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Indian-owned steelmaking giant Tata Steel announced Wednesday it was slashing around 1,600 of the 9,200 jobs at its plant in the Netherlands, sparking a furious reaction from union leaders.Tata blamed weak demand in Europe and global trade tensions, as US President Donald Trump’s punishing tariffs on dozens of countries — including European Union member states — took effect.The tariffs are part of an intensifying trade war that has sparked fresh market panic.”The challenging demand conditions in Europe driven by geo-political developments, trade and supply chain disruptions and escalating energy costs have affected the operating costs and financial performance,” said Tata, based in IJmuiden near Amsterdam.The cuts would fall on management and support roles, Tata added.”Tata Steel remains committed to ensuring that its Netherlands operation achieve their potential of being one of the most competitive, successful and efficient in Europe,” it said.  Dutch unions condemned the decision at the plant, which employs 9,200 workers. In all, Tata employs 11,500 people in The Netherlands.”This was a bolt out of the blue,” said Hans Korver, a negotiator with De Unie, a union that represents mainly white-collar employees at the plant.”We were particularly surprised by the scale of the cuts,” he told AFP.- ‘Chaos’ -The nation’s largest umbrella union federation FNV, said it “did not understand” Tata’s restructuring plan.”Even now there are no detailed plans. They only thing created now is chaos,” it said in a statement.Tata, in its statement, said “over the following weeks, an effective and comprehensive consultation process will be run on the proposed changes”.But the FNV said it would be discussing the announcement with its members on Monday to decide on further steps, with strike action “not excluded”.Tata Steel in November 2023 announced it was scrapping 800 jobs but in reality few jobs were slashed after the announcement.The plant has been facing hefty fines because of harmful emissions in the area.Dutch residents and the health authorities have accused it of being the main source of air, soil and water pollution in the area and of causing illnesses.A pollution watchdog last week gave Tata a few more weeks to ensure that emissions complied to legal norms, or face fines running into millions of euros, Dutch media reports said.Tata, in its statement Wednesday, said it was working towards more environmentally friendly and sustainable methods, such as changing from old blast furnaces to electric arc furnaces.It planned to replace one blast furnace by the end of the decade, which it said would cut five million tonnes a year in carbon dioxide emissions.

China announced Wednesday massive retaliatory tariffs on US goods, sharply escalating a trade war started by President Donald Trump and fuelling fresh panic in global markets.Trump’s latest salvo of tariffs came into effect on dozens of trading partners earlier Wednesday, including punishing duties of 104 percent on imports of Chinese products.Beijing originally planned to respond with a 34 percent tariff on imports of US products from 1601 GMT Wednesday, but the finance ministry said it would now raise the toll to 84 percent after Trump dramatically hiked his own duties on imports from China.”The tariff escalation against China by the United States simply piles mistakes on top of mistakes (and) severely infringes on China’s legitimate rights and interests,” the ministry said.Washington’s moves “severely damage the multilateral rules-based trade system”, it added.In a separate statement, Beijing’s commerce ministry said it would blacklist six American artificial intelligence firms, including Shield AI and Sierra Nevada Corp.Trump did not immediately react to the Chinese counterattack but he called on companies to start relocating to the United States to avoid tariffs.”This is a GREAT time to move your COMPANY into the United States of America, like Apple, and so many others, in record numbers, are doing,” the US president said on his Truth Social platform. He urged: “DON’T WAIT, DO IT NOW!”Trump believes his policy will revive America’s lost manufacturing base by forcing companies to relocate to the United States.But many business experts and economists question how quickly — if ever — this can take place and warn it could reignite inflation.- Recession fears -The escalating trade war has wiped off trillions of dollars in market value since last week as investors fear that the trade war will spark a recession.After some respite on Tuesday, stock markets were in panic mode again, with Tokyo’s Nikkei index closing almost four percent lower on Wednesday.Paris and Frankfurt sank four percent in afternoon trading while London was down 3.5 percent. US equities were expected to open with more losses.The Bank of England warned of risks to “UK financial stability” from increased geopolitical tensions, including the fallout from the US tariffs.Italy is preparing to cut its 2025 growth forecast in half, to 0.6 percent from 1.2, a government source said, while Spain is also set to downgrade its outlook.Central banks in India and New Zealand cut interest rates to boost their economies in the face of tariffs.Oil prices fell below $60 a barrel, their lowest level in four years.Government bond yields — essentially the interest countries pay to borrow money — rose in the United States, Japan and Britain, among other countries.- Drug makers next? -Trump has said his government was working on “tailored deals” with trading partners, with the White House saying it would prioritise allies such as Japan and South Korea, which were hit with tariffs of 24 percent and 25 percent, respectively.His top trade official, Jamieson Greer, told the Senate that Argentina, Vietnam and Israel were among those who had offered to reduce their tariffs. Vietnamese goods were hit with one of the highest tariffs, at 46 percent. Trump told a dinner with fellow Republicans on Tuesday night that countries were “dying” to make a deal.”I’m telling you, these countries are calling us up kissing my ass,” he said.The European Union, whose goods were hit with a 20 percent tariff, is working on response that could be presented next week.A Chinese government white paper released on Wednesday emphasised that the Beijing and Washington could still resolve their differences “through equal-footed dialogue and mutually beneficial cooperation”.Trump on Tuesday said the United States was “taking in almost $2 billion a day” from global tariffs.He also said the United States would announce a major tariff on pharmaceuticals “very shortly”, prompting a sell-off in shares of pharmaceutical companies.Residents in Beijing expressed fears over the escalating trade war.”I hope that everyone can sit down and reconcile and talk, and then put things out step by step, rather than irrationally escalate them,” Yu Yan, a lawyer, told AFP.In the United States, consumers also voiced worries over rising prices.At a supermarket in New York, mother-of-two Anastasia Nevin told AFP she was “just trying to get by. It’s tough”, adding that she was in “survival mode”.burs-oho-lth/js

President Donald Trump’s punishing tariffs on countries around the world, including a 104 percent increase in duties on China, bear the fingerprint of Peter Navarro, a Harvard-trained economist who has long warned against a rising Beijing.Saying Washington’s trade deficit was a sign of unfair competition, Trump announced blanket 10 percent tariffs on countries and territories around the world last week, including islands inhabited only by penguins.And nearly 60 economies face higher duties, including the over 100 percent tax on Chinese imports that took effect Wednesday after tit-for-tat tariffs between Beijing and Washington.Navarro has advised Trump since before the 2016 presidential election, when candidate Trump vowed to crack down on unfair trade practices he argued have destroyed American jobs and left once-mighty US cities a shadow of their former selves.The economist’s works include the documentary film, “Death by China: how America lost its manufacturing base,” connected to his 2011 book showing China as a serial trade cheater, subsidizing export-oriented industries and manipulating its currency. The consequences, including a harsh deindustrialization of the United States, demand a tough response to China, or the “Dragon,” Navarro argued. Navarro has since emerged as one of the president’s most loyal aides, a controversial figure who defended Trump’s campaign to deny the results of the 2020 presidential election that put Joe Biden in the White House.- Jail term -Navarro, who will be 76 in July, has faced censure and ridicule from his political opponents and fellow Republicans alike, as a backlash builds against Trump’s tariffs within his own party.The former university lecturer served a four-month sentence in prison last year for actions stemming from the former president’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.Navarro was convicted of contempt of Congress for refusing to appear for a deposition and refusing to supply documents to the committee investigating the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol by Trump’s supporters.And in 2020, Navarro clashed with top health expert Anthony Fauci over the Covid-19 pandemic, with the Trump administration official defending the use of an anti-malarial drug against the coronavirus.Billionaire and major Trump backer Elon Musk called Navarro “dumber than a sack of bricks” on Tuesday after the trade advisor said the Tesla boss relies mostly on imported parts to make his electric cars.Musk also dubbed him “Peter Retarrdo” and said Navarro “should ask the fake expert he invented, Ron Vara” — referring to a fictional pundit Navarro quoted in a series of books and a policy memo, using an anagram of his own name.Earlier, Senator Ted Cruz — a staunch Trump loyalist — warned that the United States could be on its way to an economic “bloodbath” after markets crashed on the back of Trump’s tariff announcement.- ‘Visionary’ -Navarro was named to Trump’s team soon after the 2016 election and quickly labeled a “visionary” by the American president. But his appointment spurred immediate unease at Beijing and many observers have seen his standing within the Trump universe as a proxy for the administration’s stance on trade.Under Navarro’s guidance, Trump threatened to pull out of the landmark North American Free Trade Agreement during his first term and demanded renegotiation of the trade relationship.Canada and Mexico eventually agreed to the replacement “USMCA” deal with new wording to boost US jobs.That was after Trump signed an executive order formally ending US participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership in one of his first official acts as president in January 2017.Long affiliated with the Democratic Party, which historically has been more protectionist of the two major US parties, Navarro received a doctorate in economics from Harvard.Born to a saxophonist father and secretary mother, he was raised by his mother after the two divorced in Bethesda, Maryland, an upscale suburb of the nation’s capital.

Stock markets tumbled along with oil and the dollar Wednesday as US President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs against trading partners kicked in, triggering strong retaliation from China. Beijing slapped a higher 84-percent levy on US goods, sharply accelerating losses on European stock markets in early afternoon trading.Growing fears of weakened demand sent oil prices to four-year lows, with international benchmark Brent North Sea crude dropping under $60. Paris and Frankfurt dived almost four percent, also as goods from the European Union now face a 20 percent tariff when entering the United States.London slumped 3.5 percent, with Britain having been hit with a 10 percent levy on Saturday.Most Asian and European equities fell back into the red — Tokyo closed down 3.9 percent — a day after partially rebounding from sharp sell-offs on hopes that Washington might temper some of the levies.But any hopes of a last minute roll-back on tariffs were dashed, as the United States hit China — its major trading partner — with tariffs now reaching 104 percent.”The world’s largest and second largest economies are now locked in a trade war, and neither nation seems willing to back down,” said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown.Beijing warned that China had “firm will and abundant means” to fight a trade war, state news agency Xinhua said. Speculation that Beijing will unveil stimulus measures helped Shanghai and Hong Kong stocks buck the downward trend in Asian equities.Pharmaceutical firms took a heavy hit after Trump said he would be announcing a major levy on the sector. Europe’s most valuable company, weight-loss drug maker Novo Nordisk, dived more than seven percent and British pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca shed six percent.- Bond yields rise -“Alarmingly, US Treasury markets are also experiencing an incredibly aggressive selloff… adding to the evidence that they’re losing their traditional haven status,” said Jim Reid, managing director at Deutsche Bank.The sharp rise in yields on US government bonds triggered similar increases to borrowing costs in the UK and Japan, as expectations for global growth and spending diminished.”It feels like no asset class has been spared as investors continue to price in a growing probability of a US recession,” Reid added.Foreign exchange markets were similarly rattled on Wednesday — Beijing has allowed the yuan to weaken to a record low against the dollar, while the South Korean won also hit its weakest since 2009 during the global financial crisis.Safe-haven yen rose more than one percent. South Korea unveiled a $2 billion emergency support for its crucial export-focused carmakers, warning Trump’s 25 percent tariffs on the sector could deal a terrible blow. To help shore up their economies, India and New Zealand’s central banks cut interest rates.Fears of that Trump’s blow to commerce will spark a global recession saw Wall Street reverse healthy opening gains to end deep in the red on Tuesday — the S&P 500 finished below 5,000 points for the first time in almost a year.- Key figures around 1115 GMT -London – FTSE 100: DOWN 3.5 percent at 7,636.04 pointsParis – CAC 40: DOWN 3.8 percent at 6,835.89Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 3.9 percent at 19,491.82 Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 3.9 percent at 31,714.03 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.7 percent at 20,264.49 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 1.3 percent at 3,186.81 (close)New York – Dow: DOWN 0.8 percent at 37,645.59 (close)Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1047 from $1.0959 Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2811 from $1.2766Dollar/yen: DOWN at 144.81 yen from 146.23 yen on TuesdayEuro/pound: UP at 86.25 pence from 85.78 penceWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 5.4 percent at $56.36 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 4.9 percent at $59.68 per barrel

China is trying to tariff-proof its economy by boosting consumption and investing in key industries, but analysts say it remains critically vulnerable to the economic storm triggered by Donald Trump’s 104 percent levies on its goods.Beijing has vowed to “fight to the end” against Trump’s aggressive trade policy, with number two leader Li Qiang saying authorities were “fully confident” in the resilience of the Chinese economy.But even before the tariffs hit, weakness in the post-Covid domestic market, rising unemployment and a long-running property crisis had all dampened consumption.”The Chinese economy has been significantly weakened since Trump’s first term and can’t really withstand the impact of sustained high tariffs,” said Henry Gao, an expert on the Chinese economy and international trade law.Overseas shipments had represented a rare bright spot last year, with the United States the top single country buyer of Chinese goods. US figures put Chinese exports to the United States at around $440 billion in 2024, almost three times the $145 billion worth of imports. Machinery and electronics — as well as textiles, footwear, furniture and toys — make up a majority of the goods sent, and a supply glut could squeeze already crowded domestic consumer markets.Although China’s domestic market is stronger now than in Trump’s previous term, there would inevitably be pain ahead, said Tang Yao from Peking University’s Guanghua School of Management. “Certain products are specifically designed for American or European markets, so efforts to redirect them to domestic consumers will have only a limited effect,” he said.- ‘Strategic opportunity’ -However, a weekend editorial in the Communist Party-backed People’s Daily described the tariffs as a “strategic opportunity” for China to cement consumption as the main driver of economic growth.We must “turn pressure into motivation”, it read. Beijing has been seeking to “recast structural external pressure as a catalyst for long-intended reforms”, said Lizzi Lee from the Asia Society Policy Institute’s Center for China Analysis.Authorities are “projecting confidence”, she said.China’s quick and coordinated response to tariffs reflect lessons learned from Trump’s first term, she added.For example, in addition to readying reciprocal tariffs on US goods set to come into effect Thursday, Beijing’s commerce ministry the same day announced export controls on seven rare earth elements — including ones used in magnetic imaging and consumer electronics.Beijing’s response to any further escalation may no longer be confined to tit-for-tat levies, as China is “refining its retaliatory approach”, Lee said.Since Trump’s first term, China has diversified and fortified relationships with countries in Europe, Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America, as well as South Korea and Japan. Beijing could also expand government support for the private sector as entrepreneurs fall back into President Xi Jinping’s good graces, added ANZ’s Raymond Yeung.China’s leaders have been trying to promote domestic self-reliance in technology for some time, offering explicit support and reinforcing supply chains in key areas like AI and chips. – ‘No real protection’ -While this time round Beijing has more experience with Trump, it “doesn’t mean the Chinese economy can easily shake off the effects of soaring tariffs”, said Frederic Neumann, chief Asia economist at HSBC.Authorities will be looking to quickly offset falling US demand for Chinese goods, he said.That could look like trade-in schemes or more consumer subsidies that make it easier for Chinese shoppers to buy common household items, from water purifiers to electric vehicles.”By creating demand and trade opportunities for China’s partners in Asia and Europe, the country could help shore up what’s left of the liberal global trading order,” Neumann said.But whether or not Beijing can do that is yet to be seen.The government has “been very reluctant to introduce real consumption stimulus, which is why there’s such low confidence in any so-called consumption-boosting measures”, Gao said. “I don’t think China has any real protection against a trade war,” he added.Success also goes beyond words, and ultimately hinges on Beijing’s ability to deliver the long-awaited consumption boost, HSBC’s Neumann warned.”This is China’s moment to seize economic leadership of the world,” he said. “But that leadership will only come about if domestic demand rebounds and fills the void left by an absent US.” 

US President Donald Trump’s punishing tariffs on dozens of economies came into force Wednesday, including over 100 percent on China, as Beijing vowed “forceful” action in an intensifying trade war that sparked fresh panic on the markets.Following the sweeping 10 percent tariffs that took effect over the weekend, rates on imports to the United States from exporters like the European Union or Japan rose further at 12.01 am (0401 GMT) Wednesday.China — Washington’s top economic rival but also a major trading partner — is the hardest hit, with tariffs imposed on its products since Trump returned to the White House now reaching a staggering 104 percent.In response, Beijing’s foreign ministry promised to take “firm and forceful” steps to protect its interests, while its commerce ministry said the country had “abundant means” to fight a trade war.Trump has said his government was working on “tailored deals” with trading partners, with the White House saying it would prioritize allies like Japan and South Korea.His top trade official Jamieson Greer also told the Senate that Argentina, Vietnam and Israel were among those who had offered to reduce their tariffs.Trump told a dinner with fellow Republicans on Tuesday night that countries were “dying” to make a deal.”I’m telling you, these countries are calling us up kissing my ass,” he said.But Beijing has shown no signs of standing down, vowing to fight a trade war “to the end” and promising countermeasures to defend its interests.A government white paper released Wednesday, however, stressed the two countries could still resolve their differences “through equal-footed dialogue and mutually beneficial cooperation”.China’s retaliatory tariffs of 34 percent on US goods are due to enter in force at 12:01 am local time on Thursday (1601 GMT Wednesday).Residents in Beijing expressed fears over the escalating trade war, with lawyer Yu Yan urging dialogue.”I hope that everyone can sit down and reconcile and talk, and then put things out step by step, rather than irrationally escalate them,” she told AFP.In the United States, consumers also voiced worries over rising prices.At a supermarket in New York, Anastasia Nevin told AFP she is currently in “survival mode.””I have two kids so I’m just trying to get by. It’s tough,” she said Tuesday, adding she would likely need to cut back on spending if prices rise further. – China ‘wants to make a deal’ -The US president believes his policy will revive America’s lost manufacturing base by forcing companies to relocate to the United States.But many business experts and economists question how quickly — if ever — this can take place, warning of higher inflation as the tariffs raise prices.Trump said Tuesday the United States was “taking in almost $2 billion a day” from tariffs.Trump originally unveiled a 34 percent additional tariff on Chinese goods. But after China countered with its own tariff of the same amount on American products, Trump piled on another 50 percent duty.Taking into account existing levies imposed in February and March, that brings the cumulative tariff increase for Chinese goods during Trump’s second presidency to 104 percent.Trump has insisted the ball was in China’s court, saying Beijing “wants to make a deal, badly, but they don’t know how to get it started.”Late Tuesday, Trump also said the United States would announce a major tariff on pharmaceuticals “very shortly”.Separately, Canada said that its tariffs on certain US auto imports will come into force Wednesday.- Meltdown -After trillions in equity value were wiped off global bourses in the last days, markets in Asia came under pressure again on Wednesday, with Hong Kong plunging more than three percent before paring some losses at close.Japan’s Nikkei closed down 3.9 percent and Taiwan stocks shed 5.8 percent, while European markets sank at open.Foreign exchange markets likewise witnessed ructions, with the South Korean won falling to its lowest level against the dollar since 2009 this week.China’s offshore yuan also fell to an all-time low against the US dollar, as Beijing’s central bank moved to weaken the yuan on Wednesday for what Bloomberg said was the fifth day in a row.Analyst Stephen Innes said however, that “letting the yuan grind lower at this measured pace won’t offset the blow from a full-blown tariff barrage”. “The levies are simply too big. China is trying to thread the needle, but the runway is short,” he warned.Oil prices slumped, with the West Texas Intermediate closing below $60 for the first time since April 2021.- Avoid ‘further escalation’ -The European Union has 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 stability for the world’s economy, alongside “the need to avoid further escalation,” said an EU readout.The Chinese premier told von der Leyen that his country could weather the storm, saying it “is fully confident of maintaining sustained and healthy economic development.”The EU — which Trump has criticized bitterly over its tariff regime — may unveil its response next week to new 20 percent levies it faces.In retaliation against US steel and aluminum levies that took effect last month, the EU plans tariffs of up to 25 percent on American goods ranging from soybeans to motorcycles, according to a document seen by AFP.burs-oho/hmn

Equities tumbled on Wednesday after US President Donald Trump ramped up his trade war by hitting China with tariffs of more than 100 percent and sweeping measures against dozens of trading partners came into effect.After a brief respite on Tuesday, investors were once again panicking amid fears the Trump’s blow to commerce will spark a global recession.India and New Zealand’s central banks cut interest rates to shore up their economies, while speculation that Beijing will unveil stimulus measures helped Shanghai and Hong Kong stocks buck the downward trend.China and the United States were headed for a vicious standoff after Trump threatened fresh tariffs of 50 percent in response to Beijing’s retaliation in kind to his initial 34 percent duty announced last week.With China already subject to a 20 percent toll, its exporters are now facing tariffs of up to 104 percent.Beijing has blasted what it called US blackmail and vowed to “fight it to the end”, fanning worries the crisis could spiral out of control.After the levies kicked in on Wednesday, Beijing’s commerce ministry warned that China had “firm will and abundant means” to fight a trade war, state news agency Xinhua said.Forex markets were rattled — Beijing has allowed the yuan to weaken to a record low against the dollar, while the Indonesian rupiah was also at an all-time nadir. The South Korean won also hit its weakest since 2009 during the global financial crisis.Meanwhile, the European Union could unveil its response to the tariffs next week. French President Emmanuel Macron has called for Washington to reconsider but said that if the bloc was forced to retaliate, “so be it”.In response to steel and aluminium levies that took effect last month, Brussels is planning measures of up to 25 percent on US goods ranging from soybeans to motorcycles, according to a document seen by AFP.Chinese Premier Li Qiang told EU chief Ursula von der Leyen that Beijing had the “tools” to handle headwinds, according to state news agency Xinhua.South Korea unveiled a $2 billion emergency support for its crucial export-focused carmakers, warning Trump’s 25 percent tariffs on the sector could deal a terrible blow. And the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) said it must “act boldly” to accelerate regional integration.Members of the bloc — which counts the United States as their main export market — were among those slapped with the toughest levies.- 50% chance of recession -“Any illusion of calm in Asia just got nuked. Trump’s latest tariff tantrum hits like a macro wrecking ball, torching what was left of risk appetite and plunging markets back into full-blown panic mode,” said Stephen Innes at SPI Asset Management.”The only question on every desk this morning is: Is he really willing to light a global recession match just to redraw the trade map?”Trump believes his policy will revive the country’s lost manufacturing base by forcing companies to relocate to the United States, saying on Tuesday that countries were “dying to make a deal”.Earlier he said the country was “taking in almost $2 billion a day” from tariffs but the measures have sent shockwaves through markets and wiped trillions of dollars off company valuations.Jack Ablin of Cresset Capital estimated that the market now sees a greater than 50 percent chance of a US recession.The gains in Asia and Europe on Tuesday came on optimism that the White House could be open to compromise.But a lack of movement and Trump’s confirmation of the 50 percent duties on China took the air out of investor sentiment.That saw Wall Street reverse healthy opening gains to end deep in the red — the S&P 500 finished below 5,000 points for the first time in almost a year.Asia and Europe resumed their retreat Wednesday but pared early big losses.Tokyo fell four percent as the safe-haven yen rose more than one percent, while Taipei cratered almost six percent. Singapore, Sydney and Seoul dropped more than one percent, while Wellington, Mumbai and Jakarta also faced losses.London, Paris and Frankfurt tumbled, with pharmaceutical firms taking a heavy hit after Trump said he would be announcing a major levy on the sector. Weight-loss drug maker Novo Nordisk dived more than seven percent and AstraZeneca shed six percent.Shanghai rose amid speculation that state-backed funds were propping the market up and the government would unveil fresh stimulus, while Hong Kong also rallied thanks to an afternoon bounce.Oil prices lost more than two percent, with both main contracts sitting around four-year lows amid growing fears that the hit to economies will batter demand.- Key figures around 0810 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 3.9 percent at 31,714.03 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.7 percent at 20,264.49 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 1.3 percent at 3,186.81 (close)London – FTSE 100: DOWN 1.6 percent at 7,785.58 Dollar/yen: DOWN at 144.70 yen from 146.23 yen on TuesdayEuro/dollar: UP at $1.1085 from $1.0959 Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2860 from $1.2766Euro/pound: UP at 86.20 pence from 85.78 penceWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 2.3 percent at $58.23 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 2.2 percent at $61.42 per barrelNew York – Dow: DOWN 0.8 percent at 37,645.59 (close)

The leaders of Spain and Vietnam pledged on Wednesday to upgrade ties to the highest level, as the two countries attempt to manage the fallout from enormous tariffs imposed by Washington.During a visit by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez to Hanoi, he and counterpart Pham Minh Chinh signed a joint declaration aiming to elevate ties to the level of comprehensive strategic partnership.It came on the same day US President Donald Trump’s 20 percent tariffs on EU products, and a massive 46 percent levy on Vietnamese goods, came into force. Sanchez said Spain was committed to an international order based on rules, “free trade and economic freedom”.”Trade wars benefit no one, but harm everyone,” he said.”In a global context as complex as the one we are in, the Spanish government is firmly committed to the opening up of our country and Europe to Southeast Asia,” he added.Chinh said Vietnam had proposed Spain be “a bridge to promote our relationship with the EU and Latin American countries (and), for its part, Vietnam agrees to be a bridge to strengthen the relationship between Spain and ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian nations)”.The pair signed five memoranda of understanding including on financial cooperation, culture cooperation and agricultural safety.On Wednesday, Sanchez also met Vietnam’s top leader, To Lam.He will travel to Ho Chi Minh City, the Asian manufacturing powerhouse’s commercial capital, to speak to business leaders on Thursday.The Socialist prime minister then heads to China for his third visit in just over two years, where he is scheduled to meet President Xi Jinping and Chinese investors on Friday.Sanchez broke with the rest of the European Union on his last trip to China in September 2024, urging the bloc to reconsider plans to impose high tariffs on Chinese electric cars and calling for a “fair trade order”.China and Vietnam currently sell much more to Spain than they buy.

India’s central bank cut interest rates in the world’s fifth-largest economy on Wednesday as US President Donald Trump’s tariffs kicked in and policymakers warned of “challenging global economic conditions”.The cut, the second this year, aims to boost a slowing economy grappling with the impact Trump’s sweeping tariffs.The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said the benchmark repo rate, the level at which it lends to commercial banks, would be reduced by 25 basis points to 6 percent.The central bank’s decision was announced the same day Trump’s 26 percent tariff for the world’s most populous nation came into effect.Easing inflation concerns over the last few months have allowed the RBI to focus on perking up the Indian economy, whose growth has slowed in the last few quarters.Trump’s protectionist trade policies will likely add to growth pressures and present a challenge for Indian policymakers.While New Delhi is not a manufacturing powerhouse, experts believe that high US tariffs will hurt billions of dollars of Indian exports across different sectors, including gems, jewellery and seafood.- ‘Uncertainties’ -Economists project that Trump’s tariffs drive will impact India’s GDP growth, with analysts at Goldman Sachs reducing their forecast for the current fiscal year from 6.3 to 6.1 percent.The RBI was more cautious on Wednesday, downgrading its GDP growth projection for the current financial year from 6.7 percent to 6.5 percent. The central bank’s monetary policy committee (MPC) said that “recent trade tariff related measures” had “exacerbated uncertainties” and clouded the “economic outlook across regions”.”In such challenging global economic conditions, the benign inflation and moderate growth outlook demands that the MPC continues to support growth,” it added in a statement.RBI governor Sanjay Malhotra, speaking in the financial capital Mumbai, said the “dent on global growth due to trade frictions will impede domestic growth”.”The year has begun on an anxious note for the global economy,” he said. “Some of the concerns on trade frictions are coming true, unsettling the global community.”Malhotra added that “several known unknowns”, including the impact of relative tariffs, made the “quantification of the adverse impact difficult”.- ‘Headwinds’ -India’s central bank cut interest rates for the first time in nearly five years in February 2024, as it sought to boost an economy that has been weighed down by muted urban consumer sentiment, a sluggish manufacturing sector and lower government expenditure.The Indian economy is projected to grow at its slowest pace since the Covid-19 pandemic and down from 9.2 percent in 2023-24.New Delhi has responded cautiously to Trump’s chaotic trade policies so far.The Department of Commerce said last week it was examining both “implications” and “opportunities” after rival manufacturing competitors were harder hit by Trump’s hike in duties.New Delhi and Washington are currently negotiating a bilateral trade agreement, the first tranche of which they hope to finalise by this autumn.Shilan Shah from Capital Economics said that the “RBI decision had come as “no surprise given the recent sharp drop in inflation and the headwinds from US tariffs”.Shah added that further rate cuts would be expected with the “uncertainty around US trade policy set to rumble on and inflation looking contained”.

Taiwanese exporters are crunching numbers and talking to American clients as they scramble to figure out how to respond to US President Donald Trump’s tariff blitz that threatens to derail their businesses.While the final impact is not yet known, factory owners on the island are clear eyed on one thing: moving operations to the United States is easier said than done. “Taiwan’s structure is what makes this industry viable,” the owner of a machine tool exporter told AFP on the condition of anonymity, highlighting the island’s network of small and medium-sized factories supplying his company.”There are so many components, like gears, belts and others — the US doesn’t have these industries. Setting up a factory in the US would not be worth it,” he said, describing Trump’s policy as “ridiculous”.From Wednesday, Taiwanese products shipped to the United States, including electronics, machinery components, auto parts and bicycles, will be hit with a hefty 32 percent levy.It is part of Trump’s far-reaching global tariffs that have rocked world markets and sparked recession fears, as he seeks to reduce the US trade deficit and push companies to shift manufacturing to American soil.  Many in Taiwan were stunned by the size of the duty, after chipmaking titan Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s plan to invest an additional $100 billion in the United States raised hopes the island would be spared. While chips have so far avoided tariffs, analysts have warned the critical sector could be impacted anyway as levies drive up the cost of iPhones, laptops and other technology, and reduce consumer demand. – ‘Unsophisticated understanding’ -Taiwanese companies have spent days calculating the impact on their operations and speaking to US clients about how to absorb the cost of the new tariff.”They’ve been receiving a lot of calls or instructions,” said Kristy Hsu, director of the Taiwan ASEAN Studies Center at Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research.She told AFP that US customers had requested deliveries be postponed or prices lowered.Companies were also trying to determine if their products contained at least 20 percent “US content”, which could partially shield them from Trump’s levy, she added.During Trump’s first term in office, US tariffs against China prompted many Taiwanese companies operating there to relocate to Southeast Asia to avoid the tax.This time, however, there are fewer places to hide. Trump has slugged imports from Vietnam and Thailand with 46 percent and 36 percent tariffs, respectively, and there was uncertainty about whether duties could be cut or raised even higher. “Right now, the only option for setting up factories overseas is the United States, but the cost of doing so is extremely high,” an official from an electronic industry group told AFP.”This truly isn’t something that can be done easily,” she said, adding “while we were prepared for some disruption, we didn’t expect the US would come down this hard.”Trump’s across-the-board tariffs revealed an “unsophisticated understanding” of how supply chains worked, said Ho Ming-yen, non-resident fellow of the Research Institute for Democracy, Society and Emerging Technology.- Levy ‘impossible to absorb’ -Even if companies shifted their factories to the United States, they would still be hit with tariffs on imported components needed for their products, Ho said.Ho expected most Taiwanese companies would likely take a “wait-and-see” approach and cut costs as they “wait for the calamities to end”. Taiwan President Lai Ching-te said he had no plans for “retaliatory tariffs” against the United States, the island’s most important security partner.The government has pledged US$2.7 billion to help affected industries, but that was a “drop in the ocean” for what was needed, said Jason Hsu, senior fellow at the Hudson Institute think-tank.Hsu estimated tariffs would cost Taiwanese exporters US$15 billion-US$20 billion a year. To secure any relief from Trump, Taiwan needed to come up with deals for the president, said Hsu, a former member of Taiwan’s legislature for the opposition Kuomintang party.”Trump doesn’t care about allies and partnerships, he cares about how much business you can bring to the US,” Hsu said.The machine tool exporter said the United States was a “very important market” for the company, accounting for 30-40 percent of its sales.While the business would survive in the short term, the owner hoped Taiwan could strike a deal with Washignton.”A four to five percent hike we can split (with our clients) and absorb,” he said.”But 32 percent is impossible to absorb. Our profit margin isn’t that high.”