Trump says he will announce reciprocal tariffs on many countries next week

A view of Liangang Dagu port is seen at the Binhai economic area in the municipality of Tianjin, northwest China on February 5, 2025. China on February 5 expressed its "resolute opposition" to US tariffs on its exports and called for "dialogue" to resolve trade differences. (Photo by Pedro PARDO / AFP)
Short Url
Updated 08 February 2025
Follow

Trump says he will announce reciprocal tariffs on many countries next week

  • Higher tariffs to pay for extending 2017 tax cuts
  • Trump, Republicans to unveil tax and spending plan this weekend

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump said on Friday he plans to announce reciprocal tariffs on many countries by Monday or Tuesday of next week, a major escalation of his offensive to tear up and reshape global trade relationships in the US’ favor.
Trump did not identify which countries would be hit but suggested it would be a broad effort that could also help solve US budget problems.
“I’ll be announcing that, next week, reciprocal trade, so that we’re treated evenly with other countries,” Trump said. “We don’t want any more, any less.”
The move would fulfill Trump’s campaign promise to impose tariffs on American imports equal to rates that trading partners impose on American exports.
Trump made the announcement during a meeting with visiting Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. He said auto tariffs remained on the table amid reports that the White House was weighing potential exemptions.
The new US president has long complained about the European Union’s 10 percent tariffs on auto imports being much higher than the US car rate of 2.5 percent. He frequently states that Europe “won’t take our cars” but ships millions west across the Atlantic every year.
The US, however, enjoys a 25 percent tariff on pickup trucks, a vital source of profits for Detroit automakers General Motors , Ford and Stellantis’ US operations.
In recent confirmation hearings, Trump’s Commerce secretary nominee Howard Lutnick voiced concerns about India’s high tariff rates, while US Trade Representative nominee Jamieson Greer discussed US complaints about Vietnam’s and Brazil’s tariffs and trade barriers.
The US trade-weighted average tariff rate is about 2.2 percent, according to World Trade Organization data, compared to 12 percent for India, 6.7 percent for Brazil, 5.1 percent for Vietnam and 2.7 percent for European Union countries.
Trump told Republican lawmakers of his plans during budget discussions at the White House on Thursday, three sources familiar with the plan told Reuters. Trump and top aides have said they plan to use higher tariffs on foreign imports to help pay for extending Trump’s 2017 tax cuts, which independent budget analysts say could add trillions of dollars to the US debt.
Increased tariffs could offset some of that cost, though they have only accounted for about 2 percent of annual revenues in recent years.
Trump announced tariffs of 25 percent on Canada and Mexico on Saturday but delayed them after a negative reaction from investors. The two largest US trading partners agreed to increase enforcement efforts at the border, a top Trump priority.
Wall Street extended losses on Friday following the Reuters report of Trump’s discussion with lawmakers.
US consumer sentiment dropped to a seven-month low in February, and attitudes soured among Republicans as households took stock of what they believe will be a surge in inflation from Trump’s tariffs.
Trump and his Republicans aim to unveil their ambitious tax and spending package this weekend. It faces a perilous path through Congress, where Republicans hold narrow majorities in the House of Representatives and the Senate. Republicans are expected to rely on arcane budget rules to bypass Democratic opposition, which will require them to work in lockstep.
Trump is due to have dinner with Senate Republicans on Friday and attend the Super Bowl with House Speaker Mike Johnson on Sunday.
In his confirmation hearing on Thursday, Greer said other countries will need to reduce barriers to US exports if they want to maintain access to the US market, citing Vietnam in particular.
“I need, if I’m confirmed, to go to these countries and explain to them that if they want to enjoy continued market access to the United States, we need to have better reciprocity,” Greer said.


Ukraine, US teams begin talks in Saudi Arabia

Updated 23 March 2025
Follow

Ukraine, US teams begin talks in Saudi Arabia

  • Ukraine defense minister says talks aim to bring ‘just peace closer’
  • US envoy upbeat, says Russia’s Putin ‘wants peace’

RIYADH: Ukrainian and US officials began talks on Sunday on proposals to safeguard energy facilities and critical infrastructure, Ukraine’s defense minister said, part of a diplomatic push by US President Donald Trump to end three years of war.

The meeting in Saudi Arabia, which precedes talks on Monday between the US and Russian delegations, came as US special envoy Steve Witkoff expressed optimism about the chances for ending Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War Two.

“I feel that (Russian President Vladimir Putin) wants peace,” Witkoff told Fox News on Sunday.

“I think that you’re going to see in Saudi Arabia on Monday some real progress, particularly as it affects a Black Sea ceasefire on ships between both countries. And from that, you’ll naturally gravitate into a full-on shooting ceasefire.”

Separately, White House National Security Adviser Mike Waltz said on Sunday the United States was talking through a range of confidence-building measures aimed at ending the war, including on the future of Ukrainian children taken into Russia.

Announcing the start of the Riyadh talks, Ukraine’s Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, who is heading his country’s delegation, said on Facebook: “We are implementing the President of Ukraine’s directive to bring a just peace closer and to strengthen security.”

Putin agreed last week to Trump’s proposal for Russia and Ukraine to stop attacks on each other’s energy infrastructure for 30 days, but that narrowly defined ceasefire was soon cast into doubt, with both sides reporting continued strikes.

A large-scale Russian drone attack on Kyiv overnight killed at least three people, including a 5-year-old child, causing fires in high-rise apartment buildings and damage throughout the capital, Ukrainian officials said on Sunday.

Meanwhile Russian authorities said on Sunday that their air defenses had destroyed 59 Ukrainian drones targeting the country’s southwestern regions, adding that the strikes had killed one person in Rostov.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, facing continued advances by Russian troops in eastern Ukraine, has backed Trump’s call for a blanket 30-day ceasefire.

‘SOMEWHAT UNDER CONTROL’
Trump said on Saturday that efforts to stop further escalation in the Ukraine-Russia war were “somewhat under control.” The US hopes to reach a broad ceasefire within weeks, targeting a truce agreement by April 20, Bloomberg News reported on Sunday, citing people familiar with the planning.

Asked on Sunday about the goals for the broader negotiations, US National Security Adviser Waltz said that after a Black Sea ceasefire was agreed, “we’ll talk the line of control, which is the actual front lines.”

“And that gets into the details of verification mechanisms, peacekeeping, freezing the lines where they are,” Waltz said. “And then of course, the broader and permanent peace.”

Britain and France are leading European efforts to beef up military and logistical support for Ukraine, and a number of countries have announced plans to increase defense spending as they try to reduce their reliance on the United States.

However, Witkoff on Sunday played down concerns among Washington’s European NATO allies that Putin might be emboldened by any peace deal in Ukraine to invade other neighbors.

“I just don’t see that he wants to take all of Europe. This is a much different situation than it was in World War Two,” Witkoff said.


Former congresswoman urges limits on PAC donations in US elections

Updated 23 March 2025
Follow

Former congresswoman urges limits on PAC donations in US elections

  • Marie Newman defeated Democrat Congressman Dan Lipinski — who frequently voted in support of Israel — and rejected overtures from pro-Israel lobbyists to support their causes

CHICAGO: A former congresswoman who represented one of the largest concentrations of Arab and Muslims voters is urging the adoption of laws to limit how much groups with foreign lobbying interests can contribute to candidates in elections.

Marie Newman, a Democrat who represented the 3rd Congressional District on Chicago’s Southwest Side and suburbs, which was heavily populated by Palestinian American voters, told Arab News she was beaten because of her support for Palestinian, Muslim and Arab causes and by enormous donations made to her rival by pro-Israel political action committees (PACs).

In 2017, Newman defeated Democrat Congressman Dan Lipinski — who frequently voted in support of Israel — and rejected overtures from pro-Israel lobbyists to support their causes, but immediately faced opposition from pro-Israel PACs when she rejected conditions they demanded in exchange for their support.

“AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Council) hated me with every ounce of their being and made it very clear to me. I refused in the early days of the campaign in 2017 when I first ran to take their money and I really wouldn’t talk to them because I had no interest in talking to them,” Newman said.

“I knew that they would give me a set of talking points on how to address Israel, Palestine and the Arab world and I wasn’t interested. They spent a million-and-a-half-dollars to get me out of office representing the constituents of that district.”

Newman details her election fight against the money poured into the race by AIPAC and the Democratic Majority for Israel lobbying groups in her new book, “A Life Made from Scratch,” which was released this past week.

She advocates for non-violence between Israelis and Palestinians and supported the two-state solution. During the Gaza war, after leaving office, she was also very clear in her criticism of the use of violence by Hamas and Israel’s government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“It’s important to make that clear, that it’s a genocide in Gaza and they must be stopped. So, this position we (the Democrats) have had, that we are betrothed to the pro-Israel lobby is wrong,” Newman said, arguing that she was in line with the majority of the American Jewish community nationally and with mainstream Americans in the Illinois region.

“By the way, 60 percent of Jewish people support a ceasefire and de-occupying the region. I have been talking about getting rid of the occupation in Palestine for close to 10 years. Most, over half of American Jewish people, believe that there should not be an occupation. It’s not a radical idea.”

Newman was attacked in mailers, paid for by PAC money, which falsely accused her of being anti-Israel and antisemitic. Ironically, Newman’s husband is Jewish.

She called for all PAC money, whether from a foreign lobby like Israel, or from a domestic group lobbying for corporations and specialty industries, to be eliminated or drastically limited in election campaigns. She said the issue is not just about foreign influence, but also the enormous influence PACs have on important domestic issues.

“The reasons we don’t have healthcare is because of corporate PACs. The reason we don’t have solid relationships everywhere in the world is because of these foreign entity PACs like AIPAC and Democratic Majority for Israel,” Newman said.

“The most egregious corporate players are in health insurance, the pharmaceutical industry, big oil, and the banking industry. Those four industries own Congress. Something over 90 percent of Congress takes corporate PAC money from those entities frequently.”

Newman noted that 12 members of Congress were forced out of office in the last election because of their criticism of Israel’s government.

“There’re 12 of us who are no longer in Congress because (AIPAC uses) the same formula where they either create a scandal, a fake scandal or false accusations, and then they beat you down. They raise millions of dollars against you. They put the money into the election race and they support your opponent,” Newman said, noting that the money is used to make the false accusations believable to voters.

“They make an accusation, and then they raise huge amounts of money, enormous amounts of money, sometimes without limits, and then use that money to push that accusation against you, even if the accusation is false … They used the money to weaponize antisemitism.”

Newman rejected assertions against her of antisemitism or that she is anti-Israel, and emphasized: “At the same time, you want to be fair to people, the Palestinians.”

Election law limits to $6.600 the sum a married couple who are voters can give to a candidate in one election, Newman said.

She said it was unfair to American voters that PACs representing domestic industries such as healthcare, banks or the pharmaceutical industry, or that advocate for policies of foreign countries, can donate unlimited amounts of money to candidates drawing what American voters are allowed to contribute.

“It’s one of the reasons I wrote my book. PAC money drives everything in Washington D.C. and, sadly, what happens when corporations and when politicians are beholden to corporate PACs and foreign entity PACs is that that money takes away the voice of the American people and it is replaced by the ‘talking points’ of those PACs,” Newman said.

While Newman was serving, pro-Israel PACs and political activists lobbied the Illinois legislature to redraw the congressional district maps. Newman’s 3rd District was divided and merged into five other districts to dilute the pro-Arab vote.

She was beaten when in 2022 she was forced into a contest in a newly drawn congressional district with the incumbent, three-term pro-Israel Democratic Congressman Sean Casten.


France’s Dassault says upping Rafale warplane output

Updated 23 March 2025
Follow

France’s Dassault says upping Rafale warplane output

  • EU countries have been seeking to boost defense spending in the face of possible US security disengagement and Russian aggression
  • Macron said that France was going to 'increase and accelerate Rafale orders'

PARIS: France’s Dassault Aviation is looking to ramp up production of its Rafale combat planes, its CEO said on Sunday, after President Emmanuel Macron said the country would increase orders.
European countries including France have been seeking to boost defense spending and increase weapons production in the face of possible US security disengagement and Russian aggression linked to the war in Ukraine.
Macron said on Tuesday that France was going to “increase and accelerate Rafale orders.”
Dassault Aviation chief executive Eric Trappier said the company had increased output from one war plane a month in 2020 to more than two per month this year, and was working with suppliers to be able to produce combat planes even faster.
“We are planning to deliver three per month next year, and four from 2028-2029,” he told Le Journal du Dimanche newspaper.
“We have heard the president’s call and are studying the possibility of ramping up to five Rafale per month. There are no concrete orders yet, but we want to be ready,” he said.
However, he did not say when this might be possible.
Trappier said that, if the French government approved, the company would also be “ready to provide its services” to any country reviewing its orders for US-made F-35 combat planes since President Donald Trump took office.
On Friday, Germany said it was committed to buying F-35 fighter jets despite reports that it was reconsidering due to worries about an over-reliance on US defense supplies.
But Canada said last week it was reviewing a major purchase of F-35s amid serious tensions over tariffs and Trump threatening to annex the country.
That announcement came two days after Portugal said it, too, was re-examining a possible purchase of F-35 fighter jets.
Trappier said that Portugal had not yet reached out to his company.
Last year, France’s air force had 108 Rafale jets, and the navy had 41. France was due to receive 56 additional aircraft before Macron’s announcement.
The defense minister last month said the air force needed 20 to 30 more Rafales to face a crisis scenario.


Filipino Muslims flock to Manila food hub for halal meals during Ramadan

Updated 23 March 2025
Follow

Filipino Muslims flock to Manila food hub for halal meals during Ramadan

  • Philippine capital region is home to more than 173,000 Filipino Muslims
  • Food sellers on Manila’s Padre Campa Street offer halal meals, including Mindanao dishes

Manila: In the heart of Manila’s bustling University Belt, a food street known for its diverse culinary offerings has grown into a go-to spot for Filipino Muslims during Ramadan, as they search for halal food that reminds them of home.

The halal eateries along Padre Campa Street, a hub for grub located near the capital’s top colleges and universities, have in recent years become a haven for Muslim minorities, including Hanan, who is from Mindanao’s Sultan Kudarat province.

“I miss a lot of food from home, especially the ones prepared by my mom for iftar,” Hanan, who gave only her first name, told Arab News.

As she spent the holy month in Manila to prepare for a licensing exam, Hanan said finding halal food to break the fast was not as easy as it was back home.

“Fasting here is a bit difficult for us because not all the stores here are certified halal. So, we can only pick certain stores, and this is the only specific store we know is safe for us to eat.”

There are about 12 million Muslims in the predominantly Catholic Philippines, making up around 10 percent of its entire population.

While most live on the island of Mindanao and the Sulu archipelago in the country’s south, the Metro Manila capital region is also home to over 173,000 Filipino Muslims.

Along with the government’s recent efforts to promote halal cuisine from Mindanao, such food has become increasingly available in the Philippines’ largest metropolitan area.

But on Padre Campa Street, the presence of halal food stalls has a longer history that can be traced to the owners’ desire to cater to the minority Muslim community.

“We serve native delicacies because there are many Muslims in this area,” Ferdanah Talib, who is from Mindanao’s Zamboanga Sibugay province, told Arab News.

Her brother opened the Halal Avenue food stall in 2017, selling dishes like barbecue chicken and grilled fish, as well as traditional meals like binaki, steamed corn dessert and snacks originating from Mindanao and Cebu.

“It’s our way of supporting our fellow Muslims here, especially during Ramadan. Our store opens at 4:30 p.m. until midnight,” Talib said.

Mary Ann Serra, a Filipina Christian who had worked in Malaysia and spent time in Mindanao, has kept her food shop halal since she opened it over a decade ago.

“We opened this store in 2012, and from the start, it has always been halal,” Serra told Arab News.

“We noticed that there were many Muslims in the area, but there were no halal places to eat. So, we thought, what if we try opening a halal restaurant? Especially during Ramadan, it’s hard for them because there’s nothing for them to eat.”

While her shop specializes in the delicacies of Tausug, one of the largest Muslim ethnic groups in southwestern Philippines, it also sells simple mainstream dishes.

“What our customers keep coming back for are the chicken barbecue, grilled fish, and squid. We also have dishes like tiyula itum, or black soup,” Serra said.

Many Filipino Muslims, even those who are in the capital for a short stay, have grown fond of the food street.

“This is my third time spending Ramadan here in Metro Manila … It really means a lot to us to have a place like this because as Muslims, what we’re really looking for is halal food. We don’t have many places to go for food,” Arsie Muin, who is from Zamboanga City, told Arab News.

“It’s also good because they serve some native delicacies,” he said. “We are really grateful that this place exists.”


Kremlin says ‘difficult negotiations’ ahead on Ukraine

Updated 23 March 2025
Follow

Kremlin says ‘difficult negotiations’ ahead on Ukraine

  • Delegations from Russia and Ukraine are set to hold separate talks with US officials in Saudi Arabia

MOSCOW : The Kremlin on Sunday downplayed expectations for a rapid resolution to the Ukraine conflict, saying talks were just beginning and that “difficult negotiations” were ahead.
Delegations from Russia and Ukraine are set to hold separate talks with US officials in Saudi Arabia over the next 48 hours as President Donald Trump pushes for a rapid end to more than three years of fighting.
“We are only at the beginning of this path,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian state TV.
He said there were many outstanding “questions” and “nuances” over how a potential ceasefire might be implemented.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has rejected a joint US-Ukrainian call for a full and immediate 30-day pause, proposing instead to halt attacks only on energy facilities.
“There are difficult negotiations ahead,” Peskov said in the interview, published on social media.
He also said Russia’s “main” focus in its talks with the United States would be discussing a possible resumption of a 2022 Black Sea grain deal that ensured safe navigation for Ukrainian agricultural exports in the Black Sea.
“On Monday we mainly intend to discuss President Putin’s agreement to resume the so-called Black Sea initiative, and our negotiators will be ready to discuss the nuances around this problem,” Peskov said.
Moscow pulled out of the deal — brokered by Turkiye and the United Nations — in 2023, accusing the West of failing to uphold its commitments to ease sanctions on Russia’s own exports of agricultural products and fertilizers.