Breaking: Trump to impose additional 10% tariff on remaining $300 bln of Chinese imports to US starting Sept 1

Trump retaliates to not only China but to the Federal Reserve on his own soil.
Trade wars just turned uglier and are morphing into a full-blown currency war.

FXStreet Team FXStreet

There is major news that has hit the circuit today that the US administration will impose an additional 10% tariff on the remaining $300 bln of Chinese imports to the US starting Sept 1. This is a complete surprise to the markets and we are seeing huge variations across all sectors with US 10-year yields now down a whopping -6.44 % at the time of writing, almost 4% of that on this news story alone.

The decision from Trump came following a meeting that took place this morning between the trade representatives reporting back to their president on the Minutes of the Shanghai trade discussions with their Chinese counterparts. In a quick blast of tweets from the president, markets scrambled for the hills, sending the yen further off its cliff to complete a full 1% round trip on the day.

Trump tweeted:

Our representatives have just returned from China where they had constructive talks having to do with a future Trade Deal. We thought we had a deal with China three months ago, but sadly, China decided to re-negotiate the deal prior to signing. More recently, China agreed to buy agricultural product from the U.S. in large quantities, but did not do so. Additionally, my friend President Xi said that he would stop the sale of Fentanyl to the United States – this never happened, and many Americans continue to die! Trade talks are continuing, and during the talks the U.S. will start, on September 1st, putting a small additional Tariff of 10% on the remaining 300 Billion Dollars of goods and products coming from China into our Country. This does not include the 250 Billion Dollars already Tariffed at 25%...

...We look forward to continuing our positive dialogue with China on a comprehensive Trade Deal, and feel that the future between our two countries will be a very bright one!

Author

FXStreet Team

FXStreet

Composed of a group of economic journalists and FX experts, the FXStreet content team produces and oversees all content published on FXStreet. It provides a purely journalistic approach to the Forex market.

GBP/USD ranges below 1.3450 amid US-Iran uncertainty, ahead of US data

GBP/USD keeps its range below 1.3450 in the European session on Tuesday. Uncertainty surrounding US-Iran talks drives traders toward a safe-haven currency such as the US Dollar, while undermining the risk-sensitive British Pound. All eyes remain on the US JOLTS data and Mideast headlines.

EUR/USD flatlines above 1.1500, awaits US jobs data

EUR/USD holds steady around 1.1505 in European trading hours on Tuesday. Markets remain cautious ahead of a slew of US jobs data, starting with the JOLTS Job Openings Survey later today. However, the downside appears capped by hot Eurozone inflation in July, bolstering the case for a European Central Bank rate hike at the next meeting.

Gold consolidates above $4,050 amid Fed hike bets and Iran uncertainty

Gold seesaws between tepid gains and minor losses during the Asian session as traders seem hesitant and opt to wait for further developments surrounding the Middle East crisis. The US Dollar struggles to build on the previous day's solid bounce from the lowest level since Mid-June and acts as a tailwind for the bullion. However, the uncertainty over US-Iran peace talks helps limit the downside for the buck.

Ripple and Stellar steady as derivatives data points to easing downside pressure

Ripple and Stellar show mixed price action, with XRP holding above the key $1 support zone while XLM faces rejection at $0.173. Meanwhile, improving derivatives metrics alongside fading bearish momentum suggest that the downside pressure may be easing for both altcoins. Derivatives data shows mild bullish sentiment among traders.

US JOLTs report in focus

In the US, the June JOLTs report will be in the spotlight. Job openings have increased modestly this year, which has historically predicted rising wage cost pressures ahead. June trade balance data will also be released in the afternoon and the preliminary reading pointed towards a stable trade deficit from May. The Fed's Schmid (non-voter, hawk) will be on the wires overnight.

9-3: Is the Federal Reserve’s vote tally Warsh's new forward guidance?

The rate did not move. Neither did the statement, and that’s the more interesting fact. Set the July 29 Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) statement beside the one issued on June 17, and the two documents are identical apart from a single verb and a paragraph at the bottom naming three dissenters.