08/03/2018 Asia Business Report

I'm Ceila Hatton with BBC News.

Our top story:

President Trump pushes ahead

with his metal tariff's plan.

There are fears the plans

could spark a trade war.

Mr Trump wants China

to reduce its trade imbalance

with the United States

by $1 billion.

A private message is on its way

from North Korea to the US.

The undisclosed communication

from Kim Jong-un was given

to diplomatic envoys

from South Korea on Monday.

And this video is

trending on bbc.com.

An amazing escape from an avalanche

captured on a helmet camera worn

by Thomas Kray while he was

on the Alpine slopes at Tignes.

Thomas was saved activating

an avalanche airbag.

It allowed him to

escape being buried.

That's all from me for now.

Stay with BBC News.

And the top story here in the UK:

British police say a nerve agent

was used in a deliberate attempt

to kill a former Russian

spy and his daughter.

Sergei and Yulia Skripal remain

in a critical condition in hospital.

Now on BBC News, all the latest

business news live from Singapore.

President Trump is expected to go

ahead with new controversial tariffs

within the next day, but could

Canada and Mexico be exempt? And on

International Women's Day, we ask if

gender equality and pay are a

distant dream or something

achievable.

distant dream or something

achievable. Good morning, and

welcome to Asia Business Report,

live from Singapore. It is still all

about trade this morning. And Donald

Trump's trade war could start today.

That is if you believed in reports

the president will sign off on

controversial tariffs on steel and

aluminium

controversial tariffs on steel and

aluminium. Other industries are not

sure this is a good idea. We have

more from New York. Brooklyn very is

used to focusing on its

but the company is increasingly

worried about it brewing trade war,

especially because it makes more

than 50% of its profits by exporting

a certain type of liquor.

It will

increase costs tremendously. If a

trade war begins, that is very

dangerous for companies like ours.

In this company isn't alone. Across

the United States, businesses are

struggling to figure out the

potential impact President Trump's

tariffs could have on their bottom

line. The uncertainty stems not so

much from steel and aluminium

imports, but rather what could

happen in a trade war. Already, the

European Union has threatened to

slap tariffs on everything from

American bourbon to motorcycles.

Some say that is a small price to

pay.

You will talk to some people in

export sectors and they will be

worried. I do not doubt it will

happen. But at an economy wide

level, this will not have meaningful

impact.

The US trade deficit hit a

nine-year high this week, offering

further motivation for President

Trump in his American first trade

policy.

When we are down by 100

billion, the trade war hurts them,

it does not hurt us.

That is the

problem with trade wars, there is

always someone who gets hurt. And it

is not easy to guess who that is

going to be. BBC News, Brooklyn. As

you just heard in that report,

President Trump seems rather fixated

on the trade deficit and how he

wants to reduce it. New figures show

the gap rose to the highest level in

more than nine years in January,

coming in at over 55 billion US

dollars. He will not be happy about

that, and will probably use it to

justify the move to impose those

tariffs despite backlash. We told

you yesterday the EU was having a

meeting about these tariffs and how

to respond. The trade chief has set

up plans to retaliate, including

higher import duties on bourbon,

peanut butter, cranberries, orange

juice, steel, and industrial

products. You cannot get more

American than that. The commission

says a trade war has no winners and

if it can be avoided, they will work

with the Americans and other allies

on the issue of overcapacity.

Remember, President Trump abandoned

a huge trade deal Colebee

Trans-Pacific Partnership shortly

after taking office. -- called the.

The remaining members will formally

sign a deal in Chile. In other

business news making headlines,

China is moving a step closer to

putting measures in place to curb

runaway home prices. It is a

potential game-changer for the real

estate industry, which some analysts

have called, quotes, too bit to

fail. Washington has been leading

the charge to ramp up international

pressure on North Korea. Now, India

is cutting back on trade with

Pyongyang, but it is maintaining

diplomatic ties. For more on this, I

am joined by a business reporter

from Mumbai. How much do India and

North Korea trade to begin with?

Well, surprisingly, a lot. In 2015

and 2016, according to Indian

government data, India was North

Korea's third-largest trading

partner after Russia and China.

India exported around $111 million

of goods and important $88 million

worth of goods from Pyongyang. That

has reduced slightly because last

April, India aligned itself with UN

sanctions and said that it would not

trade with North Korea any more

besides food and medicine. Is latest

sanctions, trade barriers, are

related to some equipment,

electrical equipment, wood, and farm

products. -- these. It is

interesting because the relationship

has been growing over the last few

years, but finally India has

listened and is clamping down on

trade with North Korea.

Why now? We

are now hearing reports the tensions

between North Korea and the rest of

the world seemed to be coming down.

Yeah, well, there is a lot in it for

India. By doing this, it improves

its relationship with South Korea

and the United States. That opens up

its diplomatic standing

internationally. And also, it

attracts investment into India. And

we saw that with South Korea

agreeing to build a $1.1 billion

factory in Andhra Pradesh in India

last year. There is a lot in it in

India as far as investment and

military and diplomatic relations go

as well.

Thank you so much for the

update. It is International Women's

Day. In the business world, we are

starting to see some women at the

top of big companies. But it is

still a very small percentage,

making it a super niche club. So,

what does it take to be the next

female leader? We caught up with

several female bosses in Asia to ask

about their journey.

The most

irrelevant question...

The most

irrelevant questions I got...

What

irrelevant question? Hmm...

Hard work, integrity, and, umm,

perseverance. You just have to keep

on trying.

Followed your passion.

Take every opportunity. -- follow.

And try not to get into situations

where you feel compromise.

If you

are not sure you want to rise to the

top, there is no one to help you,

just remember you have to motivate

yourself.

There is no doubt my

career path would have been

different if I were a man. Women

face all sorts of challenges, big

and small, throughout their career.

Looking after children, managing

sexist attitudes, filling a need to

prove ourselves constantly. --

feeling.

The good old boys' club is

in the co-ordinated. --

old-fashioned. Now we share a

vision.

The most irrelevant question

would he, you know, you reach a

stage being a woman, and it has no

correlation.

How do I manage time

between family and business? As a

single parent, that is. It is

irrelevant because it puts emphasis

on me being a single mother when, in

fact, it actually applies to men as

well.

There is a greater tendency

for people to question your

commitment to the job as a result of

being a woman, and that is something

that really sticks in our craw. We

tend to be incredibly efficient and

focused because we need to go off

and do other things.

And an

interesting development from the

biggest hotel chain in India. They

have announced new plans to pay for

female staff to undergo fertility

treatment if they need or want it.

They said they would reimburse

expenses for family action as part

of a policy to keep female employees

in their company and promote equal

opportunities. A look at the markets

before we go. And other volatile

session on Wall Street. We are

seeing mixed reaction in Asia. Japan

is up and Australia is down. One

stock is Nikko. They are cutting

4000 jobs in Europe. The economy

expanded more than expected. That

could be helping Japan's Nikkei

today. That is it