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German car giant Volkswagen said Wednesday it would sell its operations in China’s Xinjiang region, where Beijing has been accused of widespread human rights abuses including forced labour.The firm will sell its factory in Xinjiang’s capital Urumqi as well as a test track in Turpan to a Chinese company, a spokesperson said, citing “economic reasons” for the decision.VW has lost ground in China — its most important market, where it makes around a third of its sales — with business in the country in 2023 growing modestly but at a slower rate than the previous year.The German manufacturer has fallen behind domestic competitors in China, losing its title as the best-selling auto brand to BYD.The move also comes as Volkswagen is seeking to push through a major cost-cutting drive, and is weighing up closing factories in Germany for the first time.Rights campaigners have for years accused Beijing of a crackdown against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang, including through forced labour and detention camps.Beijing denies allegations of abuse and insists its actions in Xinjiang have helped to combat extremism and enhance development.The northwestern region is home to several factories that supply multinational companies, including big-name Western brands.VW has long come under scrutiny over its factory in the city of Urumqi, which opened in 2013 and in which it has a stake via its partner SAIC.This year, Germany’s Handelsblatt financial daily reported that forced labour may have been used to build VW’s test track in Turpan in 2019.VW said previously it had seen no evidence of human rights violations in connection with the project but vowed to investigate any new information that came to light.Its operations will be sold to Chinese firm Shanghai Motor Vehicle Inspection Center (SMVIC), the car giant said Wednesday.- ‘Difficult decision’ -Ferdinand Dudenhoeffer, director of the Center Automotive Research institute in Germany, said that VW had “bowed to public sentiment” in deciding to end its operations in Xinjiang.”It was a difficult decision for VW, because China and its image in China are very important for the company,” the auto industry expert told AFP. Some in China would be unhappy with the move and at a time “German carmakers are already losing market share, this is of course tricky”, he added. In a commentary, top-selling German tabloid Bild noted that VW had faced pressure from the government in Berlin and the capital markets to pull out of Xinjiang. “For too long, the company turned a blind eye to the human rights situation,” it said. Beijing stands accused of incarcerating over one million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in a network of detention facilities across Xinjiang.Campaigners and Uyghurs overseas have said an array of abuses take place inside the facilities, including torture, forced labour, forced sterilisation and political indoctrination.A UN report in 2022 detailed “credible” evidence of torture, forced medical treatment and sexual or gender-based violence — as well as forced labour — in the region.But it stopped short of labelling Beijing’s actions a “genocide”, as the United States and some Western lawmakers have done.Calls had grown louder for VW to reconsider its business activities in Xinjiang after German chemicals giant BASF announced this year that it would accelerate its exit from two joint ventures there.An external audit commissioned by VW last year found no evidence of forced labour among the plant’s 197 employees.But the consultancy that wrote the report acknowledged “the challenges in collecting data” for audits in China. The Turpan test track was not part of the audit.In response to the VW forced labour report, China urged companies not to be “blinded by lies” about its rights record in Xinjiang.

German car giant Volkswagen said Wednesday it would sell its operations in China’s Xinjiang region, where Beijing has been accused of widespread human rights abuses including forced labour.The firm will sell its factory in Xinjiang’s capital Urumqi as well as a test track in Turpan to a Chinese company, a spokesperson said in a press release.”For economic reasons, the site has been sold by the joint venture as part of its strategic realignment,” the spokesperson said.VW has lost ground in China, its most important market, with sales in the country in 2023 growing modestly but at a slower rate than the previous year.It has fallen behind domestic competitors in China, losing its title as the best-selling auto brand to BYD.And rights campaigners have for years accused Beijing of a crackdown against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang, including through forced labour and detention camps.The northwestern region is home to several factories that supply multinational companies, including big-name Western brands.VW has long come under scrutiny over its factory in the city of Urumqi, which opened in 2013 and in which it has a stake via its partner SAIC.And this year, Germany’s Handelsblatt financial daily reported that forced labour may have been used to build VW’s test track in Turpan in 2019.VW said it had seen no evidence of human rights violations in connection with the project but vowed to investigate any new information that came to light.Its operations will be sold to Chinese firm Shanghai Motor Vehicle Inspection Center (SMVIC), the car giant said Wednesday.- Forced labour allegations -Beijing stands accused of incarcerating over one million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in a network of detention facilities across Xinjiang.Campaigners and Uyghurs overseas have said an array of abuses take place inside the facilities, including torture, forced labour, forced sterilisation and political indoctrination.A UN report in 2022 detailed “credible” evidence of torture, forced medical treatment and sexual or gender-based violence — as well as forced labour — in the region.But it stopped short of labelling Beijing’s actions a “genocide”, as the United States and some Western lawmakers have done.Calls had grown louder for VW to reconsider its business activities in Xinjiang after German chemicals giant BASF announced this year that it would accelerate its exit from two joint ventures there.An external audit commissioned by VW last year found no evidence of forced labour among the plant’s 197 employees.But the consultancy that wrote the report acknowledged “the challenges in collecting data” for audits in China. The Turpan test track was not part of the audit.In response to the VW forced labour report, China urged companies not to be “blinded by lies” about its rights record in Xinjiang.Beijing denies allegations of abuse and insists its actions in Xinjiang have helped to combat extremism and enhance development.

A Malaysian court on Wednesday allowed corruption charges in one of several cases linked to the scandal-wracked 1MDB sovereign wealth fund against jailed ex-prime minister Najib Razak to be dropped, his lawyer said.Najib is currently in jail after being convicted in one of five cases related to 1MDB from which billions of dollars had been allegedly pilfered. He will face another trial from December 2.Charges dropped Wednesday relates to payments of 6.6 billion ringgit ($1.48 billion) allegedly made to Abu Dhabi’s International Petroleum Investment Company.”The court correctly exercised its jurisdiction to discharge our client of the charges,” his lawyer Muhammad Farhan Muhammad Shafee told AFP.”The decision today was based on the non-disclosure of critical documents, six years from the initial charges being read, that are relevant to our client’s preparation of his defence,” Farhan said.Similarly, Farhan said the Kuala Lumpur High Court also dropped charges against  Najib’s ally and former treasury secretary-general Irwan Serigar Abdullah.However, prosecutors can seek renewed charges if they were to disclose the crucial documents that had been withheld from Najib’s defence, as the court’s decision on Wednesday did not amount to a full acquittal.Najib, in October, issued an apology that the 1MDB scandal happened during his tenure, but maintained he had no knowledge of illegal transfers from the now-defunct state fund.Allegations that billions of dollars were stolen from investment vehicle 1MDB and used to buy everything from a super-yacht to artwork played a major role in prompting voters to oust Najib and the long-ruling United Malays National Organisation party in 2018 elections.The 1MDB scandal sparked investigations in the United States, Switzerland and Singapore, where the funds were allegedly laundered.– Litany of cases -Najib began serving a 12-year jail term in August 2022 for offences linked to the misuse of public money from former 1MDB unit SRC International. The sentence was later halved by Malaysia’s pardons board.  His 1MDB audit tampering trial ended with an acquittal at the High Court in 2023.In October, the Kuala Lumpur High Court ruled that 71-year-old will have to defend himself against four counts of abuse of power linked to 2.27 billion ringgit in alleged bribes and 21 counts of money laundering, involving Tanore Finance Corp. The trial is slated to get underway on December 2.  Another money laundering trial over 27 million ringgit in funds is set to commence in April 2025.The US Justice Department has said more than $4.5 billion was stolen from 1MDB between 2009 and 2015 by high-level officials at the fund and their associates.    Najib, the UK-educated son of one of Malaysia’s founding fathers, had been groomed for the prime minister’s post from a young age.He set up 1MDB after coming to power in 2009 to bolster economic development, but the fund amassed billions of dollars in debt.But Najib’s reputation has been battered not just by 1MDB but other graft controversies.Najib was linked to allegations of huge kickbacks in a 2002 purchase of French submarines while defence minister, a case later connected to the 2006 murder of a Mongolian woman — Altantuya Shaariibuu — involved in the deal.He steadfastly denied wrongdoing.

Asian markets were mixed Wednesday as traders tried to gauge the economic outlook after Donald Trump picked a tough-negotiating hawk as his trade envoy the day after saying he would hit China, Canada and Mexico with hefty tariffs.The stuttering performance followed a broadly negative day on Tuesday and came despite another record-breaking lead from Wall Street.While he still has just under two months to go before taking office, Trump signalled Monday that he was ready to reopen his hardball playbook with America’s key trading partners if they do not stop illegal immigration and drug smuggling.The threat to impose the levies on his first day reignited trade war fears at a time when central bankers are fighting to bring inflation under control, with several observers warning prices could begin to spike again.Investors were also trying to ascertain the ramifications of the decision to name as trade envoy Jamieson Greer, who served as chief of staff to US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer during the first Trump administration.”Jamieson played a key role during my First Term in imposing Tariffs on China and others to combat unfair Trade practices,” the president-elect said, noting Greer’s experience pushing through a trade deal with Mexico and Canada.National Australia Bank’s Rodrigo Catril said: “President Trump is serious about using tariffs as a form of leverage.”Monday’s announcements “were linked to drugs and illegal immigration, but we must assume there is another layer of tariffs that should be coming on countries running trade surpluses with the US”, he said. He added that Trump was aiming for a “trade decoupling” and that “the question is whether he wants a mild decoupling or a severe one. Another observation is that we should expect retaliation, implying a negative impact on global trade”.All three main indexes on Wall Street ended on a positive note, with the S&P 500 and Dow hitting record highs.In Asia, Tokyo fell with Hello Kitty owner Sanrio tumbling more than 14 percent after major shareholders said they would reduce their stake in the firm. It had shed around 17 percent at one point.There were also losses in Singapore, Seoul, Taipei, Manila and Bangkok, but Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney and Wellington rose.Mumbai was also up, with Adani Enterprises soaring more than 10 percent after it said in statement Wednesday that tycoon founder Gautam Adani and other top officials are “only charged” with securities fraud, wire fraud conspiracy and securities fraud. It denies all the charges.It said it was “incorrect” to say that either Gautam or his nephew Sagar Adani had been charged with bribery or corruption.Its subsidiaries including Adani Green and Adani Power also rocketed.The gains came after the company said earlier in the day that it had lost almost $55 billion in a market rout since the accusations.London was flat at the open, while Paris and Frankfurt fell. Minutes from the Federal Reserve’s November policy meeting, where it cut interest rates, showed officials would take a gradual approach when considering future reductions as the job market remained solid.If data comes in about as expected, “it would likely be appropriate to move gradually toward a more neutral stance of policy over time”, the minutes said.While economists had been expecting another cut in December, bets on that have been scaled back in light of Trump’s election amid worries his pledges to cut tax and impose tariffs would lead to another spike in prices.Traders are keenly awaiting the release later Wednesday of the Fed’s preferred gauge of inflation as well as figures on jobless claims and economic growth.That comes as US markets wind down for Thursday’s Thanksgiving holiday.Oil prices edged up slightly. The commodity had fallen around three percent on news that Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon were close to a ceasefire, cooling geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. The agreement went into effect Wednesday.Crude was getting support from the prospect of key OPEC+ nations delaying a pick-up in production that was due to begin in January.Bitcoin was sitting around $93,500, having hit a record Friday and come within a whisker of the $100,000 mark on hopes that Trump will move to ease restrictions on the crypto market.- Key figures around 0810 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.8 percent at 38,134.97 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 2.3 percent at 19,603.13 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 1.5 percent at 3,309.78 (close)London – FTSE 100: FLAT at 8,261.87Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0500 from $1.0482 on TuesdayPound/dollar: UP at $1.2593 from $1.2567Dollar/yen: DOWN at 152.00 yen from 153.06 yenEuro/pound: DOWN at 83.38 pence from 83.41 penceWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.4 percent at $69.06 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.4 percent at $73.12 per barrelNew York – Dow: UP 0.3 percent at 44,860.31 (close)

India’s Adani Group conglomerate said Wednesday it had lost almost $55 billion in a stock market rout since US prosecutors last week accused its founder and other officials of fraud.The November 20 bombshell indictment in New York accused billionaire industrialist founder Gautam Adani and multiple subordinates of deliberately misleading international investors as part of a bribery scheme.It said they had “devised a scheme to offer, authorise, make and promise to make bribes payments to Indian government officials”.The firm, which denies the charges, said in a statement on Wednesday: “Since the intimation of the US DoJ (Department of Justice) indictment, the group has suffered a loss of near $55 billion in its market capitalisation across its 11 listed companies.”Gautam Adani, 62, is suspected of having participated in the $250 million scheme in bribes to secure lucrative government contracts.Adani Group issued a stiff denial, describing the charges as “baseless”, but it triggered a heavy sell-off of Adani stocks in Mumbai last week, with multiple trading halts.A statement on Wednesday said Adani officials are “only charged” with securities fraud, wire fraud conspiracy and securities fraud. It denies all the charges.It said it was “incorrect” to say that either Gautam Adani or his nephew Sagar Adani had been charged with bribery or corruption.Stocks in Adani Enterprises surged after the statement, piling on more than 10 percent in Mumbai, as did Adani Green, its renewable energy arm.Adani is a close ally of Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi and was at one point the world’s second-richest man, and critics have long accused him of improperly benefitting from their relationship.- ‘Significant repercussions’ -The group said the action had led to “significant repercussions”, including “international project cancellations, financial market impact and sudden examination from strategic partners, investors and the public”.That included in Kenya, where President William Ruto said the Adani Group would no longer be involved in plans to expand the East African country’s electricity network and its main airport. The Adani Group was to invest $1.85 billion in Jomo Kenyatta airport and $736 million in state-owned utility KETRACO.Sri Lanka has opened an investigation into the local investments of the group, including a $442 million wind power deal and an Adani-led deep-sea port terminal in Colombo, which is estimated to cost more than $700 million.With a business empire spanning coal, airports, cement and media, Adani Group has weathered previous corporate fraud allegations and suffered a similar stock rout last year.The conglomerate saw $150 billion wiped from its market value in 2023 after a report by short-seller Hindenburg Research accused it of “brazen” corporate fraud.Adani denied Hindenburg’s allegations and called its report a “deliberate attempt” to damage its image for the benefit of short-sellers.Adani Group’s rapid expansion into capital-intensive businesses has raised alarms in the past, with Fitch subsidiary and market researcher CreditSights in 2022 warning it was “deeply over-leveraged”.Adani, who was born to a middle-class family in Ahmedabad, Gujarat state, dropped out of school at 16 and moved to Mumbai to find work in the financial capital’s lucrative gem trade.After a short stint in his brother’s plastics business, he launched the flagship family conglomerate that bears his name in 1988 by branching out into the export trade. 

Vietnamese electric vehicle manufacturer VinFast reported a net loss of $550 million for the third quarter, less than the same period last year as the firm recorded an uptick in sales.The communist state’s first homegrown car manufacturer is aiming to compete with global EV giants such as Tesla.VinFast shares have fluctuated wildly since debuting on the Nasdaq in August 2023, at one point soaring to a market value bigger than Ford and General Motors before lurching downward.Late Tuesday, VinFast said its third-quarter net loss was down 14.8 percent compared with last year’s July-September period, according to its unaudited financial results.The company said it delivered almost 22,000 vehicles in the quarter, an on-year increase of 115 percent.Revenue for the quarter stood at $511 million, an on-year jump of 49 percent.”We expect to finish 2024 on a strong note and meet our 80,000 vehicle delivery target,” VinFast chairwoman Thuy Le said in a statement. VinFast last year reported a net loss of $2.39 billion, up 14.7 percent from 2022.With 173 showrooms globally, the company is trying to crack markets in Asia, the Middle East, Europe, the United States and Canada. The company is scheduled to open factories in Subang, Indonesia and in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu next year.Earlier this month, CEO Pham Nhat Vuong and parent group Vingroup said they would inject $3.5 billion in new funding into the company. The goal is to achieve the break-even point by the end of 2026.Vuong, Vietnam’s richest person, was appointed CEO of VinFast earlier this year. He is also chairman of parent firm Vingroup.

Shares in the Japanese entertainment giant behind the popular Hello Kitty brand plunged on Wednesday after major shareholders said they would reduce their stakes.A statement issued Tuesday by Sanrio said shareholders including major bank Mitsubishi UFJ will let go of as many as 25.9 million shares, sold at a price to be determined later. The move is intended to “expand and diversify the shareholders’ base”, Sanrio said. Shares in the firm dived as much as 17 percent on Wednesday morning before paring the losses to around 14.6 percent.The mastermind behind Hello Kitty had seen its value more than double this year, driven in part by strong profits linked to the feline-like character whose cute, enigmatic face has adored fans worldwide for decades.Since CEO Tomokuni Tsuji took over from his grandfather in 2020, its share price has soared more than seven-fold, pushing its market capitalisation to more than one trillion yen ($6.8 billion). Even as Hello Kitty turned 50 this year, the cultural phenomenon shows no sign of slowing, with a Warner Bros movie in the pipeline and a new theme park due to open next year on China’s Hainan island.

Negotiations on a first global treaty to curb plastic pollution are moving “very, very slowly”, diplomats and observers told AFP on Wednesday, threatening the chances of reaching an agreement.Delegates from nearly 200 countries are meeting in South Korea’s Busan with the goal of reaching a deal by December 1, after two years of talks.But the first full day of work in four “contact groups” tasked with refining language for the treaty ended up with discussions “going around in circles,” said Eirik Lindebjerg, global plastics policy manager at WWF.”Contact group discussions are moving too slow,” he told AFP.That view was echoed by several diplomats, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe closed-door negotiations.”It’s very, very slow, with the usual countries constantly slowing down the process,” said one delegate from a Latin American delegation.Submissions to the contact groups made clear that Saudi Arabia, Iran and Russia — suppliers of raw materials used to make plastics — were among the countries seeking significant amendments, including deleting a portion of the treaty aimed at limiting new production.In a submission, Saudi Arabia warned supply restrictions “extend beyond” the treaty’s focus on plastic pollution and risked creating “economic disruptions.”Others involved in the talks warned of growing frustration.”There is a difference between protecting one’s interests and willfully impeding progress in the talks,” a delegate from a small island state said.A European diplomat meanwhile warned that the tenor of discussions so far suggested it would be “very, very tough at the end” of the talks.”I think that we will come to a very difficult situation in two days’ time at the latest,” added another delegate.Still there were some bright spots, said Lindebjerg, including on proposals to potentially limit “problematic” products and chemicals.”This can take us far in eradicating harmful and unnecessary plastic items that have been poisoning humanity and nature,” he said.”Now, the progressive majority of countries represented here… must act in unison and not compromise,” he added.While UN agreements are generally reached by consensus, he warned that a binding treaty “supported by the majority of governments will be far more effective than a weak and voluntary-based treaty supported by all governments.”That view was echoed by a second European diplomat.”The key to success is to create an agreement that has the support of the vast majority,” he told AFP.That “will force the small group (of opposing countries) to try to destroy it or to be a noisy and unsatisfied minority for a treaty that they will eventually sign.”

Long one of the world’s top sources of ocean plastic, the Philippines is hoping new legislation requiring big companies to pay for waste solutions will help clean up its act.Last year, its “Extended Producer Responsibility” (EPR) statute came into force — the first in Southeast Asia to impose penalties on companies over plastic waste.The experiment has shown both the promise and the pitfalls of the tool, which could be among the measures in a treaty to tackle plastic pollution that countries hope to agree on by December 1 at talks in South Korea.The Philippines, with a population of 120 million, generates some 1.7 million metric tons of post-consumer plastic waste a year, according to the World Bank.Of that, a third goes to landfills and dumpsites, with 35 percent discarded on open land.The EPR law is intended to achieve “plastic neutrality” by forcing large businesses to reduce plastic pollution through product design and removing waste from the environment.They are obliged to cover an initial 20 percent of their plastic packaging footprint, calculated based on the weight of plastic packaging they put into the market.The obligation will rise to a ceiling of 80 percent by 2028.The law covers a broad range of plastics, including flexible types that are commercially unviable for recycling and thus often go uncollected.It does not however ban any plastics, including the popular but difficult to recover and recycle single-use sachets common in the Philippines.So far, around half the eligible companies under the law have launched EPR programmes.Over a thousand more must do so by end-December or face fines of up to 20 million pesos ($343,000) and even revocation of their operating licences.- ‘Manna from heaven’ -The law hit its 2023 target for removal of plastic waste, Environment Undersecretary Jonas Leones told AFP.It is “part of a broader strategy to reduce the environmental impact of plastic pollution, particularly given the Philippines’ status as one of the largest contributors to marine plastic waste globally.”The law allows companies to outsource their obligations to “producer responsibility organisations”, many of which use a mechanism called plastic credits.These allow companies to buy a certificate that a metric tonne of plastic has been removed from the environment and either recycled, upcycled or “co-processed” — burned for energy.PCX Markets, one of the country’s biggest players, offers local credits priced from around $100 for collection and co-processing of mixed plastics to over $500 for collection and recycling of ocean-bound PET plastic. Most are certified according to a standard administered by sister organisation PCX Solutions.The model is intended to channel money into the underfunded waste collection sector and encourage collection of plastic that is commercially unviable for recycling.”It’s manna from heaven,” former street sweeper Marita Blanco told AFP.A widowed mother-of-five, Blanco lives in Manila’s low-income San Andres district and buys plastic bottles, styrofoam and candy wrappers for two pesos (3.4 US cents) a kilogram (2.2 pounds).She then sells them at a 25 percent mark-up to charity Friends of Hope, which works with PCX Solutions to process them.”I didn’t know that there was money in garbage,” she said.”If I do not look down on the task of picking up garbage, my financial situation will improve.”- ‘Still linear’ -Friends of Hope managing director Ilusion Farias said the project was making a visible difference to an area often strewn with discarded plastic. “Two years ago, I think you would have seen a lot dirtier street,” she told AFP.”Behavioural change is really slow, and it takes a really long time.”Among those purchasing credits is snack producer Mondelez, which has opted to jump directly to “offsetting” 100 percent of its plastic footprint.”It costs company budgets… but that’s really something that we just said we would commit to do for the environment,” Mondelez Philippines corporate and government affairs official Caitlin Punzalan told AFP.But while companies have lined up to buy plastic credits, there has been less movement on stemming the flow of new plastic, including through redesign.”Upstream reduction is not really easy,” said PCX Solutions managing director Stefanie Beitien.”There is no procurement department in the world that accepts a 20 percent higher packaging price just because it’s the right thing to do.”And while PCX credits cannot be claimed against plastic that is landfilled, they do allow for co-processing, with the ash then used for cement.”It’s still linear, not circular, because you’re destroying the plastic and you’re still generating virgin plastic,” acknowledged Leones of the environment ministry.Still, the law remains a “very strong policy”, according to Floradema Eleazar, an official with the UN Development Programme.But “we will not see immediate impacts right now, or tomorrow,” she said.”It would require really massive behavioural change for everyone to make sure that this happens.”

China and Mexico lashed out Tuesday after Donald Trump threatened to begin his presidency with an immediate trade war against the top three US economic partners.Trump made his threat in social media posts, announcing huge import tariffs against neighbors Canada and Mexico and also rival China if they don’t stop illegal immigration and drug smuggling into the United States.China responded that “no one will win a trade war,” while Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum warned that “for every tariff, there will be a response in kind.”A Canadian government source said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called Trump and had a “productive” discussion, without giving further detail.Such tariffs threaten to disrupt the global economy, deepen already fierce tensions with China and upend relations with the United States’ two huge neighbors.Nervous stock markets saw “volatile trading conditions” as they digested the news, said Fawad Razaqzada, analyst at City Index.On his Truth Social platform, Trump said late Monday that he would enact the tariffs the moment he takes office on January 20 if his — vaguely worded — demands were not met.The posts signal Trump’s intention to return to the governing style of his first presidency, when he regularly shocked Washington and US partners with abrupt, major policy shifts which he announced on social media.They also confirmed that Trump is serious about his major campaign promise to use US economic muscle as leverage on issues having little to do with trade — namely his claim that the United States is under siege by foreign crime and dangerous migrants.On Tuesday, Trump named two important figures to his economic team: Jamieson Greer as his trade representative and Kevin Hassett as his top economic advisor, heading the White House National Economic Council.Both had roles in his first administration, with Greer serving as chief of staff to former US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.”I will sign all necessary documents to charge Mexico and Canada a 25 percent tariff on ALL products coming into the United States,” Trump earlier posted.”This Tariff will remain in effect until such time as Drugs, in particular Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens stop this Invasion of our Country!” he said.In another post, Trump said he would be slapping China with a 10 percent tariff, “above any additional Tariffs,” because the world’s second biggest economy was failing to execute fentanyl smugglers.Liu Pengyu, spokesman for China’s embassy in the United States, told AFP that “China believes that China-US economic and trade cooperation is mutually beneficial in nature.”Mexico’s Sheinbaum fired back at Trump, saying his tariffs diplomacy was “not acceptable” and based on erroneous claims.”It is not with threats or tariffs that the migration phenomenon will be stopped, nor the consumption of drugs in the United States,” she said.Sheinbaum pointed out that the Mexican narcotics industry largely exists to serve demand in the United States.”Seventy percent of the illegal weapons seized from criminals in Mexico come from your country,” she said. “Tragically, it is in our country that lives are lost to the violence resulting from meeting the drug demand in yours.”- Bluster or serious? -William Reinsch, senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said Trump’s online threats may be bluster — a strategy of “threaten, and then negotiate.”However, Trump’s first White House term was marked by an aggressive and protectionist trade agenda that also targeted China, Mexico and Canada, alongside Europe.While in office, Trump launched an all-out trade war with China, imposing significant tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars of Chinese goods. China responded with retaliatory tariffs on American products, particularly affecting US farmers.Economists say tariffs can hurt US growth and fuel inflation, since they are paid by importers bringing the goods into the United States, who often pass those costs on to consumers.Trump has said he will put his commerce secretary designate Howard Lutnick, a China hawk, in charge of trade policy.