04/24/2025
📘 U.S. tariff negotiations: Bessent and Trump made speeches to try to calm the market, Trump said there is no plan to fire Powell, hope to reach an agreement with China; Bessent showed that the tariffs standoff is now a de facto trade embargo, indicating that it is aware of the seriousness of the current situation, and the market is looking to it to be more effective in influencing Trump. U.S. media said the U.S. plans to reach a “memorandum of understanding” with Japan and India first, but the negotiations are expected to continue for several months; the White House intends to release positive signals, but the progress of the negotiations in the short term is still not optimistic.
- Trump delivered a speech saying he has no intention of firing Powell, wants the Fed to cut interest rates, said 145% tariffs on China are too high, expects to reach an agreement with China, and emphasized that he has a good relationship with Xi Jinping.
- Bessent said at the JPM closed-door meeting that the U.S.-China tariff standoff is unsustainable, and both sides are expected to seek to cool down, short-term or difficult to reach a comprehensive agreement, calling the current tariff standoff a “de facto trade embargo”.
- U.S. media said the U.S. plans to reach a “memorandum of understanding” with Japan and India first, but it will take several months to resolve major differences, the agreement may be difficult to finalize.
- Japan and the U.S. finance ministers focused on exchange rate issues, the U.S. expects the yen to appreciate, the ideal target is 100 against the dollar, the reality of the target may be around 120.
- WSJ said the U.S. side of the U.K. trade deal will push the British side to cut auto tariffs from 10% to 2.5% and ease agricultural import standards.
- U.S.-India talks focus on opening up India's e-commerce market to level the playing field for U.S. firms and cover areas such as food and automobiles.
- Vietnam's Prime Minister said tariff negotiations should be consistent with its international commitments and avoid affecting other markets.