China halts purchase of U.S. farm products
hina halts purchase of U.S. farm products
by Reuters
Monday, 5 August 2019 17:50 GMT
(Adds details from the Commerce Ministry statement)
By Koh Gui Qing
Aug 6 (Reuters) - China has halted its purchases of U.S. agricultural products and will not rule out levying import tariffs on American farm imports purchased after Aug. 3, the Chinese Commerce Ministry said early on Tuesday.
The moves by China represent the latest escalation in its trade row with the United States that has unnerved global markets and investors.
"Related Chinese companies have suspended purchases of U.S. agricultural products," China's Ministry of Commerce said in an online statement posted shortly after midnight in Beijing on Tuesday.
The Chinese Commerce Ministry did not disclose the value of U.S. agricultural imports that may be subjected to new import tariffs.
U.S. President Donald Trump ratcheted up tensions between the two countries last week when he vowed to impose a 10% tariff on $300 billion of Chinese imports from Sept 1, a decision China's Commerce Ministry said was a "serious violation" of the consensus struck by Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Osaka in June.
"China's market capacity is large and it has bright prospects for importing high-quality U.S. agricultural products," the Commerce Ministry said.
It added that it hoped the United States would keep its promises and create the "necessary conditions" for bilateral cooperation.
The amount of U.S. farm products that China buys has been a sore point in its trade spat with the United States. Other issues of contention include the protection of intellectual property rights in China and Chinese exports of fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances, which U.S. officials say is the main source of a drug blamed for opioid-related overdose deaths in the United States. (Reporting by Koh Gui Qing in New York Editing by Susan Thomas)
http://news.trust.org/item/20190805172900-mc8jo
North Korea fires more weapons, denounces US military drills
North Korea fires more weapons, denounces US military drills
By KIM TONG-HYUNG
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea continued to ramp up its weapons demonstrations by firing two presumed short-range ballistic missiles into the sea Tuesday while lashing out at the United States and South Korea for continuing military exercises that the North says could derail fragile nuclear diplomacy.
North Korea’s fourth round of weapons launches in less than two weeks came amid a standstill in nuclear negotiations and after President Donald Trump repeatedly dismissed the significance of the country’s recent tests despite the threat the weapons pose to allies South Korea and Japan and to U.S. bases there.
Experts say Trump’s downplaying of the North’s weapons display has allowed the country more room to advance its military capabilities as it attempts to build leverage ahead of negotiations, which could possibly resume sometime after the end of the allies’ drills later this month.
South Korea’s military alerted reporters to the launches minutes before the North’s Foreign Ministry denounced Washington and Seoul over the start of their joint exercises on Monday. The ministry’s statement said the drills, which North Korea sees as an invasion rehearsal, leave the country “compelled to develop, test and deploy the powerful physical means essential for national defense.”
Moar:
https://apnews.com/76323ab157794d04bb5c5d89596c3ac1