British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said sanctions and other measures will be ready in the event of a Russian attack on Ukraine, and his government will ask parliament for sanctions on Russian individuals and companies.

Writing in The Times on Tuesday, Johnson said Britain is considering deploying Royal Air Force Typhoon fighters and Royal Navy warships to protect southeastern Europe.

Johnson also said Defense Secretary Ben Wallace and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss will both travel to Moscow soon.

His comments come as officials in the United States say an attack by Russia on Ukraine could occur within days or weeks. Russia has amassed some 100,000 troops near the Ukraine border. It denies it is planning an invasion.

“British sanctions and other measures will be ready for any renewed Russian attack,” Johnson wrote.

“The government will ask parliament for new powers to sanction a wider range of Russian individuals and entities, including any company linked to the Russian state or operating in a sector of strategic importance to the Kremlin.”

The UK is also preparing to reinforce the British-led Nato battlegroup in Estonia, Johnson said.

“I welcome Germany’s statement that Nord Stream 2 would be reconsidered in the event of an incursion,” he added.

On Monday, U.S. President Joe Biden said after meeting German Chancellor Olaf Scholz that the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline would be halted if Russia invades Ukraine. Scholz said the pair had the same approach to Ukraine, to Russia and to sanctions, but did not directly confirm the Nord Stream 2 plans.

Europe’s most divisive energy project, Nord Stream 2 is designed to double the amount of gas flowing from Russia straight to Germany, bypassing Ukraine. – Reuters

The United States and Japan on Monday announced a deal to remove Trump-era tariffs from about 1.25 million metric tons of Japanese steel imports annually after Washington granted similar access for European Union steelmakers last year.

The new deal, which excludes aluminum, will take effect on April 1 and requires Japan to take “concrete steps” to fight global excess steel manufacturing capacity, largely centered in China, U.S. officials said.

A joint U.S.–Japan statement said Japan would start to implement within six months “appropriate domestic measures, such as antidumping, countervailing duty, and safeguard measures or other measures of at least equivalent effect,” to establish more market-oriented conditions for steel.

The agreement, like the EU steel and aluminum deal reached in October, calls for steel imported from Japan to be completely produced in the country for duty-free access, a standard known as “melted and poured,” to reduce the risk of Chinese steel skirting U.S. tariffs.

“This is a step towards a solution… but we will continue to strongly urge the United States to fully eliminate the tariff in a manner consistent with WTO rules,” Japanese industry minister, Koichi Hagiuda, said on Tuesday.

An official at the ministry said the exclusion of aluminum reflected the U.S. position and was not a request by Japan.

STRAINS WITH ALLIES

Much of the Biden administration’s trade efforts have centered around patching up strained relations with U.S. allies that are market-driven democracies.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said the deal “will strengthen America’s steel industry and ensure its workforce stays competitive, while also providing more access to cheaper steel and addressing a major irritant between the United States and Japan, one of our most important allies.”

Unlike the EU and Britain, which is seeking a similar deal, Japan did not impose retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods such as whiskey, motorcycles and denim.

The deal comes as U.S. steel prices are starting to recede from record highs spiked by strong demand and pandemic-driven supply constraints, which contributed to high inflation throughout the economy.

Midwest hot-rolled steel futures, which peaked at $1,945 a ton last September, closed at $1,180 on Tuesday, still nearly double their $578 price on Feb. 7, 2020, before the pandemic hit.

INDUSTRY RELIEF

U.S. steel industry executives had voiced concern that the Biden administration would negotiate too much access for foreign steel makers and unleash a flood of imports as they invest billions of dollars in new capacity.

But industry executives voiced relief that the deal announced on Monday limits Japanese imports to about their two-year average from 2018 and 2019, a level that reflects the impact of the 25% “Section 232” national security tariffs were imposed by former president Donald Trump.

Unlike the EU deal, which added past tariff exclusions to the bloc’s quotas, Japanese steel imported under past tariffs will count against Japan‘s quota volumes.

Steel Manufacturers Association President Philip Bell said about 58% of the 2021 steel imports from Japan, or about 550,000 metric tons, came in via exclusions, so the deal would limit incremental volume.

“Overall this is a strong deal for American steelmakers. It shows that we should not take a one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to our jobs, environment and economic growth,” Bell added.

CARBON TALKS OPT-OUT

Japan also will initially not participate in U.S.-EU talks on a global agreement to discourage trade in steel made with high-carbon emissions – another initiative aimed at battling carbon-intensive Chinese steel output. But U.S. officials said Japan would confer with the United States on methodologies for measuring carbon intensity in steel and aluminum production.

Japan‘s steel industry also is highly dependent on coal-fired blast-furnace production, while more than 70% of U.S. steel is made with electric-arc furnaces that emit less carbon. – Reuters

TAIPEI – Taiwan said on Tuesday it would relax a ban on Japanese food imports put in place following the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, hoping to show it is a responsible partner and ease its entry to a major trans-Pacific trade pact.

The World Health Organization said in 2016 that the Japanese authorities had monitored food contamination closely and implemented protective measures to prevent sale and distribution of contaminated food in Japan and outside of Japan after the Fukushima tsunami and nuclear disaster.

Japan has said many nations such as the United States and Australia had lifted or eased Fukushima-related restrictions, and Fukushima food including rice is being exported to markets like Thailand.

Taiwan has banned imports of food products from five prefectures in Japan following a meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear plant that was triggered by a huge earthquake and tsunami.

Taiwan had maintained the ban despite repeated complaints from Japan which says the food is now safe.

Cabinet spokesperson Lo Ping-cheng said the government had decided to make a “fair adjustment” to its ban, saying with so many countries lifting restrictions already Taiwan had to follow suit, and that there was no safety risk with strict checks in place.

“To join the international economic and trade system, to join the high-standard CPTPP, one cannot stand on the outside and be stuck in old ways or ignore scientific evidence,” he said, referring to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.

“We cannot evade the reasonable demands made by Japan.”

An import ban on certain products from the five Japanese prefectures such as mushrooms and wild animals would remain, Lo said, while other products from there are required to present radiation test results and proof of origin before they are allowed into Taiwan, and will be tested again upon arrival.

Lo added that the announcement, which is likely to come into effect in late February, was not part of a deal in exchange for Japan‘s CPTPP entry support, though admitted he thought it would help their entry into the bloc.

Taiwan last year applied to join the CPTPP, of which Japan is a member. Japan has already expressed support for Taiwan joining the CPTPP. China, which maintains a ban on Fukushima-related food, has also applied to join.

Taiwan‘s chief trade negotiator John Deng said their CPTPP application was proceeding “smoothly”, but member states were currently focused on Britain’s entry request.

In a 2018 referendum, Taiwan voted by a wide margin to maintain the ban, though referendum results are only binding for two years.

Taiwan‘s main opposition party, the Kuomintang, said no government could “tear up” the referendum result and the ruling Democratic Progressive Party would “pay the price”. – Reuters

WASHINGTON – The United States has approved a possible $100 million sale of equipment and services to Taiwan to “sustain, maintain, and improve” the Patriot missile defense system used by the self-ruled island claimed by China, the Pentagon said on Monday.

A statement from the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency said it had delivered the required certification notifying Congress following State Department approval for the sale, which was requested by Taiwan‘s de facto embassy in Washington.

Upgrades to the Patriot Air Defense System would “help improve the security of the recipient and assist in maintaining political stability, military balance, economic and progress in the region,” DSCA said in a statement.

“This proposed sale serves U.S. national, economic, and security interests by supporting the recipient’s continuing efforts to modernize its armed forces and to maintain a credible defensive capability,” the agency said.

The main contractors would be Raytheon Technologies and Lockheed Martin, it said.

Taiwan‘s Defense Ministry has said the decision to obtain newer Patriot missiles was made during a 2019 meeting with U.S. officials in the administration of President Donald Trump.

The democratically governed island has complained of repeated missions by China’s air force in its air defense zone, part of what Washington sees as Beijing’s effort to pressure Taipei into accepting its sovereignty.

The United States, like most countries, does not have official relations with Taiwan, but Washington is its biggest backer and is bound by law to provide it with means to defend itself.

U.S. officials have been pushing Taiwan to modernize its military so it can become a “porcupine”, hard for China to attack, and such arms sales always anger China.

China’s ambassador to the United States said last month that the two super powers could end up in a military conflict if Washington encourages Taiwan‘s independence. – Reuters