Asian Stocks Fall After Trump’s Latest China Salvo

We are getting deeper into trade war territory now, and markets are feeling it. Shares in mainland China and a gauge of technology stocks in Hong Kong fell Monday, breaking a blistering rally in technology stocks after President Donald Trump targeted China with the biggest salvo so far in his second term. To catch you up: The US leader in recent days rolled out a memorandum telling a key government committee to curb Chinese spending on tech, energy and other strategic American sectors. The administration also called on Mexican officials to place their own levies on Chinese imports — a move that comes after Chinese firms shifted production to the US neighbor to get around duties the Republican enacted in his first term. And it proposed fees on the use of commercial ships made in China to counter the nation’s dominance in the production of the vessels. But there’s still a view that Trump may be friendlier to China than expected.

Did you say tariffs? Vietnam said it will impose anti-dumping levies on steel from China, following South Korea and other nations in fighting back against surging supplies from the world’s biggest producer. The Southeast Asian nation will impose temporary tariffs on some hot-rolled coil starting from early March. Outside China itself, Vietnam is the biggest single buyer of Chinese steel, and hot-rolled coil (used in manufacturing sectors such as cars and home appliances) is a major export product. Steel futures in China fell while steelmakers in Vietnam advanced.