US to impose steel, aluminum tariffs on Brazil and Argentina: Trump

19:38, December 02, 2019

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  Trump to tariff steel and aluminum from Argentina and Brazil

  Steel beams sit outside Arena de Sao Paulo in Sao Paulo, Brazil, December 8, 2013. (Photo: AP)President Donald Trump on Monday accused Argentina and Brazil of hurting American farmers through currency manipulation and said he’ll slap tariffs on their steel and aluminum imports to retaliate.Trump also called on America’s central bank to take action to prevent other countries from devaluing their currencies.Both South American nations were among a group of US allies that Trump had exempted from steel and aluminum tariffs in March 2018. The president’s threat to reverse that decision and impose the metals tariffs on Argentina and Brazil is another example of his mercurial approach to trade policy.Businesses have delayed investments, sapping economic growth, because they don’t know if the agreements Trump reaches with other countries will last or what countries or products he will target next.Hours before he was set to depart on Monday fora NATO conference in London, Trump tweeted that “Brazil and Argentina have been presiding over a massive devaluation of their currencies. which is not good for our farmers. Therefore, effective immediately, I will restore the Tariffs on all Steel & Aluminum that is shipped into the US from those countries.”Argentina is mired in an economic crisis with rampant inflation, deep indebtedness, widespread poverty and a currency that has plunged under the leadership of President Mauricio Macri, who came to power in 2015 with promises to boost South America’s second-largest economy. Macri wasdefeated in electionsin October and will leave office next week.Brazil is grappling with stubborn double-digit unemployment, and its economy is headed toward its third straight year of roughly 1% growth, following two years of a deep recession.Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said he has “an open channel” with the American president and might call him to discuss the tariffs.Labelled by friends and foes as “Trump of the tropics,” the...

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  China imposes reciprocal restrictions on US diplomats

  Photo via CGTNChina has imposed restrictions on American diplomats that are equivalent to those the Donald Trump administration has applied to Chinese representatives in the U.S., Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said on Friday.Since October, Chinese diplomats in the U.S. have been required to notify the State Department before meeting state, local and municipal officials.Hua told a regular press conference in Beijing that China had informed the U.S. Embassy on December 4 that it had imposed "equivalent" countermeasures."China has always supported foreign diplomatic and consular personnel, including from the United States, to carry out normal official activities in China in accordance with the law, and offer necessary convenience," Hua said."We urge the United States to immediately correct its wrongdoing and lift restrictions on Chinese diplomats in the U.S.," she added.

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  EU to respond 'as one' to US tariff threat to France

  The European Union will answer tariff threats by the United States against France "as one" and urged Washington to engage in dialogue, an EU spokesman said on Tuesday.File photo: VCG"As in all other trade-related matters the EU will act and react as one and it will remain united," said EU Commission spokesman Daniel Rosario after the US threatened tariffs on French goods on Monday.The threat was in response to a French digital services tax that Washington says is discriminatory, claiming that it singles out US tech giants such as Google and Facebook.The EU Commission, which handles trade matters for the EUs 28 member states, was "coordinating closely with the French authorities on next steps", Rosario said.He also encouraged dialogue, noting that Washington had left several options open including taking the fight to the World Trade Organization in Geneva."We remain of the view that the WTO is the place to address any trade dispute (so) the EU will therefore seek immediate discussion with the US on how to solve this issue," Rosario told reporters.The EU insisted it remained committed to finding a global agreement on taxing the digital economy, the issue that is at the heart of the US row with France."We are working hard with our partners to achieve that and are encouraged by the progress being made," he said.The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has put forward initial proposals for a "unified approach" to taxing big tech worldwide in the hope of reaching an agreement next year.