
India notifies WTO of proposed retaliatory duties against US tariffs on autos
The move is a response to an additional 25 percent tariff that the administration of US President Donald Trump has imposed on automobiles and major auto parts imported into the country.
The Indian notification sent to the WTO on Friday says that the US would collect 723.75 million dollars by imposing the additional tariff.
It also says that India's retaliatory tariffs would result in an equivalent amount of duties collected from products imported from the US.
India has not disclosed details of the measure, including US products targeted by the retaliatory tariffs.
India says it reserves the right to withdraw or modify the notification, suggesting that the proposed retaliatory duties may be called off depending on how Washington reacts to the proposal.
India's government is stepping up its efforts to negotiate a new trade pact with the US as the pause in what Trump calls reciprocal tariffs is due to expire on Wednesday.
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Japan Times
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But demand for new housing soon began to fall, and demographic shifts were a key factor. In 1991, as the share of Japan's population aged 65 and older reached 13%, the number of first-time homebuyers began to decline. Property values plummeted, the stock market collapsed and Japan fell into a deflationary trap, characterized by falling fertility and rising unemployment. A misdiagnosis of the problem made matters much worse: What was actually a chronic demographic disease was treated as an acute illness. Policymakers believed that Japan was grappling with yen appreciation as a result of the 1985 Plaza Accord, under which the world's major economies agreed to devalue the dollar. So, to stem the currency's rise, they printed money, lowered interest rates, increased the government deficit and engaged in quantitative easing. 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Last year, Japan's fertility rate amounted to just 1.15 births per woman. In the past, Japan welcomed low interest rates and a weak yen, because its economy was highly dependent on exports. But the aging and shrinking of its labor force have generated upward pressure on wages, fueling domestic inflation, weakening manufacturing and transforming Japan from a surplus country into a deficit country, thereby making it vulnerable to imported inflation. So, Japan has escaped its deflationary trap only to become ensnared in a long-term inflationary trap, which, by reducing purchasing power and parenting capacity, will reduce fertility further. By fueling a demographic collapse, Japan's approach to ending its 'lost decades' has set the stage for 'lost centuries.' This should serve as a cautionary tale for China, which is confronting real-estate and demographic crises of its own. 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Chinese household consumption accounted for only 38% of GDP in 2020, compared to 50% in Japan in 1990. But perhaps the most ominous portent is that China's government continues to tout a potential growth rate of 5%, with some prominent figures suggesting that it could achieve rates as high as 8%. To get there, policymakers are pursuing measures with high short-term returns — such as expanding the supply of affordable housing and carrying out quantitative easing — while all but ignoring the economy's weak fundamentals. As Hegel famously put it, 'The only thing we learn from history is that we learn nothing from history.' Yi Fuxian, a senior scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, spearheaded the movement against China's one-child policy and is the author of "Big Country with an Empty Nest" (China Development Press, 2013), which went from being banned in China to ranking first in China Publishing Today's 100 Best Books of 2013 in China. ©Project Syndicate, 2025

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The Mainichi
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Russian President Vladimir Putin, who will make an appearance via videoconference, continues to mostly avoid traveling abroad due to an international arrest warrant issued after Russia invaded Ukraine. Debate over language on hot-button topics The restraint expected in Rio de Janeiro marks a departure from last year's summit hosted by Russia in Kazan, when the Kremlin sought to develop alternatives to U.S.-dominated payment systems which would allow it to dodge Western sanctions imposed after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. A source involved in the negotiations told journalists Friday that some members of the group want more aggressive language on the situation in Gaza and Israel's attack on Iran. The source spoke under the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about the matter publicly. "Brazil wants to keep the summit as technical as possible," said Oliver Stuenkel, a professor at the Getulio Vargas Foundation think tank and university. Consequently, observers expect a vague final declaration regarding Russia's war in Ukraine and conflicts in the Middle East. As well as suiting Brazil, a watered-down and non-controversial statement may be made easier by the absences of Putin and Xi, Stuenkel said. Those two countries have pushed for a stronger anti-Western stance, as opposed to Brazil and India that prefer non-alignment. A Brazilian government official told The Associated Press Thursday that the group is expected to produce three joint statements and a final declaration, "all of which less bounded by current geopolitical tensions." The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the summit's preparations. 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It has decided to focus on less controversial issues, such as promoting trade relations between members and global health, after Trump returned to the White House, said Ana Garcia, a professor at the Rio de Janeiro Federal Rural University. "Brazil wants the least amount of damage possible and to avoid drawing the attention of the Trump administration to prevent any type of risk to the Brazilian economy," Garcia said. While Brazil will continue to advocate for the reform of Western-led global institutions, a cornerstone policy of the group, the country wants to avoid becoming the target of tariffs -- a predicament it has so far largely escaped. Trump has threatened to impose 100% tariffs against the bloc if they take any moves to undermine the dollar. Other leaders shun the summit Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Egypt's Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi will also be absent. Those two countries joined the BRICS in 2024, alongside Ethiopia, Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates. Saudi Arabia has been invited and is participating in member discussions, but it has yet to send its confirmation letter. As well as new members, the bloc has 10 strategic partner countries, a category created at last year's summit that includes Belarus, Cuba and Vietnam. That rapid expansion led Brazil to put housekeeping issues -- officially termed institutional development -- on the agenda to better integrate new members and boost internal cohesion. Despite notable absences, the summit is important for attendees, especially in the context of instability provoked by Trump's tariff wars, said Bruce Scheidl, a researcher at the University of Sao Paulo's BRICS study group. "The summit offers the best opportunity for emerging countries to respond, in the sense of seeking alternatives and diversifying their economic partnerships," Scheidl said. For Lula, the summit will be a welcome pause from a difficult domestic scenario, marked by a drop in popularity and conflict with Congress. The meeting also represents an opportunity to advance climate negotiations and commitments on protecting the environment before November's COP 30 climate talks in the Amazonian city of Belem.