World Bank agrees with Trump's trade complaints, urges countries to lower tariffs on US
The World Bank on Tuesday agreed with President Trump's complaint that foreign countries engage in unfair trade practices with the US and urged the nations to ease their tariffs on American exports.
Top economists at the international institution, which helps finance low and middle-income countries, acknowledged that many nations do not provide reciprocal trade access to the US.
'This [situation] could not be sustained indefinitely,' the World Bank's chief economist, Indermit Gill, said during a news briefing, the Washington Post reported.
3 President Trump has long groused that US trading partners engage in unfair practices.
REUTERS
Gill said the World Bank has had to sharply lower its global growth forecasts because of Trump's blizzard of tariffs to try to help right the situation and amid the ongoing uncertainty over global trade.
But he contended that Trump's actions were merely a response to uneven trade access between other countries and the US.
Other experts at the World Bank concurred with that assessment and indicated that Europe, Japan and China should all take steps to reduce trade barriers on the US, while calling for an across-the-board rollback on tariffs on all sides.
3 World Bank's chief economist, Indermit Gill, acknowledged Tuesday that several top US trade partners have had uneven trade practices.
Bloomberg via Getty Images
The World Bank's updated economic forecast downgraded growth expectations for the US in 2025 from its 2.3% projection in January down to 1.4%.
If that prediction comes true, it will be the lowest annual growth rate in US gross domestic product since the Great Recession, not counting the COVID-19 pandemic.
The institution's forecast for China meanwhile remained steady at 4.5%, while it said global growth will slow down 0.4 percentage points to 2.3%. But there's a risk of further decline, and global growth could plunge to 1.8% if trade issues persist, the World Bank warned.
3 Trump has been particularly keen on overhauling trade relations with China's president, Xi Jinping.
POOL/AFP via Getty Images
'After a succession of adverse shocks in recent years, the global economy is facing another substantial headwind, with increased trade tension and heightened policy uncertainty,' the international financial institution wrote in its new forecast.
'Against the backdrop of a deteriorating global environment, growth forecasts for 2025 have been downgraded.'
Trump has imposed a 10% baseline tariff rate on virtually every country, 30% duties on imports from China and Hong Kong. 30% duties on imports from China and Hong Kong, a 25% rate on imports from Canada and Mexico that aren't subject to the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement and 25% on foreign steel and aluminum.
The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that if all those tariffs implemented by May 13 were left in place, it would generate about $2.8 trillion in revenue over a 10-year period.
Trump has also given countries a deadline of July 8 to cut lightning trade arrangements or else face an onslaught of his customized 'Liberation Day' tariffs.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Insider
an hour ago
- Business Insider
Stock Market News Review: SPY, QQQ Slip as Recession Signal Flashes, Fed Officials Split on Rate Cuts
Both the S&P 500 (SPX) and Nasdaq 100 (NDX) closed the Friday trading session in the red as geopolitical and economic uncertainty continue to persist. Confident Investing Starts Here: The market received a morning boost after President Trump announced on the Juneteenth holiday that the U.S. would hold off from striking Iran's nuclear facilities for two weeks to allow a window for negotiations. However, those gains were quickly erased after The Conference Board's Leading Economic Index (LEI) flashed a recession signal. The LEI has fallen by 2.7% for the six months ended May, with its annualized six-month growth rate dropping below -4.1%, one of the two requirements that trigger a recession warning. The other requirement occurs when the six-month diffusion index reaches or drops below 50, which signals that most of the components within the LEI are falling. The components include manufacturing, labor market, sentiment, and credit statistics, among others. The recession indicator isn't perfect, although it did precede the recessions of 2000 and 2008 while issuing false signals in 2022, 2023, and 2024. Meanwhile, chip and AI stocks took a hit after a Wall Street Journal report that the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) is planning on restricting Samsung, SK Hynix, and Taiwan Semiconductor's (TSM) access to American chip-making technology in their Chinese factories. The three companies currently enjoy a blanket waiver on moving U.S. chip-making equipment to their Chinese facilities, although DOC export controls head Jeffrey Kessler has informed them that the waivers could be cancelled. The policy hasn't been set in stone yet, however. In interest rate news, Fed officials are split on when to cut rates sooner or later. Fed Governor Christopher Waller supports a rate drop as soon as July while Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin doesn't see a rush for lower rates while the labor market and consumer spending remain healthy. 'I don't think the data gives us any rush to cut… I am very conscious that we've not been at our inflation target for four years,' said Barkin in an interview with Reuters.
Business Wire
an hour ago
- Business Wire
SINOVAC Board of Directors Prevails Against Advantech/Prime's New York Lawsuit
BEIJING--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SINOVAC Biotech Ltd. (NASDAQ: SVA) (' SINOVAC ' or the ' Company '), a leading provider of biopharmaceutical products in China, today announced it has prevailed against Advantech/Prime Success' ('Advantech/Prime') Petition for Emergency Injunctive Relief in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The result in the New York court represents another failure in the campaign by Advantech/Prime in coordination with Vivo Capital (together known as the 'Dissenting Investor Group') to wrest control of SINOVAC from its recently installed, lawfully-elected Board of Directors (the 'current SINOVAC Board') in accordance with the Privy Council order and Antiguan Law, and to interfere with the payment of the US$55.00 per common share special cash dividend declared by the current SINOVAC Board. Following the New York court's ruling, the current SINOVAC Board is free to pursue its legal action in Antigua seeking to cancel the PIPE shares invalidly issued to the Dissenting Investor Group by the former illegitimate board (the 'Imposter Former Board'). If the current SINOVAC Board succeeds in legal proceedings on the PIPE shares, it has announced its intention to redistribute an additional US$11.00 per common share to SINOVAC's valid shareholders. Dr. Chiang Li, Chairman of the SINOVAC Board, commented, 'We will continue our mission to restore fairness and deliver value to all valid SINOVAC shareholders, starting with paying the $55.00 per share special cash dividend as soon as July 7, 2025.' The Dissenting Investor Group's self-serving, multi-pronged lawfare strategy against SINOVAC has one goal: to prevent all valid SINOVAC common shareholders from receiving any dividend payments unless the Dissenting Investor Group receives an allocation for their invalid PIPE shares, despite the fact that they have already received over US$1 billion in dividends from a SINOVAC operating subsidiary. The current SINOVAC Board has set aside in escrow the pro rata portion of dividends for the PIPE shares — funds the Dissenting Investor Group could receive if the legal proceedings they initiated rule in their favor. The current SINOVAC Board is fighting back – and winning. We feel certain that we will prevail against any further legal action by the Dissenting Investor Group and look forward to ensuring all valid shareholders receive their fair share. Your Vote is Important Your vote on or before July 8 will be about the future of SINOVAC, your receipt of your make-whole dividend payments in the near-term, and the long-term value of your investment. We urge you to keep SINOVAC's Board in place and vote on the WHITE proxy card ' AGAINST ' Proposal 1 to remove the current Board and ' AGAINST ' Proposal 2 to appoint the Reconstituted Imposter Board Slate. Your vote is critical to ensuring that SINOVAC remains on the path to stability, growth, and value creation for all shareholders. DISCARD any items you received asking you to vote for the Reconstituted Imposter Former Board Slate. If you have already voted for the Reconstituted Imposter Former Board Slate, you can subsequently revoke it by using the WHITE proxy card or WHITE voting instruction form to vote. Only your latest-dated vote will count! If you have questions about how your vote can be counted, please contact our proxy solicitor, Georgeson LLC, toll free at (844) 568-1506 in the U.S. and (646) 543-1968 outside the U.S. or via email at SinovacSpecialMeeting@ About SINOVAC Sinovac Biotech Ltd. (SINOVAC) is a China-based biopharmaceutical company that focuses on the R&D, manufacturing, and commercialization of vaccines that protect against human infectious diseases. SINOVAC's product portfolio includes vaccines against COVID-19, enterovirus 71 (EV71) infected Hand-Foot-Mouth disease (HFMD), hepatitis A, varicella, influenza, poliomyelitis, pneumococcal disease, etc. The COVID-19 vaccine, CoronaVac®, has been approved for use in more than 60 countries and regions worldwide. The hepatitis A vaccine, Healive®, passed WHO prequalification requirements in 2017. The EV71 vaccine, Inlive®, is an innovative vaccine under "Category 1 Preventative Biological Products" and commercialized in China in 2016. In 2022, SINOVAC's Sabin-strain inactivated polio vaccine (sIPV) and varicella vaccine were prequalified by the WHO. SINOVAC was the first company to be granted approval for its H1N1 influenza vaccine Panflu.1®, which has supplied the Chinese government's vaccination campaign and stockpiling program. The Company is also the only supplier of the H5N1 pandemic influenza vaccine, Panflu®, to the Chinese government stockpiling program. SINOVAC continually dedicates itself to new vaccine R&D, with more combination vaccine products in its pipeline, and constantly explores global market opportunities. SINOVAC plans to conduct more extensive and in-depth trade and cooperation with additional countries, and business and industry organizations. Important Additional Information and Where to Find It In connection with SINOVAC's Special Meeting, SINOVAC has filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ('SEC') and mailed to shareholders of record entitled to vote at the Special Meeting a definitive proxy statement and other documents, including a WHITE proxy card. SHAREHOLDERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO READ THE PROXY STATEMENT AND ALL OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS WHEN FILED WITH THE SEC AND WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THOSE DOCUMENTS WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION. Investors and other interested parties will be able to obtain the documents free of charge at the SEC's website, or from SINOVAC at its website: You may also obtain copies of SINOVAC's definitive proxy statement and other documents, free of charge, by contacting SINOVAC's Investor Relations Department at ir@ Safe Harbor Statement This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as 'may,' 'will,' 'expect,' 'anticipate,' 'aim,' 'estimate,' 'intend,' 'plan,' 'believe,' 'potential,' 'continue,' 'is/are likely to' or other similar expressions. Such statements are based upon current expectations and current market and operating conditions and relate to events that involve known or unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond the Company's or Board's control, which may cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Further information regarding these and other risks, uncertainties or factors is included in the Company's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company and Board do not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required under law.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Investors Could Be Concerned With DS Sigma Holdings Berhad's (KLSE:DSS) Returns On Capital
What trends should we look for it we want to identify stocks that can multiply in value over the long term? Firstly, we'd want to identify a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and then alongside that, an ever-increasing base of capital employed. Basically this means that a company has profitable initiatives that it can continue to reinvest in, which is a trait of a compounding machine. However, after briefly looking over the numbers, we don't think DS Sigma Holdings Berhad (KLSE:DSS) has the makings of a multi-bagger going forward, but let's have a look at why that may be. Trump has pledged to "unleash" American oil and gas and these 15 US stocks have developments that are poised to benefit. For those that aren't sure what ROCE is, it measures the amount of pre-tax profits a company can generate from the capital employed in its business. The formula for this calculation on DS Sigma Holdings Berhad is: Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities) 0.093 = RM11m ÷ (RM135m - RM15m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2025). So, DS Sigma Holdings Berhad has an ROCE of 9.3%. On its own that's a low return, but compared to the average of 7.3% generated by the Packaging industry, it's much better. View our latest analysis for DS Sigma Holdings Berhad Historical performance is a great place to start when researching a stock so above you can see the gauge for DS Sigma Holdings Berhad's ROCE against it's prior returns. If you're interested in investigating DS Sigma Holdings Berhad's past further, check out this free graph covering DS Sigma Holdings Berhad's past earnings, revenue and cash flow. In terms of DS Sigma Holdings Berhad's historical ROCE movements, the trend isn't fantastic. Over the last five years, returns on capital have decreased to 9.3% from 45% five years ago. Meanwhile, the business is utilizing more capital but this hasn't moved the needle much in terms of sales in the past 12 months, so this could reflect longer term investments. It's worth keeping an eye on the company's earnings from here on to see if these investments do end up contributing to the bottom line. On a related note, DS Sigma Holdings Berhad has decreased its current liabilities to 11% of total assets. That could partly explain why the ROCE has dropped. Effectively this means their suppliers or short-term creditors are funding less of the business, which reduces some elements of risk. Since the business is basically funding more of its operations with it's own money, you could argue this has made the business less efficient at generating ROCE. In summary, DS Sigma Holdings Berhad is reinvesting funds back into the business for growth but unfortunately it looks like sales haven't increased much just yet. And investors appear hesitant that the trends will pick up because the stock has fallen 37% in the last year. Therefore based on the analysis done in this article, we don't think DS Sigma Holdings Berhad has the makings of a multi-bagger. If you want to know some of the risks facing DS Sigma Holdings Berhad we've found 2 warning signs (1 is significant!) that you should be aware of before investing here. While DS Sigma Holdings Berhad isn't earning the highest return, check out this free list of companies that are earning high returns on equity with solid balance sheets. — Investing narratives with Fair Values Vita Life Sciences Set for a 12.72% Revenue Growth While Tackling Operational Challenges By Robbo – Community Contributor Fair Value Estimated: A$2.42 · 0.1% Overvalued Vossloh rides a €500 billion wave to boost growth and earnings in the next decade By Chris1 – Community Contributor Fair Value Estimated: €78.41 · 0.1% Overvalued Intuitive Surgical Will Transform Healthcare with 12% Revenue Growth By Unike – Community Contributor Fair Value Estimated: $325.55 · 0.6% Undervalued View more featured narratives — Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
