The Panel with Allan Blackman and Cindy Mitchener Part 1
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1News
12 hours ago
- 1News
Trump reveals 25% tariff on India, unspecified penalties for buying Russian oil
The United States will impose a 25% tariff on goods from India, plus an additional import tax because of India's purchasing of Russian oil, President Donald Trump said today. India 'is our friend,' Trump said on his Truth Social platform, but its tariffs on US products 'are far too high'. The Republican president added India buys military equipment and oil from Russia, enabling Moscow's war in Ukraine. As a result, he intends to charge an additional 'penalty' starting on Friday (local time) as part of the launch of his administration's revised tariffs on multiple countries. Trump told reporters today the two countries were still in the middle of negotiations on trade despite the tariffs slated to begin in a few days. 'We're talking to India now," the president said. "We'll see what happens.' ADVERTISEMENT The Indian government said today it's studying the implications of Trump's tariffs announcement. India and the US have been engaged in negotiations on concluding a 'fair, balanced and mutually beneficial' bilateral trade agreement over the last few months, and New Delhi remains committed to that objective, India's Trade Ministry said in a statement. Trump today signed separate orders to tax imports of copper at 50% and justify his 50% tariffs on Brazil due to their criminal prosecution of former President Jair Bolsonaro and treatment of US social media companies. Trump also signed an order saying that government now had the systems in place to close the tariff loophole on 'de minimis' shipments, which had enabled goods priced under $800 (NZ$1355) to enter America duty-free, largely from China. Trump also said on Truth Social that he was meeting today with a trade delegation from South Korea, which currently faces 25% tariffs starting on Friday (local time). He also said the US has reached a deal with Pakistan that includes the development of its oil reserves. Meanwhile, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was briefing him on trade talks with China. Trump's view on tariffs Trump's announcement comes after a slew of negotiated trade frameworks with the European Union, Japan, the Philippines and Indonesia — all of which he said would open markets for American goods while enabling the US to raise tax rates on imports. The president views tariff revenues as a way to help offset the budget deficit increases tied to his recent income tax cuts and generate more domestic factory jobs. While Trump has effectively wielded tariffs as a cudgel to reset the terms of trade, the economic impact is uncertain as most economists expect a slowdown in US growth and greater inflationary pressures as some of the costs of the taxes are passed along to domestic businesses and consumers. ADVERTISEMENT There's also the possibility of more tariffs coming on trade partners with Russia as well as on pharmaceutical drugs and computer chips. Kevin Hassett, director of the White House National Economic Council, said Trump and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer would announce the Russia-related tariff rates on India at a later date. Tariffs face European pushback The morning's headlines in 90 seconds, including tsunami threat remains for NZ and quake sparks Russian volcanic eruption, plus the pop star and the politician spotted having dinner. (Source: 1News) Trump's approach of putting a 15% tariff on America's long-standing allies in the EU is also generating pushback, possibly causing European partners as well as Canada to seek alternatives to US leadership on the world stage. French President Emmanuel Macron said today in the aftermath of the trade framework that Europe 'does not see itself sufficiently' as a global power, saying in a cabinet meeting that negotiations with the US will continue as the agreement gets formalised. ADVERTISEMENT 'To be free, you have to be feared,' Macron said. 'We have not been feared enough. There is a greater urgency than ever to accelerate the European agenda for sovereignty and competitiveness.' Seeking a deeper partnership with India Washington has long sought to develop a deeper partnership with New Delhi, which is seen as a bulwark against China. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has established a good working relationship with Trump, and the two leaders are likely to further boost cooperation between their countries. When Trump in February met with Modi, the US president said that India would start buying American oil and natural gas. The new tariffs on India could complicate its goal of doubling bilateral trade with the US to $500 billion (NZ$847.3 billion) by 2030. The two countries have had five rounds of negotiations for a bilateral trade agreement. While US has been seeking greater market access and zero tariff on almost all its exports, India has expressed reservations on throwing open sectors such as agriculture and dairy, which employ a bulk of the country's population for livelihood, Indian officials said. The Census Bureau reported that the US ran a $45.8 billion (NZ$77.6 billion) trade imbalance in goods with India last year, meaning it imported more than it exported. At a population exceeding 1.4 billion people, India is the world's largest country and a possible geopolitical counterbalance to China. India and Russia have close relations, and New Delhi has not supported Western sanctions on Moscow over its war in Ukraine. The new tariffs could put India at a disadvantage in the US market relative to Vietnam, Bangladesh and, possibly, China, said Ajay Sahai, director general of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations. 'We are back to square one as Trump hasn't spelled out what the penalties would be in addition to the tariff,' Sahai said. 'The demand for Indian goods is bound to be hit.'
RNZ News
a day ago
- RNZ News
'Spying at unprecedented levels': $13.6b annual cost for Australia
By foreign affairs correspondent Stephen Dziedzic , ABC ASIO chief Mike Burgess has used a speech to warn of the costs of foreign espionage to Australia. Photo: ABC News/ Shaun Kingma Australia's domestic spy chief has used a major speech in Adelaide to warn foreign espionage is costing the nation at least A$12.5 billion (NZ$13.6b) a year, while revealing ASIO has disrupted 24 "major espionage and foreign interference" operations in the last three years alone. ASIO director-general Mike Burgess has also confirmed that Australia expelled "a number" of undeclared Russian intelligence officers in 2022, whilst berating some public officials for "head-spinning" complacency about the threats posed by overseas intelligence agencies. Burgess has struck an increasingly urgent tone about the threats posed by foreign interference in recent years, but Thursday night's speech - delivered at the annual Hawke Lecture at the University of South Australia - is his most detailed account laying out the scale of the threat. The spy chief again listed China, Russia and Iran as three of the main nations behind espionage in Australia but said Australians would be "shocked" by the number of other countries that were also trying similar tactics. He said the 24 major operations disrupted over the past three years were "more than the previous eight years combined" and that strategic competition was driving a "relentless hunger for strategic advantage and an insatiable appetite for inside information". "Nation states are spying at unprecedented levels, with unprecedented sophistication," he said. "ASIO is seeing more Australians targeted - more aggressively - than ever before." He gave multiple examples, such as spies who "convinced a state bureaucrat to log into a database to obtain the names and addresses of individuals considered dissidents by a foreign regime" and a foreign intelligence service that "directed multiple agents and their family members to apply for Australian government jobs - including with the national security community - to get access to classified information". He also said foreign companies connected to intelligence services had "sought to buy access to sensitive personal data sets; sought to buy land near sensitive military sites; and sought to collaborate with researchers developing sensitive technologies". The spy chief also told a story about an overseas delegation visiting a "sensitive Australian horticultural facility" who snapped branches off a "rare and valuable variety of fruit tree" in order to steal them. "Almost certainly, the stolen plant material allowed scientists in the other country to reverse engineer and replicate two decades of Australian research and development," he said. Burgess also said that foreign spy agencies were taking an "unhealthy interest" in accessing military technology secrets shared through the AUKUS pact. "Foreign intelligence services are proactive, creative and opportunistic in their targeting of current and former defence employees: relentless cyber espionage, in-person targeting and technical collection," he said. "In recent years, for example, defence employees travelling overseas have been subjected to covert room searches, been approached at conferences by spies in disguise and given gifts containing surveillance devices. "Defence is alert to these threats and works closely with ASIO to counter them." Private investigator desk with top secret envelopes. Photo: 123RF Burgess didn't name any of the countries behind the new plots he identified, but released a new report that ASIO developed with the Australian Institute of Criminology, which tries to count the cost of espionage. He said while calculating the cost was "challenging", the report found espionage cost the Australian economy at least $12.5b in the 2023-2024 financial year - an estimate Burgess called "conservative" and which likely "significantly underestimates" the true cost of espionage. "Many entities do not know their secrets have been stolen, or do not realise they've been stolen by espionage, or do not report the theft," he said. The spy chief also once again took aim at businesses and officials who he suggested were complacent or deeply naive about the threat of espionage, saying he'd "lost count of the number of times senior officials and executives have privately downplayed the impacts of espionage". "I've watched corporate leaders literally shrug their shoulders when told their networks are compromised," he said. In unusually frank remarks, Burgess also heaped scorn on an unnamed Australian trade official. "Most recently, a trade official told ASIO there's no way the Chinese intelligence services would have any interest in his organisation's people and premises in China," he said. "All too often, we make it all too easy." Australian public servants are being too cavalier on sharing details about their work, Mike Burgess says. Photo: Shutter Speed/Unsplash And he once again rounded on Australian public servants who reveal details about their work online - including on professional networking sites - saying about 7000 of them "reference their work in the defence sector" and "close to 400 explicitly say they work on AUKUS". "Nearly two and a half thousand publicly boast about having a security clearance and 1300 claim to work in the national security community," he said. "While these numbers have fallen since I first raised the alarm two years ago, this still makes my head spin … surely these individuals, of all people, should understand the threat and recognise the risk? "I get that people need to market themselves but telling social media you hold a security clearance or work on a highly classified project is more than naive; it's recklessly inviting the attention of a foreign intelligence service." Burgess said that "thousands of Australian students, academics, politicians, business people, researchers, law enforcement officials and public servants at all levels of government" have been targeted for espionage through networking sites. "The vast majority resist, report or ignore the approaches," he said. "Unfortunately, though, some are sucked in and end up being used - recklessly or consciously - to gather information for a foreign country." -ABC
Scoop
2 days ago
- Scoop
Call For U. S. President Donald Trump To Rescind His Aggressive Rhetoric On Russia
President Donald Trump of the United States of America is playing the game of the oppressor billionaire with the peace, security and existence of the human race. It has come to our notice that the US president in his usual aggressive rhetoric has threatened to attack Russia's nuclear sites with an ultimatum issued if Moscow fails to yield to a ceasefire with the Nazis enclave in Ukraine. This is insulting, insincere and disrespectful statements emanating from the President of the United States of America. To the New African Charter International (NACI), there is no substitute to peace and security, and the two cannot be achieved through threatening the world's most powerful military nation, that is Russia. It was reported worldwide that President Trump has issued a 10-12 days provocative ultimatum to attack Russia's nuclear arsenals if Moscow fails to yield to the desires of the Nazis enclave in the Ukraine, for a ceasefire on the Ukrainian conflict. Earlier, Trump and its western European allies had imposed sanctions that are designed to kill Russians, cause long-term physical and mental injury, and damage the Russian economy. The New African Charter International critically observes and unequivocally condemns Trump's vile, unwarranted and harmful rhetoric regarding Russia's Special Military Operation in Ukraine, which has become headlines in the news and social media. In general, we forcefully oppose the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation's (NATO) efforts at escalation of tension between the alliance and Russia over the Nazis enclave in Ukraine. NACI fully supports alternative efforts to NATO's neo-Nazis agenda of domination and remote control; and stand in solidarity with Russia and the Russian people. We wish to recognize the remarkable courage of the Russian people for rallying their support behind their leaders, especially the youths, who took to the streets recently, to vent out their grievances towards NATO members who want to be seen as hostile forces against Russia, and who aided also the Ukrainian Nazis enclave's evil attack on Russia's territory, dubbed: 'Operation Spider Web'. We want to make it very clear to Mr Trump and NATO that their provocative and disrespectful mentality towards Russia is a source of profound concern for the entire global community. We unequivocally denounce these unnecessary escalation, red tagging, hatreds, inflammatory and violent statements, which constitute grave danger to the peace, security, and stability of the global community, with far reaching consequences. No Russian territory would be the Hiroshima or Nagasaki of the 21st century; Russia is not Libya, Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Nigeria, the Sahel region, Sri Lanka, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo or Mozambique where leaked documents have revealed the role of the US and NATO allies in the mass killings and cleansing campaign. Russia, like any other members-state of the United Nations reserves the right to defending its independent sovereignty and territorial integrity against any outside threats, no matter who would be the forces that may be behind such an evil agenda. Again, we want to warn the US and NATO to abandon their dangerous nuclear war project on Russia as such plan would lead the whole world into a devastating catastrophe. Russia, if attack as Donald Trump is threatening to do, will spare no effort to resist any persistent endeavours to undermine its peace, stability, independent sovereignty and territorial integrity. Trump's latest threats and offensive and unacceptable statements have gone a long way to violate Article 2(4) of the UN Charter. Its represents also, acts of rhetoric aggression as defined under General Assembly resolution 3314 of 1974. We are also deeply concerned about the reported transfer of US nuclear arsenals to the soil in Britain. We urge countries with ties to the US to uphold international law by opposing this dangerous expansion of the Ukrainian conflict. Mr Trump's aggressive rhetoric on Russia is more regrettable because it came at a when the civilized international community is confronted also with a plethora of challenges, including climate change and biodiversity loss, disaster risks, the ongoing genocide and cleansing in the Palestinian Gaza and other occupied lands and territories in the Middle-east. Mr Trump's dangerous threats and ill-intention agenda to attack Russia's nuclear arsenals must be condemned in the strongest possible terms by the United Nations and all its members. The global community should rise to the challenges posed by My Trump's nuclear war threats. The global community should rise to the challenges and act decisively and effectively to ease the dangerous and worrisome situation. In its cherished history as a peaceful sovereign nation, Russia has never provoked conflict, and any response to Trump's latest aggressive rhetoric would only mean a just response to unjust attacks, and to ensure peace and stability, and to send a clear message to the modern Nazis, who are hell-bent on undermining the peace, security and stability of Russia. And as a free, sovereign and independent nation, Russia reserves the right to determine the most appropriate measures to safeguard its security and the well-being of its people. As we navigate this disturbing mirror, it is warranting to address the concerns of Russia and that the legitimate grievances of the Russian people should not be misconstrued as a weapon for violent political agenda. Trump's aggressive rhetoric on Russia therefore poses grave threat to the existence of humanity. We Call on NATO leaders and politicians to distance themselves from Trump's nuclear war project; to stop supporting or sending provocative language that can intensify existing tension in the Ukrainian conflict. We call on African governments and leaders to any threat of the use of nuclear weapons anywhere, support peace and promote understanding in dealing with issues that posed danger to the existence of the global community. We are closely monitoring the situation and efforts at diverting nuclear confrontation amongst the world's nuclear powers. The legacy of the 1945 decision by the United States to reign atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki must not be forgotten, and efforts towards the peaceful end of the Ukrainian crisis must be given priority. The New African Charter International does not promote violence, but support peace, justice and stands against all those who seek to destabilize other nations and erode the rights and freedoms of citizens.
