
India wants ‘big beautiful' trade deal with US after Trump tariff threats
A critical 9 July deadline approaches, after which the US could impose additional tariffs of up to 26 per cent on Indian goods.
India has established clear red lines in the Bilateral Trade Agreement talks, primarily concerning the protection of its agriculture and dairy sectors.
Trump has accused India of being a 'tariff king' and seeks greater market access for its agricultural exports, while India defends its tariffs as necessary and WTO -compliant.
Negotiators have extended their discussions in Washington, indicating efforts to bridge differences and secure an agreement before the deadline.
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Reuters
24 minutes ago
- Reuters
Gold prices ease ahead of US data as investors weigh Fed rate stance
July 2 (Reuters) - Gold prices edged lower on Wednesday as investors awaited U.S. payroll data and assessed Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's cautious stance on rate cuts, although a weaker dollar helped limit losses for greenback-priced bullion. Spot gold was down 0.2% at $3,330.68 per ounce, as of 0217 GMT, while U.S. gold futures fell 0.3% to $3,340.60. The U.S. dollar index (.DXY), opens new tab weakened to its lowest point in more than three years, making bullion more affordable for holders of other currencies. "Gold prices are consolidating after posting the strongest gains in two weeks. The overall trend bias continues to favour the upside for now," said Ilya Spivak, head of global macro at Tastylive, adding Fed policy expectations are taking center stage at the moment. Powell reiterated that the U.S. central bank plans to "wait and learn more" about the impact of tariffs on inflation before lowering interest rates, again setting aside U.S. President Donald Trump's demands for immediate and deep rate cuts. U.S. job openings unexpectedly increased in May, but a decline in hiring added to signs that the labour market had shifted into lower gear amid uncertainty over the Trump administration's tariffs on imports. Investors are now awaiting U.S. ADP employment data, due later in the day, and nonfarm payroll figures on Thursday for further insights into labour market conditions. "The biggest risk for gold is an unexpectedly strong (NFP)result, but that seems rather unlikely to happen," Spivak said. Meanwhile, U.S. Senate Republicans narrowly passed Trump's tax-and-spending bill on Tuesday, a package cutting taxes, reducing social safety net programmes, and boosting military spending, while adding $3.3 trillion to the national debt. Trump expressed optimism on Tuesday about a potential trade deal with India but was skeptical about reaching a similar agreement with Japan. He added that he was not considering an extension of the July 9 deadline for countries to negotiate trade deals. Spot silver edged down 0.1% to $36.01 per ounce, platinum fell 0.4% to $1,344.91, while palladium gained 0.4% to $1,104.92.


The Herald Scotland
24 minutes ago
- The Herald Scotland
Trump tax cuts needed to be extended - but not like this
While it was necessary to extend the 2017 Trump tax cuts, the Senate has passed a completely irresponsible budget that endangers America's fiscal health. The Trump tax cuts needed to be extended, but not like this This entire piece of legislation is oriented around extending the 2017 Trump tax cuts, which is good policy. In fact, it's just about the only good part of the bill. If not extended, the expiration of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act would have been devastating to Americans. If allowed to expire, 62% of Americans would see a tax increase, according to the Tax Foundation. Extending the TCJA would result in a gross domestic product growth of 1.1% in the long run. The issue is that the extension of these tax cuts will result in a revenue loss of $4.5 trillion for the federal government. The economic growth spurred by the act will cover just $710 billion of that shortfall, leaving nearly $3.8 trillion that needs to be paid for somehow. The tax cuts themselves aren't the only significant source of spending in the bill. A sticking point for swing district Republicans has been the state and local tax (the SALT deduction), or the amount of state tax burden taxpayers can deduct from their federal income tax. Certain House Republicans have demanded that the annual limit of $10,000 be raised to $40,000, and the Senate has begrudgingly given them their increase for the next five years. Opinion: Supreme Court's birthright citizenship opinion reveals rising hostility, tension I've written elsewhere about why the SALT deduction is bad policy, but combined with other changes to the alternative minimum tax would result in a $325 billion revenue loss on net. The Senate's version is even more generous on these policies than the House's version was. Additionally, the big ugly mess includes no tax on tips, social security and overtime pay. Neither Trump nor Republicans more generally have made a case for why these types of income are deserving of exempt status, and they amount to nothing more than a populist bribe of voters. These policies add hundreds of billions more to the revenue decreases from the tax cut extension. Other defense and immigration enforcement provisions bring the grand cost of the legislation up to $4 trillion once the long-term economic growth is accounted for. Work requirements for Medicaid benefits and food stamps are the chief sources of new funding to offset these costs, as well as the elimination of certain clean energy tax credits. The House should hold the line against Senate's fiscally irresponsible bill As written, the Senate version of the bill adds even more to the budget deficit than the version the House put together. The House version was a fiscally irresponsible mess, which was estimated to add about $1.7 trillion to the deficit over the next decade, even after considering the economic growth that the bill is projected to create. The Senate version is estimated to add $2.9 trillion under the same metrics. Previously: Trump's 'big beautiful bill' is an ugly fiscal mess created by Republicans | Opinion Some House Republicans have already expressed frustrations with the Senate version of the bill, which House Speaker Mike Johnson wants to pass before Friday, Independence Day. The budget hawks in the House must hold the line against the careless spending the Senate has engaged in. The House bill that passed in the first go-around was a mess, and the Senate made it even worse. The Senate version also exaggerates its benefits and underestimates its costs by making many of its programs temporary. This allows them to gloss over this fact when discussing the benefits while claiming a lower cost. Opinion alerts: Get columns from your favorite columnists + expert analysis on top issues, delivered straight to your device through the USA TODAY app. Don't have the app? Download it for free from your app store. All of these games are played in order to avoid tough political conversations about slashing entitlements, the chief cause of our escalating budget crisis. I have little faith in the House's ability to stop this mess of a bill. Our legislators (with one notable exception) are so terrified of the prospect of a Trump primary challenge that they will vote for just about anything to avoid being the one to hold up the president's desired budget. America's takeaway from this should be to laugh hysterically the next time Republicans claim to be the party of responsible spending. For all the talk of slashing government spending, the GOP has put together one of the most counterproductive efforts in modern history. Dace Potas is an opinion columnist for USA TODAY and a graduate of DePaul University with a degree in political science.


The Herald Scotland
25 minutes ago
- The Herald Scotland
What's next for Trump's tax bill? Quarreling House Republicans
House Republicans are already slamming the changes made to the bill in the Senate, from moderate members concerned about cuts to Medicaid and fiscal conservatives who are concerned about the bill's massive price tag. It will add a projected $3.3 trillion to the national debt over the next 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office. "The United States is $37 TRILLION in the red. This is unsustainable," wrote Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas, on X. "I support President Trump and his tax cuts, but we cannot saddle our children and grandchildren with TRILLIONS upon TRILLIONS in new debt." However, House Speaker Mike Johnson indicated in a statement that he plans to push his conference to accept the bill in order to meet the president's self-imposed deadline of July 4. "The House will work quickly to pass the One Big Beautiful Bill that enacts President Trump's full America First agenda by the Fourth of July. The American people gave us a clear mandate, and after four years of Democrat failure, we intend to deliver without delay," he said in a statement. "This bill is President Trump's agenda, and we are making it law." A key House committee plans to meet in the afternoon to begin the process of advancing the Senate's bill in the chamber. Trump indicated that he may be willing to budge on the July 4 deadline given the complications of passing it in the House. "I'd love to do July 4th, but I think it's very hard to do July 4th," Trump told reporters. "It can go longer, but we'd like to get it done by that time if possible."