In his congratulatory message to the 39th African Union (AU) Summit at Addis Ababa, he highlighted efforts to upgrade the ‘green channel’ for African exports.

President Xi Jinping has announced that China will fully implement zero-tariff treatment for 53 African countries with which it has diplomatic ties from May 1.
In his message to the 39th African Union Summit at Addis Ababa, he highlighted efforts to upgrade the ‘green channel’ for African exports.
UN chief Antonio Guterres praised the decision and called for other countries to take the same measure.

Praising the policy decision, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres appealed at the Summit “to all developed countries and to all countries with a large economic potential to take exactly the same measure.”

“Africa needs free trade for its goods, and Africa cannot be penalised, being a continent with enormous economic difficulties, by trade policies that are restrictive and by tariffs that do not allow African products to be competitive,” the UN chief was quoted as saying by a Chinese state-controlled media outlet.

Noting the ‘multiplication of tariffs’ in recent times, Guterres reiterated his strong support for free trade and his advocacy for “reducing the tariff levels at the global level in order to be able to provide for global prosperity”.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)

During ****, the UK’s imports of textile fabrics steadied at £*,*** million (~$*.*** billion), similar to ****. However, fibre imports slowed to £*** million (~$***.** million) from £*** million in ****.

In December ****, the UK imported clothing worth £*.*** billion (~$*.*** billion), *.** per cent lower than £*.*** billion in December ****. However, this reflected a month-on-month increase from November ****, when imports stood at £*.*** billion.

Exports rose 3.4 per cent year on year (YoY) to €234 billion, compared with €226.3 billion a year earlier. Imports increased at a faster pace of 4.2 per cent to €221.3 billion, up from €212.4 billion in December 2024, Eurostat said in a press release.

The euro area has posted a €12.6 billion (~$14.95 billion) goods trade surplus in December 2025, as imports grew faster than exports.
The full-year surplus eased to €164.6 billion (~$195.26 billion).
Similarly, the EU recorded a €12.9 billion (~$15.3 billion) December surplus, with 2025’s total at €133.5 billion (~158.36 billion), reflecting narrower sectoral surpluses despite improved energy balances.

On a month-on-month (MoM) basis, the euro area balance improved from November 2025 to reach €12.6 billion. However, compared with December 2024, the surplus declined by €1.3 billion, largely reflecting weaker sectoral surpluses.

Surpluses in other manufactured goods, and raw materials narrowed during the period. In contrast, the energy deficit eased significantly to -€19.1 billion from -€24.5 billion, providing partial support to the overall balance.

For the full year, the euro area posted a €164.6 billion (~$195.26 billion) surplus in January-December 2025, slightly below €168.9 billion in 2024. Annual exports rose 2.4 per cent to €2,937.9 billion, while imports increased 2.7 per cent to €2,773.3 billion. Intra-euro area trade expanded 2.0 per cent to €2,627.6 billion.

Seasonally adjusted data showed euro area exports rising 1.1 per cent MoM in December, with imports up 0.6 per cent. The adjusted surplus widened to €11.6 billion from €10.2 billion in November. However, in the fourth quarter, exports to non-euro area countries declined 0.7 per cent, while imports fell 1.0 per cent.

Meanwhile, the European Union (EU) recorded a €12.9 billion (~$15.3 billion) trade surplus in December 2025, down from €14.2 billion in December 2024.

Extra-EU exports rose 2.2 per cent YoY to €214.8 billion, while imports increased 3.0 per cent to €201.9 billion. Compared with November 2025, the EU surplus improved, but on an annual basis it narrowed by €1.3 billion.

The decline was driven by a reduced surplus in chemicals and related products, which fell to €16.2 billion from €19.7 billion. Machinery and vehicles saw their surplus ease to €16.3 billion from €18.3 billion, while other manufactured goods shifted from a €1.0 billion surplus to a €1.9 billion deficit. The energy deficit improved markedly to €-21.9 billion from €-28.0 billion.

Primary goods exports fell 2.7 per cent YoY to €32.4 billion, while imports declined 11.0 per cent to €53.4 billion. Energy imports dropped 19.9 per cent, reflecting lower values, even as manufactured goods imports climbed 8.9 per cent.

For the full year 2025, the EU posted a €133.5 billion (~158.36 billion) surplus, compared with €140.6 billion in 2024. Extra-EU exports rose 2.0 per cent to €2,645.0 billion, while imports increased 2.4 per cent to €2,511.5 billion. Intra-EU trade grew 2.6 per cent to €4,142.9 billion.

Seasonally adjusted figures showed EU exports up 1.1 per cent MoM in December and imports up 0.6 per cent, lifting the surplus to €8.8 billion from €7.7 billion in November. However, in the final quarter of 2025, exports to non-EU countries fell 0.8 per cent and imports declined 1.4 per cent, signalling softer external demand towards year-end.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (SG)