Shares in the Asia Pacific region traded lower on Monday, 6 May 2019, as trade negotiations between China and the United States deteriorated suddenly, reversing apparent progress made in recent months, after after U.S. President Donald Trump unexpectedly jacked up pressure on China to reach a trade deal in the midst of negotiations, saying he would hike U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods this week.
US President Donald Trump dramatically increased pressure on China to reach a trade deal by announcing he will hike tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods this week and target hundreds of billions more soon. The announcement via Twitter marks a major shift in tone from Trump, who has cited good progress in the talks and praised his relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Any sign of an escalation in the months-long trade war is almost sure to roil financial markets, which have reacted sensitively to developments in the talks between the world's two largest economies. Trump's announcement comes ahead of another round of talks between US and Chinese officials in Washington scheduled for this week.
Trump's move is a reversal of his decision in February not to increase tariffs from 10% to 25% on $200 billion of goods, thanks to progress in the trade talks. That increase will now go into effect on Friday, Trump said in a tweet. The president also said he would target another $325 billion of Chinese goods with 25% tariffs "shortly" and he suggested that the measures were not leading to price increases for American consumers.
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