Worldwide stock markets were stable on Tuesday when investors waited for Donald Trump’s next steps, after the president had announced the rates for more than a dozen trading partners of the US.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 was higher at the open air, after having fallen almost 1 percent on Monday.
While countries ran to respond to Trump’s renewed threats, the EU said it hoped this week to sign a temporary deal with the US that would keep the rates at 10 percent.
But the German finance minister warned that the block was ready to impose retaliation measures against the US if the two parties have not reached “fair” deal.
Both Japan and South Korea indicated that they would try to negotiate, after they had been admitted on Monday in letters that had been sent to 14 trading partners by the US president to 14 trading partners who would explain the rates that would come into force on 1 August. The White House has said that more letters will be sent this week.
Trump spoke late on Monday, left the door open for negotiations. He also extended the deadline for the rates to get into force at three weeks until just after midnight on 1 August.
This week’s move comes after a 90-day break about the “reciprocal rates” announced by Trump on “Liberation Day” would end on July 9.
Investors were “of the opinion that nothing is final and that these letters only mark a different iteration on the trip to trade agreements”, known analysts at ING.
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On Wall Street, the S&P 500 index rose by 0.1 percent and the technically heavy Nasdaq composite achieved 0.3 percent.
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In Europe the Stoxx Europe was 600 flat and the FTSE 100 was 0.2 percent in the afternoon trade.
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In Asia, the Japanese Topix closed 0.2 percent and Kospi in South Korea rose by 1.8 percent.
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The American dollar index, which follows the American currency against a basket with pear currencies, rose by 0.4 percent.
