Hours after US President Donald Trump slammed India's<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/look-forward-to-speaking-with-modi-on-very-high-tariffs-against-us-tweets-trump-ahead-of-meet-230723"> ''high tariffs''</a> and called for its withdrawal, government sources reportedly told India's tariffs are not that high compared to other developing countries, reported news agency Reuters.&nbsp;

Earlier Trump tweeted that he looked forward to meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the G20 summit in Japan, but said that for years India had put "very high tariffs against the United States". Adding: "This is <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/modi-reduced-tariffs-on-harley-davidson-motorcycles-by-50-i-said-it-was-still-unacceptable-trump-226103">unacceptable and the tariffs </a>must be withdrawn!"

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This month, India announced a hike in customs duties on 28 US products, after Washington ended trade concessions for India on June 1 under Generalized System of Preferences (GSP). The products whose customs duties were hiked include almond, apple, pulses and walnut.

India's tariffs are in line with the World Trade Organization rules, the government sources said, adding that US tariffs on some items were much higher than India's, the report added.

(With inputs from Reuters)

Hours after US President Donald Trump slammed India's ''high tariffs'' and called for its withdrawal, government sources reportedly told India's tariffs are not that high compared to other developing countries, reported news agency Reuters.

Hours after US President Donald Trump slammed India's ''high tariffs'' and called for its withdrawal, government sources reportedly told India's tariffs are not that high compared to other developing countries, reported news agency Reuters. Earlier Trump tweeted that he looked forward to meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the G20 summit in Japan, but said that for years India had put "very high tariffs against the United States". Adding: "This is unacceptable and the tariffs must be withdrawn!" × This month, India announced a hike in customs duties on 28 US products, after Washington ended trade concessions for India on June 1 under Generalized System of Preferences (GSP). The products whose customs duties were hiked include almond, apple, pulses and walnut. India's tariffs are in line with the World Trade Organization rules, the government sources said, adding that US tariffs on some items were much higher than India's, the report added. (With inputs from Reuters)

India's tariffs are in line with World Trade Organisation rules, say govt sources after Trump's 'high tariffs' charge 

By Allen Morrison and Stewart Black 
 
When US President Donald Trump meets Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the G-20 economic summit in Japan, hopes aren’t all that high that they will conclude with a comprehensive trade deal.

Nonetheless, most US business leaders and investors are optimistic that the two countries will eventually reach a trade agreement – and when they do, it will pry open Chinese markets and create a wealth of opportunities for US companies.

Specifically, American negotiators are pushing for a deal that could end forced technology transfers, improve intellectual property protection and widen access to China’s markets – all with the ultimate goal of creating a “level playing field” for US businesses.

Yet as beneficial as resolving intellectual property and technology transfer issues with China maybe – not to mention ending the trade war – this is not the biggest reason American companies have failed to do business in China. Rather, as our forthcoming research shows, their biggest failure stems from their inability to penetrate the country’s complex business ecosystems.

Changes to intellectual property regulations and tariff provisions will not magically fix this.

Doing business in China

Since the 1970s, foreign companies, including US businesses, have poured trillions of dollars into China to build global supply chains and access their markets.

In 2018, total foreign direct investment stocks in China reached a record $2.76 trillion, up from just over $915 billion a decade earlier.

For some Western companies as diverse as Coca-Cola, General Motors, Apple, Lego and L'Oréal, China has been a boon and remains a focus of their international expansion plans. After decades of commitment, they have made significant progress in China by emphasizing adaptability, delegation of decision-making, cultural learning, and talent acquisition and development.

But research we’re planning to publish later this summer shows that China remains an enigma for most U.S. businesses. Only 41 companies in the Standard &amp; Poor’s 500 stock index generate 10 per cent or more of their global revenues from China. Of the 30 largest companies in the index, only four have revenues that exceed 10 per cent of their global revenues.

And a 2017 Goldman Sachs analysis found that in all, S&amp;P 500 companies earned just 1 per cent of their revenues in China, compared with 30 per cent in total non-US sales.

Rise of the Chinese ‘megafirm’ 
 
No doubt Chinese government regulations, tariffs and the theft of intellectual property are among the significant barriers that have made it harder for US&nbsp;and other Western companies to do business in China. But we found that the biggest challenge is their failure to penetrate state-dominated business ecosystems built around what are essentially Chinese “megafirms.”

China’s largest conglomerates, which have grown an average of 20 per cent&nbsp;per year over the past decade have much in common with their Asian cousins. Like the chaebol of South Korea and keiretsu in Japan, affiliates and subsidiaries of Chinese megafirms are typically part of a network of cross-owned businesses. Ownership structures are difficult for outsiders to penetrate and act as nearly insurmountable barriers to entry for foreign companies.

But Chinese megafirms have a unique aspect to their structure and ownership: the role of the state, which includes national, provincial or municipal entities. Rather than serve as background context for decision-making within Chinese megafirms acting strictly as a regulator, the state is itself an owner and plays a much greater role than most Americans know.

The 10 biggest Chinese companies by revenue are all either state-owned or owned by a mixture of publicly listed investors and Chinese government entities. Of the 111 Chinese businesses on the Fortune Global 500 list in 2018, state-owned entities represented nearly 71%.

The rest were privately owned – many with publicly listed shares – but don’t let that fool you. With only a few exceptions, publicly listed companies in China are invariably partly owned by other companies in which operate in their ecosystem and these, in turn, are owned or partly owned by either the state or government-controlled entities.

Given the dearth of publicly accessible information and exacerbated by the maze of cross-ownerships, following the equity trail and fully understanding ownership is difficult in China and most often futile.

Success for foreign companies in China is invariably dependent on fitting into a major business ecosystem. These include networks of suppliers, assemblers, financial institutions, distributors, retailers and trading companies. At the center of this circle are typically one or several megafirms.

Unfortunately, the US businesses that can’t make it to the inside of that circle – the vast majority – are unable to prosper in China. And the Chinese government helps to pick who gets in, and who doesn’t.

Megafirms meet megabanks 
 
The Chinese government does not need to own a controlling share in order to exert powerful influence.

It can cause its companies to enter into new partnerships, diversify into new product lines, set up new production facilities, or expand distribution merely by signaling the desired outcomes through public or private statements, “introductions” to targeted partners and promises of new customers and revenue streams.

The government also uses Chinese “megabanks” to drive economic growth according to national priorities. In 2018, nearly 65 per cent of all bank loans in China were to corporate entities, twice as high as in the U.S. Megafirms are provided funding at preferential rates, leaving those on the outside at a disadvantage.

The banking sector in China is huge, with total assets of about $35 trillion in 2018, more than three times the country’s entire GDP. This circular financing feeds corporate growth and creates a circular system of codependency.

Because foreign companies are outside the system, they are at inherent disadvantage when it comes to attaining local loans from Chinese banks.

That creates another problem for Western companies. Most of them invest overseas with the goal of repatriating profits back home. China makes this very difficult. Which means they typically have to bring money in from their home countries – but because of Chinese tax rules and strict foreign exchange controls, they also have difficulty getting their investments back out.

Impenetrable China

A positive resolution to the trade war – either during the G-20 or sometime later – would be welcomed by many. But we believe that whatever agreements are reached on tariffs or intellectual property, these structural issues will persist.

The US&nbsp;and other outside companies that want to do business in China face a dilemma: Do they reinvent themselves in an effort to become insiders in China? Doing so would not only require a change in mentality, but also a commitment to being “in China, for China.”

Otherwise, China’s business ecosystem, with its megafirms and layers of affiliates with the government at the center of it all, will remain largely impenetrable for Western companies. Irrespective of what happens at the G-20, China is very unlikely to change a system that has created massive wealth and prosperity for the Chinese people. 
&nbsp;

(Allen Morrison is Professor of Global Management, Arizona State University; Stewart Black is Professor of Management Practice in Global Leadership and Strategy, INSEAD)

(This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article)

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL.)&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

By Allen Morrison and Stewart Black When US President Donald Trump meets Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the G-20 economic summit in Japan, hopes aren’t all that high that they will conclude with a comprehensive trade deal.

By Allen Morrison and Stewart Black When US President Donald Trump meets Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the G-20 economic summit in Japan, hopes aren’t all that high that they will conclude with a comprehensive trade deal. Nonetheless, most US business leaders and investors are optimistic that the two countries will eventually reach a trade agreement – and when they do, it will pry open Chinese markets and create a wealth of opportunities for US companies. Specifically, American negotiators are pushing for a deal that could end forced technology transfers, improve intellectual property protection and widen access to China’s markets – all with the ultimate goal of creating a “level playing field” for US businesses. Yet as beneficial as resolving intellectual property and technology transfer issues with China maybe – not to mention ending the trade war – this is not the biggest reason American companies have failed to do business in China. Rather, as our forthcoming research shows, their biggest failure stems from their inability to penetrate the country’s complex business ecosystems. Changes to intellectual property regulations and tariff provisions will not magically fix this. Doing business in China Since the 1970s, foreign companies, including US businesses, have poured trillions of dollars into China to build global supply chains and access their markets. In 2018, total foreign direct investment stocks in China reached a record $2.76 trillion, up from just over $915 billion a decade earlier. For some Western companies as diverse as Coca-Cola, General Motors, Apple, Lego and L'Oréal, China has been a boon and remains a focus of their international expansion plans. After decades of commitment, they have made significant progress in China by emphasizing adaptability, delegation of decision-making, cultural learning, and talent acquisition and development. But research we’re planning to publish later this summer shows that China remains an enigma for most U.S. businesses. Only 41 companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index generate 10 per cent or more of their global revenues from China. Of the 30 largest companies in the index, only four have revenues that exceed 10 per cent of their global revenues. And a 2017 Goldman Sachs analysis found that in all, S&P 500 companies earned just 1 per cent of their revenues in China, compared with 30 per cent in total non-US sales. Rise of the Chinese ‘megafirm’ No doubt Chinese government regulations, tariffs and the theft of intellectual property are among the significant barriers that have made it harder for US and other Western companies to do business in China. But we found that the biggest challenge is their failure to penetrate state-dominated business ecosystems built around what are essentially Chinese “megafirms.” China’s largest conglomerates, which have grown an average of 20 per cent per year over the past decade have much in common with their Asian cousins. Like the chaebol of South Korea and keiretsu in Japan, affiliates and subsidiaries of Chinese megafirms are typically part of a network of cross-owned businesses. Ownership structures are difficult for outsiders to penetrate and act as nearly insurmountable barriers to entry for foreign companies. But Chinese megafirms have a unique aspect to their structure and ownership: the role of the state, which includes national, provincial or municipal entities. Rather than serve as background context for decision-making within Chinese megafirms acting strictly as a regulator, the state is itself an owner and plays a much greater role than most Americans know. The 10 biggest Chinese companies by revenue are all either state-owned or owned by a mixture of publicly listed investors and Chinese government entities. Of the 111 Chinese businesses on the Fortune Global 500 list in 2018, state-owned entities represented nearly 71%. The rest were privately owned – many with publicly listed shares – but don’t let that fool you. With only a few exceptions, publicly listed companies in China are invariably partly owned by other companies in which operate in their ecosystem and these, in turn, are owned or partly owned by either the state or government-controlled entities. Given the dearth of publicly accessible information and exacerbated by the maze of cross-ownerships, following the equity trail and fully understanding ownership is difficult in China and most often futile. Success for foreign companies in China is invariably dependent on fitting into a major business ecosystem. These include networks of suppliers, assemblers, financial institutions, distributors, retailers and trading companies. At the center of this circle are typically one or several megafirms. Unfortunately, the US businesses that can’t make it to the inside of that circle – the vast majority – are unable to prosper in China. And the Chinese government helps to pick who gets in, and who doesn’t. Megafirms meet megabanks The Chinese government does not need to own a controlling share in order to exert powerful influence. It can cause its companies to enter into new partnerships, diversify into new product lines, set up new production facilities, or expand distribution merely by signaling the desired outcomes through public or private statements, “introductions” to targeted partners and promises of new customers and revenue streams. The government also uses Chinese “megabanks” to drive economic growth according to national priorities. In 2018, nearly 65 per cent of all bank loans in China were to corporate entities, twice as high as in the U.S. Megafirms are provided funding at preferential rates, leaving those on the outside at a disadvantage. The banking sector in China is huge, with total assets of about $35 trillion in 2018, more than three times the country’s entire GDP. This circular financing feeds corporate growth and creates a circular system of codependency. Because foreign companies are outside the system, they are at inherent disadvantage when it comes to attaining local loans from Chinese banks. That creates another problem for Western companies. Most of them invest overseas with the goal of repatriating profits back home. China makes this very difficult. Which means they typically have to bring money in from their home countries – but because of Chinese tax rules and strict foreign exchange controls, they also have difficulty getting their investments back out. Impenetrable China A positive resolution to the trade war – either during the G-20 or sometime later – would be welcomed by many. But we believe that whatever agreements are reached on tariffs or intellectual property, these structural issues will persist. The US and other outside companies that want to do business in China face a dilemma: Do they reinvent themselves in an effort to become insiders in China? Doing so would not only require a change in mentality, but also a commitment to being “in China, for China.” Otherwise, China’s business ecosystem, with its megafirms and layers of affiliates with the government at the center of it all, will remain largely impenetrable for Western companies. Irrespective of what happens at the G-20, China is very unlikely to change a system that has created massive wealth and prosperity for the Chinese people. (Allen Morrison is Professor of Global Management, Arizona State University; Stewart Black is Professor of Management Practice in Global Leadership and Strategy, INSEAD) (This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article) (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL.)

A Trump-Xi trade deal would do little to fix the real problems US companies face in China

Pressured by a labour crunch and rising wages in China, Shu Ke' an, whose company supplies bulletproof vests, rifle bags and other tactical gear to the United States, first considered shifting some production to Southeast Asia a few years ago, but nothing came of it.

When <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/asian-markets-tumble-over-intensifying-us-china-trade-tensions-223751">trade tensions</a> flared into a tariff war last year, however, it was the final straw.

A day after <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-china-rekindle-trade-talks-ahead-of-donald-trump-xi-jinping-g20-meeting-228545">US President Donald</a> imposed additional tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods in September, Shu, 49, decided to start making vests for his US clients in Myanmar instead.

Since then, the Trump administration has further hiked tariffs on Chinese imports, raising the US taxes on Shu's Guangzhou-made bulletproof vests to 42.6%.

With more than half of his company's income reliant on orders from the United States, Shu was happy with his Myanmar decision.

"The trade war was actually a blessing in disguise," he said.

With Trump poised to slap 25% tariffs on another $300 billion-plus of Chinese goods, no exporter in China will be unscathed.

In recent years, some Chinese manufacturers had already started to relocate some of their capacity to countries such as Vietnam and Cambodia, due to high operating costs at home. The trade war is now pushing more to follow suit, especially makers of low-tech and low-value goods.

A few Chinese exporters have also tried to dodge the trade war bullet by quietly transhipping via third countries.

Choice Destination

Nine months on, Shu's firm, Yakeda Tactical Gear Co, is relying on his new Myanmar factory, which started operations in December, to produce new orders for its US clients.

The 220 workers at his original Guangzhou plant, in China's Pearl River Delta manufacturing powerhouse, now mostly supply clients in the Middle East, Africa and Europe.

In Yangon, meanwhile, Shu's Myanmar factory turns raw materials imported from China into backpacks, kit bags and pouches for rifles and pistols - all labelled 'Made in Myanmar' almost all of which are exported to the United States.

"Our factory is receiving many orders. The products are being exported to the US and Europe. So, I believe our future will be improved from working in this factory," said Marlar Cho, 36, a supervisor at the factory.

The factory manager, 40-year-old Jiang Aoxiong from eastern China, said they were constantly rushing to keep up with orders, despite its 600-strong workforce.

Though international criticism of Myanmar's handling of the Rohingya crisis has crimped Western investment, the Southeast Asian nation has become the choice destination for some Chinese firms, drawn to its cheap and abundant labour.

The former British colony, located on China's southwestern border, exports some 5,000 products to the United States duty-free under a US trade programme for developing nations - another big plus.

In the 12 months through April, approved Chinese projects increased by $585 million, the latest data from Myanmar's Directorate of Investment and Company Administration shows.

The infusion of Chinese capital has helped fuel expansion in Myanmar's fledgeling industrial sector.

In May, firms saw the fastest rise in workforce numbers since 2015, while production scaled a 13-month high, the latest Nikkei Myanmar Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index survey showed.

Stay or Go?

ACMEX Group, a tyre maker based in China's coastal Shandong province, already had some experience with offshoring when the trade war began.

About two years ago, it started manufacturing some tyres in Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia to take advantage of lower labour and raw material costs and avoid US anti-dumping duties.

With fresh tariffs in the trade war, the company plans to boost the proportion of tyres made abroad to 50% from 20%, and build its own factories instead of outsourcing to existing factories, Chairman Guan Zheng said.

"The time is ripe now," he said, adding that supply chain infrastructure had improved.

The experience of companies like ACMEX and Shu's Yakeda Tactical Gear underlines how the trade war has put Chinese exporters on the back foot, needing to either diversify their client base, increase domestic sales or move production to a third country.

But all those options require time and money, which are not necessarily available to China's legion of small exporters grappling with thinning profit margins.

Even locations such as Vietnam and the Philippines have grown too dear for some.

While China has encouraged the relocation of some heavy industry overseas to ease overcapacity and support its ambitious Belt and Road infrastructure plan, Beijing is less supportive of a broader move to shift manufacturing offshore.

Liang Ming, director of the Institute of International Trade at the Ministry of Commerce's Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, rejected the idea that Chinese firms were leaving China in droves.

"Few companies are actually moving. If they move, they risk losses if there is a China-US deal," Liang told reporters earlier this month, adding that any relocation back to China would be expensive.

As trade pressures intensify, analysts say China will loosen policy further in months ahead to shore up economic growth.

Investors are also watching to see how much Beijing allows the yuan to weaken to offset higher US tariffs. The tightly-managed currency has depreciated about 2% against the dollar since trade tensions worsened in early May.

Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are due to meet in Osaka at a G20 summit at the end of this week in a bid to reset ties poisoned by the trade war.

And though costs and labour may be cheaper, some Chinese firms with experience of offshoring say there are downsides too.

Factory manager Jiang complained about lower worker productivity in Myanmar compared with China, flooded roads during the rainy season, and power cuts of eight to nine hours every day.

"If there is no trade war between China and the US, we definitely would not have come to Myanmar to open our factory," he said.

Pressured by a labour crunch and rising wages in China, Shu Ke' an, whose company supplies bulletproof vests, rifle bags and other tactical gear to the United States, first considered shifting some production to Southeast Asia a few years ago, but nothing came of it.

Pressured by a labour crunch and rising wages in China, Shu Ke' an, whose company supplies bulletproof vests, rifle bags and other tactical gear to the United States, first considered shifting some production to Southeast Asia a few years ago, but nothing came of it. When trade tensions flared into a tariff war last year, however, it was the final straw. A day after US President Donald imposed additional tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods in September, Shu, 49, decided to start making vests for his US clients in Myanmar instead. Since then, the Trump administration has further hiked tariffs on Chinese imports, raising the US taxes on Shu's Guangzhou-made bulletproof vests to 42.6%. With more than half of his company's income reliant on orders from the United States, Shu was happy with his Myanmar decision. "The trade war was actually a blessing in disguise," he said. With Trump poised to slap 25% tariffs on another $300 billion-plus of Chinese goods, no exporter in China will be unscathed. In recent years, some Chinese manufacturers had already started to relocate some of their capacity to countries such as Vietnam and Cambodia, due to high operating costs at home. The trade war is now pushing more to follow suit, especially makers of low-tech and low-value goods. A few Chinese exporters have also tried to dodge the trade war bullet by quietly transhipping via third countries. Choice Destination Nine months on, Shu's firm, Yakeda Tactical Gear Co, is relying on his new Myanmar factory, which started operations in December, to produce new orders for its US clients. The 220 workers at his original Guangzhou plant, in China's Pearl River Delta manufacturing powerhouse, now mostly supply clients in the Middle East, Africa and Europe. In Yangon, meanwhile, Shu's Myanmar factory turns raw materials imported from China into backpacks, kit bags and pouches for rifles and pistols - all labelled 'Made in Myanmar' almost all of which are exported to the United States. "Our factory is receiving many orders. The products are being exported to the US and Europe. So, I believe our future will be improved from working in this factory," said Marlar Cho, 36, a supervisor at the factory. The factory manager, 40-year-old Jiang Aoxiong from eastern China, said they were constantly rushing to keep up with orders, despite its 600-strong workforce. Though international criticism of Myanmar's handling of the Rohingya crisis has crimped Western investment, the Southeast Asian nation has become the choice destination for some Chinese firms, drawn to its cheap and abundant labour. The former British colony, located on China's southwestern border, exports some 5,000 products to the United States duty-free under a US trade programme for developing nations - another big plus. In the 12 months through April, approved Chinese projects increased by $585 million, the latest data from Myanmar's Directorate of Investment and Company Administration shows. The infusion of Chinese capital has helped fuel expansion in Myanmar's fledgeling industrial sector. In May, firms saw the fastest rise in workforce numbers since 2015, while production scaled a 13-month high, the latest Nikkei Myanmar Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index survey showed. Stay or Go? ACMEX Group, a tyre maker based in China's coastal Shandong province, already had some experience with offshoring when the trade war began. About two years ago, it started manufacturing some tyres in Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia to take advantage of lower labour and raw material costs and avoid US anti-dumping duties. With fresh tariffs in the trade war, the company plans to boost the proportion of tyres made abroad to 50% from 20%, and build its own factories instead of outsourcing to existing factories, Chairman Guan Zheng said. "The time is ripe now," he said, adding that supply chain infrastructure had improved. The experience of companies like ACMEX and Shu's Yakeda Tactical Gear underlines how the trade war has put Chinese exporters on the back foot, needing to either diversify their client base, increase domestic sales or move production to a third country. But all those options require time and money, which are not necessarily available to China's legion of small exporters grappling with thinning profit margins. Even locations such as Vietnam and the Philippines have grown too dear for some. While China has encouraged the relocation of some heavy industry overseas to ease overcapacity and support its ambitious Belt and Road infrastructure plan, Beijing is less supportive of a broader move to shift manufacturing offshore. Liang Ming, director of the Institute of International Trade at the Ministry of Commerce's Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, rejected the idea that Chinese firms were leaving China in droves. "Few companies are actually moving. If they move, they risk losses if there is a China-US deal," Liang told reporters earlier this month, adding that any relocation back to China would be expensive. As trade pressures intensify, analysts say China will loosen policy further in months ahead to shore up economic growth. Investors are also watching to see how much Beijing allows the yuan to weaken to offset higher US tariffs. The tightly-managed currency has depreciated about 2% against the dollar since trade tensions worsened in early May. Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are due to meet in Osaka at a G20 summit at the end of this week in a bid to reset ties poisoned by the trade war. And though costs and labour may be cheaper, some Chinese firms with experience of offshoring say there are downsides too. Factory manager Jiang complained about lower worker productivity in Myanmar compared with China, flooded roads during the rainy season, and power cuts of eight to nine hours every day. "If there is no trade war between China and the US, we definitely would not have come to Myanmar to open our factory," he said.

To dodge trade war, Chinese exporters shift production to low-cost nations

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/trade-beef-aside-trump-and-abe-bond-over-burgers-sumo-and-golf-221840">US President Donald Trump</a> renewed his criticism of the US-Japan security alliance, the linchpin of Tokyo's security policies, ahead of talks with <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/japan-pm-abe-to-meet-irans-supreme-leader-khamenei-to-mediate-with-us-report-223544">Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe</a> on the sidelines of a Group of 20 summits in Osaka this week.

Trump was responding to a question in a Fox television interview in Washington on Wednesday about what <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/donald-trump-begins-his-japan-visit-to-burnish-ties-with-shinzo-abe-over-golf-sumo-and-steak-221444">bilateral deals</a> he would like to see with various countries including Japan. Tokyo and Washington are engaged in difficult trade talks as Trump's administration seeks to lower the US trade deficit.

"Almost all countries in this world take tremendous advantage of the United States ... Like even Japan on the treaty, we have a treaty with Japan. If Japan is attacked, we will fight World War Three," Trump said.

"We will go in and we will protect them and we will fight with our lives and with our treasure. We will fight at all costs, right? But if we’re attacked, Japan doesn’t have to help us at all. They can watch it on a Sony television, the attack."

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, asked about the remarks, said the two governments had not discussed revising the treaty and dismissed the notion that the pact was unfair.

"The obligations of the United States and Japan ... are balanced between both countries," he told a news conference.

Under the decades-old US-Japan security treaty, the United States has committed to defending Japan, which renounced the right to wage war after its defeat in World War Two.

Japan in return provides military bases that Washington uses to project power deep into Asia, including the biggest concentration of US Marines outside the United States on Okinawa, and the forward deployment of an aircraft carrier strike group at the Yokosuka naval base near Tokyo.

Trump is scheduled to hold nine bilateral meetings, with nations such as Japan, China and Russia, at the June 28-29 G20 summit.

A deterioration in US-Japan ties that resulted in an end to the security pact, which puts Japan under the US nuclear umbrella, could force Washington to withdraw a major portion of its military forces from Asia at a time when China’s military power is growing.

It would also force Japan to seek new alliances in the region and bolster its own defences, raising concern about nuclear proliferation in the tense region.

On a visit to Japan in May, Trump said he expected Japan’s military to reinforce US forces throughout Asia and elsewhere as Tokyo bolsters the ability of its forces to operate further from its shores.

Abe, who has cultivated warm ties with Trump since the US leader took office, has pledged to strengthen Japan's defences. He also wants to revise the nation's post-war, pacifist constitution to clarify the ambiguous status of its military.

US President Donald Trump renewed his criticism of the US-Japan security alliance, the linchpin of Tokyo's security policies, ahead of talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the sidelines of a Group of 20 summits in Osaka this week.

US President Donald Trump renewed his criticism of the US-Japan security alliance, the linchpin of Tokyo's security policies, ahead of talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the sidelines of a Group of 20 summits in Osaka this week. Trump was responding to a question in a Fox television interview in Washington on Wednesday about what bilateral deals he would like to see with various countries including Japan. Tokyo and Washington are engaged in difficult trade talks as Trump's administration seeks to lower the US trade deficit. "Almost all countries in this world take tremendous advantage of the United States ... Like even Japan on the treaty, we have a treaty with Japan. If Japan is attacked, we will fight World War Three," Trump said. "We will go in and we will protect them and we will fight with our lives and with our treasure. We will fight at all costs, right? But if we’re attacked, Japan doesn’t have to help us at all. They can watch it on a Sony television, the attack." Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, asked about the remarks, said the two governments had not discussed revising the treaty and dismissed the notion that the pact was unfair. "The obligations of the United States and Japan ... are balanced between both countries," he told a news conference. Under the decades-old US-Japan security treaty, the United States has committed to defending Japan, which renounced the right to wage war after its defeat in World War Two. Japan in return provides military bases that Washington uses to project power deep into Asia, including the biggest concentration of US Marines outside the United States on Okinawa, and the forward deployment of an aircraft carrier strike group at the Yokosuka naval base near Tokyo. Trump is scheduled to hold nine bilateral meetings, with nations such as Japan, China and Russia, at the June 28-29 G20 summit. A deterioration in US-Japan ties that resulted in an end to the security pact, which puts Japan under the US nuclear umbrella, could force Washington to withdraw a major portion of its military forces from Asia at a time when China’s military power is growing. It would also force Japan to seek new alliances in the region and bolster its own defences, raising concern about nuclear proliferation in the tense region. On a visit to Japan in May, Trump said he expected Japan’s military to reinforce US forces throughout Asia and elsewhere as Tokyo bolsters the ability of its forces to operate further from its shores. Abe, who has cultivated warm ties with Trump since the US leader took office, has pledged to strengthen Japan's defences. He also wants to revise the nation's post-war, pacifist constitution to clarify the ambiguous status of its military.

If US is attacked, Japan can watch it on Sony television, says Trump as he heads to Osaka for G20

Trade talks between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping are expected to dominate the upcoming G20 summit in Osaka, where the two leaders are expected to meet on the final day of the event.

Trump-Xi trade talks to dominate G20 Summit

The US Supreme Court handed President Donald Trump a significant defeat on Thursday, ruling that his administration did not give an adequate explanation for its plan to include a contentious citizenship question on the 2020 census and preventing its addition to the decennial survey for now.&nbsp;

The justices - in a 5-4 decision with Chief Justice John Roberts joining the court`s four liberals in the majority and writing the ruling - upheld part of a federal judge`s ruling barring the question in a victory for a group of states including New York and immigrant rights organizations that had challenged the plan.

Opponents of the question have called it a Republican ploy to scare immigrants into not taking part in the population count.

As part of the ruling issued on the last day of the court`s current term, the justices sent the issue back to the Commerce Department for it to decide how to proceed. But the clock is ticking, as census forms have to be printed in the coming months.

Further muddying the waters, there is also ongoing litigation in lower courts over recently unearthed evidence that the challengers have said reveals an illegal discriminatory motive by the administration for adding the question, which the high court could yet weigh in on.&nbsp;

The court ruled against the challengers on other claims, with the nine justices splitting in different ways. The court ruled on a separate 5-4 vote with the conservative justices in the majority that the US&nbsp;Constitution does not in theory prevent the administration from adding a citizenship question.

Opponents have said the question would instill fear in immigrant households that the information would be shared with law enforcement, deterring them from taking part.&nbsp;

The census, required by the US Constitution, is used to allot seats in the US&nbsp;House of Representatives and distribute some $800 billion in federal funds.

The intent of the citizenship question, opponents said, is to manufacture a deliberate undercount of areas with high immigrant and Latino populations, costing Democratic-leaning regions seats in the House, benefiting Republicans and non-Hispanic whites.&nbsp;

The administration argued that adding a question requiring people taking part in the census to declare whether they are a citizen was needed to better enforce a voting rights law, a rationale that opponents called a pretext for a political motive.

Roberts said that under a US&nbsp;law called the Administrative Procedure Act, the federal government is required to give a reasoned explanation for its actions.

"Accepting contrived reasons would defeat the purpose of the enterprise," Roberts wrote.

Roberts said that the explanation provided by the government was "more of a distraction."

In a dissenting opinion, conservative Justice Clarence Thomas wrote that the decision to add the citizenship question was "legally sound" and described the ruling against Trump as "an aberration."

The Republican president`s administration had appealed to the Supreme Court after lower courts blocked the inclusion of the census question. The Justice Department had previously told the Supreme Court it needed a final decision on whether the question could be added by the end of this month.

Setback for Trump

The ruling marked the first major setback for Trump in a ruling at the Supreme Court, although both of Trump`s appointees to the court, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, voted in favor of his administration. Roberts was joined by liberal Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan.

The Supreme Court had handed Trump some major victories since he took office in 2017, in particular a June 2018 ruling upholding his travel ban targeting people from several Muslim-majority countries. The court in January also let Trump`s policy barring many transgender people from the US military go into effect.&nbsp;

Manhattan-based US&nbsp;District Judge Jesse Furman ruled on January 15 that the Commerce Department`s decision to add the question violated the Administrative Procedure Act. Federal judges in Maryland and California also have issued rulings to block the question`s inclusion, saying it would violate the Constitution`s mandate to enumerate the population every 10 years.&nbsp;

Furman said the evidence showed that Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross concealed his true motives for adding the question and that he and his aides had convinced the Justice Department to request a citizenship question.&nbsp;

Businesses also rely on census data to make critical strategic decisions, including where to invest capital. Citizenship has not been asked of all households since the 1950 census, featuring since then only on questionnaires sent to a smaller subset of the population.

The Census Bureau's own experts estimated that households corresponding to 6.5 million people would not respond to the census if the citizenship question were asked.&nbsp;

While only US citizens can vote, non-citizens comprise an estimated 7 per cent of the population.

Evidence surfaced in May that the challengers said showed that the administration`s plan to add a citizenship question was intended to discriminate against racial minorities.&nbsp;

Documents created by Republican strategist Thomas Hofeller, who died last year, showed that he was instrumental behind the scenes in instigating the addition of the citizenship question. He was an expert in drawing electoral district boundaries that maximize Republican chances of winning congressional elections.

Hofeller concluded in a 2015 study that asking census respondents whether they are American citizens "would clearly be a disadvantage to the Democrats" and "advantageous to Republicans and Non-Hispanic Whites" in redrawing electoral districts based on census data.

Hofeller suggested the voting rights rationale in the newly disclosed documents.

The Trump administration called the newly surfaced evidence "conspiracy theory."

Most people living in the United States will be asked to fill out the census, whether online or on paper, by March 2020.

The US Supreme Court handed President Donald Trump a significant defeat on Thursday, ruling that his administration did not give an adequate explanation for its plan to include a contentious citizenship question on the 2020 census and preventing its addition to the decennial survey for now.

The US Supreme Court handed President Donald Trump a significant defeat on Thursday, ruling that his administration did not give an adequate explanation for its plan to include a contentious citizenship question on the 2020 census and preventing its addition to the decennial survey for now. The justices - in a 5-4 decision with Chief Justice John Roberts joining the court`s four liberals in the majority and writing the ruling - upheld part of a federal judge`s ruling barring the question in a victory for a group of states including New York and immigrant rights organizations that had challenged the plan. Opponents of the question have called it a Republican ploy to scare immigrants into not taking part in the population count. As part of the ruling issued on the last day of the court`s current term, the justices sent the issue back to the Commerce Department for it to decide how to proceed. But the clock is ticking, as census forms have to be printed in the coming months. Further muddying the waters, there is also ongoing litigation in lower courts over recently unearthed evidence that the challengers have said reveals an illegal discriminatory motive by the administration for adding the question, which the high court could yet weigh in on. The court ruled against the challengers on other claims, with the nine justices splitting in different ways. The court ruled on a separate 5-4 vote with the conservative justices in the majority that the US Constitution does not in theory prevent the administration from adding a citizenship question. Opponents have said the question would instill fear in immigrant households that the information would be shared with law enforcement, deterring them from taking part. The census, required by the US Constitution, is used to allot seats in the US House of Representatives and distribute some $800 billion in federal funds. The intent of the citizenship question, opponents said, is to manufacture a deliberate undercount of areas with high immigrant and Latino populations, costing Democratic-leaning regions seats in the House, benefiting Republicans and non-Hispanic whites. The administration argued that adding a question requiring people taking part in the census to declare whether they are a citizen was needed to better enforce a voting rights law, a rationale that opponents called a pretext for a political motive. Roberts said that under a US law called the Administrative Procedure Act, the federal government is required to give a reasoned explanation for its actions. "Accepting contrived reasons would defeat the purpose of the enterprise," Roberts wrote. Roberts said that the explanation provided by the government was "more of a distraction." In a dissenting opinion, conservative Justice Clarence Thomas wrote that the decision to add the citizenship question was "legally sound" and described the ruling against Trump as "an aberration." The Republican president`s administration had appealed to the Supreme Court after lower courts blocked the inclusion of the census question. The Justice Department had previously told the Supreme Court it needed a final decision on whether the question could be added by the end of this month. Setback for Trump The ruling marked the first major setback for Trump in a ruling at the Supreme Court, although both of Trump`s appointees to the court, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, voted in favor of his administration. Roberts was joined by liberal Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan. The Supreme Court had handed Trump some major victories since he took office in 2017, in particular a June 2018 ruling upholding his travel ban targeting people from several Muslim-majority countries. The court in January also let Trump`s policy barring many transgender people from the US military go into effect. Manhattan-based US District Judge Jesse Furman ruled on January 15 that the Commerce Department`s decision to add the question violated the Administrative Procedure Act. Federal judges in Maryland and California also have issued rulings to block the question`s inclusion, saying it would violate the Constitution`s mandate to enumerate the population every 10 years. Furman said the evidence showed that Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross concealed his true motives for adding the question and that he and his aides had convinced the Justice Department to request a citizenship question. Businesses also rely on census data to make critical strategic decisions, including where to invest capital. Citizenship has not been asked of all households since the 1950 census, featuring since then only on questionnaires sent to a smaller subset of the population. The Census Bureau's own experts estimated that households corresponding to 6.5 million people would not respond to the census if the citizenship question were asked. While only US citizens can vote, non-citizens comprise an estimated 7 per cent of the population. Evidence surfaced in May that the challengers said showed that the administration`s plan to add a citizenship question was intended to discriminate against racial minorities. Documents created by Republican strategist Thomas Hofeller, who died last year, showed that he was instrumental behind the scenes in instigating the addition of the citizenship question. He was an expert in drawing electoral district boundaries that maximize Republican chances of winning congressional elections. Hofeller concluded in a 2015 study that asking census respondents whether they are American citizens "would clearly be a disadvantage to the Democrats" and "advantageous to Republicans and Non-Hispanic Whites" in redrawing electoral districts based on census data. Hofeller suggested the voting rights rationale in the newly disclosed documents. The Trump administration called the newly surfaced evidence "conspiracy theory." Most people living in the United States will be asked to fill out the census, whether online or on paper, by March 2020.

US Supreme Court blocks Trump's census citizenship question, for now

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he could soon talk with North Korea's strongman leader Kim Jong-un even if they don't meet, reported news agency AFP.

The US president is headed to South Korea following this week's G20 summit in Japan.

"I'll be meeting with a lot of other people. Not him," AFP reported&nbsp;Trump as saying to reporters at the White House. "I may be speaking to him in a different form."

Nuclear talks between Washington and Pyongyang are deadlocked after a second summit between Kim and Trump broke up in Hanoi in February with the two unable to reach a deal on sanctions relief and what the North might give up in return.

Before the collapse of the Hanoi summit, Trump had said that he and Kim had an excellent relationship, and had even "fallen in love."

The two sides have had minimal contact and Trump is due to fly to Seoul at the weekend for a summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in.

Meanwhile, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un recently said he received a personal letter of "excellent content" from US President Donald Trump.

Kim "said with satisfaction that the letter is of excellent content," Korean Central News Agency reported.

"Appreciating the political judging faculty and extraordinary courage of President Trump, Kim Jong-un said that he would seriously contemplate the interesting content," KCNA said.

(With inputs from AFP)

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he could soon talk with North Korea's strongman leader Kim Jong-un even if they don't meet, reported news agency AFP. The US president is headed to South Korea following this week's G20 summit in Japan.

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he could soon talk with North Korea's strongman leader Kim Jong-un even if they don't meet, reported news agency AFP. The US president is headed to South Korea following this week's G20 summit in Japan. "I'll be meeting with a lot of other people. Not him," AFP reported Trump as saying to reporters at the White House. "I may be speaking to him in a different form." Nuclear talks between Washington and Pyongyang are deadlocked after a second summit between Kim and Trump broke up in Hanoi in February with the two unable to reach a deal on sanctions relief and what the North might give up in return. Before the collapse of the Hanoi summit, Trump had said that he and Kim had an excellent relationship, and had even "fallen in love." The two sides have had minimal contact and Trump is due to fly to Seoul at the weekend for a summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in. Meanwhile, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un recently said he received a personal letter of "excellent content" from US President Donald Trump. Kim "said with satisfaction that the letter is of excellent content," Korean Central News Agency reported. "Appreciating the political judging faculty and extraordinary courage of President Trump, Kim Jong-un said that he would seriously contemplate the interesting content," KCNA said. (With inputs from AFP)

Trump says may talk with Kim Jong-un, without meeting

WION EXCLUSIVE: In conversation with | Pramit Pal Chaudhuri | Senior journalist. Watch video to know more.

WION EXCLUSIVE: In conversation with | Pramit Pal Chaudhuri | Senior journalist

In an interview to FOX new network, US President Donald Trump has indicated that he is ready to slap tariffs on all remaining Chinese imports. Watch full video to know more.

US President Donald Trump hints at more tariffs on Chinese goods

Former Trump campaign chairman <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/trumps-ex-lawyer-michael-cohen-begins-3-year-jail-term-says-still-much-to-be-told-216528">Paul Manafort</a>, who was convicted of numerous federal crimes last year, is expected to plead not guilty on Thursday to residential mortgage fraud and other New York state charges, setting the stage for a showdown over whether those charges amount to double jeopardy.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/trumps-ex-campaign-chief-paul-manafort-jailed-for-43-more-months-203163">Manafort</a>, 70, is scheduled to appear before Justice Maxwell Wiley of the state Supreme Court on Thursday at 2:15pm &nbsp;EDT (1815 GMT) to face an indictment with 16 felony charges disclosed by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance in March.

The charges include mortgage fraud, conspiracy and falsifying records related to Manafort's efforts to obtain millions of dollars in loans on New York properties between 2015 and 2017. He served as chairman of US President Donald Trump's presidential campaign for three months until August 2016.

Todd Blanche, Manafort`s lawyer, told Reuters his client would plead not guilty. Blanche said he planned to bring a motion to dismiss the case on double jeopardy grounds, given that the charges centre on mortgage applications to two banks that were also at issue in Manafort`s federal trial last year.

Under New York law, a person can only be prosecuted twice for the same act if it meets certain exceptions such as at least one element of the crimes is distinct and the statutes address "very different kinds of harm or evil." Vance's office will likely argue an exception to New York`s double jeopardy protections is warranted in Manafort`s case.&nbsp;

Manafort is serving a 7-1/2-year sentence for tax fraud, bank fraud and other charges stemming from Special Counsel Robert Mueller`s federal investigation into Russia`s interference in the 2016 presidential election.

Federal prosecutors accused him of hiding $16 million from US tax authorities that he earned as a consultant for pro-Russian politicians in Ukraine and then lying to banks to obtain loans to maintain a luxury lifestyle.&nbsp;

The New York state charges have been widely seen as an attempt to ensure Manafort serves significant prison time even if Trump grants him a pardon, a prospect the president has not ruled out. US presidents have the power to pardon people for federal but not state crimes.

Manafort faces up to 25 years in prison in New York on the top state charges.&nbsp;

Manafort's legal woes in New York have attracted the attention of the US Justice Department, which earlier this month decided to keep him in federal custody while the state proceedings take place out of concern for his health and safety.

The intervention, which legal experts said was unusual and raised concerns of special treatment, ensured that Manafort would not be placed in New York`s Rikers Island jail complex pending trial.

Manafort was instead transferred to a federal facility in Manhattan on June 13 ahead of his arraignment. He had been housed at a low-security federal prison in Pennsylvania before the move.

Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, who was convicted of numerous federal crimes last year, is expected to plead not guilty on Thursday to residential mortgage fraud and other New York state charges, setting the stage for a showdown over whether those charges amount to double jeopardy.

Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, who was convicted of numerous federal crimes last year, is expected to plead not guilty on Thursday to residential mortgage fraud and other New York state charges, setting the stage for a showdown over whether those charges amount to double jeopardy. Manafort, 70, is scheduled to appear before Justice Maxwell Wiley of the state Supreme Court on Thursday at 2:15pm EDT (1815 GMT) to face an indictment with 16 felony charges disclosed by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance in March. The charges include mortgage fraud, conspiracy and falsifying records related to Manafort's efforts to obtain millions of dollars in loans on New York properties between 2015 and 2017. He served as chairman of US President Donald Trump's presidential campaign for three months until August 2016. Todd Blanche, Manafort`s lawyer, told Reuters his client would plead not guilty. Blanche said he planned to bring a motion to dismiss the case on double jeopardy grounds, given that the charges centre on mortgage applications to two banks that were also at issue in Manafort`s federal trial last year. Under New York law, a person can only be prosecuted twice for the same act if it meets certain exceptions such as at least one element of the crimes is distinct and the statutes address "very different kinds of harm or evil." Vance's office will likely argue an exception to New York`s double jeopardy protections is warranted in Manafort`s case. Manafort is serving a 7-1/2-year sentence for tax fraud, bank fraud and other charges stemming from Special Counsel Robert Mueller`s federal investigation into Russia`s interference in the 2016 presidential election. Federal prosecutors accused him of hiding $16 million from US tax authorities that he earned as a consultant for pro-Russian politicians in Ukraine and then lying to banks to obtain loans to maintain a luxury lifestyle. The New York state charges have been widely seen as an attempt to ensure Manafort serves significant prison time even if Trump grants him a pardon, a prospect the president has not ruled out. US presidents have the power to pardon people for federal but not state crimes. Manafort faces up to 25 years in prison in New York on the top state charges. Manafort's legal woes in New York have attracted the attention of the US Justice Department, which earlier this month decided to keep him in federal custody while the state proceedings take place out of concern for his health and safety. The intervention, which legal experts said was unusual and raised concerns of special treatment, ensured that Manafort would not be placed in New York`s Rikers Island jail complex pending trial. Manafort was instead transferred to a federal facility in Manhattan on June 13 ahead of his arraignment. He had been housed at a low-security federal prison in Pennsylvania before the move.

Ex-Trump aide Manafort to plead not guilty in New York

Asian markets rose Thursday as investors brushed off <a href="https://www.wionews.com/americas/donald-trump-xi-jinping-and-trade-a-high-stakes-game-of-chicken-216697">Donald Trump</a>'s latest dig at China and threatened to impose more tariffs on the country's goods if crunch talks with Xi Jinping fail this weekend.

Before setting off for the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/kim-and-trump-impersonators-wow-osaka-crowds-ahead-of-g20-summit-230561">G20 summit in Japan</a>, the president said in an interview that he had a "Plan B" in case the face-to-face talks show no progress, adding he would "take in billions and billions of dollars a month and we'll do less and less business with them".

He said Xi wanted to make a deal as "China's economy is going down the tubes".

His remarks on Fox Business Network came soon after Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the two sides were "90 per cent" of the way to an agreement when talks broke down last month, with the US blaming Beijing for backsliding.

Still, observers said traders were taking the latest developments with a pinch of salt.

"The market is unreactive to these types of headlines given that Trump has continued to adopt a 'good cop/bad cop' strategy with... Mnuchin," said Stephen Innes at Vanguard Markets.

"Instead, market participants are content to wait for Saturday's meeting to unfold where the proof will be in the pudding.

"A harmonious photo op could go a long way to soothing investors' concerns at the market open on Monday."

Oil steps back after the rally&nbsp;

However, while there is optimism for an eventual agreement, analysts say they are not expecting anything major to come out of the Osaka meeting.

OANDA senior market analyst Alfonso Esparza said: "The G20 is looking to be a disappointment to investors looking for a blockbuster trade deal to be announced and is now expected to yield a new round of talks between the US and China to be held later this year."

And Eli Lee, head of the investment strategy at Bank of Singapore, added: "Our baseline scenario is that both sides will commit to re-engaging in trade negotiations while Trump puts the final round of tariffs on hold for a few months."

Hong Kong added 1.4 per cent, Shanghai jumped 0.7 per cent and Tokyo ended up 1.2 per cent.

Sydney was 0.4 per cent higher, Singapore rose 0.7 per cent, Seoul put on 0.6 per cent and Taipei jumped 1.1 per cent. Wellington, Mumbai, Manila and Jakarta also rose.

In early trade London gained 0.3 per cent, Paris rose 0.2 per cent and Frankfurt gained 0.7 per cent.

Regional energy firms enjoyed healthy interest after a rally in oil prices Wednesday fuelled by data showing US inventories had seen their biggest weekly drop since September 2016 owing to a dip in US production and improving exports.&nbsp;

Brent rallied more than two per cent and WTI shot up almost three per cent on the news, though both edged down Thursday.

&nbsp;Key figures around 0810 GMT&nbsp;

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.2 percent at 21,338.17 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng: UP 1.4 per cent at 28,621.42 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.7 percent at 2,996.79 (close)

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.3 percent at 7,437.60

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1360 from $1.1366 at 2050 GMT

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2680 from $1.2685

Dollar/yen: UP at 108.04 yen from 107.78

Bitcoin: DOWN at $12,355 from $13,661

West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 21 cents at $59.17 per barrel

Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 37 cents at $66.12 per barrel

New York - Dow: FLAT at 26,536.82 (close)

Asian markets rose Thursday as investors brushed off Donald Trump's latest dig at China and threatened to impose more tariffs on the country's goods if crunch talks with Xi Jinping fail this weekend.

Asian markets rose Thursday as investors brushed off Donald Trump's latest dig at China and threatened to impose more tariffs on the country's goods if crunch talks with Xi Jinping fail this weekend. Before setting off for the G20 summit in Japan, the president said in an interview that he had a "Plan B" in case the face-to-face talks show no progress, adding he would "take in billions and billions of dollars a month and we'll do less and less business with them". He said Xi wanted to make a deal as "China's economy is going down the tubes". His remarks on Fox Business Network came soon after Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the two sides were "90 per cent" of the way to an agreement when talks broke down last month, with the US blaming Beijing for backsliding. Still, observers said traders were taking the latest developments with a pinch of salt. "The market is unreactive to these types of headlines given that Trump has continued to adopt a 'good cop/bad cop' strategy with... Mnuchin," said Stephen Innes at Vanguard Markets. "Instead, market participants are content to wait for Saturday's meeting to unfold where the proof will be in the pudding. "A harmonious photo op could go a long way to soothing investors' concerns at the market open on Monday." Oil steps back after the rally However, while there is optimism for an eventual agreement, analysts say they are not expecting anything major to come out of the Osaka meeting. OANDA senior market analyst Alfonso Esparza said: "The G20 is looking to be a disappointment to investors looking for a blockbuster trade deal to be announced and is now expected to yield a new round of talks between the US and China to be held later this year." And Eli Lee, head of the investment strategy at Bank of Singapore, added: "Our baseline scenario is that both sides will commit to re-engaging in trade negotiations while Trump puts the final round of tariffs on hold for a few months." Hong Kong added 1.4 per cent, Shanghai jumped 0.7 per cent and Tokyo ended up 1.2 per cent. Sydney was 0.4 per cent higher, Singapore rose 0.7 per cent, Seoul put on 0.6 per cent and Taipei jumped 1.1 per cent. Wellington, Mumbai, Manila and Jakarta also rose. In early trade London gained 0.3 per cent, Paris rose 0.2 per cent and Frankfurt gained 0.7 per cent. Regional energy firms enjoyed healthy interest after a rally in oil prices Wednesday fuelled by data showing US inventories had seen their biggest weekly drop since September 2016 owing to a dip in US production and improving exports. Brent rallied more than two per cent and WTI shot up almost three per cent on the news, though both edged down Thursday. Key figures around 0810 GMT Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.2 percent at 21,338.17 (close) Hong Kong - Hang Seng: UP 1.4 per cent at 28,621.42 (close) Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.7 percent at 2,996.79 (close) London - FTSE 100: UP 0.3 percent at 7,437.60 Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1360 from $1.1366 at 2050 GMT Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2680 from $1.2685 Dollar/yen: UP at 108.04 yen from 107.78 Bitcoin: DOWN at $12,355 from $13,661 West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 21 cents at $59.17 per barrel Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 37 cents at $66.12 per barrel New York - Dow: FLAT at 26,536.82 (close)

Asian markets rally as crucial Donald Trump-Xi Jin Ping meeting approaches

Time was running out for the United States to formulate a new strategy to revive denuclearisation talks, a senior North Korean diplomat said on Thursday, as a US envoy for North Korea is set to visit South Korea ahead of <a href="https://www.wionews.com/americas/north-koreas-missile-tests-not-breach-of-trust-us-president-donald-trump-217629">President Donald Trump</a>'s trip.

Negotiations have been stalled since the second summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi in February collapsed over differences between the US calls for complete denuclearisation and Kim's demands for sanctions relief.

Kim has said a third meeting would be possible only if Washington adopted a more flexible approach, setting a year-end deadline.

The United States is in behind-the-scenes talks with North Korea over a possible third summit and has proposed reopening working-level negotiations, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said on Wednesday.

Stephen Biegun, the US special envoy for North Korea who has led working-level talks, is scheduled to arrive in Seoul on Thursday ahead of Trump, who is due in South Korea at the weekend after visiting Japan for the G20 summit.

The United States and <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/trump-to-visit-south-korea-as-pompeo-raises-hope-for-new-north-korea-talks-after-letter-230158">North Korea</a> have held working-level meetings in the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas in the run-up to the Hanoi summit, but it was unclear whether Biegun will attend such talks this time.

Kwon Jong Gun, director-general for US affairs at the North's foreign ministry, said the United States continues to speak of dialogue while "becoming more and more desperate in its hostile acts."

He did not elaborate, but a foreign ministry spokesman said on Wednesday that the recent US extension of sanctions against North Korea was an act of hostility and an outright challenge to the first summit between Kim and Trump in Singapore last year.

"The dialogue would not open by itself through the United States repeatedly talks about resumption of dialogue like a parrot without considering any realistic proposal that would fully conform with the interests of both sides," Kwon said in a statement carried by Pyongyang's official KCNA news agency.

"If the United States is to move towards producing a result, time will not be enough."

In contrast, US officials have raised hopes for a restart of official talks following a recent exchange of letters between Trump and Kim.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Sunday called a fresh round of nuclear talks a "very real possibility," following a letter sent to Kim by Trump.

KCNA has said Trump's letter had "excellent content" and Kim would "seriously contemplate" it, without elaborating.

Trump is expected to send "some kind of message" to the North from the DMZ during his trip, South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon said on Thursday.

Trump tried to go to the DMZ, where Kim and Moon held a historic first summit last year, on a 2017 visit to South Korea, but heavy fog prevented it.

Trump said on Wednesday he would not meet with Kim during his stay in the South and US officials have declined to comment on whether Trump will travel to the DMZ.

Kwon said any new talks should be led by a "counterpart who has a good sense of communication."

The North has accused Pompeo of making "gangster-like" demands and urged a replacement with someone "more mature" while lauding the rapport Kim has built with Trump.

Wednesday's statement by the North singled out his recent remarks that more than 80 per cent of the North Korean economy had been affected by sanctions as "reckless" and "sophistry."

Biegun is scheduled to meet with his counterpart Lee Do-hoon and other Seoul officials on Friday to explore ways to reopen nuclear talks, a South Korean foreign ministry spokesman said.

But there are few signs that the United States and North Korea are any closers to a deal, with both saying they are open to talks but calling for the other side to change policy.

Reclusive North Korea has for years pursued missile and nuclear weapons programs in defiance of UN Security Council resolutions.

Tension has mounted since the breakdown of the Hanoi summit. The North tested new short-range missiles in May and Washington imposed fresh sanctions and seized a North Korean ship suspected of illicit coal shipments.

Seoul's unification minister said on Thursday that inter-Korea commercial projects that could channel millions of dollars a year to Pyongyang could be leveraged to boost nuclear talks.

But the North said Seoul will never mediate between Washington and Pyongyang.

"As is globally known, the DPRK-US relations are moving forward on the basis of the personal relations" between Kim and Trump, Kwon said, using the initials of North Korea's full name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

"Therefore, there will be no such happening where anything will go through the South Korean authorities."

Time was running out for the United States to formulate a new strategy to revive denuclearisation talks, a senior North Korean diplomat said on Thursday, as a US envoy for North Korea is set to visit South Korea ahead of President Donald Trump's trip.

Time was running out for the United States to formulate a new strategy to revive denuclearisation talks, a senior North Korean diplomat said on Thursday, as a US envoy for North Korea is set to visit South Korea ahead of President Donald Trump's trip. Negotiations have been stalled since the second summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi in February collapsed over differences between the US calls for complete denuclearisation and Kim's demands for sanctions relief. Kim has said a third meeting would be possible only if Washington adopted a more flexible approach, setting a year-end deadline. The United States is in behind-the-scenes talks with North Korea over a possible third summit and has proposed reopening working-level negotiations, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said on Wednesday. Stephen Biegun, the US special envoy for North Korea who has led working-level talks, is scheduled to arrive in Seoul on Thursday ahead of Trump, who is due in South Korea at the weekend after visiting Japan for the G20 summit. The United States and North Korea have held working-level meetings in the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas in the run-up to the Hanoi summit, but it was unclear whether Biegun will attend such talks this time. Kwon Jong Gun, director-general for US affairs at the North's foreign ministry, said the United States continues to speak of dialogue while "becoming more and more desperate in its hostile acts." He did not elaborate, but a foreign ministry spokesman said on Wednesday that the recent US extension of sanctions against North Korea was an act of hostility and an outright challenge to the first summit between Kim and Trump in Singapore last year. "The dialogue would not open by itself through the United States repeatedly talks about resumption of dialogue like a parrot without considering any realistic proposal that would fully conform with the interests of both sides," Kwon said in a statement carried by Pyongyang's official KCNA news agency. "If the United States is to move towards producing a result, time will not be enough." In contrast, US officials have raised hopes for a restart of official talks following a recent exchange of letters between Trump and Kim. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Sunday called a fresh round of nuclear talks a "very real possibility," following a letter sent to Kim by Trump. KCNA has said Trump's letter had "excellent content" and Kim would "seriously contemplate" it, without elaborating. Trump is expected to send "some kind of message" to the North from the DMZ during his trip, South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon said on Thursday. Trump tried to go to the DMZ, where Kim and Moon held a historic first summit last year, on a 2017 visit to South Korea, but heavy fog prevented it. Trump said on Wednesday he would not meet with Kim during his stay in the South and US officials have declined to comment on whether Trump will travel to the DMZ. Kwon said any new talks should be led by a "counterpart who has a good sense of communication." The North has accused Pompeo of making "gangster-like" demands and urged a replacement with someone "more mature" while lauding the rapport Kim has built with Trump. Wednesday's statement by the North singled out his recent remarks that more than 80 per cent of the North Korean economy had been affected by sanctions as "reckless" and "sophistry." Biegun is scheduled to meet with his counterpart Lee Do-hoon and other Seoul officials on Friday to explore ways to reopen nuclear talks, a South Korean foreign ministry spokesman said. But there are few signs that the United States and North Korea are any closers to a deal, with both saying they are open to talks but calling for the other side to change policy. Reclusive North Korea has for years pursued missile and nuclear weapons programs in defiance of UN Security Council resolutions. Tension has mounted since the breakdown of the Hanoi summit. The North tested new short-range missiles in May and Washington imposed fresh sanctions and seized a North Korean ship suspected of illicit coal shipments. Seoul's unification minister said on Thursday that inter-Korea commercial projects that could channel millions of dollars a year to Pyongyang could be leveraged to boost nuclear talks. But the North said Seoul will never mediate between Washington and Pyongyang. "As is globally known, the DPRK-US relations are moving forward on the basis of the personal relations" between Kim and Trump, Kwon said, using the initials of North Korea's full name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. "Therefore, there will be no such happening where anything will go through the South Korean authorities."

North Korea says time running out for fresh talks as US envoy due in South Korea

The Iran-backed Lebanese Shi'ite group <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/britain-to-ban-hezbollah-under-anti-terror-laws-199666">Hezbollah</a> believes a US war on Iran is unlikely and <a href="https://www.wionews.com/opinions/donald-trumps-decision-has-emboldened-iran-to-take-on-more-risks-230489">US President Donald Trump</a> would not be able to control the results of a conflict that could engulf the region.

Sheikh Naim Qassem, in an interview with Lebanon's al-Joumhouria newspaper, said such a war would be fought on many fronts, not just one, meaning losses would be countless.

"At the regional level, we see as unlikely an American war against Iran for many reasons, the most important of them being first that Iran is a strong state with important defensive capabilities," Qassem said.

Trump "does not benefit from a war that he can start but whose results he cannot control and which might begin with Iran but may be accompanied by the region being set on fire", he said.

Hezbollah is a heavily armed group founded by Iran's Revolutionary Guards in 1982 that has fought more recently in regional conflicts including Syria and Iraq as part of a Tehran-backed alliance.

Qassem noted what he described as "the great accomplishments" of the alliance led by Iran over the last two decades in "Palestine, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen and elsewhere".

The United States views Hezbollah as a terrorist group.

On Wednesday, Trump said any war between Iran and the United States would be swift, but reiterated his desire to avoid a military confrontation even while blasting Tehran’s leaders.

The United States has imposed crippling financial sanctions against Iran since last year when Trump withdrew from a 2015 deal between Tehran and world powers under which Iran curbed its nuclear programme.

Tension has escalated sharply since last month when the Trump administration tightened its sanctions noose, ordering all countries to halt purchases of Iranian oil.

The Iran-backed Lebanese Shi'ite group Hezbollah believes a US war on Iran is unlikely and US President Donald Trump would not be able to control the results of a conflict that could engulf the region.

The Iran-backed Lebanese Shi'ite group Hezbollah believes a US war on Iran is unlikely and US President Donald Trump would not be able to control the results of a conflict that could engulf the region. Sheikh Naim Qassem, in an interview with Lebanon's al-Joumhouria newspaper, said such a war would be fought on many fronts, not just one, meaning losses would be countless. "At the regional level, we see as unlikely an American war against Iran for many reasons, the most important of them being first that Iran is a strong state with important defensive capabilities," Qassem said. Trump "does not benefit from a war that he can start but whose results he cannot control and which might begin with Iran but may be accompanied by the region being set on fire", he said. Hezbollah is a heavily armed group founded by Iran's Revolutionary Guards in 1982 that has fought more recently in regional conflicts including Syria and Iraq as part of a Tehran-backed alliance. Qassem noted what he described as "the great accomplishments" of the alliance led by Iran over the last two decades in "Palestine, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen and elsewhere". The United States views Hezbollah as a terrorist group. On Wednesday, Trump said any war between Iran and the United States would be swift, but reiterated his desire to avoid a military confrontation even while blasting Tehran’s leaders. The United States has imposed crippling financial sanctions against Iran since last year when Trump withdrew from a 2015 deal between Tehran and world powers under which Iran curbed its nuclear programme. Tension has escalated sharply since last month when the Trump administration tightened its sanctions noose, ordering all countries to halt purchases of Iranian oil.

Hezbollah sees United States war on Iran as unlikely: Report

US President Donald Trump set the tone Thursday for what promises to be a stormy <a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/indias-tariffs-are-in-line-with-world-trade-organisation-rules-says-govt-sources-after-trumps-high-tariffs-charge-230762">G20 summit </a>by lashing out at friends and foes alike over trade tariffs and foreign policy.

The long-running US-China trade war looked set to dominate the two-day meeting of world leaders in Osaka from Friday but clashes also loomed over climate and a series of hotspots ranging from North Korea to Iran.

On board Air Force One en route to Japan, Trump fired off a characteristically bullish tweet, chiding long-standing ally India for "unacceptable" tariffs on American goods.

"India, for years having put very high Tariffs against the United States, just recently increased the Tariffs even further. This is unacceptable and the Tariffs must be withdrawn," tweeted Trump.

The US president had earlier taken aim at China, saying Beijing wanted to do a deal because the world's <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/trump-xi-trade-meeting-set-for-saturday-morning-in-osaka-white-house-230701">number-two economy</a> was "going down the tubes".

Furious at what he sees as an unfair advantage in the trading system, Trump has already hit Beijing with $200 billion in levies on Chinese imports and appeared to threaten more.

"You have another $325 billion that I haven't taxed yet -- it's ripe for taxing, for putting tariffs on," he said in an interview with Fox Business Network.

Chinese President Xi Jinping touched down in Osaka several hours before Trump in driving rain as a potential typhoon edges towards Japan. The two leaders are expected to meet Saturday.

Barely pulling its punches, Chinese state-run news agency Xinhua said a "certain country in the G20 resorts to such tactics as raising tariffs and threatening trade wars to make it's trading partners knuckle under to unreasonable demands".

Such "unilateral bullying" could have "potentially devastating consequences for global prosperity," Xinhua said in an editorial.

Most experts say a formal deal is unlikely at the summit due to a lack of time to prepare the complex issues involved and believe a ceasefire and commitment to keep talking is the most likely outcome.

"I would be very, very surprised if they could work out all of these complicated disagreements in the next few days," said David Dollar, a China expert at the Washington-based Brookings Institution.

"What I'm looking for is whether there's some kind of mini-deal and the most important aspect of that would be the US agreeing to hold off on the next round of tariffs," added Dollar.

"I think if Xi Jinping and President Trump have some negotiations... that will have a very positive impact on the world economy," Naoyuki&nbsp;Yoshino, head of the Asian Development Bank Institute, told.

'Never seeks war'&nbsp;

While US-China trade is likely to dominate the meeting, world leaders are also facing a perfect storm of geopolitical hotspots from Iran to North Korea and Venezuela.

Tensions with Tehran are at fever pitch after Trump pulled back from military action at the last minute in response to the downing of an unmanned US drone.

Before leaving for the G20, Trump said he did not seek conflict with the long-time US foe but warned it "wouldn't last very long" if war did break out.

Iran will be one of several topics when Trump meets his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the meeting, along with arms control, the crisis in Venezuela, and Ukraine.

"I'll have a very good conversation with him," Trump told reporters at the White House. "What I say to him is none of your business."

Sony television&nbsp;

Hosts Japan have desperately tried to steer attention away from the Trump show and on to the formal aspects of their G20 agenda, including the challenges posed by ageing populations and climate change.

"Confrontation tends to attract attention... but Japan, as the chair, hopes to find common ground rather than differences in opinions," said Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as he left Tokyo for Osaka.

But tensions over the final statement on climate change are likely to burst into the open, with a German source saying it was "particularly difficult this year" to reach an agreement.

EU Council President Donald Tusk summed up the pre-meeting mood by predicting "a difficult summit" in talks with Abe, according to a Japanese government source.

And Trump appeared in no mood for compromise, hitting out at traditional allies one-by-one, even his hosts.

He described Vietnam as the "single worst abuser" on trade, lashed Germany as "delinquent" on funding contributions to NATO, and mocked Japan, which has been under a US military umbrella since World War II.

"If Japan is attacked, we will fight World War III. We will go in and protect them with our lives and with our treasure," he said. "But if we're attacked, Japan doesn't have to help us. They can watch it on a Sony television."

US President Donald Trump set the tone Thursday for what promises to be a stormy G20 summit by lashing out at friends and foes alike over trade tariffs and foreign policy.

US President Donald Trump set the tone Thursday for what promises to be a stormy G20 summit by lashing out at friends and foes alike over trade tariffs and foreign policy. The long-running US-China trade war looked set to dominate the two-day meeting of world leaders in Osaka from Friday but clashes also loomed over climate and a series of hotspots ranging from North Korea to Iran. On board Air Force One en route to Japan, Trump fired off a characteristically bullish tweet, chiding long-standing ally India for "unacceptable" tariffs on American goods. "India, for years having put very high Tariffs against the United States, just recently increased the Tariffs even further. This is unacceptable and the Tariffs must be withdrawn," tweeted Trump. The US president had earlier taken aim at China, saying Beijing wanted to do a deal because the world's number-two economy was "going down the tubes". Furious at what he sees as an unfair advantage in the trading system, Trump has already hit Beijing with $200 billion in levies on Chinese imports and appeared to threaten more. "You have another $325 billion that I haven't taxed yet -- it's ripe for taxing, for putting tariffs on," he said in an interview with Fox Business Network. Chinese President Xi Jinping touched down in Osaka several hours before Trump in driving rain as a potential typhoon edges towards Japan. The two leaders are expected to meet Saturday. Barely pulling its punches, Chinese state-run news agency Xinhua said a "certain country in the G20 resorts to such tactics as raising tariffs and threatening trade wars to make it's trading partners knuckle under to unreasonable demands". Such "unilateral bullying" could have "potentially devastating consequences for global prosperity," Xinhua said in an editorial. Most experts say a formal deal is unlikely at the summit due to a lack of time to prepare the complex issues involved and believe a ceasefire and commitment to keep talking is the most likely outcome. "I would be very, very surprised if they could work out all of these complicated disagreements in the next few days," said David Dollar, a China expert at the Washington-based Brookings Institution. "What I'm looking for is whether there's some kind of mini-deal and the most important aspect of that would be the US agreeing to hold off on the next round of tariffs," added Dollar. "I think if Xi Jinping and President Trump have some negotiations... that will have a very positive impact on the world economy," Naoyuki Yoshino, head of the Asian Development Bank Institute, told. 'Never seeks war' While US-China trade is likely to dominate the meeting, world leaders are also facing a perfect storm of geopolitical hotspots from Iran to North Korea and Venezuela. Tensions with Tehran are at fever pitch after Trump pulled back from military action at the last minute in response to the downing of an unmanned US drone. Before leaving for the G20, Trump said he did not seek conflict with the long-time US foe but warned it "wouldn't last very long" if war did break out. Iran will be one of several topics when Trump meets his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the meeting, along with arms control, the crisis in Venezuela, and Ukraine. "I'll have a very good conversation with him," Trump told reporters at the White House. "What I say to him is none of your business." Sony television Hosts Japan have desperately tried to steer attention away from the Trump show and on to the formal aspects of their G20 agenda, including the challenges posed by ageing populations and climate change. "Confrontation tends to attract attention... but Japan, as the chair, hopes to find common ground rather than differences in opinions," said Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as he left Tokyo for Osaka. But tensions over the final statement on climate change are likely to burst into the open, with a German source saying it was "particularly difficult this year" to reach an agreement. EU Council President Donald Tusk summed up the pre-meeting mood by predicting "a difficult summit" in talks with Abe, according to a Japanese government source. And Trump appeared in no mood for compromise, hitting out at traditional allies one-by-one, even his hosts. He described Vietnam as the "single worst abuser" on trade, lashed Germany as "delinquent" on funding contributions to NATO, and mocked Japan, which has been under a US military umbrella since World War II. "If Japan is attacked, we will fight World War III. We will go in and protect them with our lives and with our treasure," he said. "But if we're attacked, Japan doesn't have to help us. They can watch it on a Sony television."

Feisty US President Donald Trump sets tone ahead of G20 Summit in Japan's Osaka

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/iran-says-it-has-indisputable-evidence-us-drone-violated-its-airspace-229116">Iran</a> warned the United States against violating its borders, with parliament speaker Ali Larijani threatening a stronger reaction, the Tasnim news agency said on Thursday, a week after <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/have-military-intelligence-to-show-us-drone-was-iranian-airspace-russia-230296">Tehran shot down a US drone</a>, spiking tension between them.

"The downing of their drone was a good experience for them to avoid any aggression against our borders," the semi-official agency quoted Larijani as saying late on Wednesday.

"Iran's reaction will be stronger if they repeat their mistake of violating our borders."

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/with-us-drone-p-8-plane-with-35-on-board-also-entered-airspace-we-could-have-shot-it-down-but-didnt-iran-revolutionary-guard-229268">Iran</a> said the unmanned US aircraft was in its air space, which Washington denied&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/trump-says-hard-to-believe-iranian-shooting-down-of-us-drone-was-intentional-229050">Trump</a> ordered retaliatory air strikes but called them off at the last minute, later saying too many people would have died.

The rhetoric between the sides has heated up, with Trump threatening Iran's "obliteration". On Wednesday, Trump said any war between Iran and the United States would be swift, but reiterated his desire to avoid a military confrontation even while blasting Tehran’s leaders.

Some 116 Iranian human rights defenders and groups around the globe have warned of "devastating" consequences of a military conflict between the arch-foes, said the New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI).

"We also fear that military action against Iran will be disastrous for millions of ordinary people and could lead to the type of violent sectarian civil conflict seen in neighbouring countries," said a statement signed by activists, lawyers and journalists.

Tehran and Washington have been at odds since last year when Trump exited Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with major powers and reimposed sanctions that had been lifted under the pact in return for Tehran limiting its nuclear work, including its enrichment of uranium.

In reaction to Washington's increasingly crippling sanctions, Tehran has quadrupled its production of uranium and said on Wednesday it will exceed limits, set by the nuclear deal, on its enrichment of uranium as of Thursday unless EU took steps to save the deal.

In an unprecedented step that has increased tensions, Trump on Monday targeted Iran’s top authority Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other senior Iranian officials with new US sanctions. Iran has rejected the latest sanctions as an "idiotic" move.

Iran warned the United States against violating its borders, with parliament speaker Ali Larijani threatening a stronger reaction, the Tasnim news agency said on Thursday, a week after Tehran shot down a US drone, spiking tension between them.

Iran warned the United States against violating its borders, with parliament speaker Ali Larijani threatening a stronger reaction, the Tasnim news agency said on Thursday, a week after Tehran shot down a US drone, spiking tension between them. "The downing of their drone was a good experience for them to avoid any aggression against our borders," the semi-official agency quoted Larijani as saying late on Wednesday. "Iran's reaction will be stronger if they repeat their mistake of violating our borders." Iran said the unmanned US aircraft was in its air space, which Washington denied Trump ordered retaliatory air strikes but called them off at the last minute, later saying too many people would have died. The rhetoric between the sides has heated up, with Trump threatening Iran's "obliteration". On Wednesday, Trump said any war between Iran and the United States would be swift, but reiterated his desire to avoid a military confrontation even while blasting Tehran’s leaders. Some 116 Iranian human rights defenders and groups around the globe have warned of "devastating" consequences of a military conflict between the arch-foes, said the New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI). "We also fear that military action against Iran will be disastrous for millions of ordinary people and could lead to the type of violent sectarian civil conflict seen in neighbouring countries," said a statement signed by activists, lawyers and journalists. Tehran and Washington have been at odds since last year when Trump exited Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with major powers and reimposed sanctions that had been lifted under the pact in return for Tehran limiting its nuclear work, including its enrichment of uranium. In reaction to Washington's increasingly crippling sanctions, Tehran has quadrupled its production of uranium and said on Wednesday it will exceed limits, set by the nuclear deal, on its enrichment of uranium as of Thursday unless EU took steps to save the deal. In an unprecedented step that has increased tensions, Trump on Monday targeted Iran’s top authority Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other senior Iranian officials with new US sanctions. Iran has rejected the latest sanctions as an "idiotic" move.

Iran warns United States of stronger reaction if its borders violated again: Tasnim

US President Donald Trump today said India's imposition of retaliatory tariffs was "unacceptable" and must be withdrawn. In a tweet this morning, he said he was looking forward to discussing the matter with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The two leaders have a bilateral summit scheduled tomorrow on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Japan's Osaka.

'Tariffs must be withdrawn': Trump's message to PM Modi before G20 meeting

The race is being aided and abetted by a US policy that views the region through the dual prism of the need to stop in its tracks an aggressive, expansionary and destabilising Islamic republic that seeks to dominate and as a lucrative market for the US defence and nuclear industry.

The race is further enabled by the inability or unwillingness of other major powers – Europe, Russia and China – to counter crippling US sanctions against Iran in ways that would ensure that Tehran maintains an interest in adhering to the 2015 international agreement that curbed the Iranian nuclear program despite last year’s US withdrawal from the deal.

With the Middle East teetering on the brink of a military confrontation, Iran has vowed to next month start breaching the agreement if the international community, and particularly Europe, fails to shield it against US sanctions.

Former International Atomic Energy Agency (IEA) deputy director general Olli Heinonen, a hard-liner when it comes to Iran, asserted recently during a visit to Israel that Iran would need six to eight months to enrich uranium in the quantity and quality required to produce a nuclear bomb.

The US and Chinese willingness to lower safeguards in their nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia further fuel Iranian doubts about the value of the nuclear agreement and potentially open the door to a nuclear arms race.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo left this weekend for visits to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates before joining President Donald J Trump for visits to India and South Korea and talks with world leaders at a Group of 20 (G20) summit in Japan.

“We’ll be talking with them about how to make sure that we are all strategically aligned, and how we can build out a global coalition, a coalition not only throughout the Gulf states, but in Asia and in Europe…to push back against the world’s largest state sponsor of terror,” Pompeo said as he departed Washington.

Trump this weekend detailed the prism through which he approaches the Middle East in a wide-ranging interview with NBC News.

The president deflected calls for an FBI investigation into last October’s murder by Saudi government agents of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul.

“Iran’s killed many, many people a day. Other countries in the Middle East ― this is a hostile place. This is a vicious, hostile place. If you’re going to look at Saudi Arabia, look at Iran, look at other countries,” Trump said, suggesting that crimes by one country provide a license to others.

Asked whether Saudi arms buying was reason to let Saudi Arabia off the hook, Trump responded: “No, no. But I’m not like a fool that says, ‘We don’t want to do business with them.’ And by the way, if they don’t do business with us, you know what they do? They’ll do business with the Russians or with the Chinese.”

Trump and other senior US officials reiterated in recent days that they would not allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon.

Europe has so far unsuccessfully sought to put in place an effective mechanism that would allow European and potentially non-European companies that do business with Iran to circumvent US sanctions unscathed.&nbsp;

As the United States prepared to announce new sanctions, Russia said it would help Iran with oil exports and its banking sector if the European mechanism failed to get off the ground but offered no details.

While countering the sanctions is Iran’s immediate priority, Saudi moves, with the help of the Trump administration as well as China, to put in place the building blocks for a nuclear industry that could develop a military component and a ballistic missiles capability are likely to enhance Iranian questioning of the nuclear accord’s value.

Trump’s argument that Russia and China would fill America’s shoes if the United States refused to sell arms and technology to Saudi Arabia is not wholly without merit even if it fails to justify a lack of safeguards in the provision of nuclear technology to the kingdom.

With the United States refusing to share its most advanced drone technology, China opened in 2017 its first overseas defense production facility in Saudi Arabia. State-owned China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) is manufacturing its CH-4 Caihong, or Rainbow drone as well as associated equipment in Saudi Arabia. The CH-4 is comparable to the US armed MQ-9 Reaper drone.

Satellite images discovered by the Middlebury Institute of International Studies and confirmed by US intelligence show that Saudi Arabia has significantly escalated its ballistic missile program with the help of China.

The missile programme runs counter to US policy that for decades sought to ensure that Saudi Arabia had air supremacy in the region so that it wouldn't seek to go around the US to upgrade its missile capabilities.

The programme that started in the late 1980s with Saudi Arabia’s first clandestine missile purchases from China suggests that the kingdom, uncertain about the reliability of the United States, is increasingly hedging its bets.

Saudi development of a ballistic missile capability significantly dims any prospect of Iran agreeing to limit its missile programme – a key demand put forward by the Trump administration.

Saudi Arabia signed in 2017 a nuclear energy cooperation agreement with China that included a feasibility study for the construction of high-temperature gas-cooled (HTGR) nuclear power plants in the kingdom as well as cooperation in intellectual property and the development of a domestic industrial supply chain for HTGRs built in Saudi Arabia.

The HTGR agreement built on an accord signed in 2012 that involved maintenance and development of nuclear power plants and research reactors, as well as the provision of Chinese nuclear fuel.

The Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) warned at the time that the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement had “not eliminated the kingdom’s desire for nuclear weapons capabilities and even nuclear weapons.”

The Trump administration, eager to corner a deal for the acquisition of designs for nuclear power plants, a contract valued at up to $80 billion depending on how many Saudi Arabia ultimately decides to build, has approved several nuclear technology transfers to the kingdom.

It has also approved licences for six US firms to sell atomic power technology to Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia is nearing completion of its first atomic reactor in the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology near Riyadh.

A signatory of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), Saudi Arabia has ignored calls by the IEA, to implement proportionate safeguards and an inspection regime that would ensure that it does not move towards the development of a nuclear military capability.

"Saudi Arabia is currently subject to less intrusive monitoring by international inspectors because Riyadh concluded what is known as a small quantities protocol with the agency. The small quantities protocol was designed to simplify safeguards for states with minimal or no nuclear material, but it is no longer adequate for Saudi Arabia's expanding nuclear programme,” Kelsey Davenport, director of Non-proliferation Policy at the Arms Control Association, told Middle East Eye.

Davenport warned that “given these factors, there are legitimate reasons to be concerned that Saudi Arabia is seeking to develop the technical capabilities that would allow Riyadh to quickly pursue nuclear weapons if the political decision were made to do so." 
 
(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL.)&nbsp;

The race is being aided and abetted by a US policy that views the region through the dual prism of the need to stop in its tracks an aggressive, expansionary and destabilising Islamic republic that seeks to dominate and as a lucrative market for the US defence and nuclear industry.

The race is being aided and abetted by a US policy that views the region through the dual prism of the need to stop in its tracks an aggressive, expansionary and destabilising Islamic republic that seeks to dominate and as a lucrative market for the US defence and nuclear industry. The race is further enabled by the inability or unwillingness of other major powers – Europe, Russia and China – to counter crippling US sanctions against Iran in ways that would ensure that Tehran maintains an interest in adhering to the 2015 international agreement that curbed the Iranian nuclear program despite last year’s US withdrawal from the deal. With the Middle East teetering on the brink of a military confrontation, Iran has vowed to next month start breaching the agreement if the international community, and particularly Europe, fails to shield it against US sanctions. Former International Atomic Energy Agency (IEA) deputy director general Olli Heinonen, a hard-liner when it comes to Iran, asserted recently during a visit to Israel that Iran would need six to eight months to enrich uranium in the quantity and quality required to produce a nuclear bomb. The US and Chinese willingness to lower safeguards in their nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia further fuel Iranian doubts about the value of the nuclear agreement and potentially open the door to a nuclear arms race. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo left this weekend for visits to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates before joining President Donald J Trump for visits to India and South Korea and talks with world leaders at a Group of 20 (G20) summit in Japan. “We’ll be talking with them about how to make sure that we are all strategically aligned, and how we can build out a global coalition, a coalition not only throughout the Gulf states, but in Asia and in Europe…to push back against the world’s largest state sponsor of terror,” Pompeo said as he departed Washington. Trump this weekend detailed the prism through which he approaches the Middle East in a wide-ranging interview with NBC News. The president deflected calls for an FBI investigation into last October’s murder by Saudi government agents of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul. “Iran’s killed many, many people a day. Other countries in the Middle East ― this is a hostile place. This is a vicious, hostile place. If you’re going to look at Saudi Arabia, look at Iran, look at other countries,” Trump said, suggesting that crimes by one country provide a license to others. Asked whether Saudi arms buying was reason to let Saudi Arabia off the hook, Trump responded: “No, no. But I’m not like a fool that says, ‘We don’t want to do business with them.’ And by the way, if they don’t do business with us, you know what they do? They’ll do business with the Russians or with the Chinese.” Trump and other senior US officials reiterated in recent days that they would not allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon. Europe has so far unsuccessfully sought to put in place an effective mechanism that would allow European and potentially non-European companies that do business with Iran to circumvent US sanctions unscathed. As the United States prepared to announce new sanctions, Russia said it would help Iran with oil exports and its banking sector if the European mechanism failed to get off the ground but offered no details. While countering the sanctions is Iran’s immediate priority, Saudi moves, with the help of the Trump administration as well as China, to put in place the building blocks for a nuclear industry that could develop a military component and a ballistic missiles capability are likely to enhance Iranian questioning of the nuclear accord’s value. Trump’s argument that Russia and China would fill America’s shoes if the United States refused to sell arms and technology to Saudi Arabia is not wholly without merit even if it fails to justify a lack of safeguards in the provision of nuclear technology to the kingdom. With the United States refusing to share its most advanced drone technology, China opened in 2017 its first overseas defense production facility in Saudi Arabia. State-owned China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) is manufacturing its CH-4 Caihong, or Rainbow drone as well as associated equipment in Saudi Arabia. The CH-4 is comparable to the US armed MQ-9 Reaper drone. Satellite images discovered by the Middlebury Institute of International Studies and confirmed by US intelligence show that Saudi Arabia has significantly escalated its ballistic missile program with the help of China. The missile programme runs counter to US policy that for decades sought to ensure that Saudi Arabia had air supremacy in the region so that it wouldn't seek to go around the US to upgrade its missile capabilities. The programme that started in the late 1980s with Saudi Arabia’s first clandestine missile purchases from China suggests that the kingdom, uncertain about the reliability of the United States, is increasingly hedging its bets. Saudi development of a ballistic missile capability significantly dims any prospect of Iran agreeing to limit its missile programme – a key demand put forward by the Trump administration. Saudi Arabia signed in 2017 a nuclear energy cooperation agreement with China that included a feasibility study for the construction of high-temperature gas-cooled (HTGR) nuclear power plants in the kingdom as well as cooperation in intellectual property and the development of a domestic industrial supply chain for HTGRs built in Saudi Arabia. The HTGR agreement built on an accord signed in 2012 that involved maintenance and development of nuclear power plants and research reactors, as well as the provision of Chinese nuclear fuel. The Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) warned at the time that the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement had “not eliminated the kingdom’s desire for nuclear weapons capabilities and even nuclear weapons.” The Trump administration, eager to corner a deal for the acquisition of designs for nuclear power plants, a contract valued at up to $80 billion depending on how many Saudi Arabia ultimately decides to build, has approved several nuclear technology transfers to the kingdom. It has also approved licences for six US firms to sell atomic power technology to Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is nearing completion of its first atomic reactor in the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology near Riyadh. A signatory of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), Saudi Arabia has ignored calls by the IEA, to implement proportionate safeguards and an inspection regime that would ensure that it does not move towards the development of a nuclear military capability. "Saudi Arabia is currently subject to less intrusive monitoring by international inspectors because Riyadh concluded what is known as a small quantities protocol with the agency. The small quantities protocol was designed to simplify safeguards for states with minimal or no nuclear material, but it is no longer adequate for Saudi Arabia's expanding nuclear programme,” Kelsey Davenport, director of Non-proliferation Policy at the Arms Control Association, told Middle East Eye. Davenport warned that “given these factors, there are legitimate reasons to be concerned that Saudi Arabia is seeking to develop the technical capabilities that would allow Riyadh to quickly pursue nuclear weapons if the political decision were made to do so." (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL.)

Middle East is barrelling towards nuclear and ballistic missiles arms race

President Hassan Rouhani said Iran "never seeks war" with the US, state media reported Wednesday amid a <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-would-not-dare-violate-iranian-soil-revolutionary-guards-commander-230496">spike in tensions between the two countries</a>.

"Iran has no interest to increase tension in the region and it never seeks war with any country, including (the) US," the president said, quoted by state news agency IRNA.

Rouhani was speaking by phone to his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, as Tehran and Washington engaged in an escalating war of words following Iran shooting down a US drone last week.

"We have always been committed to regional peace and stability and will make efforts in this respect," the Iranian president told Macron.

US President Donald Trump said he pulled back from retaliatory strikes on Iran at the last minute, rejecting Tehran's claim that the aircraft was in its airspace.

But pressure mounted this week with Trump announcing sanctions on Iran's supreme leader and top officials.

The new measures are the latest against Tehran since Trump pulled out of a landmark nuclear accord between Iran and world powers.

Rouhani blamed the United States for regional tensions Wednesday and said if Washington had stuck to the deal "we would have witnessed positive developments in the region".

Iran announced in May it would suspend two of its pledges under the 2015 deal, giving the agreement's remaining supporters two months to help it circumvent US sanctions.

On Tuesday Tehran's top security official said Iran would "forcefully" reduce further commitments from July 7.

President Hassan Rouhani said Iran "never seeks war" with the US, state media reported Wednesday amid a spike in tensions between the two countries. "Iran has no interest to increase tension in the region and it never seeks war with any country, including (the) US," the president said, quoted by state news agency IRNA.

President Hassan Rouhani said Iran "never seeks war" with the US, state media reported Wednesday amid a spike in tensions between the two countries. "Iran has no interest to increase tension in the region and it never seeks war with any country, including (the) US," the president said, quoted by state news agency IRNA. Rouhani was speaking by phone to his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, as Tehran and Washington engaged in an escalating war of words following Iran shooting down a US drone last week. "We have always been committed to regional peace and stability and will make efforts in this respect," the Iranian president told Macron. US President Donald Trump said he pulled back from retaliatory strikes on Iran at the last minute, rejecting Tehran's claim that the aircraft was in its airspace. But pressure mounted this week with Trump announcing sanctions on Iran's supreme leader and top officials. The new measures are the latest against Tehran since Trump pulled out of a landmark nuclear accord between Iran and world powers. Rouhani blamed the United States for regional tensions Wednesday and said if Washington had stuck to the deal "we would have witnessed positive developments in the region". Iran announced in May it would suspend two of its pledges under the 2015 deal, giving the agreement's remaining supporters two months to help it circumvent US sanctions. On Tuesday Tehran's top security official said Iran would "forcefully" reduce further commitments from July 7.

Iran 'never seeks war' with US, says Hassan Rouhani

The recent US extension of sanctions against North Korea was an act of hostility and an outright challenge to a historic summit between the two countries in Singapore last year, a spokesman for Pyongyang's foreign ministry said on Wednesday.

The White House last week extended six executive orders containing sanctions imposed over North Korea's nuclear and missile programmes by one year.

The unidentified North Korean foreign ministry spokesman denounced US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's remarks on Sunday that more than 80 per cent of the North Korean economy has been affected by sanctions.

The spokesman also accused Washington of "viciously slandering" Pyongyang in its latest reports on human trafficking and religious freedom around the world.

"This is ... a manifestation of the most extreme hostile acts by the United States," the spokesman said in a statement carried by the North's official KCNA news agency.

"All these speak clearly to the fact that the wild dream of the United States to bring us to our knees by means of sanctions and pressure has not changed at all but grows even more undisguised," he added.

US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un held their first, groundbreaking summit in Singapore in June last year, agreeing to foster new relations and work towards the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.

But a second summit in Vietnam in February collapsed as both sides failed to bridge differences between US calls for denuclearisation and North Korean demands for sanctions relief.

Since then, North Korea has complained of US sanctions and demanded Pompeo be replaced by someone "more mature", while lauding the rapport Kim built with Trump.

Pompeo, speaking to reporters on Sunday, raised hopes for a revival of nuclear talks after a recent exchange of letters between Trump and Kim.

The North Korean spokesman warned it would be difficult to achieve denuclearisation as long as US politics are dominated by policymakers who have an "inveterate antagonism" towards North Korea.

"We would not thirst for a lifting of sanctions," the spokesman said.

"Our state is not a country that will surrender to the US sanctions, nor are we a country which the US could attack whenever it desires to do so," he added.

The recent US extension of sanctions against North Korea was an act of hostility and an outright challenge to a historic summit between the two countries in Singapore last year, a spokesman for Pyongyang's foreign ministry said on Wednesday.

The recent US extension of sanctions against North Korea was an act of hostility and an outright challenge to a historic summit between the two countries in Singapore last year, a spokesman for Pyongyang's foreign ministry said on Wednesday. The White House last week extended six executive orders containing sanctions imposed over North Korea's nuclear and missile programmes by one year. The unidentified North Korean foreign ministry spokesman denounced US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's remarks on Sunday that more than 80 per cent of the North Korean economy has been affected by sanctions. The spokesman also accused Washington of "viciously slandering" Pyongyang in its latest reports on human trafficking and religious freedom around the world. "This is ... a manifestation of the most extreme hostile acts by the United States," the spokesman said in a statement carried by the North's official KCNA news agency. "All these speak clearly to the fact that the wild dream of the United States to bring us to our knees by means of sanctions and pressure has not changed at all but grows even more undisguised," he added. US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un held their first, groundbreaking summit in Singapore in June last year, agreeing to foster new relations and work towards the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula. But a second summit in Vietnam in February collapsed as both sides failed to bridge differences between US calls for denuclearisation and North Korean demands for sanctions relief. Since then, North Korea has complained of US sanctions and demanded Pompeo be replaced by someone "more mature", while lauding the rapport Kim built with Trump. Pompeo, speaking to reporters on Sunday, raised hopes for a revival of nuclear talks after a recent exchange of letters between Trump and Kim. The North Korean spokesman warned it would be difficult to achieve denuclearisation as long as US politics are dominated by policymakers who have an "inveterate antagonism" towards North Korea. "We would not thirst for a lifting of sanctions," the spokesman said. "Our state is not a country that will surrender to the US sanctions, nor are we a country which the US could attack whenever it desires to do so," he added.

North Korea says US extension of sanctions 'a hostile act': Report

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/fedex-sues-us-government-over-shipment-restrictions-230266">FedEx</a> warned Tuesday that its fiscal 2020 earnings outlook remains clouded by trade war uncertainty as the company's chief executive criticized the Trump administration's lurch towards protectionism.

Overall the company is projecting 2020 diluted earnings-per-share to be down by a "mid-single-digit" percentage point compared with the 2019 level.

FedEx expects higher operating income in fiscal 2020 from its domestic package and freight shipping services as growing e-commerce activity fuels higher revenues.

But operating income is expected to be dented at FedEx Express, its international shipping division, in part because of trade uncertainty.&nbsp;

"We've been very disappointed over the last few years with the assumptions that we made on the growth of international trade, particularly with the Trump administration," Chief Executive Fred Smith said on a conference call with financial analysts.

"The United States policy since 1934... was to expand international trade and now we have a huge dispute with China where the US has basically become protectionist, defined as 'I'll make everything I need in my own borders.'"

Smith, long an outspoken advocate of free trade, also took issue with China's policy on trade, which he described as "mercantilist."

US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping are expected to meet at the G20 gathering in Japan later this week, an occasion that investors are hoping will bring the two countries closer to an agreement after months of tariffs, countermeasures and threats.

Smith said the company remained committed to operating in China and "completely dedicated" to comply with Chinese laws. &nbsp;

He said the company has experienced more audits "to some degree" at its Guangzhou hub in the wake of the US-China dispute.

FedEx again apologized over delivery problems involving Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei following a US crackdown on the company that Trump has linked to the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-hopes-to-re-launch-china-trade-talks-will-not-accept-conditions-on-tariffs-230453">US-China trade war</a>.

Smith said the company's newly-filed lawsuit against the Commerce Department over export restrictions was not directly related to the Huawei case but was due to a broader set of government actions that are "opaque" and put too much onus on delivery companies.

On Monday, FedEx sued the US Commerce Department over export restrictions it said to impose an "impossible burden" on delivery firms and asked a US District Court to block enforcement of the measures.

FedEx says the US rules make shippers liable for packages that could violate the restrictions, even if the shipper has no prior knowledge of the problem.

FedEx reported a net loss of $2 billion for the quarter ending May 31, compared with $1.1 billion in profits in the year-ago period.&nbsp;

The company cited lower international revenues and $316 million in costs associated with a voluntary employee buyout as factors in the loss.

Revenues rose three per cent overall to $17.8 billion.

Shares rose 0.7 per cent to $157.05 in after-hours trading.

FedEx warned Tuesday that its fiscal 2020 earnings outlook remains clouded by trade war uncertainty as the company's chief executive criticized the Trump administration's lurch towards protectionism.

FedEx warned Tuesday that its fiscal 2020 earnings outlook remains clouded by trade war uncertainty as the company's chief executive criticized the Trump administration's lurch towards protectionism. Overall the company is projecting 2020 diluted earnings-per-share to be down by a "mid-single-digit" percentage point compared with the 2019 level. FedEx expects higher operating income in fiscal 2020 from its domestic package and freight shipping services as growing e-commerce activity fuels higher revenues. But operating income is expected to be dented at FedEx Express, its international shipping division, in part because of trade uncertainty. "We've been very disappointed over the last few years with the assumptions that we made on the growth of international trade, particularly with the Trump administration," Chief Executive Fred Smith said on a conference call with financial analysts. "The United States policy since 1934... was to expand international trade and now we have a huge dispute with China where the US has basically become protectionist, defined as 'I'll make everything I need in my own borders.'" Smith, long an outspoken advocate of free trade, also took issue with China's policy on trade, which he described as "mercantilist." US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping are expected to meet at the G20 gathering in Japan later this week, an occasion that investors are hoping will bring the two countries closer to an agreement after months of tariffs, countermeasures and threats. Smith said the company remained committed to operating in China and "completely dedicated" to comply with Chinese laws. He said the company has experienced more audits "to some degree" at its Guangzhou hub in the wake of the US-China dispute. FedEx again apologized over delivery problems involving Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei following a US crackdown on the company that Trump has linked to the US-China trade war. Smith said the company's newly-filed lawsuit against the Commerce Department over export restrictions was not directly related to the Huawei case but was due to a broader set of government actions that are "opaque" and put too much onus on delivery companies. On Monday, FedEx sued the US Commerce Department over export restrictions it said to impose an "impossible burden" on delivery firms and asked a US District Court to block enforcement of the measures. FedEx says the US rules make shippers liable for packages that could violate the restrictions, even if the shipper has no prior knowledge of the problem. FedEx reported a net loss of $2 billion for the quarter ending May 31, compared with $1.1 billion in profits in the year-ago period. The company cited lower international revenues and $316 million in costs associated with a voluntary employee buyout as factors in the loss. Revenues rose three per cent overall to $17.8 billion. Shares rose 0.7 per cent to $157.05 in after-hours trading.

FedEx offers cautious 2020 outlook as CEO slams United States, China on trade

By Natasha Lindstaedt

After Iran shot down a US drone that allegedly entered Iran’s airspace, Donald Trump signed new sanctions against Iran on June 24, including against its supreme leader, Ali Khamenei. The move came days after the US president took to Twitter to reveal the US had been ten minutes away from striking back at Iran, but reversed course when Trump found out that 150 people could be killed.

Iran’s recent provocation came after a series of attacks in the busy Strait of Hormuz and the sabotage of four vessels travelling through the strait in May. Iran was accused of ramping up its sabotage activity – with experts pointing to Iran’s involvement due to the precision of the attacks.

Before Trump assumed office, tensions between Iran and the US were finally starting to thaw. This was largely due to the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, better known as the Iran nuclear deal, an agreement involving Iran, the US, UK, France, China, Russia and Germany, which aimed to block Iran from building nuclear weapons in exchange for sanctions relief.

Despite Trump’s former secretary of defence, James Mattis, testifying to a senate committee that Iran was adhering to the deal in April 2018, the president believed he needed to undo one of the signature policies of the Obama administration – arguing that doing so would bring Iran to its knees. He withdrew the US from the deal in early May 2018, saying it: “Didn’t bring calm, it didn’t bring peace, and it never will.”

No plan B

But rather than bringing Iran to its knees, Trump’s decision has emboldened Iran to take on more risks. Iran has absolutely nothing to lose and the approach advocated by moderates within the Iranian regime to co-operate with the West has clearly failed. By pulling out of the deal, Trump has no plan B and offers no options for Iran other than to engage in bad behaviour. If Iran believes that complying with international agreements is rewarded in this way, it could lose faith in the benefits of co-operating with the international community at all.

On June 23, Trump indicated he wants to talk to the Iranians and sent two envoys to the region, including secretary of state, Mike Pompeo. But Khamenei is adamant that no talks will take place unless sanctions against Iran are lifted. Iran’s foreign policy spokesperson, Abbas Mousavi, tweeted on June 24 that imposing sanction against Khamenei: “Is the permanent closure of the path of diplomacy.”

Unlike Trump, whose foreign policy has no focus and seems to change course based on his mood, few leaders have a more singular focus than Khamenei. His 30 years in power have been guided by an implacable single vision of resisting US hegemony and imperialism at any cost. Unlike Kim Jong Un of North Korea, Khamenei has no interest in a historic photo-op with the president.

Additionally powerful are the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Originally formed after the 1979 Iranian revolution as a paramilitary organisation designed to protect the regime against coup attempts, the IRGC has grown into the most powerful organisation in Iran, dictating Iranian foreign policy and domestic politics. It is as resolute as Khamenei in its commitment to fight against what it perceives to be US arrogance.

In contrast, Trump has no clear foreign policy and no coherent process for national security decision making within his administration, as recent events demonstrate. One moment Trump threatened to destroy Iran, the next moment he made apologies for Iran, claiming the drone attack may have been made in error and that he wanted to engage in talks.

Such an erratic approach of provoking a conflict, pushing things to the brink and assuming that others will cave in may work in the world of business, but it doesn’t work in foreign policy. Iran is responding to the uncertainty by taking bigger risks and sowing more chaos in the region. The recent escalation of tensions has made Iran’s leadership more resolute than ever to fight against US aggression. The Iranian regime also understands that Trump wants to avoid a surge in oil prices, which usually happens when tensions rise in the region.

More sanctions won’t work

But the hawks within Trump’s administration, such as the national security adviser, John Bolton, believe a war with Iran is necessary. The US has far greater military capabilities than Iran, whose oil industry is vulnerable to attack. It’s also true that Iran’s economy has been struggling with 13% unemployment, growth rates at under 2 per cent and inflation at 52 per cent. However, Iran’s economy has struggled in similar ways before and regime change has not taken place.

The sanctions, which are designed to cripple the Iranian economy, have undermined the middle class and small businesses that are most critical to pushing for positive change, while lining the pockets of the hardliners and justifying their position. The IRGC, designated as a terrorist organisation by Trump in April, is benefiting from the sanctions because of its heavy involvement in black market activity such as petroleum smuggling. Wider studies on sanctions show that they are only effective against dictatorships built around the personality of a strong leader and have little effect in regimes where dictatorships are more institutionalised.

The further ramping up of sanctions is highly unlikely to force Iran to back down and commit to talks – or to prevent future attacks that are difficult to directly attribute to Iran. Given the importance and single-mindedness of Iran’s ideology, its leaders will only accept some form of face-saving diplomacy, most notably that the US does a complete U-turn and recommits to the Iran nuclear deal.

(Natasha Lindstaedt is Professor, Department of Government, University of Essex)

(This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-donald-trump-is-backing-the-us-into-a-corner-on-iran-119327">original article</a>)

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL.)&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

By Natasha Lindstaedt After Iran shot down a US drone that allegedly entered Iran’s airspace, Donald Trump signed new sanctions against Iran on June 24, including against its supreme leader, Ali Khamenei.

By Natasha Lindstaedt After Iran shot down a US drone that allegedly entered Iran’s airspace, Donald Trump signed new sanctions against Iran on June 24, including against its supreme leader, Ali Khamenei. The move came days after the US president took to Twitter to reveal the US had been ten minutes away from striking back at Iran, but reversed course when Trump found out that 150 people could be killed. Iran’s recent provocation came after a series of attacks in the busy Strait of Hormuz and the sabotage of four vessels travelling through the strait in May. Iran was accused of ramping up its sabotage activity – with experts pointing to Iran’s involvement due to the precision of the attacks. Before Trump assumed office, tensions between Iran and the US were finally starting to thaw. This was largely due to the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, better known as the Iran nuclear deal, an agreement involving Iran, the US, UK, France, China, Russia and Germany, which aimed to block Iran from building nuclear weapons in exchange for sanctions relief. Despite Trump’s former secretary of defence, James Mattis, testifying to a senate committee that Iran was adhering to the deal in April 2018, the president believed he needed to undo one of the signature policies of the Obama administration – arguing that doing so would bring Iran to its knees. He withdrew the US from the deal in early May 2018, saying it: “Didn’t bring calm, it didn’t bring peace, and it never will.” No plan B But rather than bringing Iran to its knees, Trump’s decision has emboldened Iran to take on more risks. Iran has absolutely nothing to lose and the approach advocated by moderates within the Iranian regime to co-operate with the West has clearly failed. By pulling out of the deal, Trump has no plan B and offers no options for Iran other than to engage in bad behaviour. If Iran believes that complying with international agreements is rewarded in this way, it could lose faith in the benefits of co-operating with the international community at all. On June 23, Trump indicated he wants to talk to the Iranians and sent two envoys to the region, including secretary of state, Mike Pompeo. But Khamenei is adamant that no talks will take place unless sanctions against Iran are lifted. Iran’s foreign policy spokesperson, Abbas Mousavi, tweeted on June 24 that imposing sanction against Khamenei: “Is the permanent closure of the path of diplomacy.” Unlike Trump, whose foreign policy has no focus and seems to change course based on his mood, few leaders have a more singular focus than Khamenei. His 30 years in power have been guided by an implacable single vision of resisting US hegemony and imperialism at any cost. Unlike Kim Jong Un of North Korea, Khamenei has no interest in a historic photo-op with the president. Additionally powerful are the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Originally formed after the 1979 Iranian revolution as a paramilitary organisation designed to protect the regime against coup attempts, the IRGC has grown into the most powerful organisation in Iran, dictating Iranian foreign policy and domestic politics. It is as resolute as Khamenei in its commitment to fight against what it perceives to be US arrogance. In contrast, Trump has no clear foreign policy and no coherent process for national security decision making within his administration, as recent events demonstrate. One moment Trump threatened to destroy Iran, the next moment he made apologies for Iran, claiming the drone attack may have been made in error and that he wanted to engage in talks. Such an erratic approach of provoking a conflict, pushing things to the brink and assuming that others will cave in may work in the world of business, but it doesn’t work in foreign policy. Iran is responding to the uncertainty by taking bigger risks and sowing more chaos in the region. The recent escalation of tensions has made Iran’s leadership more resolute than ever to fight against US aggression. The Iranian regime also understands that Trump wants to avoid a surge in oil prices, which usually happens when tensions rise in the region. More sanctions won’t work But the hawks within Trump’s administration, such as the national security adviser, John Bolton, believe a war with Iran is necessary. The US has far greater military capabilities than Iran, whose oil industry is vulnerable to attack. It’s also true that Iran’s economy has been struggling with 13% unemployment, growth rates at under 2 per cent and inflation at 52 per cent. However, Iran’s economy has struggled in similar ways before and regime change has not taken place. The sanctions, which are designed to cripple the Iranian economy, have undermined the middle class and small businesses that are most critical to pushing for positive change, while lining the pockets of the hardliners and justifying their position. The IRGC, designated as a terrorist organisation by Trump in April, is benefiting from the sanctions because of its heavy involvement in black market activity such as petroleum smuggling. Wider studies on sanctions show that they are only effective against dictatorships built around the personality of a strong leader and have little effect in regimes where dictatorships are more institutionalised. The further ramping up of sanctions is highly unlikely to force Iran to back down and commit to talks – or to prevent future attacks that are difficult to directly attribute to Iran. Given the importance and single-mindedness of Iran’s ideology, its leaders will only accept some form of face-saving diplomacy, most notably that the US does a complete U-turn and recommits to the Iran nuclear deal. (Natasha Lindstaedt is Professor, Department of Government, University of Essex) (This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article) (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL.)

Donald Trump’s decision has emboldened Iran to take on more risks

President Donald Trump accused US women's World Cup soccer star Megan Rapinoe of "disrespect" Wednesday after she swore not to visit his White House.

In the latest of his public feuds with high-profile athletes and celebrities, Trump sent multiple tweets complaining about Rapinoe, whose short, dyed hair has made her one of the most recognisable faces of the mighty US team.

"Megan should never disrespect our Country, the White House, or our Flag, especially since so much has been done for her &amp; the team. Be proud of the Flag that you wear," he tweeted.

In the same series of tweets, Trump announced he was inviting the US women's team to the White House and said "I am a big fan."

Rapinoe, however, "should WIN first before she TALKS! Finish the job!" he wrote.

The president's outburst followed the broadcast of a video clip in which Rapinoe dismisses the idea of visiting the White House.

Such events are a longtime tradition for successful sports teams and athletes but have run into a political minefield during the controversy-filled Trump presidency.

"I'm not going to the fucking White House," the US co-captain exclaimed in the clip on Eight by Eight, a football magazine. "No. I'm not going to the White House."

The reigning world champions have swept aside all challengers so far in the World Cup and meet the hosts France on Friday for a quarter final that Rapinoe says she hopes will be "wild and crazy."

President Donald Trump accused US women's World Cup soccer star Megan Rapinoe of "disrespect" Wednesday after she swore not to visit his White House. In the latest of his public feuds with high-profile athletes and celebrities, Trump sent multiple tweets complaining about Rapinoe, whose short, dyed hair has made her one of the most recognisable faces of the mighty US team.

President Donald Trump accused US women's World Cup soccer star Megan Rapinoe of "disrespect" Wednesday after she swore not to visit his White House. In the latest of his public feuds with high-profile athletes and celebrities, Trump sent multiple tweets complaining about Rapinoe, whose short, dyed hair has made her one of the most recognisable faces of the mighty US team. "Megan should never disrespect our Country, the White House, or our Flag, especially since so much has been done for her & the team. Be proud of the Flag that you wear," he tweeted. In the same series of tweets, Trump announced he was inviting the US women's team to the White House and said "I am a big fan." Rapinoe, however, "should WIN first before she TALKS! Finish the job!" he wrote. The president's outburst followed the broadcast of a video clip in which Rapinoe dismisses the idea of visiting the White House. Such events are a longtime tradition for successful sports teams and athletes but have run into a political minefield during the controversy-filled Trump presidency. "I'm not going to the fucking White House," the US co-captain exclaimed in the clip on Eight by Eight, a football magazine. "No. I'm not going to the White House." The reigning world champions have swept aside all challengers so far in the World Cup and meet the hosts France on Friday for a quarter final that Rapinoe says she hopes will be "wild and crazy."

Trump tells US women's soccer star Rapinoe not to 'disrespect' country

Donald Trump & Kim Jong Un Have A Bizarre Relationship. They Started With Choice Words & Then Held Two Summits Who Eventually Yielded Next To Nothing. Trump's engagement with North Korea has only pushed Kim Jong Un further into China's lap. The two mercurial leaders first called each other the choicest of names before settling down to initiate talks. After two rounds of talks, has there been any change? Here's a report

Gravitas: Trump & Kim Jong Un: The road travelled

A Pointed Analysis Of U.S.' Foreign Policy Under Trump First it was North Korea in 2017, then it is Iran; extreme views followed by drastic U-turns and self-declared ability to make deals, has the U.S. President Donald Trump failed to achieve anything with his 'fire & fury' foreign policy? Palki with an analysis

Gravitas: Has Trump's 'Fire & Fury' foreign policy been a failure?

Tehran has reacted sharply to the Donald Trump administration's decision to impose fresh sanctions against top Iranian leaders, including its supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and has called said it means a 'permanent closure' of diplomacy.

Iran hits back after fresh US sanctions, calls it 'permanent closure' of diplomacy

Former US special counsel <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/robert-mueller-should-not-testify-before-us-congress-trump-216223">Robert Mueller</a> has agreed to testify in public on July 17 about his report into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, the House Judiciary and Intelligence Committees said Tuesday.

"Robert Mueller has agreed to testify before Congress pursuant to subpoena," intelligence committee chairman Adam Schiff announced on Twitter.

"Russia attacked our democracy to help Trump win. Trump welcomed and used that help. As Mueller said, that should concern every American. And now, every American will get to hear directly from Mueller."

Judiciary committee chairman Jerry Nadler confirmed that Mueller would appear "in open session."

The Mueller Report released in April outlined numerous contacts between Trump's election campaign and government-linked Russians, as well as evidence that the president tried on several occasions to stymie the investigation.&nbsp;

The Democrats have been split on whether to launch impeachment proceedings against the Republican president but -- fearing that much of the country is unaware of the report's contents -- have been asking major figures to testify in public on its findings.&nbsp;

Making his first public statement about the high-stakes probe on May 29, Mueller said longstanding Justice Department guidelines prevented him from charging Trump, despite at least 10 possible acts of criminal obstruction by the president.&nbsp;

But not indicting Trump was not equivalent to clearing him, Mueller said, suggesting Congress has both the constitutional powers and the responsibility to pursue the case.

While many of the candidates for the 2020 Democratic nomination are pro-impeachment, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has argued that it would be a risky move without an "ironclad" case and bipartisan support.

If the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives were to vote on formal impeachment charges, the Republican-held Senate would decide whether to convict, which requires an unlikely two-thirds majority.

"Americans have demanded to hear directly from the special counsel so they can understand what he and his team examined, uncovered, and determined about Russia's attack on our democracy, the Trump campaign's acceptance and use of that help, and President Trump and his associates' obstruction of the investigation into that attack," Nadler and Schiff said in a joint statement.&nbsp;

Mueller spent nearly two years investigating Russian election interference and possible involvement by Trump and his inner circle.&nbsp;

He concluded that there wasn't sufficient proof of a criminal conspiracy but found that Trump's campaign welcomed and expected to benefit electorally from information stolen and released through Russian efforts.

Former US special counsel Robert Mueller has agreed to testify in public on July 17 about his report into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, the House Judiciary and Intelligence Committees said Tuesday.

Former US special counsel Robert Mueller has agreed to testify in public on July 17 about his report into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, the House Judiciary and Intelligence Committees said Tuesday. "Robert Mueller has agreed to testify before Congress pursuant to subpoena," intelligence committee chairman Adam Schiff announced on Twitter. "Russia attacked our democracy to help Trump win. Trump welcomed and used that help. As Mueller said, that should concern every American. And now, every American will get to hear directly from Mueller." Judiciary committee chairman Jerry Nadler confirmed that Mueller would appear "in open session." The Mueller Report released in April outlined numerous contacts between Trump's election campaign and government-linked Russians, as well as evidence that the president tried on several occasions to stymie the investigation. The Democrats have been split on whether to launch impeachment proceedings against the Republican president but -- fearing that much of the country is unaware of the report's contents -- have been asking major figures to testify in public on its findings. Making his first public statement about the high-stakes probe on May 29, Mueller said longstanding Justice Department guidelines prevented him from charging Trump, despite at least 10 possible acts of criminal obstruction by the president. But not indicting Trump was not equivalent to clearing him, Mueller said, suggesting Congress has both the constitutional powers and the responsibility to pursue the case. While many of the candidates for the 2020 Democratic nomination are pro-impeachment, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has argued that it would be a risky move without an "ironclad" case and bipartisan support. If the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives were to vote on formal impeachment charges, the Republican-held Senate would decide whether to convict, which requires an unlikely two-thirds majority. "Americans have demanded to hear directly from the special counsel so they can understand what he and his team examined, uncovered, and determined about Russia's attack on our democracy, the Trump campaign's acceptance and use of that help, and President Trump and his associates' obstruction of the investigation into that attack," Nadler and Schiff said in a joint statement. Mueller spent nearly two years investigating Russian election interference and possible involvement by Trump and his inner circle. He concluded that there wasn't sufficient proof of a criminal conspiracy but found that Trump's campaign welcomed and expected to benefit electorally from information stolen and released through Russian efforts.

Robert Muller to testify before House committees on US-Russia probe in July: Congress

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/asian-stocks-fail-to-catch-wall-streets-fed-rally-as-trade-angst-persists-229074">Asian equities</a> were mixed Tuesday as investors sat on their hands days before this week's crucial meeting between <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/leaked-documents-show-red-flags-of-donald-trump-officials-230036">Donald Trump</a> and <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/kim-jong-un-xi-jinping-agree-to-grow-ties-whatever-external-situation-report-229384">Xi Jinping</a>, while gold hit a fresh six-year high on a weaker dollar and the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/gulf-crisis-navy-launches-operation-operation-sankalp-to-reassure-indian-vessels-amid-us-iran-row-229020">US-Iran crisis</a>.

While the stand-off between Washington and Tehran is fuelling concerns of a conflict between the old foes, the main focus for investors is the tete-a-tete between the leaders of the world's two biggest economies in Osaka.

World markets have rallied since the US president last week flagged positive phone talks with Xi and said they would discuss their trade spat on the sidelines of the G20 summit.

On Tuesday Chinese state media said top-level negotiators for both sides had held discussions ahead of the meeting, and "exchanged opinions on economic and trade issues". The call took place "at the request of the US side" and they agreed to maintain contact, the Xinhua news agency said.

"The G20 will not get going until midweek, but the anticipation of a meeting between the leaders of China and the US is keeping markets guessing," said OANDA senior market analyst Alfonso Esparza.

"The prolonged trade war between the two largest economies has downgraded global growth as more barriers to trade means higher prices. Optimism remains high, but more details need to emerge before the market can fully price in how far apart the two sides really are from a deal."

In early trade Hong Kong and Shanghai each dropped 0.7 per cent after a recent healthy run-up, while Tokyo finished the morning 0.2 per cent lower. Taipei was also down.

However, Sydney and Singapore were both 0.1 per cent higher while Seoul and Wellington added 0.2 per cent apiece. Manila and Jakarta were also up.

Bitcoin holds gains

It is "a pretty good guess that we won’t see a whole lot of movement in front of the big upcoming meetings (G20 and OPEC)," Matt Maley, equity strategist at Miller Tabak &amp; Co, said. "The results of those meetings should be quite important to the stock market’s next move."

Gold prices continue to rise -- sitting at highs not seen since September 2013 -- as investors seek out the safe haven to hedge against a possible US-Iran conflagration, while the softening dollar is also providing support.

The White House ramped up sanctions on Tehran, imposing strict measures against supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and military top brass following the downing of a US drone.

The move raised tensions between the two, though NAB's Tapas Strickland said the measures "appear to be more gloss than substance given US sanctions are already very harsh".

Oil prices were unable to sustain the surge started last week by the drone incident, with both main contracts dipping Tuesday.

Iran and the US have said they do not want a war, with the US content with trying to cripple Iran economically.

Oil traders are also keenly awaiting a meeting of OPEC and other major producers this weekend, hoping for clarity on their output reduction programme, which has supported prices.

The greenback was down against most other currencies, weighed by expectations the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates as soon as July, while bitcoin held above $11,000 after breaking the marker for the first time in 16 months.

Asian equities were mixed Tuesday as investors sat on their hands days before this week's crucial meeting between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, while gold hit a fresh six-year high on a weaker dollar and the US-Iran crisis.

Asian equities were mixed Tuesday as investors sat on their hands days before this week's crucial meeting between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, while gold hit a fresh six-year high on a weaker dollar and the US-Iran crisis. While the stand-off between Washington and Tehran is fuelling concerns of a conflict between the old foes, the main focus for investors is the tete-a-tete between the leaders of the world's two biggest economies in Osaka. World markets have rallied since the US president last week flagged positive phone talks with Xi and said they would discuss their trade spat on the sidelines of the G20 summit. On Tuesday Chinese state media said top-level negotiators for both sides had held discussions ahead of the meeting, and "exchanged opinions on economic and trade issues". The call took place "at the request of the US side" and they agreed to maintain contact, the Xinhua news agency said. "The G20 will not get going until midweek, but the anticipation of a meeting between the leaders of China and the US is keeping markets guessing," said OANDA senior market analyst Alfonso Esparza. "The prolonged trade war between the two largest economies has downgraded global growth as more barriers to trade means higher prices. Optimism remains high, but more details need to emerge before the market can fully price in how far apart the two sides really are from a deal." In early trade Hong Kong and Shanghai each dropped 0.7 per cent after a recent healthy run-up, while Tokyo finished the morning 0.2 per cent lower. Taipei was also down. However, Sydney and Singapore were both 0.1 per cent higher while Seoul and Wellington added 0.2 per cent apiece. Manila and Jakarta were also up. Bitcoin holds gains It is "a pretty good guess that we won’t see a whole lot of movement in front of the big upcoming meetings (G20 and OPEC)," Matt Maley, equity strategist at Miller Tabak & Co, said. "The results of those meetings should be quite important to the stock market’s next move." Gold prices continue to rise -- sitting at highs not seen since September 2013 -- as investors seek out the safe haven to hedge against a possible US-Iran conflagration, while the softening dollar is also providing support. The White House ramped up sanctions on Tehran, imposing strict measures against supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and military top brass following the downing of a US drone. The move raised tensions between the two, though NAB's Tapas Strickland said the measures "appear to be more gloss than substance given US sanctions are already very harsh". Oil prices were unable to sustain the surge started last week by the drone incident, with both main contracts dipping Tuesday. Iran and the US have said they do not want a war, with the US content with trying to cripple Iran economically. Oil traders are also keenly awaiting a meeting of OPEC and other major producers this weekend, hoping for clarity on their output reduction programme, which has supported prices. The greenback was down against most other currencies, weighed by expectations the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates as soon as July, while bitcoin held above $11,000 after breaking the marker for the first time in 16 months.

Stocks mixed ahead of G20, Iran and weak dollar lift gold

The United States hopes to re-launch trade talks with China after <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-china-trade-negotiators-hold-talks-ahead-of-xi-trump-meeting-report-230147">President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping</a> meet in Japan on Saturday but Washington will not accept any conditions on tariffs, a senior administration official said on Tuesday.

The two sides could agree not to impose new tariffs as a goodwill gesture to get negotiations going, the official said, but it was unclear if that would happen.

The United States was not willing to come to the Xi meeting with concessions, said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The remarks set up what could prove to be a tricky meeting between Trump and Xi, who will sit down together at the Group of 20 summit meeting in Osaka, the first time they have done so since trade talks between the world's two largest economies broke down in May.

Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, who has led trade talks for Beijing, spoke on the phone with his counterparts, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Monday, according to China's Ministry of Commerce. The three men are helping to pave the way for talks between the leaders later this week.

Expectations for that meeting so far appear to be low, with the best-case scenario a resumption of official talks that could ease fears in financial markets that the already long trade dispute would continue indefinitely.

China said on Monday that both sides should make compromises in the trade talks and that a trade deal has to be beneficial for both countries.

Trump advisers have said no broad trade deal is expected to be made at the meeting but they hope to create a path forward for talks. Once negotiations resume, they could take months or even years to complete, the senior Trump administration official said.

Washington has imposed 25% tariffs on $250 billion of Chinese goods, ranging from semiconductors to furniture, that is imported to the United States, as part of the trade war.

Trump has threatened to put tariffs on $325 billion more of goods, covering nearly all the remaining Chinese imports into the United States, including consumer products such as cellphones, computers and clothing.

A resumption of negotiations could put that threat on hold, at least for now. But neither side has shown a great appetite for changing positions, despite a willingness to meet.

"I think if they go with the tariffs, the trade talks are dead. Period," said one person familiar with the talks.

The United States has made clear it wants China to go back to the position it held in a draft trade agreement that was nearly completed before Beijing balked at some of its terms, particularly requirements to change its laws on some issues.

Beijing wants the United States to lift tariffs, while Washington wants China to change a series of practices including on intellectual property and requirements that US companies share their technology with Chinese companies in order to do business there.

Taoran Notes, an influential account on Chinese messaging app WeChat published by China's Economic Daily, said in a post late on Tuesday that "certain people" in the United States did not understand China's determination to uphold its position, and had "illusions" about forcing China to submit.&nbsp;

“If the US side doesn’t change its thinking, doesn’t change its methods, then all that will happen on the China-US trade issue is that an 'exchange of views and maintenance of communication’ will persist, and there won’t be more substantive progress,” the author wrote.

Pressure building

The president has spoken optimistically about the chances of a deal. The administration official said rounds of meetings between top trade officials from both countries likely would begin again after the G20 summit.

He noted that although the vice premier still led China's trade delegation, new names had been added to the list who could be hard-liners.

The official said Trump and Xi were unlikely to get into the fine details of the draft trade pact, although the case of Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies Co may come up during talks.

Pressure on Huawei, which the US government has labelled a security threat, has increased in recent days.

About a dozen rural US telecom carriers that depend on Huawei for network gear are in discussions with its biggest rivals, Ericsson and Nokia, to replace their Chinese equipment, sources familiar with the matter said.

And the US-based research arm of Huawei - Futurewei Technologies Inc - has moved to separate its operations from its corporate parent since the US government in May put Huawei on a trade blacklist, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Trump has indicated a willingness to include the Huawei issue in a trade deal, despite the national security implications cited by his advisers about the company.

Meanwhile, US parcel delivery firm FedEx Corp on Monday sued the US government, saying it should not be held liable if it inadvertently shipped products that violated a Trump administration ban on exports to some Chinese companies.

FedEx reignited Chinese ire over its business practices when a package containing a Huawei phone sent to the United States was returned last week to its sender in Britain, in what FedEx said was an "operational error."

The United States hopes to re-launch trade talks with China after President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping meet in Japan on Saturday but Washington will not accept any conditions on tariffs, a senior administration official said on Tuesday.

The United States hopes to re-launch trade talks with China after President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping meet in Japan on Saturday but Washington will not accept any conditions on tariffs, a senior administration official said on Tuesday. The two sides could agree not to impose new tariffs as a goodwill gesture to get negotiations going, the official said, but it was unclear if that would happen. The United States was not willing to come to the Xi meeting with concessions, said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The remarks set up what could prove to be a tricky meeting between Trump and Xi, who will sit down together at the Group of 20 summit meeting in Osaka, the first time they have done so since trade talks between the world's two largest economies broke down in May. Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, who has led trade talks for Beijing, spoke on the phone with his counterparts, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Monday, according to China's Ministry of Commerce. The three men are helping to pave the way for talks between the leaders later this week. Expectations for that meeting so far appear to be low, with the best-case scenario a resumption of official talks that could ease fears in financial markets that the already long trade dispute would continue indefinitely. China said on Monday that both sides should make compromises in the trade talks and that a trade deal has to be beneficial for both countries. Trump advisers have said no broad trade deal is expected to be made at the meeting but they hope to create a path forward for talks. Once negotiations resume, they could take months or even years to complete, the senior Trump administration official said. Washington has imposed 25% tariffs on $250 billion of Chinese goods, ranging from semiconductors to furniture, that is imported to the United States, as part of the trade war. Trump has threatened to put tariffs on $325 billion more of goods, covering nearly all the remaining Chinese imports into the United States, including consumer products such as cellphones, computers and clothing. A resumption of negotiations could put that threat on hold, at least for now. But neither side has shown a great appetite for changing positions, despite a willingness to meet. "I think if they go with the tariffs, the trade talks are dead. Period," said one person familiar with the talks. The United States has made clear it wants China to go back to the position it held in a draft trade agreement that was nearly completed before Beijing balked at some of its terms, particularly requirements to change its laws on some issues. Beijing wants the United States to lift tariffs, while Washington wants China to change a series of practices including on intellectual property and requirements that US companies share their technology with Chinese companies in order to do business there. Taoran Notes, an influential account on Chinese messaging app WeChat published by China's Economic Daily, said in a post late on Tuesday that "certain people" in the United States did not understand China's determination to uphold its position, and had "illusions" about forcing China to submit. “If the US side doesn’t change its thinking, doesn’t change its methods, then all that will happen on the China-US trade issue is that an 'exchange of views and maintenance of communication’ will persist, and there won’t be more substantive progress,” the author wrote. Pressure building The president has spoken optimistically about the chances of a deal. The administration official said rounds of meetings between top trade officials from both countries likely would begin again after the G20 summit. He noted that although the vice premier still led China's trade delegation, new names had been added to the list who could be hard-liners. The official said Trump and Xi were unlikely to get into the fine details of the draft trade pact, although the case of Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies Co may come up during talks. Pressure on Huawei, which the US government has labelled a security threat, has increased in recent days. About a dozen rural US telecom carriers that depend on Huawei for network gear are in discussions with its biggest rivals, Ericsson and Nokia, to replace their Chinese equipment, sources familiar with the matter said. And the US-based research arm of Huawei - Futurewei Technologies Inc - has moved to separate its operations from its corporate parent since the US government in May put Huawei on a trade blacklist, according to two people familiar with the matter. Trump has indicated a willingness to include the Huawei issue in a trade deal, despite the national security implications cited by his advisers about the company. Meanwhile, US parcel delivery firm FedEx Corp on Monday sued the US government, saying it should not be held liable if it inadvertently shipped products that violated a Trump administration ban on exports to some Chinese companies. FedEx reignited Chinese ire over its business practices when a package containing a Huawei phone sent to the United States was returned last week to its sender in Britain, in what FedEx said was an "operational error."

US hopes to re-launch China trade talks, will not accept conditions on tariffs

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani dismissed new <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-sanctions-mean-permanent-closure-of-path-to-diplomacy-iran-230174">US sanctions on Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei</a> and described the White House as "mentally retarded", an insult Iran has used in the past about President Donald Trump.

In a speech broadcast live on state television, Rouhani said sanctions against Khamenei would fail because he had no assets abroad. Rouhani described the latest round of sanctions as a sign of US desperation.

"The White House actions mean it is mentally retarded," he said, "Tehran's strategic patience does not mean we have fear."

Rouhani also said, latest sanctions showed Washington is "lying" about offering to negotiate.

&nbsp;"At the same time as you call for negotiations, you seek to sanction the foreign minister? It's obvious that you're lying."

His comments came after US National Security Advisor John Bolton said Washington had "held the door open to real negotiations" but that "in response, Iran's silence has been deafening."

The United States imposed sanctions Monday on Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and others, which the Iranian foreign ministry said meant a "permanent closure of the path to diplomacy" with the US administration.

Tensions are running high after Iran shot down a US spy drone last week and Trump considered, then cancelled a retaliatory strike.

Bolton said Tuesday the US remains open to negotiations, more than a year after Washington pulled out of a landmark nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers.

"All that Iran needs to do is to walk through that open door," he said.

Tensions have soared after Iran last week shot down a US surveillance drone that Tehran insists had ventured into its airspace -- a claim rejected by Washington. 
&nbsp;

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani dismissed new US sanctions on Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and described the White House as "mentally retarded", an insult Iran has used in the past about President Donald Trump.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani dismissed new US sanctions on Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and described the White House as "mentally retarded", an insult Iran has used in the past about President Donald Trump. In a speech broadcast live on state television, Rouhani said sanctions against Khamenei would fail because he had no assets abroad. Rouhani described the latest round of sanctions as a sign of US desperation. "The White House actions mean it is mentally retarded," he said, "Tehran's strategic patience does not mean we have fear." Rouhani also said, latest sanctions showed Washington is "lying" about offering to negotiate. "At the same time as you call for negotiations, you seek to sanction the foreign minister? It's obvious that you're lying." His comments came after US National Security Advisor John Bolton said Washington had "held the door open to real negotiations" but that "in response, Iran's silence has been deafening." The United States imposed sanctions Monday on Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and others, which the Iranian foreign ministry said meant a "permanent closure of the path to diplomacy" with the US administration. Tensions are running high after Iran shot down a US spy drone last week and Trump considered, then cancelled a retaliatory strike. Bolton said Tuesday the US remains open to negotiations, more than a year after Washington pulled out of a landmark nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers. "All that Iran needs to do is to walk through that open door," he said. Tensions have soared after Iran last week shot down a US surveillance drone that Tehran insists had ventured into its airspace -- a claim rejected by Washington.

Iran dismisses new US sanctions, calls White House 'retarded'

The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday (June 25) approved a $4.5 billion aid package to address the migrant surge along the U.S.-Mexico border, including new standards for migrants in custody following reports of poor conditions facing young children at overcrowded facilities.

US House passes border aid bill, Trump vows veto

The US House of Representatives on Tuesday approved a $4.5 billion aid package to address the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/seven-migrant-deaths-reported-in-extreme-heat-at-united-states-border-230336/amp">migrant</a> surge along the US-Mexico border, including new standards for migrants in custody following reports of <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/migrants-describe-overcrowded-mexican-detention-centers-as-trump-ratchets-up-pressure-229762">poor conditions facing young children</a> at overcrowded facilities.

The Democratic-led House voted 230-195, mostly along party lines, to pass the measure, but its future is uncertain. The Republican-run Senate is working on its own version of the bill, and Republican President Donald Trump has vowed to veto the House legislation, with White House officials saying it would hamstring the administration's border enforcement efforts.

Trump on May 1 requested the aid for programs that house, feed, transport and oversee record numbers of Central American families seeking asylum in the United States and straining capacity at migrant shelters in border cities.

Attorneys raised alarms last week after finding more than 300 migrant children in an overcrowded Texas border patrol station, where they said some had been held for weeks in squalid conditions without adequate food and water.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/explainer-how-does-the-situation-on-the-us-mexico-border-compare-with-the-past-225130">Explainer: How does the situation on the US-Mexico border compare with the past?</a>

Amid the ensuing outcry, the acting commissioner of the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency, John Sanders, said on Tuesday he was resigning.

Democrats emphasised on Tuesday that while they were approving the border aid to address the humanitarian crisis, they were not ratifying the administration's attempts to restrict and discourage immigration, which Trump has made a central focus of his presidency.

"Our legislation is a vote against the cruel attitude toward children of this administration. This bill does not fund the administration's failed mass detention policy. Instead it funds effective humane alternatives to detention that have a proven record of success," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said ahead of the vote.

Wooing progressives

But Democratic leaders had to work to secure votes for the bill from progressive lawmakers worried the Trump administration might use the funds for other purposes, such as deportation of migrants.

On Tuesday afternoon, Democrats added provisions to better protect the health of migrants in the custody of US Border Patrol agents, including standards for medical care and nutrition. They also added language to set a three-month limit for any unaccompanied child migrant to spend at an intake shelter unless notice is given.

Another amendment said shelters run by contractors must meet standards of care within six months or risk losing their contracts. Representative Pramila Jayapal, the co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, agreed to back the bill after that provision was included.

The House legislation would also reinstate hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras that was cut off by the Trump administration.

The same provisions that helped win over progressive Democrats were denounced by House Republicans as "poison pills." Republicans said they preferred the $4.6 billion Senate version of the bill, which has passed a committee on a bipartisan basis, and includes money - left out by the House - to pay overtime for Immigration and Customs Enforcement employees.

The House bill is a sham that "does not help our overstretched law enforcement authorities," said House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy.

With administration officials warning they will soon run out of funds at the border, and a one-week congressional recess coming up next week, House Democrats hurried to pass the measure on Tuesday. But the Senate has yet to pass its version, and the two chambers must agree on the same legislation before it is sent to Trump.

The US House of Representatives on Tuesday approved a $4.5 billion aid package to address the migrant surge along the US-Mexico border, including new standards for migrants in custody following reports of poor conditions facing young children at overcrowded facilities.

The US House of Representatives on Tuesday approved a $4.5 billion aid package to address the migrant surge along the US-Mexico border, including new standards for migrants in custody following reports of poor conditions facing young children at overcrowded facilities. The Democratic-led House voted 230-195, mostly along party lines, to pass the measure, but its future is uncertain. The Republican-run Senate is working on its own version of the bill, and Republican President Donald Trump has vowed to veto the House legislation, with White House officials saying it would hamstring the administration's border enforcement efforts. Trump on May 1 requested the aid for programs that house, feed, transport and oversee record numbers of Central American families seeking asylum in the United States and straining capacity at migrant shelters in border cities. Attorneys raised alarms last week after finding more than 300 migrant children in an overcrowded Texas border patrol station, where they said some had been held for weeks in squalid conditions without adequate food and water. Explainer: How does the situation on the US-Mexico border compare with the past? Amid the ensuing outcry, the acting commissioner of the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency, John Sanders, said on Tuesday he was resigning. Democrats emphasised on Tuesday that while they were approving the border aid to address the humanitarian crisis, they were not ratifying the administration's attempts to restrict and discourage immigration, which Trump has made a central focus of his presidency. "Our legislation is a vote against the cruel attitude toward children of this administration. This bill does not fund the administration's failed mass detention policy. Instead it funds effective humane alternatives to detention that have a proven record of success," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said ahead of the vote. Wooing progressives But Democratic leaders had to work to secure votes for the bill from progressive lawmakers worried the Trump administration might use the funds for other purposes, such as deportation of migrants. On Tuesday afternoon, Democrats added provisions to better protect the health of migrants in the custody of US Border Patrol agents, including standards for medical care and nutrition. They also added language to set a three-month limit for any unaccompanied child migrant to spend at an intake shelter unless notice is given. Another amendment said shelters run by contractors must meet standards of care within six months or risk losing their contracts. Representative Pramila Jayapal, the co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, agreed to back the bill after that provision was included. The House legislation would also reinstate hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras that was cut off by the Trump administration. The same provisions that helped win over progressive Democrats were denounced by House Republicans as "poison pills." Republicans said they preferred the $4.6 billion Senate version of the bill, which has passed a committee on a bipartisan basis, and includes money - left out by the House - to pay overtime for Immigration and Customs Enforcement employees. The House bill is a sham that "does not help our overstretched law enforcement authorities," said House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy. With administration officials warning they will soon run out of funds at the border, and a one-week congressional recess coming up next week, House Democrats hurried to pass the measure on Tuesday. But the Senate has yet to pass its version, and the two chambers must agree on the same legislation before it is sent to Trump.

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