China says it will "fight to the end" and take countermeasures against the United States to safeguard its own interests after President Donald Trump threatened an additional 50% tariff on Chinese imports.
The Commerce Ministry said Tuesday the U.S.'s imposition of "so-called 'reciprocal tariffs'" on China is "completely groundless and is a typical unilateral bullying practice."
Trump's threat Monday of additional tariffs on China raised fresh concerns that his drive to rebalance the global economy could intensify a financially destructive trade war. Stock markets from Tokyo to New York have become more unstable as the tariff war worsens.
___
Here's the latest:
Hong Kong leader John Lee has described the latest U.S. tariffs as "bullying," saying the "ruthless behavior" has damaged global and multilateral trade and brought great risks and uncertainties to the world.
At a news conference on Tuesday, Lee pledged to take several steps to address the tariffs. He said the city would seize more opportunities in China's development, sign more free trade agreements with other economies, and continue to push for Hong Kong's accession to the 15-nation Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.
He also vowed to advance international financial cooperation, attract foreign companies and capital to Hong Kong, and support Hong Kong enterprises to cope with the tariff impacts.
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has delivered stronger criticism of the U.S. tariffs, decrying what he says is a "shift away from agreed rules" of trade and warning of the risk of "backsliding into a global trade war."
"A trade war is in nobody's interests," Luxon told reporters in Wellington on Tuesday. "It will slow global growth, hurt jobs and reduce the amount of money we have in our wallets."
He said New Zealand, which is set to receive the 10% baseline tariff rate on goods exported to the U.S., would not impose retaliatory tariffs on the U.S.
The U.S. in January overtook Australia to become New Zealand's second-largest export partner, behind China, with New Zealand exports largely made up of meat, dairy, wine and agricultural machinery.
Asian markets opened higher on Tuesday, with Japan's Nikkei 225 benchmark shooting up more than 6% after it fell nearly 8% a day earlier.
The rebound followed a wild day on Wall Street as U.S. stocks careened after Trump threatened to crank his double-digit tariffs higher.
Hong Kong also recovered some lost ground, but not anything close to its 13.2% dive on Monday that gave the Hang Seng its worst day since 1997 during the Asian financial crisis. The Hang Seng gained 1.7% to 20,163.97 on Tuesday morning.
The Shanghai Composite index jumped 0.8% to 3,121.72, South Korea's Kospi gained 1.6% to 2,364.22, and the S&P/ASX 200 also was up 1.6%, at 7,462.60.
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba met with his Cabinet on Tuesday to discuss how to respond to the U.S. tariffs, after he spoke by phone late Monday with Trump.
Ishiba has appointed Ryosei Akazawa, the economy revitalization minister, as Japan's trade negotiator with the U.S., Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said Tuesday. The appointment was based on an agreement between Ishiba and Trump, Hayashi added.
Japan's prime minister also dispatched senior officials from the foreign and trade ministries to Washington to follow up on his conversation with Trump.
Ishiba is considering traveling to Washington for direct talks with Trump at an appropriate time, Hayashi said.
At Tuesday's Cabinet meeting, Ishiba instructed his ministers to fully examine and mitigate the tariffs' impact on Japanese industries and pursue diplomatic efforts to address them. Ishiba told his ministers the tariffs would be a blow to all industries. He said the auto industry is essential to Japan, while steel and aluminum are also key to its economy.
