What we know about Trump's ‘Golden Dome' missile defence plan
US President Donald Trump has unveiled his plan for a multi-billion-dollar missile defence shield known as the 'Golden Dome' to shield the US from next generation missile attacks, relying on space-based defence systems. Here's what we know so far.
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Qatar Tribune
an hour ago
- Qatar Tribune
Oil falls $2 on worries about OPEC+ supply, US jobs data
Oil prices fell $2 a barrel on Friday around concerns of a possible increase in production by OPEC and its allies, while a weaker-than-expected US jobs report fed worries about demand. Brent crude futures settled at $69.67 a barrel, down $2.03, or 2.83%. US West Texas Intermediate crude finished at $67.33 a barrel, down $1.93, or 2.79%. Brent finished the week with a gain near 6%, while WTI rose 6.29%. Analysts said that OPEC members and allied producers known as OPEC+ may reach an agreement as early as Sunday to boost production by 548,000 barrels per day in September. Meanwhile, the US Labor Department said the country added 73,000 jobs in July, lower than economists had forecast, raising the national unemployment rate to 4.2% from 4.1%. Analysts suggests recent economic issues could be due to either US tariffs or the Federal Reserve's decision not to raise interest rates. On Wednesday, the Fed voted to keep interest rates unchanged, drawing criticism from Trump and a chorus of Republican legislators. Oil traders have focused for much of the week on the potential impact of US tariffs, with tariff rates on US trading partners largely set to take effect from next Friday. Trump signed an executive order on Thursday imposing tariffs ranging from 10% to 41% on US imports from dozens of countries and foreign territories that failed to reach trade deals by his Aug. 1 deadline, including Canada, India and Taiwan. Asian spot prices inch up on geopolitical, supply concerns Asian spot LNG prices inched up after two previous weeks of declines as geopolitical risk factors including US threats of sanctions on energy producer Russia, and supply concerns lent support. The average LNG price for September delivery into Northeast Asia was at $12.10 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), up from $11.90 per mmBtu last week, industry sources estimated. Geopolitics was back on stage with the threat of sanctions on offtakers of Russian oil and gas, potentially tightening the market if LNG is purchased elsewhere, but it remains unclear how things will turn out, analysts said. US President Donald Trump has threatened sanctions on both Russia and buyers of its exports unless Moscow makes progress toward ending the war in Ukraine by August 8. Meanwhile, the trade agreement the US struck with the European Union remained supportive, as the EU pledged to buy $250 billion of US energy supplies per year. Additionally boosting prices, last week's earthquake in eastern Russia triggering tsunami alerts and a slower than expected ramp-up at LNG Canada added to supply concerns, said analysts. In Europe, the futures price at the Dutch TTF hub rose to $11.54 per mmBtu. Continued strong pipeline gas flows and high German wind generation will suppress bullish impulses. However, LNG supply tightness from Italy's Rovigo maintenance and intensified Egyptian procurement activity may introduce upward risk. — By The Al-Attiyah Foundation
Qatar Tribune
2 hours ago
- Qatar Tribune
World economies reel from US tariffs punch
Agencies Global markets reeled Friday after President Donald Trump's tariffs barrage against nearly all US trading partners as governments looked down the barrel of a seven-day deadline before higher duties take effect. Trump announced late on Thursday that dozens of economies, including the European Union, will face new tariff rates of between 10 and 41 percent. However, implementation will be on August 7 rather than Friday as previously announced, the White House said. This gives governments a window to rush to strike deals with Washington setting more favorable conditions. Neighboring Canada, one of the biggest US trade partners, was hit with 35 percent levies, up from 25 percent, effective Friday — but with wide-ranging, current exemptions remaining in place. The tariffs are a demonstration of raw economic power that Trump sees putting US exporters in a stronger position, while encouraging domestic manufacturing by keeping out foreign imports. But the muscular approach has raised fears of inflation and other economic fallout in the world's biggest economy. Stock markets in Hong Kong, London and New York slumped as they digested the turmoil, while weak US employment data added to worries. Trump's actions come as debate rages over how best to steer the US economy, with the Federal Reserve this week deciding to keep interest rates unchanged, despite massive political pressure from the White House to cut. Data Friday showed US job growth missing expectations for July, while unemployment ticked up to 4.2 percent from 4.1 percent. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 dropped 1.6 percent, while the Nasdaq tumbled 2.2 percent. Trump raised duties on around 70 economies, from a current 10 percent level imposed in April when he unleashed 'reciprocal' tariffs citing unfair trade practices. The new, steeper levels listed in an executive order vary by trading partner. Any goods 'transshipped' through other jurisdictions to avoid US duties would be hit with an additional 40 percent tariff, the order said. But Trump's duties also have a distinctly political flavor, with the president using separate tariffs to pressure Brazil to drop the trial of his far-right ally, former president Jair Bolsonaro. He also warned of trade consequences for Canada, which faces a different set of duties, after Prime Minister Mark Carney announced plans to recognize a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly in September. In targeting Canada, the White House cited its failure to 'cooperate in curbing the ongoing flood of fentanyl and other illicit drugs' — although Canada is not a major source of illegal narcotics. By contrast, Trump gave more time to Mexico, delaying for 90 days a threat to increase its tariffs from 25 percent to 30 percent. But exemptions remain for a wide range of Canadian and Mexican goods entering the United States under an existing North American trade pact. Carney said his government was 'disappointed' with the latest rates hike but noted that with exclusions the US average tariff on Canadian goods remains one of the lowest among US trading partners. With questions hanging over the effectiveness of bilateral trade deals struck — including with the EU and Japan — the outcome of Trump's overall plan remains uncertain. 'No doubt about it — the executive order and related agreements concluded over the past few months tears up the trade rule book that has governed international trade since World War II,' said Wendy Cutler, senior vice president of the Asia Society Policy Institute. On Friday, Trump said he would consider distributing a tariff 'dividend' to Americans. Notably excluded from Friday's drama was China, which is in the midst of negotiations with the United States. Washington and Beijing at one point brought tit-for-tat tariffs to triple-digit levels, but have agreed to temporarily lower these duties and are working to extend their truce. Those who managed to strike deals with Washington to avert steeper threatened levies included Vietnam, Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines, South Korea and the European Union. Among other tariff levels adjusted in Trump's latest order, Switzerland now faces a higher 39 percent duty.
Al Jazeera
2 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
US authorities investigating ex-Trump prosecutor Jack Smith
Officials in the United States have launched an investigation into Jack Smith, the former special prosecutor who led two cases against Donald Trump, US media outlets are reporting. The Associated Press, NBC News and other US news outlets confirmed on Saturday that the Office of Special Counsel, an independent federal agency, has opened an investigation into Smith on allegations of illegal political activity. Without offering any evidence of wrongdoing, Trump and his Republican allies, including Senator Tom Cotton, have accused Smith of violating the Hatch Act, a federal law that bans certain public officials from engaging in political activity. In a social media post this week, Cotton accused Smith of being a 'partisan Democrat who weaponized the law' against Trump in the lead-up to the 2024 US presidential election that he ultimately won. 'I've asked the Office of Special Counsel to investigate his actions that likely violated the law to influence the election,' Cotton wrote on X on Wednesday. Smith was named as special counsel to investigate Trump by then-Attorney General Merrick Garland in November 2022. He led two federal cases into the Republican leader's alleged mishandling of classified government documents and his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election that he lost to Democrat Joe Biden. Trump had denied any wrongdoing, claiming US prosecutors were politically motivated. Smith ultimately dropped the cases — neither one had gone to trial — after Trump was re-elected in November 2024, which would have shielded him from prosecution under a longstanding Justice Department practice. Smith then resigned from the department shortly before Trump was inaugurated in January. US prosecutors said in a report at that time that if Trump had not won the 2024 race, he would have been convicted for 'criminal efforts to retain power' following the 2020 election. The White House had no immediate comment on the Office of Special Counsel's investigation into Smith, AP said on Saturday.
