Trump team considers ' Plan B ' ! Mitsui Chemical Considers Splitting off Basic & Green Materials Business

International News Digest:

Raw Material News - Mitsui Chemicals Considers Splitting off Basic & Green Materials Business

Auto News-China's auto export value in April reached $19.39 billion, up 6.9% month-on-month and 5.3% year-on-year

Electronics and Electrical News- Sony Moves Manufacturing of High-End Xperia Phones to Third-Party OEMs

Toy News - Pop Mart Suspends Labubu Sales in the UK

Macroeconomic News - Trump team considers “Plan B”as reciprocal tariffs are blocked

Price information - CFR Northeast Asia $780/ton; CFR Southeast Asia $850/ton

The following is the detailed international news: 

1. Tariffs, a major variable! U.S. Court of Appeals: Approved!

According to the CCTV News, on May 29th local time, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit approved the request from the Trump administration to temporarily suspend the previous ruling made by the U.S. Court of International Trade, which prohibited the execution of the Trump administration's executive order to impose tariff measures on many countries based on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit also ordered both parties to submit written arguments on the issue of blocking the imposition of tariffs, with relevant documents to be submitted by early next month. The court will then decide on the next steps.

U.S. government data released Thursday showed that U.S. economic activity contracted at a 0.2% annual rate in the first quarter of this year, marking its first decline in three years, disrupted by the trade war initiated by former President Trump.

Additionally, affected by tariffs, an increasing number of U.S. retailers are planning to raise prices. A survey report released by Germany's Allianz Group shows that 54% of American companies are addressing the cost increases caused by U.S. tariff policies by raising prices.

2. Mitsui Chemicals Considers Splitting off Basic & Green Materials Business

Mitsui Chemicals, Inc.  has begun to consider splitting off its Basic & Green Materials business ("B&GM"), which is primarily engaged in petrochemicals, in order to transition to a more robust business structure and promote the shift to green society, with a view to pursuing collaboration with other companies as well as integration and transformation.

Scope of the consideration：Phenols, Industrial Chemicals, Sustainable Feedstocks, Licensing, Prime Polymer Co., Ltd. (Polyolefins), Polyurethanes

While we will strive to realize the ideal vision as early as possible, we will split off B&GM and establish the business entity—which will serve as a core in future integration and transformation—by around 2027. 

3. ExxonMobil to sell French subsidiary Esso S.A.F. 

ExxonMobil France Holding has entered into exclusive negotiations with North Atlantic France SAS for both the proposed sale of its 82.89% majority shareholder interest in Esso Société Anonyme Française SA (Esso S.A.F.), as well as the proposed sale of ExxonMobil Chemical France SAS.With the exception of those part of the previously announced redundancy plan, all of the approximately 1,350 employees in France will be retained and remain on the same employment terms and conditions.

4. The production of the rubber and plastics industry in Russia decreased by 1.6% year-on-year from January to April, with a drop of 4.7% in April alone

According to the data from the Federal State Statistics Service of Russia (Rosstat), the production of rubber and plastic products in Russia decreased by 1.6% year-on-year from January to April 2025. The industrial production index in April 2025 increased by 1.5% compared to the same period in 2024, and the cumulative index from January to April 2025 was 101.2% (a year-on-year increase of 1.2%). Compared to March 2025, the industrial production index fell by 4.2% month-on-month, dropping to 95.8%.

Business managers pointed out that the shortage of personnel is still one of the main factors hindering the completion of production plans. The negative evaluations are dominant in the mining industry (-24.1%) and processing and manufacturing industry (-18.3%).

Nevertheless, most managers are neutral, showing a cautious attitude towards the current business situation, demand, and production growth potential.

5. Star Plastics^® offers PC/ABS FR compounds as a cost-effective alternative to ABS FR

Star Plastics^® is helping manufacturers navigate ongoing supply chain disruptions and cost volatility associated with ABS flame retardant (FR) materials. In response to the scarcity and rising prices of antimony – a key component in ABS FR – Star Plastics is offering its high-performance PC/ABS FR compounds as a dependable and cost-effective alternative.

6. Sony Moves Manufacturing of High-End Xperia Phones to Third-Party OEMs

Sony already uses third-party manufacturers to produce its phones. This has been a strategy adopted for the mid-range smartphones so far. However, a new report indicates that the brand will now expand the strategy to its high-end devices.

According to a Japanese news outlet, this is not a temporary move. It is likely a long-term strategy. You can no longer find “smartphones” on the list at Sony’s production sites in Thailand. Historically, three manufacturing sites were involved in Sony’s smartphone production. Two are in Thailand and one is in China. None of them lists “smartphones” anymore. This means that the company is completely obliterating the smartphone production of its sites. This does not mean an end, as it is now relying on third-party OEMs for such a process.

7 China's auto export value reached 19.39 billion US dollars in April, increased by 6.9% month-on-month and 5.3% year-on-year.

According to data from the General Administration of Customs compiled by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, in April 2025, the total value of automobile imports and exports was $23.09 billion, up 6.8% month-over-month and down 2.2% year-over-year. Among these, the import amount was $3.7 billion, up 6.3% month-over-month and down 28.6% year-over-year; the export amount was $19.39 billion, up 6.9% month-over-month and up 5.3% year-over-year. From January to April 2025, the cumulative value of national automobile imports and exports was $81.88 billion, down 5.2% year-over-year. Among these, the import amount was $13.27 billion, down 34.5% year-over-year; the export amount was $68.61 billion, up 3.7% year-over-year.

8. Pop Mart suspends Labubu sales in the UK

Recently, Pop Mart's latest LABUBU 3.0 series has sparked a buying frenzy in various global locations such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and Italy. Amidst the intense demand, a "major brawl" reportedly broke out at the Westfield Stratford shopping center in London.

To prevent the situation from escalating, Pop Mart announced that, out of safety concerns, the Labubu series products will be temporarily removed from all UK stores.

Overseas macro market information:

【The Japanese government announced the lifting of partial sanctions on Syria】On May 30, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi stated that the Japanese government has lifted some sanctions on Syria. Currently, there are no detailed announcements regarding the specifics of the lifted sanctions on the official websites of various Japanese government departments.

【The United States plans to increase arms sales to Taiwan】 According to Reuters, the United States plans to increase arms sales to Taiwan, and Trump focuses on arms sales to Taiwan beyond his first term.

【Iranian Foreign Minister: Iran "Not Sure" About Approaching Deal with US】In response to recent media speculation about an upcoming agreement between Iran and the US, Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi said on the 29th that Iran was "not sure if we have reached that point." Araghchi posted on social media that day, stating that Iran sincerely seeks a diplomatic solution that benefits all parties. However, achieving this goal requires an agreement that comprehensively lifts all sanctions against Iran and safeguards Iran's nuclear rights, including uranium enrichment. The path to reaching an agreement lies at the negotiating table, not in the media.

【Trump team considers “Plan B”as reciprocal tariffs are blocked】This plan may proceed in two steps: in the short term, the administration could invoke Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 to impose a maximum 15% tariff on a wide range of global economies for a period of 150 days. The second step would involve using Section 301 of the same law to establish customized tariffs for each major trading partner within those 150 days.

【Delta Air Lines to Resume Direct Flights Between Shanghai and Los Angeles】Bringing Weekly China-US Flights to 17 Delta Air Lines announced today that it will resume direct flights between Shanghai and Los Angeles starting June 2, operating three times a week. This will increase Delta’s weekly China-US flights to 17. Currently, the recovery of China-US routes is slow, with the number of flights restored being less than 30% of pre-pandemic levels.

【China-US shipping is recovering, but signs of a slowdown in container booking volumes are emerging】 This is attributed to the mutual tariff reductions that began earlier this month. The shipping price for a standard 40-foot container from Shanghai to Los Angeles has increased by nearly 17% to $3,738, marking the largest weekly relative increase this year. As of the week ending May 29, the shipping rate per container is still nearly one-third lower than the peak value in January of this year, but higher than the low point of $2,487 before Trump announced the "liberation day" tariffs at the end of March.

However, the volume of container bookings has declined somewhat. Data from Vizion and Dun & Bradstreet show that the total bookings for the first three days of this week equated to approximately 106,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs). This is a decrease from 137,000 TEUs during the same period last week. Globally, the week starting May 19th was the highest booking week of the year so far.

【Volkswagen CEO stated that the company is in direct negotiations with the U.S. government regarding tariff issues】 According to reports, Volkswagen CEO Oliver Blume mentioned in an interview that the company is directly consulting with the U.S. government to resolve the tariff dispute. Blume stated that if the tariff dispute is resolved, Volkswagen is willing to make "additional, large-scale" investments based on its existing investments in the U.S.

Price information:

【Central parity rate of RMB against USD】

The central parity rate of the renminbi against the US dollar was reported at 7.1848, up 59 points; the previous trading day's central parity rate was 7.1907, the previous official closing price was 7.1916, and the overnight closing price was 7.1865.

【 Upstream raw material US dollar market prices】

Ethylene Asia: CFR Northeast Asia $780/ton; CFR Southeast Asia $850/ton.

Acrylic Northeast Asia: FOB Korea average price 750 USD/ton; CFR China average price 785 USD/ton.

North Asia cryogenic cargo, propane at $550.5-$552.5 per ton; butane at $520.5-$522.5 per ton.

South China frozen cargo CIF prices for June: Propane 623-633 USD/ton; Butane 563-573 USD/ton.

The CIF price for frozen goods in Taiwan is propane $550.5-$552.5/ton; butane $520.5-$522.5/ton.

【LLDPE US Dollar Market Price】

Film: $880/ton (CFR Huangpu);

Injection molding: 970 USD/ton (CFR Dongguan);

【HDPE USD market price】

Film: $905-925 per ton (CFR Huangpu).

Hollow: USD 865-870 per ton (CFR Huangpu);

【 LDPE USD market price】

Film: 1025-1040 USD/ton (CFR Huangpu);

【PP USD market price】

Homopolymer: $905-$950/ton (CFR Huangpu);

Copolymer: $955-$1060/ton (CFR Huangpu);

Material: $1025-$1090/ton (CFR Huangpu);

Transparent: $1095/ton (CFR Huangpu)

Pipe material: 1160 USD/ton (CFR Shanghai).