Business news from Ukraine

Business news from Ukraine

Mexico to prepare mirror measures in response to US duties

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has instructed the country’s Economy Ministry to prepare all possible measures in response to the US imposition of import duties on Mexican goods, calling the White House’s accusations against the Mexican government regarding its ties to criminal organizations slanderous.

“I am instructing the Minister of Economy to implement Plan B, which we are working on, which includes tariff and non-tariff measures to protect Mexico’s interests,” Sheinbaum wrote on social media platform X.

She also accused the United States of ineffectively combating the spread of fentanyl and supplying weapons to criminal groups in Mexico.

Sheinbaum suggested that Trump create a working group with the participation of the best experts in the field of public health and security, solving the problems “not through the introduction of tariffs, but through negotiations and dialogue.”

As reported, Trump is set to sign an executive order next week imposing 25% tariffs on goods imported from Mexico and Canada and 10% on goods imported from China. At the same time, duties on energy from Canada will be 10% and will affect the entire Canadian energy sector, including oil, gas, and electricity.

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In Kiev on Monday-Tuesday light snow

In the south and south-east of Ukraine on Monday, February 3, moderate wet snow and rain, in some places sticking wet snow, in the rest of the territory in some places light snow, reported Ukrhydrometcenter.

The roads are icy in places. The wind is predominantly north-western, 5-10 m/s.

The temperature at night 0-5° frost, in the Carpathians 4-9° frost, in the southern part, during the day in Ukraine from 2° frost to 3° warm, in the Crimea 2-7° warm.

In Kiev on Monday in places a light snow. The wind is north-westerly, 5-10 m/s. The temperature at night 1-3° frost, in the daytime about 0°.

According to the Central Geophysical Observatory named after Boris Sreznevsky. Borys Sreznevsky, in Kiev on February 3, the highest temperature during the day was 12.3 in 2002, the lowest at night -26.8 in 2012.

On Tuesday, February 4, in Ukraine in places a light snow, at night in the south-eastern part of moderate snow.

On the roads in some places icy. The wind is north-western, 5-10 m/s.

The temperature at night 3-8° frost, during the day from 4° frost to 1° warm, in Transcarpathia 0-5° warm; in the Carpathians at night 9-14° frost, during the day 1-6° frost.

In Kiev on Tuesday there will be light snow in some places. The wind is north-westerly, 5-10 m/s. The temperature at night 3-5° frost, during the day 0-2° frost.

 

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Canada to impose 25% duty on $155 bln worth of US imports

Canada will impose a 25% duty on $155 billion worth of imports from the United States in response to the US tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said.

“In response to the US trade actions, Canada will impose a 25% duty on $155 billion worth of goods,” the prime minister said in a video message.

He explained that starting Tuesday of next week, the duties will affect $30 billion worth of goods, then $125 billion worth of goods within three weeks so that Canadian companies have time to find alternative partners.

The government and the leadership of the provinces and territories are also considering the possibility of imposing non-tariff restrictions on the United States regarding critical minerals, energy and other goods, Trudeau said.

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China announced countermeasures after Trump announced duties on Chinese goods

The US imposition of an additional 10 percent duty on imported Chinese goods seriously violates WTO rules and not only fails to solve its own problems, but also disrupts normal economic and trade cooperation between the two countries, a spokesman for China’s Ministry of Commerce said in a statement on Sunday.

“China will file a lawsuit at the WTO against the US for its abusive practices and take appropriate countermeasures to resolutely safeguard its rights and interests,” the statement said.

According to it, China hopes the U.S. side will objectively and rationally consider and solve its own fentanyl and other problems, rather than threatening other countries with tariffs at every turn.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry also issued a statement in connection with the imposition of a 10% duty on imports of Chinese goods, calling on the U.S. to correct its erroneous approach and work with the Chinese side to engage in frank dialog, strengthen cooperation and resolve differences on the basis of equality, mutual benefit and mutual respect.

The Foreign Ministry emphasized that China is one of the countries in the world with the most strict and thorough drug control policies, and fentanyl is America’s problem, and China, in the spirit of humanism, has supported the U.S. in dealing with this problem, being the first country among other countries to put fentanyl-like substances in a separate category.

 

 

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US imposes duties on goods from Canada, Mexico and China

US President Donald Trump has signed a decree imposing duties on goods from Canada, China and Mexico. The rates for products from Canada and Mexico will be up to 25%, and for Chinese goods – 10%.

Trump explained this decision by the need to combat illegal migration and drug smuggling.

Previously, the US, Canada, and Mexico had a free trade agreement, the USMCA, signed by Trump in his first term in office. The new duties could have a negative impact on the economies of Canada and Mexico, which could lose up to 2% of GDP. For the United States, the consequences will be less severe, with a 0.3% decline in GDP projected.

Canada and Mexico have already expressed disappointment with Washington’s decision. Ontario Premier Doug Ford said that Canada would be forced to respond with tough measures. Mexico, which is the largest trading partner of the United States, may also suffer significant losses, as more than 80% of its exports go to the United States.

The new duties will also affect German automotive companies such as Volkswagen, Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz, which use Mexico as a production base for supplies to the US market. Experts fear that Chinese manufacturers, faced with barriers in the US, will increase pressure on European markets, which could lead to price wars.

The United Steelworkers trade union called on the White House to reconsider the decision, emphasizing that the duties harm both Canada and the United States. At the same time, Canada is considering diversifying its trade ties to reduce its dependence on the United States.

Source: https://amp.dw.com/ru/prezident-ssa-vvel-posliny-na-tovary-iz-kanady-kitaa-i-meksiki/a-71484154

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Exports of Ukrainian IT decreased to $6.45 bln

Export revenues of the Ukrainian IT sector last year amounted to $6.45 billion, which is 4.2% less than in 2023 and 12.3% less than in 2022, according to statistics from the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU).

The largest inflows in terms of this year were recorded in the fourth quarter – $1.67 billion, while for the same period in 2023 and 2022, this figure was $1.70 billion and $1.87 billion, respectively.

According to statistics, the United States of America was the most active importer of Ukrainian IT last year, with $2.39 billion worth of goods, although its share in the total volume decreased by 2.6 percentage points (p.p.) to 37.2%.

The second place was taken by the UK, which increased its share by 0.8 p.p. to 8.8% and imported $565 million worth of Ukrainian IT services.

It was followed by Malta, whose share among importers decreased by almost 0.7 percentage points to 7.8%: in 2024, the country purchased $565 million worth of IT services from Ukraine.

The top five countries in terms of consumption of Ukrainian IT exports are Cyprus and Israel, whose shares slightly increased in 2024 to 6.1% and 4.6%, respectively. Cyprus imported $394 million worth of Ukrainian IT, while Israel imported $297 million.

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