US President Donald Trump abruptly paused tariffs on most countries, sparking euphoria on global markets Thursday, but upped the ante on a brutal trade war with superpower rival China.After days of turmoil, stocks on Wall Street and across Asia saw huge surges in reaction to Trump’s announcement that he was halting a levy hike for almost all nations for 90 days.But Trump also said he was raising tariffs on China to 125 percent because of a “lack of respect.”Beijing hit back with retaliatory levies of 84 percent on US imports, which came into effect just after midday (0401 GMT) on Thursday, the latest salvo in an escalating standoff between the world’s two largest economies.Trump has denied that he backtracked on the tariffs, telling reporters that “you have to be flexible.””People were jumping a little bit out of line, they were getting yippy, a little bit afraid,” Trump said. “Yippy” is a term in sports to describe a loss of nerves.He said he had been watching the “very tricky” state of the crucial US bonds market before his decision.”I saw last night where people were getting a little queasy,” he said, as US bond yields rose during the stocks sell-off — a major economic red light as American sovereign government debt is normally seen as a safe haven for investors in troubled times.Trump also predicted that trade deals will be made with all countries, including China, which has for now refused to roll back retaliatory tariffs on US goods.”A deal’s going to be made with China. A deal’s going to be made with every one of them,” Trump said, adding however that China’s leaders “don’t quite know how to go about it.”Trump also said that he “can’t imagine” increasing Chinese tariffs more than he has.As Beijing weighs the costs of further escalation, Bloomberg reported that its top leadership will meet Thursday to hash out plans for additional stimulus to boost its fragile economy — already ailing before the trade war. – China duel -Markets have been on a rollercoaster ride since Trump’s announcement of sweeping global tariffs one week ago on what he called “Liberation Day” before his dramatic pause on Wednesday.Trump had imposed 10 percent baseline tariffs on all countries which came into effect on Saturday, and higher rates on key trading partners such as China and the European Union that he accused of cheating the United States, which activated on Wednesday.But as markets swayed yet again, Trump said in a surprise announcement on his Truth Social network that “I have authorized a 90 day PAUSE” on the higher tariffs, while the baseline 10 percent would remain.He said that he took the decision after more than 75 countries reached out to negotiate and did not retaliate.Japan — which had been slapped with 24 percent under the so-called reciprocal tariffs — said it welcomed the news but still “strongly” demanded that Washington reconsider other levies on its steel and auto exports.The European Union had earlier launched its own counterattack, announcing measures targeting some US products from next week in retaliation for American duties on global steel and aluminum exports.The 27-nation bloc will hit more than 20 billion euros’ worth of US products, including soybeans, motorcycles and beauty products.But the EU notably did not retaliate against the separate “Liberation Day” tariffs of 20 percent that came into effect on Wednesday.- ‘BE COOL!’ -Wall Street stocks rocketed on Trump’s pause announcement.The S&P 500 surged 9.5 percent to 5,456.90, snapping a brutal run of losses over the past week.Markets in Asia also rallied Thursday, with Hong Kong, Tokyo, Taipei, Australia, Indonesia and Singapore sharply higher.Stocks in Chinese economic powerhouse Shanghai were also up, despite Trump’s decision to further hike tariffs.Before his pivot, Trump said world leaders were rushing to negotiate “tailored” deals with the United States, with Japan and South Korea among those sending delegations to Washington.”I’m telling you, these countries are calling us up kissing my ass,” Trump told a dinner with fellow Republicans on Tuesday night.Trump believes his policy will revive America’s lost manufacturing base by forcing companies to relocate to the United States.The billionaire former property tycoon has particularly raged against China, accusing it of excess production and “dumping” inexpensive goods on other economies.With the trade war between the world’s two biggest economies showing little signs of abating, China told tourists on Wednesday to “fully assess the risks” before travelling to the United States.Separately, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned against Chinese “threats” as he visited Panama, whose canal is at the center of a row between Beijing and Washington.burs-oho/hmn

Papua New Guinea will “immediately” lift a ban on forest carbon credit schemes, the Pacific nation’s climate minister told AFP on Thursday, opening up its vast wilderness to offset global emissions.The island of New Guinea is cloaked in the world’s third-largest rainforest belt, helping the planet breathe by sucking in carbon dioxide gas and turning it into oxygen. Foreign companies have in recent years snapped up tracts of forest in an attempt to sell carbon credits, pledging to protect trees that would otherwise fall prey to logging or land clearing. But a string of mismanagement scandals forced Papua New Guinea to temporarily shut down this “voluntary” carbon market in March 2022. Environment Minister Simo Kilepa told AFP that, with new safeguards now in place, this three-year moratorium would “be lifted immediately”. “Papua New Guinea is uplifting the moratorium on voluntary carbon markets,” Kilepa said. “We now have carbon market regulations in place and… guidelines to administer and regulate the carbon market.” Papua New Guinea has ambitions to become a “key player in international carbon markets”, officials from the national climate body told a briefing last week. Carbon credit schemes are seen as a crucial tool in halting the destruction of Papua New Guinea’s steamy rainforests, which are thought to shelter around seven percent of global biodiversity. Before the 2022 moratorium, foreign-backed syndicates were able to sign carbon credit deals directly with village elders. In essence, they paid landowners so that tracts of rainforest would not be cleared for crops, sold for mining, or chopped down and turned into logs. By protecting jungle that would have disappeared, these companies generated carbon credits they could sell on international markets. – ‘Carbon cowboys’ -The scale of some proposals was immense — one carbon trading scheme to be based on Papua New Guinea’s northern coast would have ranked among the biggest in the world, according to Carbon Market Watch. But Papua New Guinea’s carbon market was mired in controversy, with one regional governor alleging some foreign firms were little more than “carbon cowboys” out to make quick cash. An investigation by Australian national broadcaster ABC alleged logging was still taking place in rainforests set aside for carbon credits. And some landowners complained the lucrative promises of their foreign partners went largely unfulfilled. “Attempts to establish projects have resulted in land disputes and the emergence of ‘Carbon Cowboys’,” wrote Australian environmental consultants Sustineo. Carbon credit schemes around the world have been marred by a litany of similar complaints.No common set of rules governs these trades, and many projects have been accused of selling essentially worthless credits.Governments often force heavy polluters to offset emissions through mandatory carbon credit schemes.But firms, charities and individuals can also choose to buy credits on so-called voluntary carbon markets. Papua New Guinea’s voluntary scheme falls under an international framework known as REDD, or reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries.Papua New Guinea has been hammering out a bilateral deal which could see it produce carbon credits for city-state Singapore. In 2023, Papua New Guinea signed a memorandum of understanding with Dubai-based firm Blue Carbon, which has been securing swaths of land across Africa for carbon credits. 

Sipping tea on her break outside a Samsung Electronics factory in northern Vietnam, worker Nguyen Thi Mai said she had heard about US President Donald Trump’s tariffs, but hoped it would not affect business.Samsung, the world’s second-largest phone maker, produces around half of its handsets in Vietnam, and Trump’s threat to impose a 46-percent tariff threat on the country sent shockwaves through the South Korean giant’s supply chains.”We don’t understand much about macro issues,” 27-year-old Mai told AFP, adding that daily life inside the factory in Bac Ninh province was unaffected, despite global market whiplash from on-again-off-again US levies.”Our work goes on normally,” agreed Le Van Binh, 30, adding that he hoped the Vietnamese government would be able to work out a deal.”Our top leaders are arranging to negotiate with the United States. I hope they can be successful and things will be good for all of us.”Samsung turned to Vietnam because labour costs are “about one-tenth of those in South Korea”, Kim Dae-jong, a professor at Sejong University, told AFP.But US tariff threats — even after Trump abruptly paused them on Wednesday — are now shaking the logic that has underpinned decades of rapid growth and manufacturing investment in developing Asian economies, he said.If Samsung “fully absorbs” the proposed tariff cost instead of shifting production elsewhere “approximately four trillion won ($2.7 billion) — or some 33 percent of its smartphone operating profit — would be directly exposed”, said Kim Dong-won, managing director at KB Securities.Samsung has built up inventory, and this week forecast record results for the first quarter of 2025. And there is scope for negotiations between Hanoi and Washington, he said — but even so, it is concerning.- ‘Reallocating production’ – If Trump does follow through, Samsung and fellow South Korean giant LG, which has also invested heavily in Vietnamese factories, may have no choice but to shift their investments to the United States, said Kang In-soo, an economics professor at Sookmyung Women’s University.”Despite the additional costs involved, this appears to be an inevitable decision to maintain or expand their presence in the strategically important US market,” he said.For Samsung, high-end televisions are their key driver of revenue stateside, Yong Seok-woo, president and head of the visual display business at Samsung Electronics told reporters.”Most of the TVs sold in North America are produced in Mexico,” said Yong, which dodged Trump’s latest round of tariff threats — potentially leaving Samsung in a better position than many rivals.”We have 10 production sites worldwide,” Yong added.”We plan to overcome these challenges by reallocating production based on tariff conditions.”- Domestic base? – The tariff threats appear to be aimed at securing additional foreign investment, but with the United States lacking a strong domestic base to produce the high-end chips that are the lifeblood of the global economy, many experts expect they will not last in the longer term.Trump’s decision to pause the imposition of the levies sparked euphoria on global markets on Thursday — but he raised tariffs on China to 125 percent because of a “lack of respect”.Apple, Samsung’s chief rival, produces the bulk of its iPhones in China.Sky-high tariffs “could impose substantial costs on US-based semiconductor consumers”, said Kang of Sookmyung Women’s University, with the fear of price increases already sparking iPhone panic buying.However, “it is expected that the tariffs will be adjusted downward once a sufficient level of investment is secured”, Kang added.Samsung’s exposure underscores the broader vulnerability of export-driven Asian economies.In 2024, net exports accounted for more than 90 percent of South Korea’s total economic growth.The country has been particularly ill-prepared to face the economic headwinds, having been effectively leaderless since December, when impeached former president Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law.Officials are scrambling to contain the fallout: Acting leader Han Duck-soo spoke to Trump this week, with the trade minister also flying to Washington for emergency talks.The government announced a battery of support measures for South Korea’s beleaguered car makers on Wednesday — hit by sector-specific 25 percent tariffs — but they need to do more to help the country’s export-focused conglomerates, experts said.Seoul must “focus on a proactive response to US tariff measures and swiftly implement a supplementary budget to stave off a deeper economic downturn”, Kang said.