Back in January, with Donald Trump’s campaign promises to end the war in Ukraine “within 24 hours” still fresh in the memory, there was genuine unease in Moscow over the US president’s intentions. When Mr Trump mused that “high levels of Taxes, Tariffs, and Sanctions” on Russia might be necessary, one high-profile and pro-war Moscow commentator wrote: “It’s better to prepare for the worst. Soon, we’ll look back on Biden’s term with nostalgia, like a thaw.” How wrong can you be? Since then, the US president has repeatedly talked the talk…
Tag: Tariffs
Chinese economy slows amid Trump trade war and weaker consumer spending
China’s economy showed further signs of weakness last month as it comes under strain from Donald Trump’s trade wars and domestic problems, with factory output and consumer spending rising at their slowest pace for about a year. The disappointing data adds pressure on Beijing to roll out more stimulus to fend off a sharp slowdown, with a debt crisis denting the country’s once-booming property sector and exports facing stronger headwinds. Economists were split over whether policymakers should introduce more near-term fiscal support to hit their annual 5% growth target, with…
Trump or no Trump, Europe’s relationship with the US will never recover | Nathalie Tocci
Is the transatlantic rupture temporary or structural? Is Donald Trump the cause of the rift, or is the US president only a symptom of underlying trends? Optimists latch on to the hope that the stability we have lost can be restored post-Trump. Having spent the past few days in Washington, I doubt it. Even in recent history, things were not quite so bad for the transatlantic relationship. The current tensions make the first Trump administration look like a walk in the park for Europeans. It is one thing to withdraw…
Trump reportedly asks EU to impose 100% tariffs on India and China to put pressure on Russia
Donald Trump has asked the EU to impose tariffs of up to 100% on India and China as part of an effort to force the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, to end the war in Ukraine, according to reports. The US president made the demand during a meeting between US and EU officials discussing options to increase economic pressure on Russia on Tuesday, according to the Financial Times, BBC and Bloomberg, who cited multiple sources familiar with the discussions. One US official reportedly said that the Trump administration was “ready to…
‘Vital to be friends’: Putin, Xi and Modi meet in message to western counterparts
They stood together like old friends, heads thrown back in jovial laughter, clutching one another’s hands affectionately. Except this was no ordinary gathering of three men, but a meeting of three of the most powerful non-western leaders: Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping and Narendra Modi. The overt displays of intimacy were widely regarded by observers as a telling message of defiance aimed at their western counterparts, in particular Donald Trump, who just a few days earlier had slapped India with 50% import tariffs, among the harshest of the US president’s trade…
Trump’s China trade truce extension spurs market rally
Donald Trump’s decision to extend a truce in the trade war with China has triggered a stock market rally across the globe. On Monday night, the US president signed an executive order extending the deadline for higher tariffs on China until 10 November. Beijing said early on Tuesday it would suspend additional tariffs on US goods for a further 90 days. In response, markets in Japan and Australia hit record highs on Tuesday, as expectations grow that the US and China could secure a trade agreement before the end of…
US-China trade truce deadline looms threatening escalation of economic tensions
A trade truce between the US and China was set to expire on Tuesday, threatening an escalation of economic tensions between the world’s two largest economies. Chinese officials said they hoped the United States would strive for “positive” trade outcomes on Monday, as the 90-day detente reached between the two countries last month was due to expire. “We hope that the US will work with China to follow the important consensus reached during the phone call between the two heads of state … and strive for positive outcomes on the…
Inside China’s fast-fashion factories as a US trade war looms – podcast
Ever since Donald Trump came to power, China has been threatened by a trade war – with tariffs on its products into the US at one point set at an extraordinary 145%. In May, however, the two countries agreed to a partial truce – one that is expiring on Tuesday 12 August. As the Guardian’s senior China correspondent, Amy Hawkins, explains to Nosheen Iqbal, for now there is little sign of an imminent deal, though an extension of the truce, at least, is possible. So she heads to Guangzhou, the…
The Guardian view on Trump’s tariffs: both a political and an economic threat | Editorial
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…
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…