市场消息

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order this week barring U.S. companies from using telecommunications equipment made by firms posing a national security risk, paving the way for a ban on doing business with China’s Huawei, three U.S. officials familiar with the plan told Reuters.

The order, which will not name specific countries or companies, has been under consideration for more than a year but has repeatedly been delayed, the sources said, asking not to be named because the preparations remain confidential. It could be delayed again, they said.

The executive order would invoke the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which gives the president the authority to regulate commerce in response to a national emergency that threatens the United States. The order will direct the Commerce Department, working with other government agencies, to draw up a plan for enforcement, the sources said.

If signed, the executive order would come at a delicate time in relations between China and the United States as the world’s two largest economies ratchet up tariffs in a battle over what U.S. officials call China’s unfair trade practices.

Washington believes equipment made by Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, the world’s third largest smartphone maker, could be used by the Chinese state to spy. Huawei, which has repeatedly denied the allegations, did not immediately comment.

The White House and Commerce Department declined to comment.

The United States has been actively pushing other countries not to use Huawei’s equipment in next-generation 5G networks that it calls “untrustworthy.” In August, Trump signed a bill that barred the U.S. government itself from using equipment from Huawei and another Chinese provider, ZTE Corp.

In January, U.S. prosecutors charged two Huawei units in Washington state saying they conspired to steal T-Mobile US Inc trade secrets, and also charged Huawei and its chief financial officer with bank and wire fraud on allegations that the company violated sanctions against Iran.

The Federal Communications Commission in April 2018 voted to advance a proposal to bar the use of funds from a $9 billion government fund to purchase equipment or services from companies that pose a security threat to U.S. communications networks.

Federal Communications Commission chairman Ajit Pai said last week he is waiting for the Commerce Department to express views on how to “define the list of companies” that would be prohibited under the FCC proposal.

The FCC voted unanimously to deny China Mobile Ltd’s bid to provide U.S. telecommunications services last week and said it was reviewing similar prior approvals held by China Unicom and China Telecom Corp.

The issue has taken on new urgency as U.S. wireless carriers look for partners as they rollout 5G networks.

While the big wireless companies have already cut ties with Huawei, small rural carriers continue to rely on both Huawei and ZTE switches and other equipment because they tend to be cheaper.

The Rural Wireless Association, which represents carriers with fewer than 100,000 subscribers, estimated that 25 percent of its members had Huawei or ZTE equipment in their networks, it said in an FCC filing in December.

At a hearing Tuesday, U.S. senators raised the alarm about allies using Chinese equipment in 5G networks.

The Wall Street Journal first reported in May 2018 that the executive order was under review. Reuters reported in December that Trump was still considering issuing the order and other media reported in February that the order was imminent.

LONDON (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Theresa May was told by senior members of her own party on Tuesday to abandon talks to find a Brexit compromise with the opposition Labour Party as pressure mounted on her to name a date for standing down.

Nearly three years after the United Kingdom voted 52% to 48% to leave the European Union, there is still no agreement among British politicians about when, how or even if the divorce should take place.

The country was due to have left the European Union on March 29, but May has been unable to get her divorce deal approved by parliament, so she has turned to the Labour Party, led by socialist Jeremy Corbyn, for help.

Thirteen of May’s former cabinet colleagues as well as Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Committee of Conservative lawmakers, wrote to May to ask her not to agree to Labour’s demand for a post-Brexit customs union with the EU.

“You would have lost the loyal middle of the Conservative Party, split our party and with likely nothing to show for it,” the letter said. “We urge you to think again.”

“No leader can bind his or her successor so the deal would likely be at best temporary, at worst illusory,” said the letter, which was signed by Gavin Williamson, who was sacked as defence minister this month, and former foreign minister Boris Johnson.

May has repeatedly ruled out signing up to a permanent customs union. Corbyn said last week May had made no big offer on Brexit and had not moved her “red lines”.

At a meeting with the parliamentary Labour Party on Monday, Corbyn came under pressure to clarify his position on Brexit, with both backers of a second referendum and others who want a deal to leave arguing their case, sources told Reuters.

May, who secured the leadership in the chaos that followed Britain’s 2016 vote to leave the European Union, has promised to step down if lawmakers back the deal she struck with Brussels to leave the bloc.

But the prime minister has lost heavily on three attempts to get it through parliament. And some of her own lawmakers want her to name a date for her departure.

U.S. investment bank JPMorgan said on Tuesday it was difficult to see May surviving beyond the end of June.

“Although PM May’s survival skills have been impressive to date, our sense is that the sand is finally running out of the hourglass for her leadership of the Conservatives,” JPMorgan said.

May’s chief Brexit negotiator Olly Robbins was due in Brussels to discuss changes to the political declaration on the UK’s future relationship with the EU. The EU has said it is willing to change the political declaration but it must know what changes London wants to make.

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – World stocks hovered near two-month lows on Tuesday, although slightly more optimistic comments from U.S. and Chinese officials on trade brought some comfort a day after equities suffered their worst selloff so far this year.

Fears the United States and China are spiraling into a fiercer, more protracted trade dispute that could derail the global economy, has rattled share markets in recent weeks, and the selloff accelerated on Monday after China announced plans for retaliatory tariffs.

But the Chinese government’s top diplomat said China and the United States both have the “ability and wisdom” to reach a trade deal that is good for both. And U.S. President Donald Trump said he was optimistic about resolving the trade dispute.

That paved the way for a positive start for the European trading session, with stock markets in London, Frankfurt and Paris 0.6% to 0.9% higher, while U.S. stock futures rallied.

“The trade war is driving markets at the moment,” said Rory McPherson, head of investment strategy at Psigma Investment Management in London.

“Markets were prone to a selloff after a good start to the year on expectations of policy easing from central banks and no escalation of trade tensions, and it’s this latter pillar that has come away.”

China has said it would impose higher tariffs on $60 billion of U.S. goods in retaliate against a U.S. tariff hike on Chinese goods.

Asian shares took another beating on Tuesday but closed off their lows, following the more upbeat tone from U.S. and Chinese officials.

Japan’s Nikkei stock index fell to its lowest since mid-February, while broader Asian markets were dragged down by a selloff in Chinese shares.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell over 1% to its lowest level since Jan 30, leaving MSCI’s world equity index stuck near its lowest levels in around two months.

Prakash Sakpal, Asia economist at ING in Singapore, said the current volatility showed how a “180-degree” turn in U.S. rhetoric on trade negotiations had spooked markets.

“We don’t see any quick end to this state of the markets until we see some resolution, constructive dialogue and something very solid in terms of deals. But the hopes for that are a bit misplaced currently,” he said.

Trump has said he would meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping next month, with focus now turning to an upcoming G20 meeting.

STABILIZATION?
Signs of stability in world equity markets took the shine off safe-haven assets for now.

Yields on 10-year German government bonds were two basis points higher on the day at minus 0.06% and off six-week lows hit on Monday when investors flooded into safe havens.

U.S. 10-year Treasury yields also rose away from Monday’s six-week lows, rising back above shorter-dated three-month bill yields after the yield curve inverted on Monday for the second time in less than a week.

That move underscored worries about the economic impact of a trade war, given a sustained inversion of this part of the yield curve has preceded every U.S. recession in the past 50 years.

The safe-haven yen too lost some ground as the mood improved, with the dollar strengthening 0.4% against the Japanese currency to 109.74.

The euro firmed 0.12% at $1.1235. However, China’s offshore yuan hit a fresh 2019 low in Asian trade before rebounding to trade at 6.8989 per dollar, up 0.2%.

Its counterpart strengthened slightly to 6.8731 per dollar after the four-month lows touched on Monday sparked speculation Beijing was letting the currency weaken amid the intensifying trade war.

Oil prices edged up, buoyed by Middle East tensions though gains were checked by trade war concerns. Brent crude gained 0.07% to $70.28 per barrel.

Gold prices held near one-month highs, trading steady on the day at around $1,298 per ounce.

BEIJING/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – China and the United States both have the “ability and wisdom” to reach a trade deal that is good for both, the Chinese government’s top diplomat said, as U.S. President Donald Trump said he thought recent talks in Beijing would be successful.

The slightly more optimistic comments came after both sides ramped up their trade war, with China announcing details of new tariffs against U.S. imports on Monday, following the United States’ move last week to target Chinese imports.

The U.S. Trade Representative’s office said it planned to hold a public hearing next month on the possibility of imposing duties of up to 25% on a further $300 billion worth of imports from China. Cellphones and laptops would be included in that list but pharmaceuticals would be excluded, the office said.

The prospect that the United States and China were spiraling into a fiercer, more protracted dispute that could derail the global economy has rattled investors and led to a sharp selloff on equities markets in the past week.

But speaking in Russia on Monday, in comments relayed by China’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday, the Chinese government’s top diplomat, State Councillor Wang Yi, struck a more upbeat tone, noting the talks had made important and substantive progress, as well as facing problems.

While noting that “buckpassing” and pressure were counterproductive and would only invite retaliation, Wang added that there was still hope to resolve the issue in a friendly way.

“We believe that as long as these negotiations are in line with China’s general direction of reform and opening up, in line with China’s fundamental need for high-quality development, and in line with the common and long-term interests of the Chinese and American peoples, both countries’ negotiating teams have the ability and wisdom to resolve each other’s reasonable demands, and in the end reach a mutually beneficial, win-win agreement.”

Talks are not a one-way street and should be based on equality, he said.

“When negotiating with any country, China must uphold the sovereignty of the country, safeguard the interests of the people, and safeguard the dignity of the people. These principles and bottom lines we have stuck to in the past, and we still have to today.”

Trump, who has embraced protectionism as part of an “America First” agenda, said he would talk to Xi at a G20 summit in late June.

“Maybe something will happen,” Trump said in remarks at the White House on Monday. “We’re going to be meeting, as you know, at the G20 in Japan and that’ll be, I think, probably a very fruitful meeting.”

Speaking several hours later at a dinner gathering at the White House, Trump said it should be clear in “three or four weeks” if a U.S. trade delegation’s trip to Beijing two weeks ago was successful.

“I have a feeling it’s going to be very successful,” Trump said.

The Shanghai Composite Index and the blue-chip CSI300 both fell 1 percent at the open on Tuesday, but quickly recovered ground, aided by state-backed buying of equities, according to some analysts. The Shanghai benchmark was down 0.4 at the midday break.

Chinese state media on Tuesday kept up a barrage of nationalistic commentary.

The country’s top newspaper, the ruling Communist Party’s official People’s Daily, said in a commentary that the United States needed to “give it a rest” with the complaints that it was losing out to China in the trade relationship.

China is not to blame of the huge trade deficit the United States runs, and China is a hugely profitable market for U.S. companies, the paper said, in commentary published under the pen name “Zhong Sheng”, meaning “voice of China”.

“U.S. consumers, farmers, businesses and so on have become the victims of the trade frictions provoked by the United States. They are not victims of China’s ‘unfair competition.’”

SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea said on Tuesday the seizure of one of its cargo ships by the United States was an illegal act that violated the spirit of a summit between the two countries’ leaders, and demanded the return of the vessel without delay.

The North’s foreign ministry said in a statement that it rejected U.N. Security Council resolutions against it which the United States cited in impounding the vessel, as a violation of its sovereignty.

“The United States committed an unlawful and outrageous act of dispossessing our cargo ship,” an unnamed ministry spokesman said in a statement carried by the North’s official KCNA news agency.

“The latest U.S. act constitutes an extension of the American method of calculation for bringing the DPRK to its knees by means of ‘maximum pressure’ and an outright denial of the underlying spirit of the June 12 DPRK-U.S. Joint Statement.”

North Korea’s formal name is the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).

It would be the “biggest miscalculation” if the United States believed it can control the North with force, the statement said, adding it will keep a sharp eye on future U.S. behavior.

The U.S. Justice Department last week said a North Korean cargo ship known as the “Wise Honest” was seized and impounded to American Samoa. The vessel was accused of illicit coal shipments in violation of sanctions and first detained by Indonesia in April 2018.

TENSIONS FLARE AGAIN
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump held an unprecedented summit on June 12 last year in Singapore and pledged to establish new relations and a peace regime on the Korean peninsula. They held a second summit in Vietnam in February which collapsed without agreement.

Tensions again have mounted since the failed summit. The U.S. announcement of the ship seizure came hours after the North fired two short-range missiles on Thursday.

The North Korean leader called for “full combat posture” following the U.S. seizure of the North Korean cargo ship.

The test of two short-range missiles on Thursday and the firing of a series of projectiles on Saturday were the first missile launches by the North since it tested an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in November 2017.

A senior North Korean foreign ministry official on Saturday lashed out at last week’s statement by the U.S. State Department that Pyongyang’s regime subjected its people to “egregious violations” of human rights including 100,000 in political prison camps.

But South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in called the recent weapons tests a calibrated protest against Washington in the wake of the summit’s breakdown and the North still wants to negotiate.

Adam Mount of the Federation of American Scientists said the North’s recent state media reports may signal an escalation of rhetoric, albeit relatively sedate.

“If so, they would become part of a ongoing trend in which the regime sends increasingly alarming signals in an attempt to force a breakthrough in negotiations,” Mount said.

WASHINGTON/BEIJING (Reuters) – The United States and China appeared at a deadlock over trade negotiations on Sunday as Washington demanded promises of concrete changes to Chinese law and Beijing said it would not swallow any “bitter fruit” that harmed its interests.

The trade war between the world’s top two economies escalated on Friday, with the United States hiking tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods after President Donald Trump said Beijing “broke the deal” by reneging on earlier commitments made during months of negotiations.

White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow told the “Fox News Sunday” program that China needs to agree to “very strong” enforcement provisions for an eventual deal and said the sticking point was Beijing’s reluctance to put into law changes that had been agreed upon. Kudlow said the U.S. tariffs would remain in place while negotiations continue.

Beijing remained defiant.

“At no time will China forfeit the country’s respect, and no one should expect China to swallow bitter fruit that harms its core interests,” the People’s Daily, a newspaper controlled by the Chinese ruling Communist Party, said in a commentary on Monday.

It said Beijing was open to talks but would not yield on important issues of principle.

China’s nationalist Global Times tabloid said in an editorial on Monday that the country had no reasons to fear a trade war.

“The perception that China cannot bear it is a fantasy and misjudgment,” the commentary said.

“If they weren’t being seriously provoked, the Chinese people would not favor any trade war. However, once the country is strategically coerced, nothing is unbearable for China in order to safeguard its sovereignty and dignity as well as the long-term development rights of the Chinese people.”

On Sunday, Trump sought to portray the United States as being in an advantageous position.

“We are right where we want to be with China,” Trump wrote on Twitter, saying U.S. purchasers of Chinese goods could either buy them from domestic manufacturers or from other nations.

Trump also repeated an erroneous statement that the United States would be taking in “Tens of Billions of Dollars in Tariffs from China.”

The tariffs are not paid by the Chinese government or by firms located in China. They are paid by importers of Chinese goods, usually American companies or the U.S.-registered units of foreign companies. These often pass on the costs to customers, mostly manufacturers and consumers in the United States.

Kudlow, when asked who was paying, said “both sides will suffer on this,” contradicting Trump, although he added that the U.S. economy should be able to cope.

“We’re in terrific shape in order to correct 20 years plus of unfair trading practices with China,” Kudlow said. “… This is a risk we should and can take without damaging our economy in any appreciable way.”

G20 SUMMIT
Kudlow said there is a “strong possibility” that Trump will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping at a G20 summit in Japan in late June.

Until last week, there were expectations Trump and Xi would sign a trade deal at the summit. However, the trade talks suffered a major setback last week when China proposed extensive revisions to a draft agreement. Beijing wanted to delete prior commitments that Chinese laws would be changed to enact new policies on issues from intellectual property protection to forced technology transfers.

Vice Premier Liu He, China’s top economic adviser, sought to defend the changes in talks with senior U.S. officials in Washington on Thursday and Friday, arguing that China could accomplish the policy changes through decrees issued by its State Council, or cabinet, sources familiar with the talks said.

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer rejected that, telling Liu that the United States was insisting on restoration of the previous text.

“We would like to see these corrections in an agreement which is codified by law in China, not just a State Council announcement. We need to see something much clearer. And until we do we have to keep our tariffs on,” Kudlow said.

China strongly opposes the latest U.S. tariff hike, and must respond to that, Liu told reporters on Saturday.

Kudlow said on Sunday he expected retaliatory tariffs to kick in but that it had not yet happened.

Trump has ordered Lighthizer to begin imposing tariffs on all remaining imports from China, a move that would affect about an additional $300 billion worth of goods.

Lighthizer said a final decision on that has not yet been made but it would come on top of the Friday tariff rate increase to 25% from 10% on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports.

U.S. farmers, a key constituency of Trump, have been among the hardest hit in the trade war, with soybean shipments to China dropping to a 16-year low in 2018.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Union fully supports the international nuclear accord with Iran and wants rival powers to avoid any further escalation over the issue, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said on Monday.

“We will continue to support it as much as we can with all our instruments and all our political will,” Mogherini told reporters before a meeting with the foreign ministers of Britain, France and Germany, who are signatories to the deal.

United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is also expected to meet EU officials in Brussels on Monday to talk about Iran.

Mogherini said she was informed during the night of Pompeo’s arrival to Brussels where EU foreign ministers are gathered for a regular monthly meeting.

“We will be here all day with a busy agenda. So we will see during the day how and if will manage to arrange a meeting. He’s always welcome obviously, but there are no precise plans at the moment,” Mogherini said.

Pompeo is on his way to the Black Sea resort of Sochi where he plans to meet Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday to discuss Iran.

European countries said last week they wanted to preserve Iran’s nuclear deal and rejected “ultimatums” from Tehran, after Iran relaxed restrictions on its nuclear program and threatened moves that might breach the 2015 international pact.

Iran’s move was in response to U.S. sanctions imposed following Donald Trump’s withdrawal of the United States from the accord with Tehran a year ago.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Democrats are reluctant to impeach U.S. President Donald Trump, but he may provoke such a move by continuing to obstruct Congress’ efforts to oversee his administration, a senior Democratic lawmaker said on Sunday.

Adam Schiff, chairman of the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee, told ABC’s “This Week” that impeachment by the Democratic-run House would be politically divisive and unlikely to succeed in the Republican-run Senate.

“But he (Trump) may get us there,” Schiff said. “He certainly seems to be trying and maybe this is his perverse way of dividing us more … he thinks that’s to his political advantage, but it’s certainly not to the country’s advantage.”

Trump’s stonewalling of congressional probes of his administration does add weight to impeachment, Schiff told ABC. “But you know, part of our reluctance is we are already a bitterly divided country and an impeachment process will divide us further.”

Democrats have confronted the Republican president and his administration for refusing to cooperate with at least six separate congressional investigations of Trump, his turbulent presidency, his family and his business interests.

A Democratic-led House committee on Wednesday approved a measure to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt for refusing to hand over an unredacted copy of the Mueller report on Russian election interference even as Trump invoked the legal principle of executive privilege to block its disclosure.

Democrats are divided over how far to take their investigations with some calling for impeachment proceedings and others backing continued investigations.

Republicans have accused Democrats of grandstanding for liberal voters. Some of Trump’s allies believe any impeachment effort could prove unpopular and him as he seeks re-election in 2020.

But even the Republican-controlled Senate Intelligence Committee has subpoenaed the president’s son, Donald Trump Jr.

Schiff reiterated his suggestion Sunday that Congress could levy fines of $25,000 a day on administration officials who refuse to cooperate with demands for witness appearances and documents in congressional investigations.

“Look, I think if you fine someone $25,000 a day to their person until they comply, it gets their attention. …I don’t know how many are going to want to take that risk for Donald Trump,” Schiff said.

WASHINGTON/BEIJING (Reuters) – The United States and China appeared at a deadlock over trade negotiations on Sunday as Washington demanded promises of concrete changes to Chinese law and Beijing said it would not swallow any “bitter fruit” that harmed its interests.

The trade war between the world’s top two economies escalated on Friday, with the United States hiking tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods after President Donald Trump said Beijing “broke the deal” by reneging on earlier commitments made during months of negotiations.

White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow told the “Fox News Sunday” program that China needs to agree to “very strong” enforcement provisions for an eventual deal and said the sticking point was Beijing’s reluctance to put into law changes that had been agreed upon. Kudlow said the U.S. tariffs would remain in place while negotiations continue.

Beijing remained defiant.

“At no time will China forfeit the country’s respect, and no one should expect China to swallow bitter fruit that harms its core interests,” the People’s Daily, a newspaper controlled by the Chinese ruling Communist Party, said in a commentary on Monday.

It said Beijing was open to talks but would not yield on important issues of principle.

China’s nationalist Global Times tabloid said in an editorial on Monday that the country had no reasons to fear a trade war.

“The perception that China cannot bear it is a fantasy and misjudgment,” the commentary said.

“If they weren’t being seriously provoked, the Chinese people would not favor any trade war. However, once the country is strategically coerced, nothing is unbearable for China in order to safeguard its sovereignty and dignity as well as the long-term development rights of the Chinese people.”

On Sunday, Trump sought to portray the United States as being in an advantageous position.

“We are right where we want to be with China,” Trump wrote on Twitter, saying U.S. purchasers of Chinese goods could either buy them from domestic manufacturers or from other nations.

Trump also repeated an erroneous statement that the United States would be taking in “Tens of Billions of Dollars in Tariffs from China.”

The tariffs are not paid by the Chinese government or by firms located in China. They are paid by importers of Chinese goods, usually American companies or the U.S.-registered units of foreign companies. These often pass on the costs to customers, mostly manufacturers and consumers in the United States.

Kudlow, when asked who was paying, said “both sides will suffer on this,” contradicting Trump, although he added that the U.S. economy should be able to cope.

“We’re in terrific shape in order to correct 20 years plus of unfair trading practices with China,” Kudlow said. “… This is a risk we should and can take without damaging our economy in any appreciable way.”

G20 SUMMIT
Kudlow said there is a “strong possibility” that Trump will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping at a G20 summit in Japan in late June.

Until last week, there were expectations Trump and Xi would sign a trade deal at the summit. However, the trade talks suffered a major setback last week when China proposed extensive revisions to a draft agreement. Beijing wanted to delete prior commitments that Chinese laws would be changed to enact new policies on issues from intellectual property protection to forced technology transfers.

Vice Premier Liu He, China’s top economic adviser, sought to defend the changes in talks with senior U.S. officials in Washington on Thursday and Friday, arguing that China could accomplish the policy changes through decrees issued by its State Council, or cabinet, sources familiar with the talks said.

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer rejected that, telling Liu that the United States was insisting on restoration of the previous text.

“We would like to see these corrections in an agreement which is codified by law in China, not just a State Council announcement. We need to see something much clearer. And until we do we have to keep our tariffs on,” Kudlow said.

China strongly opposes the latest U.S. tariff hike, and must respond to that, Liu told reporters on Saturday.

Kudlow said on Sunday he expected retaliatory tariffs to kick in but that it had not yet happened.

Trump has ordered Lighthizer to begin imposing tariffs on all remaining imports from China, a move that would affect about an additional $300 billion worth of goods.

Lighthizer said a final decision on that has not yet been made but it would come on top of the Friday tariff rate increase to 25% from 10% on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports.

U.S. farmers, a key constituency of Trump, have been among the hardest hit in the trade war, with soybean shipments to China dropping to a 16-year low in 2018.