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 17, 2025 9:02 AM

Ukraine, US make ‘substantial progress’ on minerals deal, Kyiv says

Ukraine and the United States have made "substantial progress" in their talks on a minerals deal and will sign a memorandum in the near future, First Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said on Wednesday. U.S. President Donald Trump is seeking a bilateral minerals deal as part of his push to end Ukraine's war against the Russian invasion. Trump also sees it as a way to recover billions of dollars the U.S. has spent on military assistance to Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said ...

April 16, 2025 9:07 AM

Asian shares fall as Nvidia hit by U.S. chips curbs, gold hits record

Shares fell in Asia on Wednesday as AI darling Nvidia took a hit from U.S. curbs on chip sales to China, highlighting the damage to come in a tit-for-tat global trade war, while gold hit a record and the dollar stayed under pressure. Data showed that China's economy grew 5.4% in the first quarter from a year earlier, beating expectations, although trade tensions with the U.S. have clouded the outlook. Overnight, President Donald Trump ordered a probe into potential new tariffs on all U.S. crit...

April 15, 2025 11:57 AM

US steps up probes into pharmaceutical, chip imports, setting stage for tariffs

The Trump administration is proceeding with probes into imports of pharmaceuticals and semiconductors as part of a bid to impose tariffs on both sectors on grounds that extensive reliance on foreign production of medicine and chips is a national security threat, Federal Register filings on Monday showed. The filings announce 21-day public comment periods and mark President Donald Trump's latest use of Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 as justification for so-called sectoral tariffs...

April 11, 2025 1:30 PM

“US has fundamentally changed its global engagement approach,” says EAM Jaishankar

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Friday said the United States has undergone a fundamental shift in the way it engages with the world over the past year, with technology emerging as a central driver of that transformation. Addressing the Carnegie Global Tech Summit 2025 in New Delhi, Jaishankar said: "US has fundamentally changed its approach to engaging the world, and it has consequences across every domain but the tech consequences, I believe, would be particularly profound, and it ...

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 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)....

March 27, 2025 9:59 AM

Trump announces 25% tariffs on imported cars

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday unveiled a 25% tariff on imported cars and light trucks starting next week, widening the global trade war he kicked off upon regaining the White House this year in a move auto industry experts expect will drive up prices and stymie production. "What we're going to be doing is a 25% tariff for all cars that are not made in the United States," Trump said at an event in the Oval Office. Trump, who sees tariffs as a tool to raise revenue to offset his p...