Former U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs on members of the BRICS group of nations on Friday, warning the alliance would quickly collapse if it ever becomes a significant economic force. "When I heard about this group from BRICS, six countries, basically, I hit them very, very hard. And if they ever really form in a meaningful way, it will end very quickly," Trump said without specifying which nations he was referring to. The BRICS group currently includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, and has recently expanded to include other nations. In addition to...
Alarm over China's stranglehold on critical minerals grew on Tuesday as global automakers joined their U.S. counterparts to complain that restrictions by China on exports of rare earth alloys, mixtures and magnets could cause production delays and outages without a quick solution. German automakers became the latest to warn that China's export restrictions threaten to shut down production and rattle their local economies, following a similar complaint from an Indian EV maker last week. China's decision in April to suspend exports of a wide range of rare earths and related magnets has...
U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed a proclamation raising his tariffs on steel and aluminum to 50% from 25%, making good on his earlier threat of higher levies on the two commodities. Trump said that the move was aimed at bolstering U.S. national security, which he claimed was compromised by the country's heavy dependence on steel and aluminum imports. The higher duties will be effective from Wednesday. "I have determined that it is necessary to increase the previously described steel and aluminum tariffs to adjust the imports of steel and aluminum articles and their derivative...
U.S. President Donald Trump will sign an executive order on Tuesday making official his vow to double tariffs on steel and aluminum, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told reporters in a briefing. Trump on Friday announced that he would increase tariffs on the two metals from 25% to 50%. On Monday, U.S. steel and aluminum prices jumped while shares of foreign steelmakers fell. Source : Reuters
President Donald Trump attacked fiscal conservative Rand Paul as "crazy" on Tuesday morning as he urged reluctant Republican senators to move quickly on his massive tax and spending package. The Kentucky senator had previously said on CNBC that he would not vote for the bill signed by the president because it would raise the legal U.S. debt limit. "I disagree with that. It's not conservative," said Paul, who has also argued that the tax measure would add too much to the national debt. Trump quickly responded with a series of social media posts, saying the senator "never has a practical or...
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Beijing has a choice to be a reliable partner with the rest of the world or not, reiterating that China needs to shift to a more consumption-oriented economy to help ease global imbalances. "They want to be a reliable partner with the rest of the world, or they don't," Bessent said via video link to the American Swiss Foundation Leadership Summit in Zurich on Tuesday. "They're in the middle of a big real estate — I'm not going to be fearmongering and say crisis — but a big real estate development and the way for them to stabilize their economy is not...
China's official NBS Manufacturing PMI increased to 49.7 in June 2025 from May's 49.5, matching market expectations while marking the third consecutive month of contraction in factory activity.
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Both the STOXX 50 and STOXX 600 hovered around the flatline on Friday, as investors adopted a cautious stance ahead of further developments in trade talks between US President Trump and Chinese...
President Donald Trump said Wednesday he plans to send a single letter to over 150 countries outlining the tariff rate they will face, saying, "It's all going to be the same for everyone, for that...