Two factors seen to have helped the Labor Party's strong victory were concern about Trump's tariff policies and Republican support for his conservative rivals.

Japan says tariffs imposed on autos, steel and aluminium cannot be excluded from trade talks, because the auto sector is a core national industry

Chinese officials said on Friday they are evaluating US requests to negotiate on tariffs, but Trump's latest threat to impose sanctions on any country buying oil off Iran suggests the chance of any talks is slim

Officials at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach expect a plunge in cargo from Asia that could last well into the second half, if not longer

Central bank cuts key interest rate again, while Moody's ratings agency downgrades Thailand's outlook to negative based on impacts expected from US tariffs

China has granted tariff exemptions on US goods such as pharmaceuticals, chips and aircraft engines and has asked firms to identify critical goods they need levy-free

Private sector survey finds a sharp contraction in export orders, with firms lowering inventories as business optimism sinks to its third-lowest since 2012

"China's affected airlines and Boeing have suffered greatly," the Commerce ministry said, but other airlines say they're happy to take jets from Boeing if China no longer wants them

Beijing says it will take legal action if companies push ahead with $23bn ports deal, insisting that the takeover must be reviewed by its top regulator

Working groups will discuss key issues in new trade talks, but Seoul must hold an election before it can make commitments on big energy projects and defence costs

Politburo has opted to implement policies quicker rather than launch new spending measures, to maintain flexibility in a fast-changing external environment

China seems to be taking leaves from the American playbook as it steps up its retaliation against Donald Trump's tariff war