OFFICIALS in China have expressed tentative optimism about making a breakthrough in its trade dispute with the United States as the two sides resumed talks.
The world's two largest economies are holding five days of talks in their latest attempt to unravel their acrimonious trade war. The US and China are trying again to resolve their trade differences before the March 1 deadline that will mark the official start of higher tariffs on US$200 billion in Chinese imports.
China's foreign ministry struck a confident tone on Monday as a junior delegation of American negotiators arrived in Beijing. 'We, of course, hope, and the people of the world want to see, a good result,' Hua Chunying, a spokeswoman, said, as reported in The Times of UK.
Meanwhile, a report from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) says trade is flowing to countries not involved in the dispute with Asia-to-Europe boxship trade being oversupplied.
The UN report notes that while the two biggest economies may be taking a hit, other countries stand to benefit from the ongoing dispute, explaining that 'bystander nations' will profit by capturing some of the diverted exports of the trade giants, reports New York's FreightWaves.
The European Union is one beneficiary of the trade war, according to UNCTAD. The EU is likely to capture about $70 billion of US-China trade, with $50 billion of Chinese exports to the US, and $20 billion of US exports to China. Mexico would be able to capture $27 billion of new business with the US, which represents about 6 per cent of the country's total exports. Australia, Brazil, India, Philippines, Pakistan and Vietnam are also expected to see substantial increases in their exports.
UNCTAD Director Pamela Coke-Hamilton says 'this suggests that while unilaterally imposed tariffs are very effective in deterring trade from rival countries, they are very ineffective in protecting domestic firms, both in China and the US.'
Import gateways in the US are already seeing the effects of these swaps in the supply chain. Bethann Rooney, Assistant director of the Port of New York and New Jersey, says the third busiest US port saw cargo substitution over 2018 due to the tariffs.
'The cargo exports that would have normally gone to China ended up going to other countries such as India and Indonesia. When it comes to imports, there was a substitution of suppliers coming from Southeast Asia and Vietnam.'
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The world's two largest economies are holding five days of talks in their latest attempt to unravel their acrimonious trade war. The US and China are trying again to resolve their trade differences before the March 1 deadline that will mark the official start of higher tariffs on US$200 billion in Chinese imports.
China's foreign ministry struck a confident tone on Monday as a junior delegation of American negotiators arrived in Beijing. 'We, of course, hope, and the people of the world want to see, a good result,' Hua Chunying, a spokeswoman, said, as reported in The Times of UK.
Meanwhile, a report from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) says trade is flowing to countries not involved in the dispute with Asia-to-Europe boxship trade being oversupplied.
The UN report notes that while the two biggest economies may be taking a hit, other countries stand to benefit from the ongoing dispute, explaining that 'bystander nations' will profit by capturing some of the diverted exports of the trade giants, reports New York's FreightWaves.
The European Union is one beneficiary of the trade war, according to UNCTAD. The EU is likely to capture about $70 billion of US-China trade, with $50 billion of Chinese exports to the US, and $20 billion of US exports to China. Mexico would be able to capture $27 billion of new business with the US, which represents about 6 per cent of the country's total exports. Australia, Brazil, India, Philippines, Pakistan and Vietnam are also expected to see substantial increases in their exports.
UNCTAD Director Pamela Coke-Hamilton says 'this suggests that while unilaterally imposed tariffs are very effective in deterring trade from rival countries, they are very ineffective in protecting domestic firms, both in China and the US.'
Import gateways in the US are already seeing the effects of these swaps in the supply chain. Bethann Rooney, Assistant director of the Port of New York and New Jersey, says the third busiest US port saw cargo substitution over 2018 due to the tariffs.
'The cargo exports that would have normally gone to China ended up going to other countries such as India and Indonesia. When it comes to imports, there was a substitution of suppliers coming from Southeast Asia and Vietnam.'
WORLD SHIPPING