MORRISTOWN, New Jersey – US President Donald Trump said on Sunday his tariff policy was aimed at promoting the domestic manufacturing of tanks and technology products, not sneakers and T-shirts.

Speaking to reporters before boarding Air Force One in New Jersey, Trump said he agreed with comments from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on April 29 that the US does not necessarily need a “booming textile industry” – comments that drew criticism from the National Council of Textile Organizations.

“We’re not looking to make sneakers and T-shirts. We want to make military equipment. We want to make big things. We want to make, do the AI thing,” Trump said.

“I’m not looking to make T-shirts, to be honest. I’m not looking to make socks. We can do that very well in other locations. We are looking to do chips and computers and lots of other things, and tanks and ships,” Trump said.

The American Apparel & Footwear Association said in response to Trump’s remarks that tariffs were not good for the industry.

“With 97% of the clothes and shoes we wear being imported, and with clothes and shoes already the most highly tariffed industry in the US, we need to focus on common sense solutions that can move the needle,” AAPA President Steve Lamar said in a statement. “More tariffs will only mean higher input costs for US manufacturers and higher prices that will hurt lower income consumers.”

Trump, who has upended world markets with the broad imposition of tariffs, revived his harsh trade rhetoric on Friday when he pushed for a 50% tariff on European Union goods starting June 1 and warned Apple AAPL.O he may impose a 25% levy on all imported iPhones bought by US consumers.

But he dialed back on the EU threat on Sunday, extending a deadline for those tariffs until July 9 to allow for talks between Washington and the 27-nation bloc.

Trump won the 2016 and 2024 US presidential elections in part by appealing to working class voters hurt by the loss of US manufacturing jobs over many years.

He has sought to make good on his promises to boost manufacturing with import tariffs and heralding investments by companies and foreign nations into the United States, even as the US economy remains dependent on supply chains with other countries where many goods, including textiles, are produced less expensively. — Reuters

TOKYO – Japan aims to drastically cut stockpiled rice prices to 2,000 yen ($14) per 5 kg and speed up getting rice onto shop shelves as consumers suffer from sky-high staple grain costs, the farm ministry said on Monday.

Surging rice prices, due in part to crop damage from extreme heat and increasing demand from tourism, are a serious concern for Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s government with its public approval rating stuck around a record low ahead of an upper house election in July.

The government will sell 300,000 metric tons of stockpiled rice via discretionary contracts to retailers, the farm ministry said, after new Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi pledged last week to quickly move rice to store.

To help bring down the prices, the government will also cover transportation costs so that stockpiled rice will be on retail shelves in early June at around 2,000 yen, which would be about half the average rice price at supermarkets.

Japan will consider selling stockpiled rice beyond retailers depending on the situation.

“The price of rice has about doubled compared to last year. We felt continuing the same way as before would not meet the people’s expectations,” Koizumi told his new team of farm ministry officials who handle the rice price issue.

“We will dispel the public concerns about rice prices with even greater speed and a greater sense of urgency,” he said.

On Friday, Koizumi met with Rakuten Group CEO Hiroshi Mikitani, who said the online retail giant was prepared to support the government’s efforts.

The government’s stockpiling policy requires it to purchase the same amount released at a later date, but the nation decided not to buy back as the repurchase system could keep prices higher.

In March, the government released stockpiled rice through two auctions for 210,000 metric tons to ease soaring rice prices. But only about 7.0% reached retailers as of late April because the distribution system was multi-layered and time-consuming. — Reuters

BEIJING – China is weighing new policy tools in the face of an international economic and trade order that is “under severe impact”, Chinese Premier Li Qiang told a symposium with Chinese firms in Jakarta over the weekend.

“The fragmentation of industrial and supply chains has deepened, and trade barriers have increased, which has had a great impact on the economic development of all countries,” state news agency Xinhua reported on Sunday, citing Li.

China is studying new policy tools, including some “unconventional measures”, which will be launched as the situation changes, the Chinese premier said.

Li also said China will continue strengthening economic cooperation with more countries to support the overseas business development of Chinese enterprises.

Huawei, SAIC Motor and New Hope Group were among the Chinese companies at the symposium.
Li is on a three-day visit to Indonesia until Monday and will then travel to Malaysia for the ASEAN-GCC-China Summit. — Reuters

KYIV – Russian forces launched a barrage of 367 drones and missiles at Ukrainian cities overnight, including the capital Kyiv, in the largest aerial attack of the war so far, killing at least 12 people and injuring dozens more, officials said.

The dead included three children in the northern region of Zhytomyr, local officials there said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called on the United States, which has taken a softer public line on Russia and its leader, Vladimir Putin, since President Donald Trump took office, to speak out.

“The silence of America, the silence of others in the world only encourages Putin,” he wrote on Telegram.

“Every such terrorist Russian strike is reason enough for new sanctions against Russia.”
Trump later responded in terms critical of Putin.

“I’m not happy with what Putin’s doing. He’s killing a lot of people,” Trump told reporters in New Jersey on Sunday just before boarding his plane for a return to the White House from his Bedminister golf club.

“I don’t know what the hell happened to Putin. I’ve known him a long time. Always gotten along with him. But he’s sending rockets into cities and killing people, and I don’t like it at all. We’re in the middle of talking and he’s shooting rockets into Kyiv and other cities,” Trump said.

Asked if he was considering more sanctions on Russia, Trump said, “Absolutely.”

Upon returning to Washington, Trump posted more comments on social media, saying of Putin, “He has gone absolutely CRAZY!”

Trump also criticized Zelenskiy, posting that the Ukrainian leader “is doing his Country no favors by talking the way he does. Everything out of his mouth causes problems, I don’t like it, and it better stop.”

The Russian attack was the largest of the war in terms of weapons fired, although other strikes have killed more people.

Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said 12 people had been killed and 60 more wounded. Earlier death tolls given separately by regional authorities and rescuers had put the number of dead at 13.

“This was a combined, ruthless strike aimed at civilians. The enemy once again showed that its goal is fear and death,” he wrote on Telegram.

The assault comes as Ukraine and Russia prepared to conduct the third and final day of a prisoner swap in which both sides will exchange a total of 1000 people each.

U.S. Special Envoy to Ukraine Keith Kellogg said on Sunday the attack was “a clear violation” of the 1977 Geneva Peace Protocols and called for an immediate ceasefire.

CEASEFIRE EFFORTS
Ukraine and its European allies have sought to push Moscow into signing a 30-day ceasefire as a first step to negotiating an end to the three-year war.

Their efforts suffered a blow earlier this week when Trump declined to place further sanctions on Moscow for not agreeing to an immediate pause in fighting, as Kyiv had wanted.

Ukraine’s air force said Russia had launched 298 drones and 69 missiles in its overnight assault, although it said it was able to down 266 drones and 45 missiles.

Damage extended to a string of regional centres, including Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, as well as Mykolaiv in the south and Ternopil in the west.

In Kyiv, Tymur Tkachenko, head of the city’s military administration, said 11 people were injured in drone strikes. No deaths were reported in the capital, although four were killed in the region around the city, according to officials.

This was the second large aerial attack in two days. On Friday evening, Russia launched dozens of drones and ballistic missiles at Kyiv in waves that continued through the night.

In northeastern Ukraine, Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said early on Sunday that drones hit three city districts and injured three people. Blasts shattered windows in high-rise apartment blocks.

Drone strikes killed a 77-year-old man and injured five people in the southern city of Mykolaiv, the regional governor said. He published a picture of a residential apartment block with a large hole from an explosion and rubble scattered over the ground.

In the western region of Khmelnytskyi, many hundreds of kilometres away from the frontlines of fighting, four people were killed and five others wounded, according to the governor.

“Without pressure, nothing will change and Russia and its allies will only build up forces for such murders in Western countries,” the Ukrainian president’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak wrote on Telegram.

“Moscow will fight as long as it has the ability to produce weapons.”

Russia’s Defence Ministry reported that its air defence units had intercepted or destroyed 95 Ukrainian drones over a four-hour period. The Mayor of Moscow, Sergei Sobyanin, said 12 Ukrainian drones had been intercepted on their way to the capital. — Reuters

HANOI – France and Vietnam are set to sign dozens of deals on Monday when French President Emmanuel Macron meets Vietnamese leaders in Hanoi as he seeks to increase France’s influence in the former colony, which faces threats of high US tariffs.

In his first formal visit to the country, and the first for a French president in nearly a decade, Macron will be accompanied by more than a dozen business executives, said an official with knowledge of the matter, and is expected to oversee the signing of possibly 30 agreements while trying to boost cooperation in multiple sectors, including aviation, nuclear energy, railways, renewables, research, satellites and defense.

Macron’s long-planned trip to Vietnam, the first leg of a larger Southeast Asian tour including Indonesia and Singapore, comes on the heels of US President Donald Trump’s threats on Friday to impose 50% duties on EU goods from June, critically escalating trade tensions with the 27-country bloc.

As export-dependent Vietnam is also under pressure from Washington to buy more American goods to avoid 46% duties, European officials before Macron’s visit have told the country to be careful in its concessions to the White House, two officials based in Vietnam with knowledge of the discussions told Reuters.

In talks with the United States, “Vietnam should make sure not to make decisions at the expense of European interests,” one of the officials said, noting Vietnamese leaders had been told this could jeopardize close relations with the EU, which has a free trade deal with Vietnam and is a major buyer of its goods.

It is not clear whether Macron will emphasize that message on Monday as that may depend on the deals France will strike.

AIRBUS
There could be progress on a deal between Vietnam’s low-cost airline VietJet and European planemaker Airbus, two sources familiar with the discussions said. That would follow a provisional agreement signed last year for the delivery of 20 A330neo wide-body airliners.

“We don’t comment on discussions we may or may not be having with airlines,” an Airbus spokesperson said.

Macron’s Elysee presidential office had previously confirmed dozens of deals were expected, but did not respond to a request for comment on planes and Macron’s messaging about U.S. concessions.

Vietnam’s foreign ministry and VietJet did not reply to requests for comment.

Talks on satellites, including from Airbus, are also at an advanced stage, officials have said.

Vietnam, whose economy is heavily dependent on exports to the U.S., has made multiple pledges in trade talks with Washington to avoid tariffs that could undermine its growth model.

One frequently flagged offer has been the possible purchase of at least 250 Boeing planes by flag carrier Vietnam Airlines and rival VietJet, which Vietnamese and US officials have said would help reduce the country’s huge trade surplus with the U.S. and possibly appease Trump.

European officials are worried Airbus may lose out from these possible deals, said three sources with knowledge of the concerns.

The planemaker is the main supplier of jets to Vietnam, with its aircraft making up 86% of the planes currently operated by Vietnamese airlines, according to data from Cirium, an aviation analytics company. — Reuters

BERLIN – Germany’s Chief of Defence, Carsten Breuer, has ordered the German military to be fully equipped with weapons and other material by 2029, a document seen by Reuters on Sunday shows.

By 2029, Russia may have reconstituted its forces sufficiently to attack NATO territory, according to estimates by Breuer and other senior military officials at NATO.

The latest document, entitled “Directive Priorities for the Bolstering of Readiness”, which Breuer signed on May 19, said Germany will meet the goal with the help of funds made available by the loosening of the country’s debt brake in March.

The defence ministry in Berlin did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

In the directive, Breuer sets priorities for the weapons that should be acquired or developed most urgently, reflecting in part priorities NATO has previously laid out.

Among them, Breuer lists the strengthening of Germany’s depleted air defences, in particular with a view to intercepting drones.

Last year, sources told Reuters that NATO will request Berlin to at least quadruple its air defences, ranging from systems with a longer range, such as the Patriot, to short-range systems.

Another priority is a capability to launch deep precision strikes, according to the document, effectively hitting targets at a distance of more than 500 kilometres (310 miles) and far behind enemy lines.

In addition to pushing for Germany’s ammunition stocks to be replenished, Breuer also orders Germany to raise its stockpiling targets for all types of ammunition.

Other priorities listed in the document are the swift expansion of Germany’s capabilities in electronic warfare and the establishment of a resilient system of “offensive and defensive capabilities” in space.

In a speech in mid-May, Army Chief Alfons Mais said a large-scale social and industrial mobilisation meant Russian forces were rapidly gaining firepower.

“From 2029, at the latest, the Russian forces will be capable of a conventional aggression against NATO territory on a large scale,” he said. “But they can start testing us much sooner.” — Reuters

KUALA LUMPUR – Southeast Asia’s leaders will try again when they meet on Monday to bring Myanmar’s military government into talks to end a protracted civil war, and will seek ways to offset global trade uncertainty from US President Donald Trump’s tariff threats.

After weekend ministerial meetings, government leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations are expected to continue to discuss proposals on Myanmar at a summit on Monday and Tuesday in Kuala Lumpur.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since its military overthrew the elected civilian government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021, triggering pro-democracy protests that morphed into a widening rebellion that has taken over swathes of the country.

Malaysia, this year’s ASEAN chair, says it will continue speaking separately to the junta and to Myanmar’s armed opposition groups to try to foster direct talks between the warring sides.

“These negotiations need to be done many times so that an understanding can be built between each side,” Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan told reporters after two meetings on the Myanmar conflict on Saturday, adding that he plans to visit Myanmar next month.

The 10-member bloc’s foreign ministers agreed to discuss a proposal for a permanent ASEAN envoy on Myanmar, Mohamad said. “We want to explore that,” he said. “It’s a matter of who is going to be the permanent special envoy, maybe on a three-year term.”

Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Hlaing has been excluded from the ASEAN summit since 2021 in response to the coup. Thailand’s foreign minister said last week that at the summit his country would propose broader international engagement with Myanmar.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s closed-door meeting with Min Aung Hlaing in the Thai capital Bangkok last month, followed by online talks with the shadow National Unity Government a day later, has revived hope of dialogues for peace.

The junta is pushing to hold an election later this year, which critics have widely derided as a sham to keep the military in power through proxies.

ASEAN has so far struggled to implement a “Five-Point Consensus” peace plan unveiled months after the coup, and it has yet to discuss a common position on the junta’s election plan.

TARIFF TREMORS
ASEAN leaders are expected to meet Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Tuesday, along with counterparts from Middle East countries.

The talks come amid widespread global market volatility and slowing economic growth sparked by Trump’s threats of U.S. trade tariffs. Six Southeast Asian countries targeted by his administration face much bigger-than-expected tariffs of between 32% and 49% in July, unless negotiations with Washington on reductions succeed.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said ahead of the summit that ASEAN leaders would discuss and compare responses to the tariffs.

“Concerning trade and specifically the tariff schedule imposed by the United States… we must find a way to find consensus amongst the disparate situations that the different member states are operating under,” Marcos said.

Marty Natalegawa, an Indonesian former foreign minister, said ASEAN should identify key principles to rally around to guide each member country’s negotiations with the U.S.

“Otherwise, there could be a risk of a lose-lose cycle in our own region,” he said.

Also up for discussion at the summit are disputes in the South China Sea, a conduit for about $3 trillion of annual ship-borne trade.

China claims sovereignty over most of the waterway and has been involved in heated confrontations with ASEAN member the Philippines.

Vietnam and Malaysia have also protested over the conduct of Chinese vessels in their exclusive economic zones, which Beijing says are operating lawfully in its waters. — Reuters