trade war

June 26, 2025 2:49 PM

EU leaders meet to decide on whether to back quick US trade deal or seek better terms

European Union leaders are to tell the European Commission on Thursday whether they want to reach a quick trade agreement with the United States on terms that favour Washington or keep fighting for a better deal. A quick deal seems to be the preferred option for most, officials and diplomats said, as the EU can then seek to address the unfavourable bias with some rebalancing measures of its own. "I support the Commission, I support the President of the European Commission in her endeavours to ...

June 6, 2025 11:55 AM

Trump and Xi agree to more talks as trade disputes brew

U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping confronted weeks of brewing trade tensions and a battle over critical minerals in a rare leader-to-leader call on Thursday that left key issues to further talks. During the more than one-hour-long call, Xi told Trump to back down from trade measures that roiled the global economy and warned him against threatening steps on Taiwan, according to a Chinese government summary. But Trump said on social media that the talks focused primarily ...

April 25, 2025 5:09 PM

China exempts some goods from US tariffs to limit trade war pain

China has exempted some U.S. imports from its 125% tariffs and is asking firms to identify critical goods they need levy-free, according to businesses notified, in the clearest sign yet of Beijing's concerns about the trade war's economic fallout. The dispensation, which follows de escalatory statements from Washington, signals that the world's two largest economies were prepared to rein in their conflict, which had frozen much of the trade between them, raising fears of a glob...

April 24, 2025 11:58 AM

U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent calls China tariffs unsustainable as Washington eyes de-escalation

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Wednesday that high tariffs between the United States and China are not sustainable, as President Donald Trump's administration signaled openness to de-escalating a trade war between the world's two largest economies that has raised fears of recession. U.S. stocks rallied on hopes that the two countries might lower the steep trade barriers they have erected over the past month, though there was no sign that negotiations might start anytime soon. Be...

April 11, 2025 9:54 AM

Global stocks, dollar sink, bonds pummelled again as trade war roils markets

Global stocks slumped and the dollar sank further on Friday, while a manic bond selloff took hold in a brutal end to the week of tit-for-tat worldwide tariffs that have fed fears of a deep recession and shaken investor confidence in U.S. assets. The anxiety has sparked a rush into safe havens, sending the Swiss franc soaring to a decade high against the dollar, and gold to a new peak after a brief but massive relief rally following U.S. President Donald Trump's move to temporarily lower tariffs...

April 8, 2025 9:13 AM

China criticises Trump tariff ‘blackmail’ as market turmoil settles

China said it would not bow to "blackmail" from the United States as a global trade war touched off by U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs showed little sign of abating on Tuesday even as battered stock markets steadied. The rebuke came after Trump said he would impose an additional 50% duty on U.S. imports from the world's No.2 economy on Wednesday in response to Beijing's decision to match the 34% 'reciprocal' duties Trump initially unveiled last week. "The U.S. side's threat to e...

April 7, 2025 9:27 AM

Asian stocks dive as tariff tensions rise

Major stock indexes plunged in Asia on Monday as White House officials showed no sign of backing away from their sweeping tariff plans, and investors wagered the mounting risk of recession could see U.S. interest rates cut as early as May. Futures markets moved swiftly to price in almost five quarter-point cuts in U.S. rates this year, pulling Treasury yields down sharply and hampering the dollar. The carnage came as President Donald Trump told reporters that investors would have to take their...

April 3, 2025 9:29 AM

Global stocks slump as US tariffs hit tech hardest

Stocks dived and investors scrambled to the safety of bonds, gold and the yen on Thursday as U.S. President Donald Trump unveiled a bigger-than-expected wall of tariffs around the world's largest economy, upending trade and supply chains. The high-flying tech sector was pummelled as manufacturing hubs in China and Taiwan faced new tariffs above 30%, bringing the total new levy to an eye-watering 54% on imports from China. "The U.S. effective tariff rate on all imports look to be the highest le...

April 3, 2025 9:00 AM

Trump’s sweeping import tariffs amp up global trade war

President Donald Trump's decision to slap a 10% tariff on most goods imported to the United States, as well as higher duties on dozens of countries from rivals to allies, has intensified a global trade war that threatens to stoke inflation and stall growth. The sweeping duties announced against the serene backdrop of the White House Rose Garden on Wednesday immediately unleashed turbulence across world markets and drew condemnation from other leaders now faced with the end of decades of tra...

April 2, 2025 9:10 AM

White House says Trump will go ahead with tariffs as nervous world awaits trade war

The White House confirmed on Tuesday that President Donald Trump will impose new tariffs on Wednesday, though it provided no details about the size and scope of trade barriers that have businesses, consumers and investors fretting about an intensifying global trade war. Trump has for weeks trumpeted April 2 as a "Liberation Day" that will see dramatic new duties that could upend the global trade system, with a White House Rose Garden announcement scheduled for 4 p.m. Eastern Time (2000 GMT)....