Politics
Trump says 100% tariffs on China not sustainable, still plans to meet Xi
- I think we’re going to be fine with China, says US president.
- US Treasury secretary speaks with Chinese vice premier.
- World Trade Organisation urges US, China to ease tensions.
US President Donald Trump said his proposed 100% tariff on goods from China would not be sustainable, but blamed Beijing for the latest impasse in trade talks that began with Chinese authorities tightening control over rare-earth exports.
Asked whether such a high tariff was sustainable and what that might do to the US economy, Trump replied: “It’s not sustainable, but that’s what the number is.”
“They forced me to do that,” he said in an interview with Fox Business Network that was broadcast on Friday.
Trump unveiled additional levies of 100% on imports of Chinese goods a week ago, along with new export controls on “any and all critical software” by November 1, nine days before existing tariff relief was set to expire.
The new trade actions were Trump’s reaction to China’s dramatic expansion of its export controls on rare earth elements. China dominates the market for such elements, which are essential to tech manufacturing.
Trump also confirmed he would meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in two weeks in South Korea and expressed admiration for the Chinese leader.
“I think we’re going to be fine with China, but we have to have a fair deal. It’s got to be fair,” Trump said on FBN’s “Mornings with Maria,” which was taped on Thursday.
Later, as he was preparing to have lunch at the White House with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to discuss efforts to end its war with Russia, Trump said: “China wants to talk, and we like talking to China.”
The softening in tone and affirmation of his intent to meet with Xi helped stem Wall Street’s early losses on Friday. Major US stock indexes, which have been rattled over the last week by Trump’s abrupt re-imposition of steep levies on Chinese imports and by credit worries among regional banks, were up in afternoon trading.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent spoke with his counterpart, Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, on Friday evening in what he called “frank and detailed discussions” about trade, and said the two will meet in person next week.
WTO urges de-escalation of trade spats
The head of the World Trade Organisation said she urged the US and China to de-escalate trade tensions, warning that a decoupling by the world’s two largest economies could reduce global economic output by 7% over the longer term.
WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala told Reuters in an interview the global trade body was extremely concerned about the latest spike in US-China trade tensions and had spoken with officials from both countries to encourage more dialogue.
But tensions continued to run high, even as Trump and Xi prepared to meet.
Bessent took aim at China’s state-driven economic practices in a statement to the IMF’s steering committee on Friday, urging the IMF and World Bank to take a tougher stance on China’s external and internal balances and industrial policies that US officials say have helped China build up excess manufacturing capacity that is flooding the world with cheap goods.
And China’s Commerce Ministry on Friday accused the US of undermining the rules-based multilateral trading system since the Trump administration took office in 2025, vowing to intensify its use of dispute settlement actions at the WTO.
It also urged the US to roll back measures that breach non-discrimination rules and align its industrial and security policies with WTO obligations.
Bessent earlier in the week had accused one of He’s top aides of being “unhinged” in recent interactions with US trade negotiators. China said on Friday that Bessent’s remarks “seriously distort the facts.”
DUBAI: Unidentified attackers hijacked an oil tanker on Saturday off the coast of Yemen in the Gulf of Aden and directed it towards Somalia, the Yemeni coast guard said.
According to the agency, the tanker EUREKA was seized off Yemen’s Shabwa province by a group who “boarded, took control of it, then steered it… in the direction of the Somali coast”.
The coast guard, which is affiliated with Yemen’s internationally recognised government, vowed to investigate the attack.
“The location of the tanker has been determined, and work is under way to monitor it and take the necessary measures in an attempt to recover it and ensure the safety of its crew,” it said, without identifying the crew’s numbers or nationality.
According to the website Marine Traffic, the EUREKA is a Togolese-flagged oil products tanker that was reported to have been in the UAE port of Fujairah in late March.
Piracy was rampant off the coast of Somalia in the 2000s, peaking in 2011 with hundreds of attacks, but was significantly reduced by international naval deployments and new tactics by commercial shipping.
But in recent weeks attacks have increased again, according to a report by the European Union naval mission deployed off the shores of the troubled east African country.
Operation Atalanta, the EU’s naval force for Somalia, monitored three attacks in late April, according to its information service, the Maritime Security Centre Indian Ocean (MSCIO).
Since February 28, shipping in the region has also been disrupted by the US-Israeli war against Iran, but there was no immediate indication that Saturday’s hijacking was linked to the conflict.
Last month, a tanker was captured in the Gulf of Aden by a new group of pirates operating from the port town of Garacad in the Puntland state of northeastern Somalia, a local security official told AFP.
- Contract supports APG-66 and APG-68 radar systems.
- Work to be completed by March 2036.
- Includes multiple allies under foreign military sales plan.
The United States Air Force has contracted Northrop Grumman Systems Corp. in a $488 million deal to provide engineering and technical support for F-16 radar systems under its Foreign Military Sales programme, with Pakistan among the beneficiary countries.
According to an official award notice issued by the US Department of War, the firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract covers support for F-16 System Programme Office Foreign Military Sales (FMS) as well as Air Force and Navy requirements.
The contract includes engineering and technical support for APG-66 and APG-68 radar systems. The work will be carried out at Linthicum Heights, Maryland, and is expected to be completed by March 31, 2036.
The contract involves foreign military sales to multiple countries, including Bahrain, Belgium, Chile, Denmark, Egypt, Greece, Indonesia, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Korea, Morocco, the Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Thailand and Türkiye.
The US Air Force said the contract was awarded on a sole-source basis. Fiscal 2026 non-appropriated, Air Force and Navy funds amounting to $2,644,922 have been obligated at the time of the award.
The Air Force Lifecycle Management Centre at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, is the contracting authority for the agreement, which was awarded on April 27, 2026.
The development comes months after the United States, in December 2025, approved the sale of advanced technology and support services worth $686 million for Pakistan’s F-16 fighter aircraft fleet.
According to a letter from the US Defence Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) to Congress dated December 8, the package covers Link-16 data link systems, cryptographic gear, avionics upgrades, training, and wide-ranging logistical support.
The DSCA says the decision aligns with Washington’s broader strategic aims, stating the sale “will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by allowing Pakistan to retain interoperability with US and partner forces in ongoing counterterrorism efforts and in preparation for future contingency operations.”
The letter notes that the upgrades are intended to modernise Pakistan’s Block-52 and Mid-Life Upgrade F-16s and address operational safety requirements. According to the letter, the sale will “maintain Pakistan’s capability to meet current and future threats by updating and refurbishing its Block-52 and Mid Life Upgrade F-16 fleet.”
- US approves of sales to Qatar, UAE, Kuwait and Israel.
- US govt says emergency exists to waive congressional review.
- Washington faces scrutiny for military ties with Kuwait, UAE, Qatar.
US President Donald Trump’s administration has bypassed congressional review to approve military sales totaling over $8.6 billion to Middle Eastern allies Israel, Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.
The State Department announcements on Friday came as the US and Israel’s war against Iran marked nine weeks since its start and more than three weeks since a fragile ceasefire came into effect.
The State Department said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio determined that an emergency existed that required immediate sales to those countries and waived the congressional review requirements for the sales.
The announcements included approving military sales to Qatar of Patriot air and missile defence replenishment services costing $4.01 billion and of Advanced Precision Kill Weapon Systems (APKWS) costing $992.4 million.
The principal contractor in the APKWS sales to Qatar, Israel and the UAE was BAE Systems, the State Department said.
RTX and Lockheed Martin were the principal contractors in the integrated battle command system sale to Kuwait and in the Patriot air and missile defense replenishment sale to Qatar, the State Department added.
Northrop Grumman was also a principal contractor in the Kuwaiti sale.
Over the years, Washington has faced scrutiny for military ties with Kuwait, the UAE and Qatar over those countries’ human rights track records that rights advocates say involve restrictions on and reported abuses of minorities, journalists, voices of dissent, the LGBT community and labourers.
Those nations have denied supporting or engaging in domestic rights abuses.
US support for Israel has also come under scrutiny from rights experts, particularly over Israel’s assault on Gaza that has killed tens of thousands, caused a hunger crisis and led to assessments of genocide from scholars and a UN inquiry.
Israel calls its actions self-defence after Hamas-led fighters killed 1,200 people in an October 2023 attack.
Washington has maintained support for its allies.
5/2: Saturday Morning – CBS News
Oil tanker hijacked off Yemen, diverted towards Somalia: Yemen coast guard
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