EU rebuffs American pitch of quick deal for more lobsters
The American lobster industry is in the midst of a challenging time in part because of tariffs with China and the EU. A letter from EU trade commissioner Cecilia Malmstrm dated Nov. 6 said the European Union could potentially be interested in a broader trade package. Such a deal should be part of a wider agreement to liberalize tariffs bilaterally for industries products, including fisheries, Malmstrm wrote. Lighthizers attempt to roll back tariffs is coming as American lobster exports to Europe are falling. Canada, which exports the same species of lobster to Europe, brokered a new trade deal with the EU in 2017 that puts the U.S. at a disadvantage.
China lifts ban on US poultry after 5 years
China is reopening its market to U.S. poultry, ending a five-year ban. China had blocked U.S. poultry imports after an outbreak of avian influenza in December 2014, closing off a market that bought more than $500 million worth of American chicken, turkey and other poultry products in 2013. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said Thursday that the U.S. welcomes the decision and predicted that U.S. poultry exports to China could surpass $1 billion a year. The Chinese market looks especially promising for U.S. poultry producers because an outbreak of African swine fever has devastated a competing protein in China: pork. Shares in major U.S. chicken processers, Sanderson Farms, Tyson Foods and Pilgrims Pride climbed to new highs for the year Thursday.
Asian stocks trade higher ahead of Bank of Japan decision, trade talks
Kiyoshi Ota/Getty ImagesTOKYO - Asian stocks traded modestly higher Tuesday. South Korea's Kospi rose 0.2%. Here are some of the other big moves on Asian markets at 10:30 a.m. Hong Kong time. Hong Kong is set to announce its second-quarter GDP figures later this week. On Monday, Hong Kong stocks closed 1% lower.
Pyongyang missile launches, South Korean shares fall
Spencer Platt/Getty Images(CNN) - South Korean shares fell in early trade on Thursday after North Korea launched two unidentified projectiles. The Kospi index fell 0.8% after the country's military said that Pyongyang had launched two projectiles toward the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan. The market losses came despite a stronger-than-expected rebound in South Korea's economy in the second quarter. GDP rose by 1.1% following a surprise contraction in the first three months of the year, according to data published Thursday. South Korea missed out on modest gains across other Asian markets, which were drawing support from confirmation of new US-China trade talks and hopes of central bank stimulus.