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President Donald Trump announced tariffs of 25 percent on Japan and South Korea on Monday, ramping up pressure on the two key US allies and a dozen other economies to reach trade deals with Washington.Trump issued similar letters to a dozen other trading partners including Indonesia, Bangladesh, Thailand, South Africa and Malaysia, saying he would slap duties on their products ranging from 25 percent to 40 percent.But their starting date of August 1 marks a delay in Trump’s reimposition of steeper levies, originally due to take effect Wednesday.In near-identically worded letters to Japanese and South Korean leaders, Trump said the tariff hikes came as their trading relationships with Washington were “unfortunately, far from Reciprocal.”He warned of further escalation if countries retaliated against these duties.Currently, the affected partners have been hit with a 10 percent levy Trump imposed on almost all trading partners.But the president said he was ready to lower the new levels if others changed their trade policies: “We will, perhaps, consider an adjustment to this letter.”Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Sunday that he “won’t easily compromise” in trade talks with Washington.White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Monday that Trump would sign an order later in the day to delay his original July 9 deadline for steeper tariffs to take effect — formally postponing their imposition to August 1.According to letters posted to Trump’s Truth Social platform, products from Indonesia will face a 32 percent tariff, while the level for Bangladesh is 35 percent and Thailand, 36 percent.With the deadline extension, Leavitt noted that Trump would set out the “reciprocal tariff rate” for partners in the coming month as negotiations continue.Trump originally announced sweeping tariffs on world economies during what he called “Liberation Day” on April 2, claiming the United States was being “ripped off.”Amid market turmoil, he then suspended higher tariffs affecting dozens of economies for 90 days, a deadline that would have expired Wednesday without the latest extension.All countries receiving letters Monday were originally slated to face these steeper duties.While the Trump administration had signaled hopes of striking dozens of deals by July, there have been limited results so far.Washington has unveiled pacts with only Britain and Vietnam, while the United States and China agreed to temporarily lower tariff levels on each other’s products that earlier reached three-digits.- ‘Change their tune’ -Asked why Trump opted to start with South Korea, Leavitt said: “It’s the President’s prerogative, and those are the countries he chose.””This announcement will send a chilling message to others,” said Asia Society Policy Institute Vice President Wendy Cutler, referring to Trump’s initial announcements on Tokyo and Seoul.”Both have been close partners on economic security matters,” she said, adding that companies from Japan and South Korea have made “significant manufacturing investments in the US in recent years.”US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Monday that there would be more deals coming up: “We are going to have several announcements in the next 48 hours.””We’ve had a lot of people change their tune in terms of negotiations. So my mailbox was full last night with a lot of new offers,” Bessent told CNBC.He added that he would meet with his Chinese counterpart in the coming weeks.Both sides have so far held high-level talks in Geneva and London. But Washington and Beijing’s pause on higher tit-for-tat tariffs is due to expire in mid-August.Major US stock indexes fell from records Monday on Trump’s fresh threats. The Dow tumbled 0.9 percent and the S&P 500 lost 0.8 percent.Trump has also threatened another 10 percent tariff on countries aligning themselves with the emerging BRICS nations, accusing them of “Anti-American policies” after they slammed his duties at a summit.But partners are still rushing to avert Trump’s tariffs altogether.The European Commission said EU chief Ursula von der Leyen had a “good exchange” with Trump on trade when the pair spoke Sunday.

Stock markets were mixed Monday with US indices retreating from records as President Donald Trump’s aggressive trade policy came back to the forefront, reviving worries about trade wars and inflation.”Tariff threats look likely to take center stage yet again this week, following further developments over the weekend,” noted Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor.After warning of a tariff hike of 10 percent on countries aligning themselves with the emerging BRICS nations, Trump announced plans for 25 percent tariffs on Japan and South Korea from August 1 if the countries do not reach a deal. Trump issued similar letters to South Africa, Malaysia, Myanmar, Laos and Kazakhstan, saying he would slap duties on their products ranging from 25 percent to 40 percent.Later Monday, he announced additional levies on Indonesia, Cambodia and other countries.The broadsides revived attention on trade after the issue had receded for a few weeks while Congress debated Trump’s sweeping fiscal package and worries about the Iran-Israel conflict took certain stage.Major US indices fell, with the S&P falling 0.8 percent, retreating from a record.The likelihood that Trump’s statements are a bargaining tactic is one reason losses weren’t “even worse,” said Steve Sosnick of Interactive Brokers. “No one really wants to overreact negatively right now, which is why we’re seeing a bit of a sell-off, but not a major sell-off,” he said.The White House has said several deals were in the pipeline but only two have been finalized so far, with Britain and Vietnam.The administration had previously set a July 9 deadline to reach agreements. The White House now says it will hike tariffs on August 1 on trading partners that don’t strike a deal. Despite the tariff uncertainty, official data Monday showed German industrial production rose strongly in May, boosting hopes that Europe’s top economy has turned a corner. The news lifted German equities which gained 1.2 percent for the day.Paris added 0.4 percent, while London dipped 0.2 percent.Asia’s main stock markets mostly steadied.- OPEC+ hike -The oil market was also in focus after Saudi Arabia, Russia and six other key members of the OPEC+ alliance said they would increase oil output in August by 548,000 barrels per day, more than expected.The group said in a statement that “a steady global economic outlook and current healthy market fundamentals, as reflected in the low oil inventories,” led to the decision.IG analyst Chris Beauchamp said that crude prices would ordinarily be expected to drop when additional supply is being brought to market.”Crude’s strength today suggests that buying momentum is clearly picking up,” he said.”The bearish theme that has dominated for so long seems to have run its course, even if more increases are expected in September,” he added.Among individual companies, Tesla tumbled 6.8 percent after Trump blasted CEO Elon Musk’s plan to launch a new political party in opposition to the president’s hallmark legislation, the so-called “Big Beautiful Bill.” The back-and-forth escalated a conflict between the president and the world’s richest man at a time when investors had hoped Musk would refocus on Tesla and his other ventures and shift attention from politics.- Key figures at around 2030 GMT -New York – Dow: DOWN 0.9 percent at 44,406.36 (close)New York – S&P 500: DOWN 0.8 percent at 6,229.98 (close)New York – Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 0.9 percent at 20,412.52 (close)London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.2 percent at 8,806.53 (close)Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.4 percent at 7,723.47 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.1.2 percent at 24,073.67 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.6 percent at 39,587.68 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.1 percent at 23,887.83 (close)Shanghai – Composite: FLAT at 3,473.13 (close)Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1710 from $1.1778 on FridayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3602 from $1.3650Dollar/yen: UP at 146.13 yen from 144.47 yenEuro/pound: DOWN at 86.09 pence from 86.30 penceBrent North Sea Crude: UP 1.9 percent at $69.58 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: UP 1.4 percent at $67.93 per barrelburs-jmb/ksb

President Donald Trump threatened Japan and South Korea with 25 percent tariffs Monday, stepping up pressure on the two historical US allies and a dozen other economies to reach trade deals with Washington.Trump had said at the weekend that starting from Monday he would send a first batch of up to 15 letters to countries, informing them that he would reimpose harsh levies earlier postponed in April.In near-identically worded letters to the Japanese and South Korean leaders, Trump said the tariff hikes would apply from August 1 because their trading relationships with Washington were “unfortunately, far from Reciprocal.”Trump warned the countries, both key US allies in East Asia, of an escalation if they responded to the duties.Currently, both countries have been hit with a 10 percent levy imposed on almost all US trading partners.But Trump said he was ready to lower the new levels if Japan and South Korea changed their trade policies: “We will, perhaps, consider an adjustment to this letter.”Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Sunday that he “won’t easily compromise” in trade talks with Washington.White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Monday that Trump would sign an order later in the day to delay his July 9 deadline for steeper tariffs to take effect — postponing their imposition to August 1.She added that besides Japan and South Korea, there would be approximately 12 other partners receiving letters from Trump soon.With the deadline extension, Leavitt said Trump would be setting out the “reciprocal tariff rate” for economies in the coming month as negotiations continue.Trump originally announced sweeping tariffs on world economies on what he called “Liberation Day” on April 2, claiming the United States was being “ripped off.”Amid market turmoil, Trump then suspended the initial tariffs for 90 days, a deadline that would have expired Wednesday without the latest extension.While the Trump administration had signaled hopes of striking dozens of deals by July — at one point boasting of “90 deals in 90 days” — there have been limited results so far.Washington has unveiled pacts with only Britain and Vietnam, while the United States and China agreed to temporarily lower tariff levels on each other’s products that earlier reached three-digits.- ‘Change their tune’ -Asked why Trump opted to start with South Korea, Leavitt said: “It’s the President’s prerogative, and those are the countries he chose.””This announcement will send a chilling message to others,” said Asia Society Policy Institute Vice President Wendy Cutler.”Both have been close partners on economic security matters,” she said, adding that companies from Japan and South Korea have made “significant manufacturing investments in the US in recent years.”US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Monday that there would be a number of deals coming up: “We are going to have several announcements in the next 48 hours.””We’ve had a lot of people change their tune in terms of negotiations. So my mailbox was full last night with a lot of new offers, a lot of new proposals,” Bessent told CNBC.He added that he would meet with his Chinese counterpart in the coming weeks.The two sides have so far held high-level talks in Geneva and London. But Washington and Beijing’s pause on tit-for-tat tariffs is due to expire in mid-August.On whether he was disappointed in the number of trade deals achieved so far, Trump’s trade adviser Peter Navarro maintained that he is “happy with the progress we’ve had.””Every country that we run a major deficit with is fully engaged,” he told CNBC on Monday.Trump has also threatened another 10 percent tariff on countries aligning themselves with the emerging BRICS nations, accusing them of “Anti-American policies” after they slammed his duties at a summit.For now, partners are still rushing to avert Trump’s tariffs altogether.The European Commission said that EU chief Ursula von der Leyen had a “good exchange” with Trump on trade when the pair spoke Sunday.

Stock markets diverged while the dollar strengthened Monday as countries fought to hammer out trade deals ahead of US President Donald Trump’s tariff deadline.Oil prices rose, even if OPEC and its allies agreed over the weekend to increase output more than expected.”Tariff threats look likely to take centre stage yet again this week, following further developments over the weekend,” noted Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor.Trump announced he would send the first tariff letters to various countries on Monday ahead of his deadline Wednesday for trading partners to reach a deal expires.He warned that US levies on imports will snap back to the high levels he set in April if countries failed to make agreements. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said, however, that the measures would not be applied until August 1, instead of the July 9 cut-off that had been set by Trump.Trade Nation analyst David Morrison said added time wasn’t calming markets.”While (Bessent) downplayed the idea of this being a ‘new deadline’, the market took little comfort, interpreting the remarks as an extension of trade risks,” he said.The White House has said several deals were in the pipeline but only two have been finalised so far, with Britain and Vietnam. Major trading nations, including Japan, India, the European Union and South Korea, have fought for the past three months to get agreements.Uncertainty prevails, with Trump declaring that an extra 10 percent import levy would be added to any country “aligning themselves with the Anti-American policies of BRICS” — the 11-member alliance including Brazil, Russia, India and China.Despite the tariff uncertainty, official data Monday showed German industrial production rose strongly in May, boosting hopes that Europe’s top economy has turned a corner. The news boosted German equities which gained 1.2 percent for the day.Paris added 0.4 percent, while London dipped 0.2 percent.Asia’s main stock markets mostly steadied.Wall Street slipped after record finishes by the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite on Thursday before the long holiday weekend in the United States.”There is a little trade uncertainty in the mix today… but it isn’t a stretch to think the market is also simply adhering to some consolidation interest after making such a massive run,” said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare. – OPEC+ hike -The oil market was also in focus after Saudi Arabia, Russia and six other key members of the OPEC+ alliance said they would increase oil output in August by 548,000 barrels per day, more than expected.The group said in a statement that “a steady global economic outlook and current healthy market fundamentals, as reflected in the low oil inventories” led to the decision.IG analyst Chris Beauchamp said that crude prices would ordinarily be expected to drop when additional supply is being brought to market.”Crude’s strength today suggests that buying momentum is clearly picking up,” he said.”The bearish theme that has dominated for so long seems to have run its course, even if more increases are expected in September,” he added.Shares in Shell dropped around 2.9 percent after the British energy giant posted a weak trading update.- Key figures at around 1530 GMT -New York – Dow: DOWN 0.7 percent at 44,513.28 pointsNew York – S&P 500: DOWN 0.6 percent at 6,242.40New York – Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 0.7 percent at 20,461.12London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.2 percent at 8,806.53 (close)Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.4 percent at 7,723.47 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.1.2 percent at 24,073.67 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.6 percent at 39,587.68 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.1 percent at 23,887.83 (close)Shanghai – Composite: FLAT at 3,473.13 (close)Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1732 from $1.1783 on FridayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3640 from $1.3641Dollar/yen: UP at 145.86 yen from 144.53 yenEuro/pound: DOWN at 86.04 pence from 86.37 penceBrent North Sea Crude: UP 1. percent at $69. per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0. percent at $67. per barrelburs-rl/tw

Donald Trump’s aggressive trade policy faces a critical week as the US president races to secure the bilateral deals he promised, ahead of a shifting deadline for re-imposing steep tariffs on dozens of economies.Trump is due to send a first batch of letters to up to 15 trading partners from noon local time (1600 GMT), warning that US levies on imports will snap back to elevated levels if foreign governments fail to reach agreements with Washington.The duties will not bounce back until August 1, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said over the weekend, a move that appears to give more room for dealmaking.Trump imposed a 10 percent tariff on imports from almost all trading partners in early April, but some economies including the European Union were slated to have this rate increase further.As markets plunged at the time, Trump halted the steeper levies to allow for talks. That pause expires on Wednesday.”We are going to have several announcements in the next 48 hours,” Bessent told CNBC in an interview Monday.”We’ve had a lot of people change their tune in terms of negotiations. So my mailbox was full last night with a lot of new offers, a lot of new proposals,” Bessent said.He reiterated that higher tariff rates for countries would not return until August 1.There was no immediate response from the White House on whether Trump would formally extend the Wednesday deadline.Asked about the letters Trump plans to send out, Bessent said these would inform partners of the tariff rate their products face when trading with the United States, unless they want to “come back and try to negotiate.”- Limited results? -While the Trump administration has signaled hopes of striking dozens of deals by early July, there have been limited results so far.Washington has unveiled pacts only with Britain and Vietnam, while the United States and China agreed to temporarily lower tariff levels on each other’s products that earlier reached three-digits.Bessent told CNBC Monday that he would “be meeting with my Chinese counterpart sometime in the next couple of weeks.”The two sides have so far held high-level talks in Geneva and London.But Washington and Beijing’s pause on tit-for-tat tariffs is due to expire in mid-August.On whether he was disappointed in the number of trade deals achieved so far, Trump’s trade adviser Peter Navarro maintained that he is “happy with the progress we’ve had.””Every country that we run a major deficit with is fully engaged,” he told CNBC on Monday.On Sunday night, Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that Washington would deliver “tariff letters” or deals to various countries on Monday.In a separate post that night, Trump threatened another 10 percent tariff on countries aligning themselves with the emerging BRICS nations, accusing them of “Anti-American policies” after they slammed his duties at a summit.For now, partners are still rushing to avert Trump’s tariffs altogether.The European Commission said that EU chief Ursula von der Leyen had a “good exchange” with Trump on trade when the pair spoke Sunday.Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, however, said Sunday that he “won’t easily compromise” in trade talks with Washington.

European stock markets and the dollar strengthened Monday as countries fought to hammer out trade deals days before US President Donald Trump’s tariff deadline.Oil prices rose, even if OPEC and its allies agreed over the weekend to increase output more than expected.”Tariff threats look likely to take centre stage yet again this week, following further developments over the weekend,” noted Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor.Trump announced he would send the first tariff letters to various countries on Monday ahead of his deadline Wednesday for trading partners to reach a deal expires.He warned that US levies on imports will snap back to the high levels he set in April if countries failed to make agreements. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said, however, that the measures would not be applied until August 1.While the White House has said several deals were in the pipeline, only two have been finalised ahead of the July 9 cut-off set by Trump.Governments from major trading partners including Japan, India, the European Union and South Korea have fought for the past three months to get agreements.Uncertainty prevails, with Trump declaring that an extra 10 percent import levy would be added to any country “aligning themselves with the Anti-American policies of BRICS” — an 11-member alliance including Brazil, Russia, India and China.Despite the tariff uncertainty, official data Monday showed German industrial production rose strongly in May, boosting hopes that Europe’s top economy has turned a corner. The news helped to lift German equities more than in London and Paris.Asia’s main stock markets mostly steadied.- OPEC+ hike -The oil market was also in focus after Saudi Arabia, Russia and six other key members of the OPEC+ alliance said they would increase oil output in August by 548,000 barrels per day, more than expected.The group said in a statement that “a steady global economic outlook and current healthy market fundamentals, as reflected in the low oil inventories” led to the decision. Shares in Shell dropped 3.2 percent around midday after the British energy giant posted a weak trading update.- Key figures at around 1040 GMT -London – FTSE 100: UP 0.1 percent at 8,828.24 pointsParis – CAC 40: UP 0.1 percent at 7,704.63Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.7 percent at 23,944.13Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.6 percent at 39,587.68 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.1 percent at 23,887.83 (close)Shanghai – Composite: FLAT at 3,473.13 (close)New York: Closed for a public holidayEuro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1726 from $1.1783 on FridayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3598 from $1.3641Dollar/yen: UP at 145.46 yen from 144.53 yenEuro/pound: DOWN at 86.35 pence from 86.37 penceBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.7 percent at $68.75 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.1 percent at $67.08 per barrelburs-bcp/ajb/rl

Equities struggled Monday as countries fought to hammer out trade deals days before Donald Trump’s tariff deadline, with the US president saying he would begin sending letters to some capitals outlining the rates he had decided upon.While the White House has said several deals were in the pipeline, only two have been finalised ahead of the July 9 cut-off set by Trump.Governments from major trading partners including Japan, India, the European Union and South Korea have fought for the past three months to get agreements.But Trump said he will send his first tariff letters at 1600 GMT Monday, setting out what Washington will charge for doing business with the United States.He said an extra 10 percent would be added to any country “aligning themselves with the Anti-American policies of BRICS”, an 11-member alliance including Brazil, Russia, India and China.”I am pleased to announce that the UNITED STATES TARIFF Letters, and/or Deals, with various Countries from around the World, will be delivered starting 12:00 P.M. (Eastern), Monday, July 7th,” Trump said on his Truth Social network.The announcement on BRICS came after leaders of the group warned Trump’s “indiscriminate” import tariffs risked hurting the global economy.The deadline for a deal is Wednesday, but Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed on Sunday that the measures would not be applied until August 1.”It’s not a new deadline. We are saying, this is when it’s happening. If you want to speed things up, have at it. If you want to go back to the old rate, that’s your choice,” Bessent told CNN.He said the rates will then “boomerang back” to the sometimes very high levels Trump announced on April 2, before the president suspended the levies to allow for trade talks. “I would expect to see several big announcements over the next couple of days,” Bessent said.The president told reporters Sunday on Air Force One that “I think we’ll have most countries done by July 9, either a letter or a deal”, adding that some deals have already been made.Tariff uncertainty weighed on equity markets, with Tokyo, Hong Kong, Sydney, Wellington, Taipei, Mumbai and Bangkok all down, though there were small gains in Singapore, Seoul, Jakarta and Manila. Shanghai was flat.London fell at the open, Paris was flat and Frankfurt edged up.”Whether deadlines get extended remains uncertain given Trump’s unpredictable style,” said IG market analyst Fabien Yip. “Our base case expects several important trade partners to agree on a high-level basis before the deadline.”This would provide more time for detailed discussions over the following two months. The other risk factor is sector-specific tariffs covering semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, and materials may also be announced in due course.”Oil prices slipped after Saudi Arabia, Russia and other major producers in the OPEC+ alliance said they would boost output far more than expected in August, fuelling demand worries just as Trump’s tariffs are about to begin.The group said “a steady global economic outlook and current healthy market fundamentals, as reflected in the low oil inventories” led to the decision to further hike output. – Key figures at around 0810 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.6 percent at 39,587.68 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.1 percent at 23,887.83 (close)Shanghai – Composite: FLAT at 3,473.13 (close)London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.1 percent at 8,810.80 West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.7 percent at $66.54 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.1 percent at $68.26 per barrelEuro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1750 from $1.1783 on FridayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3607 from $1.3641Dollar/yen: UP at 145.20 yen from 144.53 yenEuro/pound: DOWN at 86.35 pence from 86.37 penceNew York: Closed for a public holiday

BRICS leaders at a summit on Sunday took aim at US President Donald Trump’s “indiscriminate” import tariffs and recent Israeli-US strikes on Iran.The 11 emerging nations — including Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — account for about half the world’s population and 40 percent of global economic output.The bloc is divided about much, but found common cause when it comes to the mercurial US leader and his stop-start tariff wars — even if it avoided naming him directly.Voicing “serious concerns about the rise of unilateral tariff” measures, BRICS members said the tariffs risked hurting the global economy, according to a summit joint statement.Trump fired back at the bloc directly on social media Sunday night. “Any country aligning themselves with the Anti-American policies of BRICS will be charged an ADDITIONAL 10% Tariff. There will be no exceptions to this policy,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.Earlier, BRICS also offered symbolic backing to fellow member Iran, condemning a series of military strikes on nuclear and other targets carried out by Israel and the United States.In April, Trump threatened allies and rivals alike with a slew of punitive duties, before offering a months-long reprieve in the face of a fierce market sell-off.Trump has warned he will impose unilateral levies on partners unless they reach “deals” by August 1.In an apparent concession to US allies such as Brazil, India and Saudi Arabia, the summit declaration did not criticize the United States or its president by name at any point.  – No show -Conceived two decades ago as a forum for fast-growing economies, the BRICS have come to be seen as a Chinese-driven counterbalance to US and western European power.But as the group has expanded to include Iran, Saudi Arabia and others, it has struggled to reach meaningful consensus on issues from the Gaza war to challenging US global dominance.BRICS nations, for example, collectively called for a peaceful two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict — despite Tehran’s long-standing position that Israel should be destroyed. An Iranian diplomatic source said his government’s “reservations” had been conveyed to Brazilian hosts. Still, Iran — a BRICS member since 2023 — stopped short of rejecting the statement outright.The bloc also called for an “immediate” ceasefire and the “full withdrawal of Israeli forces” from the Gaza Strip, where Israel has been at war with Palestinian militant group Hamas for 21 months. Hamas’s armed wing welcomed BRICS’s position, calling on them to “exert pressure” on Israel to “lift the criminal siege imposed on two and a quarter million people.”In perhaps a further sign of the diplomatic sensitivities, Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister skipped Sunday’s discussions entirely, according to a Brazilian government source.Saudi Arabia is among the world’s leading beneficiaries of high-tech US military exports and is a long-standing US partner.The political punch of this year’s summit has been depleted by the absence of China’s Xi Jinping, who skipped the meeting for the first time in his 12 years as president.The Chinese leader is not the only notable absentee. Russian President Vladimir Putin, charged with war crimes in Ukraine, also opted to stay away, participating via video link.He told counterparts that BRICS had become a key player in global governance.The summit also called for regulation governing artificial intelligence and said the technology could not be the preserve of only rich nations.The commercial AI sector is currently dominated by US tech giants, although China and other nations have rapidly developing capacity.

US President Donald Trump announced he would send the first tariff letters to various countries on Monday, days before his deadline for trading partners to reach a deal expires.Trump said on Sunday that he will send a first batch of up to 15 letters, warning that US levies on imports will snap back to the high levels he set in April if countries fail to make agreements. But Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that the tariffs would not “boomerang” back until August 1 — giving some extra breathing space for dealmaking on a subject that has injected uncertainty into global markets.”I am pleased to announce that the UNITED STATES TARIFF Letters, and/or Deals, with various Countries from around the World, will be delivered starting 12:00 P.M. (Eastern), Monday, July 7th,” Trump said on his Truth Social network.In a later post he threatened a further 10 percent tariff on countries aligning themselves with the emerging BRICS nations, accusing them of “anti-Americanism” after they slammed his tariffs at a summit on Sunday.Trump had announced sweeping tariffs on April 2 — which he called “Liberation Day” — imposing a 10 percent duty on imports from almost all trading partners. Some countries, including some within the European Union, were slated to have far higher rates as well.As markets plunged Trump paused the tariffs for 90 days to allow for talks — a deadline which expires on Wednesday.But so far there have been limited results, with Washington unveiling deals only with Britain and Vietnam, while agreeing with China to temporarily lower staggeringly high levies on each other’s products.Trump told reporters as he boarded Air Force One earlier Sunday that it “could be 12, could be 15” letters that he would send on Monday.- ‘Maximum pressure’ -“I think we’ll have most countries done by July 9, either a letter or a deal,” Trump said, adding that some deals had been made already.Standing at his side, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick confirmed tariffs would kick in on August 1 but denied that it was a way of delaying the deadline. “The President is setting the rates and the deals right now.”Bessent also denied that Trump was setting a new deadline with the August 1 date.”It’s not a new deadline. We are saying, this is when it’s happening. If you want to speed things up, have at it. If you want to go back to the old rate, that’s your choice,” he said.Bessent added that the playbook was to apply “maximum pressure” and cited the European Union as an example, saying they are “making very good progress” after a slow start.Earlier he hinted at “several big announcements” on deals in coming days but would not say with which countries.EU and US negotiators are holding talks over the weekend, and France’s finance minister said Saturday he hoped they could strike a deal as well.Other countries were still expressing unease, however.Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Sunday he “won’t easily compromise” in trade talks with Washington.And BRICS leaders of fast-growing economies meeting in Rio de Janeiro raised “serious concerns” that the “indiscriminate” import tariffs were illegal and risked hurting global trade.Trump lashed out at the group — which comprises 11 nations including Brazil, Russia, India and China — in response.”Any Country aligning themselves with the Anti-American policies of BRICS, will be charged an ADDITIONAL 10% Tariff. There will be no exceptions to this policy,” Trump wrote.

Most Asian markets fell Monday as countries fought to hammer out trade deals days before Donald Trump’s tariff deadline, though investors took heart after he said the levies would not kick in until the start of next month.While the White House has said several deals were in the pipeline, only two have been finalised ahead of the July 9 cut-off set by the US president.Governments from major trading partners including Japan, India, the European Union and South Korea have fought for the past three months to get agreements.But Trump said he will send his first tariff letters at 1600 GMT Monday, setting out what Washington will charge for doing business with the United States.He said an extra 10 percent would be added to any country “aligning themselves with the Anti-American policies of BRICS”, an 11-member alliance including Brazil, Russia, India and China.The announcement came after leaders of the group warned Trump’s “indiscriminate” import tariffs risked hurting the global economy.The deadline for a deal is Wednesday, but Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed on Sunday that the measures would not be applied until August 1.”It’s not a new deadline. We are saying, this is when it’s happening. If you want to speed things up, have at it. If you want to go back to the old rate, that’s your choice,” Bessent told CNN.He said the rates will then “boomerang back” to the sometimes very high levels Trump announced on April 2, before the president suspended the levies to allow for trade talks. “I would expect to see several big announcements over the next couple of days,” Bessent said. The president told reporters Sunday on Air Force One that “I think we’ll have most countries done by July 9, either a letter or a deal”, adding that some deals have already been made.Tariff uncertainty weighed on equity markets, with Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Wellington and Taipei all down, though there were small gains in Singapore, Seoul, Manila and Jakarta.Wall Street was closed Friday for a holiday.”Whether deadlines get extended remains uncertain given Trump’s unpredictable style,” said IG market analyst Fabien Yip. “Our base case expects several important trade partners to agree on a high-level basis before the deadline.”This would provide more time for detailed discussions over the following two months. The other risk factor is sector-specific tariffs covering semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, and materials may also be announced in due course.”Oil prices sank after Saudi Arabia, Russia and other major producers in the OPEC+ alliance said they would boost output far more than expected in August, fuelling demand worries just as Trump’s tariffs are about to begin.The group said “a steady global economic outlook and current healthy market fundamentals, as reflected in the low oil inventories” led to the decision to further hike output. – Key figures at around 0230 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.5 percent at 39,628.41 (break)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.3 percent at 23,842.39Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.1 percent at 3,467.81West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.8 percent at $65.81 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 1.0 percent at $67.61 per barrelEuro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1773 from $1.1783 on FridayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3634 from $1.3641Dollar/yen: DOWN at 144.51 yen from 144.53 yenEuro/pound: DOWN at 86.34 pence from 86.37 penceNew York: Closed for a public holidayLondon – FTSE 100: FLAT at 8,822.91 (close)