International News
US President Donald Trump said he plans to impose a 10 per cent tariff on $300 billion of Chinese imports from September 1 and could raise tariffs further if China's President Xi Jinping fails to move more quickly to strike a trade deal.The announcement on Thursday extends Trump's trade tariffs to nearly all China's imports into the United States and marks an abrupt end to a temporary truce in a trade war that has disrupted global supply chains and roiled financial markets.
"I think President Xi ... wants to make a deal, but frankly, he's not going fast enough," Trump said.
Trump made the announcement in a series of Twitter posts after his top trade negotiators briefed him on a lack of progress in US-China talks in Shanghai this week.
Trump later said if trade negotiations fail to progress he could raise tariffs further - even beyond the 25 per cent levy he has already imposed on $250 billion of imports from China.
The news hit US financial markets hard.
Oil prices plummeted 7 per cent, with Brent crude registering the biggest daily percentage drop since February 2016. The benchmark S&P 500, which had been in solidly positive territory on Thursday afternoon, closed down 0.9 per cent. Benchmark US Treasury yields also fell.
Retail associations predicted a spike in consumer prices. Target Corp tumbled 4.2 per cent, Macy's Inc fell 6 per cent and Nordstrom Inc was down 6.2 per cent.Asked about the impact on financial markets, Trump told reporters: "I'm not concerned about that at all."...Read More
