Tag: trade

World on brink of trade war as US slaps tariffs on allies

  by Simon Morgan with Delphine Touitou Agence France Presse The world’s largest economies stood on the brink of all-out trade war as the EU, Canada and Mexico drew up retaliatory measures to Washington’s stinging steel and aluminium tariffs that came into effect on Friday. Washington angered its major allies by slapping duties of 25 percent and 10 percent on imports of aluminium and steel. The measures had actually been decided back in March, but […]

Trade war looms as US tariffs roil G7 meet

    by Delphine TOUITOU / Douglas Gillison / with Heather Scott in Washington © Agence France-Presse WHISTLER, Canada (AFP) — The world’s largest economies stood at the precipice of all-out trade war as major US allies announced retaliation against stinging steel and aluminum tariffs that took effect on Friday. President Donald Trump’s decision Thursday not to extend exemptions for Canada and the European Union — the largest sources of foreign aluminum and steel respectively for […]

Canada hits US with billions in retaliatory tariffs in steel row

  by Michel Comte © Agence France-Presse OTTAWA, Canada (AFP) — Canada hit back at steep US tariffs on aluminum and steel on Thursday, announcing retaliatory duties on up to Can$16.6 billion (US$12.8 billion) in American imports. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told a news conference the US tariffs were “totally unacceptable.” “These tariffs are an affront to the long standing security partnership between Canada and the United States, and in particular, an affront to the […]

White House has deal to lift sanctions on China’s ZTE: report

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) – The White House says it has reached a deal with Chinese telecoms giant ZTE that would lift crippling sanctions slapped on the company, The New York Times reported Friday. The news comes as the US prepares to send a trade delegation back to Beijing next week to continue talks aimed at defusing a potentially serious trade dispute with China, after the countries exchanged huge tit-for-tat threats on imports. The reported […]

US, China back off on tariffs, easing trade tensions

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin confirmed Sunday that Washington and Beijing have agreed to back off from imposing tariffs on each other, a day after reaching an accord on slashing the American trade deficit with China. “We have made very meaningful progress and we agreed on a framework,” Mnuchin told Fox News Sunday. “So right now we have agreed to put the tariffs on hold while we try to execute […]

Trudeau, Trump: NAFTA talks could conclude soon

OTTAWA, Canada (AFP) — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and US President Donald Trump discussed Monday ongoing negotiations to revamp the North American Free Trade Agreement, with the White House highlighting the “importance” of reaching a quick conclusion. While Trudeau’s office mentioned the “progress” made, and the “possibility of bringing the negotiations to a prompt conclusion,” the US side was more direct. “President Trump underscored the importance of quickly concluding an agreement,” the White House […]

Trump pledges to safeguard Chinese telecoms jobs

    by Issam Ahmed © Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump said Sunday he was working with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to prevent telecom giant ZTE from going out of business after it was hit by an American technology sales ban. Writing on Twitter, Trump said he had issued instructions for officials to come up with a rescue plan, saying too many jobs were at risk. “President Xi of […]

Critical US-China trade talks end in Beijing

BEIJING, China (AFP) — China and the US ended the second day of high-stakes trade talks Friday with “big differences”, Beijing said, leaving the world’s two largest economies on the brink of a trade war that could have knock-on effects on the global economy. The talks were aimed at forestalling momentum towards the looming conflict, with both sides prepared to pull the trigger on tariffs that could affect trade in billions of dollars of goods. […]

US, China dampen expectations as trade talks open

by Ryan McMorrow Agence France Presse BEIJING, China (AFP) — Top US and Chinese officials prepared Thursday to kick off crucial trade talks in Beijing but both sides sought to dampen expectations for a quick resolution to a heated dispute between the world’s two largest economies. The gathering comes months after US President Donald Trump sparked a series of tit-for-tat exchanges by threatening to impose huge tariffs on billions of dollars worth of goods, sparking […]

Deadline looms on US steel tariff exemptions

  by Heather Scott © Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Key US trading partners face a looming deadline on Tuesday when crippling tariffs on steel and aluminum are set to take effect — and they are urging the White House to exempt them permanently. The major suppliers, including Canada, Mexico, South Korea and the European Union, were granted a temporary reprieve when President Donald Trump imposed the tariffs in March. The measures were largely […]

US-China trade tension dominates IMF gathering

    by Heather Scott © Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Trade tensions between the United States and China, which threaten to spill over into the global economy, are dominating a gathering of world finance officials even as the Group of 20 avoided the topic on Friday. Official after official has called for disputes to be resolved through dialogue rather than unilateral tariffs, and warned about the threat to the economic recovery. French Economy […]

Trump vows to work ‘very, very hard’ for Japanese held in N.Korea

PALM BEACH, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump said Wednesday he would work to help Tokyo bring home from North Korea Japanese citizens who were abducted in the 1970s and 1980s to help Pyongyang train its spies. Trump, who was addressing reporters with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at his side, said: “We will work very hard on that issue and we will work hard to try and bring those folks back — […]