United States (US) President Donald Trump told Fox Business Network on Friday that a 100% tariff would not be sustainable and added that they have to have a fair deal with China.
U.S.-China trade tensions are again front and center following the developments of late last week. China's plan to impose strict export controls, especially on rare earth minerals, were matched by new tariff threats from President Trump.
US President Donald Trump lashed out at China over its recent protectionist trade policies, threatening additional targeted trade restrictions if China goes ahead with imposing fresh rare earth mineral export controls and additional port fees for foreign container ships in Chinese ports.
In an interview with Fox Business on Monday, United States (US) Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent noted that they have aggressively pushed back against China's export controls and called in a "provocative move," per Reuters.
China Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said during a regular press briefing this Monday that if the US is determined to go its own way, China will resolutely take corresponding measures to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests.
On Friday, Trump threatened China with 100% tariffs on top of the existing rates as a retaliation against China’s new export control measures on rare earth minerals. However, comments received over the weekend appear to downplay the risk of trade war escalation.
The EUR/USD pair started the new year with a soft tone, falling for a second consecutive week to settle around 1.1640, its lowest in a month. The US Dollar (USD) stands victorious across the FX board, backed by geopolitical uncertainty and pretty solid United States (US) employment data.
The Pound Sterling (GBP) witnessed a steep correction against the US Dollar (USD), sending GBP/USD down from four-month highs of 1.3568 to test the weekly low near 1.3400.
Another positive week for the US Dollar (USD) saw the US Dollar Index (DXY) extend a promising start to the new trading year, managing to at least scare away the spectre of being one of the worst-performing currencies during the last year.
After losing more than 4% in the last week of the year, Gold (XAU/USD) gathered bullish momentum as trading conditions normalized. Although XAU/USD entered a consolidation phase following the rally seen earlier in the week, it managed to register weekly gains.
Bitcoin (BTC) is trading lower toward $90,000 on Friday after encountering rejection at a key resistance zone. The price pullback in BTC is supported by fading institutional demand, as spot Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) have recorded net outflows so far this week.
