GLOBAL NEWS-
President Donald Trump’s administration is proposing tariffs on new passenger helicopters, various cheeses and wines, ski-suits and certain motorcycles in response to harm the U.S. says is being caused by European Union aircraft subsidies.In issuing the list, which includes many other items, the U.S. Trade Representative’s office cites the World Trade Organization’s finding that EU subsidies to Airbus SE have “repeatedly” caused “adverse effects to the United States,” the USTR said in a statement Monday evening.
The Trump administration said starting Monday, it is beginning a process under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 to “identify products of the EU to which additional duties may be applied until the EU removes those subsidies.”WTO Issues Mixed Decision in EU-Boeing Subsidy Dispute
The proposed tariffs come nearly 15 years after the U.S. first complained to the WTO that Airbus had widely benefited from billions of dollars in illegal subsidies. A countersuit by the European Union is still winding its way through the trade court, which found last month that about $325 million in tax incentives offered by Washington State to Boeing (NYSE:BA) were unlawful.
Asian shares struggled to make gains on Tuesday as investors braced for key events later in the week, including the start of the U.S. earnings season and a crucial Brexit summit, while broader concerns about slowing global growth checked sentiment.MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was basically flat after brushing its highest since late August last year during the previous session.Japan’s Nikkei dipped 0.15 percent, while Australian shares and Chinese blue chips held steady. E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 lost 0.15 percent.Wall Street shares delivered a mixed performance on Monday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average losing 0.3 percent while the S&P 500 added 0.1 percent. Concerns over slowing U.S. earnings have undermined U.S. equities in recent sessions, though a strong jobs report last week helped to soothe frayed nerves.
India’s retail inflation is expected to have accelerated in March on slightly higher food prices but remain under the Reserve Bank of India’s medium-term target of 4 percent, a Reuters poll predicted.If the forecast is realized, March will be the eighth month in a row with below-target inflation, giving the RBI room to squeeze in another rate cut this year.According to the median consensus of over 40 economists polled by Reuters between April 4-8, consumer prices rose at an annual rate of 2.80 percent in March, up from 2.57 percent in February.Forecasts ranged between 2.43 percent and 3.10 percent.
Theresa May will head to Berlin and Paris Tuesday as part of her efforts to win a short delay to Britain’s departure from the European Union, while at home some in her party try to throw her overboard.EU diplomats are said to be settling on the idea of offering an extension to Britain despite the lack of progress at home. It will also be tied to commitments from May that she -- and any successor -- wouldn’t try to disrupt EU business. May will continue to press her case when she meets German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron.
Meanwhile, in London, face-to-face talks will resume between the government and the main opposition Labour Party, after four days in which the two sides have exchanged messages without reaching an agreement. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said Monday evening that while the talks have been “serious,” May has “not yet moved off her red lines.”May wants Labour to vote for her deal, which has now been rejected by Parliament three times. Labour wants a commitment that the government will seek a customs union with the EU. And like European leaders, it wants that commitment to be binding on whoever succeeds May as prime minister.
Malaysian palm oil futures climbed over 1 percent in the first half of trade on Tuesday, as the market cheered bullish outlook on March production and inventory levels.Traders expect data from the Malaysian Palm Oil Board scheduled for release on Wednesday to show declines in March end-stocks, as exports remain strong and output gains are slight.
The benchmark palm oil contract for June delivery 1FCPOc3 on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange was up 1.2 percent at 2,227 ringgit ($543.97) a tonne at the midday break, marking its strongest gain in three sessions."All the polls are quite bullish, hence, the continuation of the market's uptrend.Malaysia's palm oil stockpiles in March are likely to have dropped by 6.4 percent from February to 2.85 million tonnes, its lowest in five months, according to a Reuters survey, as a hefty jump in exports outpaced production gains. PALM/POLLThe market was also expecting export data for the first 10 days in April to show gains compared with the corresponding period in March.
China’s Ministry of Commerce is set to review its anti-dumping tariffs on imports from the United States of distillers grains (DDGS), an animal feed ingredient, according to a document issued by the China Alcoholic Drinks Association.The document - dated April 8 and issued to member companies and reviewed by Reuters - said the U.S. Grains Council had asked the commerce ministry to terminate their anti-dumping and anti-subsidy tariffs on American DDGS.The commerce ministry did not respond to a fax seeking confirmation of the review. It is not clear what the outcome of the review will be.DDGS are a byproduct of ethanol production and have become a key contributor to profits for makers of the biofuel. After the tariffs were implemented in 2016, imports by China fell sharply.China bought 3 million tonnes of DDGS in 2016, mainly from the United States and worth $684 million in total, according to Chinese customs data. The imports that year were down 55 percent from 2015.The U.S. industry request comes amid trade talks between Beijing and Washington as both sides try to secure a pact to end a tit-for-tat tariff battle that has roiled global markets.Beijing has pledged during these talks to increase its imports of American farm goods.China set anti-dumping duties of between 42.2 percent and 53.7 percent on U.S. DDGS in January 2017, up from 33.8 percent in preliminary duties implemented in September 2016.Anti-subsidy tariffs range from 11.2 percent to 12 percent.
Gold prices rose on Tuesday, hovering close to a more than one-week high touched in the previous session, as the dollar eased on weak U.S. economic data.Spot gold was up 0.2 percent at $1,299.34 per ounce, as of 0534 GMT, after touching its highest since March 28 at $1,303.61 in the previous session.U.S. gold futures were up 0.1 percent at $1,303.20 an ounce.
Oil prices on Tuesday reached their highest since November as concerns over exports from war-torn Libya stoked tightness in the market, with global supply already hit by OPEC-led production cuts and U.S. sanctions on Iran and Venezuela.International benchmark Brent futures touched their strongest level since last November at $71.34 per barrel on Tuesday, and were still at $71.16 at 0057 GMT, up 6 cents, or 0.1 percent, from their last close.U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures also hit a November 2018 high, at $64.77 per barrel, before easing to $64.58, which was still 18 cents, or 0.3 percent, above their last settlement.“Renewed fighting in Libya ... has seen Brent crude break above $70 per barrel.