China and ASEAN have agreed to upgrade their free trade agreement to version 3 .0.
A major trade expo connecting China with Central and Eastern Europe gets underway, billions in deals expected, and top diplomats from China, Pakistan and Afghanistan meet in Beijing to boost trilateral cooperation.
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I'm Ge An in Beijing.
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Our top story, Economic and trade ministers from China and ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian nations have announced the completion of negotiations for an upgraded free trade deal.
The 3 .0 version of the agreement includes nine new chapters on areas such as the digital economy, connectivity in the supply chain and facilitating customer procedures.
A statement says China and ASEAN aim to send a strong message on protecting free trade and opening up.
The two sides are each other's largest trading partner.
China and the 10 ASEAN countries will ratify and sign the deal before the end of the year.
To delve into the details of the upgraded 3 .0 version of the Free Trade Agreement, we are joined on the line by Dr. Joe Mi, senior research fellow with the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation.
The negotiation for the free trade agreement 3 .0 version began in November 2022 and were fully completed this year after nine rounds of talks.
So compared to the first version back in 2010, and the 2 .0 upgrade, what are some of the biggest changes this time around and where do you see the main breakthroughs?
Well, we know that China and other countries where really important trading partners.
But both of us, the bilateral free trade agreements are our first free trade agreements with other trading partners.
So we have trying to propose that this kind of idea of using different phases to trying to promote the bilateral cooperation between us.
For the first, for the comprehensive version 1, as you mentioned in the year of 2010 and the second is 2019.
So there are nine years between these two versions.
But from the version 2 to the version 3, there are only five years.
So I would say that we have sped up the improvement and involvement of this free trade agreements.
If you are looking at, you know, the version 3, I think there are maybe three can offer very important characteristics.
The first one is that both sides are trying to expand the cooperation in the new areas, some of the emerging areas like the digital economy, the green economies, and a lot of things to do with qualification recognition.
But both sides that we are trying to encourage the development of this new forces of development, and that is what we are trying to say about the new productivities.
But for other sides, They also want to benefit from that.
And second, I would say that we have improved the connections and the cooperation in the standards and the roles.
These are very important for guidance about how can enterprises do business.
And the third one is about the facilitation on the trade and also the inclusive development.
So we are trying to encourage more entities to take part into the trade bilateral cooperation between us and trying to improve their abilities in the global trade regime.
The expansion into emerging sectors is a major highlight.
As shown in the material, the 3 .0 version has nine new chapters including the digital economy and the green economy, which are being included in the FTA framework for the first time.
What specific impacts might this have on industrial cooperation between China and ASEAN?
And what new models of industrial Qian collaboration could emerge?
Well, as you mentioned, there are new areas.
For the new areas, there may be not existing rules.
So for both sides, we are trying to do something in the field where there is no ways.
I think that for both sides we have designed the very important principles to try and give more confidence in the enterprises.
While for many of the enterprises, they are they are going to do that, but they are afraid that what they are doing will benefit themselves or be recognized by the government.
I think that this agreement is trying to give them more courage, that they can do more.
They can try to do what they have to do to explore the boundaries and trying to have better integrations and all the better efficiency.
I think that is very important because for the new industries, they really are facing many challenges including the efficiency, the technology, and also the role -based system.
So if they have more confidence, there will be more companies who will enjoy this kind of benefit and join the collaboration in these areas, and it will have a better performance to benefit the people and the users.
So these are very important, especially in the international cooperation between these two major trading partners.
The upgrades to chapters on customs procedures, for example, are considered crucial reforms. With all the recent disruptions in global supply chains, how do you think these changes will make trade between China and ASEAN easier, and what kind of benefits could smaller businesses see from this?
Well, if you are looking back to the WTO after the Doha negotiation starting in the year of 2002, there are so many runs of different areas of exploration but the only achievement is on the trade facilitation.
It means that all the members of WTO really taking it very serious about the trade facilitation because it will reduce the cost of doing businesses.
Well for the version 3 I think that they are really trying to make a better use of the trader facilitation collaborations between our, you know, the customers.
The customers E -commerce are really important for the companies to have better facilitation, like they are using the e -commerce and also the some of the E -voices, invoices, and also trying to reduce the time of recognizing products from other countries and trying to have a better collaboration on the role of origin.
So with all this technological cooperation, I think that enterprises, especially small and media size enterprises, they will have better abilities to do the trade with others because they are really small.
So they do not have too many profits and the margins to trying to use a very complicated system of supporting for the customer clearance.
So they can depend on the collaboration between our two parts to have a better performance and the reduced cost of doing businesses.
Dr. Zhou, it's one thing to have agreements on paper but making sure they really work on the ground is another.
So since ASEAN countries have pretty different levels of economic development, especially when it comes to digital tech and green energy, how does this New Deal balance being inclusive with keeping high standards?
What part could China play in helping with this?
Well, if you're looking at last year's negotiation.
So we have held three rounds of negotiations last year, in the year of 2024.
And in this negotiation, different rounds that we invited more than 400 people from different other countries and then many of them are coming from the least developed economies in ASEAN.
So we are going to help them to have a better compatibility building and that is really important for them to understand what are the usage of this e -commerce and also the green economies and they have a better understanding about the importance of doing that.
So for the inclusive development it is one of the main characteristics of these versions agreement, I believe that we can also continue to work with those partners and not only for the least developed countries but also for some of the small and medial size enterprises.
They can use this mechanism to benefit from this very good products and the solutions also being involved if they want to join this collaboration in the value chain between you know different partners with the Chinese counter -partners.
Dr. Zhou, the RCEP, Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement has been in factor for three years now.
How does this new China as young FTA 3 .0 version fit in with RCEP and how does it help push it toward the bigger goal of building an East Asia Economic Community?
Well, the main part of RCEP and they are also the proposal of these agreements.
So I would say that will benefit by supporting the upgrades of the RCEP in the future.
We can try to know each other better, and the collaboration between our two parts can form a majority of the economic cooperation in RCEP region.
So, I think that, no matter the trade investment and also the practices and the roles, we can both support the development and the upgrade of the RCEP and it will definitely benefit the rest of the RCEP members, like Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.
Beyond just economies, do you think this upgraded trade deal will help build political trust and improve regional security between China and ASEAN?
For example, could stronger supply chain ties help them work better together when facing outside geopolitical challenges?
Definitely in my understanding, when people are having better interest with other partners, they will try to align even in the political side.
But I don't think that we are trying to build up some kind of, you know, the units to fight against others.
We are trying to do that in the open ways.
We are trying to benefit the rest of the world by supplying them with better goods and services.
I think this kind of experience especially in the economic areas can give the people of China and other regions better benefits and we will also support the development of the global supply chains to strengthen the resilience of that.
One last question, in recent years, the U .S. has been promoting the Indo -Pacific Economic Framework aiming to establish non -tariff trade rules in the Asia Pacific region.
How do you compare this?
Would you see this as a response to the growing fragmentation of the current international economic order?
Well, it is true that we are under so many certain uncertainty.
I think this uncertainty is a very important protagonism, and the protagonism is giving many of the costs for the international trade.
So for most of these countries we have our own benefits and targets.
I believe that we should respect all of them, but if you are going to use your own targets to destroy others, I don't think that is a good choice.
For the rest of the world who are not going to support the pro -technism, they will do better collaboration by better connections in the trade and investment areas.
And that is definitely what they want to do because it's not only providing more products, but also giving them better abilities for sustainable development.
Thank you, Dr. Zhou, for those valuable insights.
That was Dr. Zhou Mi, Senior Research Fellow with the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation.
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The fourth China, Central and Eastern European countries' expo list entered way in the eastern city of Ningbo.
More than 430 companies from 14 European countries along with participants from nine other countries are taking part in the exhibition.
As one of this year's guests of honor, Slovakia is highlighting its strengths in aviation, electric vehicles and agriculture.
In an interview with our reporter Sornrei Shing, Lucja Skawa -Leninova, economic counselor at the Slovak Embassy in China caught the expo an important platform to expand trade and showcase her country as a stable long -term partner.
Let's take a listen.
Lucia, it is your first time participating in the China and CEEC Expo and what opportunities or outcomes are you expecting to see from this year's event?
For me it's the first time to personally participate at China CEEC Expo in Ningbo.
However, in the past, I already attended several events that were dedicated to promote the talents from the CEC countries.
So I already experience a lot of forums where people and representatives from the CEC countries attended forums together with the Chinese counterparts.
And also, when it comes to my expectations and outcomes, we are all expecting, because Because I'm the representative of the Slavic republic, the main aim is to basically describe what Slovakia is, and we would like to show our friends and all the people in China and also participants who will be attending the expo what can we offer.
because Slovakia is located in the heart of Europe it might be that not many people have been to Slovakia or even have heard of Slovakia so our aim is to actually let the Chinese public to know more about ourselves.
And through this we are bringing the high -quality products to our national pavilion and because we are really honored to be the guest of honor this year.
We really chose like a very specific sectors that Slovakia is good at.
Besides the products from the agriculture and wines and luxurious goods, we would like to mainly present aviation industry.
And you might not know, but Slovakia is really important country when it comes to producing small aircrafts.
And it's not about the quantity that we produce, but we have really like high quality of small air aircrafts, its advanced manufacturing.
and also because China has recently introduced the low altitude economy so specifically in this field Slovakia is really suitable and would like to share not only our high quality products as the small aircrafts are but it's also the knowledge that goes beyond it.
In November 2024 which is last year a China and Slovakia elevated their bilateral relationship to a strategic partnership.
So how significant did this upgrade?
And from your observation, what does it mean for the future of China and Slovakia relations?
Well, thank you very much for bringing this information that Slovakia and China at the occasion of the 75th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations between People's Republic of China and the Slovak Republic.
Our Prime Minister, Fitso, have visited China last year in November and together with President Xi Jinping they signed the strategic partnership.
So, as the outcome, we can see more and more intensive exchanges not only at the political level because recently working as a diplomat in Beijing, we are receiving a lot of official delegations coming from Slovakia to China.
And at the same time, they are also accompanied by businessmen from Slovakia.
So this is very good exchange of views not only on the political level, but also we are improving the bilateral ties in the trade.
As a councillor, Lucia, what specific developments or trends have you observed in the economic and trade relationship between China and Slovakia since this upgrade?
It's just the period of a half year, let's say, something more than six months.
But so far, we can see fruitful results because it's not only that individual companies are coming to China very often because before they used to have a visa policy and since we are granted the 30 days of visa -free policy, we receive a lot of questions, a lot of requests, how to travel here, some advices, so people not only from the business sphere are really interested to come in person and to find their the appropriate partner for the trade but it's also in the sector of the tourism and I appreciate it by myself because my family members can visit me at any time very convenient the one thing
that is really missing I have to admit is we don't have any direct flight from Slovakia to China so far you know like our neighboring countries for example Czech Republic Austria or Hungary they have direct flights.
However, let me just tell you a secret.
We are trying to really push forward and to establish a direct flight between our countries.
So let's see and hopefully there will be a flight to Slovakia so I really wish one day you can fly to our country.
Right, Slovakia is one of the world's leading car producers per capita.
Like you've mentioned, the country has a strength of manufacturing and is rapidly embracing the shift or the change toward electric mobility.
So following the memorandum of understanding signed with China on cooperation in the new energy vehicle industry, I mean including plans for a joint R &D center in Bratislava, how do you think this collaboration will position Slovakia within the global green mobility landscape?
It's a very good question.
we can look from different perspectives and try to find the best and most suitable answers.
However, as you mentioned, Slovakia is really the automobile country as we have one million cars per five million of population of inhabitants.
So it's like one car per five people.
based on such an economy, which is really an automotive industry and it's oriented in automotive, it's just very near to switch to NEVs, because we can see the major trend of NEVs. It's definitely China number one at this moment.
I've been to so many countries and lived in many countries in the world.
However, I see China to be the leader of the EV segment, and for this reason, it's the best partner that we can cooperate with.
Looking ahead and beyond the NEV sector, Lucia, from your observation of which areas have the greatest potential for future China and Slovakia cooperation?
beyond the car industry which we already mentioned, I believe it's in education cooperation.
Slovakia wouldn't like to be just the producer of goods.
We are looking ahead but we need to say we have to work hard to become the leader even though we have the potential and many talents we have to take these talents and work with them.
If we can have the cooperation with China, I think it's really, I see the potential over here because it's important to take our students and to bring them to the local universities, to local labs, to develop in terms of innovation in R &D centers, as we mentioned before.
On On the other hand, the Chinese people can also experience the culture and the student life and expertise in Slovakia cultivation of talents and experts.
So how does Slovakia view its role in advancing broader regional cooperation with China?
And in what ways can Slovakia's experience help to shape the future of China and the CEEC engagement?
Okay. This is an interesting question, maybe I'll answer in a different way.
But Slovakia being located in the center of Europe with a population of 5 million people, we possess a lot of natural resources, mineral waters, we have a lot of spas, forests and we are really a natural country.
On the other hand, as I already mentioned, we are a knowledge -based society.
And we would like to combine these two together.
So on one hand, we are the touristic destination.
On the other hand, we are the incubator of talents.
So what example do we want to actually give to our neighbors?
This is the main point I see in the way that if Slovakia takes a lead, especially after the strategic partnership that we established last year, we can become example for our neighbors in terms of showcasing the best results and outcomes and what comes from our bilateral relations.
So let's say whether it's going to be in the NEV sector or it's going to be the tourism, we can always become a good example for our neighbors from the Central and Eastern European countries.
Definitely if we have a very positive experience in different fields, so we can share our knowledge our ideas with the colleagues from different countries.
That was Lucia Skvadlininova, Economic Counselor at the Slovak Embassy in China speaking with my colleague Seon Rei Shin.
Coming up, top diplomats from China, Pakistan and Afghanistan meeting Beijing to boost trilateral cooperation.
You are listening to Roll today, stay with us for more in -depth analysis after the break.
Welcome back to World Today with Miike Anna in Beijing.
We now turn to a significant diplomatic development in Beijing, where Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi hosted the China -Afghanistan -Pakistan Trilateral Foreign Ministers meeting.
This informal dialogue brought together Pakistan's deputy prime minister and foreign minister and Afghanistan's acting foreign minister, Amyr Khan Mutahchi.
Held for the fifth time, the trilateral talks focused on strengthening regional cooperation, promoting connectivity through the Belt and Road initiative, and deepening counterterrorism and development partnerships.
So to unpack the outcomes and regional implications, I'm joined now by Sultan Hali, a retired Air Force officer and author in Pakistan.
Welcome, Mr. Hali. Thank you so much. It's my pleasure to be with you.
This trilateral dialogue comes at a time of continued regional uncertainty, especially with the shifting dynamics in Afghanistan and strained Pakistan and India ties.
So how do you rate the significance of this China -Afghanistan -Pakistan trilateral meeting?
at this moment. The China Afghanistan Pakistan trilateral meeting it holds as you mentioned significant strategic importance especially given the regional uncertainties surrounding Afghanistan's evolving political landscape and the recent Pakistan India tensions which I'm sorry to say still persist. Therefore in this backdrop this particular meeting is crucial because the extension of the Pakistan China Pakistan Economic Corridor into Afghanistan was a major outcome of the meeting.
This move aims to boost trade, infrastructure, economic integration, providing Afghanistan with much needed development opportunities.
Therefore, not only that, but diplomatic normalization, counter -terrorism and security cooperation, and all these aspects were made sure to be discussed and the three nations reaffirmed their commitment to countering terrorism, particularly addressing concerns over militant groups operating from Afghan territory.
The trilateral dialogue has now been held five times with plans to convene the sixth round in Kabul.
How do you assess this mechanism so far and what tangible outcomes have been achieved under this framework?
This particular trilateral dialogue has evolved into a strategic mechanism for fostering regional stability, economic cooperation and diplomatic engagement.
Therefore, I am pleased to note that with five rounds completed and the sixth round coming up in Kabul, the framework has yielded several tangible outcomes.
Just to enumerate them, they are strengthening the political and diplomatic ties, the extension of the economic cooperation and the China -Pakistan economic corridor expansion, the counterterrorism and security collaboration as well as China playing a key role in facilitating security discussions ensuring regional stability and strategic coordination.
Therefore, I can conclude in this aspect that China's diplomatic mediation has strengthened trust building efforts reinforcing long -term cooperation.
One outcome of this meeting is that Afghanistan and Pakistan have agreed to exchange ambassadors as soon as possible.
How do you view this announcement and how do you think are the key drivers behind both side's current willingness to improve relations?
Oh, you see, I welcome it because this agreement between Afghanistan and Pakistan to exchange an ambassador, it marks a significant diplomatic breakthrough.
It is signalling a shift towards normalization of relations after years of strained ties.
This development announced reflects the growing regional cooperation reindorses China's role as a mediator.
Now, as to your question about what are the key drivers behind the decision, first of all obviously China's diplomatic mediation.
China has been actively facilitating dialogue between Pakistan and Afghanistan and China has been encouraging both sides to resolve tensions through diplomacy.
China views both Afghanistan and Pakistan as its neighbours and it does not like to see any attention in its own neighbourhood.
Now, Beijing's push for regional stability.
it aligns with its own belt -and -road initiative and particularly the extension of the China -Pakistan Economic Corridor into Afghanistan.
More so the security and counterterrorism cooperation has been a key driver.
Now Pakistan has long expressed concerns over the Tarika Taliban Pakistan group which operates from Afghanistan territory and recently Afghan commitment to re -in the Now, this has helped ease tensions, paving the way for diplomatic normalization.
Then, economic and trade interests.
Both countries recognize the economic benefits of enhanced trade and connectivity, particularly through CPEC expansion.
Then, strengthening diplomatic ties will facilitate cross border trade, benefiting both economies and the people of both countries.
Then, regional stability and external pressures.
The geopolitical landscape has pushed Afghanistan and Pakistan towards greater cooperation, especially amid India's outrage to the Taliban government.
And China has been warning against external interference, suggesting a desire to consolidate the regional alliances.
Mr. Haalai, let's dive into economic collaborations.
During this meeting, Wang Yi emphasized upgrading the China -Pakistan Economic Corridor and expanding cooperation also called for extending the corridor into Afghanistan.
So how do you interpret the deepening of this cooperation and what might CPAC plus Afghanistan model look like?
Now you see your question is extremely important because I see it in the backdrop of China's success in its own backyard, how it dealt with the separatists and the terrorists and the people were trying to informant trouble in Xinjiang province.
China managed to overcome it through development.
And the same rule applies here.
The deepening of China, Pakistan economic cooperation and its expansion into Afghanistan actually marks a strategic shift in regional connectivity, economic integration and geopolitical element.
Now let me tell you very briefly how this development can be interpreted.
First of all, strengthening regional connectivity and then the extension of CPEC into Afghanistan, it aligns with China's broader Belt and Road Initiative.
Therefore aiming to connect South and Central Asia, Afghanistan's geographical position makes it a critical transit hub, facilitating trade between China, Pakistan and Central Asia.
Then of course, we must talk about the economic growth and infrastructure development.
The CPEC Plus Afghanistan model would likely focus on transport infrastructure, energy projects and industrial zones to boost Afghanistan's economy.
Then, of course, the investment in roads, railways and energy grids.
This will help Afghanistan modernize its economy and reduce dependence on foreign aid.
Of course security and stability considerations are paramount because none of these will progress or sea fruition unless we tackle the issues of security and stability.
China Pakistan and Afghanistan have reaffirmed the commitment to counterterrorism ensuring that CPEC projects remain secure and of course this can happen and not without improved security cooperation because this will help stabilize Afghanistan making it more attractive for foreign investment from the enhanced trade routes while Afghanistan gains economic opportunities that could reduce internal instability.
You asked me what might a CPEC plus Afghanistan model look like.
Therefore very briefly I see infrastructure development, roads, railways, and border crossings to facilitate trade, energy cooperation, hydropower projects, solar energy farms and electricity grids.
Of course industrial zones and the special economic zones which we have seen you know prospering tremendously in China, some in Pakistan, but these attract investment and security framework, joint counterterrorism efforts to protect trade routes.
And this expansion could reshape regional trade dynamics, making Afghanistan a key player in South Asian economic integration.
Mr. Hawley, one last question.
Could you please elaborate more on the security cooperation?
Because security concerns were high on the agenda.
So, how should these three nations cooperate to fight terrorism and prevent external interference given the complex security dynamics, especially along the Afghan and Pakistan borders?
This is very important.
The China -Afghan -Pakistan trilateral cooperation is a crucial mechanism for addressing terrorism and ensuring regional stability because along the Pakistan -Afghanistan border, the security challenges still persist. We were talking about many other things but I must mention, non -kinetic warfare through proxies still persists.
And how this collaboration can be effective is by intelligence sharing and counter -terrorism coordination.
The three nations I am pleased to see have agreed to enhance intelligence sharing mechanisms, allow real -time tracking of terrorist movements, joined counter -terrorism operations which could be conducted to neutralize cross -border militant threats, particularly targeting groups like the Tahrir -e -Kataliban Pakistan.
Also, strengthening border security.
Pakistan and Afghanistan are working on border management strategies, including enhanced surveillance and military coordination.
China's involvement ensures that the technical and logistical support is there, which will be helping both nations secure key transit routes.
Then, of course, this economic development to reduce extremism.
The extension of China -Pakistan Economic Corridor into Afghanistan aims to boost economic opportunities.
Reducing the appeal of the extremist groups in infrastructure projects will create jobs and stability, discouraging recruitment into militant organizations.
Thanks Mr. Hawley. Appreciate your thoughtful analysis.
That was Sultan Holi, a retired air force officer and author in Pakistan.
12 U .S. states have asked the federal court to halt President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs on imports, saying he has exceeded his authority.
The states said Trump has badly misinterpreted the International Emergency Economic Power act to justify the tariffs, treating it as a blank check to regulate trade.
The three -judge panel of the U .S. court of international trade heard arguments in New York.
A decision is expected in the coming weeks.
For more on this, my colleague Zhao Ying, joining us in the studio.
Thanks for joining us, Zhao.
Thanks for having me.
What exactly are the twelve states arguing in this lawsuit?
Well, the 12 states, led by Democratic Attorneys General from places like New York, Illinois, and Oregon are arguing that Trump's so -called Liberation Day tariffs are illegal because he's misusing his authority.
They say he is wrong evoking the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or the IEEPA, to impose these broad sweeping tariffs.
and their main point is that Aieva is for addressing some serious, unusual threats to the US not for routine trade deficits or as a tool for leverage in trade talks.
They are also arguing that these tariffs, which Trump claims no court can review, are a power grab that bypasses Congress, which should have the authority to approve such sweeping trade policies.
So essentially they see this as economic chaos driven by a presidential overreach, and they want a court to just stop it.
At the heart of this legal fight is the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
Can you tell us more about this law and why do the states argue it doesn't justify Trump's tariffs?
Yeah, IEEPA was passed in 1997 and is meant to give the president authority to deal with genuine national emergencies that originate outside the US, like terrorism, hostile foreign actions, or cyber attacks.
It is primarily used to freeze assets, block financial transactions, or restrict exports and imports in specific, targeted ways.
What the states are saying is that Trump has stretched IEEPA far beyond its intended scope.
They argue that the U .S. trade deficit or even problems like fentanyl trafficking don't meet the legal standards of an unusual and extraordinary threat.
And more importantly, they say AIPA has never been used to impose broad tariffs like these.
And the states believe Trump is misusing the law to gain leverage in trade talks, which they argue is not what emergency powers were designed for.
So in their view, this sets a very dangerous precedent where any president could declare an emergency and unilaterally rewrite trade policy and bypass the Congress entirely.
A three -judge panel has heard arguments in this case.
What kinds of questions did the judges ask and how did both sides respond?
Well, they asked both sides some very sharp questions, and the focus is on how far presidential emergency powers can really go under the AIPA.
For instance, one of the judges, Jane Ristany, appointed by a Republican President Ronald Reagan, challenged the Justice Department lawyer on whether there was any limit to what a president can really do once they invoke emergency powers under the AIPA, and whether the courts could stop that.
And the administration's lawyer Brett Schumate argued that once an emergency is declared, the courts really cannot second -guess the president's decisions.
And he argued that the law gives the president sweeping authority to investigate, regulate or prohibit transactions, which in his view includes tariffs, even if the word tariff isn't explicitly mentioned in the law.
But on the other side, Judge Gary Kasman, appointed by President Obama, challenged the state's lawyer by asking if courts should really be in the position of second -guessing the president's foreign policy decisions.
And in response, Oregon lawyer Brian Marshall said the president's actions have to be reasonable and should be tied to a real emergency, otherwise, he warned that the law becomes a blank check for any kind of trade action a president wants to take.
So in essence the judges were wrestling with a sensual constitutional question, and that is how much difference should courts give the president when national emergencies are declared for economic reasons and what constitutes an emergency in the first place?
They haven't issued a ruling yet, but their questioning suggests that they're fully aware of the President that this case is going to set.
This isn't the only lawsuit challenging Trump's tariffs, right?
Can you give us the bigger picture?
How many lawsuits are we talking about and who else is suing?
Yes, this lawsuit by the 12 states is just one part of a larger legal fight against Trump's tariffs and there are at least seven lawsuits challenging these policies and they are coming from a wide range of plaintiffs, including other states, some small businesses and legal advocacy groups.
For instance, California has filed a separate challenge in federal court arguing that the President's use of emergency powers is unconstitutional and economically harmful, especially to the import -heavy states like California.
several small businesses have also gone to the court.
For example, a Florida stationery company called Simplified has filed a lawsuit challenging the tariffs.
The company relies on Chinese manufacturing and the increased tariffs have substantially raised its production costs.
And also, an educational toy company called Learning Resources has also sued the Trump administration as as the tariffs have caused a dramatic increase in import costs and a significant drop in its sales.
And there's also a lawsuit from the Liberty Justice Center representing the small business owners and importers, and even tribal groups are getting involved.
Members of the Blackfeet Nation in Montana are challenging tariffs on Canada, setting tribal treaty violations.
So together, this represents a coordinated legal effort to push back against what critics are calling for, an unconstitutional power grab, where the president is using a law that's meant for emergencies to impose a trade agenda that bypasses Congress and destabilizes the economy.
Well, that's indeed a lot.
Looking ahead at what the next step for this case, and what outcomes might we expect?
The next step is for the three -judge panel to issue a ruling.
There's no exact timeline, but the decision could come within weeks or months.
If the court chooses to side with the 12 states, that would certainly be a major blow to the Trump Administration's trade strategy.
But if they side with the federal government, effectively upholding the tariffs, that would give Trump more legal ground to continue his aggressive trade agenda.
But there's also a chance the court could issue a narrower ruling, perhaps allowing some tariffs to remain in place while requiring more justification for others.
And that kind of middle -ground decision could still leave a lot of uncertainty in the market.
But no matter how the panel rules, an appeal is almost guaranteed.
Like whichever side loses is better to take the case to the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and potentially all the way to the Supreme Court.
So this legal fight could stretch well into 2026 or beyond.
So the legal battle is just beginning and the outcome could potentially reshape how much power a President really has to unilaterally remake U .S. trade policy.
Thanks, Zhao. Appreciate your take on this.
That was my colleague Zhao Ying.
This is the Real Today.
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Now we turn to a rather tense exchange at the White House.
During a high -stakes Oval Office meeting meant to ease trade tensions and strengthen diplomatic ties, U .S. President Donald Trump has confronted South African President Cyril Ramaphosa with conspiracy theories about so -called white genocide in South Africa.
According to multiple media reports, Trump presented a video and stacks of articles alleging unfair land seizures and attacks on white farmers.
President Ramaphosa has denied the claims, pointing out that the views expressed in the video are not government policy, and hoping Trump will listen to the voices of South Africans on this issue.
This clash came at a time of strained relations between the two countries.
Since Ramaphosa signed the Ex -Proliferation Act into law in January, Trump has criticized the land reform law for discriminating against the To help us unpack what this clash reveals about U .S.-Africa relations I'm joined by Dr. Hui -Wenping, Africa expert and the senior research fellow at Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
Thank you for joining us, Dr. Hui.
Thank you, thank you for having me.
Dr. Ho, let's start with the Oval Office encounter itself, because many analysts are calling this another ambush, similar to the episode with the Ukrainian president Vladimir Zelensky, a highly and anyway moving formal diplomatic settings.
So how do you view this emerging pattern from the current US administration using this moment to confront our foreign leaders in such an abrupt manner?
And what does this moment say in about current state of U .S. diplomacy?
Well, this is not the first time, as you just rightly put forward. Now, this is second time, first to the Ukraine President Zelensky.
Now, this time is targeting to South African President Ramaphosa.
I think that Donald Trump now is really fond of this kind of way.
Normally when the country, he now wants to give, you know, the pressure.
So he will choose this kind of way, apart from so -called the closed meeting.
That closed meeting will focus on something, you know, bilateral relationship in those real sense.
And then he will invite this president, the visiting president, and then moving to this all over offers and open this media and then even come up with a surprise this time compared with Ukraine President Zelensky, I think at this time even Donald Trump upgraded his, you know, this so -called like show, like acting show because he suddenly put forward this a video even saying all lower down, you know, close this, this a night and then put on the video on and then those clips of a newspaper, those coverage, one by one and then open to the South African President Amah Fosa.
So this is come as a surprise even for South African President.
I can see it because I watched that video also several times to see the detail.
I can see South African President Amah Fosa even feel very surprised to have this kind of episode of video and then the newspaper coverage.
So this is Donald Trump, now he is very favor and also, like even like this kind of a performance to show now he is the, even this actor, director, the actor and the director of all this episode, he likes this way, give him pressure to the president.
Now he wants to focus on and targeting on and then show all this to the world, especially to his supporter at home, in the United States.
He wants to tell the message, you see, I give the pressure to the president directly, even in the open way.
And then, you see, I care so much about those wise people, their life, even they're all some flea away to the United States.
He wants to send this message to the supporters at home.
Of course, he also wants to send the message to some other countries.
For example, in Africa, the continent.
The message is if you follow me, ok, you got benefit.
If you want against me, alright, you should see the consequences.
Now turning to the meeting itself from your expertise on South Africa, how credible are the videos and articles that Trump relied on to support his claims?
And why has South Africa's land reform policy become such a point of controversy, especially in the West?
you know, their point.
So the video Donald Trump put on actually is a South African one of the parties called, you know, economic power, the fighter for economic power.
That's a guy speaking, saying occupy the land, the white people's land.
That guy is called the Llamala.
So that's a very radical, radical black—this economic right fighter for blacks.
So it's not a ruling party, majority seat holding party in the parliament.
So of course it's not the policy of the South African government.
So this point President Ramaphosa already pointed out in a very clear way.
So actually this is a very wrong doing by Donald Trump.
He has no knowledge about South Africans' political issue.
Second, the land reform law, also you know the South African government passed this law already come up with a lot of those item clauses saying we are followed by like a compensation way and then all kinds of way.
It's not saying taking away those lands by force and even saying, kill the white farmers.
So it also goes totally extremely same by Donald Trump's own explanation.
In your opinion, what kind of long -term damage might this meeting cause in not just the U .S.-South Africa relations, but the U .S. and Africa relations?
Yes. This time we see, as Donald Trump getting the White House, Now, he has put in all the pressure, now seems focused on South Africa in the African continent.
Why? Because obviously the White House and also Israel, they are a team together, they don't like South Africans' foreign policy.
Especially, South Africa stands out to lead the way to law showed Israel in the international justice court.
And then success successfully and then put to Israel as saying doing genocide in the Gaza.
And also even Netanyahu has been wanted now by the International Justice Court.
So this makes them very angry, both Israel and the supporter United States behind Israel.
So this has been spoken out in a clear language by state secretary of the US that the Rubio.
Rubio just in the day, two days ago when he did join this, you know, hearing in the Congress, in the Senator.
And he said because South Africa not always support, not support the U .S. stance in the international arena, always against our policy, voting against us.
That's why we will boycott this G20 hosted by South Africa in this year, 2025, even saying we are not going to join G20 summit.
So they won't give a pressure to the country if your stance against us.
Using this way to show to other, those medium size or even smaller, those African countries to tell them, now you have to think twice how to make your stance.
Is with us or against the US.
Thanks Dr. Hu. We're being very insightful analysis.
That's all the time for this edition of Wcode Today with Mika and Anna.
Thank you so much for listening.
Until next time.
