Ambassador of UK to Mongolia presents Letter of credence www.president.mn

The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United Kingdom to Mongolia, Mr. Philip Malone presented his credentials to the President of Mongolia, Mr. Khaltmaagiin Battulga on April 3rd.

US proposes tariffs on 1,300 Chinese goods www.cnn.com

The Trump administration on Tuesday published a list of about 1,300 Chinese exports that could be targeted for tariffs.

The United States plans to apply the tariffs to about $50 billion worth of goods to punish China for its theft of trade secrets, including software, patents and other technology. A 25% tariff would be applied to all the products, according to the US Trade Representative, a wing of the White House.

Many of the tariffs would target the Chinese aerospace, tech and machinery industries. Others would target medical equipment, medicine and educational material, such as bookbinding equipment.

In a statement, the Chinese embassy in the United States said that China "strongly condemns and firmly opposes" the proposed list.

"As the Chinese saying goes, it is only polite to reciprocate," the embassy said, adding that China intends to pursue the matter with the World Trade Organization and enact "corresponding measures of equal scale and strength against U.S. products."

The tariffs won't go into effect immediately. The administration will hold a public hearing for US businesses on May 15. Even after that, it's not clear when the tariffs would be applied.

China tariffs: Artificial teeth, flamethrowers and other things on the list

US business advocates said the administration diagnosed the problem with China correctly, but had the wrong remedy.

"The administration is rightly focused on restoring equity and fairness in our trade relationship with China. However, imposing taxes on products used daily by American consumers and job creators is not the way to achieve those ends," said Myron Brilliant, executive vice president of the US Chamber of Commerce, an advocacy group that has long been opposed to Trump's trade policy.

A lobbying group for US farmers pleaded with the administration not to go forward with the tariffs, fearing retaliation by China, one of the largest buyers of US crops.

"We continue to urge the administration to listen to farmers across rural America who can't afford new taxes on their exports," Max Baucus, a former Democratic senator from Montana and co-chairman of Farmers for Free Trade, said in a statement.

Related: China to US: We'll match your tariffs in 'scale' and 'intensity'

The list came hours after China's Foreign Ministry insisted it would respond with equal measure to any US tariffs. China said it has its own list of American exports that it will target if the United States goes through with its plan.

"We have been saying that China wouldn't start a trade war," a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said in Beijing. "But we are not afraid of it, and we will resolutely fight to the end if someone insists on a war."

Leaders from both countries have been in talks for more than a week to try to make compromises and provide US companies more rights in China.

After a months-long investigation, the USTR concluded that China forces US tech companies that want to operate there to enter joint ventures with Chinese businesses and share their technology. Chinese firms often steal patents and software from the American firms, the investigation found.

Related: How much has the US lost from China's IP theft?

There is little dispute in the United States that China does not play by the rules when it comes to tech trade. The debate in Washington is about the best way to punish China without hurting American consumers.

The United States had promised that the proposed tariffs would hit Chinese tech, aerospace, communications and machinery. But the list released Tuesday includes some unexpected items, such as malaria test kits, hearing aids, defibrillators, flame throwers, syringes, artificial teeth and X-ray machine equipment.

The USTR also proposed tariffs on Chinese-made military rifles, shotguns and grenade launchers. Turbo jet engines and certain helicopters are among those slated in Chinese aerospace to be hit with a duty. Several drilling machines are on the list as well.

The Trump administration has already imposed a 25% tariff on imported steel and a 10% tariff on imported aluminum. Those tariffs apply to most countries, including China, though some have been exempted.

China responded to the metal tariffs with its own tariffs on $3 billion of US exports to China, including fruits, wine, nuts and pork.

British miner about to start pouring silver in Russia www.mining.com

Mongolia requests support from World Bank on developing securities market www.gogo.mn

Mongolia mining corruption probe snares former PM www.ft.com

A Mongolian investigation into allegations of corrupt mining payments has ensnared a former prime minister who has been asked to return from the US to answer prosecutors’ questions.

Saikhanbileg Chimed, prime minister for two years until 2016, is the highest-ranking official to have been implicated in the probe, which dates from revelations in the leaked Panama Papers of transfers to a Swiss bank account in the name of Bayartsogt Sangajav, the former Mongolian finance minister. Swiss authorities froze the account in January.

Over the weekend, Mongolian authorities arrested Mr Bayartsogt and two other former officials with ties to Erdenes Mongol, the state-owned holding company set up to contain Mongolia’s shares in mining projects including the Oyu Tolgoi copper mine and the Tavan Tolgoi coking coal deposit. They also requested Mr Saikhanbileg return from the US. Mr Saikhanbileg could not be contacted for comment.

Turquoise Hill, the Canada-listed subsidiary of Rio Tinto which is developing a $5bn underground stage of the Oyu Tolgoi mine, has previously said it received a request for more information by the Mongolian anti-corruption authorities.

The request for information concerned the “possible abuse of power by authorised officials” during the negotiation of the 2009 Oyu Tolgoi investment agreement, shortly after Rio took over negotiation of the Oyu Tolgoi project from Ivanhoe Mines, the original developer.

Mr Saikhanbileg signed the agreement to develop the second, underground phase of the mine, which economists said was necessary for the Mongolian government to meet its budgetary commitments. Negotiations over the first phase of the giant mine were also fraught, with rancour on both sides and repeated changes to Mongolia’s mining investment regime, once the most liberal in the world.

Swiss prosecutors have said the investigation was not directed against Rio or its employees. Rio Tinto declined to comment on Tuesday.

“The Mongolian government and public is slowly beginning to build up capacity to analyse its relationship with Oyu Tolgoi and with Rio Tinto as an investor and to ask questions about that relationship in the process,” said Julian Dierkes, an expert on Mongolian civil society at the University of British Columbia.

Mr Saikhanbileg’s departure from office in 2016 was marred by the contentious $400m purchase of nearly half of the giant Erdenet copper mine in Mongolia’s north from Russian holding company Rostec, which returned the entire mine to Mongolian ownership.

Erdenet long had symbolic value as the Soviet Union’s most important investment in Mongolia but has been plagued by allegations of mismanagement and corruption. The previously unknown private company that bought the stake, Mongolian Copper Corp, is fighting the Mongolian government’s decision in February 2017 to nationalise the stake bought from Rostec.

Bayanjargal Byambasaikhan, former chief executive of Erdenes Mongol, told the Financial Times in 2016 that the holding company would have trouble establishing control over the state’s share in Erdenet due to the complexity of the politics surrounding that mine. Mr Byambasaikhan was one of the people arrested this weekend.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Business Council of Mongolia, an organisation chaired by Mr Byambasaikhan, noted that he had returned to Mongolia from a posting at the Asian Development Bank in 2010, after the 2009 investment accord for the Oyu Tolgoi mine. “The BCM Executive Committee has full confidence in Byambasaikhan’s integrity,” it said.

Romania expresses willingness to cooperate in energy sector www.news.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ On April 2, Deputy Minister of Energy T.Gantulga met Non-resident Ambassador of Romania to Mongolia Basil Constantinescu.

Mongolian PM to visit China www.news.mn

U.Khurelsukh, Prime Minister of Mongolia will visit Beijing on 8-12 April at the invitation of Li Keqiang, Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China.

Former Prime Minister summoned for questioning www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ Former Prime Minister Ch.Saikhanbileg has been summoned for questioning regarding the 2015 Oyu Tolgoi Underground Mine Development and Financing Plan, signed in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, said the Independent Authority Against Corruption (IAAC) on April 2.

Mongolia wants to reintroduce capital punishment www.akipress.com

AKIPRESS.COM - President of Mongolia Khaltmaa Battulga intends to initiate draft amendments to the Criminal Code of Mongolia reinstating the capital punishment, Montsame state news agency reported.

UB night -time electricity discount ends www.news.mn

As a step towards cutting air pollution, which is extremely serious in the capital, Ulaanbaatar, the Mongolian government has approved regulation to cut electricity night tariff for ger district households, where most of the harmful smoke is produced, to zero.