US close to several trade deals, announcements to be made in next days, Bessent says
Bessent told CNN's 'State of the Union' program that the Trump administration would also send out letters to 100 smaller countries with whom the U.S. doesn't have much trade, notifying them that they would face higher tariff rates first set on April 2 and then suspended until July 9.
India-US likely to take final decision on mini trade deal within 48 hours, India's CNBC-TV18 reports
'President Trump's going to be sending letters to some of our trading partners saying that, if you don't move things along, then on August 1, you will boomerang back to your April 2 tariff level. So I think we're going to see a lot of deals very quickly,' Bessent said.
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Express Tribune
29 minutes ago
- Express Tribune
Trump threatens 10% tariffs on BRICS-aligned nations as leaders gather in Brazil
Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, China's Premier Li Qiang, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa, Egypt's Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Iran's Foreign Affairs Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi pose for a family photo during the BRICS Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil July 6, 2025. REUTERS President Donald Trump said the US will impose an additional 10% tariff on any countries aligning themselves with the "Anti-American policies" of the BRICS group of developing nations, whose leaders kicked off a summit in Brazil on Sunday. With forums such as the G7 and G20 groups of major economies hamstrung by divisions and the disruptive "America First" approach of the US president, BRICS is presenting itself as a haven for multilateral diplomacy amid violent conflicts and trade wars. In a joint statement from the opening of the BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro released on Sunday afternoon, the group warned the rise in tariffs threatened global trade, continuing its veiled criticism of Trump's tariff policies. Hours later, Trump warned he would punish countries seeking to join with the grouping. "Any Country aligning themselves with the Anti-American policies of BRICS, will be charged an ADDITIONAL 10% Tariff. There will be no exceptions to this policy. Thank you for your attention to this matter!" wrote Trump in a post on Truth Social. Trump did not clarify or expand on the "Anti-American policies" reference in his post. Trump's administration is seeking to finalize dozens of trade deals with a wide range of countries before his July 9 deadline for the imposition of significant "retaliatory tariffs". The original BRICS group gathered leaders from Brazil, Russia, India and China at its first summit in 2009. The bloc later added South Africa and last year included Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates as members. Saudi Arabia has held off formally joining, according to sources, while another 30 nations have expressed interest in participating in the BRICS, either as full members or partners. Indonesia's senior economic minister, Airlangga Hartarto, is in Brazil for the BRICS summit and is scheduled to go to the US on Monday to oversee tariff talks, an official told Reuters. India's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In opening remarks to the summit earlier, Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva drew a parallel with the Cold War's Non-Aligned Movement, a group of developing nations that resisted joining either side of a polarized global order. "BRICS is the heir to the Non-Aligned Movement," Lula told leaders. "With multilateralism under attack, our autonomy is in check once again." BRICS nations now represent more than half the world's population and 40% of its economic output, Lula noted in remarks on Saturday to business leaders, warning of rising protectionism. Growing clout complexity Expansion of the bloc has added diplomatic weight to the gathering, which aspires to speak for developing nations across the Global South, strengthening calls for reforming global institutions such as the United Nations Security Council and the International Monetary Fund. "If international governance does not reflect the new multipolar reality of the 21st century, it is up to BRICS to help bring it up to date," Lula said in his remarks, which highlighted the failure of US-led wars in the Middle East. Stealing some thunder from this year's summit, Chinese President Xi Jinping chose to send his premier in his place. Russian President Vladimir Putin is attending online due to an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court related to his war in Ukraine. Still, several heads of state were gathered for discussions at Rio's Museum of Modern Art on Sunday and Monday, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. However, there are questions about the shared goals of an increasingly heterogeneous BRICS group, which has grown to include regional rivals along with major emerging economies. In the joint statement, the leaders called attacks against Iran's "civilian infrastructure and peaceful nuclear facilities" a "violation of international law." The group expressed "grave concern" for the Palestinian people over Israeli attacks on Gaza, and condemned what the joint statement called a "terrorist attack" in India-administered Kashmir. The group voiced its support for Ethiopia and Iran to join the World Trade Organization, while calling to urgently restore its ability to resolve trade disputes. The leaders' joint statement backed plans to pilot a BRICS Multilateral Guarantees initiative within the group's New Development Bank to lower financing costs and boost investment in member states. In a separate statement following a discussion of artificial intelligence, the leaders called for protections against unauthorized use of AI to avoid excessive data collection and allow mechanisms for fair payment. Brazil, which also hosts the United Nations climate summit in November, has seized on both gatherings to highlight how seriously developing nations are tackling climate change, while Trump has slammed the brakes on US climate initiatives. China and the UAE signaled in meetings with Brazilian Finance Minister Fernando Haddad in Rio that they plan to invest in a proposed Tropical Forests Forever Facility, according to two sources with knowledge of the discussions about funding conservation of endangered forests around the world.
Express Tribune
an hour ago
- Express Tribune
Trump slams Musk's 'America Party' as ‘ridiculous'
President Donald Trump on Sunday called Elon Musk's plans to form a new political party "ridiculous," launching new barbs at the tech billionaire and saying the Musk ally he once named to lead NASA would have presented a conflict of interest given Musk's business interests in space. A day after Musk escalated his feud with Trump and announced the formation of a new US political party, the Republican president was asked about it before boarding Air Force One in Morristown, New Jersey, as he returned to Washington upon visiting his nearby golf club. "I think it's ridiculous to start a third party. We have a tremendous success with the Republican Party. The Democrats have lost their way, but it's always been a two-party system, and I think starting a third party just adds to confusion," Trump told reporters. "It really seems to have been developed for two parties. Third parties have never worked, so he can have fun with it, but I think it's ridiculous." Shortly after speaking about Musk, Trump posted further comments on his Truth Social platform, saying, "I am saddened to watch Elon Musk go completely 'off the rails,' essentially becoming a TRAIN WRECK over the past five weeks." Musk announced on Saturday that he is establishing the "America Party" in response to Trump's tax-cut and spending bill, which Musk said would bankrupt the country. "What the heck was the point of @DOGE if he's just going to increase the debt by $5 trillion??" Musk wrote on X on Sunday, referring to the government downsizing agency he briefly led. Critics have said the bill will damage the US economy by significantly adding to the federal budget deficit. Musk said his new party would in next year's midterm elections look to unseat Republican lawmakers in Congress who backed the sweeping measure known as the "big, beautiful bill." Read: Trump hints at deporting Elon Musk amid clash over subsidies and tax bill Musk spent millions of dollars underwriting Trump's 2024 re-election effort and, for a time, regularly showed up at the president's side in the White House Oval Office and elsewhere. Their disagreement over the spending bill led to a falling out that Musk briefly tried unsuccessfully to repair. Trump has said Musk is unhappy because the measure, which Trump signed into law on Friday, takes away green-energy credits for Tesla's electric vehicles. The president has threatened to pull billions of dollars Tesla and SpaceX receive in government contracts and subsidies in response to Musk's criticism. NASA appointment 'inappropriate' Trump in his social media comments also said it was "inappropriate" to have named Musk ally Jared Isaacman as NASA administrator considering Musk's business with the space agency. In December Trump named Isaacman, a billionaire private astronaut, to lead NASA but withdrew the nomination on May 31, before his Senate confirmation vote and without explanation. Trump, who has yet to announce a new NASA nominee, on Sunday confirmed media reports he disapproved of Isaacman's previous support for Democratic politicians. "I also thought it inappropriate that a very close friend of Elon, who was in the Space Business, run NASA, when NASA is such a big part of Elon's corporate life," Trump said on Truth Social. "My Number One charge is to protect the American Public!" Musk's announcement of a new party immediately brought a rebuke from Azoria Partners, which said on Saturday it will postpone the listing of its Azoria Tesla Convexity exchange-traded fund because the party's creation posed "a conflict with his full-time responsibilities as CEO." Azoria was set to launch the Tesla ETF this week. Azoria CEO James Fishback posted on X several critical comments about the new party and reiterated his support for Trump. "I encourage the Board to meet immediately and ask Elon to clarify his political ambitions and evaluate whether they are compatible with his full-time obligations to Tesla as CEO," Fishback said.
Express Tribune
an hour ago
- Express Tribune
BRICS declares Gaza 'inseparable' part of Palestinian state
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed Al Nahyan, Indonesia's President Prabowo Subianto, South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa, Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, India's PM Narendra Modi, China's Premier Li Qiang, Ethiopia's PM Abiy Ahmed, Egypt's PM Mostafa Madbouly, and Iran's FM Abbas Araghchi pose for a family Brics summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on July 6, 2025. — AFP Listen to article BRICS has declared the Gaza Strip an 'inseparable part of the occupied Palestinian Territory' and called for a unified Palestinian governance under the Palestinian Authority. In a joint declaration, the bloc reaffirmed its support for the Palestinian people's right to self-determination and an independent State of Palestine, reported Anadolu Agency on Monday. The statement also endorsed full Palestinian membership at the United Nations. The member states expressed 'grave concern' over Israel's continued military operations in Gaza and the blocking of humanitarian assistance, strongly condemning the use of starvation as a weapon of war. 'We urge the parties to engage in good faith in further negotiations to achieve an immediate, permanent and unconditional ceasefire,' the statement read. BRICS also called for the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza and all parts of the occupied Palestinian Territory, as well as the release of all hostages and detainees held in violation of international law. BRICS, which originally included Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, has expanded its diplomatic reach in recent years and increasingly positioned itself as a counterweight to Western influence on global security issues. Palestinian death toll mounts Overnight Israeli airstrikes killed nine Palestinians across the Gaza Strip, including a child, medical sources told Al Jazeera. Al-Shifa Hospital reported that six people, including a child, were killed and at least 15 others were wounded in a strike on a clinic in the Remal neighbourhood of Gaza City. Separately, one person was killed and others were injured when an apartment building was bombed in the Tal al-Hawa area, also in Gaza City. Read: Gaza ceasefire takes priority over Israel ties, says Saudi FM In central Gaza, a medical source at Al-Aqsa Martyrs and al-Awda Hospitals confirmed that two people were killed and several others wounded in a strike on a residential home in the Bureij refugee camp. Ceasefire talks US President Donald Trump said on Sunday there is a strong possibility of a Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal being reached with Hamas this week, according to Reuters. Speaking to reporters before leaving for Washington, Trump said such a deal could see the release of "quite a few hostages" held in Gaza. The Israeli delegation is not sufficiently authorised to reach an agreement with Hamas, as it has no real powers. Palestinian source Trump is expected to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Monday, where the war in Gaza is likely to be high on the agenda. His comments come as indirect ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas in Qatar concluded their first session without a breakthrough, two Palestinian sources told Reuters. Read more: Netanyahu hopes Trump talks will boost Gaza hostage deal efforts 'The Israeli delegation is not sufficiently authorised to reach an agreement with Hamas, as it has no real powers,' said one source, referring to the talks held in Doha. Netanyahu, speaking ahead of his departure to Washington, said Israeli negotiators had been given 'clear instructions' to pursue a ceasefire deal under terms already approved by Israel. 'Gaza killings funded by taxpayer money' Meanwhile, US mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani has accused the American government of using taxpayer money to fund the killing of children in Gaza, drawing sharp reactions online and in political circles. In a post on X, Mamdani wrote: 'Sorry America, while you're struggling to pay for your health care, rent, and education, remember that your government couldn't help you because they have to give Israel billions of dollars in US citizen tax money to bomb and kill innocent children in Gaza'. Sorry America, while you're struggling to pay for your health care, rent, and education, remember that your government couldn't help you because they have to give Israel billions of dollars in US citizen tax money to bomb and kill innocent children in Gaza. — Zohran Mamdani (@zohranmamdani) July 7, 2025 Israel's war on Gaza The Israeli army has launched a brutal offensive against Gaza since October 2023, killing at least 57,481 Palestinians, including 134,592 children. More than 111,588 people have been injured, and over 14,222 are missing and presumed dead. Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave. The proposed deal includes a pause in hostilities, increased humanitarian aid, and negotiations on the release of captives.
