Trump's Asia trade blitz fuels hope for US-China deal
STELLA YIFAN XIE
HONG KONG -- U.S. President Donald Trump has announced tariff deals in recent weeks with major nations in Asia, from Japan to Indonesia, after months of uncertainty, fueling hope that trade tensions between the world's two biggest economies may soon ease.
U.S. trade officials are scheduled to meet their Chinese counterparts for a third round of talks in Stockholm starting next Monday, where the deadline for a trade truce could be extended, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Tuesday.

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Yomiuri Shimbun
29 minutes ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Trump to Put Additional 25% Import Taxes on India, Bringing Combined Tariffs to 50%
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday to place an additional 25% tariff on India for its purchases of Russian oil, bringing the combined tariffs imposed by the United States on its ally to 50%. The tariffs would go into effect 21 days after the signing of the order, meaning that both India and Russia might have time to negotiate with the administration on the import taxes. Trump's moves could scramble the economic trajectory of India, which until recently was seen as an alternative to China by American companies looking to relocate their manufacturing. China also buys oil from Russia, but it was not included in the order signed by the Republican president. As part of a negotiating period with Beijing, Trump has placed 30% tariffs on goods from China, a rate that is smaller than the combined import taxes with which he has threatened New Delhi. Trump had previewed for reporters Tuesday that the tariffs would be coming. During an event in the Oval Office Wednesday with Apple CEO Tim Cook, Trump affirmed the 50% tariff number, not giving a specific answers as to whether additional tariffs on India would be dropped if there were a deal between Russia and Ukraine. 'We'll determine that later,' Trump said. 'But right now they're paying a 50% tariff.' The White House said Wednesday that Trump could meet in person with Russian President Vladimir Putin as soon as next week as he seeks to broker an end to the war. The Indian government on Wednesday called the additional tariffs 'unfortunate.' 'We reiterate that these actions are unfair, unjustified and unreasonable,' Foreign Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said in a statement, adding that India would take all actions necessary to protect its interests. Jaiswal said India has already made its stand clear that the country's imports were based on market factors and were part of an overall objective of ensuring energy security for its 1.4 billion people. Ajay Srivastava, a former Indian trade official, said the latest tariff places the country among the most heavily taxed U.S. trading partners and far above rivals such as China, Vietnam and Bangladesh. 'The tariffs are expected to make Indian goods far costlier with the potential to cut exports by around 40%-50% to the U.S.,' he said. Srivastava said Trump's decision was 'hypocritical' because China bought more Russian oil than India did last year. 'Washington avoids targeting Beijing because of China's leverage over critical minerals which are vital for U.S. defense and technology,' he said. In 2024, the U.S. ran a $45.8 billion trade deficit in goods with India, meaning America imported more from India than it exported, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. American consumers and businesses buy pharmaceutical drugs, precious stones and textiles and apparel from India, among other goods. As the world's largest country, India represented a way for the U.S. to counter China's influence in Asia. But India has not supported the Ukraine-related sanctions by the U.S. and its allies on Moscow even as India's leaders have maintained that they want peace. The U.S. and China are currently in negotiations on trade, with Washington imposing a 30% tariff on Chinese goods and facing a 10% retaliatory tax from Beijing on American products. The planned tariffs on India contradict past efforts by the Biden administration and other nations in the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations that encouraged India to buy cheap Russian oil through a price cap imposed in 2022. The nations collectively capped Russian oil a $60 per barrel at a time when prices in the market were meaningfully higher. The intent was to deprive the Kremlin of revenue to fund its war in Ukraine, forcing the Russian government either to sell its oil at a discount or divert money for a costly alternative shipping network. The price cap was rolled out to equal parts skepticism and hopefulness that the policy would stave off Putin's invasion of Ukraine. The cap has required shipping and insurance companies to refuse to handle oil shipments above the cap, though Russia has been able to evade the cap by shipping oil on a 'shadow fleet' of old vessels using insurers and trading companies located in countries that are not enforcing sanctions.


NHK
29 minutes ago
- NHK
Trump-Putin meeting could take place as soon as next week, media report
Multiple media outlets say US President Donald Trump intends to meet with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin as early as next week. The New York Times and other outlets reported the plan on Wednesday, citing sources familiar with the matter. The reports said Trump also seeks to hold three-way talks including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shortly after the meeting with Putin. A White House spokesperson told NHK, "The Russians expressed their desire to meet with President Trump," adding that Trump is "open" to meeting with both Putin and Zelenskyy. The spokesperson did not mention when the meetings would take place. On Wednesday at the White House, responding to a reporter's question about whether Putin and Zelenskyy had agreed to a summit, Trump said, "There's a good chance that there will be a meeting very soon." He said no decision has been made about the location, and that there is a "very good chance" for reaching ''the end of that road." Trump is pressuring Moscow to agree to a ceasefire with Ukraine, threatening to slap "secondary tariffs" on countries that buy oil and other goods from Russia if it does not agree.


The Mainichi
an hour ago
- The Mainichi
US says 15% country-specific tariff for Japan is not ceiling
WASHINGTON (Kyodo) -- A White House official said Wednesday that imports from Japan already subject to tariffs of 15 percent or higher will still face an additional "reciprocal" duty of 15 percent set for the country, unlike in the case of the European Union. In clear contrast to Japan's explanation of the terms of a recent bilateral trade deal, the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the key U.S. ally will not be given such special treatment. The official's confirmation to Kyodo News came just hours before U.S. President Donald Trump's country-specific tariffs ranging from 10 percent to 41 percent are set to take effect, a week after their original start date. Although Trump has insisted that his "America First" trade policies are revitalizing U.S. industries, the new rates of his so-called reciprocal tariffs are expected to cost the average U.S. household about $2,400 this year, according to estimates from the Yale Budget Lab. The non-partisan research group's calculations also found that the overall average effective tariff rate on imports to the world's largest economy will reach 18.3 percent, the highest since 1934. Trump, who has shown no sign of easing pressure on businesses to manufacture in the United States, told reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday evening that he will impose a tariff of about 100 percent on semiconductor imports. Among major trading partners with which the United States runs trade deficits, Japan is one of the few that managed to reach a deal before the Aug. 1 expiration of Trump's monthslong pause on country-specific tariffs. But the White House official's statement suggested that the terms of the deal are being interpreted differently by Japan and the United States. Under the deal, the Trump administration committed to lowering the tariff rate on Japanese goods, due to take effect on Thursday, to 15 percent from a threatened 25 percent. Since July 22, when the two countries reached a compromise, Japanese officials have explained that beef exports from Japan, for example, would continue to be taxed at 26.4 percent as before, without the new 15 percent tariff being imposed. Formal U.S. documents, including an executive order signed last week by Trump to modify tariff rates for dozens of countries, mention the "no stacking" condition only for the European Union, which reached a similar trade deal with the administration a few days after Japan. Given the absence of a written agreement between Japan and the United States, Japanese opposition lawmakers have accused the government of failing to minimize the risk of differing interpretations of tariff implementation between the two countries. Japan's chief tariff negotiator Ryosei Akazawa arrived in Washington on Tuesday night to ensure the United States honors the terms of the bilateral deal. Akazawa has repeatedly said he confirmed with the United States that there were "no discrepancies" in their understanding of the verbal accord between the two countries. On Wednesday, Akazawa held talks with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, urging him to implement as early as possible an agreed tariff cut on Japanese car and auto part imports, according to the Japanese government. During the meeting, which lasted about 90 minutes, Akazawa and Lutnick confirmed the importance of the bilateral deal and efforts to steadily carry out initiatives that serve the "interests of both countries," the government said. Akazawa struck the trade deal with Trump during his last visit to Washington, with the U.S. president also agreeing to cut auto tariffs to 15 percent for Japan in exchange for a promise of massive investment in the United States. However, unlike the country-specific tariff rate, it remains unclear when the Trump administration plans to implement the lowered auto tariffs. Akazawa, Japan's minister for economic revitalization, is scheduled to stay in the U.S. capital through Friday and may also hold talks with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. (By Takuya Karube)