Tariffs

AndyD

I hear winnieXipooh is in Espana at the moment, then on to Malaysia, and Cambodia, Vietnam.
Ah, the scents of sweet deals fills the air.
Is he bothered about 145% taxes? Probably, but not as much as Trump(CF) reckons.

wtg

Meanwhile, Australia rebuffs China's overtures...

Australia has swiftly turned down China's offer to "join hands" against Donald Trump's tariffs, as Washington escalates its trade war with Beijing.

The White House recently imposed an import tax of 10% on Australian goods, but for China - Australia's biggest trading partner - raised tariffs to 125%.

China's ambassador to Australia Xiao Qian argued joint resistance is "the only way" to stop the "hegemonic and bullying behaviour of the US", appealing for Canberra's cooperation in an opinion piece on Thursday.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, however, said Australians would "speak for ourselves", while the country's defence minister said the nation would not be "holding China's hand".

"It's about pursuing Australia's national interests, not about making common calls with China," Richard Marles told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwy663nl3yxo

wtg

China on Thursday denied any suggestion that it was in active negotiations with the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump over tariffs, saying that any notion of progress in the matter was as groundless as “trying to catch the wind.”

China’s comments come after Trump said Tuesday that things were going “fine with China” and that the final tariff rate on Chinese exports would come down “substantially” from the current 145%.

Guo Jiakun, a spokesman for China’s Foreign Ministry, said during a daily briefing on Thursday that, “For all I know, China and the U.S. are not having any consultation or negotiation on tariffs, still less reaching a deal.”

“China’s position is consistent, and we are open to consultations and dialogues, but any form of consultations and negotiations must be conducted on the basis of mutual respect and in an equal manner,” Commerce Ministry spokesman He Yadong said.

“Any claims about the progress of China-U.S. trade negotiations are groundless as trying to catch the wind and have no factual basis,” the spokesman said.

Trump had told reporters earlier in the week that “everything’s active” when asked if he was engaging with China, although his treasury secretary had said there were no formal negotiations.

https://www. apnews.com/article/china-us-tariff-negotiations-trump-481ff4402f5c34776ffcb8ced4c8ae42