this is the business briefing. i'm sally bundock. as trade tensions continue between washington and bejing, one of donald trump's key economic aides admits it's us businesses that will be hit in the pocket. and pakistan gets bailed out by the imf. the country secures a $6 billion loan as its foreign currency reserves tumble. and on the financial markets,

the week has started on a negative note in asia as investors await counter measures from china amidst its trade war with the us. let's start with the trade war between the us and china, which continues to escalate despite the two sides holding talks late last week in washington. the us on friday hiked the tariff rate on $200 billion of chinese imports, meaning a total of $250 billion of chinese goods are now subject to 25% import duties. but the tariffs won't apply to goods already in transit as the 0401gmt deadline passed on friday. as most us—china trade is shipped across the pacific, that gives the two sides a crucial grace period of up to four weeks to negotiate a settlement. the us has already signalled plans

to place additional tariffs on the remaining $325 billion of chinese imports. accepted it was us businesses that would the additional import tax. he also warned that ‘both sides would suffer‘. kudlow added there was a strong possibility could meetwith chinese leader xi jinping at the g20 summit injapan next month, to potentially rescue a trade deal.but it's kudlow‘s comments in a interview with fox news, where he said ‘both sides will suffer‘ which has caught the markets attention. fair, enough, infact fair, enough, in fact both sides will pay in these things, both sides. it's a tariff on goods coming into the country, the chinese aren't paying? sides. it's a tariff on goods coming into the country, the chinese aren't paying? no, but the chinese will suffer gdp loss, and so forth, with

respect to a diminishing export market and goods that they may need... i understand. but if china doesn't pay the tariffs, they may pay the consequences, but it is the us consumers and businesses who pay to some extent, do you agree? yes, i do agree with that. both sides will suffer the consequences. sharon is with us, how are markets reacting in asia? as you can imagine, most of them are in the red. they're all lower. it is not just stocks that are lower, the chinese currency, the yen, the us treasury yields as investors wait on details of those key counter measures china warned it would

impose following that escalating trade war between the world's top two economies. lots of uncertainty as to whether china and the us will reach some of sort deal to end their escalating trade war. they appear to be in deadlock over trade negotiations. washington demanding promises of concrete changes to chinese law. while china saying it's not going to do anything that will harm itself interests. with no date scheduled for a resumption in talks, shares are dropping. if the trade war escalates and the remaining imports from china also get tariffed, the ran is one to watch. it also will fall against the us dollar. to mention as well we had a strong number for hong dollar. to mention as well we had a strong numberfor hong kong in the programme earlier. that's because the markets are closed today. we are

miranda carr with us, director of haitong international limited, a chinese—based company. good to have you on the programme, miranda. what needs to be ironed out? we've gone through 95% of the trade negotiations and it's through 95% of the trade negotiations and its final five per cent. it's whether china is going to make changes, substantial changes to things like the intellectual property and the state's support for its economy. this is whether the — the key disagreement is whether that would enshrine that in law, so it would enshrine that in law, so it would be long—term change, or whether it would be just in legislation. the divide, the key conflict around this, means it's sort of an idelogical debate, it is not just about trade. sort of an idelogical debate, it is notjust about trade. it is a huge fundamental the us is asking china to make in a sense. as you say, it is no longer in the detail about

soya beans and software. it is about how china does business and how it i’u ns how china does business and how it runs its own economy? factly -- exactly. so the chinese system, this is president xi's idea, you have a strong state. you have party control over key. this is not something open for debate. they're not going to accede to the us pressure on this. if the us keep pushing on that, who knows, the negotiations could last, who knows, months, years because you're not going to get agreement on some of these core fundamental principles. so, what's your thinking with regard to a possible meeting between president xi and president trump at the next g20 summit at the end ofjune? because when they met last time in buenos aires, that's when they brokered this sort of we will hold back on any increase for 90 days, they found some

middle—ground between the two presidents? the meeting between the two presidents is the key. you will have negotiators who come and an agreement isn't signed. it is always when trump and xi meet face—to—face that an agreement will be reached. it will be key. hopefully we get some positive shift in terms of we can come to some kind of agreement. the us can back off on some of its demands and then you can come to a compromise. that would be the best case scenario. now we are compromise. that would be the best case scenario. now we are at a stage where both sides are ramping up the rhetoric and both sides aren't necessarily shifting. thank you, coming in, sharing your expertise. more analysis on our website. now let's brief you on some other business stories. the commonwealth bank of australia has reported a sharp fall in third quarter profits, after setting aside almost $500 million to compensate customers following a public enquiry. the bank's profits fell by a third to $1.1 billion,

after it was forced to refund customers for charging fees on products they didn't use. struggling metro bank says it's in advanced negotiations to secure $455 million to strengthen its finances as concerns remain about the bank's balance sheet. metro shares have fallen 75% since january, after the bank announced it needed funds to plug a funding gap. the bank — which has 67 branches in london and the south east — says it expects to raise the cash by the end ofjune. the superhero movie avengers endgame continues to be a smash hit at the box office, after it made just over $65 million in its third week. the film has now made $724 million globally, which makes it the third—most popular ever in terms of revenue. however the movie was given a run for its money by detective pikachu, which made $58 million during its debut week.

i've seen its, avengers endgame, it's nearly three hours and i didn't fall asleep, which is a good sign. it's worth a watch. moving on, pakistan has agreed a $6 billion bailout package from the international monetary fund, which it hopes will shore up its fragile economy. the country is fighting rising inflation, which hit 8% recently and has seen its foreign currency reserves tumble in recent months. the three year loan is the 13th time pakistan has secured funding from the imf since the late 1980s. i'm joined from islamabad by secunder kerman. secunder, many have been calling for the relatively new government to the imffor some the relatively new government to the imf for some time. at last, they have this loan? yes, that's right. the possibility of a deal with the imf has been discussed in pakistan more or less imf has been discussed in pakistan more oi’ less ever imf has been discussed in pakistan more or less ever since the elections last year. that's chiefly

because the country has been operating a large physical and current account deficit, the latter in particular leading to foreign currency in particular leading to foreign cu rre ncy reserves in particular leading to foreign currency reserves rapidly depleting. but the new prime minister, imran khan, had initially at least appeared quite reluctant to go to the imf. he had, when in 0pposition, criticised previous administrations for having done so. despite securing billions of dollars in loans from saudi arabia, the united arab emirates he has now gone to the imf and there has been, as you said, a degree of criticism about the uncertainty that was caused by this delay in reaching an agreement with the imf. there'll be relief in some quarters at least now that this agreement with the imf has been reached. do we know what the terms of the agreement are at this stage? what pakistan has to do in return for this money? well, the pakistani

economy needs huge structural reforms. it has a very, very low tax base — that's one of the things they'll be trying to expand. state—owned enterprises are very expensive, inefficient. there's a large amount of debt in the energy sector. and the currency, the pakistani rupee, has often been seen as being kept artificially high. there are concerns about what impact it could have for ordinary people, the rupee has lost a third of its value, and there have been energy prices. the impact on households will be monitored. all right. secunder, thank you so much, very interesting. pakistan getting a loan from the imf. that is

your business briefing. thousands of survivors seeking refuge from abusive and violent relationships will be better protected by a new legal duty for councils to provide secure homes for them and their children. theresa may has announced the new policy, backed by funding, to end the variation across the country and bolster protection in the domestic abuse bill being considered by mps. leigh milner has more. for victims of domestic abuse, having a safe to say can be life—changing. that's why under new regulations, councils in england will be legally required to provide

safe accommodation for survivors and their children. it is not yet clear though how much that will cost. in november, ministers awarded £2 million for access to safe accommodation, as well as education and employment. this legislation comes and employment. this legislation co m es after and employment. this legislation comes after a new draft of the domestic abuse bill was passed earlier this year. controlling and manipulative non—physical abuse will be included in the government's definition of "domestic abuse" and there'll be support for survivors. councils and local charities say it isa councils and local charities say it is a positive step but they want to know how much money will be provided in the face of cuts to authority budgets. consultation on the

proposals will last 12 weeks. there'll be more on that story here at 6:00. coming up on breakfast, dan walker and louise minchin will have all the day's news, business and sport, they'll also have more on the winners at this year's tv, bafta's in london, which included a lifetime achievement award for the journalist joan bakewell, and multiple awards for the spy—action series killing eve. this is the briefing from bbc news. the latest headlines: a controversial meeting — president trump prepares to hold talks at the white house with hungary's prime minister viktor 0rban. millions head to the polls in the philippines in crucial midterm elections that could cement rodrigo duterte's presidency. now it's time to look at the stories that are making the headlines in the media across the world. we begin with the guardian, and comments made by the uk shadow brexit secretary keir starmer, who has expressed doubts that any cross—party deal could pass parliament without a confirmatory referendum.

the south china morning post says in trade talks with the us, china should reject what the us has put on the table and strike back in business sectors where it will really hurt america. the daily mail leads with comments made by the boss of supermarket giant tesco who has called on internet giants to pay a new sales tax to fund support for struggling high street shops. dave lewis warned that the ‘unsustainable' business rates system was pushing bricks—and—mortar retailers across the country to breaking point. 0n the front of the telegraph, consumers are to be offered smaller food portions and big discounts on food sold after its ‘best before. dates in a food waste revolution aimed at slashing the amount shoppers throw away. and finally its was a fantastic night at the bafta's for the creators and actors in the hit tv series killing eve. the bbc thriller scooped three trophies including best actress