2025-06-01 15:48

WASHINGTON, June 1 (Reuters) - U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick downplayed the impact of legal uncertainty around U.S. tariffs on negotiations with the European Union during an interview on Sunday, saying talks were ongoing. Lutnick, speaking on "Fox News Sunday," was asked about a Reuters report quoting an unnamed EU official close to negotiations who said the legal uncertainty of the tariffs in the U.S. gave the EU "extra leverage." Sign up here. "You can't listen to silly people making silly comments," Lutnick said. "All of the countries that are negotiating with us understand the power of Donald Trump and his ability to protect the American worker." A U.S. trade court blocked most of President Trump's tariffs in a sweeping ruling last week that found he had overstepped his authority by imposing across-the-board duties on imports from U.S. trading partners. A U.S. federal appeals court paused that ruling a day later, allowing the tariffs to go into effect while it considered an appeal by the Trump administration. Lutnick said the ruling "maybe cost us a week, but then everybody came right back to the table." Trump and his advisers said on Friday that many countries had been in touch since the court ruling and talks were moving ahead. The Republican president in late May threatened 50% tariffs on all European goods by June 1, but days later delayed the effective date to July 9 to allow more time to negotiate. Trump also said on Friday that he would increase tariffs on imported steel and aluminum to 50% from 25%, leading the European Commission on Saturday to say it could consider countermeasures. Speaking on ABC News' "This Week," White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said the U.S. needed to protect its steel industry for national security reasons in light of economic rival China's steel production. "We have to show strength," Hassett said. "We have to have a steel industry that's ready for American defense." https://www.reuters.com/world/us/lutnick-downplays-impact-tariff-court-ruling-us-eu-talks-2025-06-01/

2025-06-01 15:32

WASHINGTON, June 1 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping will speak soon to iron out trade issues including a dispute over critical minerals, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Sunday. Trump on Friday accused China of violating an agreement with the U.S. to mutually roll back tariffs and trade restrictions for critical minerals. Sign up here. "What China is doing is they are holding back products that are essential for the industrial supply chains of India, of Europe. And that is not what a reliable partner does," Bessent said in an interview with CBS' "Face the Nation." "I am confident that when President Trump and Party Chairman Xi have a call, that this will be ironed out. But the fact that they are withholding some of the products that they agreed to release during our agreement - maybe it's a glitch in the Chinese system, maybe it's intentional. We'll see after the President speaks with the party chairman." Trump said on Friday he was sure that he would speak to Xi. China said in April that the two leaders had not had a conversation recently. Asked if a talk with Xi was on Trump's schedule, Bessent said, "I believe we'll see something very soon." White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said no specific date for the conversation has been set, but there have been discussions that the leaders will talk about last month's Geneva agreement on some tariff disputes. "President Trump, we expect, is going to have a wonderful conversation about the trade negotiations this week with President Xi. That's our expectation," Hassett said. https://www.reuters.com/world/trump-xi-likely-speak-soon-treasurys-bessent-says-2025-06-01/

2025-06-01 12:46

TAIPEI, June 1 (Reuters) - Taiwan's central bank said on Sunday that U.S. government debt is "sound" and still favoured by investors, and there are no worries about the U.S. dollar's position as the leading international reserve currency. U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff announcement on April 2, which led to a market rout, including in U.S. Treasuries, has cast doubt over the dollar's safe-haven status. Sign up here. Trump's has made complaints about a strong dollar which have also triggered speculation that Washington wants an adjustment lower in the U.S. currency. Taiwan's $582.8 billion in foreign exchange reserves are more than 80% made up of U.S. Treasury bonds, according to the island's central bank. The central bank, responding to what it said were market concerns about U.S. bonds and the U.S. dollar, said on its website there was no cause for alarm. "There are still no concerns about the U.S. dollar's position as the leading international reserve currency," it said. "U.S. public debt is stable and has good liquidity, and its function as a store of value is still favoured by investors." The central bank also called on the media and market commentators not to speculate about the foreign exchange rate, given the Taiwan dollar's surge since last month against the U.S. currency on speculation Washington had asked Taipei to let it strengthen as part of tariff talks. The central bank has repeatedly denied that the United States has made that request. In its Sunday statement, the central bank said its inspection teams had found that some foreign investors, whom it did not name, had transferred large sums into Taiwan dollar deposit accounts ostensibly to invest in Taiwan stocks. But no such investments took place, it said, adding foreign investors must use remitted funds to invest in domestic securities if that is what they have declared the money for "and not use the funds to speculate on the Taiwan dollar's exchange rate". https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/us-debt-is-sound-no-concerns-about-us-dollars-reserve-role-taiwans-central-bank-2025-06-01/

2025-06-01 12:12

SEOUL, June 1 (Reuters) - The International Air Transport Association said on Sunday it expects the amount of sustainable aviation fuel produced to double in 2025 to reach 2 million tonnes, representing 0.7% of airlines' fuel consumption. Influential industry body IATA has increasingly been warning that airlines will struggle to meet their sustainability goals, and has described the production of SAF - which is more expensive than conventional jet fuel - as disappointingly slow. Sign up here. IATA Director General Willie Walsh said that while the production increase was encouraging, the relatively small amount will add $4.4 billion globally to aviation's fuel bill. "The pace of progress in ramping up production and gaining efficiencies to reduce costs must accelerate," Walsh said in a statement. The broader aviation sector agreed in 2021 to target net-zero emissions in 2050 based mainly on a gradual switch to SAF, which is made from waste oil and biomass. Airlines are at odds with energy companies over scarce supplies of SAF, while also pointing the finger at plane makers Airbus (AIR.PA) , opens new tab and Boeing (BA.N) , opens new tab over delays in delivering more fuel-efficient jets. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/iata-expects-sustainable-aviation-fuel-production-double-2025-2025-06-01/

2025-06-01 11:27

IndiGo firms up 30 orders for A350 jets New partnership with U.S. carrier Delta Deal expands network in North America, Europe and Britain NEW DELHI, June 1 (Reuters) - India's largest airline IndiGo (INGL.NS) , opens new tab has entered an agreement with Air France-KLM (AIRF.PA) , opens new tab, Virgin Atlantic and Delta (DAL.N) , opens new tab to expand its long-haul services to North America, Europe and Britain, the airlines said on Sunday. IndiGo has an extensive domestic network in India, the world's third-largest air passenger market, and is expanding its international reach. Sign up here. Separately IndiGo also said it would convert 30 out of 70 options for Airbus (AIR.PA) , opens new tab A350 jets into firm orders for new planes. Once the airline partnership is complete, IndiGo will be able to sell flights under its own name on those operated by its partners out of India, and onward travel from Amsterdam and Manchester, UK, on selected flights to Europe and North America. IndiGo will start flying to Amsterdam and Manchester from July. Air France-KLM and Virgin Atlantic already code-share on IndiGo's domestic flights. The Delta partnership is new. U.S. carrier Delta has not flown to India since the pandemic. CEO Ed Bastian told media at an airline summit in New Delhi that Delta will restart direct services from the United States to India over the next couple of years. "There's not a more important market in aviation at the present time than in India," Bastian said. Delta is planning nonstop flights between Atlanta and Delhi, subject to government approval, a joint statement said. IndiGo is hosting the International Air Transport Association's (IATA) annual meeting in New Delhi from Sunday. IndiGo is aiming to grow its fleet to 600 aircraft by 2030, from more than 400 currently, and has been leasing aircraft to tide it over aircraft delivery delays and expand internationally. It recently said it will lease six Boeing (BA.N) , opens new tab 787 wide-body jets from Norse Atlantic Airways by early next year. India's aviation regulator said last week it would only extend an existing leasing arrangement IndiGo has with Turkish Airlines to the end of August. The arrangement has been publicly criticised in India after Turkey came out in support of Pakistan during the recent conflict between the two South Asian neighbours. https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/indigo-expands-network-with-air-france-klm-virgin-atlantic-delta-deal-2025-06-01/

2025-06-01 11:17

BEIJING, June 1 (Reuters) - Heavy rainfall triggering flash floods and mudslides have damaged roads, destroyed buildings and claimed bridges, wreaking havoc in China's southwestern Yunnan province on a long holiday weekend. No casualties were reported but more than 4,800 residents in Gongshan county were affected, with about one-third of them urgently relocated, state news agency Xinhua said. Sign up here. Over 600 tourists visiting rural scenic spots in the area on Saturday found themselves trapped, according to Xinhua, which reported 500 of them had been rescued by Sunday. Road access to mountainous sites popular with hikers such as Bingzhongluo town and Yubeng village in neighbouring Deqin county were cut off, state broadcaster CCTV. The Dulong river saw flood waters swell to record levels, according to historical logs from a hydrological monitoring station. A four-storey building set along the river that had been evacuated collapsed, CCTV reported, showing a video of the structure tipping backwards and disappearing into a cloud of dust. The intense rainfall over a 12-hour period disrupted power supplies. Repair work to roads and power lines was underway, said state media. Local authorities had issued a red alert ahead of the rainstorm on Friday night but downgraded it to a yellow alert by Saturday morning. China uses a four-colour warning system that escalates from blue, yellow, orange to red according to the level of precipitation and anticipated risks. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/chinas-yunnan-hit-with-floods-mudslides-intense-rains-2025-06-01/