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Trump leans into trade threats to try to stop Cambodia-Thailand clashes

Trump leans into trade threats to try to stop Cambodia-Thailand clashes

Politicoa day ago
His first call Saturday was with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, where he urged 'an END to the War' and said that if the two countries do not reach an agreement to end the war, he will 'not want to make any Deal, with either Country.'
Trump is on a diplomatic trip to Scotland, and according to reporters traveling with the president, had a golf outing planned at his course in Turnberry with one of his sons and the U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom, Warren Stephens.
'The call with Cambodia has ended, but expect to call back regarding War stoppage and Ceasefire based on what Thailand has to say,' the president wrote. 'I am trying to simplify a complex situation!'
Trump posted minutes later that he spoke with the acting prime minister of Thailand, Phumtham Wechayachai, and Trump said he 'wants to have an immediate Ceasefire, and PEACE.'
The clashes have left at least 33 people dead and more than 168,000 displaced across both countries.
Trump compared the situation in Asia to the U.S.-mediated ceasefire agreed to by India and Pakistan earlier this year. At the time, the president said he told the countries that 'If you stop it, we'll do a trade,' adding that 'If you don't stop it, we're not going to do any trade.'
But the Indian government disputed that claim from the U.S. leader. 'The issue of trade didn't come up in any of these discussions,' said a spokesperson for India's foreign ministry.
Cambodia and Thailand have both been two of the hardest hit countries as a result of Trump's trade war, as the president recently announced a 36 percent tariff on most Cambodian and Thai exports, effective August 1.
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US and China to talk in Stockholm on trade with eye on Trump-Xi summit later this year
US and China to talk in Stockholm on trade with eye on Trump-Xi summit later this year

Yahoo

time14 minutes ago

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US and China to talk in Stockholm on trade with eye on Trump-Xi summit later this year

WASHINGTON (AP) — When top U.S. and Chinese officials meet in Stockholm, they are almost certain to agree to at least leaving tariffs at the current levels while working toward a meeting between their presidents later this year for a more lasting trade deal between the world's two largest economies, analysts say. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng are set to hold talks for the third time this year — this round in the Swedish capital, nearly four months after President Donald Trump upset global trade with his sweeping tariff proposal, including an import tax that shot up to 145% on Chinese goods. 'We have the confines of a deal with China,' Trump said Friday before leaving for Scotland. Bessent told MSNBC on Wednesday that the two countries after talks in Geneva and London have reached a 'status quo,' with the U.S. taxing imported goods from China at 30% and China responding with a 10% tariff, on top of tariffs prior to the start of Trump's second term. 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Fentanyl-related tariffs are likely a focus for China In Stockholm, Beijing will likely demand the removal of the 20% fentanyl-related tariff that Trump imposed earlier this year, said Sun Yun, director of the China program at the Washington-based Stimson Center. This round of the U.S.-China trade dispute began with fentanyl, when Trump in February imposed a 10% tariff on Chinese goods, citing that China failed to curb the outflow of the chemicals used to make the drug. The following month, Trump added another 10% tax for the same reason. Beijing retaliated with extra duties on some U.S. goods, including coal, liquefied natural gas, and farm products such as beef, chicken, pork and soy. In Geneva, both sides climbed down from three-digit tariffs rolled out following Trump's 'Liberation Day' tariffs in April, but the U.S. kept the 20% 'fentanyl' tariffs, in addition to the 10% baseline rate — to which China responded by keeping the same 10% rate on U.S. products. These across-the-board duties were unchanged when the two sides met in London a month later to negotiate over non-tariff measures such as export controls on critical products. The Chinese government has long protested that American politicians blame China for the fentanyl crisis in the U.S. but argued the root problem lies with the U.S. itself. Washington says Beijing is not doing enough to regulate precursor chemicals that flow out of China into the hands of drug dealers. In July, China placed two fentanyl ingredients under enhanced control, a move seen as in response to U.S. pressure and signaling goodwill. Gabriel Wildau, managing director at the consultancy Teneo, said he doesn't expect any tariff to go away in Stockholm but that tariff relief could be part of a final trade deal. 'It's possible that Trump would cancel the 20% tariff that he has explicitly linked with fentanyl, but I would expect the final tariff level on China to be at least as high as the 15-20% rate contained in the recent deals with Japan, Indonesia, Vietnam,' Wildau said. US wants China to dump less, buy less oil from Russia and Iran China's industrial overcapacity is as much a headache for the United States as it is for the European Union. Even Beijing has acknowledged the problem but suggested it might be difficult to address. America's trade imbalance with China has decreased from a peak of $418 billion in 2018, according to the Census Bureau. But China has found new markets for its goods and as the world's dominant manufacturer ran a global trade surplus approaching $1 trillion last year — somewhat larger than the size of the U.S. overall trade deficit in 2024. And China's emergence as a manufacturer of electric vehicles and other emerging technologies has suddenly made it more of a financial and geopolitical threat for those same industries based in the U.S., Europe, Japan and South Korea. 'Some enterprises, especially manufacturing enterprises, feel more deeply that China's manufacturing capabilities are too strong, and Chinese people are too hardworking. Factories run 24 hours a day,' Chinese Premier Li Qiang said on Thursday when hosting European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Beijing. 'Some people think this will cause some new problems in the balance of supply and demand in world production.' 'We see this problem too,' Li said. Bessent also said the Stockholm talks could address Chinese purchases of Russian and Iranian oil. However, Wildau of Teneo said China could demand some U.S. security concessions in exchange, such as a reduced U.S. military presence in East Asia and scaled-back diplomatic support for Taiwan and the Philippines. This would likely face political pushback in Washington. The Stockholm talks will be 'geared towards building a trade agreement based around Chinese purchase commitments and pledges of investment in the U.S. in exchange for partial relief from U.S. tariffs and export controls,' Wildau said. He doubts there will be a grand deal. Instead, he predicts 'a more limited agreement based around fentanyl.' 'That,' he said, 'is probably the preferred outcome for China hawks in the Trump administration, who worry that an overeager Trump might offer too much to Xi.' ___ Associated Press writer Paul Wiseman contributed to this report Didi Tang And Josh Boak, The Associated Press

US to release result of probe into chip imports in 2 weeks: Lutnick
US to release result of probe into chip imports in 2 weeks: Lutnick

New York Post

time15 minutes ago

  • New York Post

US to release result of probe into chip imports in 2 weeks: Lutnick

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