By Elaine Kurtenbach, Associated Press Business Writer
BANGKOK (AP) – US President Donald Trump and China refrained from hiking tariffs and other retaliatory moves on Tuesday.
China said it would protect its own interests in implementing measures against the US as it “fights to the end” after President Donald Trump threatened an additional 50% tariff on China’s imports on re-retaliation over the 34% tariffs that he ordered on April 2 “liberation day.”
“The US threat to escalate China’s tariffs is, in addition to mistakes, it again exposes the threatening nature of the US. China will never accept this,” the Commerce Department said in a statement read about the state broadcaster CCTV.
When asked about the possibility of a meeting between Washington and Beijing, Lin Zian, a spokesman for China’s Foreign Ministry, said, “I don’t think what the US did reflects its willingness to be honest with dialogue. If the US really wants to engage in dialogue, it must adopt an attitude of equality, mutual respect and mutual interest.”
Meanwhile, Chinese state-owned companies have been told to help support the country’s financial markets after suffering a massive save of sales on Monday.
The global market was somewhat calmed as it was sold in two trading sessions that wiped out trillions of dollars worth of wealth, but Asian leaders have shifted to damage control mode.
Help for Japanese car factories
The Japanese Prime Minister spoke with Trump late Monday and called up a task force on Tuesday to reduce the damage caused by the 24% of US tariffs imposed on Washington’s biggest Asia ally.
Economic revitalization minister, Ren, has been appointed as a leading trade negotiator and sent to Washington to follow up on Isba’s speech with Trump.
Isba told the minister to reconsider Trump and make every effort to mitigate the impact from US “mutual” tariffs.
India wants to trade
India’s Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar spoke with US Marco Rubio late on Monday to seek an early conclusion to negotiate a bilateral trade agreement.
India, which faces a 26% tariff on exports to the US, wants to make concessions as part of its trade agreement. The first tranche of the contract is expected by this fall. Washington hopes India will allow more open market access for US dairy and other produce, but New Delhi is balking it as agriculture employs a large portion of the Indian workforce.
India’s Trade Minister Piyush Goyal had planned to meet with exporters on Wednesday to measure the potential impact and ease the economy from tariffs.
Rubio and Jaishankar said they discussed collaboration, tariffs and ways to deepen “how to advance towards fair and balanced trade relations,” according to a statement from the State Department.
Malaysia promises to respond to “soft diplomacy”
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said his government and other Southeast Asian countries would send officials to Washington to discuss tariffs and worked to build an agreement on a unified response among ten members of the Association of Southeast Asian States, which held an investment conference in Kuala Lumpur.
“We don’t believe in Megaphone’s diplomacy,” Anwar said. “As part of a soft diplomacy of a quiet engagement, I will be sending in with my colleagues from ASEAN in Washington to begin the dialogue process.”
Still, he cheated the US and said Malaysian trade with the US has long been a model of mutual benefits, and its exports support Malaysia’s growth and high quality work for Americans. The 24% tariffs recently imposed on Malaysian imports are “harmful everything” and could have a negative impact on both economies, he said.
Anwar said Malaysia will stick to a policy that diversifies trade at the time of uncertainty regarding globalization and supply chain changes.
Hong Kong swears that it’s not an open trade, it’s not more
In Hong Kong, which has a free trade policy and operates as a free port with little trade barriers, John Lee echoed Beijing by blowing up Trump’s tariffs as “bullying” and “ruthless behavior,” saying trade was damaged and caused global uncertainty.
Lee said in 1997 the former British colony, under Beijing’s control but with limited autonomy, would approach mainland China, sign more free trade agreements and promote the impact of higher US obligations to attract more foreign investment.
Niniek Carmini and Edna Taligan of Jakarta, Rajesh Roy of New Delhi, Yamaguchi Mali of Tokyo, and Kanis Leon of Hong Kong contributed.
Original issue: April 8, 2025, 12:31pm EDT
