Global stocks sank Wednesday after US President Donald Trump said he was not satisfied with talks that are aimed at averting a trade war with China. Equities were also dented by poor eurozone economic data, and as Trump cast doubt on a planned summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. “Trump (is) continuing to drive uncertainty over global trade,” said analyst Joshua Mahony at trading firm IG. “European markets are following their Asian counterparts lower, as a pessimistic tone from Trump is compounded by downbeat economic data,” he added. Markets had surged Monday after US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He said they had agreed to pull back from imposing threatened tariffs on billions of dollars of goods, and continue talks on a variety of trade issues. However, Trump has declared that he was “not satisfied” with the status of the talks, fuelling worries that the world’s top two economies could still slug out an economically pain...
US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Tuesday that President Donald Trump should consider sticking with the nuclear accord with Iran, which he said is in the US national interest.
Mattis’s expression of support for the 2015 agreement curbing Iran’s nuclear program was in sharp contrast with Trump’s blunt assessment that the deal is an “embarrassment.”
Asked during a Senate hearing whether he believed it was in the national interest, Mattis replied: “Yes, senator, I do.”
“If we can confirm that Iran is living by the agreement, if we can determine that this is in our best interest, then surely we should stay with it.”
“I believe at this point in time, absent indication to the contrary, it is something that the president should consider staying with,” he said.
Trump must notify Congress every 90 days whether Iran is abiding by the accord and whether the lifting of sanctions against Tehran is in the US national interest.
He has so far certified that Iran is in compliance with the agreement but has indicated the next deadline on October 15 will be crucial.
Iran and the other signatories — China, Russia, France, Britain and Germany — defend the deal as a guarantee of the peaceful, non-military purposes of Tehran’s nuclear program.
Mattis’s expression of support for the 2015 agreement curbing Iran’s nuclear program was in sharp contrast with Trump’s blunt assessment that the deal is an “embarrassment.”
Asked during a Senate hearing whether he believed it was in the national interest, Mattis replied: “Yes, senator, I do.”
“I believe at this point in time, absent indication to the contrary, it is something that the president should consider staying with,” he said.
Trump must notify Congress every 90 days whether Iran is abiding by the accord and whether the lifting of sanctions against Tehran is in the US national interest.
He has so far certified that Iran is in compliance with the agreement but has indicated the next deadline on October 15 will be crucial.
Iran and the other signatories — China, Russia, France, Britain and Germany — defend the deal as a guarantee of the peaceful, non-military purposes of Tehran’s nuclear program.
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