Latest news with #British-made
New York Post
10 hours ago
- Business
- New York Post
Treasury chief predicts 10 more tariff deals by Labor Day — as EU reportedly nears new pact, too
WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent predicted Friday that the US could secure 10 more tariff deals with other countries before Labor Day — as the European Union is reportedly edging toward a new trade pact, too. Bessent said the trade deals would give the US economy a major boost, as would the proposed tax cuts and deregulatory provisions in President Trump's 'big beautiful bill.' 3 'If we can ink 10 or 12 of the important 18″ [proposed tariff deals], I think we could have trade wrapped up by Labor Day,' Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox Business' Maria Bartiromo in an interview Friday. FOX Business Advertisement 'If we can ink 10 or 12 of the important 18 [tentative tariff deals], I think we could have trade wrapped up by Labor Day,' the Treasury chief told Fox Business' Maria Bartiromo in an interview. 'We will have taxes and trade, which I think will provide great stimulus from the economy, and then there's the deregulatory impact,' he said. It's not clear which countries Bessent was talking about, but a pre-existing trade agreement with Canada and Mexico from Trump's first term has expedited tariff discussions between those nations. Meanwhile, other talks involving Japan, South Korea and Vietnam are making progress, Wall Street sources told The Post. Advertisement European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also recently told officials she expected the EU could reach an agreement before mid-July, according to Bloomberg News. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick hinted at the extra trade deals Thursday as the Trump administration recently secured tariff agreements with the UK and China — while the July 8 deadline looms for so-called 'reciprocal' duties on products imported to the US. The US-UK agreement aligns with Trump's 10% global baseline tariff rate on all products including up to 100,000 imported cars annually. As part of the pact, Downing Street will scrap its 19% ethanol fuel tariff and the US is nixing all duties on British-made airplane parts. 3 Bessent (second from left) and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer (left) meet with Chinese officials over trade last month. via REUTERS Advertisement The US will place 55% duties on goods from Beijing, too, while China will keep 10% tariffs on American products, Trump previously announced. 'Now our tariffs are 30[%] on them. We're at 10[%]. We're collecting a substantial tariff income,' Bessent noted Friday. There are still details to be worked out regarding Chinese magnets and rare-earth minerals, while the US has pledged to walk back visa revocations for students coming from China to learn at US universities and colleges. Trump first announced new 10% US 'Liberation Day' tariffs April 2 and promised much higher 'reciprocal' rates to reduce trade imbalances with the US that have consistently been postponed to allow for negotiations such as those conducted with the UK and China. Advertisement As some of his planned higher rates have fallen through, Wall Street traders coined the term 'TACO' — for 'Trump Always Chickens Out.' 3 Bessent's positive statements preceded the S&P 500 hitting a record high and stock futures surging Friday. AFP via Getty Images Lower courts had initially blocked some of the new tariffs, but a federal appellate court paused that decision until a July 31 hearing. Trump had previously set a goal for his administration to broker 90 trade deals in 90 days between April 9 and July 8. The president has also set a July 4 deadline for Republicans in Congress to pass a massive tax-and-spending bill that makes items from Trump's 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act permanent while also eliminating taxes on tips and overtime. Bessent's positive statements preceded the S&P 500 hitting a record high and stock futures surging Friday. 'In the first 100 days, we set the table for the peace deals, the trade deals and the tax deals,' the Treasury secretary said. 'And now, in these 100 days, we're bringing them all home.'
The National
a day ago
- Politics
- The National
I spent four years in Iran's Evin Prison, but strength has come from it
The retired civil engineer, now 71, had been visiting his mum in the north of Tehran when he was suddenly arrested and imprisoned having been falsely accused of spying for Israel's Mossad Intelligence agency, despite having lived in the UK for 20 years. He spent nearly five years in the jail in foul conditions, facing long hours of interrogation and threats, which eventually drove him to attempt to take his own life three times. But through his own and his family's perseverance and determination, he has lived to tell the tale. In March 2022, Ashoori was released from Evin Prison alongside fellow British-Iranian national Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe. READ MORE: Glasgow arts centre temporarily closes after pro-Palestine protest Their release followed months of intensive diplomatic negotiations between London and Tehran and the repaying of a debt owed by the UK to Iran. The UK paid £393.8m owed to Iran after it cancelled an order for British-made Chieftain tanks following the overthrow of the Shah in the revolution of 1979. Now dad-of-two Ashoori will be sharing his incredible story with the people of Scotland at an exhibition accounting his experiences in Perth, run by the local Amnesty International group. Ashoori told The National he wanted to convey some crucial messages in the account of his ordeal and remind people that what happened to him could have happened to anyone. 'If we as the British public are indifferent to the things that are happening around us, it will come and knock at our door,' he said. 'So we should be vigilant. I was an ordinary person, I was living my own life, and I was involved with engineering, my main hobby was astronomy, nothing to do with politics and I fell into this trap. If it can happen to me, it can happen to anyone. 'My other message is that there are two golden rules for victory; golden rule number one is always remember that perseverance pays off, as it did for me. Golden rule number two is never forget golden rule number one. (Image: Amnesty International) 'It was because of perseverance by my family that I am now here. Otherwise I would be among my friends who are now being transferred from Evin prison after that attack to a far worse prison in south of Tehran. Their life has turned from hell, to triple hell." Evin Prison came under attack by Israel earlier this week amid strikes elsewhere in Tehran. The exhibition at St John's Kirk in Perth – devised by Ashoori himself with the support of Amnesty International – will recreate the emotional and physical reality of his detention and will feature personal items Ashoori was able to smuggle out of Tehran's notorious Evin prison after his release. It will feature a reconstruction of his arrest, the crowded conditions in cockroach- and bedbug-infested communal cells, and how the inspiration of hoping to run the London marathon after his release helped Ashoori cope with his time in jail. It is miraculous he is now able to share this story of resolve and courage when a few years before, he had been in solitary confinement, with a floodlight beaming down onto his head 24 hours a day and malfunctioning air conditioning. 'All that it could blow was hot air,' he said. READ MORE: Patrick Harvie and Angus Robertson face-off over Israel divestment 'The food was foul, and I could hear very clearly the sound of crying and whimpering of my neighbouring cells. So, there was sleep deprivation, long hours of interrogation trying to force me to make confessions. 'Then came the threats. They had my laptop, and they printed pictures of my family members. They used to come and say, 'look this is your son smiling, next time you're going to have a picture of his corpse'. 'When you are going through that day after day, you reach a threshold. Eventually, because of those pressures and lack of sleep, you tend to believe what they say. 'I reached a point where I reasoned with myself that the only way to protect my family members from harm was not to be. That led to three suicide attempts. Luckily, I survived.' Amid the torture and despair Ashoori was going through, there was glimpses of hope he held onto, through running while in prison and the poetry society he created with other inmates. One of his fellow prisoners opened his eyes to a collection of poems called Flowers of Evil by Charles Baudelaire, which he reflects on regularly in the healthy, happy life he now leads – which has included him living out his dream of running the London Marathon no less than four times. 'After being released, the Anoosheh Ashoori that was so indifferent to all these things became quite active. So many good things emerged, one of them was the London Marathon, of course,' he said. 'The Flowers of Evil collection of poems [taught us] even from the darkest places, goodness can emerge. Strength can emerge. That is what happened.' The Surviving Evin exhibition is running from Friday, June 27 to Sunday, July 6, at St John's Kirk, Perth.
Middle East Eye
a day ago
- Business
- Middle East Eye
UK government faces fresh questions over legality of F-35 exports to Israel
The chair of the UK parliament's international development committee has raised major concerns over the government's legal justification for continuing to send British-made F-35 components to Israel. In a letter sent to business secretary Jonathan Reynolds on Thursday, Labour MP Sarah Champion said that she was troubled by the government's decision to allow the export of the parts indirectly to Israel, given its own assessment that there were clear risks of serious violations of international humanitarian law by Israel in Gaza. "I remain concerned that there is a real risk that weapon components, manufactured in the UK, could be used in attacks, including those on aid workers or humanitarian infrastructure," she wrote. "Adherence to the rule of law, including international law, is fundamental if we are to take a position of leadership on the world stage. We must respect, and ensure respect for [international humanitarian law]." Last September, the government suspended around 30 arms export licences after a review ordered by the newly elected Labour government found that Israel might have used British-made weapons in serious violations of international law in Gaza. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters UK-made F-35 components sent to the F-35 programme's global pool were exempt over concerns that there was no way to stop sending British parts destined for Israel without disrupting the entire global fleet and endangering international peace and security. Court documents in a legal challenge to the government's arms exports to Israel show that senior British officials talked to their American counterparts shortly before the announced suspensions to try to stop UK parts from going to the pool, but concluded that there were too many obstacles. One main issue was that, under the governing MOU, the F-35 programme is overseen by an executive steering board, which is chaired by the US and comprises representatives of participating states, and makes decisions by consensus. All participant states would have to agree for components being used in Israeli F-35s to be limited, and logistics that are not currently used would have to be put in place to separate out components destined for Israel, the court documents outlined. However, Champion questioned whether the exemption of the UK-made F-35 parts from the suspension was compatible with the UK's legal obligations, particularly under the Arms Trade Treaty and the Genocide Convention. She has asked Reynolds 10 questions focused on these issues, including what legal authority the government has relied upon for the exemption. She also asked whether the government accepted that the duty to prevent genocide in Gaza had been triggered. If so, what steps "is the UK taking to employ 'all means' and do 'all in their power' to prevent genocide, as far as possible?" she wrote. Similar concerns have been raised by the UK-based Global Legal Action Network (Glan) and the Palestinian human rights organisation Al-Haq, which have challenged the UK government's decision in the High Court. They have also been raised by business and trade committee chair Liam Byrne in a series of letters sent to Foreign Minister Stephen Doughty over the past seven months. Most recently, Byrne has proposed that Doughty and other Foreign Office and Ministry of Defence ministers appear before his committee before the summer recess to answer questions, among other issues, about government data which shows that licences for the export to Israel of $169m worth of military equipment were approved in the three months following the September 2024 supensions. Champion's questions come as the UK government announced this week plans to purchase 12 new F-35 jets that can carry US nuclear weapons. She has asked Reynolds for answers by 11 July.
The National
a day ago
- Politics
- The National
'I spent four years in Iran's Evin Prison, but strength has come from it'
The retired civil engineer, now 71, had been visiting his mum in the north of Tehran when he was suddenly arrested and imprisoned having been falsely accused of spying for Israel's Mossad Intelligence agency, despite having lived in the UK for 20 years. He spent nearly five years in the jail in foul conditions, facing long hours of interrogation and threats, which eventually drove him to attempt to take his own life three times. But through his own and his family's perseverance and determination, he has lived to tell the tale. In March 2022, Ashoori was released from Evin Prison alongside fellow British-Iranian national Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe. READ MORE: Glasgow arts centre temporarily closes after pro-Palestine protest Their release followed months of intensive diplomatic negotiations between London and Tehran and the repaying of a debt owed by the UK to Iran. The UK paid £393.8m owed to Iran after it cancelled an order for British-made Chieftain tanks following the overthrow of the Shah in the revolution of 1979. Now dad-of-two Ashoori will be sharing his incredible story with the people of Scotland at an exhibition accounting his experiences in Perth, run by the local Amnesty International group. Ashoori told The National he wanted to convey some crucial messages in the account of his ordeal and remind people that what happened to him could have happened to anyone. 'If we as the British public are indifferent to the things that are happening around us, it will come and knock at our door,' he said. 'So we should be vigilant. I was an ordinary person, I was living my own life, and I was involved with engineering, my main hobby was astronomy, nothing to do with politics and I fell into this trap. If it can happen to me, it can happen to anyone. 'My other message is that there are two golden rules for victory; golden rule number one is always remember that perseverance pays off, as it did for me. Golden rule number two is never forget golden rule number one. (Image: Amnesty International) 'It was because of perseverance by my family that I am now here. Otherwise I would be among my friends who are now being transferred from Evin prison after that attack to a far worse prison in south of Tehran. Their life has turned from hell, to triple hell." Evin Prison came under attack by Israel earlier this week amid strikes elsewhere in Tehran. The exhibition at St John's Kirk in Perth – devised by Ashoori himself with the support of Amnesty International – will recreate the emotional and physical reality of his detention and will feature personal items Ashoori was able to smuggle out of Tehran's notorious Evin prison after his release. It will feature a reconstruction of his arrest, the crowded conditions in cockroach- and bedbug-infested communal cells, and how the inspiration of hoping to run the London marathon after his release helped Ashoori cope with his time in jail. It is miraculous he is now able to share this story of resolve and courage when a few years before, he had been in solitary confinement, with a floodlight beaming down onto his head 24 hours a day and malfunctioning air conditioning. 'All that it could blow was hot air,' he said. READ MORE: Patrick Harvie and Angus Robertson face-off over Israel divestment 'The food was foul, and I could hear very clearly the sound of crying and whimpering of my neighbouring cells. So, there was sleep deprivation, long hours of interrogation trying to force me to make confessions. 'Then came the threats. They had my laptop, and they printed pictures of my family members. They used to come and say, 'look this is your son smiling, next time you're going to have a picture of his corpse'. 'When you are going through that day after day, you reach a threshold. Eventually, because of those pressures and lack of sleep, you tend to believe what they say. 'I reached a point where I reasoned with myself that the only way to protect my family members from harm was not to be. That led to three suicide attempts. Luckily, I survived.' Amid the torture and despair Ashoori was going through, there was glimpses of hope he held onto, through running while in prison and the poetry society he created with other inmates. One of his fellow prisoners opened his eyes to a collection of poems called Flowers of Evil by Charles Baudelaire, which he reflects on regularly in the healthy, happy life he now leads – which has included him living out his dream of running the London Marathon no less than four times. 'After being released, the Anoosheh Ashoori that was so indifferent to all these things became quite active. So many good things emerged, one of them was the London Marathon, of course,' he said. 'The Flowers of Evil collection of poems [taught us] even from the darkest places, goodness can emerge. Strength can emerge. That is what happened.' The Surviving Evin exhibition is running from Friday, June 27 to Sunday, July 6, at St John's Kirk, Perth.
The Print
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Print
Putin ups production of Oreshnik missile after it had ‘proven itself' in combat conditions
The system has 'proven itself very well in combat conditions,' he added. 'Serial production of the latest Oreshnik medium-range missile system is under way,' Putin told a graduating class of military cadets in televised comments. Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday that Russia is stepping up production of its Oreshnik intermediate-range hypersonic missile, which it launched for the first time against Ukraine last November. Russia first used the Oreshnik (Hazel tree) against Ukraine on November 21, when Putin said it had fired the missile at a defence enterprise in the city of Dnipro. He said he had authorised the strike in direct response to Ukraine's first use of U.S.-made ballistic missiles and British-made cruise missiles to hit Russian territory, after Western countries granted their permission. Putin subsequently threatened further strikes, including against 'decision-making centres' in Kyiv, if Ukraine kept attacking Russia with long-range Western weapons. Intermediate missiles have a range of up to 5,500 km (3,415 miles), which would enable them to strike anywhere in Europe or the western United States from Russia. Putin has boasted that the Oreshnik is impossible to intercept and has destructive power comparable to a nuclear weapon, although some Western experts have cast doubt on those claims. In December, a U.S. official said the weapon was not seen as a game-changer on the battlefield, calling it experimental in nature and saying Russia likely possessed only a handful. Putin said late last year that Russia could also deploy Oreshniks on the territory of its ally Belarus in the second half of 2025. Belarus shares borders with NATO members Poland, Latvia and Lithuania. (Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin and Dmitry Antonov; Writing by Lucy Papachristou; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
