UAE shares end higher as outcome of US-China trade talks awaited
Top U.S. and Chinese officials will sit down in London on Monday for talks aimed at defusing the high-stakes trade dispute between the two super powers that has widened to export controls over goods and components critical to global supply chains.
Dubai's benchmark index (.DFMGI), opens new tab hit its highest levels since 2008 and settled up 1%, with almost all sectors in positive territory.
Tolls operator Salik Company (SALIK.DU), opens new tab gained 2.3% and Deyaar Development (DEYR.DU), opens new tab surged 14.6%.
In Abu Dhabi, the index (.FTFADGI), opens new tab was up for a third straight session and gained 0.1%, lifted by a 1.6% rise in blue-chip developer Aldar Properties (ALDAR.AD), opens new tab and a 1.8% advance in Abu Dhabi's flagship energy firm Abu Dhabi National Energy Company(TAQA.AD), opens new tab.
** Most stock markets in the Gulf and Egypt including Saudi, Qatar, Kuwait are closed on Monday due to a public holiday
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Reuters
17 minutes ago
- Reuters
Latest Trump tariffs unlikely to budge, top negotiator says
Aug 3 (Reuters) - The tariffs U.S. President Donald Trump imposed last week on scores of countries are likely to stay in place rather than be cut as part of continuing negotiations, Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on Sunday. Ahead of a Friday deadline, Trump set rates including a 35% duty on many goods from Canada, 50% for Brazil, 25% for India, 20% for Taiwan and 39% for Switzerland, according to a presidential executive order. In trade talks since Trump returned to office, the White House has lowered some rates from levels initially announced, including halving import duties set last week as part of a deal with the European Union. Greer told CBS's Face the Nation on Sunday, however, that this would not be the case on the most recent round of tariffs. "A lot of these are set rates pursuant to deals. Some of these deals are announced, some are not, others depend on the level of the trade deficit or surplus we may have with the country," he said. "These tariff rates are pretty much set." Greer also said recent trade talks with Beijing had been "very positive" and were focused on the supply of rare earth magnets and minerals. "We're focused on making sure that the flow of magnets from China to the United States and the- and the adjacent supply chain can flow as freely as it did before ... and I'd say we're about halfway there."
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Why Keir Starmer is outdoing the EU when it comes to dealing with Donald Trump
As Ursula von der Leyen left Scotland last weekend with the ink still drying on the US/ EU trade deal she had just signed with Trump, the reception in European capitals was beyond gloomy. After all the posturing, threats of counter tariffs, Ms von der Leyen had signed a deal which was roundly criticised by a long line of leaders including German chancellor Friedrich Merz, who said the agreement would "substantially damage" his nation's finances, and French prime minister Francois Bayrou, who described it as tantamount to "submission". Hungary's Viktor Orban, an outspoken critic of the EU leadership, said Trump "ate von der Leyen for breakfast". But there was one question which diplomats and government heads were asking all over Europe: 'How did Keir Starmer get a better deal than us?' Not only is the EU still paying 15 per cent tariffs, but it now has agreed to spend billions purchasing energy resources from the US. This compared to the 10 per cent tariffs for the UK. 'Featherweight' Ursula von der Leyen A seasoned diplomat of an EU member state told The Independent that there was 'anger' about what had happened. The fact that the UK 'appears to be rewarded for Brexit' also really stung. But what was more worrying was that the EU supposed collective muscle had failed to produce the goods. Much of the blame has fallen on Ms von der Leyen herself and she is now being referred to as 'the featherweight'. 'She was just not strong enough to take on Trump,' said the diplomat. 'People are just remembering that she was a weak defence minister in the German government, now she is weak as a negotiator.' An insider at Trump's Turnberry golf resort described how the US president was 'in no hurry' to conclude the talks on Saturday. 'He wanted to spend more time talking to paying guests and getting pictures with them,' The Independent was told. 'He was incredibly gracious to everyone there including the staff.' Respect for Starmer But it was a different story with Sir Keir. The insider noted: 'He spoke very warmly of Starmer. He genuinely likes him. I think he respects Starmer for standing up for himself and being straightforward and honest. Trump does not like a complete sycophant. 'In Keir he sees a decent man which the public in the UK don't seem to see at all.' This seemed to not only touch on trade issues but also the problems in the Middle East. When Emmanuel Macron declared France would recognise a Palestinian state he was savaged by Trump's secretary of state Marco Rubio. When Canadian PM Mark Carney did the same Trump himself said it would threaten their trade deal. But when Starmer did it, Trump effectively greenlit the decision and said he was fine with it. The personal relationship between Starmer and Trump was vital in getting that done. But there was more. One Washington insider close to the White House told The Independent: 'Trump does not want any trouble with the UK until after he had a successful state visit in September.' They predicted: 'The relationship with Starmer will eventually fall apart over censorship – online harms bill, digital services taxes, illegal migration, Palestine, and Labour's capitulation to Islamism.' However, that might not be the case. The key to UK diplomacy with the US is King Charles III and the Prince of Wales, with the US president's reverence of the royal family keeping the show on the road. One source said: 'The King and Trump are actually very close.' Meanwhile he 'has spoken a lot' to Prince William, who he met at the reopening of Notre Dame cathedral in Paris. Mandelson works the room Added to that though has been the work of Lord Mandelson as the UK's ambassador in Washington DC. Having almost had his credentials rejected over links to China, Mandelson has been 'working hard to meet everyone and build relations'. 'He is one of the big reasons the UK did well out of the trade deal,' a source said. He is also been central to ensuring that the state visit in September by Trump is 'a big success'. One DC insider said: 'Currently Lord Mandelson is probably the most effective ambassador in Washington at the moment. He seems to know everybody.' Sir Keir will be hoping that this will all prove to be enough to maintain the preferential treatment he seems to be enjoying as a world leader with the US at the moment.
BreakingNews.ie
2 hours ago
- BreakingNews.ie
'It is a terrible deal': UCD economist says EU was 'robbed' in US negotiations
The EU-US deal confirmed earlier this week was "terrible" and the trading bloc was "robbed" during negotiations, according to a professor of economics at University College Dublin (UCD). On Sunday, t he United States and the European Union agreed to a trade deal setting a 15 per cent tariff on most goods, staving off higher import taxes on both sides that might have sent shockwaves through economies around the world. Advertisement While the overall reaction to the deal has been positive — with the Taoiseach saying it " avoided a damaging trade war " — others have been more critical of the agreement. Speaking to UCD professor of economics, Ronald Davies said the EU gave in too easy to Donald Trump. "Essentially, Trump said: 'Give me your wallet and your car'. We gave him the car. 'So, yeah, we got to keep the wallet, but we still got robbed." Advertisement Prof Davies said people can paint it as it could have been worse, "but this was in no way a deal: we got mugged." He claims Ursula von der Leyen should have initiated a trade war with Trump as "he is somebody that only respects force, to the extent he respects anything." "People can have differing opinions on what the better approach is. I think Europe needs to cut the US out entirely," he said. Prof Davis thinks the EU should reorganise their supply chains and bypass the US entirely. Advertisement "What I'm saying is, if progress is going to be made on a global scale, it is got to be Europe, working with China or working with Latin America." While that may seem extreme, I asked him whether he thinks it is worth renegotiating with a possibly less unpredictable Democrat administration in four years. His outlook was quite bleak: "The reason why it does not matter is that the US is fundamentally broken. "You can tell by the accent where I grew up, right? I've been in Ireland for nearly 20 years now. I think it's just going to be this pendulum swinging back and forth. Advertisement "In terms of its own domestic, internal policies, the US will make no progress. Every incoming administration is just going to try to undo what the last one did, and whatever they achieve is going to be undone by the next." In terms of how the deal will impact the European single market, being part of a globalised world complicates things. "This deal is going to have an impact on European consumers," he said, noting half of what the US imports are intermediate inputs from other countries, including Europe. "60 per cent of what Europe imports are intermediate inputs, including what we get from the US. The idea that we are not adding the tariff and therefore not going to have higher prices, while being part of global supply chains, does not work." Advertisement In 2024, Irish exports to the United States totalled $78.61 billion (€67.45 billion), with pharmaceutical products accounting for $33 billion or 42 per cent of all exports. How the deal will impact Irish businesses overall depends on the sector in question. Elastic products Photo:"So, the question is, okay, if prices go up by 15 per cent, how much are (US) consumers going to buy for something like alcohol? He described it as an elastic product, so if Irish whiskey is more expensive, consumers might switch to scotch or Kentucky bourbon because there is only a 10 per cent tariff on it. 'That is something where people actually have the ability to move to a different product easily or cut back. 'Something like dairy or butter, that is also one that I think is probably fairly elastic too." He has concerns about the Irish agri-food sector and how there could be a drop in demand for Irish produce as a result. Meanwhile, for pharmaceuticals, it is a different story. "If you cannot get your usual drug. What's the next best option? A lot of the time, there is not one. "Ireland is the leading producer of Viagra, you know, if you cannot get your magic blue pill, what's the next best option?" The long-term outlook makes for grim reading, with tariffs likely to add to the already skyrocketing cost of living. "This is not going to be good. We will sort of bump along for a while until things even out. But, you know, it is a trade war and make no mistake, we are in a trade war. 'We just kind of surrendered. There is also the Russian-Ukraine war, there is an impending AI war. It is going to be a turbulent decade," he said. Ultimately, the deal for the EU is about bringing some semblance of certainty to things, even if that means taking a substantial hit in the short term. "They are saying, 'Okay, this is a crap deal, but it's 15 per cent; we know what's going on. Now let's get on with things'." World US-EU deal sets 15% tariff on most goods and avert... Read More In terms of how quickly we can expect to see the impact of the deal on prices, there will be some lag. "It will take a while. Even in the US, where they have had the tariffs, at some level, they have not seen prices go up as fast as one might expect. "That is because there is a lot of drawing down of stockpiles in place before tariffs kicked in. Come autumn, those stockpiles are going to be largely evaporated. That is when the US will start to see prices rise," he said. For Europe, Davis reckons it will be hard to pinpoint when exactly we could see the impact, but as winter comes along and rising energy costs ensue, we will likely see the real impact of this deal.
