Asia petrochemical shares slip; Trump eyes 10% new tariffs for China

SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Asian petrochemical shares were mostly lower on Tuesday after US President-elect Donald Trump threatened to impose an additional 10% tariffs on Chinese goods.

In a post on social media platform Truth Social on Tuesday, Trump also said that he would impose 25% tariff on all products from Mexico and Canada, citing concerns over illegal immigration and drug trafficking.

At 03:15 GMT, Japan’s Mitsui Chemicals was down 1.22% in Tokyo; Taiwan’s Formosa Petrochemical Corp declined by 1.25% in Taipei; and South Korea’s Hanwha Corp fell by 2.79% in Seoul.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 was down by 1.34% at 38,260.38; South Korea’s KOSPI Composite slipped by 0.56% to 2,520.14; while China’s CSI 300 index inched up by 0.16% to 3,854.09.

“I have had many talks with China about the massive amounts of drugs, in particular Fentanyl, being sent into the United States – But to no avail,” Trump said.

“Until such time as they stop, we will be charging China an additional 10% Tariff, above any additional Tariffs, on all of their many products coming into the United States of America.”

Trump is set to be inaugurated as the next US president on 20 January 2025.

“On January 20th, as one of my many first Executive Orders, I will sign all necessary documents to charge Mexico and Canada a 25% Tariff on ALL products coming into the United States,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

He stated that the tariff will remain in effect until Mexico and Canada address the issues of illegal immigration and the influx of deadly synthetic opioid fentanyl into the US.

During his election campaign, Trump promised to implement sweeping new tariffs aimed at protecting American industries, promoting domestic manufacturing, and reducing reliance on foreign imports.

Trump had said he intends to impose 60% tariffs on Chinese imports and 10-20% tariffs on products from other countries, among others, arguing that the measures can create more factory jobs, shrink the federal deficit, and lower prices for American-made goods by making foreign goods more expensive, Dutch banking and financial information services provider ING said in a note.

In 2024, the US imported goods worth around $3.1 trillion, with $427 billion or around 14% of the total coming from China, according to ING.

Thumbnail image: Busy Yangzhou Port in Jiangsu, China – 16 November 2024 (Shutterstock)