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UK lawmakers held a rare Saturday parliamentary debate as the government seeks to pass emergency legislation to stop the last British factory that can make steel from scratch shutting down.Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said his administration plans to “take control” of the struggling Chinese-owned British Steel plant to prevent its blast furnaces going out and save what is left of the country’s steel industry.In a vote later Saturday, MPs were expected to pass the bill to take over the running of the Scunthorpe plant, which employs around 2,700 people and produces steel crucial for UK industries including construction and rail transport. The government views the possible closure of the plant as a risk to Britain’s long-term economic security, given the decline of the UK’s once robust steel industry.”Steel is fundamental to Britain’s industrial strength, to our security and to our identity as a primary global power,” business and trade secretary Jonathan Reynolds told parliament.”Today’s legislation will help ensure that we can retain that steel making capability here in the UK, both now and for years to come,” he said.Amid speculation the move could pave the way to nationalisation, Reynolds said state ownership “remains on the table” and may well be the “likely option”.But he said the scope of Saturday’s bill was more limited — it “does not transfer ownership to the government,” he explained, adding that this would have to be dealt with at a later stage.Ministers have said no private company has been willing to invest in the plant. – ‘Act decisively’ -British Steel’s Chinese owners Jingye have said it is no longer financially viable to run the furnaces at the unit in northern England.Jingye bought British Steel in 2020 and says it has invested more than £1.2 billion ($1.5 billion) to maintain operations but is losing around £700,000 a day.Reynolds said “the effective market value of this company is zero,” and that Jingye had wanted to maintain the operation in the UK but supply it with slab steel from China to keep it going.Labour MP and leader of the House of Commons Lucy Powell said members of parliament were meeting “in these special circumstances because the government needs to act decisively.”But the government came under fire from the opposition Conservative party for its handling of the negotiations, and faced calls from some Labour MPs to fully nationalise the plant.Reynolds said the government had sought to buy raw materials to keep the furnaces running with “no losses whatsoever for Jingye,” but met with resistance. “A counter offer was instead made by Jingye to transfer hundreds of millions of pounds to them, without any conditions to stop that money and potentially other assets being immediately transferred to China,” he said. “They also refused a condition to keep the blast furnaces maintained and in good working order.”Saturday’s emergency legislation is set to provide for criminal sanctions if executives fail to comply with instructions to keep the blast furnaces open.The 10-page bill allows the government to instruct steel companies to keep assets running, and to take over assets if firms fail to comply. It also provides for a compensation scheme for costs incurred.- Trump tariffs -MPs left for their Easter holidays on Tuesday and were not due to return to parliament until April 22.In an indication of how seriously the government is taking the plight of British Steel, the last Saturday sitting of parliament was in October 2019 to vote on former prime minister Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal.Before that MPs last sat on a Saturday recall at the start of the Falklands War between Britain and Argentina in 1982.Scunthorpe in northern England is British Steel’s primary site, and Britain’s last virgin steel plant — which produces steel from raw rather than recycled materials — after Tata’s Port Talbot shuttered its blast furnace last year.British Steel has said US President Donald Trump’s tariffs on the sector were partly to blame for the Scunthorpe plant’s difficulties. However, fierce competition from cheaper Asian steel has heaped pressure on Europe’s beleaguered steel industry in recent years.British Steel has its roots as far back as the Industrial Revolution but took shape in 1967 when the Labour government nationalised the industry, which at the time employed nearly 270,000 people.After privatisation and a massive decline in Britain’s steel sector, India’s Tata Steel bought the group in 2007 before selling it on in 2016 to investment fund Greybull Capital for a token £1. It was renamed British Steel.After more instability, British Steel was taken over by the government’s insolvency service in 2019 and then acquired by Jingye the following year.

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 Donald Trump’s roiling of the global economy and increasingly brutal China tariffs.On Tuesday, the US president raised levies on Chinese goods to 104 percent, before increasing them to 125 percent the next day, later clarifying the cumulative figure at 145 percent.”At the beginning, there was some pessimism in the industry,” Jessica Guo, the factory head, told AFP.”But in the last two days, we are more united, that is, we feel we cannot be bullied like this. We are willing to get through this difficult phase with the country.”The Chinese government is in fighting mode too, on Friday increasing its own retaliatory duties to 125 percent.The tit-for-tat could reduce US-China trade in goods by 80 percent, the World Trade Organization said this week.The effects are already being seen on Guo’s unseasonal winter wonderland of a factory floor.There are no US orders currently on the production line — they have been suspended or remain unconfirmed.Other local Christmas tree makers have also been hit, she said, but not as badly as in southern Guangdong province, where some factories’ production can be completely taken up by one large US client.Zhejiang factory owners tend to have a broader, more recently developed client base, according to Guo.”Really, over the past few years… we have hardly come across any American customers,” she said as she strode past walls of stacked boxes stamped with addresses in Guatemala and Chile.”We have already slowly broken away from our dependence on the US market, and started to develop other markets.”- ‘Wait and see’ -Fifty minutes away, at a smaller factory specialising in solar powered plastic gadgets, saleswoman Cassie said only 20 percent of her customers were American — down from 80 percent pre-pandemic.Recently she too has had suspensions or cancellations, citing the tariffs.”At the start… some of our US customers said we could take (the rise) on together… But later it rose ridiculously — and no one could take on that,” said Cassie.Behind her on a display shelf, a bobbing Trump statue stood alongside a “Dancing Queen” Elizabeth II and a jiggling “Surfer Dude”.”Now we are in a wait-and-see state to see what decisions Trump will make next,” she said, adding they might redirect some US products elsewhere abroad or domestically.In the meantime, work continues.Whirrs and clicks filled the air as workers passed multi-coloured plastic parts through machines, each process carried out methodically, in mere seconds, over and over again. Cassie showed AFP boxes full of Trump figurines bound for Europe, one hand pointing, the other with fingers crossed behind his back.”I think he shouldn’t be so crazy,” she said. “Him adding tariffs on us doesn’t really have any benefits for them.”- ‘Steady attitude’ -The apex of Zhejiang’s light industry prowess is the city of Yiwu’s wholesale market, one of the world’s largest.A warren of tens of thousands of stalls sells millions of items, from a panoply of electronics to body glitter, toy guns and astroturf.Most vendors AFP approached said they had diverse client bases, straddling South America, the Middle East and Southeast Asia.”If the trade war escalates… We should look at it with a steady attitude,” veteran trader Wang Xuxue told AFP at her booth decked out with capybara plushies and Barbie purses.Many will just develop new products for other countries, she said.Nearby, a costume shop had arranged a display of silicon masks — a wall of popular villains that included Freddy Kruger, Pennywise the Clown, various werewolves and demons — and Donald Trump.”The Chinese people are pretty united,” said Wang. “(We) are more hardworking, more thrifty… We’re not afraid of him fighting a price war — we’re all very confident.”

President Donald Trump insisted Friday that his tariff policy was “doing really well” despite China hiking levies on US goods to 125 percent in the spiraling trade war between the world’s two biggest economies.Investors dumped US government bonds, the dollar tumbled and stocks seesawed after Beijing’s retaliation against Trump deepened concerns on already traumatized global markets.Trump sent financial markets into a tailspin by announcing sweeping import taxes on dozens of trade partners last week, only to abruptly roll them back to 10 percent on Wednesday for 90 days — while raising levies on goods from China.”We are doing really well on our tariff policy,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social network after China announced its latest hike.”Very exciting for America, and the World!!! It is moving along quickly,” he wrote.The White House said later that Trump remained “optimistic” about a deal with China, and added that 15 other countries have offers “on the table” during his 90-day pause in their tariffs.But Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt added that “the president made it very clear, when the United States is punched he will punch back harder.”The US and Beijing have been trading salvos of increasingly harsh tariffs since last week.Chinese President Xi Jinping gave his first major comments on the tensions on Friday, with state media quoting him as saying his country was “not afraid.”Xi also said the European Union and China should “jointly resist unilateral bullying practices” during talks with Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.- ‘Numbers game’ -Beijing announced after Xi’s comments that new tariffs of 125 percent on US goods would take effect Saturday — almost matching the staggering 145 percent level imposed on Chinese goods coming into America.A Chinese Commerce Ministry spokesperson said the United States bore full responsibility, deriding Trump’s tariffs as a “numbers game” that “will become a joke.”But China’s finance ministry said tariffs would not go any higher in an acknowledgement that almost no imports are possible at the new level.Trump had reiterated on Thursday that he was looking to do a deal with Xi despite the mounting tensions.”He’s been a friend of mine for a long period of time. I think that we’ll end up working out something that’s very good for both countries,” he told reporters.But American officials have made it clear they expect Xi to reach out first.Pressure was growing on Trump, however, as markets continued to fret.As investors fled the dollar, which is typically considered a key haven currency, Trump attempted to squelch fears on Friday.”We’re the currency of choice. We’re always going to be… I think the dollar is tremendous,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, after the dollar plunged to its lowest level against the euro in more than three years.Meanwhile yields on crucial US government bonds, which are normally seen as a financial refuge, were up again Friday, indicating weaker demand as investors take fright.The White House said however that it had no evidence to support speculation by traders that China was offloading some of its vast holdings — which would increase the cost of borrowing for the US government — in retaliation.Wall Street stocks finished higher Friday, concluding a rollercoaster week on a positive note amid hopes that the market has absorbed the worst headlines about trade conflicts.Policymakers at the US Federal Reserve meanwhile warned of higher inflation and slower growth ahead due to Trump’s tariff policy.- ‘Countermeasures’ -Economists warn that the disruption in trade between the tightly integrated US and Chinese economies will increase prices for consumers and could spark a global recession.Ipek Ozkardeskaya, an analyst at Swissquote bank, told AFP the tariff figures were “so high that they don’t make sense anymore,” but said China was “now ready to go as far as needed.”The rest of the world is still calibrating its response.Trump on Thursday described the European Union — which was originally hit with 20 percent tariffs by Trump — as “very smart” for refraining from retaliatory levies.EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic will hold talks in Washington on Monday.But the 27-nation bloc’s chief Ursula von der Leyen told the Financial Times it remained armed with a “wide range of countermeasures” including a possible hit on digital services that would strike US tech firms.

Investors dumped US government bonds, the dollar tumbled and stocks seesawed Friday, capping a volatile week as President Donald Trump’s unpredictable tariff policy rattled market confidence.Trump triggered a massive market sell-off last week by announcing universal tariffs, and this week he sparked a huge but short-lived rally by pausing higher duties against scores of countries.But he kept China in his crosshairs, hitting Chinese goods with a 145 percent tariff.Beijing said Friday that it would strike back with 125 percent duties on American products, but suggested it would not retaliate further in the future.Wall Street indexes opened in the red Friday but rose shortly thereafter, ultimately finishing the session solidly higher.Traders hope “that we’re going to pivot from the phase of escalation to negotiation and hopefully further down the road to de-escalation,” said Angelo Kourkafas of Edward Jones.Potentially “a lot of bad news is in the price already,” he added.European markets also had a roller-coaster trading day, with Frankfurt closing 0.9 percent lower and Paris down 0.3 percent. London rose 0.6 as data showed the UK economy grew far more than expected in February.”The main driver of the renewed market pressure was an increased focus on the US-China escalation,” said Jim Reid, managing director at Deutsche Bank.”Neither the US nor China are showing signs of backing down, with President Trump expressing confidence in his tariff plans,” Reid said.The dollar plunged to its lowest level against the euro in more than three years as investors fled what is typically considered a key haven currency, though it later pared some of its losses.In a more worrying sign of cracking investor confidence in the US economy, the yield on the 10-year US Treasury bill rose sharply above 4.5 percent as its price tumbled.John Higgins, chief markets economist at Capital Economics, said it was a sign of “concern that China might dump its vast holdings of Treasuries” even if that risked losses for Beijing and driving the yuan higher against the dollar.With Treasuries being sold off, sending their yields higher and making US debt more expensive, there is a fear of a bigger exodus from American assets down the line.JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon on Friday rejected the notion that US Treasuries were no longer a haven.”If you’re going to invest your money in something, America is still a pretty, pretty good place in this turbulent world,” Dimon said in a conference call after his bank reported hefty first-quarter profits and revenue.- Gold record -The weaker dollar and the rush for safety sent gold to another record high, while oil prices gained in response to US pressure on crude exporter Iran.”There remains considerable uncertainty around the impact of tariffs on economies and company earnings, and that could keep markets volatile for some time,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.In Asia, the Tokyo stock market shed three percent — a day after surging more than nine percent — while Sydney and Seoul were also in the red. Hong Kong and Shanghai rose as traders focused on possible Chinese stimulus measures. There were gains in Taipei and Ho Chi Minh City stocks as the leaders of Taiwan and Vietnam said they would hold talks with Trump.- Key figures around 2100 GMT -New York – Dow: UP 1.6 percent at 40,212.71 (close)New York – S&P 500: UP 1.8 percent at 5,363.36 (close)New York – Nasdaq: UP 2.1 percent at 16,724.46 (close)London – FTSE 100: UP 0.6 percent at 7,964.18 (close)Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.3 percent at 7,104.80 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.9 percent at 20,374.10 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 3.0 percent at 33,585.58 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 1.1 percent at 20,914.69 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.5 percent at 3,238.23 (close)Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1359 from $1.1201 on ThursdayPound/dollar: UP at $1.3088 from $1.2970Dollar/yen: DOWN at 143.49 yen from 142.46 yenEuro/pound: UP at 86.80 pence from 86.36 penceBrent North Sea Crude: UP 2.3 percent at $64.76 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: UP 2.4 percent at $61.50 per barrelburs-jmb/tgb

An onslaught of tariffs by the United States will send “shock waves” through African economies, the president of the African Development Bank said on Friday, warning of reduced trade and higher debt-servicing costs.The comments come as US President Donald Trump has upended global markets by pushing — and then retracting — a slew of tariffs in recent days. A baseline 10-percent levy remains in place for all countries, along with higher tariffs on Chinese imports to the United States — scrambling decades of global trade policy.Those new levies — with 47 African countries at risk of even higher tariffs — will cause local currencies to weaken on the back of reduced foreign exchange earnings, AfDB President Akinwumi Adesina said in the Nigerian capital Abuja. “Inflation will increase as costs of imported goods rise and currencies devalue against the US dollar,” Adesina said in a speech at the National Open University of Nigeria, according to prepared remarks which also touched on migration and decreased foreign aid.”The cost of servicing debt as a share of government revenue will rise, as expected revenues decline.”As some observers watch for countries around the world to turn to other trade partners — including China — Adesina warned that Europe and Asia “will buy less goods from Africa” amid the global shocks.The Trump administration’s current trade posturing also makes it nearly certain that the US African Growth and Opportunity Act, a major duty-free agreement for 35 African countries that expires this year, will not be renewed, Adesina said. “Chances of renewal and extension are now extremely low,” he said, predicting serious blows for Lesotho and Madagascar, which are major clothing, diamond and vanilla exporters.- Old models ‘no longer work’ -Adesina is set to step down as head of the bank — a major lender to economic development projects on the continent — at the end of his second term later this year.But much of his speech focused on the future of the continent, from critical mineral deals to reduced foreign aid to emigration.He said the global financial system has failed to deliver for Africa “especially on matters of debt, climate change and access to greater financing”, while “restrictive immigration policies” in rich countries pose challenges for labour mobility. The dismantling of USAID, America’s main foreign development arm, along with cuts by European countries, “means that the old development models that Africa has always relied on will no longer work.”At the same time, however, Adesina argued that “aid is not the way to develop”, and that “Africa cannot blame others for not taking in its rising migrant population”.”It must create the right environment for its own youth to thrive, right here on the continent,” he said.Whether and how that happens though, is contingent on both African and foreign powers — including the United States as it pursues a deal on critical minerals with the Democratic Republic of Congo.Though Adesina didn’t reference the deal directly, he warned that “Africa must also carefully negotiate its engagement in the global geopolitical rush for critical minerals and rare earth elements”.Much of Africa’s vast mineral wealth is mined locally but processed abroad, leaving many countries at the bottom of the supply chain.The continent “must move away from exporting raw minerals and move into processing and value addition to benefit from the high returns at the top of global value chains”, Adesina said.

The dollar tumbled, gold hit a fresh record high and stock markets seesawed Friday as China again retaliated against US tariffs, deepening a trade war between the world’s two biggest economies.Wall Street opened in the red but quickly rose to cap a highly volatile week as investors grapple with President Donald Trump’s unpredictable tariffs policy.European markets wobbled as China said it would raise its tariffs on US goods to 125 percent but suggested it would not retaliate against any further US increases.Frankfurt fell and Paris was flat in afternoon deals, while London rose as data showed the UK economy grew far more than expected in February.”The main driver of the renewed market pressure was an increased focus on the US-China escalation,” said Jim Reid, managing director at Deutsche Bank.”Neither the US nor China are showing signs of backing down, with President Trump expressing confidence in his tariff plans,” Reid added.The dollar pared back some losses against major currencies after plunging to the lowest level against the euro in more than three years as investors fled what is typically considered a key safe-haven currency.US bonds were also under pressure amid speculation that China was offloading some of its vast holdings in retaliation for Trump’s measures.With treasuries being sold off, sending their yields higher and making US debt more expensive, there is a fear of a bigger exodus from American assets down the line.The weaker dollar and the rush for safety sent gold to a fresh record high above $3,220 an ounce.Oil prices rose slightly after huge falls on Thursday.”There remains considerable uncertainty around the impact of tariffs on economies and company earnings, and that could keep markets volatile for some time,” noted Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.Investors were also turning to more routine economic and business data, with the release of inflation data and corporate earnings.Official figures showed US producer inflation fell sharply last month before the tariffs took effect.US banking giant JPMorgan Chase reported first-quarter profits of $14.6 billion, up nine percent from the same period last year.But CEO Jamie Dimon warned of “considerable turbulence” for the economy, due to tariffs, sticky inflation, fiscal deficits and volatility.In Asia, the Tokyo stock market shed three percent — a day after surging more than nine percent — while Sydney, Seoul, Singapore, Wellington and Bangkok were also in the red. However, Hong Kong and Shanghai rose as traders focused on possible Chinese stimulus measures. There were gains in Taipei and Ho Chi Minh City stocks as the leaders of Taiwan and Vietnam said they would hold talks with Trump.- Key figures around 1355 GMT -New York – Dow: UP 0.4 percent at 39,735.69 pointsNew York – S&P 500: UP 0.5 percent at 5,296.55New York – Nasdaq: UP 0.8 percent at 16,525.28London – FTSE 100: UP 0.8 percent at 7,976.03Paris – CAC 40: FLAT at 7,125.73Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.7 percent at 20,411.34Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 3.0 percent at 33,585.58 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 1.1 percent at 20,914.69 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.5 percent at 3,238.23 (close)Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1342 from $1.1183 on ThursdayPound/dollar: UP at $1.3071 from $1.2954Dollar/yen: DOWN at 143.26 yen from 144.79 yenEuro/pound: UP at 86.73 pence from 86.33 penceBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.5 percent at $63.62 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.5 percent at $60.36 per barrelburs-lth/kjm

China said Friday it would raise its tariffs on US goods to 125 percent in a further escalation of a trade war that threatens to bring exports to a halt between the world’s two biggest economies.Beijing’s retaliation sparked fresh market volatility, with stocks seesawing, gold prices surging and US government bonds under pressure. In a message on social media on Friday morning, US President Donald Trump continued to insist that “we are doing really well on our tariff policy.” “Very exciting for America, and the World!!! It is moving along quickly,” he wrote.But in a sign of investors’ worries about the health of the US economy under Trump’s erratic stewardship, the dollar fell to a three-year low against the euro.In Beijing, China’s State Council Tariff Commission said new tariffs of 125 percent on US goods would take effect Saturday, almost matching the staggering 145 percent level imposed on Chinese goods coming into America.A Commerce Ministry spokesperson said the United States bore “full responsibility for this”, deriding Trump’s tariffs as a “numbers game” that “will become a joke”.The Chinese finance ministry said tariffs would not go any higher because “there is no possibility of market acceptance for US goods exported to China” — an acknowledgement that almost no imports are possible at the new level.Economists warn that the disruption in trade between the tightly integrated US and Chinese economies threatens businesses, will increase prices for consumers, and could cause a global recession.Ipek Ozkardeskaya, an analyst at the Swissquote bank, said the tariff figures were “so high that they don’t make sense any more.””For China though — it’s clear they’re now ready to go as far as needed, having given up short-term gains for long-term relief,” she told AFP. – ‘Beautiful thing’ -Trump sent global financial markets into a tailspin by announcing historic tariffs on America’s trading partners on April 2, including a 10-percent baseline for all goods coming into the United States.After days of plunging markets, on Wednesday he froze the higher tariff rates of 20 percent or more imposed on allies such as the European Union or Japan, but kept an additional rate of 34 percent on China.Beijing has since retaliated, leading to tit-for-tat increases over the past few days that culminated in Friday’s latest move. Trump insisted Thursday he was looking to do a deal with Chinese President Xi Jinping.”He’s been a friend of mine for a long period of time. I think that we’ll end up working out something that’s very good for both countries,” he told reporters.During talks with Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Friday, state media quoted Xi as saying Friday that China and the EU should team up on trade.”China and Europe should fulfil their international responsibilities… and jointly resist unilateral bullying practices,” Xi said.Top EU officials and Chinese leaders are set to hold their next summit marking 50 years of ties in China in July, a spokesperson for the European Council announced Friday.- European response -Europe is still weighing up its response.EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic is set to hold talks with his US counterparts in Washington on Monday, his spokeswoman said.Trump described the European Union as “very smart” for refraining from retaliatory levies. But the 27-nation bloc’s chief Ursula von der Leyen told the Financial Times on Friday that it remained armed with a “wide range of countermeasures” if negotiations with Trump hit the skids.”An example is you could put a levy on the advertising revenues of digital services” applying across the bloc, which would hit US tech companies, she said.The European Central Bank sought to soothe markets on Friday, saying it was ready to act should Trump’s tariff blitz threaten financial stability in the eurozone. The ECB “is always ready to use the instruments that it has available”, ECB chief Christine Lagarde said in Warsaw.- Markets -On Wall Street, shares opened lower but rose shortly thereafter as investors scrambled to understand the impact of the latest announcements.European markets opened higher only to fall after China’s retaliation and paring down losses later in the day.In Asia, with Tokyo closed three percent lower while Sydney, Seoul, Singapore and others also sagged.Gold, a haven in times of uncertainty, hit a new record above $3,200 while investors spooked by Trump’s policies dumped normally rock-solid US Treasuries.Some traders speculated that China was offloading some of its vast holdings — which increase the cost of borrowing for the US government — in retaliation for Trump’s measures.burs-adp/lth

India’s gems and jewellery industry is breathing a momentary sigh of relief after US President Donald Trump paused harsh tariffs that threatened to hit lucrative exports and tens of thousands of jobs.At manufacturing and processing hubs across India, exporters and buyers worried over how they would absorb Trump’s gruelling 26 percent tariff on a multi-billion dollar industry.Business related to US exports — everything from silver bracelets to diamonds — were on the verge of a near-standstill in a vital export zone in India’s financial capital Mumbai, industry executives told AFP.But Trump’s 90-day-pause offers a “much-needed breather” to exporters, said Kirit Bhansali, chairman of India’s Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council.”This window will help us realign and strengthen our position in the market,” Bhansali said. The pause, he said, would allow the sector to “stabilise operations and strategise for the months ahead”.India shipped about $10 billion in gems and jewellery products to the United States in the 2024 fiscal year, accounting for roughly 13 percent of its total exports to Washington.The industry, which has until now had to deal with far lower tariffs — ranging between zero to 6-7 percent, depending on the item — helps sustain the livelihoods of over four million people.They include artisans in the gem processing hub of Surat, where 90 percent of the world’s diamonds are cut and polished, as well as traders in Mumbai.India’s 26 percent duty was lower than rates levied on rivals such as China, but exporters feared higher jewellery prices would lead to Americans spending less when tariff costs were passed onto customers.- ‘Gripped with uncertainty’ -Adil Kotwal of Creations Jewellery reckons that, if a 26 percent tariff went through, higher inflation and weaker purchasing power could make the market shrink by 25 to 30 percent this year until prices stabilise.”An average American has a budget, he doesn’t have an open-ended wallet,” Kotwal said. “Young people getting married… they have in their head, okay: ‘I’ll have to spend about $6,000, $7,000, I’ll buy a nice ring for the engagement’,” he said.”Now, his budget is going to go up to $10,000, and he’ll have to figure out what to do.”Kotwal, who also heads a jewellery manufacturing industry group in a key Mumbai export zone said before the tariffs were paused that the taxes would make people reassess.”Either he scales down the size of the centre stone, or he goes for buying a lab-grown (stone),” he said. “Or he postpones engagement for a couple of months.”India and the United States are negotiating the first tranche of a trade deal and exporters hope Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be able to shield them from the worst.”The industry as a whole has been gripped with uncertainty over the last few weeks, so that’s lifted for now,” Ajesh Mehta from D. Navinchandra Exports told AFP.”We hope that this 90-day period will also allow the government to negotiate the trade deal and resolve the issues.”However, the industry hoped that trade would remain stable.”We’re still in wait-and-watch mode at this point,” Mehta said. “The industry is currently in a slack period right now, as it is in between major holidays. But purchases from American buyers should continue — for now.”Most jewellers say the sector could live with a lower duty even if it does not go back to a pre-Trump tariff era.”If we conclude that there is going to be a 10 percent duty… that’s where everybody will be able to live comfortably, without disruptions,” said Kotwal.While Trump’s pause has brought relief, India’s exporters are keenly aware they could be in the same position in July. “We should continue to see purchases by American customers and buyers in this 90-day period as the tariff differential isn’t so big right now,” said K. Srinivasan of Emerald Jewel Industry India.”That said, on the 90th day, we may see a drop and purchases stop again if the issue doesn’t get resolved.”

The dollar tumbled and gold hit a fresh record high on Friday, while stocks diverged as hiked Chinese tariffs on the United States deepened a trade between the world’s two largest economies.After blockbuster rallies for equities Thursday in response to a 90-day pause in the tariffs unveiled by US President Donald Trump, with the exception of China, stock markets traded mixed at the end of a highly volatile week.”The main driver of the renewed market pressure was an increased focus on the US-China escalation,” said Jim Reid, managing director at Deutsche Bank.China retaliated on Friday against massive US tariffs with its own 125-percent duties on goods from the United States, but said it would “ignore” future increases by Washington. That left European stocks struggling for direction in early afternoon deals, with Frankfurt falling 0.5 percent and Paris up 0.1 percent.London rose nearly one percent after data showed that the UK economy grew far more than expected in February. Oil prices rebounded only by a small amount after huge falls on Thursday.”Neither the US nor China are showing signs of backing down, with President Trump expressing confidence in his tariff plans,” Reid added.The dollar plunged to the lowest level against the euro in more than three years and slid against other main rivals as investors fled what is typically considered a key safe-haven currency.US bonds were also under pressure amid speculation that China was offloading some of its vast holdings in retaliation for Trump’s measures.With treasuries being sold off, sending their yields higher and making US debt more expensive, there is a fear of a bigger exodus from American assets down the line.The weaker dollar and the rush for safety sent gold to a fresh record high above $3,220 an ounce.”There remains considerable uncertainty around the impact of tariffs on economies and company earnings, and that could keep markets volatile for some time,” noted Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.In equities trading, the Tokyo stock market shed three percent — a day after surging more than nine percent — while Sydney, Seoul, Singapore, Wellington and Bangkok were also in the red. However, Hong Kong and Shanghai rose as traders focused on possible Chinese stimulus measures. Beijing said earlier on Friday it would implement a moderately loose monetary policy in a bid to reassure investors.There were gains in Taipei and Ho Chi Minh City stocks as the leaders of Taiwan and Vietnam said they would hold talks with Trump.The generally downbeat mood came after hefty losses on Wall Street, where the S&P 500 lost 3.5 percent, the Dow 2.5 percent and the Nasdaq 4.3 percent.Trump also warned that the huge tariffs delayed on Wednesday would be reintroduced if no agreements had been made between Washington and other countries.”If we can’t make the deal we want to make… then we’d go back to where we were,” he said.- Key figures around 1050 GMT -London – FTSE 100: UP 0.9 percent at 7,980.95 pointsParis – CAC 40: UP 0.1 percent at 7,131.52Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.5 percent at 20,448.17 Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 3.0 percent at 33,585.58 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 1.1 percent at 20,914.69 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.5 percent at 3,238.23 (close)New York – Dow: DOWN 2.5 percent at 39,593.66 (close)Dollar/yen: DOWN at 143.00 yen from 144.79 yen on ThursdayEuro/dollar: UP at $1.1336 from $1.1183Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3065 from $1.2954Euro/pound: UP at 86.76 pence from 86.33 penceBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.4 percent at $63.58 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.5 percent at $60.36 per barrel

China said Friday it would raise tariffs on US goods to 125 percent but would ignore further levies by President Donald Trump because it no longer makes economic sense for importers to buy from America.After a week of market mayhem as the world’s two largest economies took turns to put up trade barriers, Beijing dismissed Trump’s mounting brinkmanship as a “joke” and a “numbers game”.China accused Trump of unleashing turbulence in the market with the sweeping tariffs that has hit the world, and said the United States “should bear full responsibility” for the chaos.Trump has deployed sweeping tariffs, including painfully higher levies for dozens of major economies, as a stick to force manufacturers to base themselves in the United States and for countries to lower barriers to US goods.But following market turmoil this week, he blinked first in his push to remodel the post-war system of global commerce and froze many tariffs for 90 days, although he raised them for China to a staggering total of 145 percent.Beijing’s latest round of retaliation brings its levies to 125 percent, effective Saturday.But the Chinese finance ministry said further action by the US will be ignored because “at the current tariff level, there is no possibility of market acceptance for US goods exported to China”.”The United States’ imposition of round upon round of abnormally high tariffs on China has become a numbers game with no practical significance in economics,” Beijing’s commerce ministry said.”If the US continues to play the tariff numbers game, China will ignore it,” a spokesperson said.Beijing also said it would file a lawsuit with the World Trade Organization over the latest round of levies.- ‘Beautiful thing’ -Trump has acknowledged “a transition cost and transition problems” arising from his tariff strategy, but he has dismissed global market turmoil. “In the end it’s going to be a beautiful thing,” he said.He described the European Union as “very smart” to refrain from retaliatory levies. “(The EU) were ready to announce retaliation. And then they heard about what we did with respect to China’,” Trump said.But the 27-nation bloc’s chief Ursula von der Leyen told the Financial Times that it remained armed with a “wide range of countermeasures” if negotiations with Trump hit the skids.”An example is you could put a levy on the advertising revenues of digital services” applying across the bloc, she said.French President Emmanuel Macron also urged the EU to keep preparing action to counter the tariffs, which are only paused but not scrapped. “With the European Commission, we must show ourselves as strong: Europe must continue to work on all the necessary counter-measures,” he said on X.At talks with Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Friday, state media quoted Xi as saying that China and the EU should simply team up on the issue.”China and Europe should fulfil their international responsibilities… and jointly resist unilateral bullying practices,” Xi said.This, he stressed, would not only “safeguard their own legitimate rights and interests, but also… safeguard international fairness and justice.”- ‘No winners’ -After new falls on Wall Street, Asian markets were under pressure again on Friday.Tokyo sank more than four percent — a day after surging more than nine percent — while Sydney, Seoul, Singapore and others also sagged. European markets also retreated on China’s latest salvo.Oil and the dollar slid on fears of a global slowdown while gold hit a new record above $3,200, as investors spooked by Trump’s erratic policies dumped normally rock-solid US Treasuries.”The sugar high from Trump’s tariff pause is fading fast,” said Stephen Innes at SPI Asset Management.”Bottom line: the world’s two largest economies are in a full-blown trade war — and there are no winners.”- ‘Golden Age’ -Critics of Trump’s policies say they are causing chaos for companies that rely on complex supply chains, alienating close allies and making goods more expensive for US consumers.But Howard Lutnick, his commerce secretary, posted on social media Thursday that “the Golden Age is coming. We are committed to protecting our interests, engaging in global negotiations and exploding our economy.”Trump has meanwhile warned that the tariffs could come back after the 90 days.”If we can’t make the deal we want to make… then we’d go back to where we were,” he said.Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney called Trump’s reversal a “welcome reprieve” and said Ottawa would begin negotiations with Washington on a new economic deal after elections on April 28.Vietnam said it had agreed with the United States to start trade talks, while Pakistan is sending a delegation to Washington.As China battles to find allies against Trump’s trade war, Xi will travel next week to Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia, where the tariff drama is expected to feature high on the agenda.burs-oho/hmn