2025-02-25 23:00

SEOUL, Feb 25 (Reuters) - South Korea's business leaders are taking action to offset the threat posed by U.S. President Donald Trump's aggressive trade policies, hiring his former aides and lobbying Republican states out of frustration with delays by their own government which is mired in a political crisis. Trump's sweeping and sometimes indiscriminate trade measures have sparked existential debate in many international capitals over how much they can depend on the U.S. from trade to politics. While it remains to be seen how the upheaval may affect the long-standing alliance and close economic relationship between Washington and Seoul, the stakes are higher for South Korea than other countries, as it grapples with the worst political crisis in decades after impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol briefly imposed martial law on December 3. Yoon's policy to grow more closely aligned with Washington amid trade tensions between China and the U.S. has also increased South Korea's reliance on the U.S. market, which accounted fornearly 20% of its total exports last year, leaving its businesses more vulnerable to potential tariff changes. "We are frustrated," an executive at a major business conglomerate said, asking not to be identified due to the sensitivity of the subject. The executive said the government has not discussed any concrete plans to bring Trump to the negotiating table at meetings it held with corporate representatives. South Korean companies are also worried that they do not have enough backing from the government, when leaders of other countries including Japan and India have already met Trump and seek to stave off damaging U.S. tariffs, company officials said. South Korea's Acting President Choi Sang-mok has yet to speak directly with Trump, and told lawmakers earlier this month that there are restrictions in the way the acting leadership can respond to U.S. tariff system changes. He said Korea can leverage its U.S. investments and energy imports in potential negotiations. South Korea's industry minister will travel to the U.S. this week to press again for an exemption from steel tariffs and discuss ways to boost cooperation in energy and shipbuilding, the ministry said on Tuesday. Amid uncertainty over how quickly the domestic political crisis would end, the country's business association sent a delegation of executives from major companies such as Samsung, LG, SK and Hyundai Motor to Washington last week and met U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, two sources familiar with the matter said. At the meeting, Lutnick encouraged investment in the U.S., according to one of the sources. It was not immediately clear what the Korean delegation team had requested. Companies are also arranging separate meetings to connect with U.S. government officials. "We’re having dialogue with the new U.S. administration to reinforce our significant investments, job creation and economic impact," Jose Munoz, Hyundai Motor's former U.S. chief who was promoted as the South Korean firm's first foreign CEO in November, said in a letter to shareholders earlier this month. Hyundai also promoted Sung Kim, a former U.S. diplomat during Trump's first term, to president in charge of global government affairs in November. The company is looking to hold a car factory opening ceremony in Georgia, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters, with two of them saying the automaker is seeking to invite Trump to the event. Autos, semiconductors and steel, which are being reviewed by the Trump administration for import levies, are among South Korea's major industries. Hyundai said no decision has been made about the ceremony. The executive at a major business conglomerate said its affiliates are also considering holding an outreach event in Tennessee to tout their combined investments in the Republican state as part of efforts to gain political influence at the federal level. IN A BIND Analysts expect a court decision to be made in March on whether to oust Yoon or restore his presidential powers. If he's removed from the office, an election to pick a new president should be held within 60 days. In 2017, when Trump started his first term, then President Park Geun-hye was going through an impeachment trial. But the Trump administration moved more gradually with his tariff policies, giving South Korea some time to maneuver, said former trade minister Yeo Han-koo, helping it win an exemption to steel tariffs in return for a quota that put a cap on export volumes to the U.S. "Now they are moving at lightning speed," Yeo said. A Seoul government official said it is "having a lot of difficulties," and there are concerns that the next president may not follow through on commitments the current interim government would make with the U.S., for example. Scott A. Snyder, president of the Korea Economic Institute of America (KEI), a Washington-based think tank, said that a major impediment is there is no leader-to-leader communication between the two countries. "That is something that just has to wait," he said, adding it would be better for Korea "to lie low and to avoid picking its head up in many of these sectors." Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/south-korea-political-turmoil-pushes-companies-take-tariff-matters-into-their-2025-02-25/

2025-02-25 22:35

NEW YORK, Feb 25 (Reuters) - Democratic commissioner Christy Goldsmith Romero said in a statement that she plans to step down from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission after Trump appointee Brian Quintenz is confirmed to lead the agency. Trump earlier this month nominated Quintenz, a former commissioner and crypto proponent, to replace Goldsmith Romero, who joined the five-person commission in March 2022 as an appointee of former President Joe Biden. Goldsmith Romero, who last year had been tapped by the White House to lead the troubled Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, has been a longtime official in various agencies and roles who advocated for strong policing of markets and fighting against fraud. She previously was the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program. Her FDIC nomination expired as Republican President Donald Trump took office. At the CFTC, she pushed to require companies to admit wrongdoing when settled enforcement actions and led the drafting of the CFTC's first proposed rule for cyber resilience for banks and brokers. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/democratic-cftc-commissioner-goldsmith-romero-step-down-statement-2025-02-25/

2025-02-25 21:58

LONDON, Feb 25 - Private Ukrainian gas company DTEK hopes to sign long-term gas import deals with U.S. firms Venture Global (VG.N) , opens new tab or Cheniere Energy (LNG.N) , opens new tab next month to supply the country and neighbours Slovakia, Poland and Hungary, its CEO told Reuters on Tuesday. Maxim Timchenko said DTEK's trading arm is looking to sign a 10-to 20-year LNG deal, with the gas first being imported into Ukrainian storage facilities and then piped westward. "It's an active discussion of our trading arm - another round of discussions and meetings will be taking place at (the) CERAWeek (conference) in Houston, so they will be speaking not only to Venture Global but to other big LNG suppliers. Cheniere, for example," the CEO said, referring to the annual energy conference that will take place in the week of March 10. Venture Global did not respond to a request for comment. Cheniere declined to comment. The two companies are the largest producers of the superchilled gas in the United States, and helped the country become the largest exporter of LNG in the world. Cheniere is continuing construction of its Stage 3 expansion at its Corpus Christi LNG facility in Texas, while Venture Global is commissioning the first phase of its Plaquemines LNG plant in Louisiana. DTEK is also in discussions to offtake Qatari LNG, Timchenko added. Ukraine has been a net importer of natural gas from EU countries as its gas production and storage facilities come under heavy fire by Russian forces. Timchenko said the country will likely import 1-2 billion cubic meters from Europe this year, and acknowledged that Russian attacks on Ukrainian gas storage infrastructure threaten the business case for importing and reselling U.S. LNG. When asked if DTEK was concerned about Venture Global's ability to reliably supply cargoes given legal challenges over long-term contracts with major companies, Timchenko said "all parties honored obligations" for a first cargo Venture Global delivered in December on what could become an initial two-year agreement for between six and 12 LNG cargoes. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/ukraines-dtek-seeks-long-term-us-lng-contracts-ceraweek-ceo-says-2025-02-25/

2025-02-25 21:49

Commerce chief Lutnick: "Time for copper to come home" Administration again cites national security grounds Trump advisers think China aims to dominate copper market Trump tariff blitz weighs on stocks, consumer confidence WASHINGTON, Feb 25 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump opened yet another front on Tuesday in his assault on global trade norms, ordering a probe into potential new tariffs on copper imports to rebuild U.S. production of a metal critical to electric vehicles, military hardware, the power grid and many consumer goods. Trump, looking to thwart what his advisers see as a move by China to dominate the global copper market, signed an order at the White House directing Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to start a national security probe under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. That is the same law Trump used in his first term to impose 25% global tariffs on steel and aluminum. A White House official, briefing reporters on condition of anonymity, said any potential tariff rate would be determined by the investigation, adding that Trump preferred tariffs over quotas. The move is the latest by Trump to upend decades of business support for free trade that he railed against as both candidate and president for hollowing out the U.S. industrial base, an upheaval now aimed at long-time U.S. allies like Canada and Mexico as well geopolitical adversaries like China. He has issued a cascade of tariff orders since taking up residency in the White House for a second term last month. While only a new 10% levy on all imports from China is in place, 25%duties on goods from Canada and Mexico are set to take effect next week and others aimed at steel, aluminum and motor vehicles will follow shortly afterward or are in fast-track development. Trump's blitz has begun to take a toll on consumer confidence, which had initially surged following his election victory in November over former President Joe Biden as Trump promised to bring down living costs. Earlier on Tuesday the Conference Board reported the largest drop in consumer confidence in three-and-a-half years, with households expecting a resurgence in inflation. Ahead of the copper announcement, stocks fell on Wall Street for a fourth straight day, a drop pinned on growing uncertainty about Trump policies on trade in particular. But there were pockets of upside among perceived winners: Shares of the world's largest copper producer, Phoenix-based Freeport-McMoran (FCX.N) , opens new tab shot up 5% in after-hours trading. The company, which produced 1.26 billions of copper in the U.S. last year, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. London-based Antofagasta (ANTO.L) , opens new tab declined to comment on Trump's action. The company is trying to develop the $1.7 billion Twin Metals copper and nickel mine in Minnesota, but saw its mineral rights blocked under former president Biden's administration over water pollution concerns. Trump has vowed to ease regulations on businesses to boost U.S. economic growth. TARGETING CHINA White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said the investigation would be completed quickly, "in Trump time." Navarro said China was using state subsidies and excess capacity to undermine competition and gain control over global copper production, in much the same way it now dominates steel and aluminum production. That said, the countries set to be most affected by any new U.S. copper tariffs would be Chile, Canada and Mexico, which were the top suppliers of refined copper, copper alloys and copper articles in 2024, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. "Like our steel and aluminum industries, our great American copper industry has been decimated by global actors attacking our domestic production," Lutnick said during the White House signing session, vowing to end unfair trade practices that have put Americans out of work. "American industries depend on copper, and it should be made in America, no exemptions, no exceptions," he said. "It's time for copper to come home." A White House fact sheet said the investigation would assess the national security risks from growing U.S. dependence on imported copper "in all its forms," citing data showing the U.S. depended on imports for 45% of its copper consumption last year, up sharply from the early 1990s. The White House official said the investigation, which also includes the U.S. Trade Representative's office, would look at imports of raw mined copper, copper concentrates, copper alloy, scrap copper and derivative products made from the metal. The official declined to identify any specific derivatives, saying that would prejudge the investigation. The official said the Department of Energy recognized copper as a critical material in the medium term due to increased demand for solar energy technologies and global electrification, noting that it was the second most widely used material in U.S. weapons platforms. MORE CAPACITY NEEDED The official said based on current demand for electric vehicles and power-hungry artificial intelligence applications, there will be a U.S. copper shortage in the future, and the United States cannot develop adequate copper smelting and refining capacity unless there is a reasonable certainty of long-lasting trade protection for the sector. During Tuesday's signing, Lutnick also said the Trump administration would hold countries accountable for imposing digital services taxes on U.S. technology firms including Google, Apple and Amazon. Trump on Friday ordered USTR to revive tariff investigations into these taxes. "Both friend and foe have been treating American tech companies, partially, as if our companies are their piggy bank," Lutnick said. "This will now end. It is my objective to level the playing field and end these attacks." Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-orders-new-tariff-probe-into-us-copper-imports-2025-02-25/

2025-02-25 21:48

Feb 26 (Reuters) - A look at the day ahead in Asian markets. Is the U.S. economy beginning to roll over? The culmination of recent data misses, escalating trade tensions and powerful asset price swings suggests investors may be beginning to contemplate such a scenario. Even Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Tuesday warned that the economy may be more "brittle" under the surface than headline numbers show. If so, Asian and emerging markets are in for a rocky ride, no matter how their domestic economies are performing. The widespread stock market decline in these countries on Tuesday - MSCI's Asia ex-Japan and emerging indexes, Chinese and Japanese benchmarks all fell more than 1% - points in this direction. Figures from the U.S. on Tuesday showed that consumer confidence in February slumped the most in three and a half years while inflation expectations surged, the latest in a string of indicators lately - including retail sales and business activity indices - that have raised red flags. The two-year Treasury yield hit its lowest level since before November's U.S. presidential election and the 10-year yield fell almost 10 basis points. Rates futures markets are now pricing in at least another two quarter-point Fed cuts this year, starting in July. Lower Treasury yields and a weaker dollar are often springboards for Asian and emerging markets, but not when they're being depressed by fears that growth is flagging and more analysts are advising clients to trim their risk exposure. Wall Street ended mixed on Tuesday, with the Nasdaq sinking more than 1% as the 'Magnificent Seven' stocks - the undisputed market kings over the last two years - fell sharply again. The 'Mag 7' are now down 13% from their December peak, putting them into 'correction' territory. It's worth noting that they were in bear market territory last summer, plunging more than 20% in barely a month, so they have shown remarkable powers of resilience. Can they recover, and lift the rest of the market, again? Perhaps, but Nvidia's earnings after the market close on Wednesday will be crucial. Most assets other than bonds and a few notable currencies fell on Tuesday as investors cashed in on even their winning bets. Gold, traditionally a safe-haven play, fell 1.5% while bitcoin shed 6% and oil fell 3%. The calendar in Asia on Wednesday includes GDP from Taiwan, Australian inflation, industrial production from Singapore, and an interest rate decision from Thailand. The Bank of Thailand is expected to keep its key interest rate on hold at 2.25% and cut only once this year to preserve a policy buffer amid growing global uncertainties, according to a Reuters poll. Swaps markets are pricing in 50 bps of cuts this year. Here are key developments that could provide more direction to Asian markets on Wednesday: - Thailand interest rate decision - Taiwan GDP (2024 revised, 2025 outlook) - Australia CPI inflation (January) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/global-markets-view-asia-graphics-2025-02-25/

2025-02-25 21:42

Draft minerals deal lacks U.S. security guarantees for Ukraine Trump seeks peacekeeping troops in Ukraine if conflict ends Ukraine's mineral wealth could benefit U.S. under new deal LONDON/WASHINGTON, Feb 25 (Reuters) - The U.S. and Ukraine have agreed on the terms of a draft minerals deal central to Kyiv's push to win Washington's support as President Donald Trump seeks to rapidly end the war with Russia, two sources with knowledge of the matter said on Tuesday. A source familiar with the contents of the draft agreement said that it does not specify any U.S. security guarantees or continued flow of weapons but says that the United States wants Ukraine to be “free, sovereign and secure.” One of the sources familiar with the deal said future weapons shipments are still being discussed between Washington and Kyiv. Trump told reporters that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy wants to come to Washington on Friday to sign a "very big deal." This came after the two leaders exchanged hostile words last week. The U.S. president, who has cast the deal as a repayment for billions of dollars in aid to Kyiv, also said some form of peacekeeping troops are needed in Ukraine if an agreement to end the conflict is struck. Moscow, which launched an invasion of Ukraine three years ago, has refused to accept any deployment of NATO forces. Some European countries have said they would be willing to send peacekeeping forces to Ukraine. Trump said on Monday that Moscow would accept such peacekeepers, but the Kremlin denied that on Tuesday. Trump's rush to impose an end to Russia's war in Ukraine and his lurch toward Moscow has stoked fears of far-reaching U.S. concessions to Russian President Vladimir Putin that could undermine security in Ukraine and Europe and alter the geopolitical landscape. Trump last week falsely called Zelenskiy an unpopular "dictator" who needed to cut a quick peace deal or lose his country. The Ukrainian leader said the U.S. president was living in a "disinformation bubble." Officials on both sides have agreed to the draft and advised it should be signed, the sources said. MONEY BACK FOR "THE AMERICAN TAXPAYER" The deal could open up Ukraine's vast mineral wealth to the U.S. "What we're doing is now we're saying, look, we want to be secured," Trump said. "The American taxpayer now is going to get their money back, plus." Zelenskiy refused to sign an earlier draft of a minerals agreement as Washington sought rights to $500 billion in Ukraine's natural wealth. Kyiv protested it had received far less than that in U.S. aid and the deal lacked the security guarantees Ukraine needs. Under the terms of a draft minerals agreement, according to sources familiar with its contents, the United States and Ukraine would establish a Reconstruction Investment Fund to collect and reinvest revenues from Ukrainian sources including minerals, hydrocarbons and other extractable materials. Ukraine would contribute to the fund 50% of the revenue minus operating expenses and continue until the contributions reach the sum of $500 billion. The United States would provide a long-term financial commitment to the development of a “stable and economically prosperous Ukraine.” Asked what Ukraine would get in return for the minerals deal, Trump cited what he said was $350 billion already provided by the U.S. "and lots of ... military equipment and the right to fight on." Scott Anderson, a fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution, said that while the minerals deal would look like "a kind of piracy" to much of the world it is necessary to get buy-in from Trump and Republican lawmakers. "They say this gives him (Trump) real skin in the game. I think there is real logic to that," Anderson said. EUROPEAN ALLIES SCRAMBLE “I hear that he's coming on Friday," Trump told reporters. "Certainly it's okay with me if he'd like to. And he would like to sign it together with me." European officials have been left flat-footed by Trump's decisions to hold talks on ending the war in Ukraine with Russia, spurning both Kyiv and Europe, and by his administration's warning that the U.S. was no longer primarily focused on Europe's security. A White House meeting could give Zelenskiy a chance to make his case for continued U.S. support directly to Trump, who last week falsely accused Kyiv of starting the war. Ukraine has deposits of 22 of the 34 minerals identified by the European Union as critical, according to Ukrainian data. They include industrial and construction materials, ferroalloy, precious and non-ferrous metals, and some rare earth elements. Ukraine's reserves of graphite, a key component in electric vehicle batteries and nuclear reactors, represent 20% of global resources. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/zelenskiy-plans-travel-us-meet-trump-minerals-deal-sources-say-2025-02-25/