs pledged are far higher than anything seen the first time around – and the potential for political favouritism will be far greater.

  • Paul Krugman
China’s ambassador to Australia, Xiao Qian.

China envoy’s plea to Albanese: Don’t let Trump come between us

Ambassador Xiao Qian also raised concerns over Australian moves to clamp down on foreign students during a wide-ranging press conference.

  • Andrew Tillett
Donald Trump has threatened major tariffs on its neighbours.

Chalmers seeks market calm after Trump pledges tariff hits

The president-elect has vowed to impose levies from the moment he is inaugurated, in retaliation for supposed illegal immigration and drug trafficking.

  • Updated
  • Andrew Tillett and Joshua Peach
Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio.

Ray Dalio bets Trump steeling America for China war

The billionaire hedge fund manager said investors should “pay attention” to policy shifts that result in national security for energy and critical minerals.

  • Matthew Cranston

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/trade-wars-1lyy