With the official implementation of the outcomes outlined in the Joint Statement of the China-US Geneva Economic and Trade Talks this Wednesday (May 14), many industry insiders anticipate a significant surge in trade between China and the US over the next 90 days. This is because, as negotiators from both sides strive to achieve further progress in consultations, enterprises will compete to intensify their inventory stockpiling efforts. In particular, US importers may initiate a new round of purchasing frenzy. According to the Joint Statement of the China-US Geneva Economic and Trade Talks released this Monday, substantial progress was made in the high-level economic and trade talks between China and the US, leading to a significant reduction in bilateral tariff levels. The US side canceled a total of 91% of the tariff hikes, and China correspondingly abolished 91% of its retaliatory tariffs. The US also suspended the implementation of 24% of its "reciprocal tariffs" for 90 days, and China similarly suspended 24% of its retaliatory tariffs for the same period. Given that US importers will face a clear window of significantly reduced import costs over the next three months, Goldman Sachs analyst Philip Sun couldn't help but ask on Tuesday, "Just imagine: with this 90-day tariff suspension period, how eager will Chinese exporters and US importers be to rush to place orders?" Note: Diagram Illustrating Changes in US Tariff Rates on Imports from China "We are living in a highly uncertain world. Who knows what will happen in 90 days (or even during this period)? Should retail giants like Walmart stock up on Christmas goods as much as possible, perhaps not just to meet the demand for 2025 but even to stockpile for 2026 in advance?" Sun said. Sun answered his own question with a bold prediction: "In the next 90 days, China's exports will explode. 'Frontrunning' will become the key word." A "rush shipping" battle is imminent In fact, many market participants share similar views with the Goldman Sachs analyst. Scott Kennedy, Senior Adviser for China Business and Economics at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), stated in a media interview that, as enterprises rush to ship goods across the Pacific while tariffs are low, he expects China-US trade to accelerate during the 90-day negotiation period. Kennedy believes that China-US trade should increase, and we may witness a significant jump in the shipping volumes of some companies. These companies may still have concerns about the situation a few months from now, and they need to take advantage of this breathing space to expand their import scale and accelerate trade. Some industry insiders are drawing parallels between the current situation and the one at the end of last year. In December 2024, China's exports to the US surged by 15.6% compared to the same period in 2023, due to the fact that many US enterprises stockpiled goods in advance in anticipation of tariffs that were expected to be imposed after Trump took office. It is worth mentioning that Cailian Press reported on Tuesday that after the good news of the Sino-US tariff negotiations broke, some US importers were so excited that they "jumped out of bed and made calls" in the early hours of Monday local time, urging Chinese suppliers to ship goods to secure container space. Ryan Petersen, CEO of international shipping broker Flexport, also said, "Since the first day of the trade agreement, our ocean freight orders from China to the US have increased by 35%. A large number of orders are expected to pile up, and vessel space will soon be snapped up." " In response to the surge in container shipping on the US route, some international liner giants are already preparing for it. Freight forwarders such as CMA CGM said that the 90-day suspension period and the reduction of tariff rates between China and the US are "good news." A Maersk spokesperson said, "Now that our customers have clarity on the 90-day tariff reduction, we are working hard to help them make the most of this window." Note: Global shipping situation map, with ships highlighted. Lu Ting, Nomura's chief China economist, wrote in a report on Monday, "As many exporters may have postponed shipments to the US in April, the significant rollback of tariffs is likely to stimulate a wave of pent-up exports." There are signs that the surge in container shipping on the US route has led to a rapid spike in short-term freight rates. Jefferies analysts pointed out in a report that container freight rates on the trans-Pacific route between China and the US have surged from $2,000 per forty-foot equivalent unit (FEU) in mid-April to around $2,500 this week. Jefferies analysts said, "The container shipping industry is expected to see a substantial improvement in spot freight rates, mainly based on two fundamental factors: the recovery of normal cargo volumes and the start of the peak season, which usually begins in July. Given the tightening of trans-Pacific capacity, shipping companies are fully in control of pushing up freight rates."

On Thursday local time, the Bank of England (BoE) announced a 25 basis point interest rate cut, reducing the benchmark interest rate from 4.5% to 4.25%. This marked the fourth rate cut in the current easing cycle, in line with market expectations. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) approved the interest rate decision with a 5-4 vote. Five members supported a 25 basis point cut, two members advocated for a more significant cut (50 basis points), and two other members voted to maintain the key interest rate unchanged. The split voting lineup, with three factions, highlighted the chaos caused by US trade policies. MPC members Dhingra and Taylor voted in favor of a 50 basis point cut, arguing that the BoE needed to act swiftly to support the economy and ensure inflation does not fall below the target level. Given the uncertainties brought to the UK economy by Trump's across-the-board tariff impositions, BoE policymakers adhered to their guidelines that monetary easing should continue to be "gradual and cautious." BoE Governor Bailey stated, "Inflationary pressures continue to ease, allowing us to cut interest rates again today. However, the past few weeks have shown how unpredictable the global economy's trajectory can be. That's why we need to stick to a gradual and cautious approach." This decision demonstrated a tougher stance than expected, with the British pound initially diving against the US dollar before surging again. Reports also indicated that the UK is preparing to reach a trade deal with the US, which has supported the pound. Despite the prospect of a trade deal, the BoE made it clear that the impact of US tariff policies on the UK economy is real and will persist for some time. Due to rising costs and increased uncertainty, the shock to economic activity will reduce UK output by 0.3 percentage points over three years and lower inflation by 0.2 percentage points over two years. The BoE revised its economic growth forecast for 2025 upward to 1% (from a February forecast of 0.75%), slightly lowered its forecast for 2026 to 1.25% (from a February forecast of 1.5%), and maintained its 2027 forecast at 1.5%. Regarding inflation, the BoE currently expects inflation to peak at 3.5% in Q3 this year, down from a previous forecast of 3.7%, primarily due to falling energy prices. The inflation rate is expected to reach the 2% target by Q1 2027. Expectations for further rate cuts decline The BoE also presented two scenarios: one where goods supply may weaken, and domestic wages and prices in the UK may continue to rise; and another where inflationary pressures may ease more quickly due to greater or more prolonged weakness in demand relative to supply. The day before, the US Fed remained on hold. Fed Chairman Powell, who is often criticized by Trump, made it clear that the central bank would not rush to ease monetary policy until there was greater certainty about the direction of trade policy. Philip Shaw, chief economist at Investec, said that the Bank of England's interest rate cut was not surprising, but the fact that two members, including chief economist Huw Pill, preferred to keep interest rates unchanged reduced the likelihood of another rate cut at next month's meeting. Luke Bartholomew, an economist at Aberdeen, said that it was highly unusual for the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to be divided over Trump's tariffs, which would make it difficult for the Bank of England to send a clear signal to the market about the possible policy path. However, as the central bank maintained its guidance that further rate cuts would be gradual and prudent, the likelihood of another rate cut in June had significantly decreased. Julius Bendikas, head of European economics and dynamic asset allocation at Mercer Consulting, commented: "The Bank of England's MPC faces a tricky balancing act, with inflation and wage levels remaining high, but global trade issues likely to exert downward pressure on economic growth and inflation. We expect that as price and wage inflation slow further, the Bank of England will continue to cut interest rates, reducing them to 3.5% or lower by 2026."

Recently, Japanese solar manufacturer TOYO announced that its solar cell plant in Ethiopia officially commenced production in early April 2025, with an annual capacity of 2GW, marking the company's official launch of localized manufacturing on the African continent. As planned, the plant will deliver over 80MW of solar cell products to customers by the end of April 2025, and increase its monthly capacity to 150-200MW from May to June, achieving full production.

Recently, Japanese solar manufacturer TOYO announced that its solar cell factory in Ethiopia officially commenced production in early April 2025, with an annual capacity of 2GW, marking the official launch of the company's localized manufacturing layout on the African continent. As planned, the factory will deliver over 80MW of solar cell products to customers by the end of April 2025, and will increase its monthly capacity to 150-200MW from May to June, achieving full production. In March this year, TOYO announced plans to increase the annual capacity of its Ethiopia battery factory from 2GW to 4GW due to "strong external customer demand," aiming to supply core solar cells for its newly built 2GW module factory in Texas, US. Junsei Ryu, Chairman and CEO of TOYO, stated, "We are very optimistic about the current strong market demand and are fully advancing the expansion plan to add 2GW at the Ethiopia factory." The commencement of production at TOYO's Ethiopia factory coincided with the US Department of Commerce imposing high "anti-dumping and countervailing" tariffs on solar cell and module products from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam, a move that has prompted US domestic module manufacturers to urgently seek new tariff-free solar cell supply channels. Christian Roselund, Senior Policy Analyst at Clean Energy Associates, posted on LinkedIn, "Although most battery manufacturing has already shifted from the four Southeast Asian countries, these tariffs will completely eliminate the remaining capacity in these countries, hindering the recovery of their battery manufacturing business." Additionally, Philip Shen, Partner and Senior Analyst at Roth Capital, predicted that the next round of "anti-dumping and countervailing" investigations targeting India, Indonesia, and Laos is expected to be launched by the end of Q2 2025.

Currently, the price of magnesium metal has continued to pull back and is significantly lower than that of aluminum, making its cost-performance advantage reappear and its functional value prominent. The innovative development achievements of magnesium and magnesium alloys are increasingly growing, and innovative application cases of magnesium alloys are constantly emerging. They are expected to usher in new opportunities for expanded applications, especially in areas such as lightweight transportation, intelligent manufacturing, green construction, electronic telecommunications, solid-state ESS, and medical health, where there is great potential to open up new application blue oceans. As a lightweight structural and functional material, magnesium metal will play an important role in promoting green, low-carbon, and high-quality development, demonstrating greater potential. At this critical moment and important period, the 2025 Magnesium Industry Chain and Magnesium Market Forum will continue to be held. We will fully leverage the platform's advantages, summarize the experiences of previous events, enhance the promotion of this event, increase the participation of related industry chain enterprises, and strive to achieve greater results. SMM and Shang Magnesium Network cordially invite you to participate in the 2025 Magnesium Industry Chain and Magnesium Market Forum , which will be held from March 31 to April 2, 2025. Anhui Shunfu Precision Technology Co., Ltd. will attend this grand event in full force. We will keep pace with the times, aim for our goals, work diligently, and move forward with courage! Click Registration Form to register for the conference immediately. We look forward to meeting you at the conference. Anhui Shunfu Precision Technology Co., Ltd. Customer-centric, Striver-oriented, Honest and Pragmatic, Professional and Innovative Anhui Shunfu Precision Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as the company) was established in 2009, located in Nanling County, Wuhu City, Anhui Province, with a registered capital of 93.99 million yuan. It is a large-scale state-controlled die-casting enterprise integrating R&D, manufacturing, and sales of molds and aluminum alloy die-casting parts. In 2024, the company completed a strategic restructuring with Wuchan Zhongda Group, a super-large state-controlled publicly listed firm in Zhejiang Province (which has been ranked in the Fortune Global 500 for 14 consecutive years, ranking 150th in 2024). The company has won numerous honors, including National-level Specialized and Sophisticated "Little Giant" Enterprise, High-tech Enterprise, National-level Green Factory, Top 50 Chinese Die-casting Enterprises, Anhui Provincial Enterprise Technology Center, Anhui Provincial Smart Factory, and Anhui Provincial Industrial Design Center. The company has obtained more than 30 patents, including nearly 20 invention patents. The company has participated in the formulation of national standards such as "Die-cast Copper Alloys and Copper Alloy Die-cast Parts" and "Aluminum Alloy Die-cast Parts." The company possesses integrated full-process production capabilities, including mold R&D and manufacturing, aluminum alloy melting, die-casting forming, precision machining, surface treatment, and quality detection. It has more than 30 cold chamber die-casting machines and nearly 500 various machine tools such as CNC machining centers, CNC milling machines, and shot blasting machines. The company has accumulated multiple core technologies in semi-solid die-casting, vacuum die-casting technology, and low-pressure casting technology. The company mainly produces aluminum alloy precision structural parts such as NEV electric drive and control system enclosures, PV ESS integrated enclosures, and 5G communication base station enclosures. Its major customers include Inovance, ZTE, Sigen New Energy, Chery, Sungrow, Philips, and other leading enterprises. The company is also a core strategic supplier of Inovance and ZTE, the largest supplier of Sigen New Energy, and provides supporting products for XPeng, Li Auto, GAC Aion, Great Wall, SAIC, and other vehicle manufacturers. Magnesium Industry Company Business Connection Registration for the 2025 Magnesium Industry Chain and Magnesium Market Forum is now open Please contact: 13162929454 (Lu Jiaxin)

According to the official WeChat account of Wuchan Zhongda Group: On March 4, Chen Xin, Chairman and Party Secretary of Wuchan Zhongda Group, and his delegation headed to Nanling County, Wuhu City, Anhui province, to inspect and guide Shunfu Precision Company, a subsidiary of Wuchan Zhongda Industrial Investment. They conducted an in-depth understanding of the company's production and operation. After listening to the relevant work reports, Chen Xin stated that since Shunfu Precision joined Wuchan Zhongda, its business volume has steadily increased, achieving a strong and stable start. The company has a solid industrial foundation and rich experience in operation and management. He expressed hope that while continuously consolidating existing businesses, the company would strive to lead the trend, strengthen, optimize, and expand its operations, and deliver "practical actions, practical results, and practical achievements" to shareholders. Regarding the next steps, he emphasized the need for innovative development, advancing to a new level based on the existing digital factory, using digital management to control the entire production process, improving production efficiency, extending the industry chain layout, accelerating the R&D of magnesium alloy products, creating new growth points, and enhancing market competitiveness.