The Fort Worth Press - Trump admits trade war 'cost' as markets hit

USD -
AED 3.673034
AFN 71.504164
ALL 87.061306
AMD 390.195672
ANG 1.80229
AOA 916.000289
ARS 1175.828798
AUD 1.560038
AWG 1.8025
AZN 1.704003
BAM 1.726572
BBD 2.025239
BDT 121.869938
BGN 1.72684
BHD 0.37843
BIF 2936
BMD 1
BND 1.310499
BOB 6.930829
BRL 5.684902
BSD 1.003041
BTN 84.76692
BWP 13.730882
BYN 3.282528
BYR 19600
BZD 2.014822
CAD 1.383075
CDF 2873.000286
CHF 0.829865
CLF 0.024698
CLP 947.760486
CNY 7.27135
CNH 7.256375
COP 4198.84
CRC 506.631944
CUC 1
CUP 26.5
CVE 97.341461
CZK 22.048015
DJF 177.719832
DKK 6.60546
DOP 59.032023
DZD 133.16613
EGP 50.963299
ERN 15
ETB 134.606849
EUR 0.88511
FJD 2.25945
FKP 0.749663
GBP 0.752225
GEL 2.745021
GGP 0.749663
GHS 14.293344
GIP 0.749663
GMD 71.503383
GNF 8687.515173
GTQ 7.724462
GYD 210.484964
HKD 7.75649
HNL 26.029114
HRK 6.670295
HTG 131.035244
HUF 357.976013
IDR 16537.4
ILS 3.61543
IMP 0.749663
INR 84.28935
IQD 1313.73847
IRR 42112.501978
ISK 128.969645
JEP 0.749663
JMD 158.78775
JOD 0.709195
JPY 145.412501
KES 129.840067
KGS 87.450165
KHR 4014.741906
KMF 434.498164
KPW 900.011381
KRW 1431.15503
KWD 0.306501
KYD 0.835783
KZT 514.647601
LAK 21686.066272
LBP 89872.479044
LKR 300.259103
LRD 200.606481
LSL 18.677031
LTL 2.95274
LVL 0.60489
LYD 5.475147
MAD 9.296556
MDL 17.217315
MGA 4453.70399
MKD 54.534175
MMK 2099.538189
MNT 3574.392419
MOP 8.012798
MRU 39.770006
MUR 45.080051
MVR 15.409511
MWK 1739.283964
MXN 19.593099
MYR 4.310983
MZN 63.999464
NAD 18.673816
NGN 1606.440374
NIO 36.90936
NOK 10.404302
NPR 135.627425
NZD 1.68695
OMR 0.386499
PAB 1.003032
PEN 3.677638
PGK 4.095253
PHP 55.707497
PKR 281.827034
PLN 3.788826
PYG 8033.511218
QAR 3.655833
RON 4.406011
RSD 103.446754
RUB 82.21522
RWF 1440.892679
SAR 3.75021
SBD 8.361298
SCR 14.280329
SDG 600.504494
SEK 9.732405
SGD 1.308715
SHP 0.785843
SLE 22.789828
SLL 20969.483762
SOS 573.196677
SRD 36.847012
STD 20697.981008
SVC 8.775321
SYP 13002.38052
SZL 18.660534
THB 33.431496
TJS 10.571919
TMT 3.5
TND 2.978994
TOP 2.342098
TRY 38.564704
TTD 6.792886
TWD 31.548965
TZS 2684.082008
UAH 41.609923
UGX 3674.195442
UYU 42.206459
UZS 12970.563573
VES 86.73797
VND 26005
VUV 120.584578
WST 2.773259
XAF 579.073422
XAG 0.030693
XAU 0.000308
XCD 2.70255
XDR 0.723012
XOF 579.08109
XPF 105.265016
YER 244.949653
ZAR 18.50515
ZMK 9001.22774
ZMW 27.90983
ZWL 321.999592
  • JRI

    0.1000

    13.01

    +0.77%

  • CMSC

    0.0200

    22.03

    +0.09%

  • CMSD

    -0.0400

    22.26

    -0.18%

  • BCC

    -0.5700

    92.71

    -0.61%

  • SCS

    -0.0500

    9.87

    -0.51%

  • NGG

    -1.3500

    71.65

    -1.88%

  • AZN

    -1.2800

    70.51

    -1.82%

  • BCE

    -0.8100

    21.44

    -3.78%

  • RIO

    -0.8500

    58.55

    -1.45%

  • GSK

    -1.1000

    38.75

    -2.84%

  • RBGPF

    67.2100

    67.21

    +100%

  • VOD

    -0.0300

    9.73

    -0.31%

  • RELX

    -0.5500

    54.08

    -1.02%

  • RYCEF

    -0.1000

    10.12

    -0.99%

  • BP

    0.4200

    27.88

    +1.51%

  • BTI

    -0.2500

    43.3

    -0.58%

Trump admits trade war 'cost' as markets hit
Trump admits trade war 'cost' as markets hit / Photo: © AFP

Trump admits trade war 'cost' as markets hit

Jitters about US tariffs hammered Asian stocks again early Friday as President Donald Trump acknowledged a "cost" to his surging trade offensive against superpower rival China.

Text size:

The US leader said Thursday that the European Union was "very smart" to back off from imposing retaliatory tariffs because of his tough stance on China even as the bloc's chief warned it could tax US Big Tech.

"(The EU) were ready to announce retaliation. And then they heard about what we did with respect to China... and they said, you know, 'We're going to hold back a little bit,'" Trump said.

Trump acknowledged "a transition cost and transition problems," but dismissed global market turmoil. "In the end it's going to be a beautiful thing."

On Wall Street, the broad-based S&P 500 finished down 3.5 percent on Thursday after soaring 9.5 percent the day before. The Dow Jones shed 2.5 percent and the Nasdaq 4.3 percent.

In early trade in Asia Friday, Japan's Nikkei tumbled over five percent, handing back some of the 9.1-percent gain of the previous day. Seoul and Sydney also fell.

Oil and the dollar slid on fears of a global slowdown while gold hit a new record. Fellow safe haven asset the yen also firmed against the greenback.

- Climbdown -

In a spectacular climbdown Wednesday, Trump paused for 90 days tariffs of 20 percent on the EU and even higher levies on other trade partners, including 24 percent on Japan.

But levies on China, which has retaliated with tariffs on US goods, were not only maintained but hiked further.

The White House on Thursday clarified that tariffs on Chinese imports are now at a staggering total of 145 percent.

This was because the latest hike came on top of a 20 percent tariff already imposed. China has retaliated with levies of 84 percent on US imports.

- Relief -

Trump says he wants to use tariffs to reorder the world economy by forcing manufacturers to base themselves in the United States and for other countries to decrease barriers to US goods.

Howard Lutnick, his commerce secretary, posted on social media Thursday that "the Golden Age is coming. We are committed to protecting our interests, engaging in global negotiations and exploding our economy."

The EU welcomed the US president's partial row-back and the 27-nation grouping responded with its own olive branch.

It suspended for 90 days tariffs on 20 billion euros' ($22.4 billion) worth of US goods that had been greenlit in retaliation to duties on steel and aluminum.

But the bloc's chief Ursula von der Leyen told the Financial Times that there remained a "wide range of countermeasures" at the bloc's disposal if negotiations fall short.

"An example is you could put a levy on the advertising revenues of digital services" applying across the bloc, she said.

This raised the possibility of the use of a new trade weapon called the anti-coercion instrument, according to the FT.

Dubbed a "bazooka", the weapon has never been used but empowers the EU to target services and could limit American companies' access to public procurement contracts in Europe.

Trump likewise warned that the tariffs could come back after the 90 days.

"If we can't make the deal we want to make... then we'd go back to where we were," he said.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney called Trump's reversal a "welcome reprieve" and said Ottawa would begin negotiations with Washington on a new economic deal after elections on April 28.

In its latest measure, Beijing announced it would reduce the number of Hollywood films imported, but said it remained ready for dialogue.

"We hope the US will meet China halfway, and, based on the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation, properly resolve differences through dialogue and consultation," Commerce Ministry spokeswoman He Yongqian said.

Trump brushed off Beijing's clampdown on US films, saying, "I think I've heard of worse things."

burs-stu/tym

T.Harrison--TFWP