China has fully lifted suspensions on Australian red meat, Canberra said Tuesday, dismantling one of the final barriers in a four-year trade war that hammered US$13 billion of exports.A slew of Australia’s most lucrative export commodities were effectively banned from China starting in 2020, as relations between the two nations started to fray.But China has been gradually unwinding these barriers as Australia steps up efforts to mend ties on the diplomatic front. Red meat and lobster were the last two commodities subject to some form of barrier or export ban. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Tuesday that China had paved the way for “full resumption of red meat exports”.Meanwhile, full lobster trade is expected to resume by the end of the year.”We are close to the point where China’s trade impediments — which impacted Aus$20 billion (US$13 billion) worth of Australian exports — have all been removed,” trade minister Don Farrell said Tuesday.Over the past two years, Beijing has dropped tariffs on Australian barley and wine, halted an import ban on timber and resumed shipments of coal.China lifted suspensions on eight Australian slaughterhouses in May this year but kept barriers in place for two facilities. – ‘Great outcome’ -Those final two beef-processing plants were now able to resume exports to China.China is Australia’s second-most lucrative beef export market, behind the United States.Australian Meat Industry Council spokesman Tim Ryan said it was a “great outcome”. “After four years of hard work on behalf of red meat exporters, this is a fantastic and very welcome result,” he said.Lobster exports are the last major Australian commodity awaiting the full resumption of trade with China.Beijing had agreed to a “timetable to resume full lobster trade by the end of this year”, Albanese said in October.The sanctions are expected to be lifted in time for Lunar New Year next year when delicacies such as rock lobster are in hot demand.Australia’s relationship with China began unravelling in 2018 when Canberra excluded telecommunications giant Huawei from its 5G network on security grounds and later passed laws on foreign interference. Then in 2020, Australia called for an international investigation into the origins of Covid-19 — an action China saw as politically motivated.Australia has spent much of the past two years trying to insulate the vital trade relationship with China — its biggest trade partner — from geopolitical headwinds.Australia is part of a loose US-led alliance that has aggressively pushed back against China’s bid for primacy in the Pacific region.Tuesday’s announcement comes as Beijing eyes deepening trade rifts with Europe and the United States. Brussels and Washington have slapped punitive tariffs on China’s electric vehicle exports, semiconductors, solar panels and a range of other goods. 

US President-elect Donald Trump on Monday said he would “block” a planned takeover of US Steel by Japanese company Nippon Steel, a deal worth $14.9 billion including debts.”I am totally against the once great and powerful U.S. Steel being bought by a foreign company, in this case Nippon Steel of Japan,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “Through a series of Tax Incentives and Tariffs, we will make U.S. Steel Strong and Great Again, and it will happen FAST! As President, I will block this deal from happening.”Embattled US Steel has argued that it needs the Nippon deal to ensure sufficient investment in its Mon Valley plants in Pennsylvania, which it says it may have to shutter if the sale is blocked.Nippon Steel said after Trump’s comments that it was “determined to protect and grow US Steel in a manner that reinforces American industry, domestic supply chain resiliency, and US national security.””We will invest no less than $2.7 billion into its unionized facilities, introduce our world-class technological innovation, and secure union jobs so that American steelworkers at US Steel can manufacture the most advanced steel products for American customers,” the Japanese firm said in a statement.Days after the US election last month, Nippon Steel said it expected to close its takeover of the company before the end of the year, while US President Joe Biden was still in office.Biden, too, has opposed the deal, saying it was “vital” for US Steel “to remain an American steel company that is domestically owned and operated.”The deal is being reviewed by a body helmed by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen that audits foreign takeovers of US firms, called the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).In September, Biden’s administration extended their review, pushing a conclusion on the politically sensitive deal until after the November 5 presidential election.A Nippon Steel earnings presentation on November 7 maintained that “the transaction is expected to close in… calendar year 2024″ pending a US national security review.”Unless the situation changes dramatically, I believe the conclusion will come by the end of the year,” during Biden’s time in office, vice chairman Takahiro Mori told reporters.Trump will be inaugurated on January 20.- Protectionist policies -On the campaign trail, he vowed to install protectionist economic policies to help support US businesses, including threats to restart a trade war with the world’s second largest economy, China.While running for the White House, he specifically promised to block Nippon’s takeover of US Steel, which is based in the key political battleground state of Pennsylvania.Trump’s vice presidential pick J.D. Vance also led congressional opposition to the takeover in the US Senate, where the deal has been criticized by both Republicans and Democrats.Analysts had suggested Trump’s position could soften after the election was over, but Monday’s statement indicated that was not the case.Major Japanese and American business groups have urged Yellen not to succumb to political pressure when reviewing the proposed acquisition.The steelworkers union has fought the deal, and criticized a September arbitrators’ ruling that Nippon had proven it could assume US Steel’s labor contract obligations.In September, however, some US Steel workers rallied in support of the deal, arguing it would help keep plants open.

A Vietnamese property tycoon sentenced to death in a multi-billion-dollar fraud case arrived in court Tuesday, as she awaits the verdict of her appeal in one of the biggest corruption prosecutions in history. Property developer Truong My Lan, 68, was convicted earlier this year of embezzling money from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) — which prosecutors said she controlled — and condemned to die for fraud totalling $27 billion.In her official handwritten appeal of more than five pages seen by AFP, Lan said the death sentence was “too severe and harsh”, asking the court to consider a more “lenient and humane approach”.On Tuesday, Lan sat in the front row of the courtroom, waiting to hear if her life would be spared. Next to her was her husband, who is appealing a nine-year sentence for violating banking regulations.The month-long appeal was attended by more 100 lawyers, according to state media. Tens of thousands of people who invested their savings in SCB lost money, shocking the communist nation and prompting rare protests from the victims.  According to Vietnamese law, Lan could escape the death penalty if she proactively returns three-quarters of the embezzled assets and is judged to have cooperated sufficiently with authorities.But prosecutors have argued she has not met the conditions, and emphasised her crime’s consequences were “huge and without precedent”.Lan, who founded real estate development group Van Thinh Phat, told the court in Ho Chi Minh City “the quickest way” to repay the stolen funds would be “to liquidate SCB, and sell our assets to repay SBV (State Bank of Vietnam) and the people”.”I feel pained due to the waste of national resources,” Lan said last week, adding she felt “very embarrassed to be charged with this crime”. Lan owned just five percent of shares in SCB on paper, but at her trial, the court concluded that she effectively controlled more than 90 percent through family, friends and staff. The State Bank said in April that it pumped funds into SCB to stabilise it, without revealing how much.Among the assets that Lan and Van Thinh Phat own are a shopping mall, a harbour and luxurious housing complexes in business hub Ho Chi Minh City.During her first trial in April, Lan was found guilty of embezzling $12.5 billion, but prosecutors said the total damages caused by the scam amounted to $27 billion — equivalent to around six percent of the country’s 2023 GDP.Lan and dozens of defendants, including senior central bank officials were arrested as part of a national corruption crackdown dubbed the “burning furnace” that has swept up numerous officials and members of Vietnam’s business elite.A total of 47 other defendants have requested reduced sentences at the appeal.Last month, Lan was convicted of money laundering and jailed for life in a separate case.

Asian traders shifted tentatively Tuesday as they battled to track another record on Wall Street owing to fresh China-US worries, while the euro extended losses on concerns of political and economic upheaval in France.A tech-led rally in the Dow and S&P 500 helped New York stocks to a strong start to the month, having enjoyed a healthy November on hopes that US President-elect Donald Trump will usher in more business-friendly measures.Investors are also looking ahead to the release of US jobs data at the end of the week which could play a key role in the Federal Reserve’s decision on whether to cut interest rates again.The mixed performance in Asia followed a recent run-up that was helped Monday by manufacturing activity data suggesting China’s economic struggles may be coming to an end.In early trade on Tuesday, Tokyo, Sydney, Seoul, Singapore and Manila were all higher but Hong Kong, Shanghai and Wellington retreated.Fuelling uncertainty was news that Washington had announced new export restrictions taking aim at Beijing’s ability to make advanced semiconductors in the latest volley in the tech standoff between the world’s leading economies.The moves step up existing US efforts to tighten curbs on exports of state-of-the-art AI chips to China.Beijing hit back, saying the United States “abuses export control measures” and has “hindered normal economic and trade exchanges”.The mood was also tinted by worries over Trump’s second term in the White House, particularly after he warned last month that he would hit China, Canada and Mexico with heavy tariffs.”Although recent (manufacturing) data revealed that November saw the fastest expansion in factory activity in months — likely boosted by exporters rushing to get ahead of Trump’s anticipated tariff storm — the broader economic outlook remains fraught with uncertainty,” said Stephen Innes at SPI Asset Management.”This complex tapestry of market dynamics — China’s manufacturing uptick, the deepening economic concerns, and the dollar’s assertive rally — are all intricately linked to Trump’s aggressive trade posturing. “His vows of imposing hefty tariffs as soon as he enters the Oval Office next month cast long shadows over the Asian markets, making investors both wary and watchful.”On currency markets, the euro weakened against the dollar and was sitting at lows not seen since October last year, owing to a brewing political crisis in France, the eurozone’s second-largest economy.Prime Minister Michel Barnier faces the risk of being deposed in a no-confidence vote, expected on Wednesday, after he used executive powers to force through controversial social security legislation without a vote.The left wing and the far-right National Rally of Marine Le Pen said they would back a motion bringing down the minority government, which has been in power for just three months.The yield on French government debt rose in another sign of investor concern. France must now pay as much to borrow for 10 years as Greece.- Key figures around 0230 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 1.7 percent at 39,180.06 (break)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.4 percent at 19,478.28Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.3 percent at 3,354.50Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0491 from $1.0499 on MondayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2649 from $1.2654Dollar/yen: UP at 149.82 yen from 149.54 yen Euro/pound: DOWN at 82.93 from 82.97 penceWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.2 percent at $68.21 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.2 percent at $71.97 per barrelNew York – Dow: DOWN 0.3 percent at 44,782.00 points (close)London – FTSE 100: UP 0.3 at 8,312.89 (close)