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President Donald Trump on Friday floated cutting tariffs on China from 145% to 80% ahead of a weekend meeting among top U.S. and Chinese trade officials, as he looks to deescalate the trade war between the world’s two largest economies. Top U.S. officials are set to meet with a high-level Chinese delegation in Switzerland in the first major talks between the nations since Trump sparked a trade war with stiff tariffs on imports. 80% Tariff on China seems right! Up to Scott B, Trump wrote on his social media account on Friday morning, referring to Scott Bessent, his Treasury chief, who has been a point person on trade. The Republican president also called on China to open its markets to the U.S., writing: WOULD BE SO GOOD FOR THEM!!! CLOSED MARKETS DONT WORK ANYMORE!!! Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will meet Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in Geneva in the most-senior known conversations between the two countries in months, according to announcements this week by the Trump administration and the Chinese commerce ministry. It comes amid growing U.S. market worry over the impact of the tariffs on the prices and supply of consumer goods. No country has been hit harder by Trumps trade war than China, the worlds biggest exporter and second-largest economy. When Trump announced his Liberation Day tariffs on April 2, China retaliated with tariffs of its own, a move that Trump viewed as demonstrating a lack of respect. The tariffs on each others goods have been mounting since then, with the U.S. tariffs against China now at 145% and China tariffs on the U.S. at 125%. The U.S. tariff includes a 20% rate tied to Trump’s claim that Beijing has failed to stem the flow of chemicals used to manufacture fentanyl, and this portion of the tariff is unlikely to be brought up in this weekend’s talks. While an 80% tariff level on Chinese goods would represent a significant reduction from the current 145%, it would still be an extremely high import duty that could create supply chain problems and push up prices. And even with the reduction, the tariff rate would still be higher than the combined 74% rate on China that Trump announced at his April 2 Liberation Day event. For China, experts say Beijing would insist that any agreement from the U.S. side would be credible and implemented. Trump had previously said that he wouldnt lower the tariffs against China to hold substantive talks. But he showed signs of softening during an Oval Office appearance on Thursday, when he said he could lower the 145% rate charged on Chinese goods if the weekend talks go well. Were going to see, Trump said. Right now, you cant get any higher. Its at 145, so we know its coming down. The president’s team has acknowledged that the 145% tariff was not sustainable, as taxes at that rate were effectively an embargo on any trade between the two countries. But it remains unclear how Trump can reconcile the contradictions in his stated goals. He wants large amounts of tariff revenues to offset his income tax cuts, but he also wants deals to increase market access for U.S. goods that would likely require lower tariffs. His aides have said he wants to isolate China, yet his tariffs on other trade partners make it difficult to create a durable alliance on trade. Trumps social media post was another sign that the president has essentially been publicly negotiating with himself on tariffs. Hes started, paused, tweaked, and then threatened more import taxes, constantly reversing himself while balancing his promises to address inflation with his claims that tariffs can tilt the global economy in Americas favor. Seung Min Kim and Josh Boak, Associated Press
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E-Commerce
San Francisco Bay Area residents woke up to some bad news for their Friday commute. Bay Area Rapid Transit, or BART, the region’s main commuter rail system, which connects San Francisco’s peninsula with the East and South Bay, systematically shut down due to a “computer networking problem” affecting train control. The agency announced it was closing all 50 stations at 4:24 a.m. on Friday morning, the East Bay Times reported. As of this writing on Friday morning, BART said that train service had resumed, although passengers should expect “major delays.” Technicians are on site trying to get to the bottom of the situation, but right now, that is the information that we have, BART communication officer Cheryl Stalter told KQED shortly after 6 a.m local time. We have a computer networking problem that is systemwide . . . it is affecting all operations, so we cannot put trains into service. Chris Filippi, a spokesman for BART, said in a statement to the New York Times, that the last time this happened, it took several hours to resolve. The incident left tens of thousands of commuters looking for new ways to get to work, with many reportedly clogging the Bay Area’s freeways, while the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, which operates Muni bus and rail services, assisted remaining passengers at some BART stations, per the Times. The San Francisco Bay Ferry also ran larger ferries from the North and East Bay, per the East Bay Times. Some 170,000 area residents use BART on weekdays, with ridership just half of what it was before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the American Public Transportation Association, as reported by the New York Times.
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E-Commerce
Global equity funds attracted the smallest weekly inflows in four weeks in the week through May 7, amid concerns about the impact of tariffs on the global economy and as investors awaited anticipated U.S.-China trade talks for more clues. According to LSEG Lipper data, investors bought just $856 million worth of global equity funds during the week, when compared with their $6.13 billion worth of net purchases in the previous week. European equity funds witnessed robust demand for a fourth successive week with investors ploughing in a net $12.81 billion into these equity funds. Asian funds also saw a net $3.32 billion worth of inflows while in the U.S., there were outflows for a fourth consecutive week, to the tune of $16.22 billion, on a net basis. Sectoral funds, meanwhile, saw net selling for a ninth successive week, grossing approximately $2.6 billion for the week. The financial sector with $1.19 billion and the metals and mining sector with $478 million in net sales, led sectoral outflows. Global bond funds, however, gained popularity during the week as these funds saw weekly inflows totalling a net $11.4 billion, the highest in nine weeks. Dollar-denominated bond funds witnessed a revival in demand with investors allocating a net $4.33 billion to these funds, the biggest amount in eight weeks. Global short-term and high yield funds also witnessed a significant $1.91 billion and $1.29 billion worth of net purchases, respectively. Global money market funds saw a hefty $66.3 billion worth of weekly inflows, the biggest since February 5. At the same time, gold and precious metal commodity funds experienced their second weekly outflow in 13 weeks, to the tune of $655 million. Data covering 29,582 emerging market funds showed, equity funds received approximately $1.48 billion while bond funds gained a net $1.56 billion, a second successive weekly inflow in each segment. Gaurav Dogra and Patturaja Murugaboopathy, Reuters
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E-Commerce
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