Asian markets took a weak lead-in from Wall Street, which logged a muted overnight session as Trump threatened more trade tariffs, this time on copper and pharmaceutical imports. Trump’s threat came after he began issuing letters to major economies outlining U.S. tariffs on their imports.

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.