Senior US and Chinese officials held talks early on Saturday in Geneva in a tentative first step towards defusing a trade war that is disrupting the global economy, according to China’s state-owned news agency and people close to the talks. China’s vice premier, He Lifeng, and the US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, met after weeks of growing tensions that have seen duties on goods imports between the world’s two largest economies rise above 100%. The trade dispute, combined with the decision from the US president, Donald Trump, last month to…
Tag: Economics
UK must rebuild trade relationship with EU, says BoE boss; China-US shipments slump – business live
From 2h ago UK must ‘do everything’ to rebuild trade with EU, Bank of Engand boss says The Governor of the Bank of England has called for Britain to “rebuild” its trade relationship with the European Union, as the UK celebrates yesterday’s trade deal with the US. Andrew Bailey has told the BBC that reversing the post Brexit hit to UK-EU trade would be “beneficial”. And while Bailey was keen not to take a view on Brexit, as a public official, he also argued that a closer relationship between the…
China exports beat expectations despite slump in trade with US
Chinese trade with the United States slumped in April even as its total exports beat forecasts, official figures show, as trade representatives from both nations prepared to meet this weekend in the midst of a gruelling trade war between the superpower rivals. Exports to the United States – one of China’s top trading partners – fell 17.6% in April, data showed. Against that backdrop, analysts polled by Bloomberg had expected exports to rise just 2% year-on-year last month. However they beat expectations, coming in at 8.1%. “The damage of the…
China to cut interest rates in response to trade war with US
China will cut interest rates and inject some much-needed liquidity into the domestic economy, as the country steels itself for a bruising trade war with the US. The People’s Bank of China said on Wednesday it would make a half-point cut to the banks’ reserve requirement ratio, its benchmark interest rate, and release 1tn yuan (£103.6bn) into the banking system. Pan Gongsheng, the governor of the People’s Bank of China, said China would also cut a key interest rate by 0.1 percentage point. Pan said the “moderately loose” measures were…
UK should not fear trade with China – but needs to keep risks in check | Gerard Lyons
The US is urging countries to agree new trade deals. The perceived risk is a bipolar world, where countries have to choose between the US and China. What are the implications for the UK? In all likelihood this choice is avoidable. The global economy is so interconnected, fragmentation is more likely than a bipolar world. Supply chains are complex, and involve many countries. Even as nations look to onshore supply chains, achieving this will be a lengthy and expensive challenge. Likewise, with financial flows. Bank for International Settlements data shows…
Why is Trump ending the ‘de minimis’ tariff loophole on low-value imports?
At one minute past midnight on Friday, eastern time, a US tariff exemption that has fuelled the rise of companies such as Shein and Temu, and stocked the wardrobes of millions of Americans with cheap fast fashion and other household goods, closed. As part of Donald Trump’s flurry of tariffs on China, the US is closing a loophole that allowed low-value goods to be shipped into the US without paying any import fees. The “de minimis” loophole, known by the Latin phrase for “of little importance”, was “a big scam…
US has approached China seeking talks on Trump tariffs, says state social media
The US has approached China seeking talks over Donald Trump’s 145% tariffs, a social media account affiliated with Chinese state media has said, potentially signalling Beijing’s openness to negotiations. “The US has proactively reached out to China through multiple channels, hoping to hold discussions on the tariff issue,” Yuyuan Tantian reported in a post published on its official Weibo social media account, citing anonymous sources. US officials, including the Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, and White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett, also expressed hope for progress in easing trade tensions. Hassett…
Xi announces plan for Chinese economy to counter impact of US trade war
Xi Jinping has announced a plan to counter China’s continuing economic problems and the impact of the US trade war, as reports swirl that it could drop tariffs on some US products, including semiconductors. Friday’s meeting of the politburo was convened to discuss China’s economic situation, which since the pandemic has faced difficulties fuelled by a housing sector crisis, youth unemployment, and Donald Trump’s tariffs on all Chinese exports. A readout of the meeting published by the official state media outlet, Xinhua, said China’s economy had showed a “positive trend”…
US and China holding talks on trade war, Trump says after Beijing rebuttal
The US and China held talks on Thursday to help resolve the trade war between the world’s two largest economies, Donald Trump said. “We may reveal it later, but they had meetings this morning, and we’ve been meeting with China,” the US president told reporters at the White House. China had earlier hit back against Trump’s previous claim to be close to a trade deal with Beijing. Trump had buoyed markets by suggesting on Wednesday that the US was “actively” negotiating with Beijing, and pointing to hopes of a deal…
Starmer and Reeves try to ride three horses with US, EU and China trade ties
Riding two horses is hard enough, but diplomats are joking in private that Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves are trying to ride three. At the International Monetary Fund summit in Washington this week, Reeves sought to position the UK as a beacon of free trade that is open to business with the EU, US and China. Riding those three horses is central to the government’s strategy for boosting growth and navigating the international stage at a time when old alliances are being upended and the post-cold war order redrawn. What…