Analysis: Thailand Cambodia agree to unconditional ceasefire
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Japan Times
21 minutes ago
- Japan Times
India aghast at Donald Trump's ‘dead' economy dig and 25% tariffs
Shock, dismay and angst swept across India as businesses, policymakers and citizens digested U.S. President Donald Trump's sharp remarks and a surprise 25% tariff rate earlier this week. While Indian government officials weighed a response and business groups tallied the cost of the trade barrier, the domestic social media flared up with users protesting Trump's comments and criticizing Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not speaking up. It started with Trump saying that India's trade barriers were the "most strenuous and obnoxious,' in a Truth Social post on Wednesday. He added the U.S. may also impose a penalty for New Delhi's purchase of Russian weapons and energy. Less than a day later, he ripped into India again for aligning with Russia, calling them "dead economies' in another post. With no imminent trade deal, the 25% tariffs kicked in as of Friday. India is hardly alone in facing Trump's trade wrath — and not the subject to the very highest rates — but the news left business and political leaders wondering how to cope with the fallout. 'Blunt-force' message "Overnight, the U.S.-India trade equation shifted from tense to turbulent,' said Akshat Garg, assistant vice president at Choice Wealth, a Mumbai based financial services firm. The levies "feel less like structured policy and more like a blunt-force political message.' Complicating the narrative around the India trade deal — or the lack of it — was the U.S. pact with its traditional rival Pakistan that came through on the same day. As the U.S. released rates across the world on Aug. 1, India's relative disadvantage to competitor exporting countries became more apparent, dampening moods and stoking tempers further. "The biggest blow is that Pakistan and Bangladesh got a better rate than us,' said V. Elangovan, managing director at SNQS Internationals, an apparel-maker in the south Indian manufacturing hub of Tirupur. "We were expecting something in the 15% to 20% range.' India's annoyance can be traced back in part to Trump declaring himself the peacemaker that helped broker a ceasefire in the armed conflict between India and Pakistan in May. The move was seen as an effort to upstage Modi and put the two South Asian neighbors on an equal footing, despite India's larger military and economy. The events of this week have cemented that impression further in the eyes of some Indian observers. When the tariff rate news first dropped late Wednesday evening in India, Ashish Kanodia recalls being "very disturbed.' A director at Kanodia Global, a closely held exporter that gets over 40% of its revenue from the U.S. selling home fabrics to toys, the entrepreneur already has two of its largest U.S. customers seeking discounts to make up for the levy. "The next six months are going to be difficult for everyone,' Kanodia said, adding that profit margins will be squeezed. If the pain continues for "months and months,' he said he'll have to start cutting his workforce. The U.S. is India's largest trading partner, with the two-way trade between them at an estimated $129.2 billion in 2024. Compared with India's 25%, Bangladesh was subjected to a 20% tariff, Vietnam got a 20% levy and Indonesia and Pakistan each received 19% duties. "We know that we have got a deal that is worse than other countries,' said Sabyasachi Ray, executive director at The Gem and Jewelry Export Promotion Council. "We will take it up with the government.' Trump's actions mark a 180-degree turn for New Delhi's hopes of preferential treatment over regional peers. It was among the first to engage Washington in trade talks in February, confident of hammering out a deal sooner than others. Trump had called Modi "my friend' in a Feb. 14 post on X and the bond between the two countries "special.' India is now weighing options to placate the White House, including boosting U.S. imports, according to people familiar with the matter, and many hope that the bilateral relationship and the tariff rate can still be improved. "It is a storm in the India-U.S. relationship at this moment but I think there's a good chance that it will go away,' said Vivek Mishra, deputy director of the Strategic Studies Program at Delhi-based Observer Researcher Foundation. Indian business and trade groups are supporting the government's stance on the deal as the negotiations for a U.S.-India trade deal continue. Negotiating tactic Jewelry businesses "are worried but they are not panicking' because they hope a more favorable deal can be worked out, said Ray of the gems export body. "The negotiation that should be happening should be a win-win, not a win-lose.' The abrupt announcement by Trump over social media when negotiations with India were ongoing "seems like a knee-jerk reaction,' according to Rohit Kumar, founding partner at public policy research firm The Quantum Hub. "This appears to be a negotiating tactic aimed at unresolved discussion points,' Kumar said.
Japan Times
an hour ago
- Japan Times
Japan's foreign minister urges Myanmar to restore democracy
Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya has urged Myanmar to restore democracy, after the Southeast Asian country lifted the state of emergency imposed when its military staged a coup in 2021. Japan strongly urges Myanmar's military to "swiftly restore the country's democratic political system," Iwaya told a news conference Friday. According to Myanmar's Constitution, a general election is to be held within six months after a state of emergency is lifted. "Japan is seriously concerned that if general elections are held without any moves toward political progress, it could provoke a strong backlash from the people of Myanmar," he said. Iwaya called for an immediate halt to violence and the release of political detainees, including democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi. "Japan strongly hopes that a ceasefire throughout Myanmar and its credible implementation will be achieved and that all parties will make sincere efforts toward a peaceful resolution," he added.
Japan Times
4 hours ago
- Japan Times
Japan reluctant to recognize Palestinian statehood
The government has shown a reluctance to recognize Palestinian statehood, mainly out of consideration for the United States, a key backer of Israel. Britain, France and Canada, three of the Group of Seven major industrial countries, have announced plans to recognize Palestine as a state in September, an effort to increase pressure on Israel to end its war in Gaza. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, the government's top spokesman, did not give a clear answer at a news conference Friday about whether Japan, also a G7 member, would follow suit. "We will continue to conduct a comprehensive review, including the appropriate timing and methods, with a view to supporting progress for peace," he said. Hayashi also emphasized Tokyo's aim of achieving a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict. Japan has taken a neutral position on peace in the Middle East. It has worked to support Palestinians, providing assistance in cooperation with Islamic countries in Southeast Asia such as Indonesia and Malaysia. While continuing to supply humanitarian aid for Palestinians, Tokyo is expected yo hold off on any decision to formally recognize Palestine as a state. Japan is seeking to realize a two-state solution through dialogue, and recognizing it as a state could provoke a backlash from Israel. The United States' unwavering support for Israel is also a factor in Japan's position. A senior Foreign Ministry official said that "each country has its own domestic circumstances" on recognizing Palestinian statehood. "There's no reason to follow" Britain and others, another senior ministry official said. "Japan has to think about relations with the United States and Israel."
