A Chinese flag flies high over The Bund.
Liu Liqun | Corbis Documentary | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets were set to climb Monday as U.S. President Donald Trump paused tariffs on some consumer electronics, boosting risk sentiment.
Trump exempted smartphones and computers as well as other devices and components such as semiconductors from his new “reciprocal” tariffs, according to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection guidance issued late Friday.
However, Trump and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick suggested Sunday that the exemptions were not permanent, stirring up more uncertainty.
Trump said in a Truth Social post that these products were still “subject to the existing 20% Fentanyl Tariffs, and they are just moving to a different Tariff ‘bucket.'”
Several countries in the region are also preparing for trade negotiations with the U.S. this week.
Trump is engaging in negotiations with countries including Vietnam, India, South Korea and Japan, and is prioritizing existing trading partners that are strategic to countering China, according to two people close to the White House, reports from Politico show.
Japan’s top trade representative Akazawa Ryosei is slated to visit the U.S. this week for talks with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, according to local broadcaster NHK.
The country’s benchmark Nikkei 225 was set to open higher, with the futures contract in Chicago at 34,080 while its counterpart in Osaka last traded at 33,720 against the index’s Friday close of 33,585.58.
Futures for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index stood at 21,059 pointing to a stronger open compared to the HSI’s close of 20,914.69 last Friday.
Meanwhile, Australia futures pointing to a higher open 7,678 compared with S&P/ASX 200 last close of 7,646.5.
— CNBC’s Sean Conlon, Hakyung Kim and Pia Singh contributed to this report.