Former President Robert Mugabe will not appear before Zimbabwe’s parliament as scheduled on Wednesday to answer questions on diamond mining operations, a legislator said.

Temba Mliswa, who leads the parliamentary committee on mines, said the clerk of parliament hadn’t written to Mugabe to invite him to appear.

“It has been delayed but that resolution still stands,” Mliswa said. “He will have to appear before the committee whether he likes it or not.”

The committee had ordered the 94-year-old Mugabe to face legislators over his previous pronouncements that the state had been deprived of at least $15 billion in diamond revenue by mining companies.

Mugabe said in March 2016 the country was robbed of the revenue by diamond companies, including joint ventures between Chinese companies and the army, police and intelligence services, whose operations were shielded from public scrutiny.

Specifically, he said Zimbabwe lost $15 billion from the Marange gem fields, more than 400 kilometers (250 miles) east of the capital. He later expelled the companies and replaced them with a state-owned diamond company.

Mliswa said a new date for Mugabe to testify would be set.

The questioning on Wednesday would have been Mugabe’s first public appearance since the army deposed him last November in a de facto coup.
…

Trade negotiations between China and the United States continue early next week in Washington D.C., but analysts say after the first round, the differences between the two sides are huge. Some believe the differences are so fundamental and big that an escalation of tariffs is unavoidable.

According to a widely circulated copy of Washington’s demands, President Donald Trump’s delegation not only asked Beijing to cut its trade deficit with the United States by $200 billion by 2020, but to also sharply lower tariffs and government subsidies of advanced technologies.

Beijing wants the United States to no longer oppose granting China market economy status at the World Trade Organization, amend an export ban against Chinese tech company ZTE Corp and open American government procurement to Chinese technology and services among other demands.

View to escalation

Scott Kennedy, a China scholar at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the first round made it clear just how far apart the U.S. and China are in their views of what’s fair, what they want and expect the other side to do.

“I think we’re still headed toward escalation with both sides adopting tariffs in the next few weeks, but at least now we know what the fight is about,” Kennedy said. “It’s about whether or not China should be a market economy, or what you know whether it should be able to maintain its state capitalist system without any constraints.”

China joined the WTO in December of 2001 as a non-market economy and after 15 years it was expected the granting of the status as a market economy would naturally follow — along with its opening up.

But that is not what has happened, and the United States and European Union have refused to grant China market economy status.

Beijing insists it should be regarded as a market economy regardless of whether other countries believe it fits the definition. Under Xi Jinping, the Communist Party has moved to assert greater control over business and the economy.

Competition vs. compensation

It has also become increasingly clear that China’s definition of reform and that of the West are strikingly different.

In an interview with VOA earlier this year, William Zarit, chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce, said that while many used to assume China would continue to carry out Western style economic reforms initiated in the early 2000s, that is no longer the case.

“In the last four or five years, we’ve seen that reform has taken a different direction, that the Chinese economy is on a different trajectory and that is more support for state-owned enterprises,” Zarit said. “And when I hear reforms now, it is more about making state-owned enterprises more efficient and not necessarily competitive in a fully market-based economy.”

But Song Hong, an economist with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, argues that China has fulfilled its WTO obligations and it is the United States and European Union that have broken their promises to grant the country market economy status.

He said Washington’s demands to slash the trade deficit by $100 billion a year does not make economic sense. He also said the demand for China to lower tariffs and put the two countries on equal footing is impossible.

“The market in China is of course not as open as the U.S. market because China remains a developing country, which is no match to the U.S.,” Song Hong said. “The per capita income level in China around $10,000 vs. the U.S.’s some $50,000. How can both countries be equal?”

Talks as clock ticks

Some Chinese state media reports have tried to sound upbeat about the meetings focusing on the two sides agreed to keep talking, despite their differences.

On Monday, the White House announced a Chinese delegation led by Liu He, China’s vice premier and a top aide to Chinese leader Xi Jinping, will visit the United States early next week.

At the same time, however, the clock is ticking on U.S. threats to implement up to $150 billion in tariffs on Chinese goods. A day after Liu arrives in Washington, there will be a public hearing to discuss tariffs and the Trump administration’s investigation into China’s trade policies and practices.

If no agreement is reached by May 23, Washington would be well within its right to go ahead with the tariffs, analysts note. To which, China has promised to promptly reply.

Kennedy said that while the United States has used unilateral penalties in the past, this time around the chances of escalation are a lot higher.

“Not only are the disagreements deeply fundamental, China is much more powerful and ambitious than it used to be. And so it’s not likely to cave easily,” he said.

Brian Kopczynski contributed to this report.

 
…

Trade negotiations between China and the United States continue early next week in Washington D.C., but analysts say after the first round, the differences between the two sides are huge. Some believe the differences are so fundamental and big that an escalation of tariffs is unavoidable.

According to a widely circulated copy of Washington’s demands, President Donald Trump’s delegation not only asked Beijing to cut its trade deficit with the United States by $200 billion by 2020, but to also sharply lower tariffs and government subsidies of advanced technologies.

Beijing wants the United States to no longer oppose granting China market economy status at the World Trade Organization, amend an export ban against Chinese tech company ZTE Corp and open American government procurement to Chinese technology and services among other demands.

View to escalation

Scott Kennedy, a China scholar at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the first round made it clear just how far apart the U.S. and China are in their views of what’s fair, what they want and expect the other side to do.

“I think we’re still headed toward escalation with both sides adopting tariffs in the next few weeks, but at least now we know what the fight is about,” Kennedy said. “It’s about whether or not China should be a market economy, or what you know whether it should be able to maintain its state capitalist system without any constraints.”

China joined the WTO in December of 2001 as a non-market economy and after 15 years it was expected the granting of the status as a market economy would naturally follow — along with its opening up.

But that is not what has happened, and the United States and European Union have refused to grant China market economy status.

Beijing insists it should be regarded as a market economy regardless of whether other countries believe it fits the definition. Under Xi Jinping, the Communist Party has moved to assert greater control over business and the economy.

Competition vs. compensation

It has also become increasingly clear that China’s definition of reform and that of the West are strikingly different.

In an interview with VOA earlier this year, William Zarit, chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce, said that while many used to assume China would continue to carry out Western style economic reforms initiated in the early 2000s, that is no longer the case.

“In the last four or five years, we’ve seen that reform has taken a different direction, that the Chinese economy is on a different trajectory and that is more support for state-owned enterprises,” Zarit said. “And when I hear reforms now, it is more about making state-owned enterprises more efficient and not necessarily competitive in a fully market-based economy.”

But Song Hong, an economist with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, argues that China has fulfilled its WTO obligations and it is the United States and European Union that have broken their promises to grant the country market economy status.

He said Washington’s demands to slash the trade deficit by $100 billion a year does not make economic sense. He also said the demand for China to lower tariffs and put the two countries on equal footing is impossible.

“The market in China is of course not as open as the U.S. market because China remains a developing country, which is no match to the U.S.,” Song Hong said. “The per capita income level in China around $10,000 vs. the U.S.’s some $50,000. How can both countries be equal?”

Talks as clock ticks

Some Chinese state media reports have tried to sound upbeat about the meetings focusing on the two sides agreed to keep talking, despite their differences.

On Monday, the White House announced a Chinese delegation led by Liu He, China’s vice premier and a top aide to Chinese leader Xi Jinping, will visit the United States early next week.

At the same time, however, the clock is ticking on U.S. threats to implement up to $150 billion in tariffs on Chinese goods. A day after Liu arrives in Washington, there will be a public hearing to discuss tariffs and the Trump administration’s investigation into China’s trade policies and practices.

If no agreement is reached by May 23, Washington would be well within its right to go ahead with the tariffs, analysts note. To which, China has promised to promptly reply.

Kennedy said that while the United States has used unilateral penalties in the past, this time around the chances of escalation are a lot higher.

“Not only are the disagreements deeply fundamental, China is much more powerful and ambitious than it used to be. And so it’s not likely to cave easily,” he said.

Brian Kopczynski contributed to this report.

 
…

The Trump administration is unveiling a multibillion-dollar roster of proposed spending cuts but is leaving this year’s $1.3 trillion catchall spending bill alone.

The cuts wouldn’t have much impact, however, since they come from leftover funding from previous years that wouldn’t be spent anyway.

The White House said it is sending the so-called rescissions package to lawmakers Tuesday. Administration officials, who required anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly on the matter, said the package proposes killing $15 billion in unused funds. A senior official said about $7 billion would come from the Children’s Health Insurance Program, or CHIP, which provides health care to kids from low-income families, though that official stressed the cuts won’t have a practical impact on the popular program.

The administration is trying to use its authority to prod Congress to “rescind” spending approved years ago, but even if the package is approved it would only have a tiny impact on the government’s budget deficit, which is on track to total more than $800 billion this year. Some of the cuts wouldn’t affect the deficit at all since budget scorekeepers don’t give credit for rescinded money that they don’t think would have ever been spent.

For instance, more than $4 billion in cuts to a loan program designed to boost fuel-efficient, advanced-technology vehicles wouldn’t result in fewer loans since the loans are no longer being made. And $107 million worth of watershed restoration money from the 2013 Superstorm Sandy aid bill is going unused because local governments aren’t stepping up with matching funds. Another $252 million is left over from the 2015 fight against Ebola, which has been declared over.

Still, the cuts, if enacted by Congress, would take spending authority off the table so it couldn’t be tapped by lawmakers for other uses in the future. The catchall spending bill, for instance, contained $7 billion in cuts to CHIP that were used elsewhere to boost other programs.

“This is money that was never going to be spent,” a senior administration official said on a press call ahead of Tuesday’s submission. “The only thing it would be used for is offsets down the line.”

Democrats have supported such cuts in the past, eager to grab easy budget savings to finance new spending. But some Democrats howled over the White House proposal anyway.

“Let’s be honest about what this is: President Trump and Republicans in Congress are looking to tear apart the bipartisan Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), hurting middle-class families and low-income children,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

Pressure from party conservatives to increase cuts in a tentative $11 billion proposal contributed to a delay from Monday’s original release date.

The White House and tea party lawmakers upset by the budget-busting “omnibus” bill have rallied around the plan, aiming to show that Republicans are taking on out-of-control spending. The administration says it will propose cuts to the omnibus measure later in the year.

The spending cuts are also a priority for House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., who likens them to “giving the bloated federal budget a much-needed spring cleaning.” But while the package may pass the House it faces a more difficult path — and potential procedural roadblocks — in the Senate.

McCarthy wants to succeed soon-to-retire House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and some of his allies view the project as a way to improve his standing with fractious GOP conservatives who blocked his path to the speakership in 2015.

The proposal has already had a tortured path even before its unveiling. More pragmatic Republicans, including the senior ranks of the powerful House and Senate Appropriations committees, rebelled against the measure. They argued that it would be breaking a bipartisan budget pact just weeks after it was negotiated. In response, White House budget director Mick Mulvaney cleansed the measure of cuts to the huge omnibus bill.

Last month, Mulvaney told lawmakers the plan could have totaled $25 billion or so. Now he says he’s planning to submit several different packages of spending cuts — and it’s likely they’ll get more conservative with each new proposal.

Either way, the idea faces a challenging path in Congress — particularly the Senate, where a 51-49 GOP majority leaves little room for error even though budget rules permit rescissions measures to advance free of the threat of Democratic filibusters. But the cuts to the popular children’s health insurance program probably could still be filibustered because they are so-called mandatory programs rather than annual appropriations.
…

The Trump administration is unveiling a multibillion-dollar roster of proposed spending cuts but is leaving this year’s $1.3 trillion catchall spending bill alone.

The cuts wouldn’t have much impact, however, since they come from leftover funding from previous years that wouldn’t be spent anyway.

The White House said it is sending the so-called rescissions package to lawmakers Tuesday. Administration officials, who required anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly on the matter, said the package proposes killing $15 billion in unused funds. A senior official said about $7 billion would come from the Children’s Health Insurance Program, or CHIP, which provides health care to kids from low-income families, though that official stressed the cuts won’t have a practical impact on the popular program.

The administration is trying to use its authority to prod Congress to “rescind” spending approved years ago, but even if the package is approved it would only have a tiny impact on the government’s budget deficit, which is on track to total more than $800 billion this year. Some of the cuts wouldn’t affect the deficit at all since budget scorekeepers don’t give credit for rescinded money that they don’t think would have ever been spent.

For instance, more than $4 billion in cuts to a loan program designed to boost fuel-efficient, advanced-technology vehicles wouldn’t result in fewer loans since the loans are no longer being made. And $107 million worth of watershed restoration money from the 2013 Superstorm Sandy aid bill is going unused because local governments aren’t stepping up with matching funds. Another $252 million is left over from the 2015 fight against Ebola, which has been declared over.

Still, the cuts, if enacted by Congress, would take spending authority off the table so it couldn’t be tapped by lawmakers for other uses in the future. The catchall spending bill, for instance, contained $7 billion in cuts to CHIP that were used elsewhere to boost other programs.

“This is money that was never going to be spent,” a senior administration official said on a press call ahead of Tuesday’s submission. “The only thing it would be used for is offsets down the line.”

Democrats have supported such cuts in the past, eager to grab easy budget savings to finance new spending. But some Democrats howled over the White House proposal anyway.

“Let’s be honest about what this is: President Trump and Republicans in Congress are looking to tear apart the bipartisan Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), hurting middle-class families and low-income children,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

Pressure from party conservatives to increase cuts in a tentative $11 billion proposal contributed to a delay from Monday’s original release date.

The White House and tea party lawmakers upset by the budget-busting “omnibus” bill have rallied around the plan, aiming to show that Republicans are taking on out-of-control spending. The administration says it will propose cuts to the omnibus measure later in the year.

The spending cuts are also a priority for House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., who likens them to “giving the bloated federal budget a much-needed spring cleaning.” But while the package may pass the House it faces a more difficult path — and potential procedural roadblocks — in the Senate.

McCarthy wants to succeed soon-to-retire House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and some of his allies view the project as a way to improve his standing with fractious GOP conservatives who blocked his path to the speakership in 2015.

The proposal has already had a tortured path even before its unveiling. More pragmatic Republicans, including the senior ranks of the powerful House and Senate Appropriations committees, rebelled against the measure. They argued that it would be breaking a bipartisan budget pact just weeks after it was negotiated. In response, White House budget director Mick Mulvaney cleansed the measure of cuts to the huge omnibus bill.

Last month, Mulvaney told lawmakers the plan could have totaled $25 billion or so. Now he says he’s planning to submit several different packages of spending cuts — and it’s likely they’ll get more conservative with each new proposal.

Either way, the idea faces a challenging path in Congress — particularly the Senate, where a 51-49 GOP majority leaves little room for error even though budget rules permit rescissions measures to advance free of the threat of Democratic filibusters. But the cuts to the popular children’s health insurance program probably could still be filibustered because they are so-called mandatory programs rather than annual appropriations.
…

Nestle is paying more than $7 billion to handle global retail sales of Starbucks’s coffee and tea outside of its coffee shops.

The deal comes with a huge price tag for Nestle, but it could pay off big for the Swiss company. Its Nescafe and Nespresso don’t carry anywhere near the heft in America that Starbucks brand does, with its $2 billion in annual sales.

The deal gives Nestle the rights to market, sell and distribute Starbucks, Seattle’s Best Coffee, Starbucks Reserve, Teavana, Starbucks VIA and Torrefazione Italia packaged coffee and tea. It will also be able to put the Starbucks brand on Nestle single-serve capsules. The agreement excludes bottled drinks like ice coffees and Frappuccinos that are sold in and outside of Starbucks stores.

Nestle had hinted last year that it was looking at focusing on higher-growth areas like pet care, coffee and infant nutrition. In January it announced it was selling its U.S. candy business to Italy’s Ferrero for approximately $2.8 billion.

With the strength of the Starbucks brand, (equals) Nestle will be able to better compete against JAB Holdings, an investment holding company that has gobbled up businesses and brands associated with Peet’s Coffee & Tea, Caribou Coffee Co., Stumptown Coffee and Krispy Kreme Doughnuts.

Nestle announced Monday that Starbucks Corp. will receive $7.15 billion in an up-front cash payment. Approximately 500 Starbucks employees will join Nestle, and operations will continue to be located in Seattle.

The deal is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close by the end of the year.

 
…

Nestle is paying more than $7 billion to handle global retail sales of Starbucks’s coffee and tea outside of its coffee shops.

The deal comes with a huge price tag for Nestle, but it could pay off big for the Swiss company. Its Nescafe and Nespresso don’t carry anywhere near the heft in America that Starbucks brand does, with its $2 billion in annual sales.

The deal gives Nestle the rights to market, sell and distribute Starbucks, Seattle’s Best Coffee, Starbucks Reserve, Teavana, Starbucks VIA and Torrefazione Italia packaged coffee and tea. It will also be able to put the Starbucks brand on Nestle single-serve capsules. The agreement excludes bottled drinks like ice coffees and Frappuccinos that are sold in and outside of Starbucks stores.

Nestle had hinted last year that it was looking at focusing on higher-growth areas like pet care, coffee and infant nutrition. In January it announced it was selling its U.S. candy business to Italy’s Ferrero for approximately $2.8 billion.

With the strength of the Starbucks brand, (equals) Nestle will be able to better compete against JAB Holdings, an investment holding company that has gobbled up businesses and brands associated with Peet’s Coffee & Tea, Caribou Coffee Co., Stumptown Coffee and Krispy Kreme Doughnuts.

Nestle announced Monday that Starbucks Corp. will receive $7.15 billion in an up-front cash payment. Approximately 500 Starbucks employees will join Nestle, and operations will continue to be located in Seattle.

The deal is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close by the end of the year.

 
…

A small band of Belgian monks are planning to start producing their own beer again, more than 200 years after invading French troops stopped all brewing at the abbey.

The men from Grimbergen Abbey started making beer in 1128, but stopped in 1797 when the French took over the site and sold off the equipment.

After that, some of the world’s biggest drink brands filled the gap – Heineken unit Alken-Maes makes brown and blond lagers with the Grimbergen brand in Belgium. Carlsberg sells them abroad, paying royalties to the abbey.

Now the monks have drawn up plans for their own micro-brewery to produce their own beers to sell alongside the other Grimbergen drinks on the market.

“We want to build a micro-brewery, on a small scale and linked with tradition, on the site where the brewery stood before the French Revolution,” said Sub-prior Karel Stautemas.

“What exactly the beer will be, we don’t yet know, but the tastes of before and now have changed. This will be a beer of the 21st century.”

The operation will be much smaller than the ones run by Belgium’s trappist abbeys, such as Chimay or Westmalle, he added. Other abbeys such as Leffe have also allowed their names to be used in products made by large brewers.

The abbey, which is home to about 20 monks, still needs to complete a feasibility study and secure approvals and licenses, but hopes the new Grimbergen will be flowing by 2020, Stautemas said.

Alken-Maes and Carlsberg supported the project, he added.
…

Afghanistan’s poverty rate has worsened sharply over the past five years as the economy has stalled and the Taliban insurgency has spread, with more than half the population living on less than a dollar a day, a survey published on Monday showed.

The Afghanistan Living Conditions Survey (ALCS), a joint study by the European Union and Afghanistan’s Central Statistics Organization, showed the national poverty rate rising to 55 percent in 2016-17 from 38 percent in 2011-12.

“The high poverty rates represent the combined effect of stagnating economic growth, increasing demographic pressures, and a deteriorating security situation,” Shubham Chaudhuri, World Bank director for Afghanistan, said in a commentary about the survey.

The report underlines the problems facing the Western-backed government in Kabul which needs economic growth to help replace foreign aid and to provide jobs for its fast-growing population.

As international forces have withdrawn and the billions of dollars in foreign aid that once poured in have dried up, Afghanistan’s battered agricultural economy has struggled.

More than a decade and a half after a U.S.-led campaign toppled the Taliban in 2001, the poverty line was defined as an income of 70 afghanis, or about one U.S. dollar, per person a day.

The ALCS report comes at a time when 20 of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces are suffering from serious drought and international aid agencies are seeking millions of dollars to help them.

Food insecurity has risen from 30.1 percent to 44.6 percent in five years, meaning many more people are forced to sell their land, take their children out of school to work or depend on food aid, the survey found.

Chaudhuri said the survey was the first estimate of the economic situation since Afghan forces took over security responsibilities in 2014 from international troops.

“In recent years, as population growth outstripped economic growth, an increase in poverty was inevitable,” he said on the World Bank blog site.

The survey found that 50 percent of the population is younger than 15.

This month, President Ashraf Ghani’s government said it had listed job creation among its priorities and aimed at creating 2.1 million jobs within three years.

However, according to the IMF, the economy is set to grow at 2.5-3 percent in 2017-18, too slowly to stop unemployment from rising.

The needs to produce some 400,000 new jobs a year to keep pace with population growth and tens of thousands of qualified people struggle to find work in cities, and farmers were unable to earn a sustainable livelihood due to the drought.

Officials at the European Union said the ALCS report was based on data collected from 21,000 households over 12 months.
…

An innovative consumer awareness campaign will be launched this summer in several cities in the United States. The campaign is aimed at preventing the waste of food that costs the world billions of dollars and has severe consequences on global food security and the environment. Verónica Balderas Iglesias spoke with experts.
…

The U.S. and China ended the second day of high level talks Friday aimed at avoiding a possible trade war.

The U.S. delegation, headed by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, will brief President Donald Trump Saturday and “seek his decision on next steps,” the White House said in a statement, adding that the administration had “consensus” for “immediate attention” to change the U.S.-China trade and investment relationship.

“We will be meeting tomorrow to determine the results, but it is hard for China in that they have become very spoiled with U.S. trade wins!” Trump said in a Twitter post late Friday.

“Both sides recognize there are still big differences on some issues and that they need to continue to step up their work to make progress,” China said in a statement released by Xinhua state news agency.

An editorial Saturday by China’s ruling Communist Party newspaper, the People’s Daily, however, said that “in the face of the U.S.’s fierce offensive of protectionism, China resolutely defends its national interest,” adding that Beijing “will never trade away its core interests and rejects the U.S.’s demand for an exorbitant price.”

The announcement followed comments by Mnuchin earlier in the day that the two sides were having “very good conversations.”

Trump has threatened to levy new tariffs on $150 billion of Chinese imports while Beijing shot back with a list of $50 billion in targeted U.S. goods.
…

The U.S. and China ended the second day of high level talks Friday aimed at avoiding a possible trade war.

The U.S. delegation, headed by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, will brief President Donald Trump Saturday and “seek his decision on next steps,” the White House said in a statement, adding that the administration had “consensus” for “immediate attention” to change the U.S.-China trade and investment relationship.

“We will be meeting tomorrow to determine the results, but it is hard for China in that they have become very spoiled with U.S. trade wins!” Trump said in a Twitter post late Friday.

“Both sides recognize there are still big differences on some issues and that they need to continue to step up their work to make progress,” China said in a statement released by Xinhua state news agency.

An editorial Saturday by China’s ruling Communist Party newspaper, the People’s Daily, however, said that “in the face of the U.S.’s fierce offensive of protectionism, China resolutely defends its national interest,” adding that Beijing “will never trade away its core interests and rejects the U.S.’s demand for an exorbitant price.”

The announcement followed comments by Mnuchin earlier in the day that the two sides were having “very good conversations.”

Trump has threatened to levy new tariffs on $150 billion of Chinese imports while Beijing shot back with a list of $50 billion in targeted U.S. goods.
…

President Trump reveled in the 3.9 percent U.S. unemployment rate Friday, following the release of figures by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. But some say that these numbers don’t tell the whole story. From Washington, VOA’s Jill Craig has more.
…

President Trump reveled in the 3.9 percent U.S. unemployment rate Friday, following the release of figures by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. But some say that these numbers don’t tell the whole story. From Washington, VOA’s Jill Craig has more.
…

The Trump administration has drawn a hard line in trade talks with China, demanding a $200 billion cut in the Chinese trade surplus with the United States, sharply lower tariffs and advanced technology subsidies, people familiar with the talks said Friday.

The lengthy list of demands was presented to Beijing before the start of talks Thursday and Friday between top-level Trump administration officials and their Chinese counterparts to try to avert a damaging trade war between the world’s two largest economies.

A White House statement did not mention specific demands, but said the U.S. delegation “held frank discussions with Chinese officials on rebalancing the United States-China bilateral economic relationship, improving China’s protection of intellectual property, and identifying policies that unfairly enforce technology transfers.”

The statement gave no indication that U.S. President Donald Trump would back off on his threat to impose tariffs on up to $150 billion in Chinese goods over allegations of intellectual property theft.

​Trump, delegation to meet Saturday

The delegation was returning to Washington to brief Trump and “seek his decision on next steps,” the White House said, adding that the administration had “consensus” for “immediate attention” to change the U.S-China trade and investment relationship.

Trump said he would meet with the delegation Saturday.

China’s state-run Xinhua news agency described the talks as “constructive, candid and efficient” but with disagreements that remain “relatively big.”

Tariff threats have roiled stock markets in recent weeks, but the inconclusive outcome of the Beijing talks did little to stop a rally in U.S. shares prompted by jobs data that eased fears of faster Federal Reserve rate hikes. Stocks in Shanghai ended 0.5 percent lower while they fell 1.3 percent in Hong Kong.

Trump told reporters in Washington that he was determined to bring fairness to U.S.-China trade.

“We will be doing something one way or the other with respect to what’s happening in China,” Trump said. He added that he had “great respect” for China’s President Xi Jinping. “That’s why we’re being so nice, because we have a great relationship.”

​Intellectual property

China during the meetings asked that the United States ease crushing sanctions on Chinese telecom equipment maker ZTE Corp, people with knowledge of the matter said.

Washington’s demand for a $200 billion cut from China’s U.S. goods trade surplus doubles Trump’s previous request for a $100 billion cut. China had a record U.S. goods trade surplus of $375 billion in 2017.

Trump has also demanded “reciprocity” between U.S. and Chinese tariffs, frequently complaining about China’s 25 percent car tariff while the U.S. equivalent is 2.5 percent.

The U.S. team, led by U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, demanded that China lower tariffs to levels no higher than those imposed by the United States, two people familiar with the demands said. The delegation also asked China to halt subsidies for advanced technology linked to its “Made in China 2025,” the sources said.

At the heart of the dispute are U.S. allegations that Chinese joint venture requirements and other policies force American companies to turn over their intellectual property, costing them billions of dollars annually and giving China’s state enterprises an edge in the race to develop new industries crucial to future growth.

China denies such coercion. Its 2025 industrial plan seeks to upgrade China’s manufacturing sector to more advanced products, including information technology, semiconductors and aircraft.

“I think the U.S. is asking for the impossible. Reducing the deficit by $200 billion by 2020 is quite an unrealistic demand, but it may also be a negotiation tactic to start high first,” said Tommy Xie, economist at OCBC Bank in Singapore.

Beijing offers

China offered to increase U.S. imports and lower tariffs on some goods, including cars, according to the sources.

But Beijing asked the United States to treat Chinese investment equally under national security reviews, refrain from new restrictions on investments and halt a proposal to impose 25 percent tariffs under its “Section 301” intellectual property probe.

China also offered to reconsider anti-dumping duties on U.S. sorghum, according to a proposal it submitted.

Xinhua said there had been exchanges of opinion on intellectual property protections, expanding U.S. exports and bilateral services trade. It gave no indication of what actions might be taken but said the two sides committed to resolve their trade disputes through dialogue.

U.S. negotiators agreed to bring up the ZTE sanctions with Trump after new representations from the Chinese side, Xinhua said. ZTE was hit last month with a seven-year ban on American companies’ selling components and software to it after the U.S. Commerce Department found ZTE failed to comply with an agreement to settle breached U.S. sanctions on Iran.

“My impression was that (the talks) didn’t go well given the rhetoric,” said Kevin Lai, senior economist at Daiwa Capital markets in Hong Kong. “I think the divide is still very big.”
…

U.S. employers stepped up hiring modestly in April, and the unemployment rate fell to 3.9 percent, evidence of the economy’s resilience amid the recent stock market chaos and anxieties about a possible trade war.

Job growth amounted to a decent 164,000 last month, up from an upwardly revised 135,000 in March. The unemployment rate fell after having held at 4.1 percent for the prior six months largely because fewer people were searching for jobs.

The overall unemployment rate is now the lowest since December 2000. The rate for African-Americans — 6.6 percent — is the lowest on record since 1972.

Many employers say it’s difficult to find qualified workers. But they have yet to significantly bump up pay in most industries. Average hourly earnings rose 2.6 percent from a year ago.

The pace of hiring has yet to be disrupted by dramatic global market swings, a recent pickup in inflation and the risk that the tariffs being pushed by President Donald Trump could provoke a trade war.

Much of the economy’s strength, for the moment, comes from the healthy job market. The increase in people earning paychecks has bolstered demand for housing, even though fewer properties are being listed for sale. Consumer confidence has improved over the past year. And more people are shopping, with retail sales having picked up in March after three monthly declines.

Workers in the private sector during the first three months of 2018 enjoyed their sharpest average income growth in 11 years, the Labor Department said last week in a separate report on compensation. That pay growth suggests that some of the momentum from the slow but steady recovery from the 2008 financial crisis is spreading to more people after it had disproportionately benefited the nation’s wealthiest areas and highest earners.

The monthly jobs reports have shown pay raises inching up. At the same time, employers have become less and less likely to shed workers. The four-week moving average for people applying for first-time unemployment benefits has reached its lowest level since 1973.

The trend reflects a decline in mass layoffs. Many companies expect the economy to keep expanding, especially after a dose of stimulus from tax cuts signed into law by Trump that have also increased the federal budget deficit.

Inflation has shown signs of accelerating slightly, eroding some of the potential wage growth. Consumer prices rose at a year-over-year pace of 2.4 percent in March, the sharpest annual increase in 12 months. The Federal Reserve has an annual inflation target of 2 percent, and investors expect the Fed to raise rates at least twice more this year, after an earlier rate hike in March, to keep inflation from climbing too far above that target.

The home market, a critical component of the U.S. economy, has been a beneficiary of the steady job growth. The National Association of Realtors said that homes sold at a solid annual pace of 5.6 million in March, even though the number of houses for sale has plunged. As a result, average home prices are rising at more than twice the pace of wages.
…

U.S. employers stepped up hiring modestly in April, and the unemployment rate fell to 3.9 percent, evidence of the economy’s resilience amid the recent stock market chaos and anxieties about a possible trade war.

Job growth amounted to a decent 164,000 last month, up from an upwardly revised 135,000 in March. The unemployment rate fell after having held at 4.1 percent for the prior six months largely because fewer people were searching for jobs.

The overall unemployment rate is now the lowest since December 2000. The rate for African-Americans — 6.6 percent — is the lowest on record since 1972.

Many employers say it’s difficult to find qualified workers. But they have yet to significantly bump up pay in most industries. Average hourly earnings rose 2.6 percent from a year ago.

The pace of hiring has yet to be disrupted by dramatic global market swings, a recent pickup in inflation and the risk that the tariffs being pushed by President Donald Trump could provoke a trade war.

Much of the economy’s strength, for the moment, comes from the healthy job market. The increase in people earning paychecks has bolstered demand for housing, even though fewer properties are being listed for sale. Consumer confidence has improved over the past year. And more people are shopping, with retail sales having picked up in March after three monthly declines.

Workers in the private sector during the first three months of 2018 enjoyed their sharpest average income growth in 11 years, the Labor Department said last week in a separate report on compensation. That pay growth suggests that some of the momentum from the slow but steady recovery from the 2008 financial crisis is spreading to more people after it had disproportionately benefited the nation’s wealthiest areas and highest earners.

The monthly jobs reports have shown pay raises inching up. At the same time, employers have become less and less likely to shed workers. The four-week moving average for people applying for first-time unemployment benefits has reached its lowest level since 1973.

The trend reflects a decline in mass layoffs. Many companies expect the economy to keep expanding, especially after a dose of stimulus from tax cuts signed into law by Trump that have also increased the federal budget deficit.

Inflation has shown signs of accelerating slightly, eroding some of the potential wage growth. Consumer prices rose at a year-over-year pace of 2.4 percent in March, the sharpest annual increase in 12 months. The Federal Reserve has an annual inflation target of 2 percent, and investors expect the Fed to raise rates at least twice more this year, after an earlier rate hike in March, to keep inflation from climbing too far above that target.

The home market, a critical component of the U.S. economy, has been a beneficiary of the steady job growth. The National Association of Realtors said that homes sold at a solid annual pace of 5.6 million in March, even though the number of houses for sale has plunged. As a result, average home prices are rising at more than twice the pace of wages.
…

Venezuela said on Thursday it would take over the country’s leading private bank, Banesco, for 90 days and announced the arrest of 11 top executives for “attacks” against the country’s rapidly depreciating bolivar currency.

The detentions came on the heels of last month’s shock arrests of two Venezuelan executives working in the country for U.S. oil company Chevron Corp.

Oil-rich Venezuela is suffering from hyperinflation and a steady collapse of the bolivar currency, which President Nicolas Maduro has attributed to an “economic war,” but critics blame on incompetence and failed socialist policies.

Maduro’s foes say he is cracking down on the business sector to try to shore up support and halt price increases ahead of a controversial May 20 presidential election, which key opposition parties have boycotted as a sham.

Chief Prosecutor Tarek Saab announced the arrests in a televised press conference, but did not provide evidence of wrongdoing or take any questions.

“We have determined the [executives’] presumed responsibility for a series of irregularities, for aiding and concealing attacks against the Venezuelan currency with the aim of demolishing the Venezuelan currency,” said Saab, a former ruling party governor.

State television late on Thursday broadcast a statement announcing the temporary takeover of Banesco, which the government said was designed to ensure the bank continues operating.

The government also said it would be appointing a board of directors led by the country’s vice finance minister, Yomana Koteich.

Banesco’s president, Juan Carlos Escotet, who lives in Spain, earlier blasted the arrests as “disproportionate” and said he was flying to Venezuela to try to free the 11 executives, who include Chief Executive Oscar Doval.

“In the next few hours, I’m taking a plane for Venezuela. We’re going to knock on every door so that this problem is cleared up and they are freed as they deserve to be,” Escotet, who was born in Venezuela to Spanish parents and holds both nationalities, said in a video posted on Twitter.

Escotet has been a frequent target of criticism by ruling party heavyweight Diosdado Cabello, who recently announced that the government was buying Banesco. Escotet denied any sale.

Escotet temporarily excused himself from his role as chairman of Galicia-based bank ABANCA, the bank said in a statement to Spain’s stock market regulator on Thursday.

‘More crisis and misery’

Venezuela’s opposition said the arrests were another sign of Maduro’s turn to authoritarianism.

“The irresponsible government … continues to deny its responsibility in the destruction of our bolivar. Now they’re attacking Banesco. [This] … will only spawn more crisis and misery,” tweeted opposition lawmaker Carlos Valero.

Venezuela maintains exchange controls under which the government is meant to provide hard currency at a steadily weakening official rate, currently 69,000 bolivars per dollar.

But the dollar is fetching around 800,000 bolivars in unofficial trade, which government officials have for years harshly criticized but broadly tolerated.

Hyperinflation has turned once-powerful banks into warehouses of unwanted and mostly useless cash worth a total of only $40 million, according to a recent Reuters analysis of regulatory data.
…

Venezuela said on Thursday it would take over the country’s leading private bank, Banesco, for 90 days and announced the arrest of 11 top executives for “attacks” against the country’s rapidly depreciating bolivar currency.

The detentions came on the heels of last month’s shock arrests of two Venezuelan executives working in the country for U.S. oil company Chevron Corp.

Oil-rich Venezuela is suffering from hyperinflation and a steady collapse of the bolivar currency, which President Nicolas Maduro has attributed to an “economic war,” but critics blame on incompetence and failed socialist policies.

Maduro’s foes say he is cracking down on the business sector to try to shore up support and halt price increases ahead of a controversial May 20 presidential election, which key opposition parties have boycotted as a sham.

Chief Prosecutor Tarek Saab announced the arrests in a televised press conference, but did not provide evidence of wrongdoing or take any questions.

“We have determined the [executives’] presumed responsibility for a series of irregularities, for aiding and concealing attacks against the Venezuelan currency with the aim of demolishing the Venezuelan currency,” said Saab, a former ruling party governor.

State television late on Thursday broadcast a statement announcing the temporary takeover of Banesco, which the government said was designed to ensure the bank continues operating.

The government also said it would be appointing a board of directors led by the country’s vice finance minister, Yomana Koteich.

Banesco’s president, Juan Carlos Escotet, who lives in Spain, earlier blasted the arrests as “disproportionate” and said he was flying to Venezuela to try to free the 11 executives, who include Chief Executive Oscar Doval.

“In the next few hours, I’m taking a plane for Venezuela. We’re going to knock on every door so that this problem is cleared up and they are freed as they deserve to be,” Escotet, who was born in Venezuela to Spanish parents and holds both nationalities, said in a video posted on Twitter.

Escotet has been a frequent target of criticism by ruling party heavyweight Diosdado Cabello, who recently announced that the government was buying Banesco. Escotet denied any sale.

Escotet temporarily excused himself from his role as chairman of Galicia-based bank ABANCA, the bank said in a statement to Spain’s stock market regulator on Thursday.

‘More crisis and misery’

Venezuela’s opposition said the arrests were another sign of Maduro’s turn to authoritarianism.

“The irresponsible government … continues to deny its responsibility in the destruction of our bolivar. Now they’re attacking Banesco. [This] … will only spawn more crisis and misery,” tweeted opposition lawmaker Carlos Valero.

Venezuela maintains exchange controls under which the government is meant to provide hard currency at a steadily weakening official rate, currently 69,000 bolivars per dollar.

But the dollar is fetching around 800,000 bolivars in unofficial trade, which government officials have for years harshly criticized but broadly tolerated.

Hyperinflation has turned once-powerful banks into warehouses of unwanted and mostly useless cash worth a total of only $40 million, according to a recent Reuters analysis of regulatory data.
…

Venezuela said on Thursday it would take over the country’s leading private bank, Banesco, for 90 days and announced the arrest of 11 top executives for “attacks” against the country’s rapidly depreciating bolivar currency.

The detentions came on the heels of last month’s shock arrests of two Venezuelan executives working in the country for U.S. oil company Chevron Corp.

Oil-rich Venezuela is suffering from hyperinflation and a steady collapse of the bolivar currency, which President Nicolas Maduro has attributed to an “economic war,” but critics blame on incompetence and failed socialist policies.

Maduro’s foes say he is cracking down on the business sector to try to shore up support and halt price increases ahead of a controversial May 20 presidential election, which key opposition parties have boycotted as a sham.

Chief Prosecutor Tarek Saab announced the arrests in a televised press conference, but did not provide evidence of wrongdoing or take any questions.

“We have determined the [executives’] presumed responsibility for a series of irregularities, for aiding and concealing attacks against the Venezuelan currency with the aim of demolishing the Venezuelan currency,” said Saab, a former ruling party governor.

State television late on Thursday broadcast a statement announcing the temporary takeover of Banesco, which the government said was designed to ensure the bank continues operating.

The government also said it would be appointing a board of directors led by the country’s vice finance minister, Yomana Koteich.

Banesco’s president, Juan Carlos Escotet, who lives in Spain, earlier blasted the arrests as “disproportionate” and said he was flying to Venezuela to try to free the 11 executives, who include Chief Executive Oscar Doval.

“In the next few hours, I’m taking a plane for Venezuela. We’re going to knock on every door so that this problem is cleared up and they are freed as they deserve to be,” Escotet, who was born in Venezuela to Spanish parents and holds both nationalities, said in a video posted on Twitter.

Escotet has been a frequent target of criticism by ruling party heavyweight Diosdado Cabello, who recently announced that the government was buying Banesco. Escotet denied any sale.

Escotet temporarily excused himself from his role as chairman of Galicia-based bank ABANCA, the bank said in a statement to Spain’s stock market regulator on Thursday.

‘More crisis and misery’

Venezuela’s opposition said the arrests were another sign of Maduro’s turn to authoritarianism.

“The irresponsible government … continues to deny its responsibility in the destruction of our bolivar. Now they’re attacking Banesco. [This] … will only spawn more crisis and misery,” tweeted opposition lawmaker Carlos Valero.

Venezuela maintains exchange controls under which the government is meant to provide hard currency at a steadily weakening official rate, currently 69,000 bolivars per dollar.

But the dollar is fetching around 800,000 bolivars in unofficial trade, which government officials have for years harshly criticized but broadly tolerated.

Hyperinflation has turned once-powerful banks into warehouses of unwanted and mostly useless cash worth a total of only $40 million, according to a recent Reuters analysis of regulatory data.
…

A federal grand jury in Detroit has indicted former Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn with conspiracy and wire fraud in the car builder’s scheme to rig diesel emissions tests.

“If you try to deceive the United States, then you will pay a heavy price,” Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Thursday. “The indictment unsealed today alleges that Volkswagen’s scheme to cheat its legal requirements went all the way to the top of the company.”

Winterkorn is alleged to have conspired with other top Volkswagen bosses to defraud the U.S. government and consumers with false claims that the company was complying with the Clean Air Act.

Volkswagen already admitted it installed devices on diesel models designed to turn on pollution control devices during emissions tests and turn them off when the car is driven on actual highways.

Volkswagen was fined $2.5 billion and ordered to recall the affected cars.

Winkerton is the ninth Volkswagen executive or employee to be charged. However, he currently lives in Germany, which has no extradition treaty with the United States, and is unlikely ever to see the inside of the U.S. courtroom.
…

A federal grand jury in Detroit has indicted former Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn with conspiracy and wire fraud in the car builder’s scheme to rig diesel emissions tests.

“If you try to deceive the United States, then you will pay a heavy price,” Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Thursday. “The indictment unsealed today alleges that Volkswagen’s scheme to cheat its legal requirements went all the way to the top of the company.”

Winterkorn is alleged to have conspired with other top Volkswagen bosses to defraud the U.S. government and consumers with false claims that the company was complying with the Clean Air Act.

Volkswagen already admitted it installed devices on diesel models designed to turn on pollution control devices during emissions tests and turn them off when the car is driven on actual highways.

Volkswagen was fined $2.5 billion and ordered to recall the affected cars.

Winkerton is the ninth Volkswagen executive or employee to be charged. However, he currently lives in Germany, which has no extradition treaty with the United States, and is unlikely ever to see the inside of the U.S. courtroom.
…

The U.S. trade deficit narrowed sharply in March as exports increased to a record high amid a surge in deliveries of commercial aircraft and soybeans, bolstering the economy’s outlook heading into the second quarter.

While other data on Thursday showed a modest increase in new applications for jobless benefits last week, the number of Americans receiving unemployment aid fell to its lowest level since 1973, pointing to tightening labor market conditions.

Wage growth is also rising, with hourly compensation accelerating in the first quarter, more evidence that inflation pressures are building.

“The good news is that we are exporting more, but with the labor markets incredibly tight, labor costs are accelerating as well,” said Joel Naroff, chief economist at Naroff Economic Advisors in Holland, Pennsylvania. “The rise in labor costs will undoubtedly factor into policymakers’ thinking when they meet again in June.”

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday left interest rates unchanged. The Fed said policymakers expected “economic activity will expand at a moderate pace in the medium term and labor market conditions will remain strong.”

The Commerce Department said the trade deficit tumbled 15.2 percent to $49.0 billion in March, the lowest level since September. The trade gap widened to $57.7 billion in February, which was the highest level since October 2008.

March’s decline ended six straight monthly increases in the trade deficit. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the trade gap narrowing to $50.0 billion in March.

The politically sensitive goods trade deficit with China dropped 11.6 percent to $25.9 billion, which will probably do little to ease tensions between the United States and China.

U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened tariffs on up to $150 billion worth of Chinese goods to punish Beijing over its joint-venture requirements and other policies Washington says force American companies to surrender their intellectual property to state-backed Chinese competitors.

China, which denies it coerces such technology transfers, has threatened retaliation in equal measure, including tariffs on U.S. soybeans and aircraft. A U.S. trade delegation arrived in China on Thursday for trade talks.

Trump, who claims the United States is being taken advantage of by its trading partners, has already imposed broad tariffs on imported solar panels and large washing machines. He recently slapped 25 percent import duties on steel and 10 percent on aluminum.

The Trump administration argues that the perennial trade deficit is holding back economic growth. The government reported last week that trade contributed 0.20 percentage point to the first quarter’s 2.3 percent annualized growth pace. The economy grew at a 2.9 percent rate in the fourth quarter.

Brightening prospects

Prospects for the economy are brightening. In a separate report, the Labor Department said initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 211,000 for the week ended April 28.

Claims remained near a more than 48-year low of 209,000 touched during the week ended April 21. The labor market is considered to be near or at full employment. The unemployment rate is at a 17-year low of 4.1 percent, close to the Fed’s forecast of 3.8 percent by the end of this year.

The number of people receiving benefits after an initial week of aid dropped 77,000 to 1.76 million in the week ended April 21, the lowest level since December 1973. With labor conditions tightening, wage growth is picking up.

A second report from the Labor Department showed hourly worker compensation accelerated at a 3.4 percent rate in the first quarter after rising at a 2.4 percent pace in the October-December period. It increased at a 2.5 percent rate compared to the first quarter of 2017.

Prices for U.S. Treasuries were trading higher, while the dollar was little changed against a basket of currencies. U.S. stocks were lower.

In March, exports of goods and services increased 2.0 percent to an all-time high of $208.5 billion, lifted by a $1.9 billion increase in shipments of commercial aircraft. There were also increases in exports of soybeans, corn and crude oil. Real goods exports were the highest on record.

Exports to China jumped 26.3 percent in March.

Imports of goods and services fell 1.8 percent to $257.5 billion, in part as the boost from royalties and broadcast license fees related to the Winter Olympics faded. Imports of capital goods fell by $1.5 billion, weighed down by declines in imports of computer accessories, telecommunications equipment and semiconductors.

Imports of consumer goods decreased by $0.9 billion. Crude oil imports dropped by $0.5 billion in March. Imports from China fell 2.1 percent.

Another report from the Commerce Department showed factory goods orders rose 1.6 percent in March after a similar increase in February. The department, however, revised March orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, which are seen as a measure of business spending plans, to show them falling 0.4 percent instead of dipping 0.1 percent as reported last month.

Orders for these so-called core capital goods rose 1.0 percent in February. Shipments of core capital goods, which are used to calculate business equipment spending in the gross domestic product report, declined 0.8 percent in March instead of the 0.7 percent drop reported last month.

March’s drop in core capital goods orders and shipments suggest business spending on equipment is slowing.
…

President Trump plans to meet next week with leaders from U.S. and foreign carmakers on trade and changes to emission standards.

“When the White House wants to meet with us about our sector and policy, we welcome the opportunity,” Alliance of American Automobile Manufacturers spokeswoman Gloria Bergquist said Wednesday.

The time and agenda of the talks are still to be announced. But the car builders want to make their concerns about possible changes to the North American Free Trade Agreement known to the president.

They are also expected to talk about Trump administration plans to revise strict Obama-era emission standards for U.S. cars and light trucks.

Seventeen states and Washington, D.C., are suing the administration over the plans, accusing the Environmental Protection Agency of breaking the law.

“This is about health. This is about life and death,” California Governor Jerry Brown said Tuesday. “Pollutants coming out of tailpipes does permanent damage to children. The only way we’re going to overcome this is by reducing emissions.”

Brown accused Trump of wanting people to buy more gasoline and create more pollution.

The lawsuit argues the EPA acted arbitrarily and violated the Clean Air Act when it decided emission standards were too high.

In 2012, former president Barack Obama ordered emission standards to be raised to about 21 kilometers per liter of gasoline by 2025. The goal was to cut pollution and make cars and small trucks more energy efficient.

The EPA is seeking to freeze fuel efficiency requirements at 2020 levels until 2026.

EPA chief Scott Pruitt said last month that Obama’s decision was politically based and the emission standards Obama set were too high and did not “comport with reality.”

Pruitt said his EPA will set fresh standards so new cars that use less gas and are safer than older models will be affordable.

But environmental groups said the American public overwhelmingly supports the stricter standards.
…