SINGAPORE: Singapore on Sunday deported 29 mainland Chinese bus drivers involved in the city-state’s first industrial strike in 26 years.
The drivers, working for state-linked transport operator SMRT, staged the strike on Monday and Tuesday over a salary dispute and to demand better working conditions. Their work permits had been revoked ahead of their deportation.
“The Ministry of Home Affairs confirms that all 29 former SMRT bus drivers have been repatriated to their home country,” the ministry said in a statement.
“They were cooperative and the process took place without incident,” it said, adding that Chinese embassy officials and SMRT staff assisted in the repatriation.
Four other drivers were charged in court and authorities will lodge charges against a fifth one on Monday for their involvement in the work stoppage that was ruled as illegal by the government.
The strike, the first since 1986 which caught the government by surprise, has highlighted tightly-controlled Singapore’s heavy dependency on migrant labor to drive its economic growth amid a labor shortage resulting from falling birth rates.
Strikes are illegal in Singapore for workers in “essential services” such as transport unless they give 14 days’ prior notice and meet other requirements.
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Singapore deports striking Chinese bus drivers
Singapore deports striking Chinese bus drivers
US lifts 25 percent tariff on Indian goods linked to Russia oil purchases
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump moved Friday to lift an additional 25 percent tariff he imposed on goods from India over its purchases of Russian oil — a step to implement a trade deal announced this week.
“India has committed to stop directly or indirectly importing Russian Federation oil,” according to an executive order Trump signed.
New Delhi has also said that it will purchase US energy products, “and has recently committed to a framework with the United States to expand defense cooperation over the next 10 years,” the order said.
The additional 25 percent US duty will be removed at 12:01 am Eastern Time on Saturday.
The executive order comes days after Trump announced a trade deal to reduce tariffs on India, saying that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised to stop buying Russian oil over the war in Ukraine.
The pact would also see Washington cutting so-called “reciprocal” levies on Indian products to 18 percent, down from a 25-percent level.
The rollout of this reduction is still to come.
Other terms of the agreement include the removal of tariffs on certain aircraft and parts, according to a separate joint statement released Friday by the White House.
The statement added that India intends to purchase $500 billion of US energy products, aircraft and parts, precious metals, tech products and coking coal over the next five years.
The shift marks a significant reduction in US tariffs on Indian products, down from a rate of 50 percent late last year.
The deal eases months of tensions over India’s oil purchases, which Washington says fund a conflict it is trying to end.
It restores close ties between Trump and Modi, a fellow right-wing populist that the US leader has described as “one of my greatest friends.”
The 18 percent tariff level also gives Indian exporters a slight edge in the US market over competitors in the region who secured duties of around 19 percent to 20 percent, said Wendy Cutler, senior vice president at the Asia Society Policy Institute, this week.
“India has committed to stop directly or indirectly importing Russian Federation oil,” according to an executive order Trump signed.
New Delhi has also said that it will purchase US energy products, “and has recently committed to a framework with the United States to expand defense cooperation over the next 10 years,” the order said.
The additional 25 percent US duty will be removed at 12:01 am Eastern Time on Saturday.
The executive order comes days after Trump announced a trade deal to reduce tariffs on India, saying that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised to stop buying Russian oil over the war in Ukraine.
The pact would also see Washington cutting so-called “reciprocal” levies on Indian products to 18 percent, down from a 25-percent level.
The rollout of this reduction is still to come.
Other terms of the agreement include the removal of tariffs on certain aircraft and parts, according to a separate joint statement released Friday by the White House.
The statement added that India intends to purchase $500 billion of US energy products, aircraft and parts, precious metals, tech products and coking coal over the next five years.
The shift marks a significant reduction in US tariffs on Indian products, down from a rate of 50 percent late last year.
The deal eases months of tensions over India’s oil purchases, which Washington says fund a conflict it is trying to end.
It restores close ties between Trump and Modi, a fellow right-wing populist that the US leader has described as “one of my greatest friends.”
The 18 percent tariff level also gives Indian exporters a slight edge in the US market over competitors in the region who secured duties of around 19 percent to 20 percent, said Wendy Cutler, senior vice president at the Asia Society Policy Institute, this week.
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