USA

The US-China tariff war has peaked. President Donald Trump on Tuesday imposed another 50% duty on Chinese imports after Beijing announced a 34% tariff on American goods. What was initially a 34% proposal from Trump has now reached an astounding 104%.China's State Council Information Office on Wednesday, April 9, released a white paper titled “China's Position on Some Issues Concerning China-US Economic and Trade Relations.”The Chinese government issued the document to clarify its position on China-US economic and commercial relations and other important issues. Here are some key points to note from the Chinese white paper. Normal for China and the US to have differences and frictions: China and the US have different economic systems and stages of development, which might lead to dif...

As the shake-up of the world trade by US President Donald Trump has brought back tariffs at the centre stage again, “many developed countries” have indicated to India that they are willing to relax their stands on non-trade issues like sustainability in the free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations for early deals, according to an official. The positive signals from these trading partners would help India to diversify its merchandise trade basket, and minimise negative effects of the additional US tariffs on its exports. Currently, the US accounts for 18% of India’s goods exports. It is important for India to gain from the supply chain reorganisation that the US’s highly disruptive act might cause, and more FTAs with other major trading partners like the European Union and the UK have no...

Economic issues continue to dominate Americans’ national concerns, with majorities expressing “a great deal” of personal worry about the economy, healthcare availability and affordability, inflation and the federal budget deficit. Along with the economy and healthcare, public concern about Social Security and the environment is up significantly, with Social Security registering a 15-year high. At the same time, concern about crime, drug use, immigration, and the availability and affordability of energy has decreased when the last measure of President Joe Biden’s term in 2024 is compared with the first measure of President Donald Trump’s second term this year. After the change in presidential administrations, partisans’ worries have shifted significantly on most of the 16 issues Gall...

The stock market not only can't find its footing in 2025, but it's also in danger of losing its grip altogether. The benchmark S&P 500 is in the red for 2025, talk of a private sector recession runs rampant and a chaotic geopolitical snapshot shows angst over the Russia-Ukraine war. Additionally, President Donald Trump on April 2 announced high "reciprocal" tariffs on scores of major U.S. trading partners, along with a 10% across-the-board tariff on all other nations. Mexico and Canada were exempt from these new levies, but the two countries have already been hit with tariffs on goods that don't comply with the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement Trump negotiated in his first term, in addition to tariffs on steel and aluminum. Meanwhile, bellwether semiconductor stocks are slidin...

On March 4, 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump instituted major tariffs affecting imports from Canada, Mexico and China. Such actions earlier ignited global trade tensions, prompting swift reactions from the affected nations and raising questions about their potential economic impact. The reason for these tariffs is officially to pressure these nations to enhance efforts against unfair trade practices and drug trafficking, particularly fentanyl, into the United States. Any positive impact on the U.S. economy is questionable but negative impacts seem certain. Under the decisions, the U.S. government imposed a 25% tariff on all imports from Canada and Mexico. Canadian energy products are subject to a 10% tariff. The tariff on Chinese goods has been increased from 10% to 20%. Officially, t...

A key economic adviser to President Donald Trump on Monday pushed back on talk of recession stemming from uncertainty around his administration's tariff policies, even as a survey of American households showed consumers growing more pessimistic about their prospects, and U.S. stocks plunged.In an interview with CNBC, Kevin Hassett, who heads the National Economic Council, said there were many reasons to be optimistic about the U.S. economy, despite some predictions of a contraction in gross domestic product in the first quarter and concerns about inflation.Trump's tariffs on Canada, China and Mexico were already having the intended effect of bringing manufacturing and jobs back to the United States, he said."There are a lot of reasons to be extremely bullish about the economy going forwar...

Beijing’s tariffs on certain US agricultural goods in retaliation for US President Donald Trump’s latest hike on Chinese imports came into force yesterday, as trade tensions mount between the world’s two leading economies. Since retaking office in January, Trump has unleashed a barrage of tariffs on major US trading partners, including China, Canada and Mexico, citing their failure to stop illegal immigration and flows of deadly fentanyl. After imposing a blanket 10 percent tariff on all Chinese goods early last month, Trump hiked the rate to 20 percent last week. Beijing reacted quickly and announced fresh measures of its own, with levies of 10 and 15 percent imposed on several US farm products, including chicken, wheat, corn and cotton. Soybeans, sorghum, pork, beef, aquatic pr...

President Donald Trump says his administration is making “very big” moves and has acknowledged there’s likely a “period of transition” or “disturbance” that could result. When asked during an interview that aired this weekend on Fox News about the likelihood of a recession being one of those outcomes, Trump told Maria Bartiromo: “I hate to predict things like that.” Fears of a severe economic downturn have escalated in recent weeks, and stocks plunged Monday on Trump’s comments, continuing a steep selloff driven by concerns about the impact of tariffs on US economic growth. But are recession fears justified? Here’s what history and the current economic picture can tell us about the potential for a recession:What is a recession?The traditional (and official) definition of a US rec...

US tariffs have sparked widespread concern among American industry players, economists and media outlets over potential adverse impact on the US economy that could raise costs and burdens for US businesses and consumers, according to several US media reports. Highlighting growing concerns in the US, volatility returned to Wall Street on Monday, with most major US indices swinging to significant losses after the US administration dismissed concerns over the possibility of upcoming tariffs causing a recession, according to the Associated Press. Shortly after market opening on Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped about 1 percent, while the S&P 500 shed 1.4 percent, CNBC reported. The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday that "economists fear that Trump's tariffs, once...