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'Trump shock' after Toyota tweet reverberates as Japan business community reacts with concern

U.S. president-elect’s protectionist threats put big business on back foot. President-elect Donald Trump’s tweet blasted Toyota’s plans to make U.S.-bound cars in Mexico, threatening expensive tariffs. In the wake of Trump’s latest tweet, some companies are giving second thoughts to plans to expand in Mexico, with one executive calling such a move “risky.”

Germany Seeks to Explain Trade Surplus to Trump

U.S. President Donald Trump has said it is "very unfair" that Germany sells more products in the United States than vice versa. Now German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble is traveling to the U.S. with a paper obtained by DER SPIEGEL. The message: Trade surpluses aren't really a problem.

Trump keeps rolling back Obama legacy by tightening travel and trade with Cuba

Donald Trump has announced a partial rollback of his predecessor’s rapprochement with Cuba, tightening travel and trade rules on the grounds of what he said was a worsening human rights situation on the island. The new rules will stop individual travel to Cuba and seek to  restrict the flow of payments to the many Cuban companies owned by the  regime’s security forces. It will not fully reverse the steps taken by Barack Obama in 2015 to ease the half-century policy of isolating Cuba.

Ahead of G-20 summit, new trade deal snubs the U.S.

Ahead  of the G-20 summit, Japan and the European Union are expected to  announce a trade deal on Thursday in yet another sign that President  Donald Trump’s “America First” approach to trade and policy isn’t paying off. Creating a free trade area the size of North America, the deal will greatly expand global trade. Expected to lower barriers to the exportation of cars between Japan and the European bloc, the agreement will also reportedly allow for the import of trains and agricultural products to Japan specifically.

Trump is late on China trade, too

If Donald Trump thought slapping China would divert attention from events in Virginia, he miscalculated. That’s because, just like his slow disavowal of racist protestors, Trump’s move to investigate Beijing’s trade practices is too little, too late. Directing Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to probe America’s deficit with China makes for great optics for the reality-TV president.

Trump’s Tough Talk on Nafta Raising Fears of Pact’s Demise

In recent weeks, the Trump administration has sparred with American businesses that support Nafta and pushed for significant changes that negotiators from Mexico and Canada say are nonstarters. All the while, the president has continued threatening to withdraw the United States  from the trade agreement, which he has maligned as the worst in history.

Trump's Tariffs on Solar Mark Biggest Blow to Renewables Yet

President Donald Trump dealt his biggest blow to the renewable energy industry yet.On Monday, Trump approved duties of as much as 30 percent on solar equipment made outside the U.S., a move that threatens to handicap a $28 billion industry that relies on parts made abroad for 80 percent of its supply.

Gary Cohn Says He Will Resign as Trump’s Top Economic Adviser

White House officials insisted that there was no single factor behind the departure of Mr. Cohn, who heads the National Economic Council. But his decision to leave came as he seemed poised to lose an internal struggle over Mr. Trump’s plan to impose large tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. Mr. Cohn had warned last week that he might resign if Mr. Trump followed through with the tariffs, which Mr. Cohn had lobbied against internally.

Trump Hits China With Stiff Trade Measures

President Trump said he would impose tariffs on about $60 billion worth  of Chinese imports on Thursday as the White House moved to punish China for what it says is a pattern of co-opting American technology and trade secrets and robbing companies of jobs and billions of dollars in revenue.