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Britain will strengthen its trade defences by handing its business secretary the power to direct rapid investigations into unfair practices under new rules designed to deal with rising global protectionism, according to draft guidance seen by Reuters.

Britain launched the Trade Remedies Authority (TRA) after it left the European Union, but the independent body has been criticised for being too slow to meet the challenge of a global trade war that risks cheap goods being dumped by the likes of China.

The government will update legislation to give the business and trade secretary the power to direct the TRA to initiate investigations, providing they are justified by evidence and World Trade Organization requirements are met, the document said.

The government added that in a more volatile world, it wanted to ensure elected politicians took major decisions on trade policy.

The new guidance also instructs the TRA to make it easier for a wider range of British producers to contribute to investigations, and says the TRA should become more assertive and agile in tackling unfair trade – by launching investigations and completing them in a timely manner.

"Our trade remedies system, created before globalisation came under today's protectionist threat, now needs to be sharper to meet the demands of a new geopolitical reality," the draft guidance said.

US President Donald Trump launched sweeping global tariffs in 2025 that have led to a surge in Chinese exports to non-US markets like Europe, Australia and South-east Asia.

The EU has unveiled plans to boost Europe's resilience to threats such as dumped imports while France has raised the prospect of tariffs against Beijing.

British Trade Secretary Peter Kyle said the changes to how the TRA works would bring Britain into line with international peers and "give our producers and manufacturers... the backing they need to grow and compete".

TRA co-chief executives Jessica Blakely and Carmen Suarez said they welcomed the initiatives which would help them "defend the British economic interests against unfair international trade practices". REUTERS

Source: Straitstimes

Vietnam's parliament moved to ban exports of raw rare earth resources as part of an overhaul of the nation's geology and minerals law, which tightens controls over deposits and sets out new rules for the industry.

The government will "strictly" control the exploration, exploitation and processing of rare earths and prohibit exports of raw rare earth minerals, according to the new law, which takes effect in January. Only companies with government approval will be permitted to exploit, process and use rare earths.

The new law says that international cooperation will be encouraged in research, transfer, and development of technologies for the extraction, beneficiation, separation, and deep processing of rare earths to support the development of a domestic rare-earth industry.

Vietnam has reserves of 3.5 million tons of rare earth minerals, ranking it sixth globally, according to the US Geological Survey's March 2025 report. That was a significant revision from the US agency, which had previously estimated that Vietnam had about 22 million tons, the world's second-largest deposits, just behind China.

Rare earths, a family of 17 metallic elements, help power everything from smartphones and laptops to fighter jets and missiles, and are almost exclusively controlled by China.

The amended law also states that deep processing of rare earths must be linked to the development of the industrial ecosystem to enhance the Southeast Asian nation's local value chain and ensure self-reliance in the rare earth sector.

Vietnam's Ministry of Agriculture and Environment is working on a national strategy for rare earth minerals which will be submitted to government early next year, according to a government website post.

Source: Bloomberg Europe

Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing's attempt to sell dozens of CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd. global ports — including two in the strategically key Panama Canal — has slowed as negotiators try to untangle a web of issues hampering an agreement, according to people familiar with the matter.

While talks are ongoing, the timing of any potential deal is unknown because of uncertainties such as the structure of the buying consortium, the people said. Differences over influence and strategy have caused the negotiations to run for months without a clear end in sight, the people added.

Unresolved matters include what kind of role China Cosco Shipping Corp. will play, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing private information. China's biggest shipping company has been in talks to join a buyer group that includes BlackRock Inc.'s Global Infrastructure Partners and Italian billionaire Gianluigi Aponte's Terminal Investment Ltd.

Some buyers including the Aponte family are still committed because they regard the deal as important for growth, one of the people said.

Spokespeople for Hutchison, TIL and Cosco didn't respond to requests for comment. A representative for BlackRock declined to comment.

CK Hutchison in August ruled out the likelihood of the sale of 43 ports being completed this year, but remained optimistic about its prospects after inviting a Chinese investor into the mix. The conglomerate pointed out the complexity of the process, which if completed could net it more than $19 billion in cash.

While US President Donald Trump hailed the planned sale as a win over the Panama waterway, Beijing has expressed strong displeasure with what it sees as a betrayal of China and kowtowing to American pressure.

CK Hutchison has said it wouldn't proceed with a transaction that didn't have the approval of all relevant authorities.

Revenue from CK Hutchison's ports and related services business rose 9% from a year earlier in the first half of 2025, helped by higher throughput and storage income in regions including mainland China, Asia, the Middle East, Mexico and Europe as customers stocked up on goods before US tariffs kicked in.

The Hong Kong-listed company's shares have climbed 31% this year, with a big jump coming in early March when the ports deal was announced. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index is up 28% in 2025.

Source: Bloomberg Europe

Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi conveyed "grave concerns" over rising security tensions involving China and Russia during video meetings with NATO's chief and Italy's defense minister, in a sign of Tokyo's efforts to gain support from a broader international community.

On Wednesday evening, Koizumi briefed NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto on China's alleged use of fire-control radar against Japanese fighter jets, as well as a joint flight by Chinese and Russian bombers south of Okinawa, according to Japan's Defense Ministry.

Koizumi confirmed his intention to strengthen cooperation with both Rutte and Crosetto, the ministry said in separate statements. He also reiterated Japan's stance to respond to developments in a "calm and yet resolute manner."

US and Japanese military forces conducted a joint exercise in the airspace over the Sea of Japan Wednesday that reaffirmed the nations' will "not to tolerate unilateral changes to the status quo by force," according to a statement released Thursday by the Japan Joint Staff. The drill included two US B-52 bombers and Japanese fighter jets, the statement said.

The Japan–China dispute, triggered by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's Nov. 7 remarks on Taiwan, continues to simmer as the two sides trade accusations and seek support from other nations. While the US ambassador in Japan has flagged State Department support for Tokyo, key officials in Washington have largely steered clear of commenting on the spat. Meanwhile, China has reached out to nations including the UK, Germany and France to support its "One China" principle.

The fallout has intensified in the security arena following the alleged radar incident on Dec. 6 and the joint bomber flight on Dec. 9, both of which occurred near Japan's southern islands, where Tokyo has been increasing its defense capabilities.

Tensions also remain high over disputed islands in the East China Sea — known as the Diaoyu in China and the Senkaku in Japan — as both countries issued warnings to each other earlier this month.

On Wednesday, four China Coast Guard vessels entered Japanese territorial waters near the disputed islands, according to the Japan Coast Guard. Chinese boats are spotted near the waters on most days with some entering them on a monthly basis. Fifteen Chinese vessels entered the waters during March this year.

Source: Bloomberg Europe

Key points:

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese acknowledged some young people were still on social media a day after a world-first ban on under-16s went live, saying the rollout was always going to be bumpy but would ultimately save lives.

A day after the law took effect with bipartisan support from the major political parties and backing by some three-quarters of Australian parents, the country's social media feeds were flooded with comments from people claiming to be under 16, including one on the prime minister's TikTok account saying "I'm still here, wait until I can vote".

Under the law, 10 of the biggest platforms including TikTok, Meta'sInstagram and Alphabet'sYouTube must bar underage users or face a fine of up to A$49.5 million ($33 million). The government has said it would take some time for the platforms to set up processes to do this.

"Of course it isn't smooth," Albanese told Melbourne radio station FOX.

"You can't in one day switch off over a million accounts across the board. But it is happening."

On Nova Radio in Sydney, Albanese added: "If it was easy, someone else would have done it."

Governments around the world have said they would monitor the Australian rollout as they weigh whether to do something similar. U.S. Republican senator Josh Hawley endorsed the ban as it took effect, Nine newspapers reported, while France, Denmark, Malaysia and others have already said they plan to emulate the Australian model.

The Australian internet regulator, the eSafety Commissioner, would ask all affected platforms to report numbers of under-16 accounts on the days before and after the ban went live on Wednesday, Communications Minister Anika Wells said.

TikTok and Snap, owner of Snap, declined to comment on the rollout, while Meta, YouTube, X, Amazon'sTwitch, Redditand Australian-owned Kick - all of which are covered by the ban - were not immediately available for comment.

HEATED GLOBAL REACTIONS

The ban generated impassioned reactions across the spectrum of global commentators - including from U.S. psychologist Jonathan Haidt, whose book "The Anxious Generation" featured prominently in the Australian debate.

"Bravo Australia," he wrote on X.

The United Nations childrens agency UNICEF warned in a statement the ban might encourage children to visit less regulated parts of the internet and could not work alone.

"Laws introducing age restrictions are not an alternative to companies improving platform design and content moderation," the statement said.

U.S. conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, in a tirade posted for his 4.4 million X followers, called the ban "the training wheels for the internet ID".

"It is the holy grail of tyrany," he said. "It's here."

Albanese, visiting a school in Canberra, said the ban would lead to better educational outcomes and behaviour" since "you get better social interaction when students aren't subject to looking at their devices constantly".

Australian searches for virtual private networks (VPNs), which can mask an internet user's location, surged to the highest level in about 10 years in the week before the legislation took effect, according to publicly available Google data.

Free VPN provider hide.me told Reuters it experienced a 65% spike in visits from Australia in the days before the ban kicked in, although that had not translated to a rising number of downloads.

All 10 platforms named by the ban opposed it before saying they would comply. As the legislation came into force, some platforms not covered by the ban rose to the top of app download charts, prompting the Australian government to say the platform list was "dynamic".

One app, Lemon8, which is owned by TikTok parent Bytedance, introduced an age minimum of 16. Photo-sharing app Yope told Reuters it had experienced "very fast growth" to about 100,000 Australian users. About half its users were over 16.

The company told Reuters it had told the Australian internet regulator overseeing the rollout that it considered itself a private messaging service, not social media.

($1 = 1.4995 Australian dollars)

Source: TradingView

Source: Reuters