Lula says world does not want 'emperor' after Trump threatens tariffs
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Bangkok Post
2 hours ago
- Bangkok Post
Export hopes run thin
A letter issued by US President Donald Trump on Monday regarding trade tariffs has been a rude awakening for Thailand. In his latest announcement, Mr Trump has stated that Thai exporters will be required to pay a 36% tariff on goods sold in the US. Under the past trade framework, goods exported from Thailand to the US were subject to an average 10% tariff. The levy -- part of the "Liberation Day" tariffs -- was first introduced by the US president in April. Trading countries were given three months to negotiate with the United States. Now the stage has been set, with many nations, including Japan and South Korea, finding themselves in a new playing field. Mr Trump's letter shows that Thailand's offerings -- such as promises to import LNG for two decades and purchase Boeing commercial planes and weapons -- were not attractive enough for Washington. However, the window for negotiations remains open until Aug 1, when the new tariff becomes active. Thailand can only hope that its negotiating team will refine its tactics and return with positive news. As the country hopes for better news, it is also time to prepare for the possibility of a different future. If it is 36% or a lower tariff, Thai exports and related foreign investments will never be the same. The big question is whether our government and trade bodies are ready for such an extreme challenge. Unfortunately, the answer is "no". Our latest cabinet reshuffle, which placed two inexperienced politicians at the head of the commerce and agriculture ministries, is evidence of this. The Ministry of Commerce needs to handle trade negotiations with Washington, as well as finalise a new Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the EU and establish new trade partnerships. The ministry also faces an uphill task in inspecting supply chains and preventing the use of "Made-in-Thailand" labels for exports of cheap transhipment goods. For such demanding tasks, the recent cabinet shake-up has appointed Jatuporn Buruspat, a former permanent secretary of the environment minister, as commerce minister. With respect, Mr Jatuporn is a seasoned and respected official who has achieved a great deal at the Ministry of Environment. Yet, his expertise lies in wildlife, forest, and marine resource protection, not FTAs or bread-and-butter economic issues. Another questionable appointment is the minister of agriculture and cooperatives, whose role is to help Thai farmers compete with rival countries that pay more favourable tariffs, such as rice-exporting nations like Vietnam. The ministry will also play a role in providing remedies to some farm sectors if Thailand opens its market to US farm imports. This vital portfolio has been assigned to Atthakorn Surilathayakorn, a 41-year-old politician who is now an assistant to former agriculture minister Capt Thamanat Prompow, founder of the Klatham Party, and a new member of the coalition. His flagship policy is to continue the plan initiated by Capt Thamanat to distribute state Sor Por Kor land plots to farmers. Amidst it all, the Thai government must improve trust among the public and business communities before it is too late. Of course, Mr Trump's tariffs have brought a crisis to many exporting nations. Yet, capable governments can turn a crisis into an opportunity, while others can turn a crisis into an even worse calamity.
Bangkok Post
5 hours ago
- Bangkok Post
Trump says 'no extensions' to Aug 1 tariff deadline
WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he would not extend an August 1 deadline for higher US tariffs to take effect on dozens of economies, a day after he appeared to signal flexibility on the date. While Trump imposed a sweeping 10 percent tariff on goods from almost all trading partners in April, higher rates customized to dozens of economies were unveiled, then halted until July 9. But the president this week again delayed their reimposition, pushing it back to August 1. Trump insisted that there would be no further delay in the tariffs. "There will be no change," he posted on Truth Social. He added that levies would start being paid on August 1, in line with letters now being sent out to trading partners. "No extensions will be granted," Trump said. On Monday night, Trump had told reporters at a dinner that the August 1 deadline was "firm, but not 100 percent firm." Pressed on whether the letters were his final offer, Trump replied: "I would say final -- but if they call with a different offer, and I like it, then we'll do it." In a push for further trade deals, Trump sent letters to more than a dozen partners on Monday, including key US allies Japan and South Korea. Products from both countries would be hit with 25 percent duties, Trump wrote in near-identical letters to leaders in Tokyo and Seoul. Indonesia, Bangladesh, Thailand, South Africa and Malaysia were among other countries facing duties ranging from 25 percent to 40 percent. In his messages to foreign leaders, Trump warned of further escalation if there was retaliation against his levies. Most countries receiving the letters so far saw US tariffs at similar or unchanged rates from those threatened in April, although some like Laos and Cambodia saw notably lower levels. The Trump administration is under pressure to show results after promising a flurry of deals following the US president's tariff threats. So far Washington has only struck two pacts, with Britain and Vietnam, besides an agreement to dial back staggeringly high tit-for-tat levies with China. In threatening tariff hikes on various economies, Trump cited in his letters a lack of reciprocity in trading ties. He also warned that goods transshipped to avoid higher duties would be subjected to steeper levels. But he added that if countries were willing to adjust their trade policies, Washington "will, perhaps, consider an adjustment to this letter."
Bangkok Post
10 hours ago
- Bangkok Post
China pressures rebels in Myanmar rare-earth belt
The global supply of heavy rare earths hinges in part on the outcome of a months-long battle between a rebel army and the Chinese-backed military junta in the hills of northern Myanmar. The Kachin Independence Army since December has been battling the junta over the town of Bhamo, less than 100 kilometres from the Chinese border, as part of the civil war that erupted after the military's 2021 coup. Nearly half the world's supply of heavy rare earths is extracted from mines in Kachin state, including those north of Bhamo, a strategically vital garrison town. They are then shipped to China for processing into magnets that power electronic vehicles and wind turbines. China, which has a near-monopoly over the processing of heavy rare earths, has threatened to halt buying the minerals mined in KIA-controlled territory unless the militia stops trying to seize full control of Bhamo, according to three people familiar with the matter. The ultimatum, issued by Chinese officials to the KIA in a meeting earlier this year, underscores how Beijing is wielding its control of the minerals to further its geopolitical aims. One of the people, a KIA official, said the Chinese demand was made in May, without detailing where the discussions took place. Another person, a KIA commander, said Beijing was represented by foreign ministry officials at the talks. Reuters could not determine whether China had carried out its threat. Fighting in the region has restricted mining operations and rare-earth exports from Myanmar have plunged this year. China spooked global supply chains this spring when it restricted exports of the minerals in retaliation against US President Donald Trump's tariffs. It is now using its dominance to shore up Myanmar's beleaguered junta, which China sees as a guarantor of its economic interests in its backyard. China's foreign ministry said in response to Reuters' questions that it was not aware of the specifics of deliberations with the KIA. 'An early ceasefire and peace talks between the Myanmar military and the Kachin Independence Army are in the common interests of China and Myanmar as well as their people,' a ministry spokesperson said. A senior KIA general did not respond to a request for comment. The KIA official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, said Beijing also offered a carrot: greater cross-border trade with KIA-controlled territories if the militia abandoned efforts to seize Bhamo, a logistics hub for the junta and home to some 166,000 people. 'And if we did not accept, they would block exports from Kachin State, including rare-earth minerals,' said the official, who did not elaborate on the consequences of an economic blockade. Beijing is not seeking to resolve the wider civil war but it wants fighting to subside in order to advance its economic interests, said David Mathieson, an independent Myanmar-focused analyst. 'China's pressure is a more general approach to calming down the conflict.' (Story continues below) Defying Beijing The battle for Bhamo began soon after the KIA wrested control of the main rare-earths belt in Kachin last October. After its takeover, the KIA raised taxes on miners and throttled production of dysprosium and terbium, sending prices of the latter skyrocketing. Supply has been squeezed, with Beijing importing 12,944 tonnes of rare-earth oxides and metals from Myanmar in the first five months of 2025, according to Chinese customs data. That is down by half from the same period last year, though exports rose more than 20% between April and May. The KIA, which analysts estimate has over 15,000 personnel, was founded in 1961 to fight for the autonomy of Myanmar's Kachin minority. Battle-hardened through decades of combat and funded by a combination of local taxation and natural resources, it is among the strongest of Myanmar's rebel groups. The militia is confident of its ability to seize Bhamo and believes Beijing won't ultimately carry out its threat to stop exports due to its thirst for the minerals, two of the people said. Myanmar has been in crisis since the military overthrew a democratically elected government in 2021, violently quashing protests and sparking a nationwide armed rebellion. Swathes of territory were subsequently seized by anti-junta forces, but the rebels have come under Chinese pressure to make concessions to the military. Beijing has also sent jets and drones to the junta, which is increasingly reliant on airpower, according to the US-based Stimson Centre think-tank. China, which has major investments in Myanmar, last year brokered a ceasefire for the junta to return to Lashio, a northeastern town housing a regional military command. More than 200km to the north, about 5,000 KIA and allied personnel have been involved in the offensive for Bhamo, according to a KIA commander with direct knowledge of the fighting. Losing Bhamo would cut off the military's land and river access to parts of Kachin and neighbouring region, isolating its troops housed at military bases there and weakening its control over northern trade routes, according to Maj Naung Yoe, who defected from the junta after the coup. The junta spokesperson's office told Reuters that China may have held talks with the KIA, but it did not respond to a question about whether it had asked Beijing to threaten a blockade. 'China may have been exerted pressure and offered incentives to the KIA,' it said in a statement. Beijing first advised the rebels to pull back from Bhamo during negotiations in early December, according to the KIA official. Instead of withdrawing from Bhamo after those talks, the KIA doubled down, according to the commander and the official. The International Institute for Strategic Studies said in a May briefing that the battle for Bhamo had cost the KIA significant resources and hundreds of casualties. Beijing became more confrontational during further discussions that took place in spring, when its representatives threatened to stop rare-earth purchases, the official said. A disruption in the movement of heavy rare earths from Kachin could lead to a deficit in the global market by the end of the year, said Neha Mukherjee of the UK-based consultancy Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. Supplies of the critical minerals outside China were already constrained, she said: 'In the short term, during the brief disruption period, prices outside of China could shoot up higher.' Battle for Bhamo The KIA has pushed junta troops into a handful of isolated pockets, according to the commander. But the junta retains air superiority and has devastated large parts of Bhamo with relentless airstrikes, according to the KIA official, the commander and a former resident of the town. The junta spokesperson's office said it was permitted to strike such sites because the KIA had been using them for military purposes, though it did not provide evidence. Nathan Ruser, an analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, who has reviewed satellite imagery of Bhamo, said much of the damage across the town appeared to be from airstrikes. Airstrikes have killed civilians including children and destroyed schools and places of worship, according to Khon Ja, a Kachin activist from Bhamo who said her home had been bombed. 'I don't know for how long that the revolutionary groups will be able to resist Chinese pressure,' she said, adding that existing border restrictions had led to shortages of petrol and medicine in Kachin. Despite the obstacles, KIA leaders believe capturing Bhamo would shift momentum in their favour and strengthen public support. If the ethnic army were to take control of the entire state, then Beijing would have no option but to negotiate and sideline the junta, the commander and the official said.
