Digital services taxes adopted by India, Italy and Turkey discriminate against U.S. companies and are inconsistent with international tax principles, the U.S. Trade Representative’s office said on Wednesday, paving the way for potential retaliatory tariffs. USTR, releasing the findings of its “Section 301” investigations into the digital taxes, said it …
Read More »The Great Power Race in GCC Cyberspace
By Nima Khorrami Secure and uninterrupted cyber cooperation is central to successfully fighting conventional wars, defending against hybrid threats, ensuring the security of stationed personnel, monitoring financial transactions and terrorist movements, and enforcing sanctions. As China and the United States have found new venues for conflict over the last …
Read More »France would welcome a Biden win, for trade’s sake
France expects smoother trade relations with the United States should Democratic contender Joe Biden win the presidential vote, with greater alignment on sustainable development and more multilateral cooperation, trade minister Franck Riester said. President Donald Trump has imposed tariffs on French wines in a row over Airbus subsidies, threatened levies …
Read More »Trump backs down on national security and approves TikTok partnership
US President Donald Trump has expressed his approval of a deal that would allow Chinese-owned video-sharing app TikTok to continue operating in the US. Mr Trump told reporters he had given his “blessing” to a partnership between TikTok and US firms Oracle and Walmart. The president had ordered the app …
Read More »US to declare war on Chinese social media platforms
The U.S. Commerce Department plans to issue an order Friday that will bar people in the United States from downloading Chinese-owned messaging app WeChat and video-sharing app TikTok starting on September 20, three officials told Reuters. The officials said the ban on new U.S. downloads of TikTok could be still …
Read More »China charges Trump with stocking flames of new Cold War
China on Thursday accused the United States of stoking a new Cold War because certain politicians were searching for a scapegoat to bolster support ahead of the U.S. presidential election in November. U.S. President Donald Trump identifies China as the West’s main rival, and has accused President Xi Jinping of …
Read More »Pompeo calls China a Frankenstein monster
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo took fresh aim at China on Thursday and said Washington and its allies must use “more creative and assertive ways” to press the Chinese Communist Party to change its ways, calling it the “mission of our time.” Speaking at the Nixon Library in President …
Read More »White House officials insist Trump doesn’t want Chinese to re-elect him
White House trade adviser Peter Navarro on Sunday said he was in the room with President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping when they met, but never heard the U.S. president ask for China’s help in winning re-election. Navarro told CNN’s “State of the Union” that the explosive allegation …
Read More »Facebook discriminating against Russia, China
Facebook Inc (FB.O) will start labeling Russian, Chinese and other state-controlled media organizations, and later this summer will block any ads from such outlets that target U.S. users, it said on Thursday. The world’s biggest social network will apply the label to Russia’s Sputnik, Iran’s Press TV and China’s Xinhua …
Read More »US wants to sanctions companies trading with Chinese military
A group of Republican lawmakers plans to unveil legislation this week to keep Americans from investing in foreign defense companies with ties to China’s military, according to a document seen by Reuters, the latest in a string of measures aimed at curbing U.S. funding for China-based firms. Representatives Mike Gallagher, …
Read More »US-China trade war: Could Capitalist China bears the end of World Capitalism?
By Sarah Safa A new phase of reconciliation could finally begin to define the US relations with China after nearly two years of commercial and economic tensions. Those tensions have been shaking the balance and stability of the international system, what brought on the surface divergences for the first time …
Read More »China Threatens American Defense with Rare Earth Embargo
Throughout history certain metals have been critical for defense. During the Greek era, it was bronze. During the Roman Empire, it was iron. In the late 19th Century and early 20th Century, it was copper. In fact, copper was so critical during the American Civil War that the Confederates sent …
Read More »US economy growing too fast, warns IMF
The US economy is expanding faster than any other advanced nation, and in weeks will hit a historic milestone, but the International Monetary Fund is warning of building signs of trouble. In its annual review of the US economy, the IMF warned that “material risks” overshadow the outlook, including trade …
Read More »China’s stocks are plunging again — falling 3% to near 4-year lows as trade jitters return
Chinese stocks plunged once again Thursday as fears about trade tensions with the US brought turmoil back to the country’s markets after a few brief days of respite. At the close of play in China, the Shanghai Composite — the country’s benchmark index — fell by more than 2.9%, dropping …
Read More »Trump’s election meddling charge against China marks U.S. pressure campaign
President Donald Trump’s accusation of Chinese meddling in upcoming U.S. elections marks a new phase in an escalating pressure campaign against Beijing that Washington is pursuing on multiple fronts, senior U.S. officials said on Thursday. National security adviser John Bolton, long considered a China hawk, has played a key role …
Read More »Trump hits China with new $200b import tariffs
US President Donald Trump on Monday defied warnings and escalated the trade confrontation with China, hitting the country with tariffs starting next week on another $200 billion (Dh734.5 billion) in imports and threatening to target even more if Beijing retaliates. Trump said China had refused to change the unfair practices …
Read More »Putin takes another swipe at protectionism, ‘sanctions, bans and political bias’
President Vladimir Putin appeared to take another thinly veiled swipe at Trump’s economic policies on Wednesday, a day after Russia and China vowed to stand together to fight protectionism. “The world and global economy are coming up against new forms of protectionism today with different kinds of barriers which are …
Read More »China seeks WTO backing for $7 billion sanctions on U.S. over dumping duties
China told the World Trade Organization (WTO) on Tuesday it wanted to impose $7 billion a year in sanctions on the United States in retaliation for Washington’s non-compliance with a ruling in a dispute over U.S. dumping duties. The request for authorization from the WTO to introduce the sanctions is …
Read More »Iran sanctions, US tariffs to impact oil prices
Oil is expected to remain volatile this quarter, and the next, as different factors pull prices in opposite directions, analysts say. On the supply side, sanctions on Iranian crude exports, and deeper production losses in Venezuela, are expected to push prices upwards but increased output from Organisation of the Petroleum …
Read More »Duterte blames ‘friend’ Trump for Philippine economic woes
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Saturday blamed US President Donald Trump after inflation hit a nine-year high in the Philippines, hurting the image of the populist leader. It was an unexpected claim from the fiery Duterte, a one-time fierce critic of the United States but who has since embraced Trump …
Read More »Apple says proposed China tariffs will boost product prices
Apple Inc, the world’s most valuable company, said proposed US tariffs on $200 billion (Dh734.6 billion) worth of products imported from China will raise prices for some of its popular consumer goods such as the Apple Watch and AirPods headphones. The Mac mini desktop computer, Apple Pencil stylus accessory for …
Read More »Global stocks bruised on Trump’s fresh trade war threats
US stock index futures fell on Friday, ahead of the long holiday weekend, with investors wary after President Donald Trump’s latest salvo in Washington’s trade war with China. Wall Street snapped a four-day winning streak on Thursday after Bloomberg reported Trump was ready to impose tariffs on $200 billion (Dh735 …
Read More »Trump rejects EU plan to scrap auto tariffs
President Donald Trump on Thursday reportedly rejected as “not good enough” a European Union proposal scrapping tariffs on automobiles, a move which threatens to amplify a simmering trans-Atlantic trade dispute. Just hours earlier, the EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstroem had said the bloc was “willing to bring down… our car …
Read More »The US-Mexico trade deal may be bad news for China, experts say
Now that U.S. President Donald Trump has bagged a political victory in the form of a trade deal with Mexico, the country’s ongoing dispute with China looks set to drag on, experts said. Mexico is “an important trading partner” of the U.S. and the deal offers Trump “some wins from a political perspective that the administration …
Read More »NAFTA talks held up by autos, Mexican splits on energy
The prospect of a quick deal between Mexico and the United States retreated on Friday as disagreements over energy flared up and conflict over autos persisted in the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Since talks resumed last month, US and Mexican negotiators have focused on reaching …
Read More »Beijing retaliates as new US tariffs kick in on $16 billion of Chinese goods
A new round of U.S. tariffs on $16 billion worth of Chinese imports kicked in on Thursday, prompting Beijing to retaliate with its own levies on American goods worth the same amount. The latest trade escalation comes as officials from the world’s two largest economies meet for tariff negotiations in …
Read More »Chinese oil importers shun US crude despite tariff reversal
Chinese oil importers are shying away from buying US crude as they fear Beijing’s decision to exclude the commodity from its tariff list in a trade dispute between the world’s biggest economies may only be temporary. Not a single tanker has loaded crude oil from the United States bound for …
Read More »China, US to resume trade talks in late August
China will send a senior negotiator to the United States in late August to resume trade talks, its commerce ministry said on Thursday, the first public meeting on the dispute in weeks as the trade conflict intensifies. Beijing and Washington have slapped tariffs on tens of billions of dollars worth …
Read More »Qatar promises $15b investment in Turkey: presidency
Qatar pledged $15 billion (Dh55.09 billion) of investment in Turkey that will be channeled into Turkish financial markets and banks, a government source told Reuters yesterday. The investment package was announced after Qatar’s Emir Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani met President Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara, as Turkey grapples with a …
Read More »Russian foreign minister says dollar’s days numbered as global currency
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says Russia has been exploring for some time using national currencies to settle bilateral trade deals with Turkey and other countries. Lavrov, who was speaking at a news conference with his Turkish counterpart in Ankara, said on Tuesday that the US dollar’s role as a global trade …
Read More »Erdogan to boycott iPhones
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed to boycott American electronics, including Apple Inc.’s iPhone, as he retaliates against Donald Trump’s attempts to isolate his economy. After the US imposed sanctions on two Turkish ministers and amid growing domestic pressure from businesses and banks to contain a currency crisis, Erdogan said …
Read More »China tests hypersonic aircraft that can carry nukes, evade missile defense systems, officials say
As trade tensions between the U.S. and China continue to escalate, Chinese officials announced Friday the country tested its first hypersonic flight vehicle capable of carrying nuclear weapons — and allegedly able to penetrate any missile defense system. The China Academy of Aerospace Aerodynamics, run by state-owned space contractor China …
Read More »Rusal profits surge despite US sanctions
Russian aluminium giant Rusal’s quarterly profit surged thanks to higher market prices for the metal, despite sanctions imposed by Washington. Recurring net profit of Hong Kong-listed Rusal, the world’s largest aluminium producer outside China, was up 75 per cent from a year ago in the second quarter, but 17 per …
Read More »China tariffs on LNG, oil aim at US energy dominance agenda
China’s proposed tariffs on US liquefied natural gas and crude oil exports opens a new front in the trade war between the two countries, at a time when the White House is trumpeting growing US energy export prowess. China included LNG for the first time in its list of proposed …
Read More »China tempts Britain with free trade, says door to US talks open
China offered Britain talks on a post-Brexit free trade deal on Monday, reaching out to London as Beijing remains mired in an increasingly bitter trade war with Washington, even as a senior Chinese diplomat reiterated its door remained open for dialogue. China has been looking for allies in its fight …
Read More »Trade tensions, output rise to impact oil prices
Oil prices are likely to trend lower this week due to the rise in trade tensions as well as the ramping of oil production by major oil producers like Saudi Arabia and Russia, experts said. Saudi Arabia, along with UAE, Kuwait and Russia, are increasing production close to one million …
Read More »Brics want world to play by WTO rules as Trump seeks more duties
Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa want a rules-based multilateral trade system as embodied by the World Trade Organisation to be central to global commerce as the Brics block’s biggest member faces billions of dollars of additional tariffs from the US. “We recognise that the multilateral trading system is …
Read More »Trump announces trade concessions from EU officials on soybeans, energy, tariffs
President Trump announced Wednesday that he has secured major trade concessions from European Union officials as part of an effort to head off a trade war between the U.S. and the E.U. After talks at the White House with E.U. officials, Trump announced in a joint Rose Garden appearance that …
Read More »G20 calls for greater dialogue on trade tensions -draft
Finance ministers and central bankers from the world’s largest economies meeting in Argentina said heightened trade and geopolitical tensions risk derailing global growth and called for greater dialogue, according to a draft communique. The weekend talks in Buenos Aires come amid an escalation in rhetoric in the trade conflict between …
Read More »China is waging a ‘quiet kind of cold war’ against US, top CIA expert says
China is waging a “quiet kind of cold war” against the United States, using all its resources to try to replace America as the leading power in the world, a top CIA expert on Asia said Friday. Beijing doesn’t want to go to war, he said, but the current communist government, under …
Read More »Saudis reap benefit from US-China trade war
Saudi Aramco is winning thanks to US President Donald Trump’s trade war with China. Sales of liquefied petroleum gas by the state-run producer to China — one of its biggest Asian customers — this year have already reached 90 per cent of all shipments in 2017, according to data from …
Read More »EU readies new trade retaliation list before Trump visit
The European Union’s trade commissioner said on Thursday she hopes an EU mission to Washington will ease a transatlantic trade dispute but the bloc is preparing a list of US imports to hit if the United States imposes tariffs on EU cars. Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom will travel to Washington …
Read More »China’s second quarter GDP growth softens as trade row stirs concerns on outlook
China’s economy expanded at a slower pace in the second quarter as Beijing’s efforts to contain debt hurt activity, while June factory output growth weakened to a two-year low in a worrying sign for investment and exporters as a trade war with the United States intensified. The world’s second-largest economy …
Read More »Tesla, BMW bypass Trump’s trade war and score a win for China
Less than a week into President Donald Trump’s trade war with China, global automakers have shown there are ways to bypass the battle — and scoring a win for Beijing in the process. Tesla Inc. and BMW AG are among the biggest potential losers from Beijing’s retaliatory tariffs on car …
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