GJ Town India

The sharp end of foreign policy… US Retailers Still Stocking Up! Just ahead of possible tariffs Imports at the nation’s major retail container ports will remain at high levels this summer but are expected to grow only modestly compared with last year’s rush to bring merchandise into the country ahead of scheduled tariff increases, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released today by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates. “Retailers still want to protect their customers against potential price increases that would come with any additional tariffs, but with the latest proposed tariffs on hold for now and warehouses bulging, there’s only so much they can do,” NRF Vice President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy Jonathan Gold said. “We will still see some near-record numbers this summer, but right now no one knows whether there will be additional tariffs or not. We hope the restarted negotiations with China will result in signific...

US trade negotiators to visit Beijing on January 7 Washington will send a team of trade negotiators to Beijing in the week of January 7, to hold trade talks with Chinese officials, said CER. The delegation will be headed by Deputy US Trade Representative Jeffrey Gerrish, and will also include Treasury Under Secretary for International Affairs David Malpass, according to the sources.   The meeting will be the first face-to-face meeting between the two countries since Presidents Xi and Trump agreed to a 90-day trade truce during the G20 summit in Argentina last month.  Despite some viewing the renewed talks as another sign of progress following gestures by Beijing to address US concerns over auto tariffs and intellectual property, others are sceptical that the truce period will yield any major breakthroughs. “The failure of cabinet-level officials to even meet in the first half of the 90-day period makes it impossible to anticipate fundamental chan...

A total destruction of US-China cooperation Chinese officials voiced in unison their disapproval of Washington’s latest tariff package against China, saying that the current administration’s tactics risk the “total destruction” of bilateral relations, the SCMP reports cited by CER.  Foreign Minister Wang Yi told attendees of the US-China Business Council meeting in New York that recent tensions were undoing progress made since the two countries opened diplomatic ties in the 1970s. “The US is increasingly implementing negative policies in relation to China…frequently blaming China for its unhealthy attitudes in economics, trade and security to artificially create opposing emotions against China,” said Wang.  “If the trend continues, it will totally ruin the gains of the Sino-US relations in the past 40 years. This is unfavourable to both China and the US and ultimately to the world.” Meanwhile, Vice Commerce Minister Wang Shouwen told reporters i...