4h ago
02.56 BST
China
vows to fight Trump tariffs 'to the end'
China’s
commerce ministry has vowed to fight US tariffs “to the end” after Donald Trump
threatened fresh levies of 50% on imports from the world’s second-largest
economy.
“The US
threat to escalate tariffs against China is a mistake on top of a mistake,
which once again exposes the US’s blackmailing nature,” a ministry spokesperson
said on Tuesday.
“China
will never accept this,” AFP quoted them as saying.
If the US
insists on going its own way, China will fight it to the end.
If the US
escalates its tariff measures, China will resolutely take countermeasures to
safeguard its own rights and interests.
Trump
upended the world economy last week with sweeping tariffs that have raised
fears of an international recession and triggered criticism even from within
his own Republican Party.
As the
trade war escalates, Beijing – Washington’s major economic rival – unveiled its
own 34% duties on US goods to come into effect on Thursday.
China’s
commerce ministry on Tuesday also reiterated that it sought “dialogue” with the
US, and that there were “no winners in a trade war”.
33m ago
06.14 BST
Taiwan’s
foreign minister, Lin Chia-lung, has said it can have negotiations with the US
at any time over tariffs, as the island’s stock market steadied after plunging
on Monday.
Taiwan –
a major semiconductor producer – was singled out by Donald Trump as among the
US trading partners with one of the highest trade surpluses with the country
and was hit with a 32% duty.
Taiwan’s
president, Lai Ching-te, on Sunday proposed a zero-tariffs regime with the US,
and to invest more in the country and remove trade barriers.
Speaking
to reporters on the sidelines of parliament on Tuesday, Lin said Taiwan was
ready to talk about a variety of issues with the US, including investment in
and purchases from the country and non-tariff barriers, Reuters reports. He
said:
As long
as there is a confirmed time and method for negotiations, they can be discussed
at any time with the United States.
The
premier, Cho Jung-tai, also speaking at parliament, confirmed Taiwan was among
the US trading partners seeking talks and said the government would choose an
appropriate time to present Lai’s plans to the US.
Taiwan’s
benchmark stock index, which logged its worst fall ever on Monday, down almost
10%, fell another 4% on Tuesday morning to its lowest level in 14 months.
Shares in TSMC , the world’s largest contract chipmaker, dropped around 4%.
Shares in
Foxconn, Apple’s biggest iPhone maker, dropped almost 10%, their daily down
limit, extending their previous day’s fall.
Updated
at
06.16 BST
54m ago
05.54 BST
Recapping
Asian market movements so far today, stocks appeared to find a firmer footing
after the gut-wrenching few days for investors that prompted some business
leaders – including those close to Donald Trump – to urge the US president to
reverse course.
Agence
France-Presse reports that Japan’s Nikkei index rose 6% on Tuesday, rebounding
from a one-and-a-half-year low hit in the previous session, after Trump and
Japanese prime minister Shigeru Ishiba agreed to open trade talks in a phone
call late Monday.
Chinese
blue-chips climbed 0.7%, recouping a fraction of the more than 7% slide on
Monday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index jumped 2% after suffering the worst day
since 1997 as a result of what the trading hub’s leader called “ruthless”
tariffs.
US stock
futures also pointed higher after slumping to the lowest level in more than a
year.
Indonesian
markets were slammed, however, with stocks shedding 9% and the rupiah currency
ploughing a record low as trading resumed on Tuesday after an extended holiday.
Trump
said the tariffs would help the US recapture an industrial base he says has
withered over decades of trade liberalisation, telling reporters at the White
House:
It’s the
only chance our country will have to reset the table. Because no other
president would be willing to do what I’m doing, or to even go through it.
Updated
at
05.59 BST
1h ago
05.31 BST
In New
Zealand, Christian Hawkesby has been appointed as governor of its central bank
for a six-month period, finance minister Nicola Willis said on Tuesday.
Hawkesby
had been serving as its acting governor since the surprise resignation of
Adrian Orr last month.
Willis
said Hawkesby was an experienced central banker who had held a number of senior
positions at the Reserve Bank of New Zealand and would help ensure its
“continued integrity and operations” while a search for a permanent governor
was under way, Reuters reports.
During
his term, the board would support Hawkesby to implement the bank’s new
five-year funding agreement applying from 1 July, Willis said.
Updated
at
05.42 BST
2h ago
05.01 BST
Gold
prices rebound amid demand for save havens
Gold
prices bounced back on Tuesday from a near four-week low reached in the
previous session as concerns over a global trade war increased investor
appetite for safe-haven assets.
Spot gold
was up 0.5% at $2,996.6 an ounce, as of 0340 GMT. Bullion hit its lowest level
since March 13 on Monday, Reuters reports. US gold futures gained 1.3% to
$3,010.70.
“Escalation
of the trade war could trigger a global recession, and that is driving
safe-haven demand,” said a senior analyst at Reliance Securities, Jigar
Trivedi.
“Despite
slipping in the previous sessions, gold is still strong and should remain on
the upward trend” because of the bullish undertone.
Gold,
often considered a safe investment during times of political and financial
uncertainty, scaled an all-time peak of $3,167.57 on 3 April.
Markets
will be closely monitoring minutes from the US Federal Reserve’s latest policy
meeting, scheduled for release on Wednesday.
Traders
also await US consumer price index data, due on Thursday, and the producer
price index on Friday for US interest rate cues amid the escalating global
trade war and recession fears.
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