China urged the EU on Friday to urge the EU to resist “unilateral bullying” with Beijing after U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff attack has sparked Mayhem’s world market.
Trump blinked first this week after the stock crash and the bond market began to flash red, as he pushed for the reshaping of the post-war global business system and frozen many tariffs for 90 days.
But he raised an astonishing 145% for China, escalated the trade war between the world’s two top economies and snatched a brief rally in the financial markets.
As the dollar weakens, Trump acknowledged “transition costs and transition issues” but rejected global market turmoil.
“In the end, it’s going to be a beautiful thing.”
He described the EU as “very smart” to avoid retaliation and taxation. But the group’s head warned that it still has “a broad response”.
“[The EU] Prepare to declare revenge. Then they heard about what we did to China. ” Trump said.
He said on X: “In the European Commission, we must show a strong performance: Europe must continue to carry out all the necessary countermeasures.”
In today’s talks with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, state media quoted Xi Jinping as saying that China and the EU should simply cooperate on this issue.
“China and Europe should fulfill their international responsibilities … and jointly resist unilateral bullying,” Xi Jinping said.
He stressed that this will not only “protect one’s own legitimate rights and interests, but also… protect international fairness and justice.”
“No winner”
New Falls on Wall Street, Asian markets were under pressure again on Friday.
Tokyo has sunk more than 4% of people (in a surge of more than 9%), while Sydney, Seoul, Singapore and others have also fallen.
Oil and the dollar slide over fears of a global slowdown, while gold’s new record is above $3,200 as investors who have been scared by Trump’s unstable policies abandoning normal rock US Treasury bonds.
“The amount of sugar in Trump’s tariff suspension is rapidly disappearing,” said Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management.
“Bottom line: The two largest economies in the world are in a full-blown trade war – no winners.”
‘Golden Age’
Trump said he wanted to reorder the world economy by forcing manufacturers to build their own foundation in the United States and allowing the country to lower barriers to American goods.
Critics say Trump’s policies are creating chaos for companies that rely on complex supply chains, alienate close relatives and allies and make goods more expensive.
His Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick posted on social media on Thursday: “The golden age is coming. We are committed to protecting our interests, participating in global negotiations and exploding our economy.”
The EU welcomes some of the U.S. president’s rankings and announced its own olive branch, suspending tariffs for 90 days, with prices exceeding 20 billion euros ($22.4 billion) in U.S. goods.
But G27 chief Ursula von der Leyen told the Financial Times that if negotiations with Trump hit a step forward, it still has a “broad countermeasure.”
“One example is that you can collect advertising revenue from digital services,” she said.
Trump also warned that tariffs could resume in 90 days. “If we can’t reach an agreement … then we will return to who we are,” he said.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney called Trump’s reversal “a popular probation” and said Ottawa will negotiate a new economic deal with Washington after the April 28 election.
Vietnam said it had agreed to the U.S. start trade talks, and Pakistan is sending a delegation to Washington.
Xi Jinping will travel to Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia next week as China fights for a trade war with Trump, with tariff drama expected to take a high point in the agenda.
