Euro rises after US, EU agree to tariff deal
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The euro gained on Monday following the announcement of a framework trade agreement between the United States and the European Union, the latest in a flurry of deals to avert a global trade war Meeting in Scotland on Sunday, U.S. President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the deal, which will result in a 15% tariff on EU goods, half what Trump had threatened to impose from August 1.Senior U.S. and Chinese negotiators are due to meet in Stockholm on Monday with an aim to extend a trade truce and prevent steep tariff hikes. Meanwhile, investor attention is shifting towards corporate earnings and central bank meetings in the U.S. and Japan."It could be a positive week, just purely from the fact that now we know the rules of the game, if you like," said Rodrigo Catril, senior currency strategist at National Australia Bank."Now that there is more clarity, you would think that not only in the U.S., but around the globe, there will be a little bit more willingness to look at investment, to look at expansions, and to look at where the opportunities are," he said on a NAB podcast.The euro stood at $1.1763, up 0.2% so far in Asia. The common currency rose 0.2% to 173.78 yen.Trump said the EU plans to invest some $600 billion in the U.S. and dramatically increase its purchases of American energy and military equipment. The pact is similar to one forged with Tokyo negotiators last week that will see Japan investing some $550 billion in the U.S. and a 15% tariff imposed on its cars and other imports.The baseline 15% 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.China is facing an August 12 deadline to reach a durable trade pact with the U.S. No breakthrough is expected in the U.S. and China talks in Stockholm, but analysts said another 90-day extension of a trade truce struck in mid-May was likely.The U.S. dollar advanced on Friday, bolstered by solid economic data that suggested the Federal Reserve could take its time in resuming interest rate cuts. Both the Fed and the Bank of Japan are expected to hold rates steady at this week's policy meetings, but traders are focusing on the subsequent comments to gauge the timing of the next moves.The dollar was little changed at 147.68 yen. The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against major peers, fell 0.1% to 97.534.Sterling traded at $1.34385, down almost 0.1%. The Australian dollar fetched $0.6576, up 0.2%, while New Zealand's kiwi dollar was flat at $0.6019.
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Business Standard
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- Business Standard
Himalayan high voltage: 76% of cars sold in Nepal are now electric
By Lydia DePillis & Bhadra Sharma The narrow streets of Kathmandu — sized for pedestrians and rickshaws — are choked with engines. Buses, motorbikes, small trucks and taxis fill the sprawling valley with horns and exhaust. For its more than three million residents, just getting around is a dangerous, eye-stinging ordeal. But recently, a new kind of motor has started to ease the crush. Sleek electric vehicles glide by with a quiet hum. Gleaming showrooms do a brisk business in the latest models, and charging stations on the highways have turned into rest stops with cafes for drivers to pass the time. The transition is moving quickly. Over the past year, electric vehicles accounted for 76 per cent of all passenger vehicles and half of the light commercial vehicles sold in Nepal. Five years ago, that number was essentially zero. The EV market share in Nepal is now behind only those of a few countries, including Norway, Singapore and Ethiopia. The average for all countries was 20 per cent in 2024. The swift turnover is the result of government policies aimed at leveraging Nepal's wealth of hydropower, easing dependence on imported fossil fuels and clearing the smog. It has been fed by an intense push from Nepal's biggest neighbor, China, the world's dominant manufacturer of battery-powered vehicles. 'For us, using electric vehicles is a comparative advantage,' said Mahesh Bhattarai, the director general of Nepal's Department of Customs. 'It's good for us. In the global market, the Chinese EVs are expanding. The same is happening in Nepal.' The effort stands in contrast to policies in the United States and Europe, which have blocked Chinese EVs to protect their domestic auto industries. And it carries hope for other developing countries that seek to become wealthier without enduring the crucible of pollution from which many rich nations have already emerged. 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India Today
7 minutes ago
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Trump puts world on notice: 15-20% tariffs for those without US trade deals
US President Donald Trump on Monday said he may impose a blanket tariff in the range of 15 per cent to 20 per cent on imports to the United States from countries that haven't negotiated separate trade deals with Washington."For the world, I would say it'll be somewhere in the 15 per cent to 20 per cent range. I just want to be nice," Trump said in Turnberry, Scotland, alongside UK Prime Minister Keir remarks assume significance as they mark an increase from the 10 per cent baseline tariff the US President announced in April. It could also put economic strain on smaller countries that hoped the tariff rate would be 10 per cent. Earlier this month, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said that smaller nations, including "the Latin American countries, the Caribbean countries, many countries in Africa", would have a baseline tariff of 10 per cent, CNBC Trump said, "We're going to be setting a tariff for essentially the rest of the world, and that's what they're going to pay if they want to do business in the US, because you can't sit down and make 200 deals."Several countries, including India, are still negotiating trade deals with the US ahead of Trump's August 1 tariff deadline. With the deadline approaching, Trump administration officials have suggested that the White House was not "under pressure to have more deals".Currently, India's trade delegation, led by chief negotiator Rajesh Agrawal, is in Washington for planned discussions about a possible agreement. India - a key trading partner of the US - remains one of a handful of nations that is still in talks with the US on week, Trump announced 15 per cent tariffs on Japan, 16 per cent tariffs on Indonesia and 15 per cent levies on the European Union. However, some countries, including Brazil and Laos have imposed tariffs as high as 40 per cent and 50 per cent.- EndsTune InMust Watch IN THIS STORY#Donald Trump#United States of America
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The United States is pressing forward on various trade fronts, with ongoing efforts to close its deal with the European Union (EU), continued monitoring of its agreement with China and persistent negotiations with India. The US trade representative spoke about the progress in US trade deals with other countries in an interview with CNBC. US trade representative Jamieson Greer said on Monday that "there are certainly areas to keep working on in different sectors", referring to the US-EU framework announced over the weekend. Despite a framework agreement with the EU announced over the weekend, the US is still actively working on specific sectors, including tariffs on steel and digital services taxes, Reuters reported. These areas represent key points of ongoing discussion as both sides aim to fully implement the trade framework. The recently announced deal includes a 15 per cent tariff rate on about 70 per cent of European goods entering the US, including cars and computer chips, along with an agreement for the EU to purchase significant amounts of US energy and invest in the US. However, the 50 per cent US tariff on imported steel from the EU remains. Regarding China, Greer indicated that the current meetings are focused on continued monitoring and the progress of the agreement. "I don't expect some kind of enormous breakthrough today. What I expect is continued monitoring and checking in on the implementation of our agreement thus far,' he said. Trade analysts have projected that another 90-day extension of an existing tariff and export control truce which was struck in mid-May between China and the United States is possible. An extension would facilitate planning for a potential meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in late October or early November, Reuters reported.
