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The Star
22 minutes ago
- The Star
India-UK trade deal signals Modi's priorities as New Delhi eyes EU, US pacts
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India speak during a press conference after signing a free trade agreement at Chequers near Aylesbury, England, Thursday, July 24, 2025. Kin Cheung/Pool via REUTERS NEW DELHI (Reuters) -India's trade deal with Britain is a sign of New Delhi's new gradual shift to opening up its markets while shielding crucial sectors from competition and could be its template for future agreements, government officials and analysts said on Friday. Signed on Thursday and hailed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as "a blueprint for our shared prosperity", the deal with the UK represents India's biggest ever strategic partnership with an advanced economy. It comes at a time rising global trade tensions and at a pivotal moment for India's historically protectionist trade strategy, as the Asian giant looks to strike similar deals with partners including the EU, U.S., and New Zealand. Under the pact, India notably agreed to cut tariffs on imported British vehicles, opening up competition for a domestic industry that makes up nearly 7% of the Indian economy. "This is a policy shift, especially as India has long used high tariffs to protect domestic manufacturers," Ajay Srivastava, founder of Global Trade Research Initiative and a former Indian trade negotiator, told Reuters. The easing of its protectionist stance also applies to government procurement and pharmaceuticals and will likely be replicated in deals with Brussels and Washington, he added. But it remains a cautious shift. Under the UK deal, auto imports will be capped under a quota system to shield local manufacturers, and tariff reductions will be gradual. India has committed to reducing auto tariffs from over 100% to 10% over 15 years, within an annual import quota starting at 10,000 units and rising to 19,000 in year five. Tariff reductions on whisky and other goods will also be phased over several years to allow domestic industries to adjust. RED LINES India has stuck to its red lines in the deal, making no concessions on agricultural items such as apples and walnuts or dairy products including cheese and whey. "There is no question of opening up the agriculture or dairy sector in any trade negotiation — be it with the EU, Australia, or even the U.S.," a senior Indian official said. The calibrated strategy aims to leverage trade for economic growth, the official said, but the government will continue to shield millions of Indians dependent upon subsistence farming and low-margin work. Indian farmers are eyeing broadened access to the UK's $37.5 billion agriculture market under the deal. And Indian exporters will benefit from zero tariffs on goods including textiles, footwear, gems, furniture, auto parts, machinery, and chemicals. "With zero tariffs, India's garment exports to the UK could double in three years," said N. Thirukkumaran, general secretary of the Tiruppur Exporters Association. "This also paves the way for the EU agreement, which could bring even bigger gains," he added. But the strategy could face a major test in negotiations with U.S. President Donald Trump's administration, which has used the threat of steep tariffs to pressure trading partners into making concessions. Trade Minister Piyush Goyal told Reuters on Thursday that India is also hopeful of reaching a trade agreement with Washington that includes "special and preferred treatment". But the U.S. is pushing for greater access to India's agricultural and dairy markets. (Additional reporting by Dhwani Pandya; Editing by Joe Bavier)
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
Ukraine secures three Patriot systems, seeks funding for seven more
KYIV: Ukraine has received confirmation from partners that they will provide three Patriot missile defence systems and discussions are underway to obtain seven more, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Thursday. 'I have officially received confirmation from Germany for two systems, and from Norway for one. We are currently working with Dutch partners,' he told reporters. President Donald Trump announced earlier this month that billions of dollars of U.S. weapons would go to Ukraine, including Patriot missiles. This set off negotiations around which partners could contribute to the weapons purchasing scheme -- a process that will determine the support Ukraine receives. The Patriot systems have proven effective at destroying Russian ballistic missiles aimed at Ukraine's cities. In addition to securing air defence supplies, Ukraine needs to cover a financing gap of $40 billion next year, Zelenskiy said in remarks released by his office. An additional $25 billion will be needed for missiles, drones and electronic warfare systems production, he added. - Reuters
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Amid Epstein furor, Ghislaine Maxwell seeks relief from US Supreme Court
(Reuters) -Even as an uproar over files relating to Jeffrey Epstein engulfs President Donald Trump and Congress, the U.S. Supreme Court is due to wade into the controversy and decide whether to hear a bid by an associate of the late financier and convicted sex offender to overturn her criminal conviction. The justices, now on their summer recess, are expected in late September to consider whether to take up an appeal by British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, currently serving a 20-year prison sentence after being found guilty in 2021 by a jury in New York of helping Epstein sexually abuse teenage girls. Maxwell's lawyers have told the Supreme Court that her conviction was invalid because a non-prosecution and plea agreement that federal prosecutors had made with Epstein in Florida in 2007 also shielded his associates and should have barred her criminal prosecution in New lawyers have a Monday deadline for filing their final written brief in their appeal to the court. Some legal experts see merit in Maxwell's claim, noting that it touches on an unsettled matter of U.S. law that has divided some of the nation's regional federal appeals courts, known as circuit courts. Mitchell Epner, a former federal prosecutor now in private practice, said there is a chance that the Supreme Court takes up the case, and noted the disagreement among appeals courts. Such a split among circuit courts can be a factor when the nation's top judicial body considers whether or not to hear a case. "The question of whether a plea agreement from one U.S. Attorney's Office binds other federal prosecution as a whole is a serious issue that has split the circuits," Epner said. While uncommon, "there have been several cases presenting the issue over the years," Epner added. Trump's Justice Department appeared to acknowledge the circuit split in a brief filed to the justices this month, but urged them to reject the appeal. Any disparity among lower court rulings "is of limited importance," Solicitor General D. John Sauer wrote in the brief, "because the scope of a plea or similar agreement is under the control of the parties to the agreement." If the Supreme Court opts to grant Maxwell's appeal, it would hear arguments during its new term that begins in October, with a ruling then expected by the end of next June. MOUNTING PRESSURE Trump and his administration have been facing mounting pressure from his supporters to release additional information about the Justice Department's investigation into Epstein, who hanged himself in 2019 in a Manhattan jail cell, an autopsy concluded, while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges. Deputy U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche, a former personal lawyer to Trump, met with Maxwell in Florida on Thursday in what her lawyer called "a very productive day." The administration reversed course this month on its pledge to release more documents about Epstein, prompting fury among some of Trump's most loyal followers. The Epstein case has long been the subject of conspiracy theories, considering his rich and powerful friends and the circumstances of his death. The Supreme Court's 6-3 conservative majority includes three justices appointed by Trump during his first term in office. Whether the court would want to take on such a case that represents a political landmine is an open question. The justices hear relatively few cases - about 70 out of more than 4,000 appeals filed at the court each year - and have broad discretion to choose which ones will be on their docket. At least four of the justices must agree in order for the court to take up a case. EPSTEIN'S DEAL Maxwell's appeal focuses on a deal Epstein struck in 2007 to avoid federal prosecution in part by pleading guilty to state criminal offenses in Florida of soliciting prostitution and soliciting minors to engage in prostitution. Epstein then served 13 months in a minimum-security state facility. In 2019, during Trump's first term as president, the U.S. Justice Department charged Epstein in Manhattan with sex trafficking of minors. Epstein pleaded not guilty, but committed suicide before the trial at age 66. Maxwell was arrested in 2020 and convicted the following year after being accused by federal prosecutors of recruiting and grooming girls to have sexual encounters with Epstein between 1994 and 2004. Maxwell failed to convince a trial judge and the New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to throw out her conviction based on the 2007 non-prosecution agreement, which stated that "the United States also agrees that it will not institute any criminal charges against any potential co-conspirators of Epstein." In the appeal to the Supreme Court, Maxwell's lawyer David Markus said that in its reference to co-conspirators, the Epstein agreement had no geographic limit on where the non-prosecution agreement could be enforced. "If the government can promise one thing and deliver another - and courts let it happen - that erodes the integrity of the justice system," Markus told Reuters. "This isn't just about Ghislaine Maxwell. It's about whether the government is held to its word," Markus said. The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers has urged the Supreme Court to hear Maxwell's appeal given the prevalence of plea agreements in the U.S. criminal justice system and to ensure that the government keeps its promises. The group represents thousands of private lawyers, public defenders, law professors and judges nationwide. It said in a filing to the justices that the lack of a geographic limitation means "no part of the Department of Justice may institute criminal charges against any co-conspirator in any district." Columbia Law School professor Daniel Richman, an expert in criminal law, said it was unusual for the U.S. attorney in Florida to include protection for co-conspirators in the agreement to not prosecute Epstein. That peculiarity might be reason enough for the Supreme Court to avoid the matter, Richman said, as it renders the case a poor vehicle for resolving whether pleas in one court district bind actions in all other court districts. "There were many strange things about this deal," Richman said, which will cut against the Supreme Court's interest in taking up Maxwell's appeal. Richman said he hoped the political fallout would not play into the Supreme Court's decision on whether to hear Maxwell's appeal. If it does, Richman said, taking up the case could allow Maxwell to avoid cooperating with the government and dodge responsibility. "A decision that would allow Maxwell to protect herself probably would not be something they would be interested in," Richman said of the Supreme Court justices. (Reporting by Andrew Chung; Editing by Amy Stevens and Will Dunham)
