logo
Asian shares are mostly down as Trump's tariff deadline looms and pressure steps up

Asian shares are mostly down as Trump's tariff deadline looms and pressure steps up

Independent11 hours ago
Asian shares mostly fell Monday as the Trump administration stepped up pressure on trading partners to quickly make new deals before a Wednesday tariff deadline, with plans for the United States to start sending letters warning countries that higher tariffs could kick in Aug. 1. Japan's Nikkei 225 shed 0.5% to 39,628.41 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index lost 0.4% to 23,824.18. South Korea's KOSPI index edged down 0.1% to 3,053.55 while the Shanghai Composite Index slid 0.2% to 3,464.78. Australia's S&P ASX 200 fell 0.3% to 8,576. Oil prices also fell after OPEC+ agreed on Saturday to raise production in August by 548,000 barrels per day, accelerating output increases since oil prices jumped, then retreated, in the aftermath of Israel and U.S. attacks on Iran. U.S. benchmark crude was down 92 cents to $66.08 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, shed 96 cents to $67.65 per barrel. The futures for S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial average were both 0.4% down.
'We expect markets to be volatile into the 9-July deadline when the 90-day pause on President Trump's reciprocal tariffs expires for non-China trading partners,' the Nomura Group wrote in a commentary.
It said the near-term outlook will likely hinge on several key factors like the extent to which trading partners are included in Trump letters, the rate of tariffs, and the effective date of such tariffs. A more distant implementation date might leave scope for some last-minute trade negotiations and maintain market optimism for potential resolutions or extensions, it added.
'With the July 9 tariff deadline fast approaching, all eyes are trained on Washington, scanning for signs of escalation or retreat. The path forward isn't clear, but the terrain is littered with risk," Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.
On Thursday, a report showed the U.S. job market performed stronger than Wall Street expected. The S&P 500 rose 0.8% and set an all-time high for the fourth time in five days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 344 points, or 0.8%, and the Nasdaq composite gained 1%.
In other dealings Monday, the U.S. dollar rose to 144.77 Japanese yen from 144.44 yen. The euro edged lower to $1.1772 from $1.1779.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

US lobby groups urge tariff retaliation against Australia's ‘socialised medicine'
US lobby groups urge tariff retaliation against Australia's ‘socialised medicine'

The Guardian

time41 minutes ago

  • The Guardian

US lobby groups urge tariff retaliation against Australia's ‘socialised medicine'

Some of the most influential lobby groups in Washington are pushing the US to retaliate against Australia's treatment of American exporters, pointing to drug approvals and domestic manufacturing incentives as proof of unfair 'freeloading'. As the Albanese government seeks to navigate uncertainty over the US president, Donald Trump's shifting plans for trade tariffs, campaigners from the powerful US Chamber of Commerce and the National Taxpayers Union have urged the White House to push back on countries that use price controls or 'undervalue American innovation'. Trump's trade representative, Jamieson Greer, has been charged with collecting evidence of countries 'freeloading on American-­financed innovation' around the world, part of America's growing tariff campaign. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email Chamber of Commerce vice-president John Murphy has used the review to criticise slow approval times and rejection rates for new drug applications to Australia's $18bn Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. He said the average approval time of 32 months put Australia well behind other OECD countries, with only about a third of new medicines launched between 2014 and 2023 available on the PBS, compared with 87% for US consumers. Murphy said Australia had no system to notify drug patent holders of applications by rival companies for generic drugs entering the market, meaning public announcements sometimes prompted court action. The chamber also highlighted measures to boost onshore production of mRNA vaccines used during the Covid-19 pandemic as creating an 'uneven playing field' for US companies, and said mandated price reductions tied to listings dates on the PBS devalued intellectual property and undermined medical research. 'US-manufactured products should be allowed to compete on an equal basis with Australian-produced goods, consistent with the WTO [World Trade Organization] and US-Australia Free Trade Agreement,' he said. The National Taxpayers Union, a conservative a lobby group, called consumer drug price controls in countries such as Australia 'socialised medicine' and criticised efforts by governments to push ahead with the OECD's rewrite of key international tax rules. Australia is pursuing the plan, which includes a global minimum 15% tax rate for multinational companies, as well new taxes on tech firms on the basis of where they earn revenue. Research and development tax concessions in Australia, France and Spain were described as conferring advantages to local firms 'that the United States is hard-pressed to match'. American pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly hit out at favourable R&D settings in Australia for threatening biomedical innovation and patient care. It said since 2012, 94% of new cancer medicines have been available in the US, compared to just 39% in Australia. The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America used its submission to urge Trump to 'leverage ongoing trade negotiations' to weaken the PBS, something Labor has ruled out. In Australia, prices for pharmaceutical medicines are capped at $31.60 if listed on the PBS. A 2024 report by research organisation Rand found that US drug prices were, on average, about 370% higher than in Australia and 278% above the OECD average. Trump said on Monday AEST that the White House planned to start sending letters to US trading partners this week, dictating new tariff rates. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion Wednesday's planned deadline for the end of a 90-day pause on Trump's retaliatory tariffs appears to have been pushed back to 1 August, even as Trump said he expected a slew of deals to be made this week. Trump in April had announced a 10% base tariff rate on most countries and additional duties ranging up to 50%. The new start date has left importers uncertain. The US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, said key trading partners would receive letters warning if deals were not made, they would 'boomerang' back to the 2 April tariff rates. The Albanese government believes Australia's 10% rate will stick, and no negotiations on a further deal have taken place. Labor frontbencher Matt Thistlethwaite told Sky that Labor wanted the tariffs removed. 'But our expectation is that the tariffs will remain. Australia's fared better than any other nation in the world.' Liberal senator Maria Kovacic called for clarity from the White House. 'The reason we don't know what is going on is because our government and our prime minister don't know, because they don't have the strength of relationship with the United States that they should have.' On Friday the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said he expected Australia's 10% rate to remain in place.

Trump just swung at Putin's war machine. He missed
Trump just swung at Putin's war machine. He missed

Telegraph

timean hour ago

  • Telegraph

Trump just swung at Putin's war machine. He missed

The United States is launching a trade war against BRICS. In a Truth Social post, President Donald Trump declared 'Any country aligning themselves with the Anti-American policies of BRICS, will be charged an ADDITIONAL 10 per cent tariff. There will be no exceptions to this policy'. While financial markets were breathing a sigh of relief about the postponement of new tariffs from July 9 to August 1, these threats triggered yet more turmoil. If Trump proceeds with new tariffs against BRICS countries, the consequences for US trade policy and global influence could be profound, and not in the positive way that Trump envisions. For starters, new tariffs on BRICS members and partners will not severely weaken the economies of Russia and Iran. An escalation of US-China trade tensions benefits Russia, as it can readily supplant American supplies of oil, liquefied natural gas and coal to China. As Russia-China trade volumes reached $244.8 billion and Russia-India trade reached $70.6 billion, the Russian economy can lean on intra-BRICS trade to fill supply chain gaps. Higher prices on goods supplied by BRICS members and partners will merely accelerate Russia's domestic production targets. President Vladimir Putin has urged Russia to reduce its GDP share allotted to imports to 17 per cent by 2030 and higher costs of foreign goods will give the upper hand to domestic producers of manufactured goods. While Trump's outrage towards BRICS is partially related with its solidarity with Iran against American and Israeli attacks, these new tariffs will have a negligible impact on the Iranian economy. If anything, they could convince Russia and China to deepen their economic ties with Iran and give new momentum to India's May 2024 deal to operate the Iranian port of Chabahar. The impulsive imposition of tariffs on BRICS members and partners will also undo positive steps towards a de-escalation of trade tensions between the US and China. Due to the London and Geneva agreements, the US has agreed to ease restrictions on aircraft engine, semiconductor design software and ethane exports to China. In exchange, China has taken steps towards easing non-tariff barriers on rare earth supplies. These new tariffs could not only stall further trade talks but reignite the industrial supply chain bottlenecks that were ebbed through months of tireless negotiations. Aside from upending the US's bilateral trade ties with key partners, the new tariffs do even more lasting damage to its global image. BRICS countries are expanding the Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA) which will allow them to borrow funds in local currencies instead of the US dollar. Russia's Transfer of Financial Messages (SPFS) and China's Cross-border Interbank Payment System (CIPS) are incrementally diluting SWIFT dominance. These new tariffs will intensify discussions about de-dollarisation as Global South countries seek to insulate themselves from US trade barriers and sanctions. They will also fuel Chinese President Xi Jinping's crusade against 'unilateral bullying' which aims to form an anti-tariff coalition consisting of EU member states, Middle East regional powers and emerging African economies. Instead of being a show of strength that reinforces US hegemony against the Chinese challenge, Trump's tariffs could give Beijing an intended gift. The US's trade war against BRICS is understandable given its frustrations with the anti-Western policies of its member states. Succumbing to those frustrations with impulsive tariffs could do the US more harm than good.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store