United States (US) President Donald Trump has warned trade partners not to “play games” by backing out of recently agreed trade deals after the Supreme Court struck down his emergency tariffs.
But some foreign governments just want to know if the terms they originally negotiated are still good.
Trump is expected to “come out swinging” during his annual State of the Union address later on Tuesday after the tariff setback, and may take aim at some of the Supreme Court Justices seated in the chamber.
But governments in Asia have questions. Japan wants to know whether the nation’s treatment under a new US tariff regime will be as favourable as an agreement reached between the two sides last year.
And Taiwan’s government is seeking assurances from the US that the beneficial terms it has already agreed do not change.
Not to be outdone by the trade drama in Washington, China on Tuesday prohibited the export of dual-use items to 20 Japanese entities that it says have military links, aimed at curbing Japan’s “remilitarisation”.
Markets in Japan and China largely shrugged off the dispute, gaining a boost from lower US tariffs as they reopened after local holidays and caught up on the trade news from Friday.
–Reuters–
