Trump Signs Order to Justify 50% Tariffs on Brazil
But America ran a 6.8 billion trade surplus last year with Brazil according to the US Census Bureau. A statement by the White House said Brazil's judiciary had tried to coerce social media companies and block their users though it did not name the companies involved X and Rumble. Trump appears to identify with Bolsonaro, who attempted to overturn the results of his 2022 loss to Lula. Similarly, Trump was indicted in 2023 for his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 US presidential election.
Also Wednesday, Trump's Treasury Department announced sanctions on Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes over alleged suppression of freedom of expression and Bolsonaro's ongoing trial. De Moraes oversees the criminal case against Bolsonaro, who is accused of masterminding a plot to stay in power despite his 2022 defeat. On July 18, the State Department announced visa restrictions on Brazilian judicial officials, including de Moraes.
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Asharq Al-Awsat
20 minutes ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
How Moscow Might Respond if Trump Stops Russian Oil to India
US President Donald Trump's demand on India to halt Russian oil imports could threaten billions in Russian revenues, prompt Moscow to retaliate by stopping a major US-led oil pipeline and potentially lead to a new global supply crisis. India, the world's third largest oil importer, has become the biggest buyer of Russian oil since 2022, purchasing up to 2 million barrels per day of oil accounting for 2% of global supply. Other top buyers are China and Türkiye. The Indian route is so important for the Kremlin that if disrupted it could prompt it to retaliate by closing the CPC pipeline from Kazakhstan, where US oil majors Chevron and Exxon hold big stakes, analysts at JP Morgan said this week. "Russia is not without leverage," the US bank said. Trump has threatened to slap tariffs of up to 100% on countries that buy Russian oil unless Moscow reaches a peace deal with Ukraine by August 7-9. A 25% tariff on all US goods imports from India starts on Friday. Reuters reported on Thursday that Indian state refineries had paused purchases of Russian oil this week amid Trump's threats. REALIGNMENT India only began buying large quantities of oil from Russia, the world's second largest oil exporter, since 2022. It became a top importer after Europe, Russia's former top client, imposed a ban on Russian oil over its military actions in Ukraine. Russia's oil giant Rosneft has a major stake in one of India's biggest oil refineries. India is now 35% reliant on Russian oil imports worth $50.2 billion in the 2024-25 fiscal year, according to India's government data. "Cutting off this flow would require a massive realignment of trade flows," said Aldo Spanjer from BNP Paribas, adding that the global supply was already stretched. India buys all varieties and grades of Russian oil - including Urals from Western ports, ESPO and Sokol from the Pacific and some grades from the Arctic, according to LSEG data. Urals would be hit hardest if India stops buying as it purchases up to 70% of Russia's biggest export grade by volume. India's oil minister said the country can find alternative supply. India would need to raise imports of US and Middle Eastern crude or cut refining runs, leading to a spike in diesel prices, especially in Europe, which imports fuel from India. "Indian refiners will still struggle to replace the heavy quality of Russian crude so they may end up paring runs," said Neil Crosby from Sparta Commodities. FALLING INCOME Russia has managed to continue selling oil since 2022 despite international sanctions, although it sells it at discounts to global prices. Falling global prices mean Russia's income is already under pressure. Its oil and gas revenue fell 33.7% year-on-year in June to its lowest since January 2023, finance ministry data showed. Revenues will fall 37% in July due to weaker global oil prices and a strong rouble, Reuters calculations show. Russian firms will need to store oil on tankers if India stops buying, paying extra money for shipping charges and being forced to offer wide discounts to new buyers, traders said. A loss of 2 million bpd of exports might also gradually prompt Russia to start reducing oil production from the current levels of 9 million bpd, traders said. Russia's current production is regulated by OPEC+ quotas. HOW CAN RUSSIA RESPOND? Russia could potentially divert some 0.8 million bpd of oil to Egypt, Malaysia, Pakistan, Peru, Brunei, South Africa and Indonesia, JP Morgan said. Moscow could also disrupt the CPC pipeline to make sure the West feels the pain from higher oil prices. Western oil firms Exxon, Chevron, Shell, ENI and TotalEnergies ship up to 1 million bpd via CPC, which has total capacity of 1.7 million bpd. "If we get a visible and substantial difficulty in clearing Russian crude and Putin shuts off CPC, oil prices might get well over $80 per barrel, possibly a lot more," said Crosby. The CPC pipeline crosses Russian territory and the consortium has clashed with Moscow, which ordered it to suspend operations for several days in 2022 and 2025 citing environmental and tanker regulations. A combined stoppage of CPC and Russian flows to India would create a disruption of 3.5 million bpd or 3.5% of global supply. "The Trump administration, like its predecessors, will likely find sanctioning the world's second-largest oil exporter unfeasible without spiking oil prices," JP Morgan said.
Arab News
4 hours ago
- Arab News
Pakistan, Iran sign agreements eyeing $10 billion trade, stress cooperation to eliminate militancy
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Iran have signed agreements in the fields of politics, economy, culture and other vital sectors, Iranian President Dr. Masoud Pezeshkian said on Sunday, as Tehran and Islamabad eye raising their bilateral trade to $10 billion. Pezeshkian arrived in Pakistan's capital on Saturday on a two-day state visit to increase bilateral trade and strengthen relations between the two countries. Pakistan and Iran have remained at odds over instability along their shared, porous border that even led to a missile exchange between them last year. Both countries, however, were quick to move to ease tensions. Iran and Pakistan have attempted to forge closer economic and investment ties through border markets and trade links in recent years. 'My deep belief is that we can easily, in a short time, increase the volume of our trade relations from the current $3 billion to the projected goal of $10 billion,' Pezeshkian told reporters during a joint press conference with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and high-level delegations from both countries in attendance. 'We reached good agreements in the political, economic, commercial, and cultural fields during this visit,' he said. The Iranian president said Islamabad and Tehran had signed 'important documents' that would facilitate and promote bilateral ties in commercial, cultural, tourism, transportation and scientific and educational exchanges between the two nations. 'The development of transit routes, railroad and sea routes, the development and equipping of border markets facilitating trade and the establishment of joint free economic zones, are serious needs in the relations between the two countries,' Pezeshkian noted. 'And we had constructive discussions on those issues.' Pakistan and Iran routinely trade blame for not tackling militancy in their shared border areas. The Iranian president said the issue had come up in talks between both sides. 'Also, given the threats from terrorist groups in border areas, increasing cooperation between the two countries to ensure border security and the peace and comfort of citizens in border cities was emphasized,' he said. The Iranian president condemned Israel for its military operations in Palestine, Syria and other areas of the Middle East, calling for the cessation of hostilities in Gaza. Sharif welcomed the Iranian president to Pakistan and said the two sides held fruitful discussions on culture, religion, history and geography. He condemned Israel's attack on Iran's nuclear facilities in June, saying there was no justification for the attacks. Both leaders also called for an unconditional ceasefire in Gaza. The Pakistani prime minister hoped the memoranda of understanding signed between Pakistan and Iran would 'soon' convert into agreements. 'Mr. President, today we have signed many MoUs and it is my prayer and your wish that these MoUs become agreements very soon,' Sharif said. 'And it is your wish and mine too that we achieve the target of $10 billion in trade as soon as possible,' he added. He said Iran and Pakistan had the same stance when it came to 'terrorism,' adding that both countries were opposed to it. Sharif vowed that Pakistan and Iran, through partnership and cooperation, would take steps against militants to ensure peace in their border areas.
Arab News
4 hours ago
- Arab News
Another American Palestinian killed in West Bank
CHICAGO: The relatives of an American Palestinian who moved with his five children and wife in 2020 to the West Bank are calling on the US to investigate the circumstances of his death. Relatives in Chicago told Arab News that Khamis Ayyad, 40, had died of smoke inhalation on July 31 when he entered a home that was engulfed in flames to save people. State Rep. Abdelnasser Rashid, who represents the southwest suburbs of Chicago in the Illinois legislature and is of Palestinian descent, met with Ayyad's relatives. He said the fires were started by Israeli settlers who have been rampaging through West Bank villages. 'This wasn't random. It's part of an ugly pattern of Israeli government-sponsored brutality from settler terrorism in the West Bank to the genocide unfolding in Gaza — enabled by US military funding and political support for Israel,' Rashid told Arab News. 'I've seen this violence firsthand. I was in Palestine in June 2023 when settlers invaded my family's village in broad daylight. They killed a young man. There was no accountability, no justice. 'That lack of accountability has led to continued Israeli terrorism against Palestinians fighting for survival and liberation, including the murder of Palestinian American Khamis Ayyad.' Rashid's district represents a region of the southwest suburbs of Chicago called Little Palestine because of its large concentration of American Palestinians. Relatives said the village of Silwad, where Ayyad lived, was hit with several arson fires in recent months by settlers, including homes, farmland and vehicles. Ayyad is the second American Palestinian to be killed in July, and the fifth since the war on Gaza began in October 2023, ABC News reported. On July 11, 2025, 20-year-old American Palestinian Sayfollah Musallet was murdered by a gang of Israeli settlers in the family's farmlands located near Ramallah. Israeli soldiers prevented Musallet's family from reaching him while he was alive but wounded, relatives told Arab News. Soldiers also prevented an ambulance from reaching him for more than two hours after the attack. He died as paramedics were placing him in the ambulance to take him to a nearby hospital. Musallet is the cousin of Muhammad Ibrahim, who was arrested in the middle of the night by 20 soldiers wearing black masks in February and has been detained in the notorious Megiddo Prison without access to his parents or legal representation. Ibrahim has not been charged with a crime, his family told Arab News, adding that he is suffering from an illness caused by the unsanitary conditions at the prison. 'Who will speak up for these Americans?' a relative of Ayyad asked.
