Donald Trump threatens to increase tariffs on Japan

Good morning and welcome again to FirstFT Asia. On at this time’s agenda:

Donald Trump has threatened to extend levies on Japan and forged doubt that the US would attain a take care of its Asian ally, as he escalated his commerce rhetoric days earlier than his pause on some steep tariffs is ready to run out.

What occurred: Talking to reporters yesterday, Trump stated he would impose new levies on international locations that didn’t agree a commerce deal by July 9, when the “reciprocal” tariffs unleashed in April are set to renew. He singled out Tokyo, saying: “We’ve handled Japan. I’m undecided we’re going to make a deal. I doubt it.”

Rice stand-off: Trump’s feedback got here after commerce talks between the US and Japan stalled amid a row over rice. The US president accused Tokyo of being “spoiled” and refusing to commit to purchasing extra American rice or to permit US-manufactured vehicles into its market. Japan’s chief cupboard secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi stated yesterday that Tokyo was “not serious about doing something that might sacrifice the farm sector”. Hayashi’s feedback got here as the newest spherical of commerce negotiations in Washington ended with out clear progress.

Learn extra commerce protection beneath, as international locations race to signal agreements with Washington by subsequent week’s deadline.

• India: New Delhi is on monitor to seal an interim trade agreement with Washington as quickly as this week to avert Trump’s “liberation day” tariffs.

• EU: European capitals are insisting the US reduces its tariffs on the EU instantly as a part of any framework deal earlier than the looming deadline on July 9.

• US narrows focus: Trump’s prime commerce officers are scaling back their ambitions for complete reciprocal offers with overseas international locations.

Right here’s what else we’re retaining tabs on at this time:

• Financial knowledge: South Korea publishes June inflation figures. Singapore and Australia report PMI knowledge for the month.

• China-EU relations: Chinese language Overseas Minister Wang Yi meets European Council President António Costa in Brussels.

5 extra prime tales

1. Thailand’s constitutional courtroom has suspended Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra following a leaked telephone name with former Cambodian chief Hun Sen, through which she allegedly disparaged the highly effective Thai navy whereas discussing a border dispute. The political turmoil threatens a truce between the highly effective Shinawatra household and Thailand’s conservative institution. Read the full story.

2. Trump’s landmark tax and spending laws moved a step nearer to turning into regulation yesterday after the US Senate ended days of haggling and narrowly handed the so-called massive, stunning invoice. The invoice’s passage by Congress’s higher chamber now leaves its destiny within the fingers of the Home of Representatives, where it could still face considerable opposition.

• What’s within the invoice?: The laws would reduce taxes by $4.5tn over 10 years whereas slashing welfare spending and clear power subsidies.

• Opinion: Trump’s “massive, stunning invoice” is an act of self-harm, writes Edward Luce.

3. Taiwan’s greenback jumped greater than 2 per cent in unstable buying and selling yesterday, because the nation’s huge life insurance coverage and export sectors rushed to comprise the fallout from a weak US forex. The New Taiwan greenback made its biggest single-day gain since a speedy appreciation at the beginning of Might that uncovered Taiwanese life insurers to large losses on their US property.

4. Liquidators who’re making an attempt to recoup billions of {dollars} siphoned initially from Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund are in search of greater than $2.7bn from Customary Chartered, in a lawsuit filed towards the UK-based financial institution over its alleged function within the scandal. The go well with represents the newest try and recover money taken from 1MDB in a decade-long hunt that has concerned a number of of the world’s largest banks.

5. Jay Powell stated a July rate of interest reduce was not “off the desk” for the US Federal Reserve, in an obvious softening of his place that the central financial institution ought to wait till the autumn to start out decreasing borrowing prices. The Fed chair has been under relentless pressure from Trump to slash charges.

Visible story

From Norway’s Arctic area to Poland’s border with Belarus, Nato allies are working collectively to foretell what a Russian assault would possibly seem like — and the way the alliance would reply to 1. Discover how Nato nations are fortifying the jap frontier in this visual story.

We’re additionally studying and listening to . . . 

• Chinese language economic system: Beijing may use this second of stability to rally folks round wanted reforms that tackle deep structural issues, writes Eswar Prasad.

• Tech Tonic 🎧: Meta chief govt Mark Zuckerberg has undergone a change, each bodily and political. But is this all an act?

• Ghosts of Brexit: Switzerland’s deal to maintain entry to the EU’s single market contains all the identical thorny points which have bedevilled the UK-EU relationship.

Chart of the day 

The extraordinary battle to poach prime synthetic intelligence researchers and engineers from rivals has spurred a speedy escalation in wages, as tech teams resembling Meta and OpenAI race to realize the aggressive edge. High tech workers are being lured with far higher pay than pc engineers with out AI expertise, knowledge exhibits.

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As a part of its Wimbledon particular, FT Globetrotter sits down with the All England Garden Tennis Membership’s head gardener to seek out out what it takes to get the courts immaculately green.