Asian economies brace for new Trump tariffs on ‘Liberation Day’

South Korea, Japan and China hold a top-level trade summit as Asia braces for new “reciprocal” tariffs from Washington on Wednesday that are expected to target countries with the largest and longest US trade imbalances. Meanwhile, Asian stock indexes plummet on trade war fears, and Mexico re-launches a decades-old “buy local” programme aimed in part at countering cheap Chinese imports.