Southeast Asia's biggest economies prepared on Tuesday to step up trade negotiations with Washington after it hit them with steep tariffs, despite a last-ditch flurry of offers to boost imports and slash levies on U.

Chinese businesses are sending increasing volumes of goods to the US via south-east Asia in a bid to evade the tariff wall erected by Donald Trump as part of his trade war, data suggests. The value of Chinese exports to the US dropped by 43 per cent year on year in May,

Most Asian markets fell Monday as countries fought to hammer out trade deals days before Donald Trump's tariff deadline, though investors took heart after he said the levies would not