THE TIMES OF INDIA: A UN trade official warns that escalating US tariffs and China’s retaliation could shrink global trade by 3%, prompting shifts in export flows towards emerging economies like India and Brazil. The tariff war is causing supply chain reorientation, impacting developing nations reliant on sectors like textiles. Experts suggest China is strategically positioning itself for long-term advantage amidst the trade tensions. The new US tariff regime could shrink global trade by 3% and significantly shift export flows from traditional markets like the US and China to emerging economies such as India, Canada, and Brazil, according to a top United Nations trade official, as PTI reported. Pamela Coke-Hamilton, Executive Director of the International Trade Centre, warned on Friday in Geneva that US President Donald Trump’s aggressive tariff hikes — followed by China’s retaliation — are likely to cause long-term disruptions in international commerce and economic integration. “Global trade could shrink by 3 per cent, with significant long-term shifts in trade patterns and economic integration,” Coke-Hamilton told PTI. “Exports from Mexico—which have been highly impacted—are shifting from markets such as the US, China, Europe and even other Latin American countries, with modest gains instead in Canada and Brazil, and to a lesser extent, India”.

GLOBAL TIMES (CHINA): Back-and-forth US electronics tariff changes spark further confusion, uncertainty. US President Donald Trump pledged he will still apply tariffs to phones, computers and popular consumer electronics, the Bloomberg reported. The messaging shift, coming just after an exemption was announced for a range of electronics on Friday, has “prompted further confusion for the tech sector” and “uncertainty on Wall Street”, according to media reports. Howard Lutnick, the commerce secretary, said earlier Sunday on ABC’s “This Week” that Trump could announce new tariffs “in the next month or two” that would target not only semiconductors but also pharmaceutical imports, another priority for the administration. The remarks came after the US Customs and Border Protection announced in an updated guidance late Friday that the government has exempted smartphones, computers and other electronic products from its "reciprocal tariffs."

THE STRAITS TIMES (SINGAPORE): Chinese President Xi Jinping on April 14 called for stronger ties with Vietnam on trade and supply chains amid disruptions caused by US tariffs, as he kicked off a three-nation trip to South-east Asia in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi. “There are no winners in trade wars and tariff wars, and protectionism has no way out”, Mr Xi said in an article posted ahead of his arrival on April 14 in Nhandan, the newspaper of Vietnam’s Communist Party. “The two sides should strengthen cooperation in production and supply chains,” he said, urging more trade and stronger ties with Hanoi on artificial intelligence and the green economy. Under pressure from Washington, Vietnam is tightening controls on some trade with China to make sure goods exported to the United States with a “Made in Vietnam” label have sufficient added value in the country to justify that.

THE GUARDIAN (GB): Chinese president Xi Jinping warned there would be “no winners” in a trade war and that protectionism “leads nowhere”, as he began a three-nation trip to south-east Asia starting in Vietnam on Monday. Xi’s tour, which began in Hanoi, also includes rare visits to Malaysia and Cambodia and will seek to strengthen ties with China’s closest neighbours amid a trade war that has sent shockwaves through global markets. Writing in an article published in Vietnam’s Nhan Dan newspaper on Monday, Xi urged Vietnam to “resolutely safeguard the multilateral trading system, stable global industrial and supply chains, and open and cooperative international environment”, Beijing’s Xinhua news agency said. He added that a “trade war and tariff war will produce no winner, and protectionism will lead nowhere”.

THE NEW YORK TIMES (USA): China has suspended exports of a wide range of critical minerals and magnets, threatening to choke off supplies of components central to automakers, aerospace manufacturers, semiconductor companies and military contractors around the world. Shipments of the magnets, essential for assembling everything from cars and drones to robots and missiles, have been halted at many Chinese ports while the Chinese government drafts a new regulatory system. Once in place, the new system could permanently prevent supplies from reaching certain companies, including American military contractors. The official crackdown is part of China’s retaliation for President Trump’s sharp increase in tariffs that started on April 2. On April 4, the Chinese government ordered restrictions on the export of six heavy rare earth metals, which are refined entirely in China, as well as rare earth magnets, 90 percent of which are produced in China. The metals, and special magnets made with them, can now be shipped out of China only with special export licenses.

THE KOREA TIMES (SOUTH KOREA): Acting President Han Duck-soo said Monday that U.S. President Donald Trump “apparently” instructed his administration to conduct immediate tariff negotiations with South Korea, Japan and India. Han made the remark during a meeting with government officials and large business executives, referring to Trump’s actions after they held a phone call last week. Han also said he expects the two countries to hold a videoconference “in the next one or two days” regarding cooperation on a liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Alaska.

DAILY SABAH (TURKEY): India treads carefully in Trump’s tariff war. Trump’s tariff problem with India is an old one. In his first term, Trump called India a “tariff king” and pushed Modi to bring down tariffs on American goods as he upped global trade tensions. While China, the EU and Canada are not shy about fighting it out with the Trump administration, India lacks the appetite or willingness to enter into a public spat with the U.S. either on tariffs or on any other issue. Modi, in a recent three-hour conversation with an American podcaster, spoke in oleaginous and flattering terms about Trump and their rapport. India is already showing signs of placating the U.S. with tariff reductions and doing away with non-tariff barriers, according to reports. India, as part of the BRICS group, which includes China, Russia, Brazil and other significant economies, has in recent years sought to reduce its dependence on the U.S. dollar in bilateral trade with several countries. The Modi government, seeking a bigger profile globally, has sought to promote the Indian rupee’s use abroad.

THE ECONOMIC TIMES (INDIA): Zero-tariff US deal? There’s zero chance! India is unlikely to offer a ‘zero-for-zero’ tariff deal to the US in their Bilateral Trade Agreement, deeming it suitable only between developed nations. The Bilateral Trade Agreement will encompass goods, digital trade, professional movement, and intellectual property rights. Virtual talks are scheduled, aiming for clarity by May-end, with a broader goal to double bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030.

RENMIN RIBAO (CHINA): The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is committed to deepening its comprehensive strategic partnership with China and upholds multilateralism, the bloc’s Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn has said. Since elevating bilateral ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2021, ASEAN and China have seen their trade surge, cementing their status as each other’s largest trading partners, Kao told Xinhua in an interview. He depicted the Version 3.0 ASEAN-China Free Trade Area (FTA) -- with negotiations substantially concluded -- as a pivotal driver for their cooperation in digital economy, green industries, blue economy and streamlined customs protocols. “We expect the ASEAN-China FTA 3.0. will be completed within this year. And that will bring enormous economic potential to both sides”, said Kao.

VEDOMOSTI (RUSSIA): Пекин ищет сближения с ЕС и странами АСЕАН в торговой войне с США. И КНР, и Европа, и ЮВА пытаются маневрировать и торговаться с американцами. Председатель КНР Си Цзиньпин 11 апреля призвал Евросоюз (ЕС) “вместе сопротивляться одностороннему запугиванию” в торговых отношениях – беспрецедентному повышению тарифов со стороны США, которые ударили пока в основном по Китаю. Об этом Си заявил во время встречи в Пекине с премьер-министром Испании Педро Санчесом. В тот же день Bloomberg со ссылкой на китайские источники сообщил, что в июле должен состояться саммит европейских лидеров с Си. А тремя днями ранее премьер КНР Ли Цян провел телефонный разговор с главой Еврокомиссии (ЕК) Урсулой фон дер Ляйен. Беседа прошла уже после того, как американский президент Дональд Трамп объявил о повышении тарифов тогда еще до 104% на китайские товары, на что Пекин ответил пошлинами в 84%. Как передает китайское агентство “Синьхуа”, Ли заверил фон дер Ляйен в готовности “работать вместе” с Брюсселем над “стабильным развитием” двусторонних отношений.

NIKKEI (JAPAN): Apple ramps up India, Vietnam production as tariff safe harbors. Tech giant faces stricter Chinese customs checks as it transfers equipment. Apple is ramping up production of key products in India and Vietnam to take advantage of a 90-day grace period on U.S. tariffs, but China’s continued tightening of customs screenings is slowing such efforts, Nikkei Asia has learned. The American tech giant began asking key suppliers to ramp up iPhone production in India earlier this year, but factory utilization rates there are already at the maximum, which makes adding capacity difficult, several people told Nikkei Asia.

GULF TIMES (QATAR): US President Donald Trump said that the talks with Iran were “going pretty good”, following the first round of negotiations held between American and Iranian delegations in the Omani capital, Muscat, on Saturday. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump said the discussions are progressing encouragingly, in his first comment following the meeting between US Special Envoy Steven Witkoff and Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr. Abbas Araghchi in Muscat. In a statement released on Saturday afternoon, the White House described the Muscat discussions as “very positive and constructive”. Both the United States and Iran affirmed their commitment to continuing the negotiation process.

TEHRAN TIMES (IRAN): Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman said Iran did not reject direct negotiations with the U.S. so it could skirt such engagement based on ideology. Rather, it made no sense for it to talk face-to-face while Washington continues to sanction, threaten, and try to intimidate Iran. Esmail Baghaei made the remarks during an interview with Iranian TV, where he described indirect Saturday talks between Iran and the United States as “positive”. “We believe indirect negotiations offer the most effective path to resolving the sanctions issue”, Baghaei explained, adding, “Direct negotiation is unproductive in the face of threats, sanctions, and intimidation. There is no ideological basis for this position”. During his Sunday interview, Baghaei reaffirmed Araghchi’s earlier remarks, who had described the first round of negotiations as “positive” and “constructive”.

THE WASHINGTON POST (USA): Officials from the United States and Iran met face-to-face Saturday, albeit briefly, to launch high-stakes negotiations over the future of Iran’s nuclear program, the first serious engagement between the two countries in a decade. Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi “briefly spoke in the presence of the Omani foreign minister”, after meeting separately with mediators for just over two hours, Iranian state-run media reported. The sides are set to hold further talks next week. Following months of escalating rhetoric between Washington and Tehran, the meeting in the Omani capital seemed to ease regional tensions. The White House called it “a step forward in achieving a mutually beneficial outcome”. “These issues are very complicated,” the White House said in a statement. It described discussions so far as “very positive and constructive”. Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi, who mediated the talks, said they occurred “in a friendly atmosphere conducive to bridging viewpoints”. He hoped the meeting would “begin a process of dialogue and negotiations with the shared aim of concluding a fair and binding agreement”, he said in a post on X.

THE JERUSALEM POST (ISRAEL): US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he expected to make a decision on Iran very quickly, after both countries said they held “positive” and “constructive” talks in Oman on Saturday and agreed to reconvene this week. Trump, who has threatened military action if no deal is reached on halting Iran’s nuclear program, told reporters aboard Air Force One that he met with advisers on Iran and expected a quick decision. He gave no further details. “We’ll be making a decision on Iran very quickly”, he said.

KOMMERSANT (RUSSIA): Вопрос о том, что должно стать предметом будущего соглашения между Вашингтоном и Тегераном и насколько реально его подписание в “кратчайшие сроки”, остается открытым. Согласно утечкам в американских СМИ, на переговорах в Омане не только не поднимался вопрос о ликвидации иранских ядерных объектов, но и не обсуждались связи Тегерана с палестинским движением ХАМАС, шиитской организацией “Хезболла” и йеменскими хуситами. К активизации контактов с руководством Ирана Дональда Трампа подталкивает и растущая потребность в крупном дипломатическом успехе накануне 100-дневного срока его пребывания в Белом доме, истекающего 30 апреля.

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL (USA): Iran has a reason to strike a nuclear deal: its economy is in trouble. Crippling sanctions and systemic corruption push ordinary Iranians to the brink at a politically sensitive moment. The threat of U.S. military intervention helped bring Iran back to the negotiating table. Its hobbled economy is likely to keep it there. Iran’s currency is among the weakest in the world. Inflation remains well above 30%. Young people are struggling to find work, and a frustrated middle class can no longer afford to buy imported goods.

NEW YORK POST (USA): Don’t let Iran stall its way into going nuclear. All the cut-a-nuke-deal-with-Iran enthusiasts are marveling that Tehran’s negotiator deigned to meet face-to-face with President Donald Trump’s envoy on Saturday, and agreed to meet again a week later. Huh: Sure looks the Iranians still mean to drag the talks out until they’ve already gone nuclear; Trump needs to ensure Steve Witkoff doesn’t get sucked into the illusion of progress. Tehran has already enriched enough uranium to weapons-grade to build multiple nuclear weapons; it only needs to play for time. Yet the regime is more vulnerable than it’s been in decades, its Hamas and Hezbollah proxies eviscerated after going to war against Israel while US strikes are now defanging its Houthi paws — even as it has lost its Syrian puppet with the ouster of the Assad clan. Meanwhile, renewed sanctions threaten to spark outright rebellion even as “supreme leader” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei nears death with an uncertain succession. And Tehran’s direct exchanges of strikes with Israel have eviscerated its air defenses.

IZVESTIA (RUSSIA): Переговоры России и США по украинской проблеме продолжаются только в двустороннем формате, заявил “Известиям” первый заместитель постпреда РФ при ООН Дмитрий Полянский. При этом стороны вряд ли смогут достичь соглашения о прекращении огня к Пасхе, о котором ранее говорили в Белом доме. В экспертном сообществе полагают, что ключевые причины этого — недоговороспособность Украины, нарушение ею моратория на удары по энергетической инфраструктуре и стремление Дональда Трампа достичь быстрого прекращения огня без политического урегулирования. При этом последний визит спецпосланника Стива Уиткоффа в Санкт-Петербург 11 апреля может стать мостиком к организации встречи двух лидеров.

LA NACION (ARGENTINA): Noboa gana el balotaje por amplio margen en Ecuador, pero la correísta González no reconoce la derrota y denuncia fraude. La candidata de izquierda denunció fraude sin presentar pruebas luego de quedar más de diez puntos detrás del presidente. Por una diferencia que superó todas las expectativas, el mandatario ecuatoriano Daniel Noboa se alzó este domingo con una contundente victoria en el baloje presidencial, derrotando por más de diez puntos a la candidata de izquierda Luisa González, quien rechazó lo resultados denunciando fraude. Con más de 92% de los votos escrutados, Noboa le ganaba a González por 55,87% a 44,13%.

THE CITIZEN (SOUTH AFRICA): If an election were held today, modelled for likely voter turnout at 58%, the ANC would win 43% of the vote, up 3% from 2024. The government of national unity (GNU) is a political paradox. The party that values it the least, the ANC, objectively needs it most. Whereas the Democratic Alliance (DA), the party that is emotionally most committed, on balance, needs it least. A Brenthurst Foundation survey released last week shows if an election were held today, modelled for likely voter turnout at 58%, the ANC would win 43% of the vote, up 3% from 2024. The DA would win 27% electoral support, up five percentage points, meaning that it has narrowed the gap with the ANC. Equally worrying for the ANC is that 72% of all voters think the economic situation is bad, including 58% of ANC supporters. In a similar vein, 70% of voters believe the country is going in the wrong direction, including 57% of ANC supporters. The impasse with the DA poses an enormous dilemma to the ANC.

THE TIMES (GB): Is Javier Milei’s chainsaw revolution working? The Argentinian president slashed government spending, cut inflation and delighted the IMF, but now finds himself caught between America and China. Sceptics predicted he would be another of Argentina’s “helicopter presidents”, promising miracles but ultimately being forced to flee an angry populace via the helipad that used to be conveniently placed on the roof of the pink presidential palace in Buenos Aires. However, 16 months into his mandate, President Milei is staying put: doubling down on his free-market reforms, which he vows will bring an end to a century of stagnation in the South American nation. On Friday, the self-described ­“anarcho-capitalist” announced that he was lifting most of the country’s capital and currency controls, hours after his government sealed the deal on a $20 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund, whose board has praised him for enacting an austerity package more austere than the bank

O GLOBO (BRASIL): Argentina: com fim do controle cambial, o que esperar da fase 3 do plano econômico de Milei? Pilares do projeto são equilíbrio fiscal, quantidade de pesos em circulação e capitalização do BCRA, o banco central do país. A saída do controle cambial e a modificação do regime de câmbio não são apenas mais um passo em uma Argentina que enxerga o dólar como termômetro da gestão. No entanto, Luis Caputo repetiu para aliados e opositores que “é irrelevante” o que acontecer com a moeda americana na segunda-feira. “Não nos importa o que acontecer no primeiro dia porque estamos convencidos da sustentabilidade do plano. Quando assumimos, muitos empresários apostaram em um dólar a 3.000 pesos e perderam. Agora sabemos que não há nenhum fundamento para se preocupar” -- respondeu com otimismo a uma alta fonte do gabinete, poucos minutos depois de ter recebido uma mensagem da diretora do FMI confirmando que o aporte seria formalizado.

LE FIGARO (FRANCE): En Pologne, le PiS tente de combler son retard avant la présidentielle. À un mois du premier tour, le défilé soutenu par le parti conservateur a rassemblé ce week-end des dizaines de milliers de participants. « Nous voulons une Pologne avec des aspirations. (…) Nous avons un devoir envers ceux qui nous ont précédés et ceux qui nous suivront. Nous voulons une grande Pologne! », lance avec entrain, tout sourire et bras levés, au centre de la place du Château à Varsovie, Karol Nawrocki, le candidat présidentiel soutenu par le parti national-conservateur Droit et Justice (PiS). Sous un soleil printanier rayonnant, ils sont des dizaines de milliers à s’être réunis pour célébrer le millième anniversaire du couronnement de Boleslas le Vaillant, premier souverain du pays. Mais ce rassemblement va bien au-delà de la marche mémorielle. « C’est un moment important de la campagne présidentielle », confie au Figaro Jaroslaw Kaczynski, le chef de file du PiS.

ASHARQ AL-AWSAT (GB): Palestinian Authority to Introduce Major Reforms amid Mounting Pressure from Gaza war. The Palestinian Central Council will hold an extraordinary meeting to establish the position of vice president to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. The meeting, set for April 23 and 24, will cap a series of reforms and changes to the Palestinian Authority (PA) that Abbas had kicked off in recent weeks under internal and foreign pressure prompted by Israel’s war on Gaza.

AL-AHRAM (EGYPT): Hamas announced on Sunday that its delegation currently in Cairo is engaged in talks focused on ending the genocidal Israeli war on Gaza and opening border crossings to allow desperately needed humanitarian aid into the strip. The delegation also discusses the possibility of activating a widely supported initiative to establish a Community Support Committee, whose members would be unaffiliated with any Palestinian factions, to administer all levels of civil affairs in Gaza. Furthermore, Hamas confirmed that it was discussing rebuilding Gaza and unifying Palestinian institutions in the Gaza Strip and the Israeli-occupied West Bank in coordination with the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah, with the group emphasising that Palestinian territorial and political unity remains a top priority.

ARAB NEWS (SAUDI ARABIA): The US and Saudi Arabia will sign a preliminary agreement on energy cooperation and civilian nuclear technology, Energy Secretary Chris Wright told a press conference in the Saudi capital on Sunday. The US official said that details on nuclear cooperation between the two countries would come later this year. He said the cooperation will focus on building a commercial nuclear power industry in the Kingdom “with meaning developments expected this year.”

THE HILL (USA): President Trump is in “excellent health,” his physician wrote in a memo released by the White House on Sunday after Trump underwent an annual physical exam. Trump underwent a heart exam, a neurological exam and a skin exam during his visit to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Friday. “President Trump remains in excellent health, exhibiting robust cardiac, pulmonary, neurological, and general physical function”, White House physician Sean Barbabella wrote in a memo. ”His active lifestyle continues to contribute significantly to his well-being”.

THE MAINICHI SHIMBUN (JAPAN): The population of Japanese nationals stood at 120.3 million as of October 2024, down a record 898,000 from a year earlier, a government estimate showed Monday, amid the graying of society and a declining birthrate. The total population in Japan, including foreign residents, fell for the 14th consecutive year, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said, adding only Tokyo and nearby Saitama Prefecture recorded increases.

LA TERCERA (CHILE): Muere Mario Vargas Llosa a los 89 años: el último insigne del Boom Latinoamericano. El destacado escritor y político peruano fue un nombre clave de la literatura del siglo XX. Premio Nobel de Literatura 2010, parte del Boom Latinoamericano, fue autor de libros esenciales como Conversación en La Catedral, La ciudad y los perros o La guerra del fin del mundo. También fue candidato presidencial de su país en 1990. Sus hijos publicaron un comunicado dando cuenta del hecho: “Su partida entristecerá a sus parientes, a sus amigos y a sus lectores, pero esperamos que encuentren consuelo, como nosotros, en el hecho de que gozó de una vida larga, múltiple y fructífera, y deja detrás suyo una obra que lo sobrevivirá. Procederemos en las próximas horas y días de acuerdo con sus instrucciones”.