Economy

BEIJING (Reuters) -China has urged France to push the European Commission towards a solution acceptable to both the European and Chinese electric vehicle industries, while France said the bloc would not yield on key matters as it pushes to overturn a tariff on brandy.The EU launched an anti-subsidy investigation into imports of Chinese-made battery EVs last year and in October voted for tariffs on those vehicles. China in recent months has launched its own investigations into European pork and dairy, and imposed temporary anti-dumping measures on imports of brandy from the EU in October.Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao, in a meeting with French junior trade minister Sophie Primas in Shanghai on Sunday, urged Paris to take on “an active role” to nudge the EU on Chinese EVs. He reiterated the bloc’s investigation was a major concern that has “seriously hindered” China-EU auto industry cooperation.Primas told Wang that EU refuses to escalate the situation and continues to trade with China “but will not yield to pressure on the essential points”. “We will continue to defend fairer competition that benefits everyone,” a statement from her press office showed, adding that Wang was open in their discussions to consider the propositions of French brandy producers.Primas is on a three-day visit to challenge China over its import duties on brandy, which Paris calls political and unjustified, Reuters reported last week.Wang told Primas Beijing’s trade remedy investigations on EU brandy, pork and dairy products were in accordance with the domestic industry’s applications and complied with the World Trade Organization rules, “unlike the EU” which was “rash” in launching its EV probe.”China will continue to conduct investigations in strict accordance with the law, safeguard the legitimate rights of enterprises of EU member states, including France, and make rulings based on facts and evidence,” the ministry statement cited Wang as saying.But he said China is willing to work with the European Commission towards a “proper solution” as well, without elaborating.China opened an anti-subsidy probe into imported EU dairy products in August and an investigation focusing on pork intended for human consumption in June. More

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – Argentina’s libertarian president, Javier Milei, a political outsider who won election last year brandishing a chainsaw as a blunt symbol of his plans to cut spending, is defying long odds to right the embattled economy and keeping a lid on voter anger.After years of economic crises, debt defaults, soaring inflation and currency crashes, Milei’s success is giving an adrenaline shot to long-moribund local bonds and sparking a wild rally in the markets some 11 months into his administration.The wild-haired economist, a poster child for the global far right and neoliberalism, has scored key economic wins in recent months, helping pull the country’s debt out of distressed territory for the first time in half a decade.His government, packed with more moderate conservatives, has tamped down triple-digit inflation, rebuilt central bank reserves, strengthened a beleaguered peso currency, overturned a deep fiscal deficit, and lured dollars back to the banks.And while a tough cost-cutting austerity drive has pushed up poverty and hurt economic growth, Milei’s theatrical and straight-talking style – while not for everyone – has kept many voters on his side and propped up his ratings in opinion polls.Despite the painful austerity, his government has made sure to ring-fence and even boost spending on specific welfare programs that have so far helped head off fiery protests in the streets, even with poverty levels that have risen over 50%.The economy remains a potential tinder box, but Milei’s success to date has convinced markets. The S&P Merval stock index is at record highs, while bonds have soared this year from around 20 cents on the dollar to some now nearing 70 cents.So what has Milei done and how has he convinced Argentina to swallow a painful dose of austerity?ZERO FISCAL DEFICITMilei’s government has managed to do something few thought was possible without sparking riots in the South American country: cutting public spending by billions of dollars and posting regular fiscal surpluses after years of deficits.RESERVE BUILD-UPThe central bank is on a drive to build up depleted foreign currency reserves, which were deep in the red when the government took over in December. The central bank has added a net $19 billion this year, with FX purchases gaining speed in recent weeks after a mid-year lull.INFLATION COOLINGArgentina’s annual inflation, at over 200%, remains the highest in the world. But monthly price rises have slowed sharply from 25% in December to around 3.5% now, helping bring interest rates down, with the latest cut to 35% on Friday.DOLLARS RUSH BACK INWith greater bullishness by investors in the country and a program to give amnesty to savers, the government has lured almost $20 billion of dollar deposits back to local banks.CURRENCY GAP NARROWSA tough focus on stopping money-printing, cutting spending with the painful austerity drive and rebuilding reserves has lowered demand for dollars – and increased demand for pesos – boosting the local currency in popular parallel marketsThat has led the gap between the official and parallel exchange rates to narrow significantly. A wide gap in recent years, which ballooned to almost 200%, badly distorted the grains-producing country’s economy and complicated trade.POPULARITY CONTESTArgentines are sharply divided about Milei, who is proudly anti-feminist and a climate-change skeptic. However, opinion polls show he has generally kept his support, despite cuts to spending and people having to tighten their belts.This popular backing is key to his reform plans with his party having only a small number of seats in Congress. More

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CALI, Colombia (Reuters) – Wealthy nations appeared to hit a limit with how much they are willing to pay to conserve nature around the world, instead shifting their focus at the two-week U.N. biodiversity summit toward discussions of private money filling the funding gap.At the COP16 negotiations in Cali, Colombia, countries failed to figure out how they would mobilize $200 billion annually in conservation funding by 2030, including $30 billion that would come directly from rich nations.That money, pledged two years ago as part of the landmark Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework agreement, is meant to finance activities that boost nature, such as sustainable farming or patrolling wildlife reserves.But there was no consensus as talks dragged on beyond the summit’s scheduled end on Friday, during which dozens of delegations departed. By Saturday morning’s roll call, there was no longer a quorum among the nearly 200 nations for an agreement to pass, forcing organizers to abruptly suspend the meeting.”I am both saddened and enraged by the non-outcome of COP16,” said Shilps Gautam, chief executive of project finance firm Opna.”The wild thing about the nature financing discussions is that the numbers discussed are already a pittance.”Human activities such as farming, mining, and urban development are increasingly pushing nature into crisis, with 1 million or so plant and animal species thought to be at risk of extinction. Climate change, a result of fossil fuel burning, is also adding to nature’s woes by raising temperatures and disrupting weather cycles.Countries will meet again in Azerbaijan next week for the U.N.’s COP29 climate summit, which again will be focused on the steep need for funding from wealthy nations to their poorer counterparts to help shoulder climate costs.LITTLE MONEY FROM RICH NATIONSEven before the talks broke down, developed nations had signaled an unwillingness to offer large amounts of cash.European governments including Germany and the Netherlands have slashed their foreign aid budgets over the last year, while France and the U.K. are also cutting back.Government development money specifically targeted at nature conservation abroad fell to $3.8 billion in 2022 compared with $4.6 billion in 2015, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.At COP16, U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres demanded that countries make significant new contributions to the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund.The response was muted. Nations at COP16 pledged $163 million in contributions to the fund, bringing total contributions to roughly $400 million – far from a major contribution to the $30 billion target from nations by 2030.The United States, which is not a party to U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity, has not contributed. “The public money is already leveraged as much as we can,” Florika Fink-Hooijer, the European Union’s director general of environment, told reporters at the summit.”We now have to look at other sources of funding.”PRIVATE CASHWhen it came to going after private capital, delegates at the COP16 summit agreed to a plan to charge pharmaceutical and other companies for their use of genetic information in the research and development of new commercial products.Pharmaceutical companies Pfizer (NYSE:PFE), Merck, AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) and Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY) did not respond to request for comment on the deal.Experts estimate the plan could generate about $1 billion annually.That still doesn’t cover the billions needed to halt the collapse of ecosystems, like the Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) rainforest or coral reefs. The world will need to devise ways for enticing private investment in nature-friendly projects, said Marcos Neto, director of global policy at the U.N. Development Program.Some tools include green bonds or debt-for-nature swaps, whereby countries refinance their debt at lower interest rates in order to spend the savings on conservation. The World Economic Forum estimates that debt-for-nature swaps could generate $100 billion in nature funding. More