https://www.scmp.com/rss/524429/feed The latest news and updates on Wendy Cutler, a distinguished American trade negotiator and diplomat. She currently serves as Vice President and Managing Director of the Washington, D.C. office of the Asia Society Policy Institute, where she focuses on strengthening the organisation’s presence and leading initiatives related to trade, investment, and women’s empowerment in Asia. Previously, she had a nearly three-decade career at the Office of the US Trade Representative, including serving as... en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Xiaofei Xu Xiaofei Xu China and the US ended the first day of trade talks in Paris on Sunday without any major developments. Talks will continue tomorrow when the US delegation is set to leave. The Chinese delegation will stay one more day before leaving on Tuesday. The first day of the sixth round of trade talks between the world’s two biggest economies – led by Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent – was rather uneventful for journalists waiting outside the venue, the headquarters... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3346687/us-china-trade-talks-low-key-start-negotiations-after-first-meeting-paris?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3346687/us-china-trade-talks-low-key-start-negotiations-after-first-meeting-paris?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 15 Mar 2026 17:33:25 +0000 Frank Chen Frank Chen The United States’ decision to launch Section 301 investigations into alleged unfair trade practices by China and several other economies – which could allow Washington to reimpose higher tariffs – is a “bluff” designed to give US President Donald Trump some perceived leverage ahead of his expected trip to China, analysts said. But the threat is unlikely to work on Beijing, which has grown used to the president’s “art of the deal” tactics, they added. “Trump’s move before his China trip is... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3346365/trumps-tariff-investigation-bluff-will-not-work-china-analysts-warn?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3346365/trumps-tariff-investigation-bluff-will-not-work-china-analysts-warn?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Mar 2026 11:00:12 +0000 Biman Mukherji Biman Mukherji A Supreme Court ruling that gutted the legal foundation for much of US President Donald Trump’s tariff regime has left Asian trading partners scratching their heads about the future of trade deals struck with Washington over the past 12 months. America’s apex court ruled on Friday that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) – which Trump had used to impose sweeping “reciprocal” tariffs since his “Liberation Day” proclamation last April – did not grant the president the power to... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3344300/asias-us-trade-deals-doubt-after-trumps-supreme-court-tariff-defeat?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3344300/asias-us-trade-deals-doubt-after-trumps-supreme-court-tariff-defeat?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 23 Feb 2026 04:49:32 +0000 Khushboo Razdan Khushboo Razdan The first test for a much-celebrated US–China trade truce is looming. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent hopes to finalise a rare earth deal by next week’s Thanksgiving holiday, but experts say a breakthrough is unlikely as the two sides maintain sharply different narratives of what was discussed and agreed on key issues. From rare earths to soybeans, three weeks after Chinese President Xi Jinping and his American counterpart, Donald Trump, were photographed smiling and shaking hands after a... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3333764/us-china-fragile-truce-divergent-accounts-and-thanksgiving-test?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3333764/us-china-fragile-truce-divergent-accounts-and-thanksgiving-test?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 21 Nov 2025 19:52:07 +0000 Khushboo Razdan,Mark Magnier Khushboo Razdan,Mark Magnier Just back from his whirlwind Asia tour, US President Donald Trump on Friday hailed a newly negotiated trade deal with China as a “long-lasting” victory even as he teased the possibility of more tariff concessions. Aboard Air Force One en route to his Palm Beach, Florida, resort, Trump painted the Busan, South Korea, summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday as a blockbuster for US agriculture, especially soybeans, and dangled the prospect of stronger trade ties. “The deal with China... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3331140/trump-hails-lasting-deal-xi-dangles-more-possible-tariff-cuts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3331140/trump-hails-lasting-deal-xi-dangles-more-possible-tariff-cuts?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 31 Oct 2025 22:06:36 +0000 Meredith Chen,Zhao Ziwen,Fan Chen Meredith Chen,Zhao Ziwen,Fan Chen US President Donald Trump hailed his high-stakes meeting on Thursday with Chinese leader Xi Jinping as a “great success”, marked by progress on thorny trade issues. Trump agreed to reduce America’s fentanyl-related tariffs on China by 10 percentage points and cut the overall tariff rate on Chinese imports from 57 per cent to 47 per cent. For its part, Beijing will resume buying US farm products, including soybeans, and delay by one year the implementation of its most sweeping export controls on... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3331093/how-are-leading-western-think-tanks-unboxing-xi-trump-summit-breakthroughs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3331093/how-are-leading-western-think-tanks-unboxing-xi-trump-summit-breakthroughs?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 31 Oct 2025 10:40:56 +0000 Khushboo Razdan Khushboo Razdan A long-awaited trade deal between India and the United States may be facing political delays, despite broad agreement that would cut the steep 50 per cent duties imposed on New Delhi by US President Donald Trump to about 15-16 per cent, according to two people familiar with the talks. The sources, who declined to be identified given sensitive negotiations, said that while Washington is eager to conclude the deal quickly to appease US farmers caught in the crossfire with trade frictions with... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/article/3330129/trump-and-modis-tariff-tango-russian-oil-soybeans-and-delayed-deal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/article/3330129/trump-and-modis-tariff-tango-russian-oil-soybeans-and-delayed-deal?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 Oct 2025 21:35:20 +0000 Brian Rhoads,Neil Denslow Brian Rhoads,Neil Denslow The US and China agreed a framework for the future of video-streaming application TikTok’s US operations, potentially ending one of the many disputes underlying the nations’ trade war. The accord was based on concepts including the “entrusted operation of TikTok’s US user data and content security business, as well as the licensed use of algorithm and other intellectual property rights”, Wang Jingtao, China’s deputy director of the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission, said in Madrid. He spoke... https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3325710/tiktok-shows-us-china-deal-possible-some-things-least?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3325710/tiktok-shows-us-china-deal-possible-some-things-least?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 16 Sep 2025 09:00:25 +0000 Brian Rhoads,Neil Denslow Brian Rhoads,Neil Denslow A slew of Chinese data added to signs of an economic slowdown, potentially weakening the government’s hand in a new round of trade talks with the United States. August retail sales only increased by 3.4 per cent, trailing the 3.8 per cent estimate among economists polled by financial data provider Wind. Industrial output grew by 5.2 per cent year on year versus the 5.8 per cent forecast. Fixed asset investment and real estate investment were also worse than expected, while home prices fell and... https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3325581/china-us-trade-talks-who-will-buckle-first-amid-mutual-pain?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3325581/china-us-trade-talks-who-will-buckle-first-amid-mutual-pain?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 15 Sep 2025 09:00:22 +0000 Khushboo Razdan Khushboo Razdan As trade tensions between Washington and New Delhi escalate, an anticipated high-profile visit of US President Donald Trump to India this fall is now clouded by uncertainty. The rift that is testing a relationship between what their diplomats sometimes tout as the world’s oldest and largest democracies is not only weakening bilateral ties, but also casting doubt on the future of a critical Indo-Pacific bloc aimed at countering China’s growing influence in the region. The White House has been... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3320879/us-india-tensions-cast-doubt-future-quad-well-possible-trump-visit?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3320879/us-india-tensions-cast-doubt-future-quad-well-possible-trump-visit?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 05 Aug 2025 22:07:04 +0000 Brian Rhoads,Raymond Ma Brian Rhoads,Raymond Ma US and Chinese trade negotiators sounded positive about their two days of discussions in Stockholm but the talks did not yield an immediate deal for another pause on tariff increases. Hong Kong stocks opened 0.5 per cent lower on news of the lack of agreement, and fell further in afternoon trading to close 1.36 per cent down. China’s CSI 300 Index ended the day flat. Li Chenggang (李成钢), China’s vice-minister of commerce, said the two sides had agreed to push for a continued delay of additional... https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3320118/renewed-pause-us-china-tariffs-awaits-trump-sign?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3320118/renewed-pause-us-china-tariffs-awaits-trump-sign?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 30 Jul 2025 09:00:35 +0000 Ralph Jennings,Mark Magnier Ralph Jennings,Mark Magnier US President Donald Trump, apparently impatient with the slow progress of negotiations, on Monday slapped 25 per cent unilateral tariffs on Japan and South Korea and equal or higher import taxes on several other nations ahead of a self-imposed Wednesday deadline. Analysts said the move shows that the mercurial American leader is using threats to jump-start negotiations. Trump sent two-page letters to Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and South Korean President Lee Jae-myung saying the new... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3317299/apparently-impatient-trump-slaps-25-tariffs-japan-and-south-korea?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3317299/apparently-impatient-trump-slaps-25-tariffs-japan-and-south-korea?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 07 Jul 2025 22:42:57 +0000