TARIFFS – GOVERNMENT POLICY – UNITED STATES

China looks to Australian gas in trade war

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Glenda Korporaal
The Australian – Page: 19 & 27 : 26-Sep-18

Wang Shouwen, China’s vice-minister of commerce, has signalled that the nation could increase its LNG imports from Australia as a result of the trade war with the US. China retaliated to the Trump administration’s latest round of tariff hikes by imposing a tariff of 10 per cent on US LNG imports, and this could rise to 25 per cent. The tariff on US LNG will give Australian producers a price advantage, and could ensure that new LNG projects in Australia and Papua New Guinea proceed.

CORPORATES
CHINA. MINISTRY OF COMMERCE, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, CHEVRON CORPORATION, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, OIL SEARCH LIMITED – ASX OSH, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

Trade war pain will be felt globally: OECD

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Jacob Greber, Patrick Durkin
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 21-Sep-18

A report from the OECD has warned that the US-China trade war could undermine global economic growth. The interim economic outlook report notes that the tariff war has already had an impact on the global trade growth rate, which slowed significantly during the first half of 2018. The OECD says global investment, jobs and living standards will be adversely affected if the trade war escalates. It also expects the US to record GDP growth of 2.9 per cent year-on-year in 2018, while it still expects growth of 6.7 per cent in China. Australia’s GDP growth rate is forecast to be 2.9 per cent in 2018 and three per cent in 2019.

CORPORATES
ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, STATE STREET GLOBAL ADVISORS LIMITED, L1 CAPITAL PTY LTD

China won’t bow to US, Rudd warns

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 10 : 20-Sep-18

Australia’s former prime minister Kevin Rudd says there seems little prospect of the US-China trade dispute being resolved prior to the US mid-term elections in November. Tensions between the two nations have been heightened by the Trump administration’s decision to impose tariffs on $US200bn worth of Chinese imports, with China retaliating in kind. Rudd says China is aware that it will need to compromise on its stance on trade and investment rules, but it will not want to be seen to be backing down. He recently warned that the trade war could escalate into a new cold war.

CORPORATES
UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE, ASIA SOCIETY POLICY INSTITUTE, DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE INDEX

RBA warns over trade war fallout

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by David Uren, Cameron Stewart, Glenda Korporaal
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 19-Sep-18

President Donald Trump has vowed to escalate the trade war with China, after announcing that the US will impose a tariff of 10 per cent on $US200bn worth of Chinese goods from 24 September. This will rise to 25 per cent on 1 January. The minutes of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s latest board meeting show that the central bank is concerned about the potential impact of the trade war on the Australian economy. Modelling by KPMG indicates that the Trump administration’s new round of tariff hikes would cut Australia’s GDP by about 0.3 per cent by the early 2020s.

CORPORATES
UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, CHINA. MINISTRY OF COMMERCE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE, UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY. UNITED STATES STUDIES CENTRE

Aussie miner in trade war crossfire

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Alexandra Stevenson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 13-Jul-18

China’s domination of the global rare earths market gives the nation significant power in a trade war with the US. Rare earth minerals are an essential component of consumer goods such as smartphones and electric cars. Chinese-made goods containing rare earths are among those being targeted by the Trump administration’s latest round of tariffs. Amanda Lacaze, the CEO of Australian-listed rare earths producer Lynas Corporation, says China could easily restrict global supply if a full-scale trade war erupts. Lynas produced about 12 per cent of global rare earths supply in 2017.

CORPORATES
LYNAS CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX LYC, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, ADAMAS INTELLIGENCE

Brace for serious trade consequences

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Glenda Korporaal, Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 17 & 27 : 12-Jul-18

Grant Wardell-Johnson of KPMG says the latest move by the US to increase tariffs on Chinese imports has much greater implications for the Australian economy than the first round of tariffs. The Trump administration has signalled that it intends to subject some $US200bn worth of Chinese imports to a tariff of 10 per cent; Wardell-Jones says this would mean that tariffs would apply to nearly 50 per cent of US goods imported from China. Joseph Capurso of the Commonwealth Bank says the Australian economy would be unlikely to be hard hit by an expanded US-China trade war, arguing that relatively little of what Australia exports to China subsequently makes its way to the US market.

CORPORATES
KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, CITIGROUP INCORPORATED, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, CHINA. MINISTRY OF COMMERCE, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO

Investors run for cover amid trade tension

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 19 & 28 : 20-Jun-18

The Australian dollar has fallen to a 13-month low amid renewed concerns about a US-China trade war. The local bourse eased slightly on 19 June but Asian markets fell sharply, with China’s Shanghai Composite Index and Shenzhen Composite Index shedding 3.8 per cent and 5.7 per cent respectively. A move by US President Donald Trump to look at imposing tariffs on more Chinese products prompted China to warn that it would respond in kind, and Louis Kuijis of Oxford Economics says such a move would affect economic growth in China, the US and globally.

CORPORATES
SHANGHAI COMPOSITE INDEX, SHENZHEN COMPOSITE INDEX, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, OXFORD ECONOMICS LIMITED, OANDA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, HANG SENG INDEX, KOSPI INDEX, NIKKEI 225 INDEX, NASDAQ, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA

Fortescue unfazed by trade tensions

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 21-May-18

Fortescue Metals Group CEO Elizabeth Gaines says trade tensions between the US and China did not attract much attention at a recent Bank of America/Merrill Lynch conference in the US. President Donald Trump is threatening to impose tariffs on steel and other products, but Gaines says China exports very little steel to the US. She adds that sentiment concerning mining and commodities is very positive at present.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, BANK OF AMERICA CORPORATION, MERRILL LYNCH AND COMPANY INCORPORATED, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, HELLOWORLD TRAVEL LIMITED – ASX HLO

Trump the big threat to numbers

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Geoff Winestock
The Australian Financial Review – Page: B9 : 9-May-18

The Treasury has noted in the May 2018 Budget papers that changes to trade policies in a country like the US could have a significant impact on many other economies around the world. Its view of the global economy is generally positive, but contends that the consequences of President Donald Trump’s tariff policies could impact negatively on its outlook. In commenting on trade policy changes, Treasury noted that many components in goods exported from countries like the US and Japan have been imported from other nations.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION

How to pick a winner as tariff tensions rise

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 26 : 10-Apr-18

Hasan Tevfik of Credit Suisse says a trade war between the US and China would negatively affect economic growth, bond markets and shares. He adds that investors should factor in the potential impact of an increase in tariffs, although a large-scale trade war is unlikely to occur. Tevfik says BHP Billiton, Fortescue Metals Group and QBE Insurance Group are among the Australian-listed companies that would be hard hit by increased protectionism by the US and China. He also warns of the potential for a further rise in bond yields.

CORPORATES
CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, QBE INSURANCE GROUP LIMITED – ASX QBE, SIMS METAL MANAGEMENT LIMITED – ASX SGM, MONADELPHOUS GROUP LIMITED – ASX MND, BLUESCOPE STEEL LIMITED – ASX BSL, NUFARM LIMITED – ASX NUF, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, BOEING COMPANY, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT