World economic news highlights on December 2, 2025

Photo caption — View of a cargo port in Los Angeles, California, USA. Photo: THX/TTXVN

1. OECD: Global economy stands firm amid headwinds : In its latest World Economic Outlook report released on December 2, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) raised its growth forecasts for major economies, especially the US and the Eurozone, saying the world economy is "surprisingly resilient" despite facing headwinds this year. According to the OECD, the US economy will grow 2% in 2025, 0.2 percentage points higher than the estimate made in September 2025, and the Eurozone's growth will reach 1.3%, up 0.1 percentage points from the previous forecast.

2. US lowers tariffs on Korean goods to 15% : US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick confirmed on December 1 that the general tariff rate applied to imported goods from Korea, including automobiles, will be reduced to 15% and take effect retroactively from November 1. This decision was made after South Korea submitted a bill to the National Assembly to realize its strategic investment commitments in the US.

3. The US promotes the recovery and refining of rare earth elements from non-traditional domestic sources : The US Department of Energy (DOE) announced on December 1 that it will fund $134 million for projects to recover and refine rare earth elements from non-traditional sources to strengthen the domestic supply chain for rare earth elements. This funding will be implemented through the DOE's Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation (CMEI).

4. Standard Chartered raises China's 2026 economic growth forecast : Standard Chartered Bank announced on December 1 that it had revised up its 2026 GDP growth forecast from 4.3% to 4.6%. The decision was reportedly based on an assessment of the resilience of exports and continued productivity improvements in the world's second-largest economy.

5. Google becomes the “new star” in the AI race : According to CNN, Google is suddenly rising strongly in the artificial intelligence (AI) race, attracting the attention of OpenAI, Nvidia and Meta. After launching Gemini 3 on November 18, this model quickly climbed to the top of many benchmark rankings for text generation, image processing, photo editing and text-to-image conversion - surpassing ChatGPT, Grok and Claude in those categories. More than a million users tried Gemini 3 in just the first 24 hours.

6. Bitcoin goes down again, the market "evaporates" nearly 1 billion USD : The cryptocurrency market has just experienced a strong sell-off in the first trading session of December 2025, causing nearly 1 billion USD from leveraged positions to be liquidated. This development occurred when the price of bitcoin continued to plummet, extending the decline from the record peak set in October 2025. In the trading session in New York on December 1, the price of bitcoin fell by 8% to 83,824 USD for 1 bitcoin.

7. Samsung Unveils Galaxy Z TriFold Smartphone : South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics on December 2 unveiled its first tri-fold smartphone, which features two folding hinges and a 10-inch display when fully opened, in an effort to double down on its foldable phone portfolio. The Galaxy Z TriFold features a 6.5-inch display when folded, similar to the Galaxy Z Fold 7, allowing users to adapt the device for different usage scenarios.

8. 7-Eleven Japan tests long-distance deliveries using autonomous trucks : Seven-Eleven Japan, the operator of Japan's largest 7-Eleven convenience store chain, will begin testing long-distance deliveries using autonomous trucks. This is the first initiative of its kind in Japan, amid a growing driver shortage that threatens consumer convenience.

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