Trump to resume Cambodia, Thailand trade talks after truce
The two South-East Asian nations reached a ceasefire Tuesday (July 29) after five days of fighting, including airstrikes and artillery shelling, left at least three dozen dead and displaced more than 150,000 on both sides of their roughly 800 kilometre frontier.
ALSO READ: Thai army accuses Cambodia of breaking truce
"I have instructed my Trade Team to restart negotiations on Trade,' Trump said in a social media post Monday. "I am proud to be the President of PEACE!'
Both countries face 36 per cent US tariffs. Neighbouring Vietnam secured a 20 per cent rate, while levies for Indonesia and the Philippines were set at 19 per cent ahead of Trump's Aug. 1 deadline.
Thailand's Acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai said Monday night Trump told him in a phone call after the peace talks that "we will get something very good out of it. He will do his best to give us as much as he can.'
The Thai baht was slightly weaker at 32.49 per dollar in early Asian trading Tuesday amid broad greenback strength. The country's stock market is set to reopen at 10 a.m. local time after being closed Monday for a holiday.
Trump's remarks are the latest example of how the US leader has wielded trade as a way to resolve for geopolitical clashes, claiming credit for pressuring trading partners to end conflicts if they wish to retain continued access to US markets.
The US in June brokered a deal between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda aimed at ending years of conflict. And Trump has similarly claimed credit for halting a clash between nuclear powers India and Pakistan earlier this year.
Phumtham and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet reached their agreement in Malaysia on Monday in talks hosted by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, acting in his role as the chair of Asean.
Envoys from China and the US were also at the negotiations, and a joint statement from the three South-East Asian nations after the talks said the meeting had been "co-organised by the United States of America with the active participation of the People's Republic of China.'
In their remarks after the meeting, both Phumtham and Hun Manet thanked Anwar and Trump, as well as China, for helping reach the ceasefire.
"The fact that the US and China are both in on it is good.,' said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a professor of political science at Chulalongkorn University. "Thailand needs the tariffs to come down from the US side. And Trump will see this as a win.'
After its conflict with India was paused earlier this year, Pakistan hailed Trump's intervention while New Delhi disputed his claims that securing trade deals helped clinch their ceasefire. Both countries are still engaged in trade talks.
In the DRC, Trump has said the US stands to get mineral rights from the country after brokering their deal. Congo is the second-biggest copper producer and largest source of cobalt, giving it prominence in Washington's efforts to reduce dependence on Chinese supply chains for minerals needed for a wide-range of cutting-edge technologies. - Bloomberg
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
14 minutes ago
- The Star
India PM Modi faces opposition fury after Trump's 25% tariff threat
NEW DELHI: Indian opposition parties criticised the government on Thursday (July 31), describing US President Donald Trump's threat of a 25% tariff as a diplomatic failure for New Delhi, while the rupee currency tumbled and equity indexes slid in response to the news. The 25% rate would single out India more harshly than other major trading partners, and threatens to unravel months of talks, undermining one of Washington's strategic partners in the region, viewed as a counterbalance to China. Trump said the tariff on goods imports from India would start from Friday, in addition to an unspecified penalty for Russian dealings and involvement in the BRICS grouping of nations, but added later that trade talks continued. In response, the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi said it was studying the implications of Trump's remarks and was dedicated to securing a fair trade deal. "This development reflects a broader collapse of foreign policy under the Modi government," a lawmaker of the main opposition Congress said in a notice asking for a discussion of the matter in the lower house. The debate would focus on the "government's economic and diplomatic failure in preventing the imposition of 25% US tariffs plus penalties on Indian exports," it added. Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal is expected to brief the lower house later on Thursday, television news channels said. Economists warned the steep tariff could hurt India's manufacturing ambitions and trim up to 40 basis points from economic growth in the financial year to March 2026. India's benchmark equity indices, the Nifty 50 and BSE Sensex, fell about 0.6% each, while the rupee declined to 87.74, its lowest in more than five months, before paring losses. India has received a "raw deal", said Priyanka Kishore, an economist at Asia Decoded. "While further trade talks may bring the tariff rate down, it appears unlikely that India will secure a significantly better outcome than its eastern neighbours," she added. That would raise questions about India's relative appeal as a China plus one destination, she said, referring to a strategy of diversifying supply chains through manufacturing outside China to reduce geopolitical and operational risks. Trade talks continued, Trump said on social media, however, as nations face a Friday deadline to strike deals on reciprocal tariffs or have a US tariff slapped on their exports. The US levy on India exceeds those achieved by some other nations in deals with the Trump administration. For example, the tariff on Vietnam is set at 20% and on Indonesia at 19%, with levies of 15% on Japanese and European Union exports. On Wednesday, Trump said Washington had reached a trade deal with India's arch-rival Pakistan that Islamabad said would lead to lower tariffs on its exports, but neither side have yet revealed the agreed rate. Since India's short but deadly conflict with Pakistan in May, New Delhi has been unhappy about Trump's closeness with Islamabad and has protested, casting a shadow over trade talks. Despite former public displays of bonhomie between Trump and Modi, India has taken a slightly harder stance against the United States in recent weeks. Trump has repeatedly taken credit for the India-Pakistan ceasefire he announced on social media on May 10, but India disputes his claim that it resulted from his intervention and trade threats. "The country is now bearing the cost of Narendra Modi's friendship," Congress said. The United States, the world's largest economy, now has a trade deficit of US$45.7 billion with India, the fifth largest. Russia remained India's top oil supplier during the first six months of 2025, accounting for 35% of overall supplies. "I don't care what India does with Russia," Trump said in a Truth Social post on Thursday, adding, "They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care." - Reuters
The Star
14 minutes ago
- The Star
Oil dips as market weighs Trump tariff threats, surprise US stockbuild
SINGAPORE: Oil prices eased on Thursday as investors weighed the risk of supply shortages amid U.S. President Donald Trump's push for a swift resolution to the war in Ukraine through more tariffs, though a surprise build in U.S. crude stocks weighed on prices. Brent crude futures for September, set to expire on Thursday, fell 18 cents, or 0.3%, to $73.06 a barrel at 0650 GMT. The more active Brent October contract was down 26 cents, or 0.4%, at $72.21. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude for September dropped 17 cents, or 0.2%, to $69.83 a barrel. Both benchmarks settled 1% higher on Wednesday. "Oil contracts have been caught in a holding pattern today, oscillating within a tight range as neither buyers nor sellers muster the conviction to take prices decisively higher or lower, especially on the crux of the August 1 deadline" for new U.S. tariffs, said Priyanka Sachdeva, a senior market analyst at Phillip Nova. "On one hand, Trump's hawkish rhetoric on Russian oil sanctions continues to underpin tight-market premiums; on the other, a firm dollar, tepid global growth indicators, and that surprise EIA build are capping gains," Sachdeva added. Trump said he would start imposing measures on Russia, including 100% secondary tariffs on its trading partners, if it did not make progress on ending the war within 10-12 days, moving up an earlier 50-day deadline. "Concerns that secondary tariffs on countries importing Russian crude will tighten supplies continue to drive buying interest," said Toshitaka Tazawa, an analyst at Fujitomi Securities. The U.S. has also warned China, the largest buyer of Russian oil, that it could face huge tariffs if it kept buying. On Wednesday, the U.S. Treasury Department announced fresh sanctions on over 115 Iran-linked individuals, entities and vessels, in a sign the Trump administration is doubling down on its "maximum pressure" campaign after bombing Tehran's key nuclear sites in June. Meanwhile, U.S. crude oil inventories rose by 7.7 million barrels in the week ending July 25 to 426.7 million barrels, driven by lower exports, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday. Analysts had expected a 1.3 million-barrel draw. Gasoline stocks fell by 2.7 million barrels to 228.4 million barrels, far exceeding forecasts for a 600,000-barrel draw. "U.S. inventory data showed a surprise build in crude stocks, but a bigger-than-expected gasoline draw supported the view of strong driving season demand, resulting in a neutral impact on oil market," Fujitomi Securities' Tazawa said. - Reuters
Borneo Post
14 minutes ago
- Borneo Post
Trump announces new tariffs as deadline nears
Trump also signed an order Wednesday to impose previously threatened 50 per cent tariffs on certain copper products and end a tariff exemption for low-value shipments from abroad. – AFP photo WASHINGTON (July 31): US President Donald Trump imposed new tariffs to punish or favor major trading partners Wednesday, as governments raced to strike deals with Washington less than 24 hours before an August 1 deadline. South Korea squeezed in at the last moment, securing agreement on a 15 per cent tariff for exports to the United States — significantly below the 25 per cent that Trump had earlier threatened to introduce. But Trump also announced crippling 50 per cent tariffs on Brazil and a 25 per cent levy on Indian exports, while warning Canada it would face trade repercussions for planning to recognise a Palestinian state. The 15 per cent rate on Seoul — Washington's key security ally — was equivalent to levies determined from US trade deals with Japan and the European Union. An additional unspecified 'large sum of money' will be invested by South Korea in the United States, the American leader said. Seoul's presidential office said tariffs on automobiles — one of Seoul's key exports — would also stay at 15 per cent. Trump hit Brazil with high tariffs as well as sanctions against the judge overseeing a trial of his far-right ally Jair Bolsonaro, who is accused of attempting a coup in Latin America's biggest economy. But he delayed its implementation from Friday to August 6, and crucially exempted many products from the prohibitive levy, including orange juice, civil aircraft, iron ore and some energy products. Canada trade threat He had threatened to wield US economic might to punish Brazil — and its Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, in particular — for what he has termed a 'witch hunt' against former president Bolsonaro. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said he would defend 'the sovereignty of the Brazilian people in the face of measures announced by the president of the United States.' Among Trump's latest announcements were a 25 per cent duty on Indian goods to begin Friday — slightly lower than previously threatened — after talks between Washington and New Delhi failed to bring about a trade pact. India would face an unspecified 'penalty' over purchases of Russian weapons and energy as well, Trump said. 'I don't care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care,' Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. 'We have done very little business with India, their Tariffs are too high, among the highest in the World,' he added. Canada's trade relations with the United States also came under threat after Prime Minister Mark Carney announced plans to recognise a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly in September. 'Wow! Canada has just announced that it is backing statehood for Palestine,' the US president wrote on his Truth Social platform. 'That will make it very hard for us to make a Trade Deal with them.' 'Big day for America' He also signed an order Wednesday to impose previously threatened 50 per cent tariffs on certain copper products and end a tariff exemption for low-value shipments from abroad. It left out products like copper ores, concentrates and cathodes, bringing some relief to industry. As Trump's deal deadline neared, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told Fox News that Washington had struck trade deals with Cambodia and Thailand, but provided no details of the accords. The US tariff hikes due Friday were initially announced in April as part of a package in which Trump slapped a minimum 10 per cent levy on goods from almost all trading partners — citing unfair trade practices. This rate was set to rise to varying levels for dozens of economies such as the European Union, Japan and others, but Washington twice postponed their implementation as financial markets gyrated. The US leader insisted Wednesday that the August 1 deadline 'will not be extended' any further. In a Truth Social post, he vowed that this would be 'a big day for America.' So far, Britain, Vietnam, Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines, the EU and South Korea have reached initial deals with Washington to secure less punishing conditions. While the United States and China earlier slapped escalating tariffs on each other's products, both sides are working to further a truce maintaining duties at lower levels. Although Trump has promised a surge in government revenues from his duties, economists warn that higher tariffs can fuel an uptick in inflation and weigh on economic growth. This could change consumption patterns. Already, consumers face an overall average effective tariff rate that is the highest since the 1930s, according to a recent analysis by The Budget Lab at Yale University. The effect on consumer prices has been limited so far. But analysts cautioned this could become more pronounced as businesses run down on existing inventory and pass on more costs to buyers. – AFP deadline donald trump tariff
