Chinese manufacturers in fighting spirits despite scrapped US orders
On a sweltering spring day, workers at a Christmas tree factory in eastern China rhythmically assembled piles of branches, wiping away sweat as they daubed white-paint snow onto plastic pine needles. Like countless other companies in the manufacturing powerhouse of Zhejiang province, its products are geared largely towards export — a sector freshly menaced by […]
Asset flight challenges US safe haven status
The US has long been considered a financial safe haven. The sell-off of the dollar, stocks and Treasury bonds in a spree sparked by panic at President Donald Trump’s trade war is starting to raise questions about if that’s still true. – What happened this week to US assets? – US equities and the greenback […]
US exempts tech imports in tariff step back
The Trump administration has exempted a raft of consumer electronics from its punishing import tariffs — offering relief to US tech firms and partially dialling down a trade war with China. A notice late Friday by the US Customs and Border Protection office said smartphones, laptops, memory chips and other products would be excluded from […]
Indonesia palm oil firms eye new markets as US trade war casts shadow
Indonesian palm oil companies are seeking new markets in Europe, Africa and the Middle East as they try to protect themselves from the impact of Donald Trump’s trade war, a top industry executive told AFP. Indonesia is the world’s biggest producer of the edible oil — used in making foods such as cakes, chocolate, and […]
Trump advisor Navarro looks to cool spat with Musk
Donald Trump’s trade advisor Peter Navarro on Sunday insisted that “everything’s fine with Elon” Musk, after the Tesla chief called him a “moron.” Musk, who as a fellow member of the American president’s inner circle was charged with government cost-cutting, has clashed with Navarro over the tariffs broadside the president unleashed that reflects his antagonistic […]
China calls on US to ‘completely cancel’ reciprocal tariffs
China on Sunday called on the United States to “completely cancel” its reciprocal tariffs after Washington announced exemptions for consumer electronics and key chipmaking equipment. “We urge the US to… take a big step to correct its mistakes, completely cancel the wrong practice of ‘reciprocal tariffs’ and return to the right path of mutual respect,” […]
