More ships than ever are being abandoned around the world by their owners, according to the United Nations’ labor and maritime organizations, leaving thousands of workers stuck on board without pay or the means to travel home to their families. Cases have doubled in the past three years, impacting more …

washington — White House press secretary Karoline Levitt announced Friday that President Donald Trump would be implementing 25% tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods and a 10% tariff on all Chinese imports on Saturday.   Consumers told VOA they were bracing for the possible impact of increased costs.  “I’m concerned about …

WASHINGTON — A humming American economy ended 2024 on a solid note with consumer spending continuing to drive growth, and ahead of what could be a significant change in direction under a Trump administration. The Commerce Department reported Thursday that gross domestic product — the economy’s output of goods and services …

TAIPEI, TAIWAN — The Lunar New Year, also called the Chinese New Year or the Spring Festival in China, is traditionally celebrated with tables piled with food and red envelopes filled with cash for children. In past years, smoke from outdoor fire pits filled the air throughout the morning and afternoon, …

President Donald Trump is widely expected to impose tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada as early as February 1 as part of a plan he says will boost the U.S. economy. But with much about the specifics still unknown, economists, business owners and everyday consumers are still trying to …

New York — Wall Street is tumbling Monday on fears the big U.S. companies that have feasted on the artificial-intelligence frenzy are under threat from a competitor in China that can do similar things for much cheaper. The S&P 500 was down 1.9% in early trading. Big Tech stocks that have …

China’s annual mass migration ahead of the Lunar New Year will peak with billions of trips anticipated during this year’s holiday, which begins Tuesday. An estimated 9 billion trips are expected. This year’s holiday lasts from Jan. 28 through Feb. 4 and marks the arrival of the Year of the …

President Donald Trump laid out his approach to foreign investment to the world’s largest gathering of global business leaders, offering investors a take-it-or-leave-it deal to build in the U.S. or face stiff tariffs. VOA White House Correspondent Anita Powell reports. …

WASHINGTON — U.S. lawmakers introduced a bipartisan bill on Thursday that would revoke China’s preferential trade status with the United States, phase in steep tariffs and end the “de minimis” exemption for low-value Chinese imports. The bill, introduced by John Moolenaar, the Republican chair of the House of Representatives select committee …

ABUJA, NIGERIA — Nigerian authorities said this week that the nation’s new partnership status with the BRICS bloc could unlock critical opportunities in trade, investment and agriculture. Nigerian President Bola Tinubu’s special adviser told Lagos-based Channels Television that the partnership, which became official Friday, is pivotal to promoting trade, investment, food …

Many American voters are hopeful that President Donald Trump’s second term, which began on Jan. 20, will usher in a period of economic prosperity — much like they felt during his first term. However, the economy he is inheriting this time around is markedly different from the one he inherited …

President Donald Trump will issue a broad trade memo on Monday that stops short of imposing new tariffs on his first day in office but directs federal agencies to evaluate U.S. trade relationships with China, Canada and Mexico, a Trump administration official said. After weeks of intense global speculation over …

BEIJING — China recorded one of its slowest rates of economic growth in decades last year, data showed Friday, as leaders nervously eye a potential trade standoff with incoming U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. Beijing has in recent months announced its most aggressive support measures in years in a bid to reignite …

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan confirmed on Wednesday that the World Bank has pledged to lend $20 billion over the next decade, commencing in 2026 under its Country Partnership Framework, to help address the impoverished country’s acute development challenges. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif applauded what he described as the lender’s “first-ever” pledge of …

Washington — President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday announced plans to create a new agency called the External Revenue Service to collect tariffs and other revenues from foreign nations. “We will begin charging those that make money off of us with Trade, and they will start paying,” Trump said Tuesday on his …

A new industry report released Monday shows China made big strides last year toward an EV-driven future, as domestic sales of all types of electric vehicles rose by 40% in 2024. Sales of gasoline powered cars tumbled, including foreign imports. In 2024, a total of 31.4 million total vehicles were …

Ethiopia relaunched its stock exchange, the Ethiopian Securities Exchange, on Friday after a 50-year absence. The operations of the Ethiopia Securities Exchange were stopped in 1974 following the takeover by a communist military government. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed described the relaunch as an “historic milestone” for Ethiopia’s economic and financial …

WASHINGTON — U.S. hiring picked up unexpectedly in December as employers added a strong 256,000 jobs, another sign of the economy’s resilience in the face of high interest rates.  Job growth rose 212,000 last month from November, the Labor Department reported Friday.  For all of 2024, the economy added 2.2 million …

London — Britain’s Treasury chief is travelling to China this weekend to discuss economic and financial cooperation between the countries, as the U.K.’s Labour government seeks to reset strained ties with Beijing. The Treasury said Friday that Rachel Reeves will travel to Beijing and Shanghai and will meet with her Chinese …

Beijing — China said Thursday that an investigation had found the European Union imposed unfair “trade and investment barriers” on Beijing, marking the latest salvo in long-running commercial tensions between the two economic powers.  Officials announced the probe in July after Brussels began looking into whether Chinese government subsidies were undermining …

WASHINGTON/TOKYO — U.S. President Joe Biden’s decision to block Nippon Steel’s $14.9 billion bid for U.S. Steel cast a shadow over Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to Japan on Tuesday for farewell meetings with Washington’s most important ally in Asia. The rejection, announced on Friday, has jolted U.S. efforts to …

Washington — Japan’s Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel are filing a federal lawsuit challenging the Biden administration’s decision to block a proposed nearly $15 billion deal for Nippon to acquire Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel. The suit, filed Monday in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, alleges that it …

DETROIT — U.S. new car sales in 2024 continued to rise from their pandemic lows, bolstered by replenished inventories, higher incentives and surging demand for hybrid vehicles, automakers reported on Friday. Sales of new vehicles finished at 15.9 million last year, according to Wards Intelligence, up 2.2% from the prior year, …

A year after a panel blew out of a Boeing 737 Max during flight, the nation’s top aviation regulator says the company needs “a fundamental cultural shift” to put safety and quality above profits. Mike Whitaker, chief of the Federal Aviation Administration, said in an online post Friday that his …

President Joe Biden said Friday that he was blocking the proposed $14.9 billion acquisition of American company U.S. Steel by Japan’s Nippon Steel. Analysts said rejection of the deal could hurt relations with Japan, a key ally and trade partner. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara reports. …