BEIJING: United States trading partners, led by Asian powerhouses China and Japan, lashed out Friday at controversial tariffs on foreign steel and aluminum signed off by President Donald Trump, as fears grew of a global trade war. Canada was the single-largest US source of steel last year, followed by Brazil, South Korea, Russia, Mexico, Japan and Germany. “Many of the countries that treat us the worst on trade and on the military are our allies, as they call them,” he complained. And even as Trump approved the tariffs, 11 partners in the Asia-Pacific were in Santiago, Chile, to sign a multilateral trade deal embraced by president Barack Obama but rejected by Trump. Equities were also buoyed by the news that Trump would meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Source: Manila Times March 09, 2018 16:30 UTC