The week starts with a dramatic move from the Dutch government on a Chinese semiconductor supplier, as renewed US action against China is also in the offing over the Asian country’s new restrictions on rare earth exports. There is also a major report due from the IMF as the organisation prepares for its annual meeting this week.
Dutch chip seizures
The Dutch government has seized control of Chinese semiconductor firm Nexperia’s operations in the Netherlands.
The FT reports that the Netherland’s economic ministry cited “a threat to the continuity and safeguarding on Dutch and European soil of crucial technological knowledge and capabilities”.
The company was suspected of “recent and acute serious governance shortcomings and actions”, and the government said that there was a risk that vital goods supplied by the company could become “unavailable in an emergency”.
The company’s products are used in both electronics and automotive manufacturing in Europe.
Wingtech, the part-state-owned Chinese company that owns Nexperia, said the decision “constitutes an act of excessive interference driven by geopolitical bias, not by fact-based risk assessment”.
Nexperia has also been made to sell its chip factory in Newport, Wales, following the expression of British national security concerns by UK MPs.
US-China wrangle
The Dutch action comes as US president Donald Trump threatened new tariffs on China over the Asian nation’s new restrictions on critical minerals exports. China has called it a “typical example of US double standards”.
How this latest skirmish between China and the US plays out remains to be seen, though Trump has signalled he is willing to step back in a Truth Social post where he said Chinese president Xi Jinping “just had a bad moment”. He added that the US “wants to help China, not hurt it”.
China’s exports accelerated over September, rising 8.3% compared to the same month in 2024. However, its exports to the US fell by 27% year-on-year, after a 33% drop in August.
World Economic Outlook report
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is launching its latest World Economic Outlook report tomorrow (14 October), as it seeks to offer clarity on the direction of the global economy.
In remarks at Washington’s Milken Institute reported by the Guardian ahead of the report’s publication, IMF chief, Kristina Georgieva, warned that “uncertainty is the new normal” – though she noted the resilience of the world economy following the US’ application of new tariffs this year.
The world’s economy is expected to slow down “only slightly this year and next”, though “history tells us” that unexpectedly strong market sentiment could “turn abruptly”, she said.
“Before anyone heaves a big sigh of relief, please hear this: global resilience has not yet been fully tested. And there are worrying signs the test may come.”
Digital Trade Corridor opportunity
The government is offering businesses a chance to participate in the Digital Trade Corridor (DTC) Programme, a pilot programme aimed at “running live, digitalised goods shipments involving data-driven processes between the UK and key European partners”. The government explains further:
“We take one of your real shipment lane trade flows and replace selected commercial paper trade documents (e.g. commercial invoices) with electronic ones in a way that works across different platforms and partners.
“The programme will take approximately 8-12 weeks from the point at which businesses are selected, the shipment lane is identified, through to delivery and conclusion. We start small, with one or two products that you export, review the results, and scale what works from there.”
The ambition is “make trade faster, cheaper, and more secure” by moving away from paper-based trade, the government says.
Those interested in taking part can express their interest here.
Other dates for the diary
- Monday: Release of Israeli hostages leads next stage of Gaza ceasefire, with Israel also calling for the EU to end restrictions on trade with the country
- Tuesday: Jacksonville, Florida Trade Mission begins three-day London visit
- Wednesday: Russia-Arab Summit in Moscow
- Thursday: UK GDP estimate published for the last month as G20 finance ministers meet at IMF annual conference
- Friday: Bank of England chief economist, Huw Pill, speaks at Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales
- Saturday: Expiration of UN resolution on Iran nuclear deal
- Sunday: Presidential elections in Bolivia and Northern Cyprus
