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International Business Times
07-07-2025
- Business
- International Business Times
Asian Stocks Decline as Tariff Confusion Mounts and OPEC+ Raises Oil Output
Stocks in Asia fell on Monday. Japan's Nikkei slid 0.5%, Chinese blue chips dived 0.5%, and the MSCI Asia-Pacific index outside Japan lost 0.6%. South Korea's market stayed flat. U.S. S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures slipped 0.3%, and European futures also posted small losses. This was after U.S. officials signaled that there would be delays on tariffs but provided no specifics. Trump said trade partners would be notified by July 9 of the prospect of higher tariffs, which could take effect from August 1. He cautioned against tariffs of up to 60% or 70% for countries that are part of the BRICS. To date, only a handful of deals have been struck. Analysts are concerned that the trade tension could weigh on U.S. economic growth and stoke inflation. Currency Moves and Central Bank Expectations The dollar index rose 0.2%, to 97.142. It rose 0.3 percent against the yen to 145.02 and was little changed at $1.1767 against the euro. The Australian dollar, often sensitive to trade news, fell 0.7% to $0.6501. Interest rates were marginally down, with the yield on the 10-year United States Treasury note 2 basis points lower at 4.328 percent. Traders are on the lookout for any signals from the Federal Reserve about future rate cuts. Trade uncertainties have kept Fed officials cautious. Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of Australia is expected to move the rate from 3.75% down to 3.60% on Tuesday. New Zealand's central bank is expected to keep rates unchanged at 3.25%, having already slashed them by 225 basis points over the past year. Oil Slides as OPEC+ Ups Output, Gold Dips Oil prices slid after OPEC+ agreed to increase output in August by 548,000 barrels per day, at a higher level than the markets were expecting. The group also suggested another increase in September. Brent crude fell 0.4% to $68.01 a barrel, and U.S. crude was down 1.1% at $65.28. Analysts say that OPEC+ appears to be seeking to squeeze U.S. shale producers. Gold was down 0.3% at $3,324 an ounce, having added nearly 2 percent last week on dollar weakness. Market participants continue to focus on a larger trend of global trade and economic normalization and are apprehensive as they try to make sense of it.
Sky News AU
27-06-2025
- Business
- Sky News AU
‘Put the fear of God in foreign nations': Trump's revenge tax used for ‘leverage'
Former White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney discusses United States Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent asking for the removal of the 'revenge tax' from the 'Big, Beautiful Bill'. 'I think it was there for leverage in the first place, it was there to give Trump another chip in the negotiations on trade,' Mr Mulvaney told Sky News Australia. 'They got what they wanted out of this; they put the fear of God in foreign nations. 'They sent a message.'
Sky News AU
26-06-2025
- Business
- Sky News AU
Scott Bessent asks for removal of ‘revenge' tax from ‘Big, Beautiful Bill'
United States Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has asked for the removal of the 'revenge tax' from the big, beautiful bill. 'I have asked the Senate and House to remove the Section 899 protective measure from consideration in the One, Big, Beautiful Bill,' Mr Bessent said on X. 'This understanding with our G7 partners provides greater certainty and stability for the global economy and will enhance growth and investment in the United States and beyond.'
Japan Today
11-06-2025
- Business
- Japan Today
Deal getting U.S.-China trade truce back on track is done, Trump says
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese vice premier He Lifeng pose for a photo with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao, and China's International Trade Representative and Vice Minister of Commerce Li Chenggang, in London, Britain June 9, 2025. United States Treasury/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY By Doina Chiacu and Alistair Smout A deal getting the fragile truce in the U.S.-China trade war back on track is done, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday, after negotiators from Washington and Beijing agreed on a framework covering tariff rates. The deal also removes Chinese export restrictions on rare earth minerals and allows Chinese students access to American universities. Trump took to his social media platform to offer some of the first details to emerge from two days of marathon talks held in London that had, in the words of U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, put "meat on the bones" of an agreement reached last month in Geneva to ease bilateral retaliatory tariffs that had reached crushing triple-digit levels. "Our deal with China is done, subject to final approval with President Xi and me," Trump said on the Truth Social platform. "Full magnets, and any necessary rare earths, will be supplied, up front, by China. Likewise, we will provide to China what was agreed to, including Chinese students using our colleges and universities (which has always been good with me!). We are getting a total of 55% tariffs, China is getting 10%." A White House official said the 55% represents the sum of a baseline 10% "reciprocal" tariff Trump has imposed on goods imported from nearly all U.S. trading partners; 20% on all Chinese imports because of punitive measures Trump has imposed on China, Mexico and Canada associated with his accusation that the three facilitate the flow of the opioid fentanyl into the U.S.; and finally pre-existing 25% levies on imports from China that were put in place during Trump's first term in the White House. Lutnick said the 55% rate for Chinese imports is now fixed and unalterable. Asked on Wednesday on CNBC if the tariff levels on China would not change, he said: "You can definitely say that." Still, many specifics of the deal and details for how it would be implemented remain unclear. China's commerce ministry did not immediately reply to a request for comment and more information. FRAMEWORK FOR A DEAL Officials from the two superpowers had gathered at a rushed meeting in London starting on Monday following a call last week between Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping that broke a standoff that had developed just weeks after a preliminary deal reached in Geneva that had defused their trade war. The Geneva deal had faltered over China's continued curbs on critical minerals exports, prompting the Trump administration to respond with export controls preventing shipments of semiconductor design software, aircraft and other goods to China. Lutnick said the agreement reached in London would remove restrictions on Chinese exports of rare earth minerals and magnets and some of the recent U.S. export restrictions "in a balanced way," but did not provide details after the talks concluded around midnight London time. "We have reached a framework to implement the Geneva consensus and the call between the two presidents," Lutnick said, adding that both sides will now return to present the framework to their respective presidents for approvals. "And if that is approved, we will then implement the framework," he said. In a separate briefing, China's Vice Commerce Minister Li Chenggang also said a trade framework had been reached in principle that would be taken back to U.S. and Chinese leaders. 'BACK TO SQUARE ONE' Trump's shifting tariff policies have roiled global markets, sparked congestion and confusion in major ports, and cost companies tens of billions of dollars in lost sales and higher costs. U.S. stocks drifted lower on Wednesday but have recouped most of the losses suffered earlier in the spring during Trump's wave of tariff announcements. "It's a done deal, according to President Trump, but we haven't seen any details, which is why I think the market is not reacting to it yet. As with just about everything, the devil is in the details," said Oliver Pursche, senior vice president and adviser at Wealthspire Advisors in Westport, Connecticut. The World Bank on Tuesday slashed its global growth forecast for 2025 by four-tenths of a percentage point to 2.3%, saying higher tariffs and heightened uncertainty posed a "significant headwind" for nearly all economies. The U.S.-China deal may keep the Geneva agreement from unravelling over duelling export controls, but does little to resolve deep differences over Trump's unilateral tariffs and longstanding U.S. complaints about China's state-led, export-driven economic model. "If China will course correct by upholding its end of the initial trade agreement we outlined in Geneva - and I believe after our talks in London, they will - then the rebalancing of the world' largest economies is possible," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told members of Congress on Wednesday after returning from the London talks overnight. The two sides left Geneva with fundamentally different views of the terms of that agreement and needed to be more specific on required actions, said Josh Lipsky, senior director of the Atlantic Council's GeoEconomics Center in Washington. "They are back to square one, but that's much better than square zero," Lipsky added. It was not immediately clear from Trump's comments where things stood regarding the timeline for a more comprehensive deal that had been reached last month in Geneva. There, the two sides set August 10 as the deadline to negotiate a more comprehensive agreement to ease trade tensions, or tariff rates would snap back from about 30% to 145% on the U.S. side and from 10% to 125% on the Chinese side. © Thomson Reuters 2025.
Ya Libnan
11-06-2025
- Business
- Ya Libnan
US, China reach deal to ease export curbs, keep tariff truce alive
U.S. and Chinese officials said on Tuesday they had agreed on a framework to get their trade truce back on track and remove China's export restrictions on rare earths while offering little sign of a durable resolution to longstanding trade tensions. At the end of two days of intense negotiations in London, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told reporters the framework deal puts 'meat on the bones' of an agreement reached last month in Geneva to ease bilateral retaliatory tariffs that had reached crushing triple-digit levels. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese vice premier He Lifeng meet in London. United States Treasury/Handout But the Geneva deal had faltered over China's continued curbs on critical minerals exports, prompting the Trump administration to respond with export controls of its own preventing shipments of semiconductor design software, aircraft and other goods to China. Lutnick said the agreement reached in London would remove restrictions on Chinese exports of rare earth minerals and magnets and some of the recent U.S. export restrictions 'in a balanced way', but did not provide details after the talks concluded around midnight London time (2300 GMT). 'We have reached a framework to implement the Geneva consensus and the call between the two presidents,' Lutnick said, adding that both sides will now return to present the framework to their respective presidents for approvals. 'And if that is approved, we will then implement the framework,' he said. In a separate briefing, China's Vice Commerce Minister Li Chenggang also said a trade framework had been reached in principle that would be taken back to U.S. and Chinese leaders. U.S. President Donald Trump's shifting tariff policies have roiled global markets, sparked congestion and confusion in major ports , and cost companies tens of billions of dollars in lost sales and higher costs. The World Bank on Tuesday slashed its global growth forecast for 2025 by four-tenths of a percentage point to 2.3%, saying higher tariffs and heightened uncertainty posed a 'significant headwind' for nearly all economies. The deal may keep the Geneva agreement from unravelling over duelling export controls, but does little to resolve deep differences over Trump's unilateral tariffs and longstanding U.S. complaints about China's state-led, export-driven economic model. The two sides left Geneva with fundamentally different views of the terms of that agreement and needed to be more specific on required actions, said Josh Lipsky, senior director of the Atlantic Council's GeoEconomics Center in Washington. 'They are back to square one but that's much better than square zero,' Lipsky added. The two sides have until August 10 to negotiate a more comprehensive agreement to ease trade tensions, or tariff rates will snap back from about 30% to 145% on the U.S. side and from 10% to 125% on the Chinese side. MARKETS CAUTIOUS Global stocks have recovered their hefty losses after Trump's April 'Liberation Day' tariff announcement and are now near record highs. Investors burned by earlier turmoil offered a cautious response to the deal and MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) rose 0.57%. 'The devil will be in the details, but the lack of reaction suggests this outcome was fully expected,' said Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone in Melbourne. 'The details matter, especially around the degree of rare earths bound for the U.S., and the subsequent freedom for U.S.-produced chips to head east, but for now as long as the headlines of talks between the two parties remain constructive, risk assets should remain supported.' Signs of the curbs loosening surfaced in China, as several Shenzhen-listed rare earth magnet firms, including JL MAG Rare-Earth ( said they have obtained export licenses from Chinese authorities. China holds a near-monopoly on rare earth magnets, a crucial component in electric vehicle motors, and its decision in April to suspend exports of a wide range of critical minerals and magnets upended global supply chains. In May, the U.S. responded by halting shipments of semiconductor design software and chemicals and aviation equipment, revoking export licences that had been previously issued. CHINA EXPORTS PLUNGED A resolution to the trade war may require policy adjustments from all countries to treat financial imbalances or otherwise greatly risk mutual economic damage, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said on a rare visit to Beijing on Wednesday. Customs data published on Monday showed that China's overall exports to the U.S. plunged 34.5% in May, the sharpest drop since the outbreak of the COVID pandemic. While the impact on U.S. inflation and its jobs market has so far been muted, tariffs have hammered U.S. business and household confidence and the dollar remains under pressure . Beijing-based lawyer Peter Wu, 28, saw the talks as 'a good signal' even if details were not fully negotiated. 'I feel that fighting a trade war in the context of global integration is a lose-lose situation for both sides. I naturally hope that my motherland will be better,' he said. China, Mexico, the European Union, Japan, Canada and many airlines and aerospace companies worldwide urged the Trump administration not to impose new national security tariffs on imported commercial planes and parts, according to documents released Tuesday. Just after the framework deal was announced, a U.S. appeals court allowed Trump's most sweeping tariffs to stay in effect while it reviews a lower court decision blocking them on grounds that they exceeded Trump's legal authority by imposing them. The decision keeps alive a key pressure point on China, Trump's currently suspended 34% 'reciprocal' duties that had prompted swift tariff escalation. (REUTERS)
