Iraq's Oil Ministry Says Procedures for Oil Exports through Turkish Pipeline Complete
Iraq's oil minister said on Monday that oil exports from the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region will resume next week, resolving a near two-year dispute that has disrupted crude flows as ties between Baghdad and Erbil improve.
US President Donald Trump's administration is putting pressure on Iraq to allow Kurdish oil exports to restart or face sanctions alongside Iran, sources have told Reuters. An Iraqi official later denied pressure or the threat of sanctions.
The federal government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) held technical talks following the oil minister's statements earlier this week to iron out details necessary for the resumption of exports, such as a payment mechanism acceptable to oil companies.
The Iraqi oil minister's announcement comes after the Iraqi parliament approved on February 2 a budget amendment that set a rate of $16 per barrel for oil transport and production costs in Kurdistan.
The amendment also requires the KRG transfer its oil output to the state-run State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO)
The oil ministry in its Saturday statement asked the KRG to start delivering crude to SOMO in order for exports to resume.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab News
2 hours ago
- Arab News
US and EU strike deal with 15 percent tariff to avert trade war
TURNBERRY, Scotland: The US struck a framework trade agreement with the European Union on Sunday, imposing a 15 percent import tariff on most EU goods — half the threatened rate — and averting a bigger trade war between the two allies that account for almost a third of global trade. US President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the deal at Trump's luxury golf course in western Scotland after an hour-long meeting that pushed the hard-fought deal over the line. 'I think this is the biggest deal ever made,' Trump told reporters, lauding EU plans to invest some $600 billion in the United States and dramatically increase its purchases of US energy and military equipment. Trump said the deal, which tops a $550 billion deal signed with Japan last week, would expand ties between the trans-Atlantic powers after years of what he called unfair treatment of US exporters. Von der Leyen, describing Trump as a tough negotiator, said the 15 percent tariff applied 'across the board,' later telling reporters it was 'the best we could get.' 'We have a trade deal between the two largest economies in the world, and it's a big deal. It's a huge deal. It will bring stability. It will bring predictability,' she said. The deal, which Trump said calls for $750 billion of EU purchases of US energy in coming years and 'hundreds of billions of dollars' of arms purchases, likely spells good news for a host of EU companies, including Airbus, Mercedes-Benz and Novo Nordisk, if all the details hold. The baseline 15 percent tariff will still be seen by many in Europe as too high, compared with Europe's initial hopes to secure a zero-for-zero tariff deal, though it is better than the threatened 30 percent rate. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz welcomed the deal, saying it averted a trade conflict that would have hit Germany's export-driven economy and its large auto sector hard. German carmakers, VW, Mercedes and BMW were some of the hardest hit by the 27.5 percent US tariff on car and parts imports now in place. But Bernd Lange, the German Social Democrat who heads the European Parliament's trade committee, said the tariffs were imbalanced and the hefty EU investment earmarked for the US would likely come at the bloc's own expense. Trump retains the ability to increase the tariffs in the future if European countries do not live up to their investment commitments, a senior US administration official told reporters on Sunday evening. The euro rose around 0.2 percent against the dollar, sterling and yen within an hour of the deal's being announced. Mirror of Japan deal The deal mirrors key parts of the framework accord reached by the US with Japan, but like that deal, it leaves many questions open, including tariff rates on spirits, a highly charged topic for many on both sides of the Atlantic. Carsten Nickel, deputy director of research at Teneo, said it was 'merely a high-level, political agreement' that could not replace a carefully hammered out trade deal: 'This, in turn, creates the risk of different interpretations along the way, as seen immediately after the conclusion of the US-Japan deal.' 'We are agreeing that the tariff ... for automobiles and everything else will be a straight-across tariff of 15 percent,' Trump said, but he quickly added that a 50 percent US tariff on steel and aluminum will remain in place. Von der Leyen said that tariff would be cut and replaced with a quota system. Von der Leyen said the rate also applied to semiconductors and pharmaceuticals, and there would be no tariffs from either side on aircraft and aircraft parts, certain chemicals, certain generic drugs, semiconductor equipment, some agricultural products, natural resources and critical raw materials. Trump initially appeared to suggest pharmaceuticals would not be covered, but a senior administration official later confirmed to reporters that the tariff deal applied to pharmaceuticals. Officials also said EU leaders had accepted that the US would keep its 50 percent steel and aluminum tariff in place while the two sides continue to discuss it. 'We will keep working to add more products to this list,' von der Leyen said, adding that spirits were still under discussion. The deal will be sold as a triumph for Trump, who is seeking to reorder the global economy and reduce decades-old US trade deficits, and has already reached similar framework accords with Britain, Japan, Indonesia and Vietnam, although his administration has not hit its goal of '90 deals in 90 days.' He has periodically railed against the EU, saying it was 'formed to screw the United States' on trade. Arriving in Scotland, Trump said the EU wanted 'to make a deal very badly' and said, as he met von der Leyen, that Europe had been 'very unfair to the United States.' Trump has fumed for years about the US merchandise trade deficit with the EU, which in 2024 reached $235 billion, according to US Census Bureau data. The EU points to the US surplus in services, which it says partially redresses the balance. Now he argues, his tariffs are bringing in 'hundreds of billions of dollars' of revenues for the US, while dismissing warnings from economists about the risk of inflation. On July 12, Trump threatened to apply a 30 percent tariff on imports from the EU starting on August 1, after weeks of negotiations with the major US trading partners failed to reach a comprehensive trade deal. The EU had prepared countertariffs on 93 billion euros ($109 billion) of US goods in the event there was no deal, and Trump made good his 30 percent tariff threat. Some member states had also pushed for the bloc to use its most powerful trade weapon, the anti-coercion instrument, to target US services in the event of a no-deal.
Al Arabiya
7 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Trump says Israel will have to decide on next steps in Gaza, pledges more aid
US President Donald Trump said on Sunday Israel would have to make a decision on next steps in Gaza, adding that he did not know what would happen after the collapse of ceasefire and hostage-release negotiations with the Hamas militant group. Trump underscored the importance of securing the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, saying they had suddenly 'hardened' up on the issue, and said the US would provide more aid to the war-torn Palestinian enclave. 'They don't want to give them back, and so Israel is going to have to make a decision,' Trump told reporters at the start of a meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at his golf property in Turnberry, Scotland. 'I know what I'd do, but I don't think it's appropriate that I say it. But Israel is going to have to make a decision,' he said, while also claiming, without evidence, that Hamas members were stealing food coming into Gaza and selling it. Dozens of Gazans have died of malnutrition in recent weeks, according to the Gaza health ministry. The ministry reported six new deaths over the past 24 hours due to malnutrition, bringing the total deaths from malnutrition and hunger to 133 including 87 children. Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu both appeared on Friday to abandon Gaza ceasefire negotiations with Hamas, saying it had become clear that the Palestinian group did not want a deal. Netanyahu said Israel was now mulling 'alternative' options to achieve its goals of bringing its hostages home from Gaza and ending Hamas rule in the enclave, where starvation is spreading and most of the population is homeless amid widespread ruin. Trump said he believed Hamas leaders would now be 'hunted down,' telling reporters: 'Hamas really didn't want to make a deal. I think they want to die. And it's very bad. And it got to be to a point where you're going to have to finish the job.' US to provide more aid, Trump says Trump on Sunday said the US would provide more humanitarian aid to Gaza, where concerns are mounting about the worsening hunger, but wanted other countries to participate as well. He said he would discuss the issue with von der Leyen. 'We're giving a lot of money, a lot of food, a lot of everything,' he said. 'If we weren't there, I think people would have starved, frankly. They would have starved, and it's not like they're eating well.' He said he had spoken with Netanyahu and discussed a number of issues, including Iran. He said he and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer would also discuss Israel when they meet at Trump's golf property in Turnberry on Monday. Trump also noted said the United States was not acknowledged for earlier food aid for Gaza. 'No other country gave anything,' he said, calling out European countries in particular. 'It makes you feel a little bad when you do that and, you know, you have other countries not giving anything ... Nobody gave but us. And nobody said, Gee, thank you very much. And it would be nice to have at least a thank you.'
Al Arabiya
8 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Trump says EU and US have ‘reached a deal' on trade
US President Donald Trump said Sunday that he had reached a trade agreement with European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen. 'We have reached a deal. It's a good deal for everybody,' Trump told reporters after talks with von der Leyen at his golf resort in Turnberry, Scotland. The EU chief also hailed it as a 'good deal.'
