Hong Kong legislators brawl over contentious extradition law - Reuters

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Scuffles broke out in Hong Kong’s legislature on Saturday between pro-democracy lawmakers and those loyal to Beijing over an extradition law that will extend Beijing’s powers over the financial hub.

Pro-democracy lawmakers clash with pro-Beijing lawmakers during a meeting for control of a meeting room to consider the controversial extradition bill, in Hong Kong, China May 11, 2019. REUTERS/James Pomfret

One person was taken to hospital.

The former British colony is trying to enact rules that would allow people accused of a crime, including foreigners, to be extradited from the city to countries without formal extradition agreements, including mainland China.

Opponents fear the law would erode rights and legal protections in the free-wheeling financial hub - freedoms that were guaranteed when it returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

Tempers boiled over when pro-democracy lawmakers and the pro-Beijing majority tried to hold separate hearings on the bill.

Scuffles erupted and lawmakers clambered over tables, cursed one another and piled into each other as security personnel tried to maintain order.

One pro-democracy lawmaker, Gary Fan, fell heavily and had to be stretchered off to hospital. Several pro-Beijing lawmakers also fell, with one appearing later with his arm in a sling.

“It’s a sad day for Hong Kong,” said pro-establishment lawmaker Elizabeth Quat.

“We laughed at Taiwan’s legislature in the past, but Hong Kong’s is even worse,” she told reporters.

The bill is the latest lightning rod for Hong Kong people worried about Beijing’s powers over the city that was promised a high degree of autonomy under a “one country, two systems” formula when it returned to Chinese rule.

More than 130,000 opponents of the bill marched against it two weeks ago, while several thousand gathered outside the legislature on Friday night to demand it be scrapped.

Even Hong Kong’s normally conservative business community has expressed opposition. The International Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, said the bill had “gross inadequacies” and would put people at “risk of losing freedom, property and even their life in future on being surrendered”.

‘RISKS FOR U.S.’

Hong Kong’s Bar Association has said the law lacked sufficient safeguards for individuals to face a fair trial in mainland China and it noted difficulties in validating any evidence put forward by Chinese authorities.

The United States weighed into the controversy this week when a U.S. congressional commission said the law could extend China’s “coercive reach” and create serious risks for U.S. national security and economic interests in Hong Kong.

The U.S. commission even said U.S. navy might have to stop visits to Hong Kong.

China rejected the report saying Hong Kong affairs were an internal matter.

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam has insisted on the need for arrangements to extradite offenders to China and Taiwan, an island Beijing claims as its own, and other countries that don’t have extradition treaties with the city.

She has cited the case of a Hong Kong man who allegedly murdered his girlfriend in Taiwan last year, and who has since fled back to Hong Kong, as a major reason for rushing through the legislation with minimal public consultation.

Yet Taiwan authorities have since said they opposed Hong Kong’s extradition bill, and won’t agree to an ad hoc extradition arrangement for the murder suspect even if the bill was passed.

Slideshow (2 Images)

Hong Kong’s opposition democratic lawmakers hold less than a third of the seats in the city’s 70-seat legislature, meaning they can’t veto the legislation when it goes to a final vote, possibly in weeks.

“We will make use of all the rules of procedures to delay the legislation as much as we can,” said Democrat Lam Cheuk-ting.

Some activists have called for more street protests.

Reporting by James Pomfret and Jessie Pang; Editing by Robert Birsel

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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2019-05-11 04:33:00Z
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2 decorated French soldiers killed in rescue mission that saved American, other hostages in Africa - Fox News

An American citizen is among a group of four hostages who have been freed in western Africa following a French special forces military operation that resulted in the deaths of two of their own soldiers, the Elysee announced Friday.

France said the hostages were rescued Thursday night following a battle in Burkina Faso.

PASTOR, 5 OTHERS KILLED IN BURKINA FASO CHURCH ATTACK

The statement from France said President Emmanuel Macron "bows with emotion and gravity at the sacrifice of our two soldiers, who gave their lives to save those of our fellow citizens".

They were identified as petty officers Cédric de Pierrepont and Alain Bertoncello. A Facebook post by the French Navy added that both men received numerous awards and recognitions throughout their military careers, such as the Gold Level of the National Defense Medal.

Cédric de Pierrepont, left, and Alain Bertoncello were killed Thursday during a hostage rescue mission in Burkina Faso, France says. (French Navy)

The hostages who were rescued, according to France, were a U.S. citizen, a South Korean national, and French nationals Patrick Picque and Laurent Lassimouillas.

The Frenchmen were tourists who were kidnapped during a safari in Benin last week, Reuters reported. The circumstances surrounding the capture of the other two were not immediately clear.

TRUMP SAYS US CITIZEN WHO WAS HELD HOSTAGE IN YEMEN FOR 18 MONTHS HAS BEEN FREED

According to one security source on the ground, Benin – where the hostages were taken – has been especially unstable following parliamentary elections in March, after electoral authorities ruled that only two parties - both loyal to the current President Patrice Talon – met the requirements to take part.

“This generated to a high-level of vulnerability coupled with instability in the borders of Burkina Faso,” said the source. “The kidnap has all the markings of the interplay between organized kidnapping gangs and jihadist groups. The death of the two French Special Forces indicates the strength and depth of these groups in capacity, local knowledge, and atmospherics.”

Another U.S. intelligence analyst in the region pointed out that an array of militias have “expanded operations” and that the situation has become especially inflamed in recent months.

Islamic extremists have become increasingly active in Burkina Faso, raising worries the militants could be infiltrating northern Benin and neighboring Togo as well. While it is not yet clear who abducted the group and why, neighboring Burkina Faso – once considered a beacon of calm in the otherwise terror-teeming region – has been a growing hotbed for some time.

The raid that saved the hostages happened Thursday night in the Western African nation of Burkina Faso, France says; the Frenchmen were tourists who were kidnapped in neighboring Benin. (Google Maps)

Over the past six months, at least 5,000 people have been killed in the Sahel – the sub-Saharan region of northern Africa – amid an escalation of inter-ethnic violence ranging from bombings to massacres to suicide attacks. Fox News also reported last year that Al Qaeda too had gained a foothold in the region, spilling over the porous border from Mali with weapons obtained in leftover Gaddafi stockpiles ascertained in Libya seven years ago.

Notably, abductions have also risen in the region and officials have been cautioning that more and more terrorist groups view seizing foreign tourists as a chance to fund their violent reigns with ransom payments.

The Sahel region near where the French citizens were kidnapped is as an ecological transition zone between the Sahara desert and Africa’s savannahs farther south. It has been roamed by militants in recent years who have targeted French nationals and other Europeans for kidnappings and demanded millions of dollars for their release. NGO groups operating on the ground also told Fox News that while French passports were once considered relatively safe compared to other nationalities like the U.S., they have become especially red-flagged by armed groups.

As it stands, more than 4,500 French troops are deployed to the area.

While the identity of the freed American has not been public, one former Pentagon official stressed that there are U.S. citizens – not just tourists – who have vanished from the area in recent areas, one of importance being aid worker Jeffrey Woodke, now 59, who was last seen in Niger in October 2016.

The U.S. State Department, in a travel advisory issued in early April, warned Americans to "reconsider travel" to Burkina Faso as "terrorist groups continue plotting attacks and kidnappings... and may conduct attacks anywhere."

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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2019-05-10 15:32:09Z
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2 decorated French soldiers killed in rescue mission that saved American, other hostages in Africa - Fox News

An American citizen is among a group of four hostages who have been freed in western Africa following a French special forces military operation, the Elysee announced Friday.

France said the hostages were rescued Thursday night following a battle in Burkina Faso that left two of its soldiers dead.

PASTOR, 5 OTHERS KILLED IN BURKINA FASO CHURCH ATTACK

The statement from France said President Emmanuel Macron "bows with emotion and gravity at the sacrifice of our two soldiers, who gave their lives to save those of our fellow citizens".

They were identified as petty officers Cédric de Pierrepont and Alain Bertoncello. A Facebook post by the French Navy added that both men received numerous awards and recognitions throughout their military careers, such as the Gold Level of the National Defense Medal.

Cédric de Pierrepont, left, and Alain Bertoncello were killed Thursday during a hostage rescue mission in Burkina Faso, France says. (French Navy)

The hostages that were rescued, according to France, were a U.S. citizen, a South Korean national, as well as French nationals Patrick Picque and Laurent Lassimouillas.

The Frenchmen were tourists who were kidnapped during a safari in Benin last week, Reuters reported. The circumstances surrounding the capture of the other two were not immediately clear.

TRUMP SAYS US CITIZEN WHO WAS HELD HOSTAGE IN YEMEN FOR 18 MONTHS HAS BEEN FREED

Islamic extremists have become increasingly active in Burkina Faso, raising worries the militants could be infiltrating northern Benin and neighboring Togo as well.

The raid that saved the hostages happened Thursday night in the Western African nation of Burkina Faso, France says. (Google Maps)

The Sahel region near where the French citizens were kidnapped is as an ecological transition zone between the Sahara desert and Africa’s savannahs farther south. It has been roamed by militants in recent years who have targeted French nationals and other Europeans for kidnappings and demanded millions of dollars for their release.

The U.S. State Department, in a travel advisory issued in early April, warned Americans to "reconsider travel" to Burkina Faso as "terrorist groups continue plotting attacks and kidnappings... and may conduct attacks anywhere."

CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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2019-05-10 14:57:07Z
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Trump defiant as trade penalties kick in, warns China there is more to come - The Washington Post

May 10 at 9:52 AM

President Trump on Friday defended his decision to impose steep tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports and promised much steeper penalties would follow, putting the rest of the world on notice that he will follow through on his protectionist agenda no matter the blowback.

In a series of tweets, Trump said that talks with Chinese leaders would continue, but he repeatedly warned that China should “not renegotiate deals with the U.S. at the last minute.”

Tariffs will make our Country MUCH STRONGER, not weaker. Just sit back and watch! In the meantime, China should not renegotiate deals with the U.S. at the last minute. This is not the Obama Administration, or the Administration of Sleepy Joe, who let China get away with “murder!”

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 10, 2019

White House officials accused China of reneging on prior details of the talks earlier this week, something Trump’s chief trade negotiator Robert E. Lighthizer told reporters was “unacceptable.” Chinese officials have denied backing away from any commitments.

The chain of events that began with higher tariffs and continued through Trump’s tweets have sown unrest in financial markets around the world and have left investors and business executives unsure of what is to come. Trump in the past has threatened severe penalties only to back down days later, but he has also shown a willingness to dig in and trust his instincts, even if advisers have warned against it. He believes the strength of the economy gives him leverage to use aggressive trade tactics.

“At this stage, it is difficult to envision this as a bluff anymore,” said Eswar Prasad, a senior professor of trade policy at Cornell University. “He seems deadly serious about taking on China in a broad economic confrontation irrespective of the consequences to the U.S. economy.”

The new tariffs largely impact business equipment, but will also affect $40 billion in consumer products like air conditioners, furniture, certain clothing and spark plugs. The financial impact of the tariffs could be delayed because it will only apply to products that left China on Friday, which often take two or three weeks to arrive from Shanghai. But business often pass these costs on to consumers, which could drive up prices across the country.

Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin are expected to meet with China’s vice premier, Liu He, on Friday to continue negotiations. They met Thursday and were unable to avert the imposition of higher tariffs. But Trump’s tweets Friday could be interpreted as a signal to the Chinese that he will not back down.

In one of the tweets, Trump wrote that there was “no need to rush.” He claimed that the tariffs would “bring in far more wealth to our country than even a phenomenal deal of a traditional kind.” He also connected his approach with that of former Vice President Joe Biden, who is running for president and wants to challenge Trump in the 2020 election. Biden’s quick rise to the top of many polls in the Democratic primary has drawn the attention of top White House officials.

Tariffs will make our Country MUCH STRONGER, not weaker. Just sit back and watch! In the meantime, China should not renegotiate deals with the U.S. at the last minute. This is not the Obama Administration, or the Administration of Sleepy Joe, who let China get away with “murder!”

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 10, 2019

But trade experts and business groups have said Trump routinely misstates how tariffs work. Tariffs are taxes paid by U.S. companies that bring in products from overseas. So those costs are borne by companies like manufacturing firms, chemical producers, and others that rely on Chinese products. This drives up the cost of Chinese products, which Trump has said will help U.S. competitors, but it also pushes up the cost for U.S. companies that use Chinese products as well.

In another tweet, Trump said he was preparing to impose a 25 percent tariff on the remaining $325 billion in Chinese imports that have so far not been impacted. This is considered to be one of the most extreme penalties he has left to unload, and it could impact products purchased by virtually every American, including electronics, other clothing, and car parts, among other things.

Trump has for years complained that the U.S. buys more goods from China than China does from the U.S., referring to a trade imbalance that is unfair to U.S. workers and companies. Many companies, Democrats, and Republicans have agreed that China uses unfair trade practices to gain an advantage and hurt U.S. companies, but they have disagreed with his tactics of using tariffs to punish the Chinese. Trump has said the easiest solution would be for companies to move their factories back to the U.S. and make their products here instead of importing them, a change that would help U.S. workers.

Build your products in the United States and there are NO TARIFFS!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 10, 2019

But critics have said this vision of the economy is dated and doesn’t take into account the global forces that have shifted production all over the world in the past 40 years.

Thursday, the Commerce Ministry said China “deeply regrets” the decision to increase the tariffs and “will have to take necessary countermeasures.”

“We hope that the U.S. and China will meet each other halfway and make joint efforts to solve the existing problems through cooperation and consultation,” a spokesman said in a statement.

Chinese officials, however, did not say what precisely they would do in response. Some U.S. companies and farmers have said they are being caught in the crossfire of the trade war. China, for example, has halted much of its purchase of U.S. soybeans, leading soybean prices to plunge and putting many U.S. farmers on the brink of bankruptcy. China could decide to further restrict purchases of U.S. products, raise tariffs on U.S. goods, or take other steps.

Trump has been under pressure from farmers to back down on his trade threats, and he appeared to nod to those concerns on Friday. He claimed that the U.S. would use the money generated by the tariffs to purchase products from American farmers and “ship it to poor & starving countries in the form of humanitarian assistance." It’s unclear how this would work, whether it would be legal, or what farmers would benefit. It could take an act of Congress, and Trump has so far tried to enact his protectionist trade agenda against China, Canada, Mexico, Japan, and the European Union without any interference from lawmakers.

During the 2016 campaign, Trump repeatedly vowed to overhaul the U.S.'s complicated trade relationship with China. The U.S. imports more than $500 billion in goods from China each year, often brought on giant ships that carry more than 1,000 containers. Trump and lawmakers from both parties have accused China of stealing U.S. intellectual property and creating unfair rules that require U.S. firms to reveal sensitive technology. And Trump has also alleged that China unfairly subsidizes its own companies in a way that makes it hard for private U.S. firms to compete.

But these issues have plagued the U.S. - China relationship for years, and Democrats and Republicans have struggled for ways to counter China’s behavior. Trump has said the only way to grab China’s attention is through tariffs and economic penalties.

Amid the first wave of severe tariffs last year, Chinese leader Xi Jinping agreed to hold formal negotiations with the White House in an effort to avoid an escalation. Those talks continued for several months, and when some U.S. officials briefed Trump they gave him an upbeat assessment of where things were heading.

During an April meeting with Chinese vice premier Liu He, Trump touted the prospects “epic” trade deal. He also said it would be “monumental” and the “granddaddy of them all.”

During the months’ long talks, both sides discussed issues like currency manipulation, intellectual property rights, and even the prospect of China purchasing billions of dollars in additional U.S. agriculture production.

But Chinese officials were frequently vague when it came to agreeing to specific commitments, something that worried U.S. officials as the talks dragged on. And Mnuchin and Lighthizer returned from a trip to Beijing last week with bad news for Trump, telling him that their Chinese counterparts had - in their view - pulled back from agreements they had thought were already set. This is what led Trump to create Friday’s deadline, something many people thought would never take place.

Chinese stock markets, after suffering big losses earlier in the week, actually gained on Friday. The Shanghai Composite Index rose 3.1 percent and the Shenzhen Component Index gained 4 percent.

The stock market opened a bit down following Trump’s tweets, with the Dow Jones industrial average dropping around 90 points in early morning trading. With Thursday’s close, the three major indexes were on course for their worst week of 2019.

Anna Fifield contributed to this report.

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2019-05-10 13:44:30Z
52780289498324

Trump defiant as trade penalties kick in, warns China there is more to come - The Washington Post

May 10 at 9:52 AM

President Trump on Friday defended his decision to impose steep tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports and promised much steeper penalties would follow, putting the rest of the world on notice that he will follow through on his protectionist agenda no matter the blowback.

In a series of tweets, Trump said that talks with Chinese leaders would continue, but he repeatedly warned that China should “not renegotiate deals with the U.S. at the last minute.”

Tariffs will make our Country MUCH STRONGER, not weaker. Just sit back and watch! In the meantime, China should not renegotiate deals with the U.S. at the last minute. This is not the Obama Administration, or the Administration of Sleepy Joe, who let China get away with “murder!”

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 10, 2019

White House officials accused China of reneging on prior details of the talks earlier this week, something Trump’s chief trade negotiator Robert E. Lighthizer told reporters was “unacceptable.” Chinese officials have denied backing away from any commitments.

The chain of events that began with higher tariffs and continued through Trump’s tweets have sown unrest in financial markets around the world and have left investors and business executives unsure of what is to come. Trump in the past has threatened severe penalties only to back down days later, but he has also shown a willingness to dig in and trust his instincts, even if advisers have warned against it. He believes the strength of the economy gives him leverage to use aggressive trade tactics.

“At this stage, it is difficult to envision this as a bluff anymore,” said Eswar Prasad, a senior professor of trade policy at Cornell University. “He seems deadly serious about taking on China in a broad economic confrontation irrespective of the consequences to the U.S. economy.”

The new tariffs largely impact business equipment, but will also affect $40 billion in consumer products like air conditioners, furniture, certain clothing and spark plugs. The financial impact of the tariffs could be delayed because it will only apply to products that left China on Friday, which often take two or three weeks to arrive from Shanghai. But business often pass these costs on to consumers, which could drive up prices across the country.

Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin are expected to meet with China’s vice premier, Liu He, on Friday to continue negotiations. They met Thursday and were unable to avert the imposition of higher tariffs. But Trump’s tweets Friday could be interpreted as a signal to the Chinese that he will not back down.

In one of the tweets, Trump wrote that there was “no need to rush.” He claimed that the tariffs would “bring in far more wealth to our country than even a phenomenal deal of a traditional kind.” He also connected his approach with that of former Vice President Joe Biden, who is running for president and wants to challenge Trump in the 2020 election. Biden’s quick rise to the top of many polls in the Democratic primary has drawn the attention of top White House officials.

Tariffs will make our Country MUCH STRONGER, not weaker. Just sit back and watch! In the meantime, China should not renegotiate deals with the U.S. at the last minute. This is not the Obama Administration, or the Administration of Sleepy Joe, who let China get away with “murder!”

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 10, 2019

But trade experts and business groups have said Trump routinely misstates how tariffs work. Tariffs are taxes paid by U.S. companies that bring in products from overseas. So those costs are borne by companies like manufacturing firms, chemical producers, and others that rely on Chinese products. This drives up the cost of Chinese products, which Trump has said will help U.S. competitors, but it also pushes up the cost for U.S. companies that use Chinese products as well.

In another tweet, Trump said he was preparing to impose a 25 percent tariff on the remaining $325 billion in Chinese imports that have so far not been impacted. This is considered to be one of the most extreme penalties he has left to unload, and it could impact products purchased by virtually every American, including electronics, other clothing, and car parts, among other things.

Trump has for years complained that the U.S. buys more goods from China than China does from the U.S., referring to a trade imbalance that is unfair to U.S. workers and companies. Many companies, Democrats, and Republicans have agreed that China uses unfair trade practices to gain an advantage and hurt U.S. companies, but they have disagreed with his tactics of using tariffs to punish the Chinese. Trump has said the easiest solution would be for companies to move their factories back to the U.S. and make their products here instead of importing them, a change that would help U.S. workers.

Build your products in the United States and there are NO TARIFFS!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 10, 2019

But critics have said this vision of the economy is dated and doesn’t take into account the global forces that have shifted production all over the world in the past 40 years.

Thursday, the Commerce Ministry said China “deeply regrets” the decision to increase the tariffs and “will have to take necessary countermeasures.”

“We hope that the U.S. and China will meet each other halfway and make joint efforts to solve the existing problems through cooperation and consultation,” a spokesman said in a statement.

Chinese officials, however, did not say what precisely they would do in response. Some U.S. companies and farmers have said they are being caught in the crossfire of the trade war. China, for example, has halted much of its purchase of U.S. soybeans, leading soybean prices to plunge and putting many U.S. farmers on the brink of bankruptcy. China could decide to further restrict purchases of U.S. products, raise tariffs on U.S. goods, or take other steps.

Trump has been under pressure from farmers to back down on his trade threats, and he appeared to nod to those concerns on Friday. He claimed that the U.S. would use the money generated by the tariffs to purchase products from American farmers and “ship it to poor & starving countries in the form of humanitarian assistance." It’s unclear how this would work, whether it would be legal, or what farmers would benefit. It could take an act of Congress, and Trump has so far tried to enact his protectionist trade agenda against China, Canada, Mexico, Japan, and the European Union without any interference from lawmakers.

During the 2016 campaign, Trump repeatedly vowed to overhaul the U.S.'s complicated trade relationship with China. The U.S. imports more than $500 billion in goods from China each year, often brought on giant ships that carry more than 1,000 containers. Trump and lawmakers from both parties have accused China of stealing U.S. intellectual property and creating unfair rules that require U.S. firms to reveal sensitive technology. And Trump has also alleged that China unfairly subsidizes its own companies in a way that makes it hard for private U.S. firms to compete.

But these issues have plagued the U.S. - China relationship for years, and Democrats and Republicans have struggled for ways to counter China’s behavior. Trump has said the only way to grab China’s attention is through tariffs and economic penalties.

Amid the first wave of severe tariffs last year, Chinese leader Xi Jinping agreed to hold formal negotiations with the White House in an effort to avoid an escalation. Those talks continued for several months, and when some U.S. officials briefed Trump they gave him an upbeat assessment of where things were heading.

During an April meeting with Chinese vice premier Liu He, Trump touted the prospects “epic” trade deal. He also said it would be “monumental” and the “granddaddy of them all.”

During the months’ long talks, both sides discussed issues like currency manipulation, intellectual property rights, and even the prospect of China purchasing billions of dollars in additional U.S. agriculture production.

But Chinese officials were frequently vague when it came to agreeing to specific commitments, something that worried U.S. officials as the talks dragged on. And Mnuchin and Lighthizer returned from a trip to Beijing last week with bad news for Trump, telling him that their Chinese counterparts had - in their view - pulled back from agreements they had thought were already set. This is what led Trump to create Friday’s deadline, something many people thought would never take place.

Chinese stock markets, after suffering big losses earlier in the week, actually gained on Friday. The Shanghai Composite Index rose 3.1 percent and the Shenzhen Component Index gained 4 percent.

The stock market opened a bit down following Trump’s tweets, with the Dow Jones industrial average dropping around 90 points in early morning trading. With Thursday’s close, the three major indexes were on course for their worst week of 2019.

Anna Fifield contributed to this report.

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2019-05-10 13:29:07Z
52780289498324

Trump, in tweet storm, says 'no need to rush' with China trade deal - CNBC

President Donald Trump said in a tweet storm Friday morning that he is in no rush to finish trade negotiations with China and that tariffs "will make our country stronger."

"Talks with China continue in a very congenial manner - there is absolutely no need to rush," the president said in one tweet.

Tweet

Stock futures fell following the tweets, including Dow Jones Industrial Average futures, which dropped 150 points.

The tweets came hours after the U.S. increased tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese products from 10% to 25%. China's Commerce Ministry said immediately after the midnight deadline for the tariff hike that it would retaliate against the American move.

Traders were hopeful the U.S. and China would be able to make a resolution before the tariffs went into place on Friday. Chinese Vice Premier Liu He met with top U.S. trade officials Thursday evening in Washington, a short time before the tariffs were set to hike.

Trade talks are set to continue on Friday despite the tariff increase.

"This evening, (United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer) and (Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin) met with President Trump to discuss the ongoing trade negotiations with China. The Ambassador and Secretary then had a working dinner with Vice Premier Liu He, and agreed to continue discussions tomorrow morning at USTR," White House deputy press secretary Judd Deere said in a statement Thursday evening.

Trump said in his tweets that in addition to hiking tariffs he will continue to negotiate with China in hopes that they do not again to to "redo" a deal. That referred to his earlier assertion that China had backtracked on nearly all aspects of the trade deal.

Stock market futures danced as Trump tweeted Friday morning. Trump deleted the original tweets, including the one that referenced 'no need to rush,' but then repeated them, adding to the market volatility.

The White House could not be reached for comment on why the tweets were edited.

Trump also said the tariffs will make the country "much stronger," and used the situation to take a shot at former Vice President Joe Biden, the front-runner in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination in the 2020 election.

Tweet

Trump later in the tweet rant defended the tariffs saying that "tariffs will bring in FAR MORE wealth to our country than even a phenomenal deal of the traditional kind."

After a troubling week for stocks, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average has lost more than 650 points and the S&P 500 has lost about 2.5%, all the three major indexes are set to open lower on Friday.

Here is Trump's full tweet storm:

Correction: An earlier version misstated the new tariff percentage on Chinese goods. It is 25%.

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https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/10/trump-signals-he-could-stick-with-china-tariffs-no-need-to-rush.html

2019-05-10 12:55:17Z
52780289498324

Trump, in tweet storm, says 'no need to rush' with China trade deal - CNBC

President Donald Trump said in a tweet storm Friday morning that he is in no rush to finish trade negotiations with China and that tariffs "will make our country stronger."

"Talks with China continue in a very congenial manner - there is absolutely no need to rush," the president said in the tweet.

Tweet

Tweet

Stock futures fell following the tweet and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were last down more than 100 points.

The tweets come just hours after the 12:01 E.T. deadline where U.S. increased Chinese tariffs, from 10% to 20%, on $200 billion of Chinese products. China's Commerce Ministry said immediately after the midnight deadline for the tariff hike that it would retaliate against the American move.

Traders were hopeful the U.S. and China would be able to make a resolution before the tariffs went into place on Friday morning. Chinese Vice Premier Liu He met with top U.S. trade officials Thursday evening in Washington, a short time before the tariffs were set to hike.

Trade talks are set to continue on Friday despite the tariff increase.

"This evening, (United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer) and (Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin) met with President Trump to discuss the ongoing trade negotiations with China. The Ambassador and Secretary then had a working dinner with Vice Premier Liu He, and agreed to continue discussions tomorrow morning at USTR," White House deputy press secretary Judd Deere said in a statement Thursday evening.

Trump said in his tweets that in addition to hiking tariffs he will continue to negotiate with China in hopes that they do not again to to "redo" a deal. The president is referencing the fact that China backtracked on nearly all aspects of the trade deal.

Stock market futures danced as Trump tweeted Friday morning. Trump deleted the original tweets, including the one that referenced 'no need to rush,' but then repeated them, adding to the market volatility.

The White House could not be reached for comment on why the tweets were edited.

Trump later in the tweet rant defended the tariffs saying that "tariffs will bring in FAR MORE wealth to our country than even a phenomenal deal of the traditional kind."

After a troubling week for stocks, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average has lost more than 650 points and the S&P 500 has lost about 2.5%, all the three major indexes are set to open lower on Friday.

Here is Trump's full tweet storm:

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

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https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/10/trump-signals-he-could-stick-with-china-tariffs-no-need-to-rush.html

2019-05-10 12:32:50Z
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