Tariff crisis Trump's tariff policy

South Korea's charm offensive didn't bite Trump

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung's charm offensive didn't seem to bite Donald Trump during today's meeting at the White House, writes Bloomberg. Despite praise for stock market gains, gold details in the Oval Office and the president's peace efforts, Trump gave no signals that the 15 percent tariffs on South Korean exports would be lowered.

- I hear they want to renegotiate the agreement, but that's okay, it doesn't bother me. It doesn't mean they're going to get anything, the American president told the press.

EU head defends the agreement: "Strong if not perfect"

EU head Ursula von der Leyen defends the criticized trade agreement with Donald Trump.

Russia and China had cheered a trade war between the EU and the US, she says in an interview with Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

– Instead, we have agreed on a strong, if not perfect, agreement, she tells the newspaper.

The settlement creates stability – retaliatory tariffs and a trade war would instead have had “negative consequences for our workers, consumers and our industry”, she adds.

The EU chief claims that European companies are now favored over other countries that receive a base tariff in addition to existing tariffs, while the EU’s 15 percent tariff is “all inclusive”.