Donald Trump’s 1 August tariffs deadline did what it was always intended to do. It kept the markets and the nations guessing amid last-minute uncertainty. It attempted to reassert the global heft of the United States economy to take on and master all comers. And it placed President Trump at the centre of the media story, where he always insists on being. In the event, there were some last-minute agreements struck this week, few of them fair or rational in trade terms, most of them motivated by the desire to…
Tag: International trade
White House to end US tariff exemption for all low-value overseas packages
The United States is suspending a “de minimis” exemption that allowed low-value commercial shipments to be shipped to the United States without facing tariffs, the White House said on Wednesday. Under an executive order signed by Donald Trump on Wednesday, packages valued at or under $800 sent to the US outside of the international postal network will now face “all applicable duties” starting on 29 August, the White House said. The US president earlier targeted packages from China and Hong Kong, and the White House said the recently signed tax…
EU may as well be ‘province of China’ due to reliance on imports, says industrialist
The EU may as well “apply to be a province of China” such is its inability to wean itself off that country’s supply of critical raw materials used in everything from electric vehicles to smartphones and wind turbines, a leading German industrialist has said. As chief executive of AMG Lithium, the EU’s first factory to make the lithium hydroxide used in many car batteries, Stefan Scherer sits at the centre of what has been dubbed a new gold rush. But the chemist said China will continue to dominate battery technology…
Nike says Trump tariff war could cost it $1bn
Nike expects costs to increase by about $1bn (£728m) as a result of Donald Trump’s tariff war, as the sportswear company looks to significantly reduce its manufacturing in China. The market value of the company has plummeted by a third over the past year and it is taking action to reduce the hit, including price increases in the US and sourcing from other countries. “These tariffs represent a new and meaningful cost headwind,” said Matthew Friend, its chief financial officer. “With the new tariff rates in place today, we estimate…
US reaches deal with China to speed up rare earth shipments, White House says, amid efforts to end trade war
The United States has reached an agreement with China on how to expedite rare earth shipments to the US, a White House official has said, amid efforts to end a trade war between the world’s biggest economies. President Donald Trump said earlier on Thursday that the US had signed a deal with China the previous day, without providing additional details, and that there might be a separate deal coming up that would “open up” India. During US-China trade talks in May in Geneva, Beijing committed to removing non-tariff countermeasures imposed…
Chinese exports to UK rise as firms seek to avoid US tariffs
Chinese exports to the UK jumped in May, according to data from Beijing, raising the prospect of a flood of cut-price goods as firms look for alternative markets to avoid Donald Trump’s tariffs. Data published by the Chinese government showed a 16.1% increase in exports to the UK in May compared with the same month last year, hitting the highest level since February 2022. That could be an early signal of an acceleration from the 10% annual rate of increase in April in the UK data published by the Office…
Chinese carmaker Chery Auto ‘actively considering’ building UK factory
The Chinese carmaker Chery Auto is considering building its second European factory in Britain. After launching two brands, Omoda and Jaecoo, in the UK in September, Chery’s UK director, Victor Zhang, said the company is making inroads in the British market with the appetite growing for Chinese cars. He was speaking at the annual conference of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, where the business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, admitted that there was “still a lot of work” to do in negotiating away all of Donald Trump’s tariffs against the…
Trump trade deal shows how vital China’s rare-earth metals are to US defense firms
The draft trade agreement with China announced by Donald Trump on Wednesday would ease concerns from top US military suppliers about rare-earth metals and magnets that, if cut off permanently, could hobble production of everything from smart bombs to fighter jets to submarines and other weapons in the US arsenal. While the deal has not yet been finalised, it may reassure major defense companies such as Lockheed Martin, the largest US user of samarium – a rare-earth metal used in military-grade magnets – whose supply is entirely controlled by China.…
Trump says China will face 55% tariffs as he endorses trade deal
Donald Trump has endorsed the US-China trade deal struck in London that will ramp up supplies of rare earth minerals and magnets needed for the automotive industry, saying it will take total tariffs on Beijing to 55%. Acknowledging that his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, still needed to give his final approval on the terms agreed late on Tuesday night at Lancaster House, the US president disclosed the pact would also facilitate Chinese students’ access to US colleges. The 55% tariff total appears at first glance to be a hike from…
Trump announces US-China trade talks in London next week
Senior US administration officials will meet with a Chinese delegation on Monday in London for the next round of trade negotiations between Washington and Beijing, Donald Trump said on Friday. The meeting comes after a phone call between Trump and the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, on Thursday, which the US president described as a “very positive” conversation as the two countries attempt to break an impasse over tariffs and global supplies of rare earth minerals. The treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, and US trade representative, Jamieson Greer,…