The comments appear in a document issued by the United States Trade Representative. The annual report says, "China has a statist economic model with a large and growing government role."

It says, "China is free to pursue whatever trade policy it prefers," but that the United States is also "free to respond."

The report warns the US government will "use all available tools to discourage China" from "undermining true market competition."

The US has repeatedly accused China of overproducing steel and infringing intellectual property rights

The United States is set to impose 25 percent of tariff on steel imports products and 10 percent on aluminum, Trump said after a meeting with business executives at the White House.

"We'll be signing it next week. And you'll have protection for a long time in a while," said Trump.

News of the tariffs immediately hit sentiment on the Wall Street, with the Dow slumping over 500 points, more than 2 percent, in late trading.

In response, Canadian Trade Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said that any U.S. tariff or quota imposed on Canada's steel industry would be "unacceptable."

Daniel Ikenson, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, said on Thursday that trade restrictions could hurt U.S. producers by exposing them to competitions from foreign rivals with lower production costs capable of offering lower prices in the U.S. market.

U.S. actions would face legal challenge by other World Trade Organization members, and they would also invite other members to invoke national security to protect favored industries, said Ikenson.

European Union (EU)'s trade chief Cecilia Malmstrom has said that the EU would seek retaliation measures if the Trump administration's 232 trade investigation brings damage to European steelmakers.

It's still unknown whether Trump's announcement on Thursday refers to blanket tariffs for all countries.

In April last year, Trump ordered the Commerce Department to study the impact of steel and aluminum imports on national security under seldom-used section 232 of the 1962 Trade Expansion Act.

Two weeks ago, the Commerce Department unveiled its recommendations for Trump to restrict imports of steel and aluminium products due to national security concerns, which drew oppositions from U.S. lawmakers and businesses.

According to recommendations by the Commerce Department, the United States could introduce at least 24 percent tariff on all steel imports from all countries and at least 7.7 percent tariff on all aluminium imports from all countries.

Trump's announcement was higher than both recommendations.

Wendy Cutler, former Acting Deputy U.S. Trade Representative and now vice president at the Asia Society Policy Institute, said "the imposition of tariffs on steel and aluminum will also reverberate throughout the U.S. economy and possibly negate some of the benefits of the recent tax cuts."

The web platform was created with aims to introduce good example of artisanal and small scale mining in Mongolia and contribute to promote it. Moreover, the web platform is suitable to store, share and receive information.

Opening the ceremony, State Secretary of the Ministry of Mining and Heavy Industry G.Nandinjargal said that the Mongolian government has been taking certain measures to create legal environment for Mongolian artisanal and small-scale mining, and to regulate it in the frames of the law. In accordance with the Government Resolution No. 151 issued in 2017, revised regulations on Mineral extraction of artisanal and small-scale mining was approved. He noted it is now possible to get information about legal acts through the web platform, adding that engagement of artisanal and small scale mining operators, researchers and the public and their initiatives are significant to develop the web platform further.

Afterwards, Deputy Director for the Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation (SDC) in Mongolia Ilaria Dali emphasized that the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation has been supporting Mongolia to overcome the challenges in artisanal and small scale mining sector and widely introduce international good practices of artisanal and small mining.
E.Altanzul

Mongolian citizens who were born before 2011 currently own 1072 shares in the company. According to the 2009 Human Development Fund Law, the company distributed its shares to all citizens.

Revenue at Erdenes Tavan Tolgoi JSC reached MNT 438 billion in 2017. This enabled the company to fully repay its debts to China's Chalco and the remaining USD 50 million debt owed to the Development Bank of Mongolia.

Bitcoin, the world’s top virtual currency, was trading above $10,600 at 10:00 GMT, retreating from a peak of $11,090 reached earlier in the day. The surge followed a sharp plunge in the entire market on Monday after US-based exchange Coinbase informed nearly 13,000 of its users that it had to hand over their data to the US Internal Revenue Service.

Chinese financial authorities are set to bar local investors from trading virtual assets on exchanges abroad, according to unnamed sources familiar with the issue as quoted by Bloomberg. The regulators are reportedly planning to look over the bank and online-payment accounts of Chinese firms and individuals suspected of facilitating offshore cryptocurrency exchanges.

The step is reportedly aimed at blocking the remaining ways for Chinese citizens to buy virtual currencies. The country, once the world’s most active for cryptocurrency trading, prohibited trading of bitcoin and other digital currencies on domestic exchanges last year. Since then, the regulators have progressed to blocking access to platforms that provide exchange-like services.

Last year, South Korea announced tougher steps towards cryptocurrency trading in the country. The measures, designed to curb speculation and illicit activities, included taxing cryptocurrency exchanges and banning them from issuing new trading accounts.

Exports of washed coking coal decreased 22.94% from a month earlier to 227,400 tonnes in January, and that of raw coking coal up 83.78% month on month to 1.46 million tonnes.

The country exported 935,100 tonnes of thermal coal in the month, flat month on month.

In the month, Mongolia produced 3.84 million tonnes of coal, down 29.23% year on year but up 8.3% from the preceding month.

In 2017, the country's coal output increased by 32.72% from 2016 to 47.10 million tonnes.

In January, Mongolia sold a total of 4.31 million tonnes of coal, rising 25.26% from the month-ago level, with domestic sales rising 46.9% from December to 680,100 tonnes.

In an earlier protest lodged with the Japanese Foreign Ministry, the embassy said the cartoon "lacks respect for the Mongolian people."

"We deeply apologize for causing offense to all those who revere Genghis Khan," Shogakukan said in a statement on its website.

With the agreement, the interested parties agreed that it was necessary to create favourable conditions for trade of goods and services based on parity and creation of long-term mechanisms of mutually beneficial cooperation on freight transportation of foreign trade.

The agreement will create favorable conditions for transit freights, such as flexible tariff policy, between the two countries. On this note, the parties are obliged to strengthen competitiveness by providing long-term flexible tariff compared to other trade routes; creating conditions for easing border checkpoint procedures on transit freights; stimulating growth of freight volumes; providing balance of volume growth of freights and infrastructure development of railway transportation; and creating conditions for Mongolian exporters to be involved in maritime transport without obstacles.

In its third clause, the agreement states that the parties will enjoy tariffs established under international contracts, to which both countries are a signatory.

The agreement clause 5 states that for the development of transit potentials, the parties shall provide realization of measures on modernization of infrastructure of Ulaanbaatar Railway JSC through competent and authorized bodies of the parties.

The draft states that the agreement term will be effective for 25 years.

The draft of the Agreement was prepared by the Mongolian side and was presented to the Russian side in the end of last year. Previously, Battulga Khaltmaa, the President of Mongolia, expressed his intention to export Tavan Tolgoi coal to third markets during the third annual Eastern Economic Forum which was held in Vladivostok, Russia, in September 2017.

Oyunbayar. N

Energy Minister Ts.Davaasuren announced that construction work of the Tavan Tolgoi power plant is ready to start in July this year. The Tavan Tolgoi power plant will be commissioned in 2021, producing 2.3 billion kWh of electricity per year, annually selling energy worth of MNT 450 billion and paying taxes of MNT 45 billion to the state budget. The preliminary estimate presented by the Tavan Tolgoi power plant project director, D.Batbileg shows that the new plant will employ more than 400 people.

In addition, it is planned to complete the expansion of the capacity of Darkhan and Erdenet TPP this year and to build electrical substations in Baganuur-Undurkhaan-Choibalsan and Ulaanbaatar-Mandalgovi routes.

B.Misheel