Exclusive: China backtracked on nearly all aspects of U.S. trade deal - sources - Reuters

WASHINGTON/BEIJING (Reuters) - The diplomatic cable from Beijing arrived in Washington late on Friday night, with systematic edits to a nearly 150-page draft trade agreement that would blow up months of negotiations between the world’s two largest economies, according to three U.S. government sources and three private sector sources briefed on the talks.

FILE PHOTO: Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, right, looks as U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, center, swaps places with his Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer during a photograph session before they proceed to their meeting at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, Wednesday, May 1, 2019. Andy Wong/Pool via REUTERS

The document was riddled with reversals by China that undermined core U.S. demands, the sources told Reuters.

In each of the seven chapters of the draft trade deal, China had deleted its commitments to change laws to resolve core complaints that caused the United States to launch a trade war: theft of U.S. intellectual property and trade secrets; forced technology transfers; competition policy; access to financial services; and currency manipulation.

U.S. President Donald Trump responded in a tweet on Sunday vowing to raise tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods from 10 to 25 percent on Friday – timed to land in the middle of a scheduled visit by China’s Vice Premier Liu He to Washington to continue trade talks.

The stripping of binding legal language from the draft struck directly at the highest priority of U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer - who views changes to Chinese laws as essential to verifying compliance after years of what U.S. officials have called empty reform promises.

Lighthizer has pushed hard for an enforcement regime more like those used for punitive economic sanctions – such as those imposed on North Korea or Iran – than a typical trade deal.

“This undermines the core architecture of the deal,” said a Washington-based source with knowledge of the talks.

“PROCESS OF NEGOTIATION”

Spokespeople for the White House, the U.S. Trade Representative and the U.S. Treasury Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told a briefing on Wednesday that working out disagreements over trade was a “process of negotiation” and that China was not “avoiding problems”.

Geng referred specific questions on the trade talks to the Commerce Ministry, which did not respond immediately to faxed questions from Reuters.

Lighthizer and U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin were taken aback at the extent of the changes in the draft. The two cabinet officials on Monday told reporters that Chinese backtracking had prompted Trump’s tariff order but did not provide details on the depth and breadth of the revisions.

Liu last week told Lighthizer and Mnuchin that they needed to trust China to fulfil its pledges through administrative and regulatory changes, two of the sources said. Both Mnuchin and Lighthizer considered that unacceptable, given China’s history of failing to fulfil reform pledges.

One private-sector source briefed on the talks said the last round of negotiations had gone very poorly because “China got greedy”.

“China reneged on a dozen things, if not more ... The talks were so bad that the real surprise is that it took Trump until Sunday to blow up,” the source said.

“After 20 years of having their way with the U.S., China still appears to be miscalculating with this administration.”

FURTHER TALKS THIS WEEK

The rapid deterioration of negotiations rattled global stock markets, bonds and commodities this week. Until Sunday, markets had priced in the expectation that officials from the two countries were close to striking a deal.

Investors and analysts questioned whether Trump’s tweet was a negotiating ploy to wring more concessions from China. The sources told Reuters the extent of the setbacks in the revised text were serious and that Trump’s response was not merely a negotiating strategy.

Chinese negotiators said they couldn’t touch the laws, said one of the government sources, calling the changes “major.”

Changing any law in China requires a unique set of processes that can’t be navigated quickly, said a Chinese official familiar with the talks. The official disputed the assertion that China was backtracking on its promises, adding that U.S. demands were becoming more “harsh” and the path to a deal more “narrow” as the negotiations drag on.

Liu is set to arrive in Washington on Thursday for two days of talks that just last week were widely seen as pivotal – a possible last round before a historic trade deal. Now, U.S. officials have little hope that Liu will come bearing any offer that can get talks back on track, said two of the sources.

To avert escalation, some of the sources said, Liu would have to scrap China’s proposed text changes and agree to make new laws. China would also have to move further towards the U.S. position on other sticking points, such as demands for curbs on Chinese industrial subsidies and a streamlined approval process for genetically engineered U.S. crops.

The administration said the latest tariff escalation would take effect at 12:01 a.m. Friday, hiking levees on Chinese products such as internet modems and routers, printed circuit boards, vacuum cleaners and furniture.

The Chinese reversal may give China hawks in the Trump administration, including Lighthizer, an opening to take a harder stance.

Mnuchin - who has been more open to a deal with improved market access, and at times clashed with Lighthizer – appeared in sync with Lighthizer in describing the changes to reporters on Monday, while still leaving open the possibility that new tariffs could be averted with a deal.

Trump’s tweets left no room for backing down, and Lighthizer made it clear that, despite continuing talks, “come Friday, there will be tariffs in place.”

Additional reporting by Chris Prentice in NEW YORK, and Jing Xu and Ben Blanchard in BEIJING; Editing by Simon Webb and Brian Thevenot

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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2019-05-08 08:52:00Z
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Iranian leader announces partial withdrawal from nuclear deal - CNN

President Hassan Rouhani said in a televised speech Wednesday that Iran would reduce its "commitments" to the deal, but would not fully withdraw.

The move comes a year after the US unilaterally withdrew from the deal, over the stringent objections of other signatories. Rouhani said those signatories -- France, Britain, Germany, Russia and China -- had been informed in advance of Tehran's move.

He accused "hardliners" in the US of working to undermine the deal, saying it was "in the interests of the region and the world, but not the enemies of Iran, therefore they spared no effort since 2015 to undermine (the deal)."

Under the agreement, Iran was permitted to stockpile limited amounts enriched uranium and heavy water produced in that process, exporting any excess. Doing so has become extremely difficult after the US revoked waivers that allowed Iran to export those excess stockpiles, effectively forcing Iran to halt enrichment or ignore the limits, which it is now doing.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran declares that at the current stage, it does not any more see itself committed to respecting the limitations on keeping enriched uranium and heavy water reserves," Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) said in a statement carried by the semi-official Fars news agency.

The SNSC said other partners would have 60 days to alleviate pressure on Iran caused by subsequent US sanctions, otherwise the country "will cease implementation of restrictions on uranium enrichment levels and measures related to the modernization of Arak Heavy Water Reactor as well."

"Once our demands are met, we will resume implementation of the ceased undertakings. Otherwise, the Islamic Republic of Iran will stop compliance with its other undertakings in consequent phases," the SNSC said.

On Twitter, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said that the country was stopping measures that Washington "has made impossible to continue."

"Our action is within the terms of (the deal)," said Zarif adding that the other signatories had "a narrowing window to reverse this."

Iran is a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and has always maintained that its nuclear research is purely civilian in nature.

Trump turnaround

The deal with Iran was widely hailed as a major diplomatic victory by the Barack Obama administration, but one that was immediately criticized by his successor.

Last year, US President Donald Trump withdrew his country from the deal, saying it was "defective at its core" and reimposing sanctions. Since then, anti-Iran hawks within his administration, particularly Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and national security adviser John Bolton, have been ramping up pressure on Tehran.

This week, Pompeo made a surprise visit to Iran's neighbor Iraq, where he accused Tehran of making military moves, including transporting short- and medium-range ballistic missiles aboard boats in the Persian Gulf, much of which falls within Iranian territorial waters or the country's Exclusive Economic Zone.

Speaking to reporters, Pompeo said he discussed the "threat stream we had seen" from Iran and stressed "the importance of Iraq ensuring that it's able to adequately protect Americans in their country."

The US Defense Department is now considering sending additional firepower to the region, including anti-missile defense systems, according to several US officials with knowledge of the situation.

Pompeo is a proponent of a "maximum pressure" approach to Iran, and in the past has appeared to support regime change in Tehran, such as in a speech last year in which he said the goal of the US was "to get the Iranian regime to behave like a normal nation."

Since then, the US has reintroduced all nuclear-related sanctions among a slew of other punitive measures. In the past month, it has moved to cut off Iran's oil revenues, its chief source of foreign income, put curbs on its civilian nuclear work, and designated Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, the elite military group with deep political and economic influence, as a terrorist entity.

What was the original deal?

Officially titled the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, the nuclear deal was intended to limit Iran's civilian energy program -- thereby preventing it from developing nuclear weapons at some point in the future -- in exchange for relief from sanctions that were crippling the Iranian economy.

The deal was struck in Vienna following two years of intensive talks orchestrated by the Obama administration. It was signed by Iran and six other nations in 2015 -- the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, China and Germany. The accord was also enshrined in a UN Security Council resolution, making it international law.

Under the deal, the Iranian government agreed to three key things:

Reducing the number of its centrifuges by two-thirds (centrifuges are tube-shaped machines used to enrich uranium, the material necessary for nuclear power); slashing its stockpile of enriched uranium by 98%; and capping uranium enrichment at 3.67% -- enough to continue powering parts of the country's energy needs, but not enough to ever build a nuclear bomb.

In addition, Iran was required to limit uranium research and development, and allow inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) certain access to its civilian nuclear facilities.

In return for its compliance, all nuclear-related sanctions on Iran were lifted in January 2016, reconnecting the country's stagnating economy with international markets.

CNN's Steve George and Nicole Gaouette contributed reporting.

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2019-05-08 07:52:00Z
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Iranian leader announces partial withdrawal from nuclear deal - CNN

President Hassan Rouhani said in a televised speech Wednesday that Iran would reduce its "commitments" to the deal, but would not fully withdraw.

The move comes a year after the US unilaterally withdrew from the deal, over the stringent objections of other signatories. Rouhani said those signatories -- France, Britain, Germany, Russia and China -- had been informed in advance of Tehran's move.

He accused "hardliners" in the US of working to undermine the deal, saying it was "in the interests of the region and the world, but not the enemies of Iran, therefore they spared no effort since 2015 to undermine (the deal)."

Under the agreement, Iran was permitted to stockpile limited amounts enriched uranium and heavy water produced in that process, exporting any excess. Doing so has become extremely difficult after the US revoked waivers that allowed Iran to export those excess stockpiles, effectively forcing Iran to halt enrichment or ignore the limits, which it is now doing.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran declares that at the current stage, it does not any more see itself committed to respecting the limitations on keeping enriched uranium and heavy water reserves," Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) said in a statement carried by the semi-official Fars news agency.

The SNSC said other partners would have 60 days to alleviate pressure on Iran caused by subsequent US sanctions, otherwise the country "will cease implementation of restrictions on uranium enrichment levels and measures related to the modernization of Arak Heavy Water Reactor as well."

"Once our demands are met, we will resume implementation of the ceased undertakings. Otherwise, the Islamic Republic of Iran will stop compliance with its other undertakings in consequent phases," the SNSC said.

On Twitter, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said that the country was stopping measures that Washington "has made impossible to continue."

"Our action is within the terms of (the deal)," said Zarif adding that the other signatories had "a narrowing window to reverse this."

Iran is a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and has always maintained that its nuclear research is purely civilian in nature.

Trump turnaround

The deal with Iran was widely hailed as a major diplomatic victory by the Barack Obama administration, but one that was immediately criticized by his successor.

Last year, US President Donald Trump withdrew his country from the deal, saying it was "defective at its core" and reimposing sanctions. Since then, anti-Iran hawks within his administration, particularly Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and national security adviser John Bolton, have been ramping up pressure on Tehran.

This week, Pompeo made a surprise visit to Iran's neighbor Iraq, where he accused Tehran of making military moves, including transporting short- and medium-range ballistic missiles aboard boats in the Persian Gulf, much of which falls within Iranian territorial waters or the country's Exclusive Economic Zone.

Speaking to reporters, Pompeo said he discussed the "threat stream we had seen" from Iran and stressed "the importance of Iraq ensuring that it's able to adequately protect Americans in their country."

The US Defense Department is now considering sending additional firepower to the region, including anti-missile defense systems, according to several US officials with knowledge of the situation.

Pompeo is a proponent of a "maximum pressure" approach to Iran, and in the past has appeared to support regime change in Tehran, such as in a speech last year in which he said the goal of the US was "to get the Iranian regime to behave like a normal nation."

Since then, the US has reintroduced all nuclear-related sanctions among a slew of other punitive measures. In the past month, it has moved to cut off Iran's oil revenues, its chief source of foreign income, put curbs on its civilian nuclear work, and designated Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, the elite military group with deep political and economic influence, as a terrorist entity.

What was the original deal?

Officially titled the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, the nuclear deal was intended to limit Iran's civilian energy program -- thereby preventing it from developing nuclear weapons at some point in the future -- in exchange for relief from sanctions that were crippling the Iranian economy.

The deal was struck in Vienna following two years of intensive talks orchestrated by the Obama administration. It was signed by Iran and six other nations in 2015 -- the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, China and Germany. The accord was also enshrined in a UN Security Council resolution, making it international law.

Under the deal, the Iranian government agreed to three key things:

Reducing the number of its centrifuges by two-thirds (centrifuges are tube-shaped machines used to enrich uranium, the material necessary for nuclear power); slashing its stockpile of enriched uranium by 98%; and capping uranium enrichment at 3.67% -- enough to continue powering parts of the country's energy needs, but not enough to ever build a nuclear bomb.

In addition, Iran was required to limit uranium research and development, and allow inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) certain access to its civilian nuclear facilities.

In return for its compliance, all nuclear-related sanctions on Iran were lifted in January 2016, reconnecting the country's stagnating economy with international markets.

CNN's Steve George and Nicole Gaouette contributed reporting.

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https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/08/middleeast/iran-nuclear-deal-intl/index.html

2019-05-08 07:05:00Z
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Iranian leader announces partial withdrawal from nuclear deal - CNN

President Hassan Rouhani said in a televised speech Wednesday that Iran would reduce its "commitments" to the deal, but would not fully withdraw.

The move comes a year after the US unilaterally withdrew from the deal, over the stringent objections of other signatories. Rouhani said those signatories -- France, Britain, Germany, Russia and China -- had been informed in advance of Tehran's move.

He accused "hardliners" in the US of working to undermine the deal, saying it was "in the interests of the region and the world, but not the enemies of Iran, therefore they spared no effort since 2015 to undermine (the deal)."

Under the agreement, Iran was permitted to stockpile limited amounts enriched uranium and heavy water produced in that process, exporting any excess. Doing so has become extremely difficult after the US revoked waivers that allowed Iran to export those excess stockpiles, effectively forcing Iran to halt enrichment or ignore the limits, which it is now doing.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran declares that at the current stage, it does not any more see itself committed to respecting the limitations on keeping enriched uranium and heavy water reserves," Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) said in a statement carried by the semi-official Fars news agency.

The SNSC said other partners would have 60 days to alleviate pressure on Iran caused by subsequent US sanctions, otherwise the country "will cease implementation of restrictions on uranium enrichment levels and measures related to the modernization of Arak Heavy Water Reactor as well."

"Once our demands are met, we will resume implementation of the ceased undertakings. Otherwise, the Islamic Republic of Iran will stop compliance with its other undertakings in consequent phases," the SNSC said.

On Twitter, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said that the country was stopping measures that Washington "has made impossible to continue."

"Our action is within the terms of (the deal)," said Zarif adding that the other signatories had "a narrowing window to reverse this."

Iran is a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and has always maintained that its nuclear research is purely civilian in nature.

Trump turnaround

The deal with Iran was widely hailed as a major diplomatic victory by the Barack Obama administration, but one that was immediately criticized by his successor.

Last year, US President Donald Trump withdrew his country from the deal, saying it was "defective at its core" and reimposing sanctions. Since then, anti-Iran hawks within his administration, particularly Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and national security adviser John Bolton, have been ramping up pressure on Tehran.

This week, Pompeo made a surprise visit to Iran's neighbor Iraq, where he accused Tehran of making military moves, including transporting short- and medium-range ballistic missiles aboard boats in the Persian Gulf, much of which falls within Iranian territorial waters or the country's Exclusive Economic Zone.

Speaking to reporters, Pompeo said he discussed the "threat stream we had seen" from Iran and stressed "the importance of Iraq ensuring that it's able to adequately protect Americans in their country."

The US Defense Department is now considering sending additional firepower to the region, including anti-missile defense systems, according to several US officials with knowledge of the situation.

Pompeo is a proponent of a "maximum pressure" approach to Iran, and in the past has appeared to support regime change in Tehran, such as in a speech last year in which he said the goal of the US was "to get the Iranian regime to behave like a normal nation."

Since then, the US has reintroduced all nuclear-related sanctions among a slew of other punitive measures. In the past month, it has moved to cut off Iran's oil revenues, its chief source of foreign income, put curbs on its civilian nuclear work, and designated Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, the elite military group with deep political and economic influence, as a terrorist entity.

What was the original deal?

Officially titled the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, the nuclear deal was intended to limit Iran's civilian energy program -- thereby preventing it from developing nuclear weapons at some point in the future -- in exchange for relief from sanctions that were crippling the Iranian economy.

The deal was struck in Vienna following two years of intensive talks orchestrated by the Obama administration. It was signed by Iran and six other nations in 2015 -- the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, China and Germany. The accord was also enshrined in a UN Security Council resolution, making it international law.

Under the deal, the Iranian government agreed to three key things:

Reducing the number of its centrifuges by two-thirds (centrifuges are tube-shaped machines used to enrich uranium, the material necessary for nuclear power); slashing its stockpile of enriched uranium by 98%; and capping uranium enrichment at 3.67% -- enough to continue powering parts of the country's energy needs, but not enough to ever build a nuclear bomb.

In addition, Iran was required to limit uranium research and development, and allow inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) certain access to its civilian nuclear facilities.

In return for its compliance, all nuclear-related sanctions on Iran were lifted in January 2016, reconnecting the country's stagnating economy with international markets.

CNN's Steve George and Nicole Gaouette contributed reporting.

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https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/08/middleeast/iran-nuclear-deal-intl/index.html

2019-05-08 06:19:00Z
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Dow falls 400 points as Wall Street gets tariff whiplash - CNN

Around midday, the Dow (DJIEW), S&P 500 (SPX) and Nasdaq (COMP) were all solidly in the red, adding to their losses from earlier in the day and yesterday. The Dow was at one point down some 400 points before bouncing back ever so slightly. The S&P 500 was down 1.4% and the Nasdaq fell 1.5%, also both adding to their earlier losses.

Global stocks were ailing after President Donald Trump Sunday threatened further tariffs on Chinese imports, throwing global markets into disarray. Investors previously expected Beijing and Washington to be close to sorting out a trade deal after months of negotiations.

The "Goldilocks" investing environment of low inflation and high growth had calmed investors' nerves over the past several months. But political risk came back with a vengeance after the US-China trade negotiations seem to be on thinner ice than previously thought possible this late in the talks.

Monday's selloff started with the Dow opening sharply lower, but stocks recovered most of their losses yesterday as trading went on. Investors took some comfort after Chinese Vice Premier Liu said he remains scheduled to travel to the US this week.

"Markets appear to be holding on to hope that US-China trade negotiations will not be derailed, amid reports that this week's trade talks in Washington will still take place," said Han Tan, Market Analyst at FXTM.

Many have weighed whether the presidential tweet was just a negotiation tactic. Analysts at Bank of America believe that both parties at the table remain motivated to agree a deal.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said China reneged on previous agreements over the weekend, undermining progress towards a detailed trade agreement between the world's two largest economies.

Lighthizer, the top US trade negotiator, said the administration would increase penalties on $200 billion of Chinese goods to 25% from 10% on Friday. Trump renewed his threat to raise tariffs on Sunday.

"That assumption is likely to be tested sooner rather than later, and the initial optimism that Trump's truculence was bluster was tempered somewhat by trade representative Robert Lighthizer's claims that China had backpedalled on certain elements on what had already been agreed," said Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC.

European stocks ended Tuesday broadly lower. Asian markets ended their day mixed, with the Shanghai Composite (SHCOMP) closing 0.7% higher, retracing some of its 5.6% drop on Monday, according to Refinitiv.

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https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/07/investing/global-selloff-whats-next/index.html

2019-05-07 15:37:00Z
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4 B-52s deploying to Middle East amid threat of "possible attack" - CBS News

U.S. sending forces to Mideast to warn Iran

Four B-52 bombers are being deployed to the Middle East in response to what administration officials said earlier this week are threats of a possible attack by Iran or allied fighters on American troops in the region. Two of the bombers are expected to leave Tuesday from Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana, arriving at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar on Wednesday, CBS News national security correspondent David Martin reports.

White House national security adviser John Bolton said on Sunday that the U.S. was deploying a bomber task force and the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group to the U.S. Central Command region, an area that includes the Middle East. Bolton said the movement was in response to "a number of troubling and escalatory indications and warnings." He didn't provide details, but said the U.S. wants to send a "clear and unmistakable" message to Iran that "unrelenting force" would meet any attack on U.S. interests or those of its allies.

"The United States is not seeking war with the Iranian regime, but we are fully prepared to respond to any attack, whether by proxy, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or regular Iranian forces," he said.

Trending News

A Defense Department official told CBS News' Martin earlier this week the U.S. has detected "a number of preparations for possible attack" on U.S. forces at sea and on land.  

"There is more than one avenue of attack or possible attack that we're tracking," the official said.

The official said the decision to order the deployment was made on Sunday.

The USS Abraham Lincoln has filed with Egypt for permission to go through the Suez Canal and is expected to transit in the next 48-72 hours, Martin reports. The aircraft carrier was scheduled to go to the Gulf anyway but is now going one to two weeks early. 

CENTCOM is expected to request additional forces, including Patriot anti-missile batteries.

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2019-05-07 15:11:00Z
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Stock losses accelerate as Wall Street gets tariff whiplash - CNN

The Dow (DJIEW), S&P 500 (SPX) and Nasdaq (COMP) were all solidly in the red. The Dow was more than 300 points lower after about an hour of trading. The S&P 500 was down 1.3%% and the Nasdaq fell 1.3%, also both adding to their earlier losses.

On Sunday, President Donald Trump threatened further tariffs on Chinese imports, throwing global markets into disarray. Investors previously expected Beijing and Washington to be close to sorting out a trade deal after months of negotiations.

The "Goldilocks" investing environment of low inflation and high growth had calmed investors' nerves over the past several months. But political risk came back with a vengeance after the US-China trade negotiations seem to be on thinner ice than previously thought possible this late in the talks.

Monday's selloff started with the Dow opening sharply lower, but stocks recovered most of their losses yesterday as trading went on. Investors took some comfort after Chinese Vice Premier Liu said he remains scheduled to travel to the US this week.

"Markets appear to be holding on to hope that US-China trade negotiations will not be derailed, amid reports that this week's trade talks in Washington will still take place," said Han Tan, Market Analyst at FXTM.

Many have weighed whether the presidential tweet was just a negotiation tactic. Analysts at Bank of America believe that both parties at the table remain motivated to agree a deal.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said China reneged on previous agreements over the weekend, undermining progress towards a detailed trade agreement between the world's two largest economies.

Lighthizer, the top US trade negotiator, said the administration would increase penalties on $200 billion of Chinese goods to 25% from 10% on Friday. Trump renewed his threat to raise tariffs on Sunday.

"That assumption is likely to be tested sooner rather than later, and the initial optimism that Trump's truculence was bluster was tempered somewhat by trade representative Robert Lighthizer's claims that China had backpedalled on certain elements on what had already been agreed," said Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC.

European stocks are broadly lower. Asian markets ended their day mixed, with the Shanghai Composite (SHCOMP) closing 0.7% higher, retracing some of its 5.6% drop on Monday, according to Refinitiv.

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2019-05-07 14:21:00Z
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