1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:03,680 Speaker 1: Pete Lewis is that Asia Business correspondent Hypeter hi O 2 00:00:03,840 --> 00:00:08,440 Speaker 1: Ryan And now Indonesia and Apple are apparently agreeing on 3 00:00:08,600 --> 00:00:12,000 Speaker 1: terms to lift an iPhone sixteen band. What's this about? 4 00:00:13,160 --> 00:00:16,560 Speaker 2: Yes, Well, this is to do with a regulation that 5 00:00:17,079 --> 00:00:21,720 Speaker 2: smartphones that are sold in India have to have forty 6 00:00:21,760 --> 00:00:26,600 Speaker 2: percent of their contents and their components sourced locally. Now, 7 00:00:26,640 --> 00:00:29,159 Speaker 2: this forty percent role has been a problem for a 8 00:00:29,160 --> 00:00:32,120 Speaker 2: lot of manufacturers in Indondes because it's quite hard to meet. 9 00:00:32,200 --> 00:00:35,960 Speaker 2: It's actually very difficult to find all the bits and 10 00:00:36,080 --> 00:00:39,000 Speaker 2: components that you need locally to be able to put 11 00:00:39,040 --> 00:00:43,120 Speaker 2: into a smartphone like an iPhone sixteen. Well, it was 12 00:00:43,159 --> 00:00:47,560 Speaker 2: deemed by the indondes In government that Apple didn't meet 13 00:00:48,159 --> 00:00:52,360 Speaker 2: this forty percent requirement, so they banned sales altogether of 14 00:00:52,360 --> 00:00:56,000 Speaker 2: the iPhone sixteen until it was resolved. Now, the interesting 15 00:00:56,040 --> 00:00:59,480 Speaker 2: thing about this is that Apple has tried very hard 16 00:00:59,520 --> 00:01:02,560 Speaker 2: to result little bit because Indonesia is a very big market. 17 00:01:02,600 --> 00:01:06,240 Speaker 2: There's about three hundred million people there, so it's certainly 18 00:01:06,240 --> 00:01:10,840 Speaker 2: a market that Apple wants to operate in. It initially 19 00:01:11,480 --> 00:01:15,440 Speaker 2: offered ten million dollars to invest that was nowhere near enough. 20 00:01:15,480 --> 00:01:18,520 Speaker 2: It offered one hundred million dollars then to go and 21 00:01:18,600 --> 00:01:22,880 Speaker 2: invest in Indonesia, and then finally it offered one billion 22 00:01:22,959 --> 00:01:28,640 Speaker 2: dollars to completely build a new plant in India, but 23 00:01:28,920 --> 00:01:31,640 Speaker 2: the government turned it down and said, despite it being 24 00:01:31,680 --> 00:01:35,880 Speaker 2: a billion dollars, you still weren't sourcing forty percent of 25 00:01:35,880 --> 00:01:39,640 Speaker 2: your components locally. What they have now done is they've 26 00:01:39,640 --> 00:01:42,360 Speaker 2: come to an agreement where there are going to be 27 00:01:42,440 --> 00:01:47,039 Speaker 2: a couple of new plants from Apple in Indonesia and 28 00:01:47,080 --> 00:01:49,920 Speaker 2: they're going to invest about three hundred and fifty million. 29 00:01:50,440 --> 00:01:53,680 Speaker 2: So what the Indonesian government hasn't explained here is how 30 00:01:53,720 --> 00:01:57,279 Speaker 2: they've ended up going down from a one billion dollar 31 00:01:57,880 --> 00:02:01,120 Speaker 2: investment to three hundred and fifty million dollars. Why didn't 32 00:02:01,120 --> 00:02:04,680 Speaker 2: they accept the initial one billion dollars because you know, 33 00:02:04,720 --> 00:02:08,680 Speaker 2: this is a very significant investment in an emerging market 34 00:02:09,639 --> 00:02:13,079 Speaker 2: like Indonesia. But anyway, everyone seems to be happy. The 35 00:02:13,120 --> 00:02:15,360 Speaker 2: government seems to be happy, Apple seems to be happy. 36 00:02:15,400 --> 00:02:19,000 Speaker 2: They're going to be providing jobs for local people there 37 00:02:19,040 --> 00:02:22,720 Speaker 2: when they build this factory, which will be Apple's very 38 00:02:22,720 --> 00:02:25,480 Speaker 2: first one Indonesia. 39 00:02:26,160 --> 00:02:28,800 Speaker 1: Fascinating and what a low ball to start with the 40 00:02:28,800 --> 00:02:33,560 Speaker 1: ten million dollars I'm glad they come one. 41 00:02:34,280 --> 00:02:36,880 Speaker 2: That's someone in the Indonesian government hasn't got the art 42 00:02:36,919 --> 00:02:37,400 Speaker 2: of the deal. 43 00:02:37,880 --> 00:02:41,639 Speaker 1: No, certainly not. Now Taiwan has apparently caught a Chinese 44 00:02:41,680 --> 00:02:44,880 Speaker 1: own ship cutting a sub seed cable. What's this about? 45 00:02:44,880 --> 00:02:47,320 Speaker 1: What was the cable for? And have we had confirmation 46 00:02:47,520 --> 00:02:49,760 Speaker 1: from the Chinese on the salt or what? 47 00:02:50,440 --> 00:02:53,000 Speaker 2: We haven't heard a word from the Chinese. The Taiwanese 48 00:02:53,080 --> 00:02:56,560 Speaker 2: governments say that they caught red handed this this boat 49 00:02:57,360 --> 00:03:02,040 Speaker 2: attempting to cut an underwater cable. These are the cables 50 00:03:02,040 --> 00:03:06,720 Speaker 2: that provide international data traffic and provide Internet. We've seen 51 00:03:06,720 --> 00:03:11,240 Speaker 2: this in the Baltics, with Russia cutting cables around the 52 00:03:11,240 --> 00:03:16,680 Speaker 2: Baltic States and around Finland. Now in Taiwan, they call 53 00:03:16,800 --> 00:03:21,320 Speaker 2: this gray zone activities. In other words, it's sort of 54 00:03:21,400 --> 00:03:24,720 Speaker 2: activities that fall short of an act of war, but 55 00:03:24,840 --> 00:03:29,200 Speaker 2: nevertheless they're very intimidating. So the sort of things that 56 00:03:30,160 --> 00:03:36,040 Speaker 2: Taiwan that China does here is providing putting blockades around 57 00:03:36,120 --> 00:03:43,160 Speaker 2: the island, harassing local fishermen and fishing boat, cyber attacks 58 00:03:43,720 --> 00:03:46,000 Speaker 2: and so on. So this is part of those what 59 00:03:46,080 --> 00:03:48,760 Speaker 2: they call gray zone operations. Have been going on now 60 00:03:49,320 --> 00:03:52,440 Speaker 2: for quite a while around Taiwan. As you know, to 61 00:03:52,880 --> 00:03:58,480 Speaker 2: China wants to have a reunification between the mainland and Taiwan. 62 00:03:59,000 --> 00:04:02,080 Speaker 2: The Coastguard call the boat. It was just staffed with 63 00:04:02,600 --> 00:04:07,360 Speaker 2: Chinese nationals. They've been taken back to Taiwan and local 64 00:04:07,360 --> 00:04:11,960 Speaker 2: prosecutors are investigating. But this all comes at a rather 65 00:04:12,080 --> 00:04:17,400 Speaker 2: difficult time for Taiwan because they're watching nervously what is 66 00:04:17,440 --> 00:04:20,800 Speaker 2: going on with Ukraine and there is a feeling obviously 67 00:04:20,839 --> 00:04:24,159 Speaker 2: that Ukraine is maybe being sold down the water here. 68 00:04:25,760 --> 00:04:29,720 Speaker 2: And what is the US's stance going to be on Taiwan. 69 00:04:29,839 --> 00:04:34,240 Speaker 2: Donald Trump hasn't actually said so far what his thoughts 70 00:04:34,279 --> 00:04:40,680 Speaker 2: are about Taiwanese, about the harassment that's going on around Taiwan, 71 00:04:40,760 --> 00:04:45,000 Speaker 2: and about the reunification of China, of mainland China and 72 00:04:45,040 --> 00:04:47,680 Speaker 2: the island. So we wait to see. But people in 73 00:04:47,720 --> 00:04:49,400 Speaker 2: Taiwan are quite nervous about this. 74 00:04:50,000 --> 00:04:53,040 Speaker 1: Yeah, I can imagine now Trump at the White House 75 00:04:53,080 --> 00:04:55,919 Speaker 1: taking aim on Chinese trade and investment. We know that 76 00:04:55,960 --> 00:04:58,000 Speaker 1: he's put some of those tariffs on then how's that 77 00:04:58,120 --> 00:04:58,960 Speaker 1: been received there? 78 00:05:00,200 --> 00:05:02,560 Speaker 2: Well, this is going to become a big issue because 79 00:05:02,960 --> 00:05:07,240 Speaker 2: just in the last twenty four hours Taiwan, Trump has 80 00:05:07,240 --> 00:05:11,000 Speaker 2: said he's going to double the tariffs that are on 81 00:05:11,120 --> 00:05:14,720 Speaker 2: Chinese goods. They were originally set at ten percent. These 82 00:05:14,720 --> 00:05:17,200 Speaker 2: were actually, out of all the tariffs that he's threatened, 83 00:05:17,640 --> 00:05:20,680 Speaker 2: the only ones that actually went into effect at the 84 00:05:20,720 --> 00:05:23,640 Speaker 2: beginning of the month. Well as of March the fourth, 85 00:05:23,880 --> 00:05:27,120 Speaker 2: they are going to become twenty percent, along with twenty 86 00:05:27,160 --> 00:05:31,680 Speaker 2: five percent tariffs on Mexico and Canada. It's not totally 87 00:05:31,800 --> 00:05:35,320 Speaker 2: clear why they're being doubled on China. It's made clear 88 00:05:35,320 --> 00:05:38,960 Speaker 2: that he's unhappy with Mexico and Canada because of fentanyl 89 00:05:39,800 --> 00:05:42,720 Speaker 2: going over the border, which he says is flooding in 90 00:05:42,839 --> 00:05:49,840 Speaker 2: through Canada and Mexico. China and the US have been 91 00:05:49,880 --> 00:05:52,840 Speaker 2: working quite hard in the last year or so on 92 00:05:52,880 --> 00:05:55,640 Speaker 2: the fentanyl issue, and China believes it had made quite 93 00:05:55,640 --> 00:05:58,360 Speaker 2: good progress with the US on this. So it's rather 94 00:05:58,480 --> 00:06:02,960 Speaker 2: bemused as to why it's now had these tariffs doubled. 95 00:06:03,000 --> 00:06:05,880 Speaker 2: It'll be interesting to see what China will do. Last time, 96 00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:08,679 Speaker 2: at the beginning of the month, they introduced their own 97 00:06:09,400 --> 00:06:13,760 Speaker 2: tariffs within minutes of the US ones coming into effects. 98 00:06:13,880 --> 00:06:16,920 Speaker 2: The problem is, there aren't a lot of things that 99 00:06:17,000 --> 00:06:19,680 Speaker 2: China can put tariffs on, so the best thing that 100 00:06:19,720 --> 00:06:22,120 Speaker 2: it can do here while all this is going on 101 00:06:22,279 --> 00:06:25,200 Speaker 2: is try and boost its own domestic economy. It's what 102 00:06:25,360 --> 00:06:28,280 Speaker 2: known as the two Sessions coming up next week, which 103 00:06:28,320 --> 00:06:32,400 Speaker 2: is the annual meeting of the Chinese legislature. They're going 104 00:06:32,440 --> 00:06:35,400 Speaker 2: to focus on the economy and trying to find ways 105 00:06:35,400 --> 00:06:37,799 Speaker 2: of boosting the local economy. This will be the best 106 00:06:37,800 --> 00:06:41,680 Speaker 2: way of trying to counter all these actions. Trump's talking 107 00:06:41,720 --> 00:06:44,920 Speaker 2: about other things as well. He wants Mexico to put 108 00:06:44,960 --> 00:06:49,840 Speaker 2: tariffs on Chinese goods because some countries are rerouting their 109 00:06:49,880 --> 00:06:54,479 Speaker 2: products through Mexico, and is also threatening to put a 110 00:06:54,600 --> 00:06:59,479 Speaker 2: tariff on any Chinese made ship that docks anywhere in 111 00:06:59,560 --> 00:07:01,800 Speaker 2: the US. Yes, now, as he does that, that's going 112 00:07:01,880 --> 00:07:06,240 Speaker 2: to have a huge impact on international trade and relations 113 00:07:06,279 --> 00:07:08,920 Speaker 2: with not just China, but with a host of other 114 00:07:09,000 --> 00:07:12,120 Speaker 2: countries as well. So it seems that, you know, China 115 00:07:12,240 --> 00:07:16,960 Speaker 2: may be the main target of all these tariffs because 116 00:07:16,960 --> 00:07:19,360 Speaker 2: Trump is certainly ramping up the pressure at the moment. 117 00:07:19,960 --> 00:07:22,200 Speaker 1: Certainly is thank you so much for that, Peter, A 118 00:07:22,440 --> 00:07:25,480 Speaker 1: very comprehensive wrap from you. Peter lewis our Asia business 119 00:07:25,480 --> 00:07:29,440 Speaker 1: correspondent with us for more from hither Duplessy Alan Drive, 120 00:07:29,600 --> 00:07:32,960 Speaker 1: Listen live to news talks it'd be from four pm weekdays, 121 00:07:33,120 --> 00:07:35,320 Speaker 1: or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio