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Trump calls India’s tariff hike unacceptable, says will ask Modi to withdraw it
After the positive vibes from the cordial talks between US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Indian External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar, the President of the United States – POTUS, as they call it – Donald Trump threw a spanner in the works ahead of his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Japan.
Trump today (Thursday, June 27) demanded that India withdraw its increased trade tariffs, calling them “unacceptable.”
Trump said in a tweet: “I look forward to speaking with Prime Minister Modi about the fact that India, for years having put very high Tariffs against the United States, just recently increased the Tariffs even further. This is unacceptable and the Tariffs must be withdrawn!”
I look forward to speaking with Prime Minister Modi about the fact that India, for years having put very high Tariffs against the United States, just recently increased the Tariffs even further. This is unacceptable and the Tariffs must be withdrawn!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 27, 2019
Trump has often commented on India’s tariff barriers, referring to India as “tariff king” and threatening to impose retaliatory tariffs on Indian products as well.
Immediately after PM Modi was sworn in for second term, Trump informed the US Congress of his decision to terminate India’s designation as a beneficiary developing nation under the key GSP trade programme after determining that it has not assured the US that it will provide “equitable and reasonable access to its markets.”
Accordingly, Washington withdrew the long-standing trade privileges for New Delhi under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) on June 1. Trump said the preferential status had allowed India to sell goods worth $5.6 billion duty-free.
The Generalised System of Preference (GSP) is the largest and oldest US trade preference programme and is designed to promote economic development by allowing duty-free entry for thousands of products from designated beneficiary countries.
India has been a beneficiary of the US’ GSP programme since November 1975. As exports under GSP accounted for over 11 per cent of India’s total goods exports of .4 billion to the US in 2018, the withdrawal could affect India’s competitiveness in exports of 1,900 items, including organic chemical raw materials, iron, steel, furniture, aluminium and electrical machinery, as duties will now be levied on these products.
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India, after extending the deadline for several times, slapped additional customs duties on 29 US products, including almond, walnut and pulses, with effect from June 16.
Quoting government sources, news agency Reuters reported that India rejected Trump’s argument, saying the tariffs were not that high compared to other developing countries.
Trump’s grouse has been that US is purchasing more from other nations than it sells, which has stunted manufacturing in the country.
Over the last several months, Washington imposed tariff and withdrew concessions on millions of dollars’ worth of goods from across the world and has been embroiled in a trade war, particularly with China. But other nations imposing retaliatory tariffs on the US is robbing Washington of the foreign markets it needs to sell its goods.
Yesterday, after his daylong talks with Foreign Minister Dr S Jaishankar, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, while defending his government’s decision, emphasised that the US needs greater access to the Indian market.
Also Read: US Secy of State Mike Pompeo meets PM Modi, External Affairs Ministers S Jaishankar
A state department fact sheet yesterday said, “There is enormous potential to grow our trade relationship and create the high-quality jobs that Prime Minister Modi wants if India lowers trade barriers and embraces fair and reciprocal trade”. It also emphasised that the Trump Administration was working to ensure that “American companies operating in India have the same level playing field that Indian companies enjoy in the United States.”
After yesterday’s meeting, Jaishankar said he has “pushed for a constructive and pragmatic view”, and the “real test of our intentions will be our ability to deal with this”.
He quoted Pompeo as saying that there has been a lot of “noise”, and the two sides need to go to the basics. “My confidence is reaffirmed about our ability to address (the issues). I am reassured about the solidity of the relationship,” he said.
The US Secretary of State also said the two sides need to work on these issues with “as little theatre as possible”. “We have to get the economic piece right. Great friends are bound to have disagreements,” Pompeo said, downplaying concerns.
PM Modi’s meeting with President Trump is expected to take the discussion forward.
Trump and Modi are scheduled to hold a bilateral summit tomorrow, Friday in Osaka, Japan.
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Suicide bombing near Turkey Parliament building in Ankara, 2 cops injured
Turkey’s main opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu has slammed the attack in Ankara and stated that terrorism is a crime against humanity.
Turkey’s interior minister Ali Yerlikaya on Sunday asserted that two terrorists carried out a bomb attack in front of the ministry buildings in Ankara. He added that one of them died in the explosion and the other was “neutralised” by authorities there.
Earlier, Turkish media reported that an explosion was heard near the parliament and ministerial buildings, and broadcasters showed footage of debris scattered on a street near the Interior Ministry. A footage from Reuters showed soldiers, ambulances, fire trucks and an armoured vehicle gathered near the centre of Turkey’s capital, where the police have blocked multiple key roads.
Taking to social media X, formerly Twitter, Ali Yerlikaya, the interior minister, said that two police officers were slightly injured in the incident at 9:30 a.m. He added that two terrorists came with a light commercial vehicle in front of the entrance gate of the General Directorate of Security of their Ministry of Internal Affairs and carried out a bomb attack.
The interior minister further mentioned that one of the terrorists blew himself up and the other was neutralised, which usually means was killed. He noted that their struggle will continue until the last terrorist is neutralised.
Reports said that Ankara’s chief prosecutor initiated an investigation into what it also called a terrorist attack. Authorities did not identify any specific militant group, as yet.
Meanwhile, Turkey’s main opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu has slammed the attack in Ankara and stated that terrorism is a crime against humanity. The leader of the Republican People’s Party mentioned that no matter from whom and where it came from, they will fight it together as a country and will never give treacherous ambitions a chance.
The concerned authorities in Ankara have cautioned the citizens over suspicious packages and bags that are being detonated in a controlled manner. Ankara Security Directorate asked citizens not to panic.
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Balochistan blast: Pakistan alleges India’s involvement in suicide attack, toll rises to 60
Sarfaraz Bugti told media that civil, military and all other institution will jointly strike against the elements involved in the Mastung suicide bombing.
Pakistan interior minister Sarfaraz Bugti in a shocking claim alleged India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) intelligence agency for the suicide blast in Balochistan. The blast that took place on Friday claimed the lives of nearly 60 people, leaving 60 others injured. The Indian government, on the other hand, is yet to make an official statement on Sarfaraz Bugti’s allegations.
The suicide bomb attack targeted a procession which gathered to celebrate Prophet Muhammad’s birthday near the Madina Masjid at a place called Mastung. The blast tore through the mosque in the southern province of Balochistan after the bomber denoted his explosive near a police vehicle where the people gathered for the procession.
Sarfaraz Bugti told media at Quetta that civil, military and all other institution will jointly strike against the elements involved in the Mastung suicide bombing. Without providing much details or evidence, the Pakistan minister claimed that RAW is involved in the suicide attack.
Wasim Baig, the spokesman for Balochistan’s health department, asserted that seven more people had died in hospital since Friday, which had caused the rise in the death toll. He added that more patients remained in critical condition.
In addition, a second attack on Friday at a mosque in northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had killed nearly five people. Police on Saturday lodged a report to initiate an investigation, mentioning that they had sent DNA from the suicide bomb attacker to be analysed.
So far, no group has claimed responsibility for either attack. A surge in terror attacks in Pakistan’s western provinces has cast a shadow on preparations and public campaigning in the run-up to January’s general elections, but until now the attacks had mostly targeted security forces.
The Pakistani Taliban (TTP), which is responsible for some of the bloodiest attacks in Pakistan since the group’s formation in 2007, denied responsibility for Friday’s blasts. On Saturday, a statement from the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) said that an FIR with murder charges and terrorism offences has been registered against an unidentified attacker.
The caretaker government of Balochistan announced three days of mourning in the wake of the attack.
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Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, Mahmood Qureshi held guilty in cipher case
The PTI leaders’ trial has been requested by the FIA, and it is expected that they would be sentenced in accordance with the law.
Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi were found guilty on Saturday by Pakistan’s top investigating agency in the cypher case, a case involving the alleged exposure of state secrets.
The charge sheet against Khan, the Tehreek-e-Insaf party chairman, and Qureshi, who are both presently being held in custody on judicial remand, was submitted by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to a special court set up under the Official Secrets Act, according to the Pakistan Observer website.
Imran Khan, 70, was detained last month following the filing of a complaint against him for allegedly breaking the Official Secrets Act by revealing a covert diplomatic cable (cypher) issued by the nation’s embassy in Washington last year in March.
The PTI leaders’ trial has been requested by the FIA, and it is expected that they would be sentenced in accordance with the law.
The vice chairman of PTI is 75-year-old Shah Mahmood Qureshi. Asad Umar, the former general secretary of the PTI, is not on the FIA’s list of suspects, but former principal secretary Azam Khan has been portrayed as a key witness in the FIA’s case against Imran Khan, according to GeoTV, a well-known news outlet. The challan also contains Azam Khan’s statement recorded under sections 161 and 164.
The speeches by Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Imran Khan from March 27 are also included in the FIA’s attachment.
The Pakistan Observer further noted that the FIA had provided the court with a list of 28 witnesses in addition to the charge sheet. According to the report, the list of witnesses includes names such as current foreign secretary Asad Majid, previous foreign secretary Sohail Mahmood, and additional foreign secretary Faisal Niaz Tirmizi.
Imran Khan had been imprisoned on remand three times earlier on September 26. Along with Qureshi, his judicial remand was initially extended until September 13 and then again until September 26.
The former PM was transferred from Attock prison to the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi on the same day, one day after the Islamabad High Court instructed authorities to do so.
