Markets in the United States open higher, recovering some of their heavy losses after President Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs.China has pledged to “fight to the end” if there is a trade war after Trump threatened to further increase tariffs if Beijing does not withdraw retaliatory levies of 34 percent on US goods.
China ‘confident’ of ‘healthy economic development’, says premierLi Qiang says China has the “tools” necessary to navigate economic headwinds as trade tensions with the US increase.“China’s macroeconomic policy this year takes full account of various uncertainties and has a sufficient reserve of policy tools,” the Chinese premier told European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during their phone call that we reported on earlier, according to state news agency Xinhua.“China can fully hedge against adverse external effects, and is fully confident of maintaining sustained and healthy economic development,” he added.Von der Leyen’s office said earlier that the EU chief asked China to de-escalate tensions with the US.
South Korea does not want a fight over tariffs, president saysActing President Han Duck-soo has told US media he would “clearly like to negotiate” over reducing tariffs imposed by the Trump administration rather than confront them.Speaking in an interview with CNN, Han also said South Korea would not band together with China, Japan or other countries to push back against the new tariffs.Han, who spoke to Trump today, also denied speculation that a recent meeting with the representatives of the two other major Asian powers was about coordinating reactions to the tariffs.“I don’t think that kind of response will dramatically improve the situation,” the acting president said about adopting a reciprocating approach to the tariffs.
US prioritising allies in trade talks: HassettWe have some comments from Kevin Hassett, a White House economic adviser.“The president will decide when and if to talk with China,” he said in an interview with Fox News.“But right now, we’ve received the instruction to prioritise our allies and our trading partners like Japan and Korea and others,” Hassett added.As we previously reported, Trump earlier argued in a social media post that China wants to make a deal “badly”.“But they don’t know how to get it started. We are waiting for their call. It will happen!” Trump said.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has been speaking in the past few hours about the tariffs.He’s been widely reported to be counselling the White House about an endgame for the tariffs and trying to cool the fears of the markets.He’s been giving interviews talking about how up to 70 countries have now gotten in touch with Washington to talk about possible deals, and that seems to have had a relatively calming effect on Wall Street.But we always have the same problem with conflicting narratives. While Bessent is talking about the possibility of deals, Trump is also discussing the tariffs staying for a long time.And then there are the real tariff hardliners like counsellor Peter Navarro and core adviser Stephen Miller saying this is about reshaping US trade for good and bringing back manufacturing and revenue streams.So no one entirely knows what this all means going forward, especially with the war of words ratcheting up with China.
China requests consultations on Trump’s tariffs: WTOThe World Trade Organization (WTO) says China has requested dispute consultations with the US due to Trump’s “reciprocal tariffs”.In the request, China has argued that the US’s measures were inconsistent with its obligations under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994, the Agreement on Customs Valuation, and the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures.The request for a dispute consultation allows WTO parties to discuss the issue and find a solution. If 60 days pass and consultations have failed to resolve the dispute, the complainant can request a legal ruling by a panel.The development comes after China said earlier it would not back down and would “fight to the end” after Trump threatened to increase tariffs unless Beijing withdrew its retaliation tax on US goods on Friday.
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