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The top US trade official on Tuesday defended President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs on nearly every other nation, telling US senators that with dozens of countries seeking a deal the strategy was “already bearing fruit.”Jamieson Greer’s appearance in Congress came with Republicans ringing alarm bells over Trump’s escalating trade war and Wall Street clamoring for clarity on the president’s plans after a historic market sell-off.”Nearly 50 countries have approached me personally to discuss the president’s new policy and explore how to achieve reciprocity,” he told the Senate Finance Committee, a figure that other administration officials have also cited. Several countries — including Argentina, Vietnam and Israel — had offered to reduce their tariffs, Greer said, while auto manufacturers were canceling layoffs and companies had announced $4 trillion in new investment in the United States.The annual hearings on the president’s trade policies are often staid affairs.But they have generated more interest this year after Trump last week announced a baseline tariff of 10 percent and extra levies of up to 50 percent on countries selling more to Americans than they buy in return.Greer said the country had shed five million manufacturing jobs and 90,000 factories in the last 30 years, since a trilateral free trade agreement with Mexico and Canada was enacted.”We must move away from an economy based solely on the financial sector and government spending, and we must become an economy based on producing real goods and services,” he added.Senior Republican lawmakers have pledged to allow Trump time to see how his tariff gambit plays out, but are desperate to see progress on trade negotiations they believe will calm markets. Wall Street stocks surged higher early Tuesday after a three-day rout as global markets rallied in hopes of trade agreements.- ‘No clear message’ -But rank-and-file lawmakers remain jittery about the effect of the tariffs and have been demanding briefings on the strategy, with some even seeking to remove Trump’s authority to raise import levies.Republican Senator Chuck Grassley is leading a bipartisan effort to require congressional approval of tariffs within 60 days, although it is not expected to get a floor vote.Four Republican senators voted with Democrats last week to pass a symbolic resolution to undo Trump’s tariff on Canada that does not have the force of law.Trump himself ruled out any pause in his aggressive new global trade policy on Monday, and threatened to slap an additional 50 percent tariff on China over its retaliation.He also dismissed the possibility of a trade deal with the European Union and called his critics on trade “weak and stupid” while pledging to veto Grassley’s bill.The top Democrat on the finance committee, Ron Wyden, assailed the White House for having “no clear message” about how Trump determined his tariffs and how long he plans to keep them up. He suggested Trump was deliberately tanking the economy to bring down interest rates, making borrowing cheaper for the rich.Greer never had much hope of persuading Democrats over Trump’s trade policies, but his overtures did not appear to reassure skeptics on the Republican side either.”Whose throat do I get to choke if this proves to be wrong?” asked North Carolina free trade advocate Thom Tillis.Greer’s appearance was the first of two annual hearings on the president’s trade policies. He will be grilled by the House Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday. 

Stock markets bounced higher on Tuesday following a huge sell-off, but analysts warned of more turmoil as US President Donald Trump charges ahead in his escalating trade war.After trillions of dollars were wiped from the combined value of global equity markets since last week, share prices across the globe clawed back some ground as investors assessed the possibility of Washington tempering some of the levies.”Following three days of intense selling, global stock indices bounced back as investors took advantage of lower valuations and grew more optimistic about US tariff negotiations,” said IG analyst Axel Rudolph.Wall Street’s three main indices rose more than three percent at the opening bell, but gave up some of those gains during morning trading.Europe’s main indices finished the day with gains of more than two percent.European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen warned against escalating a trade conflict during a phone call with Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Tuesday.A rebound in oil prices, which also fell heavily in recent days on recession fears, ran out of steam.Starting Wednesday, US imports of Chinese products will be hit with a 34-percent tariff while EU goods will be taxed 20 percent.Beijing plans to retaliate with its own 34-percent tariff on Thursday while the EU will present its countermeasures as soon as next week.The 27-nation block also plans tariffs of up to 25 percent on US goods in retaliation for levies on steel and aluminium, but it will spare bourbon to shield European wine and spirits from reprisals, according to a document seen by AFP.- Tokyo rebound -Tokyo’s stock market closed up more than six percent — recovering much of Monday’s drop — after Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba held talks with Trump.The share price of Nippon Steel rallied by around the same amount after Trump launched a review of its proposed takeover of US Steel that was blocked by his predecessor Joe Biden.Hong Kong’s stock market closed up by more than one percent, having plunged more than 13 percent on Monday, its biggest one-day retreat since 1997.”After multiple punishing sessions, stock markets appear to have started their road to recovery,” noted Russ Mould, investment director at the AJ Bell trading group.He warned, however, that “it’s dangerous to think a massive rally will definitely happen, given how Trump is unpredictable”.Trump said he would impose an additional 50-percent levy on China if Beijing did not heed his warning not to push back against his tariffs. China fired back that it would “never accept” such a move and called the potential escalation “a mistake on top of a mistake”.- ‘Danger of losing control’ -The trade war has put the Federal Reserve in the spotlight as economists said escalation could send prices surging. US central bank officials are now having to decide whether to cut interest rates to support the economy, or keep them elevated to keep a lid on inflation.Trade Nation analyst David Morrison said markets have gone from expecting five rate cuts this year to three or four.”This suggests that fears of a tariff-led economic slowdown ‘trump’ those of a tariff-led jump in inflation,” he said.Morrison warned of a risk of the stock slump resuming if investors lose confidence in the Trump administration’s handling of trade policy.”In the absence of some tariff clarity and defined purpose from the White House, and soon, the Trump administration is in great danger of losing control,” he said. “If markets perceive this, which they are close to doing, then the derisking will continue,” said Morrison, referring to investors selling risk assets such as stocks.- Key figures around 1530 GMT -New York – Dow: UP 2.0 percent at 38,713.52 pointsNew York – S&P 500: UP 2.0 percent at 5,164.28New York – Nasdaq Composite: UP 2.3 percent at 15,961.46 London – FTSE 100: UP 2.7 percent at 7,910.53 (close)  Paris – CAC 40: UP 2.5 percent at 7,100.42 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: UP 2.5 percent at 20,280.26 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 6.0 percent at 33,012.58 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 1.5 percent at 20,127.68 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 1.6 percent at 3,145.55 (close)Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0912 from $1.0904 on MondayPound/dollar: UP at $1.2762 from $1.2723Dollar/yen: DOWN at 146.97 yen from 147.83 yen Euro/pound: DOWN at 85.52 pence from 85.68 penceWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.2 percent at $60.60 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.3 percent at $64.02 per barrelburs-rl/sbk

Global temperatures hovered at historic highs in March, the EU agency that monitors climate change said on Tuesday, prolonging an unprecedented heat streak that has pushed the bounds of scientific explanation. In Europe, it was the hottest March ever recorded by a significant margin, said the Copernicus Climate Change Service. That drove rainfall extremes across a continent warming faster than any other, as planet-heating fossil fuel emissions keep rising.The world meanwhile saw the second-hottest March in the Copernicus dataset, sustaining a near-unbroken spell of record or near-record-breaking temperatures that has persisted since July 2023.Since then, virtually every month has been at least 1.5 degrees Celsius hotter than it was before the industrial revolution, when humans began burning massive amounts of coal, oil and gas.March was 1.6C above pre-industrial times, extending an anomaly so unusual that scientists are still trying to fully explain it.”That we’re still at 1.6C above preindustrial is indeed remarkable,” said Friederike Otto of the Grantham Institute for Climate Change and the Environment at Imperial College London. “We’re very firmly in the grip of human-caused climate change,” she told AFP.Scientists had predicted the extreme run of global temperatures would subside after a warming El Nino event peaked in early 2024, but they have stubbornly lingered well into 2025. “We are still experiencing extremely high temperatures worldwide. This is an exceptional situation,” Robert Vautard, a leading scientist with the United Nations’ climate expert panel IPCC, told AFP. – ‘Climate breakdown’ – Scientists warn that every fraction of a degree of global warming increases the intensity and frequency of extreme weather events such as heatwaves, heavy rainfall and droughts.Climate change is not just about rising temperatures but the knock-on effect of all that extra heat being trapped in the atmosphere and seas by greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane.Warmer seas mean higher evaporation and greater moisture in the atmosphere, causing heavier deluges and feeding energy into storms.This also affects global rainfall patterns.March in Europe was 0.26C above the previous hottest record for the month set in 2014, Copernicus said.Some parts of the continent experienced the “driest March on record and others their wettest” for about half a century, said Samantha Burgess of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, which runs the Copernicus climate monitor. Bill McGuire, a climate scientist from University College London, said the contrasting extremes “shows clearly how a destabilised climate means more and bigger weather extremes”.”As climate breakdown progresses, more broken records are only to be expected,” he told AFP.Concerns over the global economy were dominating headlines at a time when India was enduring scorching heat and Australia was swamped by floods, said Helen Clarkson, CEO of Climate Group.”The threat to the planet is existential, but our attention is elsewhere,” Clarkson said.- Puzzling heat -The global heat surge pushed 2023 and then 2024 to be the hottest years on record.Last year was also the first full calendar year to exceed 1.5C — the safer warming limit agreed by most nations under the Paris climate accord.This single year breach does not represent a permanent crossing of the 1.5C threshold, which is measured over decades. But scientists warn the goal is slipping out of reach.If the 30-year trend leading up to then continued, the world would hit 1.5C by June 2030.Scientists are unanimous that burning fossil fuels has largely driven long-term global warming.But they are less certain about what else might have contributed to this record heat spike.Vautard said there were “phenomena that remain to be explained,” but the exceptional temperatures still fell within the upper range of scientific projections of climate change.Experts think changes in global cloud patterns, airborne pollution and Earth’s ability to store carbon in natural sinks like forests and oceans could be among factors contributing to the planet overheating.Scientists say the current period is likely to be the warmest the Earth has been for the last 125,000 years.

Stock markets regained some ground on Tuesday, even as trade tensions between the United States and China escalated sharply after days of turmoil over US President Donald Trump’s tariffs offensive.Trump has upended the world economy with sweeping tariffs that have raised the spectre of an international recession, but has ruled out any pause in his aggressive trade policy despite a dramatic market sell-off.Steep tariffs come into effect against goods from a raft of nations on Wednesday, with Chinese products facing a 34-percent levy that Beijing will counter with a similar duty on Thursday.Trump has warned he would impose additional levies of 50 percent if Beijing refused to stop pushing back against his tariffs.”I have great respect for China but they can not do this,” Trump said at the White House.China swiftly hit back, blasting what it called “blackmailing” by the United States and vowing “countermeasures” if Washington imposes more tariffs.”If the US insists on going its own way, China will fight it to the end,” a spokesperson for Beijing’s commerce ministry said on Tuesday.- ‘Ignorant, impolite’ -In a mounting war of words, China’s foreign ministry also condemned “ignorant and impolite” remarks by US Vice President JD Vance in which he complained the United States had for too long borrowed money from “Chinese peasants”.The ministry said that “pressure, threats and blackmail are not the right way to deal with China”.The European Union sought to cool tensions, with the bloc’s chief Ursula von der Leyen warning against worsening the trade conflict in a call with Chinese Premier Li Qiang.She stressed the “vital importance of stability” for the world’s economy as well as “the need to avoid further escalation,” according to a readout from EU officials.The Chinese premier told von der Leyen that the world’s number two economy has the “tools” necessary to weather economic headwinds.”China can fully hedge against adverse external effects, and is fully confident of maintaining sustained and healthy economic development,” he said, according to state news agency Xinhua. The EU said Tuesday that it expects to present as soon as next week its response to the 20-percent levies it is facing under Trump’s latest tariff wave, with Germany and France advocating a tax targeting US tech giants.But Brussels has also proposed an exemption from tariffs on industrial products, including cars, which Trump said was not enough to resolve the US trade deficit with the EU.”The European Union has been very, very bad to us,” Trump said.In retaliation for US levies introduced in mid-March on steel and aluminium, the EU plans tariffs of up to 25 percent on US goods ranging from soybeans to motorcycles and make-up, according to a document seen by AFP.But US bourbon was spared after Trump threatened to hit European wine and spirits with massive retaliatory duties.A 10 percent “baseline” tariff on US imports from around the world took effect Saturday.Trump’s tariffs have roiled global markets, with trillions of dollars wiped off combined stock market valuations in recent sessions.But Wall Street stocks surged at the open Tuesday, with all three major US indices up more than three percent as Trump reported a “great call” with South Korea’s leader while US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Japan had sought quick negotiations. Europe’s main stock markets were up around three percent in afternoon trade while Asia’s leading indices also rose after suffering particularly heavy falls on Monday. Trump believes the tariffs will revive America’s lost manufacturing base by forcing foreign companies to relocate to the United States, rather than making goods abroad.But most economists question that and say his tariffs are arbitrary.Despite the turmoil, Trump said Monday he was “not looking” at any pause in tariff implementation.He also scrapped any meetings with China but said Washington was ready for talks with any country willing to negotiate. More than 50 nations have sought reach out to the US leader, according to the White House. While meeting Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the first leader to lobby Trump in person over the levies, Trump said: “There can be permanent tariffs, and there can also be negotiations, because there are things that we need beyond tariffs.”burs-sr/lth

A raucous group of elderly investors held court at a Shanghai securities company on Tuesday, chatting loudly about the stock prices flickering on LED boards as Chinese markets stutteringly recovered from the brutal day before.Asian and European equities collapsed on Monday after China retaliated to President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs against US trading partners, as fears grow that the trade war could cause a global recession.Shanghai lost over seven percent, and on Tuesday the pensioners sat on plastic orange chairs in front of the screens, sipping tea from flasks and enthusiastically discussing the mauling.”Yesterday I lost 50,000 yuan ($6,833) all at once,” retired factory worker Jin told AFP.With the Chinese monthly urban pension around $460, that is no small sum.”It’s very depressing,” he said, but added that “investing in the stock market is like this”.China’s government has taken steps to stabilise the market, announcing the central bank would support a major state-backed fund’s share buy-back programme.”I saw the news on TV yesterday… Then I had faith in the government, you know? Today is really good, it’s stable,” said Jin.Shanghai advanced 1.6 percent on Tuesday.A woman in her 80s who gave her surname as Lu said she had come to invest more after hearing about the government measures, though she said she was still “very worried”. “I think this time after (making some gains) I’ll take it out, I can’t believe it went down so fast,” she said. – ‘Seen it all before’ -The branch of Hongta Securities that AFP visited is somewhat of an anomaly, a relic of the days when most small trading was done at in-person terminals. It was used as a filming location for popular series Blossoms, which portrayed the city’s breathless boom years after the Shanghai Stock Exchange opened in 1990. Now-defunct stock screens covering both main walls hint at busier times. These days, most visitors are pensioners, who prefer in-person trading to the new norm of doing so online. Some stayed from market opening until close on Tuesday, forming a core — and vociferous — posse in the best seats under the screens. Their age means they take a long view of current events. “We’ve seen it all before, it’s happened before,” scoffed one woman, who did not give her name.”We’re indifferent!” her friend chimed in. Wang, a retiree in his 70s, said his portfolio had suffered over the last few days, but that he was not too worried. “It won’t affect the average Chinese person’s life,” he said, adding he thought Americans would ultimately suffer more from the trade war.”Ordinary people, or ordinary stockholders, have confidence in the country,” said another man surnamed Wang. Jin, the retired factory worker, said he expected the market to continue to fall for the time being if Trump did not change course. But he saw a potential opportunity in that. “Looking at the situation, you don’t buy, you wait for the country’s market to fall almost, then find a way in.”

Stock markets and oil prices recovered slightly Tuesday after a huge sell-off, but analysts warned of more turmoil as US President Donald Trump charges ahead in his escalating trade war.After trillions of dollars were wiped from the combined value of global equity markets since last week, share prices across Asia and Europe battled back awaiting Wall Street’s reopening.Investors clawed back some ground as they assess the possibility of Washington tempering some of levies.The dollar dipped against main rivals.”After multiple punishing sessions, stock markets appear to have started their road to recovery,” noted Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell trading group.He warned, however, that “it’s dangerous to think a massive rally will definitely happen, given how Trump is unpredictable”.Europe’s main indices were up by an average of about 1.5 percent approaching the half-way stage.European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen warned against escalating a trade conflict during a phone call with Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Tuesday.The EU plans tariffs of up to 25 percent on US goods in retaliation for levies on metals, but will spare bourbon to shield European wine and spirits from reprisals, according to a document seen by AFP.- Asia bounce -Tokyo’s stock market closed up more than six percent — recovering much of Monday’s drop — after Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba held talks with Trump.The share price of Nippon Steel rallied by around the same amount after Trump launched a review of its proposed takeover of US Steel that was blocked by his predecessor Joe Biden.However, the US leader’s threat to hit China with an extra 50 percent tariffs — in response to its 34 percent retaliation in kind — ramped up the chances of a catastrophic stand-off between the two economic superpowers.Trump said he would impose the additional levies if Beijing did not heed his warning not to push back against his barrage of tariffs. China fired back that it would “never accept” such a move and called the potential escalation “a mistake on top of a mistake”.Hong Kong’s stock market closed up by more than one percent, having plunged over 13 percent Monday, its biggest one-day retreat since 1997.Trading in Jakarta was briefly suspended after it plunged more than nine percent in exaggerated moves following a long holiday weekend in Indonesia.The advances followed less pain Monday on Wall Street, with the Nasdaq edging up.The trade war has put the Federal Reserve in the spotlight as economists said escalation could send prices surging. US central bank officials are now having to decide whether to cut interest rates to support the economy, or keep them elevated to keep a lid on inflation.”Because the tariffs announced thus far are higher than previously expected, we think the risk is now skewed toward more rate cuts by year-end,” said Nuveen chief investment officer Saira Malik. – Key figures around 1030 GMT -London – FTSE 100: UP 1.6 percent at 7,827.99 points Paris – CAC 40: UP 1.0 percent at 6,998.74Frankfurt – DAX: UP 1.2 percent at 20,021.15 Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 6.0 percent at 33,012.58 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 1.5 percent at 20,127.68 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 1.6 percent at 3,145.55 (close)New York – Dow: DOWN 0.9 percent at 37,965.60 (close)Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0934 from $1.0904 on MondayPound/dollar: UP at $1.2752 from $1.2723Dollar/yen: DOWN at 146.89 yen from 147.83 yen Euro/pound: UP at 85.73 pence from 85.68 penceWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.4 percent at $60.95 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.3 percent at $64.39 per barrelburs-bcp/ajb/lth

China vowed Tuesday to “fight to the end” after US President Donald Trump threatened to further ramp up tariffs but the EU warned against escalating a trade war that has rocked global markets.Trump has upended the world economy with sweeping tariffs that have raised the spectre of an international recession, but has ruled out any pause in his aggressive trade policy despite a dramatic market sell-off.Beijing — Washington’s major economic rival but also a key trading partner — responded by announcing its own 34 percent duties on US goods to come into effect on Thursday, deepening a showdown between the world’s two largest economies. The swift retaliation from China sparked a fresh warning from Trump that he would impose additional levies of 50 percent if Beijing refused to stop pushing back against his barrage of tariffs — a move that would drive the overall levies on Chinese goods to 104 percent.”I have great respect for China but they can not do this,” Trump said at the White House.”We are going to have one shot at this… I’ll tell you what, it is an honour to do it.”China swiftly hit back, blasting what it called “blackmailing” by the United States and vowing “countermeasures” if Washington imposes tariffs on top of the 34 percent extra that were due to come in force on Wednesday.”If the US insists on going its own way, China will fight it to the end,” a spokesperson for Beijing’s commerce ministry said on Tuesday.- ‘Ignorant, impolite’ -In a mounting war of words between Beijing and Washington, China’s foreign ministry also condemned “ignorant and impolite” remarks by US Vice President JD Vance in which he complained the US had for too long borrowed money from “Chinese peasants”.The ministry said that “pressure, threats and blackmail are not the right way to deal with China”.Beijing urged Washington to instead “adopt an attitude of equality, respect and mutual benefit” if it wanted to engage in talks.The European Union sought to cool tensions, with the bloc’s chief Ursula von der Leyen warning against worsening the trade conflict in a call with Chinese Premier Li Qiang.She stressed the “vital importance of stability” for the world’s economy, urged a “negotiated solution” and emphasised “the need to avoid further escalation,” according to a readout of the call from EU officials.The EU is weighing its own response to the 20-percent tariffs it is facing, with its biggest economies Germany and France advocating a tax targeting US tech giants.But Brussels has also proposed an exemption from tariffs on industrial products, including cars, which Trump said Monday was not enough to account for the US trade deficit with the EU.”The European Union has been very, very bad to us,” Trump said.A 10 percent “baseline” tariff on US imports from around the world took effect Saturday, and a slew of countries will be hit by higher duties from Wednesday, including China and the EU.Trump’s tariffs have roiled global markets in the last days, with trillions of dollars wiped off combined stock market valuations in recent sessions.Stock markets staged a mild rebound on Tuesday, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rising 1.5 percent after crashing 13.2 percent the previous day in its worst performance since 1997.Shares in Tokyo leapt after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested in a Fox News interview that Japan would get “priority” in negotiations over the US tariffs “just because they came forward very quickly”.Scores of countries have sought talks, Bessent said, adding “through good negotiations, all we will do is see levels come down”.European markets also clawed back some ground, with London, Paris and Frankfurt all up more than one percent in morning trade.Trump believes the tariffs will revive America’s lost manufacturing base by forcing foreign companies to relocate to the United States, rather than making goods abroad.But most economists question that and say his tariffs are arbitrary.Despite the turmoil, Trump said Monday he was “not looking” at any pause in tariff implementation.He also scrapped any meetings with China over tariffs, but said Washington was ready for talks with any country willing to negotiate.While meeting Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the first leader to lobby Trump in person over the levies, Trump said: “There can be permanent tariffs, and there can also be negotiations, because there are things that we need beyond tariffs.”burs-sr/lth

Indonesian stocks closed down nearly eight percent on Tuesday after a weeklong public holiday break, its biggest fall in more than a decade as uncertainty over US President Donald Trump’s global tariffs roil markets.Trump upended the world economy last week with sweeping tariffs that have raised fears of an international recession and triggered criticism even from within his own Republican Party.The benchmark Jakarta Composite Index closed down 7.9 percent at 5,996.14, its lowest level since June 2021 as markets reopened following a closure since March 28 because of public holidays. The fall was its biggest since 2011, Bloomberg reported.In the opening session, stocks sharply fell more than nine percent, sparking a brief trade suspension, but it would recoup some of those losses.Ahead of the opening, Indonesia’s stock exchange said trading would be further suspended if the market fell 15 percent, and trading would be halted for the day if the market dropped 20 percent “to ensure orderly, fair and efficient securities trading”.The stock exchange also said if an individual share fell by 15 percent, any sell orders below that price would be turned down.Analysts said the sell-off reflected investor fears of a wider global trade war.”The trading halt… was a strong signal of the market’s deep concerns about the escalation of global risks,” Permata Bank chief economist Josua Pardede told AFP.- ‘Escalation of global risks’ -The Indonesian central bank said Monday it would “intervene aggressively” to support the suffering rupiah.The currency was down more than one percent on Tuesday against the dollar, according to spot markets.The central bank said it had already intervened in the offshore rupiah market ahead of the reopening.The rupiah was already punished last month as confidence waned in President Prabowo Subianto’s handling of the economy and fears over the country’s growth prospects.Trump set an additional rate of 32 percent on goods from Indonesia, higher than the baseline 10 percent for all countries hit with levies.Prabowo has said Jakarta will pursue diplomacy by sending a high-level delegation to the United States, instead of retaliating to the tariffs.Indonesia’s chief economic minister Airlangga Hartarto said Tuesday that Jakarta would buy more products from the United States to narrow its trade surplus with Washington, including wheat, liquefied natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas.Jakarta enjoyed a $16.8 billion trade surplus with Washington last year, according to Indonesian government data.

Vietnam will buy more US goods including security and defence products, the government said, as it seeks a last-minute delay to enormous tariffs imposed by Washington.The Southeast Asian manufacturing powerhouse counted the United States as its biggest export market in the first three months of the year, but its key customer has now hit it with colossal 46 percent duties.Hanoi has asked US President Donald Trump to delay their implementation by at least 45 days to give time for talks.Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said Vietnam would “approach and negotiate with the US side to reach a bilateral agreement, moving towards a sustainable trade balance”, according to a statement published on the government’s news portal late Monday.It would also “continue to buy more US products that are strong and Vietnam has demand for, including products related to security and defence; promote early delivery of aircraft trade contracts”, the statement added.The tariffs are part of a global trade blitz announced last week by Trump that has sent markets around the world into a tailspin.Regarding Vietnam, it appears that his administration was particularly angered by what it sees as the country’s role in attempts to get around tariffs imposed on China.According to a separate statement on the news portal Tuesday, Deputy Prime Minister Bui Thanh Son has requested the ministry of industry and trade “to review and strictly control the origin of goods, to prevent unfortunate incidents from happening”.- ‘Significantly damage’ growth -Top leader To Lam has sent a letter to Trump asking for a delay to the tariff.According to a copy seen by AFP, Lam said he had appointed Ho Duc Phoc, another deputy prime minister, to serve as the primary contact with the US side on the issue, “with the aim of reaching an agreement as soon as possible”.He also said he hoped to meet Trump in Washington at the end of May to finalise the matter.Trump said on Friday he had had “a very productive” call with Lam, who he said wanted to make a deal on tariffs.The measures threaten to “significantly damage” Vietnam’s current growth model, which relies heavily on exports to the United States, according to Sayaka Shiba, senior country risk analyst at research firm BMI.She said in the worst-case scenario Vietnam could suffer a three percent hit to gross domestic product this year.Vietnam’s main stock exchange, which avoided the freefall that hit global markets on Monday because of a holiday, fell nearly six percent on Tuesday.

Asian and European markets battled Tuesday to recover from the previous day’s tariff-fuelled collapse, though Donald Trump’s warning of more measures against China and Beijing’s vow to “fight to the end” raised concerns of a spiralling trade war.Equities across the world have been hammered since the US president unveiled sweeping levies against friend and foe, upending trading norms, sparking talk of a global recession and wiping trillions of company valuations.Investors fought to claw back some of those losses as they try to assess the possibility that Washington could temper some of the tariffs. Tokyo traded up more than six percent — recovering much of Monday’s drop — after Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba held talks with Trump.However, the US leader’s threat to hit China with an extra 50 percent tariffs — in response to its 34 percent retaliation in kind — ramped up the chances of a catastrophic stand-off between the two economic superpowers.Trump said he would impose the additional levies if Beijing did not heed his warning not to push back against his barrage of tariffs. China fired back that it would “never accept” such a move and called the potential escalation “a mistake on top of a mistake”.If Washington “insists on a tariff war and a trade war, China will definitely fight to the end”, China’s foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said Tuesday.”Pressure, threats and blackmail are not the right way to deal with China,” he said.In light of the turmoil gripping markets, Trump told Americans to “be strong, courageous, and patient”.While uncertainty rules, investors in most markets took the opportunity to pick up some beaten-down stocks.Tokyo jumped six percent, with Nippon Steel rallying just as much after Trump launched a review of its proposed takeover of US Steel that was blocked by his predecessor Joe Biden.Hong Kong gained more than one percent but was well short of recouping Monday’s loss of more than 13 percent that was the biggest one-day retreat since 1997.  Shanghai advanced 1.6 percent after China’s central bank promised to back major state-backed fund Central Huijin Investment in a bid to maintain “the smooth operation of the capital market”. Sydney and Mumbai added more than two percent, while Manila gained three percent. Seoul and Wellington also edged up.London, Paris and Frankfurt rose more than one percent, having dropped more than four percent Monday.- Worse to come? -The advances followed a less painful day on Wall Street, where the S&P and Dow fell but pared earlier losses, while the Nasdaq edged up.Others however were not as fortunate. Taipei shed four percent to extend the previous day’s record loss of 9.7 percent, while Singapore was off more than one percent.Trading in Jakarta was briefly suspended soon after the open as it plunged more than nine percent as investors returned from an extended holiday, while the bourse in Vietnam — which has been hit with 46 percent tariffs — shed more than six percent.Bangkok sank five percent as it also reopened after a holiday, with losses tempered by the Stock Exchange of Thailand’s decision to ban short-selling on most stocks.Analysts warned that things could get worse. “If none of the announced tariffs are reversed by deal-making in the next four weeks or so, the global economy risks entering an ‘oil price shock’ type crisis by mid-year,” said Vincenzo Vedda, global chief investment officer at DWS.Pepperstone’s Chris Weston said it was unlikely that China will scrap its countermeasure, “so we assume a high risk that Trump will follow through with an additional 50 percent tariff rate”.And JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon told shareholders: “Whether or not the menu of tariffs causes a recession remains in question, but it will slow down growth” and likely increase inflation.The trade war has also put the Federal Reserve in the spotlight as economists say it could send prices surging. Bank officials are now having to decide whether to cut interest rates to support the economy, or keep them elevated to keep a lid on inflation.”Because the tariffs announced thus far are higher than previously expected, we think the risk is now skewed toward more rate cuts by year-end,” said Nuveen chief investment officer Saira Malik. “Our probability-weighted guidance has increased from a total of four Fed cuts through 2025 and 2026 to 6.6 cuts.”- Key figures around 0810 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 6.0 percent at 33,012.58 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 1.5 percent at 20,127.68 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 1.6 percent at 3,145.55 (close)London – FTSE 100: UP 1.5 percent at 7,815.00Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0944 from $1.0904 on MondayPound/dollar: UP at $1.2766 from $1.2723Dollar/yen: DOWN at 147.16 yen from 147.83 yen Euro/pound: UP at 85.74 pence from 85.68 penceWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.2 percent at $60.60 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.2 percent at $64.11 per barrelNew York – Dow: DOWN 0.9 percent at 37,965.60 (close)