The two-day APEC Customs Business Dialogue concluded on Friday in Dalian, northeast China's Liaoning Province, with participants focusing on how artificial intelligence and digital technologies can empower cross-border trade and exploring facilitation measures for cross-border e-commerce regulation and industry innovation.
The gathering brought together representatives of customs authorities from APEC member economies, international organizations, Chinese and foreign enterprises, and industry experts and scholars.
Relevant departments of APEC economies shared their respective policy visions and practical initiatives to advance trade facilitation during the closing sessions.
The dialogue also extended to a range of forward-looking topics, including smart border supervision enabled by cutting-edge technologies, supply chain system building, and comparative studies on international rules for cross-border e-commerce.
The series of customs-related meetings are part of the ongoing Third APEC Senior Officials' Meeting (SOM3) and related meetings, which are going on in Dalian from Aug 17 to 28. The meetings are expected to advance cooperation across APEC mechanisms and sectors, and help lay the groundwork for the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting scheduled for November in Shenzhen City.
APEC Customs Business Dialogue wraps up, spotlighting AI-driven cross-border trade facilitation
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday that the government's long-dated bond buyback could be more than the recently announced 4 billion U.S. dollars, sparking concerns over rising inflation and mounting pressures on the Federal Reserve.
The U.S. Treasury announced Wednesday that it would at least double the size of its buyback program for 10- to 30-year Treasury bonds, aiming to provide more liquidity support to the long end of the market and curb the unsettling surge of treasury yields.
Bessent revealed in an interview on Thursday that the size of the buyback could be more than 4 billion U.S. dollars per issue, but didn't provide a specific number, saying the figure will depend on market conditions.
U.S. Treasury yields dropped following Bessent's statement. However, for the whole day, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose 4 basis points to 4.69 percent, while the 30-year bond yield increased by 4 basis points to 5.24 percent.
Speaking of the national debt, which has more than doubled in a decade to surpass the 40-trillion-U.S.-dollar mark, Bessent downplayed the milestone by emphasizing long-term economic expansion.
"There's nothing magic about the 40-trillion number," he said, asserting the U.S. will grow its way out of this.
Market analysts have warned that the intervention risk fueling inflation and complicating the Fed's monetary policy work.
They predict the Treasury will fund the buyback program by issuing short-term debt, an operation of replacing issuance of longer-term debt with shorter-term bills to curb long-term bond yields.
When the Treasury relies more on short-term debt, it becomes more sensitive to changes in interest rates. Once the Fed raises interest rates, the government's interest payments will increase rapidly, further driving up the total size of the national debt.
Therefore, analysts believe the buyback program is not a good solution to market problems, as structural debt pressures have already been out of the control of the Treasury and the government.
Investors are also skeptical that the Treasury's intervention can provide a lasting market relief. If the measure proves ineffective, it could further undermine the credibility the dollar and the Treasury.
US bond buyback expansion could fuel inflation, complicate Fed’s monetary policy work: analysts
