NEW YORK -- The U.S. government has constantly tightened its technological restrictions on China over the past few months, despite widespread concern that such moves would disrupt the global supply chain.

While these sanctions may bring some difficulties to China's high-tech development, they will also cost U.S. tech companies heavily and risk losing the Chinese market, which has the potential to be the world's biggest one. (US-China-Restrictions)

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NEW YORK -- The U.S. dollar declined slightly in late trading on Friday as market participants eyed the soaring number of coronavirus cases in the country while weighing its impact on economic recovery.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, decreased 0.05 percent at 96.6559.

In late New York trading, the euro rose to 1.1297 U.S. dollars from 1.1296 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound rose to 1.2625 dollars from 1.2620 dollars in the previous session. The Australian dollar fell to 0.6946 U.S. dollar from 0.6964 dollar. (US-Dollar Index-Down)

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ROME -- Italy's gross domestic product (GDP) will likely contract by 9.5 percent this year due to the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, the Bank of Italy forecast in a 77-page Economic Bulletin released on Friday.

Italy's GDP is set to contract by 15 percent in the first half of the year and to expand slightly in the second half "largely due to the end of the effects of the containment measures," the Bank of Italy wrote in reference to the March 10-May 3 national lockdown that paralyzed the country's economy but brought the COVID-19 pandemic under control. (Italy-GDP-Down)

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WASHINGTON -- The United States plans to impose 25-percent additional tariffs on about 1.3 billion U.S. dollars worth of French products in response to the country's digital services tax that impacts major U.S. technology companies, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced Friday.

"In determining the level of trade covered by the additional duties, the U.S. Trade Representative considered the value of digital transactions covered by France's DST (digital services tax) and the amount of taxes assessed by France on U.S. companies," the USTR's Office said in a notice. (US-France-Tax) Enditem

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