Elon Musk declares war on Trump's GOP
As reward for delivering the White House, Musk was handed the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), tasked with cutting government waste. The irony wasn't lost on anyone when Trump's massive spending bill directly contradicted Musk's cost-cutting mandate.The personal stakes are enormous. The legislation threatens Musk's empire directly—Tesla stands to lose over $1.2 billion as green energy tax credits vanish. His solar and battery ventures face significant blows if clean energy incentives disappear.Musk's response has been characteristically explosive. He's threatened to form a new "America Party," promising to primary every Republican who supports the bill. "Every member of Congress who campaigned on reducing government spending and then immediately voted for the biggest debt increase in history should hang their head in shame!" he declared.Trump has responded with equal venom, targeting Musk's reliance on government subsidies: "Without subsidies, Elon would probably have to close up shop and head back home to South Africa." In a particularly savage twist, Trump has suggested using DOGE to investigate Musk's own companies.As the Senate prepares to vote, America watches two titans of influence battle for the nation's future—leaving many wondering who truly runs the country, and who ultimately pays the price.- EndsMust Watch
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Hindustan Times
21 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Rajnath appreciates US for backing India's fight against terror
NEW DELHI: Defence minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday conveyed India's appreciation to the US for its unwavering support to New Delhi in its fight against terrorism in the backdrop of Operation Sindoor, in a telephonic conversation with his American counterpart Pete Hegseth. Rajnath appreciates US for backing India's fight against terror This was their first conversation after India launched Operation Sindoor against Pakistan, New Delhi's direct military response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror strike. Singh also told Hegseth that India reserves the right to respond to cross-border terrorism. 'Glad to speak with the US @SecDef Mr. @PeteHegseth today. Excellent discussion to review the ongoing and new initiatives to further deepen India-US defence partnership and strengthen cooperation in capacity building. Conveyed my deep appreciation for the unwavering support extended by the US to India in its fight against terrorism. Looking forward to meeting him at an early date,' Singh wrote on X after the conversation. Speaking on Operation Sindoor, Singh said India reserves the right to respond to and defend against terrorism and pre-empt as well as deter any further cross-border attacks, people aware of the matter said on condition of anonymity. He also told Hegseth that India's actions during the four-day clash were measured, non-escalatory, proportionate and focused on disabling terrorist infrastructure, the people added. The two leaders had last spoken on May 1 when Singh told Hegseth that the Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people were killed had exposed Pakistan as a rogue state that is destabilising the region and the world can no longer turn a blind eye to terrorism. India launched Operation Sindoor in the early hours of May 7 and struck terror and military installations in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) following the Pahalgam terror strike. It triggered a four-day military confrontation with Pakistan involving fighter jets, missiles, drones, long-range weapons and heavy artillery before the two sides reached an understanding on stopping all military action on May 10. The two leaders also discussed a wide canvas of issues ranging from long-term cooperation in the defence sector, including training and military exchanges, to expanding the industry collaboration, the defence ministry said on Tuesday. 'They agreed to further build upon the momentum of this critical and mutually beneficial partnership across all its pillars such as interoperability, integration of defence industrial supply chains, logistics sharing, increased joint military exercises and cooperation with other like-minded partners,' it said. Hegseth invited Singh to the US for talks to take the bilateral defence partnership forward. Between the launch of the operation in the early hours of May 7 and the ceasefire on May 10 evening, Indian forces bombed nine terror camps in Pakistan and PoK and killed at least 100 terrorists. The Indian Air Force (IAF) struck two terror sites at Markaz Subhanallah in Bahawalpur and Markaz Taiba near Muridke, both in Pakistan's Punjab province, while the army hit targets at seven places, including Mehmoona Joya in Sialkot, Sawai Nala and Syed Na Bilal in Muzaffarabad, Gulpur and Abbas in Kotli, Barnala in Bhimber, and Sarjal. On May 9-10, the IAF struck military targets in Rafiqui, Murid, Chaklala, Rahim Yar Khan, Sukkur, Chunian, Pasrur, Sialkot, Skardu, Sargodha, Jacobabad, Bholari and Malir Cantt in Karachi. Later it emerged that India's targeting of locations within Pakistan during the May 7-10 clash was more extensive than was previously known, with a Pakistani document acknowledging that Indian drones had struck locations ranging from Peshawar in the northwest to Hyderabad in the south. The graphics in the May 18 Pakistani document detailing India's drone strikes on May 8, 9 and 10 listed seven locations --- Peshawar in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, Attock, Bahawalnagar, Gujrat and Jhang in Punjab province, and Chhor and Hyderabad in Sindh province --- that were not acknowledged as targets by Indian officials at any briefings held during or after the hostilities. Pakistan's Operation Bunyan-um-Marsoos, which was mounted in response to Operation Sindoor, 'folded in eight hours' on May 10 belying Islamabad's ambitious target of bringing India to its knees in 48 hours, chief of defence staff General Anil Chauhan said on June 3.
The Hindu
21 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Talks on India-U.S. trade pact enter 6th day; India pushes for duty cuts for labour-intensive sectors
Hectic negotiations between India and the U.S. enter the sixth day on Tuesday (July 1, 2025) in Washington, with the talks reaching a crucial stage and New Delhi demanding greater market access for its labour-intensive goods, an official said. The Indian team, headed by Special Secretary in the Department of Commerce Rajesh Agrawal, is in Washington for negotiations on an interim trade agreement with the U.S. The stay of the Indian officials has been extended. Initially, the delegation was scheduled to stay for two days, with the talks having commenced on June 26. These talks are also important as the suspension date of Mr. Trump's reciprocal tariffs is approaching. It will end on July 9. The two sides are looking at finalising the talks before that, the official said. India has hardened its position on giving duty concessions to American farm products. It is seeking duty concessions for its labour-intensive goods such as textiles, engineering, leather, gems and jewellery. "If the proposed trade talks fail, the 26% tariffs will come into force again," the official added. On April 2, the U.S. imposed an additional 26% reciprocal tariff on Indian goods but suspended it for 90 days. However, the 10% baseline tariff imposed by America remains in place. India is seeking full exemption from the additional 26% tariff. The U.S. is demanding duty concessions in both the agriculture and dairy sectors. But these segments are difficult and challenging areas for India to give duty concessions to the U.S. as Indian farmers are into sustenance farming and have small land holdings. Therefore, these sectors are politically very sensitive. India has not opened up the dairy sector for any of its trading partners in free trade pacts the country has signed so far. The U.S. wants duty concessions on certain industrial goods, automobiles, especially electric vehicles, wines, petrochemical products, dairy, and agricultural items like apples, tree nuts, and genetically modified crops. India is seeking duty concessions for labour-intensive sectors like textiles, gems and jewellery, leather goods, garments, plastics, chemicals, shrimp, oil seeds, grapes, and bananas in the proposed trade pact. The two countries are also looking to conclude talks for the first tranche of the proposed bilateral trade agreement (BTA) by fall (September-October) this year. The pact is aimed at more than doubling bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030 from the current $191 billion. Before the first tranche, they are trying for an interim trade pact. The U.S. team was here from June 5 to June 11 for the talks. The negotiations will continue both virtually and physically in the days to come. India's merchandise exports to the U.S. rose by 21.78% to $17.25 billion in April-May this fiscal, while imports rose by 25.8% to $8.87 billion. Commenting on India's demand, think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said that as talks for the pact reaching a critical stage, India is pushing hard for full tariff elimination on high-employment exports such as garments, footwear, carpets, and leather goods. Without this relief, the deal will be politically unsellable at home, GTRI Founder Ajay Srivastava said, adding Washington appears unwilling to scrap high MFN (most favoured nation) tariffs or country-specific duties. Under current proposals, Indian goods could face a 10% surcharge on top of MFN rates, eroding competitiveness and effectively reversing market access gains, he said. Merchandise exports to the U.S. rose to $86.5 billion in FY25, up 11.6% from $77.5 billion in FY24. Industrial goods account for the bulk of this trade, with labour-intensive exports forming a significant share. "However, without fast-track trade authority, Washington is unable to cut its MFN [Most Favoured Nation] tariffs across the board. Worse still, U.S. appears to be in no mood to exempt country specific tariffs and just bring it down to 10%," Mr. Srivastava said. This risk, he said, is particularly acute for high labour-intensity sectors, which contributed over $14.3 billion to India's exports to the U.S. in FY25. These include garments ($5.33 billion), textiles and carpets ($2.38 billion), made-ups and worn clothing ($2.95 billion), leather ($795 million), footwear ($461 million), ceramics and stoneware ($1.55 billion), and wood and paper articles ($823 million). These sectors are dominated by small and medium enterprises and are major employment generators in Indian states such as Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, and West Bengal. Yet, they face some of the steepest U.S. tariffs — often ranging between 8 and 20%, especially for garments and footwear. He added that India's demand is clear that the U.S. must remove all tariffs — both MFN and country-specific — on high and medium labour-intensive goods. He added that these sectors employ millions, particularly in rural and semi-urban regions, and are crucial to India's goals of job creation, MSME growth, and women's economic participation. "Without meaningful tariff relief for these products, Indian negotiators warn, the FTA will be viewed as lopsided and politically untenable," Mr. Srivastava said.
Mint
27 minutes ago
- Mint
Rupee expected to track Asia forex lower on renewed Trump tariff worries
MUMBAI -The Indian rupee is expected to open lower on Wednesday, tracking declines in most other Asian currencies and equities amid renewed worries over U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs. The 1-month non-deliverable forward indicated a open in the 85.62-85.64 range, versus 85.52 on Tuesday. The rupee has been largely range bound in recent sessions, holding between the key support zone at 85.90–86.00 and resistance near 85.30. "Both of these levels are difficult to break," a currency trader at a bank said. "You'll likely have to wait until July 9 for a decisive move, and that's when we could see a breakout either way." He added for now the risks are skewed toward a decline past 86 rather than a rally above 85.30. Trump ruled out extending the July 9 deadline for trade deals on Tuesday and said he remained doubtful about reaching a deal with Japan. Japanese shares dropped 1% and the yen weakened versus the dollar. The renewed trade worries put pressure on risk-sensitive currencies, while dampening appetite for riskier assets. Asian equities and currencies declined amid wariness over potential U.S. action after the deadline. The Korean won, the Malaysian ringgit and the Thai baht were all down by 0.3% and the offshore Chinese weakened past 7.1650 to the U.S. dollar. Meanwhile, in a development seen as mildly negative for the dollar, U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said he did not rule out the possibility of cutting interest rates at the Fed's July 29–30 meeting, while reiterating that the central bank will wait for more economic data before deciding on rate cuts. Traders have slightly increased the odds of a cut at that gathering. Investors assess Trump's massive tax-and-spending bill, which was passed by the U.S. Senate and will return to the House for final approval. ** One-month non-deliverable rupee forward at 85.75; onshore one-month forward premium at 10.50 paise ** Brent crude futures up 0.1% at $67.2 per barrel ** Ten-year U.S. note yield at 4.25% ** As per NSDL data, foreign investors bought a net $97 million worth of Indian shares on June 30 ** NSDL data shows foreign investors bought a net $181.2 million worth of Indian bonds on June 30 This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
