HONG KONG: Asian markets extended losses on Tuesday (Jan 20) and silver hit a fresh peak on fears of a United States-European Union trade war fuelled by President Donald Trump’s tariff threat over opposition to his grab for Greenland.
After a bright start to the year fuelled by fresh hopes for the artificial intelligence sector, investors have taken fright since the US president ramped up his demands for the Danish autonomous territory, citing national security.
With Copenhagen and other European capitals pushing back, Trump on Saturday said he would impose 10 per cent levies on eight countries – including Denmark, France, Germany and Britain – from Feb 1, lifting them to 25 per cent on Jun 1.
The move has raised questions about the outlook for last year’s US-EU trade deal, while French President Emmanuel Macron has called for the deployment of a powerful, unused instrument aimed at deterring economic coercion.
In response, US Treasury chief Scott Bessent said Monday that any retaliatory EU tariffs would be “unwise”.
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