[HONG KONG] Stocks mostly rose Friday in Asia, tracking records in New York and London, as investors absorbed US President Donald Trump’s latest tariff salvos amid optimism that most countries will strike a deal to avoid the worst of his levies.
The US president has ramped up his trade war in the past week by firing off more than 20 letters to governments outlining new tolls if agreements aren’t reached by August 1.
He has also said he would impose 50 per cent tariffs on copper imports, while threatening 200 per cent on pharmaceuticals, and hit Brazil with a new 50 per cent charge.
Thursday saw him dial up the rhetoric by warning Canada faced a 35 per cent tax, while most other countries would be handed blanket tariffs of up to 20 per cent, from the current 10 per cent.
The moves are the latest by the White House in a campaign it says is aimed at ending decades of the United States being “ripped off”.
“We’re just going to say…
