Dow futures slightly higher despite Trump's warning on China tariffs - CNBC

U.S. stock index futures were slightly higher Tuesday morning despite comments from President Donald Trump on trade war with China.

At around 01:36 a.m. ET, Dow futures rose 45 points, indicating a positive open of more than 59 points. Futures of S&P and Nasdaq were also seen slightly higher.

President Donald Trump told CNBC on Monday that if Chinese President Xi Jinping does not attend the G-20 meeting later this month, there will be additional duties on Chinese goods. This would take effect immediately.

The U.S. President also defended his approach of imposing tariffs on international partners, saying these are putting the U.S. "at a tremendous competitive advantage."

"The China deal is going to work out. You know why? Because of tariffs," Trump told CNBC. "Right now, China is getting absolutely decimated by companies that are leaving China, going to other countries, including our own, because they don't want to pay the tariffs."

On the earnings front, the calendar is quite thin with only H&R Block and Dave & Buster's due to report.

Meanwhile, investors will be looking ahead to the release of the NFIB survey at 6 a.m. ET as well as of the latest PPI numbers at 8:30 a.m.

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2019-06-11 06:36:29Z
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More China tariffs could push the US into a 'Trump recession,' CEO says - CNBC

The U.S. economy may be pushed into a "Trump recession" if Washington follows through on its threat to impose new tariffs on billions of dollars worth of Chinese goods, the president and CEO of a U.S.-based trade organization said Tuesday.

Speaking to CNBC at the CES Asia technology conference in Shanghai, Gary Shapiro from the Consumer Technology Association called tariffs an "economic fence" and said they are "not a good strategy" to help Washington resolve its trade dispute with Beijing.

"They are taxes, they hurt consumers, they hurt American companies," Shapiro said, noting that positive assessments of U.S. President Donald Trump's hard-line tariff approach are not widely held by economists outside the White House.

As Beijing and Washington remain deadlocked in an increasingly aggressive trade dispute, some economists have said that tariffs on Chinese goods — which Trump has repeatedly said will benefit the U.S. — may eventually backfire and tip the U.S. economy into a recession.

Despite such fears and a worse-than-expected jobs data for May, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told CNBC on Sunday that the U.S. economy is still the "bright spot of the world" — and he doesn't see any signs of an economic downturn.

Trump on Monday renewed his tariff threats on China after Myron Brilliant, the head of international affairs at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, told CNBC that Trump's "weaponization of tariffs" hurts the U.S. economy and "creates uncertainty" with trading partners.

Trump confirmed that an additional raft of levies will be slapped on Beijing if Chinese President Xi Jinping does not show up at the G-20 meeting in Japan — an event investors and economists will be watching for signs of a breakthrough in the trade impasse.

Huawei dispute could 'escalate out of control'

The current tensions between the U.S. and China appeared to reach a new height when Washington placed Huawei on a U.S. entity list in May, limiting the Chinese telecom giant's ability to purchase goods from American firms.

While the U.S. Commerce Department has granted a 90-day reprieve to Huawei, China has already been ramping up development of its own semiconductor industry — which could ultimately hurt the profits of U.S. companies.

According to Shapiro, restrictive measures in the tech space could escalate "out of control" and cause both consumers and U.S. chip companies to be "trampled."

The blacklisting of Huawei will not only push China to become more closed off to the rest of the world, but will also hinder the United States' ability to maintain "world leadership" in the technology market, Shapiro said.

"We have these great American chip companies ready to sell to all around the world," he said. "And the fact is, I think the U.S. policy may be really pushing China to do everything by itself, and not only put up walls around China, but we're putting up an economic fence around the United States."

If the U.S. wants to advance "and be innovative, maintain world leadership, we have to be out there in the world marketplace," he added.

President Donald Trump speaks during a press conference with China's President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on November 9, 2017.

Nicholas Asfouri | AFP | Getty Images

Tech bifurcation possible

As tensions between the world's two largest economies rise, experts have said a bifurcation in the global internet space — otherwise known as the "splinternet," with two different systems of technology and regulations — has become increasingly likely.

Shapiro echoed that sentiment, saying that a "standards bifurcation" in tech is a "possibility."

"We see in electricity, different outlets in different regions of the world," he said. "There has been an economic fence put up around China in terms of Internet access,."

However, Shapiro said he believes that countries like the U.S., Europe, Canada, Australia and New Zealand share a "cultural bond" that will drive them together.

"China has a good strategy for China — 1.4 billion people; they feed them, they do good things," Shapiro said. "But the reality is, it's a very insular strategy. That is not something I want as an American."

—CNBC's Arjun Kharpal contributed to this report.

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2019-06-11 05:33:06Z
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Scores killed in attack on central Mali village - Al Jazeera English

At least 95 people have been killed in an overnight attack on an ethnic Dogon village in central Mali, local officials have said, in the latest bout of violence to hit the region.

Nineteen others were missing since unknown armed men attacked the village of Sobane-Kou in the Mopti region in the early hours of Monday, the government said in a statement.

"Armed men, suspected to be terrorists, launched a murderous attack on this peaceful village," the statement added.

The attackers also killed animals and burned down houses, the government said, adding that an investigation was under way.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but tensions have been rising since an ethnic Dogon militia was accused of carrying out a massacre in an ethnic Fulani village in March.

Moulaye Guindo, the mayor of the nearby town of Bankass, told Reuters news agency that Fulanis had attacked the village after dark.

A local official told AFP news agency: "Right now we have 95 dead civilians. The bodies are burned, we are continuing to look for others."

The village had about 300 inhabitants, according to an official who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity.

Al Jazeera's Nicolas Haque, reporting from Dakar in neighbouring Senegal, said Malian troops were deployed at the village "trying to secure the area and to ensure there are no more attacks happening in the villages nearby".

Why are peacekeepers leaving Mali? (25:31)

Worsening violence

Violence between the Dogon and Fulani has compounded an already dire security situation in Mali's semi-arid and desert regions, which are used as a base by armed groups with ties to al-Qaeda and Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

The Fulani are primarily cattle breeders and traders, while the Dogon are traditionally sedentary farmers.

On May 16, the United Nations mission in Mali (MINUSMA) announced it had recorded "at least 488 deaths" in attacks on Fulanis in the central regions of Mopti and Segou since January 2018.

In the bloodiest raid, about 160 Fulani villagers were slaughtered in March at Ogossagou, near the border with Burkina Faso, by suspected Dogon hunters.

MINUSMA said that, also since January 2018, armed Fulanis had "caused 63 deaths" among civilians in the Mopti region.

"It's a shock, a tragedy," MINUSMA chief Mahamat Saleh Annadif said of the latest bloodletting, noting that it came at a time "when we are discussing the renewal of the (MINUSMA) mandate".

Some 14,700 troops and police are currently deployed in Mali, which ranks as the most dangerous UN mission, with 125 peacekeepers killed in attacks since deployment in 2013.

Donor countries to MINUSMA are to meet at the UN on Wednesday. A decision on renewing the force's mandate is expected by June 27.

Speaking at the UN headquarters in New York, Annadif expressed regret that the Malian authorities had not been present enough in the area to prevent such violence.

Last week, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres had warned of a "high risk" of atrocities and called on the government to strengthen its response to armed groups.

"If these concerns are not addressed, there is a high risk of further escalation that could lead to the commission of atrocity crimes," he wrote in a report to the UN Security Council.

In Monday's statement, the Malian government expressed its condolences and said "every measure will be taken to arrest and punish those responsible for this bloodshed."

"Reinforcements are currently deployed in the sector and carrying out a wide-ranging search," it said in a statement.

SOURCE: Al Jazeera and news agencies

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2019-06-10 15:10:00Z
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'Tariffs are a beautiful thing' — Trump doubles down on trade war strategy with China after Mexico deal - CNBC

President Donald Trump, energized by the new border deal with Mexico, made it clear Monday that tariffs are a key weapon in his arsenal as he moves forward with trade talks with China and other countries.

"People haven't used tariffs, but tariffs are a beautiful thing when you are the piggy bank, when you have all the money. Everyone is trying to get our money," Trump said during a telephone interview with CNBC's "Squawk Box. "

Trump said his threat to impose tariffs on Mexico encouraged the country to agree to stronger immigration enforcement, and he predicted the strategy will be successful with China. The president again argued that tariffs will push companies to move jobs to the U.S.

"The China deal is going to work out. You know why? Because of tariffs. Because right now China is getting absolutely decimated by countries that are leaving China, going to other countries, including our own," Trump told CNBC's Joe Kernen. He contended that companies would "move out" of China or Mexico and relocate to the U.S. due to tariffs.

China is "going to make a deal because they're going to have to make a deal, " Trump added.

Trump, who famously called himself a "Tariff Man," has slapped duties on products from key trading partners China, Canada, Mexico and the European Union as he pushes for them to address alleged trade abuses. While a Republican Party that has typically embraced free trade has warmed to Trump's strategy, the president has still faced resistance from lawmakers and businesses who argue the tariffs and retaliatory duties will damage the U.S. economy.

Trump walks a fine political line ahead of his 2020 reelection bid. While the president wants to follow through on campaign pledges to crack down on Chinese trade abuses, boost American manufacturing and curb the flow of migrants at the southern U.S. border, he also hopes to limit damage to voters in states affected by retaliatory tariffs.

Trump sees tariffs as an effective way to force allies like Mexico to change their behavior.

The complete details of the agreement reached between the U.S. and Mexico have not been released. In a joint declaration Friday evening, the two countries wrote that Mexico would take "unprecedented steps to increase enforcement to curb irregular migration, to include the deployment of its National Guard throughout Mexico."

The New York Times, citing officials from both countries, reported that the deal largely includes measures that Mexico had already agreed to before Trump's tariff threat. Trump called that report a "FRAUD" and a "hit job."

Trump on Monday also took swipes at business groups, particularly the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, that have criticized tariffs.

The Chamber of Commerce, Trump said, "is probably more for the companies and the people that are members than they are for our country."

Trump's phone call appeared to be a response to an interview on CNBC earlier in the day with Myron Brilliant, head of international affairs at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Brilliant critiqued what he called the "weaponization of tariffs, " which he said "is going to hurt our country."

Foreign policy experts have also raised concerns that Trump might end up relying on tariffs too much, potentially risking America's economic power.

"It remains to be seen — in Mexico, China and beyond — how much Trump will gain through his unique willingness to use economic weapons," Atlantic Council CEO Fred Kempe wrote in a CNBC column. "What's clear already is that friends and rivals are more interested than ever before in exploring alternatives to the U.S.-dominated system."

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2019-06-10 13:54:28Z
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Trump raises specter of imposing 'very profitable' new tariffs on Mexico despite deal breakthrough - Fox News

Even as he again hailed his administration's last-minute, much-heralded deal on Friday with Mexico as a "successful agreement" to address illegal immigration at the southern border, President Trump on Sunday bluntly suggested he might again seek to impose punishing tariffs on Mexico if its cooperation falls short in the future.

The president and other key administration officials also sharply disputed a New York Times report claiming the Friday deal "largely" had been negotiated months ago, and hinted that not all major details of the new arrangement have yet been made public.

In its report, the Times acknowledged that Mexico's pledge to deploy up to 6,000 national guard troops to its southern border with Guatemala "was larger than their previous pledge," and that Mexico's "agreement to accelerate the Migrant Protection Protocols could help reduce what Mr. Trump calls 'catch and release' of migrants in the United States by giving the country a greater ability to make asylum-seekers wait in Mexico."

U.S. officials had been working to expand the migrant program, which already has led to the return of about 10,000 people, and said Friday's agreement was a major push in that direction. Nevertheless, the Times, citing unnamed officials from Mexico and the U.S., reported that the concessions already had been hashed out in a more limited form.

WATCH: ACTING DHS SECRETARY DISPUTES NEW YORK TIMES REPORT, SAYS 'ALL OF' THE DEAL IS 'NEW'

"Another false report in the Failing @nytimes," Trump wrote. "We have been trying to get some of these Border Actions for a long time, as have other administrations, but were not able to get them, or get them in full, until our signed agreement with Mexico. Additionally, and for many years Mexico was not being cooperative on the Border in things we had, or didn’t have, and now I have full confidence, especially after speaking to their President yesterday, that they will be very cooperative and want to get the job properly done."

That might have been a reference to discussions about Mexico becoming a "safe third country," which would make it harder for asylum-seekers who pass through the country to claim refuge in the U.S. The idea, which Mexico has long opposed, was discussed during negotiations, but Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard has said his country did not agree to it, even as Mexican diplomats said negotiations on the topic will continue.

And, acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan, speaking on "Fox News Sunday," insisted "all of it is new," including the agreement to dispatch around 6,000 National Guard troops — a move Mexico has described as an "acceleration."

A Mexican Army soldier near an immigration checkpoint in Tapachula, Chiapas state, Mexico, this past Saturday. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

"This is the first time we've heard anything like this kind of number of law enforcement being deployed in Mexico to address migration, not just at the southern border but also on the transportation routes to the northern border and in coordinated patrols in key areas along our southwest border," he said, adding that "people can disagree with the tactics" but that "Mexico came to the table with real proposals" that he said will be effective, if implemented.

The agreement between the U.S. and Mexico headed off a 5 percent tax on all Mexican goods that Trump had threatened to impose starting Monday. The tariffs were set to rise to 15 percent on August 1, 2019, to 20 percent on September 1, 2019, and to 25 percent on October 1, 2019.

But, Trump suggested Sunday, the threat of tariffs is not completely removed.

"Importantly, some things not mentioned in [yesterday's] press release, one in particular, were agreed upon," Trump continued. "That will be announced at the appropriate time. There is now going to be great cooperation between Mexico & the USA, something that didn’t exist for decades. However, if for some unknown reason there is not, we can always go back to our previous, very profitable, position of Tariffs - But I don’t believe that will be necessary. The Failing @nytimes, & ratings challenged @CNN, will do anything possible to see our Country fail! They are truly The Enemy of the People!"

Democrats seeking to unseat President Trump in 2020, meanwhile, said the Times report was evidence that the administration merely was trying to save face, after Trump suddenly announced his plan for the tariffs less than two weeks ago, on May 30.

Bernie Sanders, for example, derided Trump on Sunday for purportedly picking unnecessary and economically costly fights with a variety of countries.

"I think what the world is tired of and what I am tired of is a president who consistently goes to war, verbal war with our allies, whether it is Mexico, whether it is Canada," Sanders said.

But, in a tense moment on CNN's "State of the Union," Sanders struggled when asked by host Dana Bash why he had called the situation at the southern border a "fake crisis" engineered by the White House.

"Immigration officials have arrested or encountered more than 144,000 migrants at the southern border in May, the highest monthly total in 13 years," Bash began. "Border facilities are dangerously overcrowded; migrants are actually standing on toilets to get space to breathe. How is that not a crisis?"

Sanders responded that the president has been "demonizing" immigrants.

Beto O'Rourke, in a separate interview, conceded only that Trump may have helped accelerate the implementation of a previously existing arrangement.

"I think the president has completely overblown what he purports to have achieved. These are agreements that Mexico had already made and, in some case, months ago," O'Rourke said on ABC News’ "This Week." "They might have accelerated the timetable, but by and large the president achieved nothing except to jeopardize the most important trading relationship that the United States of America has."

Mexican officials, meanwhile, insisted that they would remain engaged in active negotiations with the Trump administration.

"We want to continue to work with the U.S. very closely on the different challenges that we have together, and one urgent one at this moment is immigration," Mexican diplomat Martha Barcena said Sunday.

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She told CBS News' "Face the Nation" that the countries' "joint declaration of principles... gives us the base for the road map that we have to follow in the incoming months on immigration and cooperation on asylum issues and development in Central America."

Barcena added that the U.S. wanted to see the number of migrants crossing the border to return to levels seen in 2018.

Fox News' Bret Baier, Adam Shaw and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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2019-06-10 13:13:29Z
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Trump raises specter of imposing 'very profitable' new tariffs on Mexico despite deal breakthrough - Fox News

Even as he again hailed his administration's last-minute, much-heralded deal on Friday with Mexico as a "successful agreement" to address illegal immigration at the southern border, President Trump on Sunday bluntly suggested he might again seek to impose punishing tariffs on Mexico if its cooperation falls short in the future.

The president and other key administration officials also sharply disputed a New York Times report claiming the Friday deal "largely" had been negotiated months ago, and hinted that not all major details of the new arrangement have yet been made public.

In its report, the Times acknowledged that Mexico's pledge to deploy up to 6,000 national guard troops to its southern border with Guatemala "was larger than their previous pledge," and that Mexico's "agreement to accelerate the Migrant Protection Protocols could help reduce what Mr. Trump calls 'catch and release' of migrants in the United States by giving the country a greater ability to make asylum-seekers wait in Mexico."

U.S. officials had been working to expand the migrant program, which already has led to the return of about 10,000 people, and said Friday's agreement was a major push in that direction. Nevertheless, the Times, citing unnamed officials from Mexico and the U.S., reported that the concessions already had been hashed out in a more limited form.

WATCH: ACTING DHS SECRETARY DISPUTES NEW YORK TIMES REPORT, SAYS 'ALL OF' THE DEAL IS 'NEW'

"Another false report in the Failing @nytimes," Trump wrote. "We have been trying to get some of these Border Actions for a long time, as have other administrations, but were not able to get them, or get them in full, until our signed agreement with Mexico. Additionally, and for many years Mexico was not being cooperative on the Border in things we had, or didn’t have, and now I have full confidence, especially after speaking to their President yesterday, that they will be very cooperative and want to get the job properly done."

That might have been a reference to discussions about Mexico becoming a "safe third country," which would make it harder for asylum-seekers who pass through the country to claim refuge in the U.S. The idea, which Mexico has long opposed, was discussed during negotiations, but Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard has said his country did not agree to it, even as Mexican diplomats said negotiations on the topic will continue.

And, acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan, speaking on "Fox News Sunday," insisted "all of it is new," including the agreement to dispatch around 6,000 National Guard troops — a move Mexico has described as an "acceleration."

A Mexican Army soldier near an immigration checkpoint in Tapachula, Chiapas state, Mexico, this past Saturday. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

"This is the first time we've heard anything like this kind of number of law enforcement being deployed in Mexico to address migration, not just at the southern border but also on the transportation routes to the northern border and in coordinated patrols in key areas along our southwest border," he said, adding that "people can disagree with the tactics" but that "Mexico came to the table with real proposals" that he said will be effective, if implemented.

The agreement between the U.S. and Mexico headed off a 5 percent tax on all Mexican goods that Trump had threatened to impose starting Monday. The tariffs were set to rise to 15 percent on August 1, 2019, to 20 percent on September 1, 2019, and to 25 percent on October 1, 2019.

But, Trump suggested Sunday, the threat of tariffs is not completely removed.

"Importantly, some things not mentioned in [yesterday's] press release, one in particular, were agreed upon," Trump continued. "That will be announced at the appropriate time. There is now going to be great cooperation between Mexico & the USA, something that didn’t exist for decades. However, if for some unknown reason there is not, we can always go back to our previous, very profitable, position of Tariffs - But I don’t believe that will be necessary. The Failing @nytimes, & ratings challenged @CNN, will do anything possible to see our Country fail! They are truly The Enemy of the People!"

Democrats seeking to unseat President Trump in 2020, meanwhile, said the Times report was evidence that the administration merely was trying to save face, after Trump suddenly announced his plan for the tariffs less than two weeks ago, on May 30.

Bernie Sanders, for example, derided Trump on Sunday for purportedly picking unnecessary and economically costly fights with a variety of countries.

"I think what the world is tired of and what I am tired of is a president who consistently goes to war, verbal war with our allies, whether it is Mexico, whether it is Canada," Sanders said.

But, in a tense moment on CNN's "State of the Union," Sanders struggled when asked by host Dana Bash why he had called the situation at the southern border a "fake crisis" engineered by the White House.

"Immigration officials have arrested or encountered more than 144,000 migrants at the southern border in May, the highest monthly total in 13 years," Bash began. "Border facilities are dangerously overcrowded; migrants are actually standing on toilets to get space to breathe. How is that not a crisis?"

Sanders responded that the president has been "demonizing" immigrants.

Beto O'Rourke, in a separate interview, conceded only that Trump may have helped accelerate the implementation of a previously existing arrangement.

"I think the president has completely overblown what he purports to have achieved. These are agreements that Mexico had already made and, in some case, months ago," O'Rourke said on ABC News’ "This Week." "They might have accelerated the timetable, but by and large the president achieved nothing except to jeopardize the most important trading relationship that the United States of America has."

Mexican officials, meanwhile, insisted that they would remain engaged in active negotiations with the Trump administration.

"We want to continue to work with the U.S. very closely on the different challenges that we have together, and one urgent one at this moment is immigration," Mexican diplomat Martha Barcena said Sunday.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

She told CBS News' "Face the Nation" that the countries' "joint declaration of principles... gives us the base for the road map that we have to follow in the incoming months on immigration and cooperation on asylum issues and development in Central America."

Barcena added that the U.S. wanted to see the number of migrants crossing the border to return to levels seen in 2018.

Fox News' Bret Baier, Adam Shaw and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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2019-06-10 12:55:00Z
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Russian newspapers show solidarity with detained journalist - ABC News

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2019-06-10 11:20:00Z
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