S. Korea Fines BMW $9.9 Million Over Faulty Engines, Delayed Recalls

South Korea said Monday it will fine BMW $9.9 million and will file a criminal complaint against the German automaker for delaying a recall of cars with faulty engines that caught fire.

South Korea's transport ministry said its investigation uncovered that BMW knew about the faulty engines, but did not execute a prompt recall.

The ministry said BMW deliberately tried to cover up the technical issues with the exhaust gas recirculation, or EGR, even after dozens of fires had been reported earlier this year.

"BMW announced earlier that it had become aware of the connection between the faulty EGR cooler and the fire only on July 20 this year," the ministry said in a statement. "But we discovered that . . . BMW's German headquarters had already formed a special team in October 2015 tasked with solving the EGR problem."

BMW did eventually mount a recall of more than 170,000 cars.

The French news agency AFP reports some South Korea parking lots had refused to accept BMW cars for fear the cars would catch fire.

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China Holds Second Vice Ministerial Call with US on Trade

BEIJING — 

China and the United States held a vice ministerial-level call on Friday, the second such contact in a week, achieving a "deep exchange of views" on trade imbalances and the protection of intellectual property, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said.

A statement posted on the ministry's website on Sunday said the two countries "made new progress" on those issues, without specifying further.

It also said China and the United States discussed arrangements for the next call and mutual visits.

On Wednesday, the ministry said Beijing and Washington had held a vice ministerial-level telephone call about trade and economic issues, without providing other details.

The calls took place amid signs of a thaw in a trade dispute between the United States and China, the world's two largest economies.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping this month agreed to a truce that delayed the planned Jan. 1 U.S. increase of tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods while they negotiate a trade deal.

Chinese Commerce Ministry officials indicated earlier the two countries were in close contact over trade, and any U.S. trade delegation would be welcome to visit.

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Tsunami Strikes Indonesia's Sunda Strait

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A tsunami, likely caused by an erupting volcano, struck Indonesia's Sunda Strait, Dec. 22, 2018, killing dozens of people and injuring hundreds more. Read More Tsunami Strikes Indonesia's Sunda Strait : http://bit.ly/2Gxn33I

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