AFP, Hong Kong :
Asian markets opened the week on a negative note as trade tensions returned to the fore, with Donald Trump eyeing fresh tariffs on a swathe of Chinese goods and NAFTA talks with Canada hitting a wall.
The optimism that permeated trading floors at the start of last week has been replaced by a now-familiar sense of dread after the US president hit out at Ottawa over the weekend as the two sides struggle to hammer out a new deal.
In a tweet over the weekend, Trump threatened to exclude Canada from a new North American Free Trade Agreement after negotiations to rewrite the 1994 pact ended without agreement.
He said there was “no political necessity to keep Canada in the new NAFTA deal. If we don’t make a fair deal for the US after decades of abuse, Canada will be out”.
While talks will resume Wednesday, his outburst seemed designed to ramp up pressure on Canadian negotiators.
The comments threw a spanner in the works for investors after the US and Mexico said earlier in the week they had agreed a revised pact.
Trump also roiled markets last week by saying he wanted to impose tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese imports as soon as public consultation ends on Thursday, adding to the $50 billion already targeted.
Asian markets opened the week on a negative note as trade tensions returned to the fore, with Donald Trump eyeing fresh tariffs on a swathe of Chinese goods and NAFTA talks with Canada hitting a wall.
The optimism that permeated trading floors at the start of last week has been replaced by a now-familiar sense of dread after the US president hit out at Ottawa over the weekend as the two sides struggle to hammer out a new deal.
In a tweet over the weekend, Trump threatened to exclude Canada from a new North American Free Trade Agreement after negotiations to rewrite the 1994 pact ended without agreement.
He said there was “no political necessity to keep Canada in the new NAFTA deal. If we don’t make a fair deal for the US after decades of abuse, Canada will be out”.
While talks will resume Wednesday, his outburst seemed designed to ramp up pressure on Canadian negotiators.
The comments threw a spanner in the works for investors after the US and Mexico said earlier in the week they had agreed a revised pact.
Trump also roiled markets last week by saying he wanted to impose tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese imports as soon as public consultation ends on Thursday, adding to the $50 billion already targeted.
