Business
China raises its retaliatory tariff on the US to 84%
New Volvo vehicles waiting for shipment at the Yangtze port, in Nanjing city in east China’s Jiangsu province, Wednesday, April 9, 2025. ( AP)
BANGKOK, April 9, (AP): China again vowed to “fight to the end” Wednesday in an escalating trade war with the U.S. as it announced it would raise tariffs on American goods to 84% from Thursday.
Beijing also added an array of countermeasures after U.S. President Donald Trump raised the total tariff on imports from China to 104%. Beijing said it was launching an additional suit against the U.S. at the World Trade Organization and placed further restrictions on American companies’ trade with Chinese companies.
“If the U.S. insists on further escalating its economic and trade restrictions, China has the firm will and abundant means to take necessary countermeasures and fight to the end,” the Ministry of Commerce wrote in a statement introducing its white paper on trade with the U.S.
The government declined to say whether it would negotiate with the White House, as many other countries have started doing. On Friday, China announced a 34% tariff on all goods imported from the U.S, export controls on rare earths minerals, and a slew of other measures in response to Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs.
Trump then added an additional 50% tariff on goods from China, saying negotiations with them were terminated. Wednesday’s newest measures include adding 11 American companies to a so-called “unreliable entities” list that would bar Chinese companies from selling them dual-use goods.
Among the companies are American Photonics, and SYNEXXUS, both of whom work with the American military. So far, China has not appeared interested in bargaining. “If the U.S. truly wants to resolve issues through dialogue and negotiation, it should adopt an attitude of equality, respect, and mutual benefit,” said Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Lin Jian Wednesday.
The paper says that the U.S. has not honored the promises it made in the phase 1 trade deal concluded during Trump’s first term. As an example, it said that a U.S. law that would ban TikTok unless it is sold by its Chinese parent company violates a promise that neither would “pressure the other party to transfer technology to its own individuals.”
Trump signed an order to keep TikTok running for another 75 days last week after a potential deal to sell the app to American owners was put on ice. ByteDance representatives called the White House to indicate that China would no longer approve the deal until there could be negotiations about trade and tariffs.
The paper also argued that taking into account trade in services and U.S. companies’ domestic Chinese branches, economic exchange between the two countries is “roughly in balance.”
It says that China had a trade in services deficit with the U.S. of $26.57 billion in 2023, which is composed of industries like insurance, banking and accounting. Trump’s tariffs were designed to close trade deficits with foreign countries, but those were calculated only based on trades in physical, tangible goods.
“History and facts have proven that the United States’ increase in tariffs will not solve its own problems,” said the statement from the Chinese commerce ministry. “Instead, it will trigger sharp fluctuations in financial markets, push up U.S. inflation pressure, weaken the U.S. industrial base and increase the risk of a U.S. economic recession, which will ultimately only backfire on itself.
A view of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam in Benishangul-Gumuz, Ethiopia on Sept 9. (AP)
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, Sept 10, (AP): Ethiopia on Tuesday inaugurated Africa’s largest dam to boost the economy, end frequent blackouts and support the growth of electric vehicle development in a country that has banned the importation of gasoline-powered vehicles. As reservoir waters flowed into the turbines of the Grand Renaissance Dam, Ethiopians dressed in colorful regalia viewed the ceremony on large screens across the capital, Addis Ababa, and celebrated the achievement with dancing to traditional music.
“We will have enough power to charge our electric vehicles from the new dam,” said Belay Tigabu, a bus driver in Addis Ababa’s main bus terminal. The almost $5 billion mega-dam, located on the Blue Nile tributary of the Nile River near Ethiopia’s border with Sudan, will produce more than 5,000 megawatts and is expected to double national electricity generation capacity, according to officials. Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, speaking during the launch, said the dam was a “big achievement” that would show the world what Africans are capable of accomplishing.
Dozens of visiting African heads of state and government joined Abiy for the inauguration, with many expressing interest in importing power from Ethiopia. “I am proud to announce we will soon be signing an agreement with the government of Ethiopia to receive electricity from the dam that will benefit our hospitals and schools,” said South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir. Kenyan President William Ruto said his nation is looking to sign a power purchasing agreement with Ethiopia based on the resources of the dam project, which he said was a “pan-African statement.”
Already an importer of Ethiopia electricity, Ruto said Kenya is seeking to alleviate the electricity deficit his country is experiencing. He said the dam “exemplifies the scale and ambition of African-led infrastructure and aligns with the Africa Union’s vision of continental energy connectivity.” But Ethiopia’s new dam has faced controversy, with neighboring Egypt expressing concerns over reduced water flows downstream.
Egypt has long opposed the dam because of concerns it would deplete its share of Nile waters. The Arab world’s most populous country relies almost entirely on the Nile to supply water for agriculture and its more than 100 million people. Tamim Khallaf, a spokesperson for Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told The Associated Press that the dam posed an “existential threat.”
A dealer stands near the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), (left), and the foreign exchange rate between US dollar and South Korean won at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea on Sept 10. (AP)
TOKYO, Sept 10, (AP): Asian shares mostly rose in early Wednesday trading, echoing record rallies on Wall Street after the latest update on the job market bolstered hopes the US Federal Reserve will cut interest rates. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 gained 0.9% to finish at 43,837.67. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.3% to 8,830.40.
South Korea’s Kospi jumped 1.7% to 3,314.66. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.1% to 26,223.30, while the Shanghai Composite edged up 0.2% to 3,814.63. Uncertainty is still in the air over US-China tariff issues as bilateral talks continue. US President Donald Trump has raised taxes on imports from China, triggering a tit-for-tat tariff war.
The U.S. is currently charging an additional 30% tariff on Chinese goods and China is charging a 10% tariff under a de-escalation deal reached in May. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 rose 0.3% and squeaked past its all-time high set last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 196 points, or 0.4%, while the Nasdaq composite gained 0.4%.
They likewise set records. Traders have become convinced that the Federal Reserve will cut its main interest rate for the first time this year at its next meeting in a week, in order to prop up the slowing job market. A report on Tuesday offered the latest signal of weakness, when the US government said its prior count of jobs across the country through March may have been too high by 911,000, or 0.6%.
That was before President Donald Trump shocked the economy and financial markets in April by rolling out tariffs on countries worldwide. The bet on Wall Street is that such data will convince Fed officials that the job market is the bigger problem now for the economy than the threat of inflation worsening because of Trump’s tariffs.
That would push them to cut interest rates, a move that would give the economy a boost but could also send inflation higher. A lot is riding on Wall Street’s hope that the job market is slowing by just the right amount: Investors have already sent US stock prices to records because of it. Inflation also needs to stay at a reasonable level, even though it looks tough to get below the Fed’s target of 2%. In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.08% from 4.05% late Monday.
Ethiopia inaugurates Africa’s largest hydroelectric dam as neighbors eye power imports
Asian shares mostly rise, cheered by Wall Street rally to more records
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