Latest news with #USsanctions
News24
3 days ago
- Business
- News24
Trump's tariffs cloud G20 finance chiefs' meeting
South Africa urged G20 countries to show global and cooperative leadership to tackle challenges including rising trade barriers, as the club's finance chiefs met on Thursday under the shadow of President Donald Trump's tariff threats. The G20, which emerged as a forum for cooperation to combat the 2008 global financial crisis, has for years been hobbled by disputes among key players that have been exacerbated by Russia's war in Ukraine and Western sanctions on Moscow. Under its presidency's motto 'Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability', South Africa has aimed to promote an African agenda, with topics including the high cost of capital and funding for climate change action. Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana said the G20 must provide strategic global leadership, cooperation and action in the face of complex challenges. We have a critical role to play in revitalising and strengthening multilateralism by fostering inclusive dialogue, reinforcing rules-based cooperation and driving collective action in global challenges that no country can solve alone. Enoch Godongwana 'The need for bold cooperative leadership has never been greater,' he said. Questions, however, are lingering over the ability of the finance chiefs and central bankers meeting in the coastal city of Durban to tackle those issues and others together. The G20 aims to coordinate policies, but its agreements are non-binding. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent did not attend the two-day meeting, his second absence from a G20 event in South Africa this year. Bessent also skipped February's gathering in Cape Town, where several officials from China, Japan and Canada were also absent, even though Washington is due to assume the G20 rotating presidency at the end of the year. Michael Kaplan, acting undersecretary for international affairs, will represent the US at the meetings. A G20 delegate, who asked not to be named, said Bessent's absence was not ideal but that the US was engaging in discussions on trade, the global economy and climate language. Finance ministers from India, France and Russia are also set to miss the Durban meeting. Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago said that representation was what mattered most. What matters is, is there somebody with a mandate sitting behind the flag and are all countries represented with somebody sitting behind the flag? Lesetja Kganyago US officials have said little publicly about their plans for the presidency next year, but one source familiar with them said Washington would reduce the number of non-financial working groups and streamline the summit schedule. Tariff shadow Trump's tariff policies have torn up the global trade rule book and clouded the economic outlook. With baseline levies of 10% on all US imports and targeted rates as high as 50% on steel and aluminium, 25% on cars and potential levies on pharmaceuticals, extra tariffs on more than 20 countries are slated to take effect on 1 August. His threat to impose a further 10% tariffs on Brics nations – of which eight are G20 members – has raised fears of fragmentation within global forums. Germany's Bundesbank chief said the central bank's expectation of 0.7% growth in Europe's largest economy next year could be eaten up if tariffs of 30% threatened by Trump were implemented. If tariffs materialise in August, a recession in Germany in 2025 cannot be ruled out. Joachim Nagel Trump's attacks on US Federal Reserve chairperson Jerome Powell were causing concern too, with Nagel warning against interfering with the independence of central banks. On the broader agenda, Treasury Director General Duncan Pieterse said the G20 hoped to issue the first communique under the South African G20 presidency by the end of the meetings. The G20 was last able to collectively issue a communique a year ago.
Reuters
11-07-2025
- Business
- Reuters
UAE stocks rise as oil gains on IEA's market outlook
July 11 (Reuters) - Stock markets in the United Arab Emirates rebounded on Friday, led by gains in oil prices, while U.S. tariffs and possible further sanctions on Russia were also in focus. Crude prices rose after the International Energy Agency said on Friday the global oil market may be tighter than it appears, with demand supported by peak summer refinery runs to meet travel and power-generation. Brent crude was up 0.5% at $68.99 a barrel as of 1110 GMT. Dubai's main market rose by 0.4%, hitting a fresh 17-year peak as its upward momentum entered into a third straight week of gains. Real estate stocks also drove gains in the index, with market heavyweight Emaar Properties ( opens new tab advancing 1.4%, while business park operator Tecom Group ( opens new tab added 1.8%. Among financials, Ajman Bank ( opens new tab was one of the top performers, jumping 3.4% after the Ajman government raised its stake in the lender to 31.1%. Abu Dhabi's benchmark index (.FTFADGI), opens new tab inched 0.2% higher, supported by a 2.5% increase in IHC-owned investment firm Multiply Group ( opens new tab and 2.4% rise in real estate giant Aldar Properties ( opens new tab. Separately, Adnoc Gas signed a three-year LNG supply agreement worth AED 1.5 billion ($408.42 million) with Germany's SEFE, although the Abu Dhabi-based company's shares closed unchanged. For the week, Dubai's index recorded a 1.8% gain, while Abu Dhabi's index rose 0.8%, according to data from LSEG. ($1 = 3.6727 UAE dirham)
Al Jazeera
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
UN expert Albanese rejects ‘obscene' US sanctions for criticising Israel
United Nations expert Francesca Albanese has slammed the decision by the United States to sanction her as 'obscene', saying she is being targeted for calling out Israel's genocide in Gaza. Speaking to Al Jazeera on Thursday, Albanese, who serves as the UN's special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territory, said she would not be cowed into silence by the US move against her on Wednesday. Albanese stressed that the penalties imposed by President Donald Trump's administration would not stop her 'quest for [the] respect of justice and international law'. The special rapporteur said Washington's tactics reminded her of 'Mafia intimidation techniques' before suggesting that 'sanctions will only work if people are scared and stop engaging'. 'I want to remind everyone [that] the reason why these sanctions are being imposed is the pursuit of justice,' Albanese said. 'Of course I've been critical of Israel. It has been committing genocide and crimes against humanity and war crimes,' she added. While announcing the sanctions on Wednesday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio charged Albanese with waging a 'campaign of political and economic warfare against the United States and Israel'. The UN rapporteur hit back on Thursday, noting that the atrocities being committed in Gaza were not just down to 'the unrelinquished territorial ambitions of Israel' and the backing of its supporters but also 'companies who are profiting from it'. Last week, she released a report mapping the corporations aiding Israel in the displacement of Palestinians and its genocidal war on Gaza in breach of international law. Albanese told Al Jazeera that she was still evaluating the effects the US sanctions would have on her. However, she said her problems are nothing compared with what Palestinians face in Gaza during Israel's ongoing bombardments, ground operations and blockade of the territory. Albanese also took aim at the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), calling it a 'death trap'. The Israeli- and US-backed group runs the aid distribution sites where hundreds of Palestinians have been shot and killed since late May while queueing for food. Move against Albanese 'a dangerous precedent' The UN expert also defended the International Criminal Court's (ICC's) investigation into Israeli actions in Gaza and its decision to call for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's arrest on charges of war crimes. Rubio has described Albanese's push for the prosecution of Israeli officials at the ICC as the legal basis for the sanctions. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres's spokesman was among those to criticise the US sanctions on Albanese. While highlighting that Albanese reports to the UN Human Rights Council rather than the secretary-general, Stephane Dujarric called the decision 'a dangerous precedent'. 'The use of unilateral sanctions against special rapporteurs or any other UN expert or official is unacceptable,' he said. UN Human Rights Council Ambassador Jurg Lauber also lamented the move against Albanese. 'I call on all UN member states to fully cooperate with the special rapporteurs and mandate holders of the council and to refrain from any acts of intimidation or reprisal against them,' Lauber said. Israel's campaign in Gaza has destroyed most of the territory and killed more than 57,575 Palestinians over the past 21 months, according to local health officials.
Bloomberg
01-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Huawei Bid to Dismiss US Trade Sanction Case Rejected by Judge
Huawei Technologies Co. must face a criminal trial next year in New York after a federal judge refused a request by the Chinese wireless equipment maker to dismiss more than a dozen charges, including racketeering, trade secret theft and violating US sanctions on Iran. US District Judge Ann Donnelly on Tuesday rejected arguments by China's largest technology company that there wasn't enough evidence in the indictment to support 13 of the 16 charges.
Asharq Al-Awsat
27-06-2025
- Business
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Israel Tracks Hezbollah's Cash Vaults from Damascus to Dahiyeh and Sidon
Israel is expanding its campaign to dismantle Hezbollah's financial infrastructure, targeting suspected cash storage sites from the Syrian capital Damascus to the Beirut southern suburb of Dahiyeh and the coastal city of Sidon. Israel's rare announcement this week of a strike targeting a Lebanese money changer it accused of transferring funds to Hezbollah marks a sharp escalation in its efforts to dismantle the group's financial networks, a campaign that first surfaced in Syria in 2020 and intensified during its latest military offensive in Lebanon. On Tuesday, Israel said it had struck Haitham Bakri, a money changer in southern Lebanon, claiming he had facilitated financial transactions for Hezbollah. The move comes amid a wider Israeli push to cripple the group's access to cash, which has included targeting buildings believed to store Hezbollah funds, notably in Beirut's southern suburbs. Israeli military statements have typically focused on military targets. But this week's public naming of Bakri — along with disclosures about other money changers allegedly assisting Hezbollah — represents a rare departure from the norm. Previous Israeli claims of targeting financial hubs were often dismissed by locals until the latest war provided fresh evidence, with several sites connected to Hezbollah's cash reserves coming under fire. Hezbollah, which is under US sanctions and designated a terrorist group by Washington, has relied almost exclusively on cash-based transactions since 2011, when Lebanese banks began shutting out individuals suspected of ties to the movement. Financial sources told Asharq al-Awsat that the Israeli pressure campaign complements broader international efforts to sever Hezbollah's funding channels — including tighter security at Beirut's airport and the closure of smuggling routes to Syria. In January, Hezbollah members cordoned off a bombed building in the Beirut suburb of Haret Hreik during debris removal operations, according to local sources. Witnesses said they saw 'what was left of iron safes' being pulled from the wreckage. No residents claimed ownership of the items retrieved, raising suspicions that the contents — believed to include large sums of money — belonged to Hezbollah. That incident was not isolated. Residents in southern Beirut say they witnessed similar scenes after Israeli airstrikes, including burned US $100 bills scattered across the ruins of a building in the Mreijeh district. One local told Asharq al-Awsat he could not confirm whether the cash belonged to Hezbollah or to tenants of the targeted building. Further south, residents of a village in Nabatieh district reported finding scorched money after an Israeli strike destroyed a home. During the same period, Lebanese media reported that a Hezbollah operative responsible for salary transfers was killed in northern Lebanon. Following months of ambiguity surrounding Hezbollah's financial network — most notably the discovery of money changer Mohammad Srour's tortured body in Lebanon's Mount Lebanon district in April — Israel has launched a new phase of strikes aimed at what it claims are funding channels for the Iran-backed group. This latest move expands the scope of Israeli targeting to include four Lebanese money exchange companies allegedly linked to Hezbollah, according to the Israeli military. The move risks further damaging the reputation of Lebanon's financial sector, already battered by years of economic collapse and corruption. 'This poses a direct threat to the credibility of the currency exchange sector,' said economist and university professor Pierre Khoury. He told Asharq al-Awsat that Lebanon urgently needs to implement financial reforms to strip Israel of its stated justifications. 'Israeli attacks are completely illegal under any pretext, as they violate the sovereignty of a nation,' Khoury said. 'But the Lebanese government must eliminate any pretext by enforcing financial governance and transparency. If it does so, any future Israeli attacks will be without justification.' Khoury pointed to international reports that say Lebanese financial institutions — including banks — are still not fully compliant with global anti-money laundering standards. 'The state must take serious steps to ensure financial transparency through capable institutions,' he added. 'Only then can Lebanon shed its image as a haven for political financing and money laundering.'
