The 14 partners of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) –Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, the United States, and Viet Nam – announced the substantial conclusion of the negotiations of a first-of-its-kind international IPEF Supply Chain Agreement at the IPEF Ministerial Meeting in Detroit, Michigan. The proposed Agreement aims to increase the resilience, efficiency, productivity, sustainability, transparency, diversification, security, fairness, and inclusivity of their supply chains through both collaborative activities and individual actions taken by each IPEF partner.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced it handled 648,930 TEUs in April, positioning the port as the second busiest port in the United States for the first four months of the year.
"The import of fewer than 23,000 loaded TEUs separated the country's top three busiest ports in April as US retailers work to move out goods stored in domestic warehouses during last year’s supply chain challenges and global production demands decline," commented the port authority in a statement.
German car manufacturers have called for a delay in implementing the post-Brexit regulations concerning electric vehicles (EVs). The German auto industry argues that the proposed rules could potentially disrupt the transition to sustainable mobility in both the UK and the EU, impacting the efforts of automakers to adapt to the emerging EV market.
These regulations, set to come into effect after Brexit, set forth stringent local content requirements for EVs. Under the terms of the Brexit agreement, at least 55% of the value of an electric vehicle must originate from either the UK or the EU for it to qualify for tariff-free access between these markets.
India is pressing forward with plans to green its shipping and become a global hub for green shipbuilding by 2030, with four of its ports set to place orders for new tugs.
The state-owned Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority, the premier container handling port in India, is said to be in line to order a pair of green tugs at Cochin Shipyard.
International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) and Philippines Port Authority (PPA) have broken grounds at the new berth at Manila International Container Terminal (MCIT) to increase TEU capacity.
MICT’s eighth berth is beyond the contractual commitments to the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA).
DOTr Secretary Jaime Bautista, PPA General Manager Atty. Jay Daniel Santiago and ICTSI executive Vice President Christian R. Gonzalez led the ground-breaking for the new berth.
Vietnam’s exports contracted for a fourth month so far this year, adding to risks of a growth slowdown in an economy already battling a crisis in the local property sector.
Exports declined 5.9% in May, while imports shrank 18.4%, according to data released by General Statistics Office in Hanoi. While the drop in exports was slower than a 10.3% fall seen in a Bloomberg survey, the imports performance was worse than expected.