Various Social Conditions

The recent agreement between the US and China to cut trade tariffs is anticipated to lead to a rise in freight rates. This is because businesses from both countries are competing to take advantage of the 90 - day grace period to ship goods across the Pacific. In recent weeks, the rapid escalation of tariffs has caused a significant decline in freight volume. Last month, China's exports to the US decreased by 21%, and imports fell by nearly 14%. Maersk, the container giant, estimated last week that the bilateral trade volume between China and the US in April dropped by 30% to 40%.

Local time on May 13th, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney led his new cabinet to be sworn in at the Government House in Ottawa. The new cabinet consists of 28 ministers, reducing the number of ministers from 39 in the Trudeau era to 28, aiming for a more efficient operation.