The U.S. Federal Reserve said uncertainty around international trade policy was "pervasive" in the reports collected from 12 regional reserve banks when releasing its new Beige Book on Wednesday.
The document, published eight times per year, is a survey on the country's economic conditions based on information collected from those banks.
The report said economic activity was little changed since the previous report was released in early March, reporting "slight growth" in five districts, "relatively unchanged" figures in three and "slight to modest declines" in the rest four.
The new release, the third one of this year, came as the so-called "reciprocal tariffs" on all U.S. trading partners imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump's administration triggered widespread controversy.
Most districts reported that companies expected increased growth in input costs due to tariffs, said Wednesday's release, noting "prices increased across districts".
Plenty of companies have already received notices from suppliers on upcoming higher costs, and they would, as expected, pass these additional costs onto consumers, said the report.
"The outlook in several districts worsened considerably as economic uncertainty, particularly surrounding tariffs, rose", said the Beige Book.
US tariff policy increases economic uncertainty: Fed Beige Book
China's Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao outlined the key priorities of the 32nd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting, which opened on Friday in Suzhou, East China's Jiangsu province.
In an interview with CGTN ahead of the two-day meeting, Wang said free trade, digital cooperation and green economy are high on the agenda of the meeting.
"The key areas include advancing regional economic integration and the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific, supporting the World Trade Organization (WTO) in strengthening digital cooperation and developing green economy. At present, the international situation is marked by intertwined turbulence and chaos, with intensified geopolitical instability. The rise of unilateralism and protectionism poses serious challenges to the international economic and trade order, disrupting global and Asia-Pacific development. Against this backdrop, all parties have higher expectations for this trade ministers' meeting, hoping that it can build consensus and deliver outcomes," Wang said.
This year marks China's third time hosting the APEC meetings and the 35th anniversary of its membership.
By 2025, China had become the largest trading partner of 13 APEC economies. Trade between China and APEC economies reached 3.7 trillion U.S. dollars, accounting for 57.8 percent of China's total foreign trade.
China has signed 24 free trade agreements or economic and trade arrangements with 31 countries and regions, including 15 APEC economies. In recent years, China has also completed upgrades of free trade agreements with APEC economies such as Singapore and Peru.
The minister said that China has always been a firm supporter and an important contributor to APEC.
"We have actively shared our vast market and development opportunities with all parties. China's door to the world will only open wider and wider. Facing the common challenges, China will continue to fulfill its responsibilities as a major country, further deepen reform, expand high-standard opening-up, and continue to provide new opportunities for the Asia-Pacific region and the world with its new achievements in Chinese modernization," the minister said.
China's Commerce Minister outlines priorities for 32nd APEC trade ministers' meeting
