Bangkok – The impact of US President Donald Trump on tariff hikes was reflected in the world markets on Monday, as trade partners in America were puzzling whether there was room to negotiate better deals.
Several countries have said they are sending sales officers to Washington to try to speak through a crisis that has caught uncertainty about global economic perspectives, stabbing the markets and let us wonder about the value of their links to the biggest economy in the world.
However, German Economy Minister Robert Habek was challenging when he arrived at a European Union Ministers meeting in Luxembourg, saying that the prerequisite for widespread tariffs was “nonsense” and that attempts to win individual countries in the past did not work.
It is important for the EU to stick, he said. This “means being aware that we are in a strong position – America is in a position of weakness.”
China, who retired on Friday in Washington with 34% tariffs for American products and other outrageous moves, accused the United States of failing to play a fair.
“Putting America in the first place over the international rules is a typical act of one -sided, protectionism and economic harassment,” Foreign spokesman Lin Jian told reporters.
The ruling Communist Party struck a note of trust even as markets in Hong Kong and Shanghai fell apart. “Heaven will not fall,” said the daily people, the party’s official mouthpiece. “Faced with indiscriminate strikes of US taxes, we know what we are doing and we have tools available.”
Leading large drops in many markets, the shareholder of Hong Kong, Hang Seng, is immersed by 13.2%. Meanwhile, the Shanghai composite index lost 7.3%, despite the reported moves of regulators to strengthen losses.
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce said employees met with representatives of 20 US businesses, including Tesla and Ge Healthcare over the weekend and called on to take “specific action” to deal with the tariff issue.
During the meeting, Ling J, Deputy Minister of Trade, promised that China would remain open to foreign investment, according to the ministry report.
The South Korean Ministry said its best negotiator, Inkyo Cheong, would visit Washington this week to express Seoul’s fears about 25% of Korean goods rates and discuss the ways to mitigate the damage of the South Korean business, which include major manufacturers.
Pakistan also plans to send a delegation to Washington this month to try to negotiate for 29% rates for his export to the United States, staff said. The Prime Minister ordered Finance Minister Mohammed Aurangzeb to evaluate the potential impact of the Tariff on the fragile Pakistan economy and to make recommendations.
The United States is importing textiles and other products worth about $ 5 billion every year from Pakistan, which relies heavily on loans from the International Monetary Fund and other creditors.
In Southeast Asia, the Minister of Trade in Malaysia, Zafrul Abdul Aziz, said his country would seek to create a united response from the Southeast Asia Association to the vast Trump tariffs.
As chairman of the 10-national authority this year, Malaysia will lead a meeting on Thursday in her capital, Quala Lumpur, to discuss broader consequences than trade war against regional trade and investment, Zafrul told reporters.
“We are looking at investment flows, macroeconomic stability and Asean’s coordinated response to this rational problem,” Zafrul said. He denied Malaysia’s reports to impose a 47% rate of imports from the United States, saying that the actual Malaysian Tariff for US exports was 5.6%.
He said he met with the US ambassador to Malaysia to try to clarify how the United States invented a 24% tariff.
Indonesia, one of the largest economies in the region, said it would work with the business to increase the import of American wheat, cotton, oil and gas to help reduce its trade surplus, which was $ 18 billion in 2024.
Economic Minister of Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto said at a press conference that Indonesia would not avenge the new tariff by 32% for Indonesian exports, but would use diplomacy to seek mutual solutions.
Some neighbors from Southeast Asia, including Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, face over 40%tariffs, giving Indonesia a slight advantage, he noted.
“For Indonesia, this is another opportunity, as its market is huge in America,” Harato said. He said Indonesia would buy components manufactured in the United States for several national strategic projects, including refineries.
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The Associated Press journalists from around the world have contributed to this report.