Date: September 17, 2018
United States:
Trump Plans to Slap 10% Tariff on $200 Billion of Chinese Goods, Sources Say
The Trump administration will announce as early as Monday that it’s imposing a 10 percent tariff on $200 billion of Chinese goods, which Beijing has already said it will retaliate against, according to three people familiar with the decision. The rate is less than half of the 25 percent level the administration had initially been considering. Still, American consumers could start feeling the cost of the tariffs for everyday goods, as the latest move brings all Chinese imports subject to a new tariff to $250 billion, roughly half of China’s shipments to the U.S. last year. President Donald Trump is barreling ahead with his vow to punish China for alleged unfair trading practices, despite an invitation this month from Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to restart trade talks with Beijing. Chinese officials have signaled they’ll refuse to meet with Mnuchin if this next round of tariffs is imposed, according to two people familiar with the discussions.
Europe:
May Braces for Key Brexit Talks as Johnson Fires New Warning
Prime Minister Theresa May left no doubt she was prepared to be a “bloody difficult woman” in defense of her Brexit plans and intends to reach a “good deal” with the European Union — one that lawmakers would have a choice to accept or see Britain crash out of the bloc. “I believe we’ll get a good deal, we’ll bring that back from the EU negotiations and put that to Parliament,” May told the BBC in an interview to be broadcast later Monday. “I think that the alternative to that will be not having a deal.” May’s verdict is aimed at detractors in her own Conservative Party who might reject her Brexit deal. The problem she faces is that any agreement based on keeping close trading ties to the bloc puts her on a collision course with hard-line Euroskeptics in her Conservative Party — and could trigger a leadership challenge by Boris Johnson. The former foreign secretary doubled down on his criticism of May in his weekly Telegraph column on Sunday, saying she was leading Britain toward a “spectacular political car crash.”
Asia:
Hong Kong Cleans Up Typhoon Havoc After Mangkhut Shuts City
The cleanup from Typhoon Mangkhut began in Hong Kong and southern China on Monday after the storm left at least four dead in Guangdong province, damaged buildings and disrupted flights throughout the region. Mangkhut, the world’s most powerful storm this year, was blamed for more than 200 million yuan ($29.1 million) of damage in the southern province of Guangdong, state broadcaster China Central Television reported. The storm killed dozens when it earlier hit the Philippines. The weakened remnants of Mangkhut were forecast to move across the inland area of southern China, and all storm warning signals will be canceled shortly, the Hong Kong Observatory said at 6:45 p.m. Macau’s casinos reopened after a 33-hour shutdown that’s estimated to cost operators as much as $186 million in revenue. Flights in and out of the region are gradually resuming. “Mangkhut brought considerable damages to Hong Kong,” the Hong Kong Observatory said in an advisory on Monday. “There may still be risks in the surroundings.”