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Global shares mostly down as Trump’s tariff deadline looms and pressure steps up

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Currency traders work near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top left, and the foreign exchange rate between US dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea on July 7. (AP)

MANILA, Philippines, July 7, (AP): Global 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. In early European trading, Britain’s FTSE 100 was down 0.2% to 8,809.23 while Germany’s DAX added 0.3% to 23,854.32.

In Paris, the CAC 40 edged down 0.1% to 7,688.34. Japan’s Nikkei 225 shed 0.6% to 39,587. 68 while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index edged down 0.1% to 23,887.83. South Korea’s KOSPI index rose 0.2% to 3,059.47 while the Shanghai Composite Index edged 0.1% higher to 3,473.13. Australia’s S&P ASX 200 fell 0.2% to 8,589.30.

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 US attacks on Iran. US benchmark crude was down 71 cents to $66.29 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, shed 41 cents to $68.39 per barrel.

US shares were set to drift lower with S&P 500 futures declining 0.4% to 6,295.50 and Dow futures down 0.2% at 45,012. “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 US 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 145.18 Japanese yen from 144.44 yen. The euro edged lower to $1.1734 from $1.1779. 

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Kuwait, India Unite to Fight Money Laundering with New Accord

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Kuwait, India Unite to Fight Money Laundering with New Accord

Head of the Kuwaiti Financial Intelligence Unit, Dr. Hamad Al-Mekrad, with the representative of the Indian Financial Intelligence Unit, Manish Herat, after signing the Memorandum of Understanding.

KUWAIT CITY, July 9: Kuwait’s Financial Intelligence Unit and India’s Anti-Money Laundering Bureau signed on Tuesday a memorandum of understanding (MoU) aiming to beef up cooperation on information exchange and financial intelligence efforts. In a statement to KUNA, the Kuwaiti financial watchdog’s chief Hamad Al- Mekrad said the deal, signed after a gathering of global financial watchdog body Egmont Group, is a testament to Kuwait and India’s collective commitment to boost transparency and cooperation, based on the principles and guidelines of the global financial organization of intelligence units.

The agreement is a major step forward towards clamping down on financial crime at a time of growing challenges that require greater cooperation and information exchange. The level of cooperation between the Kuwaiti and India financial intelligence units has been on an upward trajectory even before the new deal came to fruition, added the official, expecting the agreement to be instrumental in simplifying the flow of bilateral information exchange, he underlined.

Al-Mekrad noted that the priority now is to expand the scope of international cooperation, enhance the efficiency of information exchange under the highest standards, strengthen technical analysis capabilities, and build partnerships with counterpart units, thus contributing to protecting the national and global financial system from any illicit exploitation.(KUNA)

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Trump’s tariffs may cast a pall over Rubio’s first official trip to Asia

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US President Donald Trump, right, puts his hand on shoulder of Secretary of State Marco Rubio, center, as Attorney General Pam Bondi, left, looks on during a cabinet meeting at the White House on July 8, in Washington. (AP)

WASHINGTON, July 9, (AP): Sweeping tariffs set to be imposed by President Donald Trump next month may cast a pall over his top diplomat’s first official trip to Asia this week – just as the US seeks to boost relations with Indo-Pacific nations to counter China’s growing influence in the region. Trump on Monday sent notice to several countries about higher tariffs if they don’t make trade deals with the US, including to a number of Asian countries.

The move came just a day before Secretary of State Marco Rubio planned to depart for a Southeast Asian regional security conference in Malaysia. Top diplomats and senior officials from at least eight countries that Trump has targeted for the new tariffs, which would go into effect on Aug. 1, will be represented at the annual Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum in Kuala Lumpur that Rubio will attend on Thursday and Friday.

State Department officials say tariffs and trade will not be Rubio’s focus during the meetings, which the Trump administration hopes will prioritize maritime safety and security in the South China Sea, where China has become increasingly aggressive toward its small neighbors, as well as combating transnational crime.

However, Rubio may be hard-pressed to avoid the tariff issue that has vexed some of America’s closest allies and partners in Asia, including Japan and South Korea, which Trump says would face 25% tariffs absent a deal. Neither of those countries is a member of ASEAN but both will be represented at the meetings in Kuala Lumpur. Rubio’s “talking points on the China threat will not resonate with officials whose industries are being battered by 30-40% tariffs,” said Danny Russel, vice president of the Asia Society Policy Institute and a former assistant secretary of state for East Asia and the Pacific during the Obama administration.

“In fact, when Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim last week said ASEAN will approach challenges ‘as a united bloc’ – he wasn’t talking about Chinese coercion, but about U.S. tariffs,” Russel said. Among ASEAN states, Trump has so far announced up to 40% tariffs on at least six of the 10 members of the bloc, including the meeting host Malaysia, which would face a 25% tariff mainly on electronics and electrical product imports to the United States.  

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Southeast Asian foreign ministers meet as US tariffs loom

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From left to right, Indonesia’s Foreign Minister Sugiono, Lao Minister for Foreign Affairs Thongsavanh Phomvihane, Singapore’s Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, Thailand’s Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa, Vietnam’s Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son, Malaysia’s Foreign Affairs Minister Mohamad Hasan, Philippine Foreign Secretary Theresa Lazaro, Brunei’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Erywan Yusof, Cambodia’s Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn, Myanmar Ministry of Foreign Affairs representative Kyaw Nyun Oo, East Timor Foreign Minister Bendito dos Santos Freitas and ASEAN’s Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn pose for a group photo during a plenary session of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Foreign Ministers’ meeting at the Convention Centre in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia on July 9. (AP)

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, July 9, (AP): Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim warned Wednesday that global trade is being weaponized as Southeast Asia’s foreign ministers opened an annual meeting while facing the looming threat of U.S. trade tariffs. The threat of US tariffs has jolted the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a 10-member bloc that includes some of the world’s most trade-dependent economies.

Six ASEAN members are among the 14 countries that could see duties on their exports to the US skyrocket on Aug 1. Launching the Association of Southeast Asian Nations foreign ministers’ meeting, Anwar said the world is now witnessing an era where “power unsettles principle” and “tools once used to generate growth are now wielded to pressure, isolate and contain.”

Without mentioning the US by name, he again urged ASEAN to work together to respond to trade threats. “Our cohesion must not end at declarations,” he said, calling for members to increase intra-ASEAN trade, invest in regional integration, and reduce strategic dependencies on external powers. “This is no passing storm,” he said. “It is the new weather of our time.”

Trump first announced tariffs in April, but then delayed them for 90 days to allow for deals. On Tuesday, he announced new tariff with rates of between 25%-40% on 14 countries, which will go into effect Aug. 1 unless new deals are struck. He also threatened to increase tariffs if any countries retaliate. Many ASEAN members have launched bilateral talks with the U.S., but officials have said they plan to hold an ASEAN-U.S. summit later this year to seek a common position.

So far, only Vietnam has secured a deal, bringing down its tariffs from 46% to 20%. The list threatens 36% tariffs for Thailand and Cambodia, 32% for Indonesia, 25% for Malaysia, and 40% for Laos and war-torn Myanmar. In addition to confronting trade fallout, the bloc faces mounting internal challenges. The ongoing civil war in Myanmar and a border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia are also on the agenda.

The gathering in Malaysia will be immediately followed by a series of critical meetings with ASEAN’s major trade partners, including the United States, China, Japan, Russia, India, and the European Union, scheduled for Thursday and Friday. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who last week cancelled trips to Japan and South Korea, will arrive Thursday for the talks on his first visit to Asia. Others visiting foreign ministers include China’s Wang Yi and Sergei Lavrov of Russia. Analysts said these talks will test ASEAN’s ability to assert its voice amid escalating geopolitical tensions.   

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