Beijing added five of Hanwha Ocean’s subsidiaries to a sanctions list over their alleged role in a U.S. investigation of China’s shipping industry.

The Wall Street Journal’s Kwanwoo Jun writes that China’s commerce ministry banned Chinese entities and individuals from working with the South Korean shipbuilder's units. Hanwha has pledged to invest and help the U.S. revive its shipbuilding capacity, and to buy American-made vessels. Beijing’s move came the same day the U.S. and China started imposing new port fees on each others’ ships, and as the two nations’ trade conflict escalated.

Beijing also will examine whether relevant parties assisted the U.S. in taking “discriminatory restrictive measures” against China in the shipping industry. President Trump has made countering Chinese dominance in global shipping a priority. In addition to the port fees, his administration slapped a 100% tariff on Chinese-made port cranes and higher-than-expected fees on foreign-built vehicle-carrying vessels. 

• The Trump administration is considering “terminating business” with China on cooking oil and other “elements of Trade,” the president said in response to China not buying U.S. soybeans. (WSJ)
• China’s new export controls on rare earths are a critical issue for the European Union, according to EU trade chief Maroš Šefčovič. (WSJ)
• The U.S. warned the Dutch government that its trade blacklist would likely apply to Netherlands-based chip maker Nexperia unless its Chinese CEO was replaced. (WSJ)
• Brazil’s Embraer is being hit hard by tariffs, and it hopes a rapprochement with the U.S. could lead to an exception for the aircraft maker’s products. (WSJ)

Stellantis plans to spend $13 billion through the end of the decade to make more vehicles in the U.S., in what the Jeep maker described as its largest-ever single investment.

The Journal’s Ryan Felton writes that Stellantis plans to launch five new vehicles and a new four-cylinder engine, creating more than 5,000 jobs. The plan could help the company defray billions in annual costs from tariffs. The company has said it expects a total tariff hit of $1.5 billion for the year.

The investment plans include a mix of gas-powered vehicles and electrified models at plants in Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and Ohio.

• General Motors said it was reducing its EV-manufacturing capacity and booking a $1.6 billion charge on its EV business as demand sinks. (WSJ)

California Gov. Gavin Newsom headed off a bid to block public funding for modernization efforts at some of America’s busiest ports. The WSJ Logistics Report’s Paul Berger writes that the Democratic governor vetoed a bill that would have blocked local or federal funding for investments that introduce or support automation at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

The bill, SB 34, was primarily aimed at limiting a California air-quality agency’s ability to regulate emissions around the port complex. It was championed by the local chapter of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union that represents local dockworkers. The Pacific Maritime Association, a trade group that represents the private terminal operators, had warned the bill would stifle port investment.

• The IMF projects global economic growth of 2.6% in 2025, a decrease from 3.6% in 2024, with a rebound to 3.3% in 2026. (WSJ)
• Small-business optimism declined in the U.S. last month, with the NFIB index falling 2.0 points to 98.8, near its long-term average. (WSJ)
• Two of the biggest U.S. timberland owners, Rayonier and PotlatchDeltic, said they plan to combine in an all-stock deal that would create a more than $7 billion forestry giant.
• Walmart is forming a partnership with OpenAI to let shoppers buy its products directly within ChatGPT. (WSJ)
• Google plans to invest $9 billion by 2027 to expand a data center in South Carolina, and will invest approximately $15 billion in India over the next five years. (WSJ)
• Chip designer Advanced Micro Devices is teaming up with Oracle to bring online a large data-center cluster that uses tens of thousands of AMD’s newest AI chips. (WSJ)
• Supermarket shoppers are choosing smaller package sizes and using more coupons to reduce their grocery bills, Albertsons’s CEO said. (WSJ)
• Thyssenkrupp’s naval-defense business, Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems, will begin trading on the German stock exchange next week. (WSJ)
• The European Commission’s merger regulator cleared Boeing’s $4.7 billion bid to acquire fuselage maker Spirit AeroSystems Holdings. (WSJ)
• Amazon plans to hire 250,000 seasonal workers for the holidays. (CBS)
• Carriers CMA CGM and SeaLead expanded their services in the Red Sea following the ceasefire in Gaza. (Journal of Commerce)
• CMA CGM signed a letter of intent to have six containerships built at Cochin Shipyard in a $300 million deal, the first such order by a major carrier from an Indian yard. (Economic Times)
• Worldsteel forecasts global steel demand in 2025 will be about 1.75 billion metric tons, flat compared with last year, with a slight rebound to 1.77 billion metric tons in 2026. (Recycling Today)

Mark R. Long is editor of WSJ Logistics Report. Reach him at mark.long@wsj.com. Follow the WSJ Logistics Report team on LinkedIn: Mark R. Long, Liz Young and Paul Berger.