by admin | May 25, 2021 | World
Washington : Following the US President Donald Trump’s announcement that he would impose tariffs on the importation of steel and aluminum products, Canada on Thursday termed the decision as “unacceptable”, vowing to take “responsive measures”.
Trump said on Thursday that he would impose 25 per cent of tariff on steel imports and 10 per cent for aluminum to protect the US industry. However, experts said it could hurt US producers and face legal challenges from trade partners.
“As a key NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command) and NATO ally, and as the number one customer of American steel, Canada would view any trade restrictions on Canadian steel and aluminum as absolutely unacceptable,” Xinhua quoted Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland as saying.
In a meeting with business executives, Trump said: “We’ll be signing it next week. And you’ll have protection for a long time in a while.”
News of the tariffs immediately hit sentiment on the Wall Street, with the Dow slumping over 500 points, more than two per cent, in late trading.
Daniel Ikenson, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, said that trade restrictions could hurt US producers by exposing them to competitions from foreign rivals with lower production costs capable of offering lower prices in the US market.
US actions would face legal challenge by other World Trade Organization members, and they would also invite other members to invoke national security to protect favoured industries, said Ikenson.
European Union (EU)’s trade chief Cecilia Malmstrom has said that EU would seek retaliation measures if the Trump administration’s 232 trade investigation brings damage to European steelmakers.
It’s still unknown whether Trump’s announcement on Thursday refer to blanket tariffs for all countries.
In April last year, Trump ordered the Commerce Department to study the impact of steel and aluminum imports on national security under seldom-used section 232 of the 1962 Trade Expansion Act.
Two weeks ago, the Commerce Department unveiled its recommendations for Trump to restrict imports of steel and aluminium products due to national security concerns, which drew opposition from US lawmakers and businesses.
According to the recommendations, the US could introduce at least 24 per cent tariff on all steel imports from all countries and at least 7.7 per cent tariff on all aluminium imports from all countries.
Trump’s announcement on Thursday was higher than both recommendations.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Opinions
By T.P. Sreenivasan,
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s worldwide travels, which appeared to lag a little with the advent of President Donald Trump and his own domestic troubles, resumed with a bang with visits to four Islamic countries in four days in February. For a person of the Prime Minister’s reputation and record, this was revolutionary. No other single journey of his as Prime Minister was so rich in symbolism and practical wisdom.
The sight of Modi travelling in a Jordanian helicopter to Palestine, with an Israeli air escort, was called “history in the making” by the usually reticent spokesman of the Ministry of External Affairs. His visit to Ramallah took place just weeks after the triumphant visit to India by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu which was, by his own admission, part of his quest for political power by winning strong friends.
Although the speech Modi made in Ramallah fell short of restating the traditional Indian position that Israel should withdraw to its 1967 borders and East Jerusalem should be the capital of Palestine, his words in support of an independent Palestine state were categorical enough to deserve the highest Palestinian honour conferred upon him.
The real significance of the visit is that it happened at a time when all of West Asia is volatile. Not to be deterred by the advice of caution, Modi took the bull by the horns, creating speculation that he could play the role of regional peacemaker instead of Trump, who has burnt his boats with the Arab world by declaring Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. But the US President still holds the key to negotiations his son-in-law Jared Kushner is pursuing in collaboration with Saudi Arabia, clearly in Israel’s interests.
The present configuration of relations in West Asia does not permit a fair peace process. But India even being considered for a possible role is significant in itself, as it recognises New Delhi’s balanced and realistic position on Palestine.
Modi’s visit to the UAE had special significance in more ways than one. According to a political analyst, “The last three years of political engagement between the UAE and India has resulted in an upswing of multi-dimensional strategic collaboration. If the past was about oil, trade and expatriates, the present is about food security-for-oil security, defence and maritime cooperation, teamwork in frontier science, and the like. Modi hosting the Israeli leadership in New Delhi and visiting Palestine just ahead of the UAE tour reflects the versatility of Indian foreign policy, which seeks to balance competing, and sometimes contradictory, interests.”
The UAE-India Strategic Dialogue under the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Agreement was at the centre of the visit, the comprehensive Joint Declaration revealed. It covered extremism and terrorism, security, defence and space cooperation, energy and climate change, people and skill development, culture, education and tourism, and international and regional cooperation. India’s concerns about terrorism from one state to another and safe havens found prominent mention in the Declaration. It also enigmatically deplored “efforts by countries to give religious and sectarian colour to political issues”.
This could apply to several sensitive areas.
The real highlights of the visit were that India got its first oil concession in the Gulf. An ONGC Videsh-led consortium got a 10 per cent stake out of the 40 per cent available in the Lower Zakum field. That translates into roughly 2.2 million tonnes of crude per year for the next 40 years. It also concluded the strategic petroleum reserve agreement under which India will soon have six million barrels of UAE crude “in our caverns in Mangalore”, as UAE Ambassador Navdeep Suri put it.
Also significant was DP World’s decision to set up a major inland container terminal in Jammu and Kashmir. As Suri put it: “Apart from the obvious benefit of improving logistics connectivity for J&K, the message from a UAE investment into J&K is significant.”
To this could be added a historic agreement which will enable businesses on both sides to bypass the US dollar or any other foreign currency and trade directly in UAE dirhams and the Indian rupee. The agreement will mean large savings for business communities on both sides as trade between the UAE and India soars to new highs.
Clearly, the UAE visit showed that the trajectory of relations, marked by frequent high-level visits, is assuming the nature of a model for countries with different beliefs and political systems, caught in the tumultuous world of today. The complementarities between them transcend religion, regional commitments and other traditional relationships. It holds the potential for creating bonds among countries that wish to keep out of the emerging Cold War and build beneficial partnerships.
The Oman visit too was important because the special ties here preceded the new links with the UAE. The wide-ranging discussions covered measures to strengthen cooperation in trade and investment, energy, defence, security, food security and regional issues. India and Oman signed eight agreements related to defence, health and tourism.
The signing of a pact between the two countries that will give India a foothold in its extended neighbourhood was a major highlight. The Duqm port will act as India’s entry point to the wider West Asia and Eastern Africa, a welcome development at a time China has deployed strategic assets in the Indian Ocean Region.
Though the visit to Jordan was in transit, Modi, as an Indian Prime Minister to visit the country after a long gap, was warmly welcomed. Jordan is key to the peace process in West Asia and Modi did well to re-establish connections at this time, a visit that was followed up with a scheduled visit by King Abdullah to India this week. And he was received with a hug by Modi, who broke protocol to receive him at the airport.
Modi has often been accused of turning his foreign visits into festivals without much substance. But his visit to West Asia was well timed, well planned and well executed.
His “hugplomacy” happened to be in harmony with Arab tradition, unlike in some other cultures, where it had appeared inappropriate. In symbol and in substance, his wading into the troubled waters of West Asia has given the Prime Minister’s image a boost.
(T.P. Sreenivasan is a former Indian Ambassador. The article is in special arrangement with South Asia Monitor)
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | World
Washington : To dismiss claims of Russian collusion with Donald Trump’s campaign, the US President has leaned on a tweet by a top Facebook executive who said the main intent of the alleged Russian meddling was to divide America, not electing Trump.
“The main goal of the Russian propaganda and misinformation effort is to divide America by using our institutions, like free speech and social media, against us. It has stoked fear and hatred amongst [sic] Americans,” Rob Goldman, Vice President of Ads at Facebook tweeted on Friday.
He also applauded special counsel Robert Mueller’s ongoing investigation of Russian trolls on social media during the 2016 US presidential election.
“The majority of the Russian ad spend happened after the election. We shared that fact, but very few outlets have covered it because it doesn’t align with the main media narrative of Tump and the election,” Goldman said in another tweet.
It did not miss the attention of the Twitter-savvy president who stated that Goldman’s thread supports his argument that there was “no collusion” between the Trump campaign and Russia-linked meddling on social media.
“The Fake News Media never fails. Hard to ignore this fact from the Vice President of Facebook Ads, Rob Goldman!” Trump said in a tweet on Saturday.
In another tweet, Trump accused the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of spending too much time trying to prove Russian collusion with the Trump campaign while there was none.
“Very sad that the FBI missed all of the many signals sent out by the Florida school shooter. This is not acceptable. They are spending too much time trying to prove Russian collusion with the Trump campaign – there is no collusion. Get back to the basics and make us all proud!” one of his tweets read.
Facebook and other social media platforms, like Twitter and Instagram, have come under intense scrutiny in past weeks, as more information has surfaced about how Russian actors used those platforms to spread misinformation online, CNBC reported on Saturday.
Mueller’s 37-page indictment, released on Friday, revealed the depth of Russian involvement in the US political process.
Mueller has indicted 13 Russian nationals and three Russian entities for allegedly meddling in the 2016 presidential election, charging them with conspiracy to defraud Washington, according to the Department of Justice.
In addition, three defendants were charged on Friday with conspiracy to commit wire and bank fraud, and five defendants with aggravated identity theft, reported CNN.
“The defendants allegedly conducted what they called information warfare against the US, with the stated goal of spreading distrust towards the candidates and the political system in general,” Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said.
Mueller had convened a grand jury as part of his ongoing investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election as well as any possible connections between Moscow and President Donald Trump’s campaign associates.
According to the indictment, beginning as early as 2014, the Russian organisation Internet Research Agency began operations to interfere with the US political system, including the 2016 election.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Opinions
By Frank F. Islam,
For the last half of the 20th century, the United States was the world’s beacon for democracy and economic development and India was a laggard. These roles are reversing as the end of the second decade of the 21st century approaches.
India is becoming a beacon and the US is becoming a flashlight. In large part, this is a consequence of leadership.
India has a leader in Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is pursuing the future. The US has a leader in Donald Trump who is pursuing the past. President Trump is emphasising individualism and isolationism. Prime Minister Modi is stressing engagement and expansionism.
Freedom House, in its annual report titled “Freedom in the World 2018” released in January, noted that “A long list of troubling developments contributed to the global decline of democracy, but perhaps most striking was the accelerating withdrawal of the United States from its historical commitment to promoting and supporting democracy.”
The report’s aggregate Freedom Score rating (aggregate score) for the US in 2017 was 86 out of 100 points. Its aggregate score for India was 77. This shows that, overall, on the dimensions being measured, the US scores higher. But its score has dropped substantially from 94 in 2008.
Today the majority of the countries that rate 90 and above on their aggregate scores are older and smaller. They do not have the size or stature to assume the international democratic leadership mantle if America under the Trump Administration relinquishes it.
India does. In the last part of 2017, as Prime Minister Modi called for more democratic processes and participation in India’s political parties, it appears that he may encourage the country to step forward to take on that obligation.
Time will tell how this plays out. What is certain, at this point, based upon Modi’s opening address at the Davos Word Economic Forum on January 23, is that the Prime Minister is using India’s democracy as a selling point and putting the country centre stage in terms of its own economic growth and promotion of international cooperation.
In his Davos remarks, Modi stressed that India is the “largest democracy on planet Earth” and provided a litany of the enormous opportunities for companies to invest in “inclusive economic development”. He also struck a strong free-trade, globalisation note while calling for international unity to address the issues of climate change, terrorism and protectionism.
Modi didn’t directly say that India is open for business. But his message, throughout his comments, was that it is.
Trump, on the other hand, in his closing address at Davos, stated explicitly that “America is open for business…” But the implicit message, throughout his comments, was that it is not.
At various points during his speech, Trump asserted: “As President, I will always put America first…”; “The United States will no longer turn a blind eye to unfair economic practices…”; “My administration is proud to have led historic efforts… to de-nuke the Korean peninsula”.
According to press reports, Trump’s speech was fairly well received while he stayed on script. Trump was, however, booed when he answered a question after concluding his prepared remarks by declaring, “…it wasn’t until I became a politician that I realised how nasty, how mean, how vicious and how fake the press can be.”
Therein lies the rub. Even in a setting where President Trump was trying to present his more cooperative side, his inherent combative nature and self-centred perspective came though. By contrast, Prime Minister Modi was collaborative and ecumenical in his presentation of self and India. This was most evident when he concluded his speech by observing:
“If you want wealth with wellness, work in India; if you want peace with prosperity, live in India; if you want health with whole life, be in India. And our promise is that your agenda will be part of our destiny. We both will have a shared and successful future.”
To sum up: Trump’s nationalistic communication to the world at Davos was “My way or no highway.” Modi’s was “Our way is the skyway.”
America’s retrenchment under Trump leaves a leadership vacuum in the world. India under Modi appears poised to fill that vacuum.
What stands out and is differentiating about Modi is his espousing a positive and constructive agenda in terms of world involvement. There is no assurance exactly where India will conclude its journey to world leadership. It can however be stated unequivocally near the beginning of 2018 that India is on the right trajectory and climbing upward.
It can be stated with equal certainty that the US is not. It is on a glide path headed downward. This is true because those who live in the past and retreat from the playing field are restricting their future.
(Frank F. Islam is an entrepreneur, civic and thought leader based in Washington, DC. The views expressed are personal. He can be contacted at ffislam@verizon.net)
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
Washington : US President Donald Trump has declined to give a timeline for releasing Washington’s plan for peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians, saying that neither party was committed to the process, the media reported.
“We are going to see what goes on,” Trump told the Israel Hayom daily in an interview released on Sunday.
“Right now, I would say the Palestinians are not looking to make peace, they are not looking to make peace. And I am not necessarily sure that Israel is looking to make peace… So we are just going to have to see what happens,” he said.
The US’ role as a broker in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process has come under fire following the Trump administration’s decision in December to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, upending seven decades of US foreign policy, CNN reported.
Top Palestinian officials condemned the move, saying it disqualified the US from playing the role of arbiter. The UN voted overwhelmingly to condemn the decision.
The Israeli daily was also asked about his comments at the World Economic Forum in Davos that “Jerusalem is off the table” in terms of negotiations.
In his reply, he seemed to qualify his earlier remarks, reports CNN.
“I wanted to make it clear that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel,” he told the newspaper.
“As for specific boundaries, I would support what both sides agreed to.
“I think both sides will have to make hard compromises to reach a peace agreement,” Trump added.
Asked about the issue of settlements, the US President called them “something that very much complicates and always have complicated making peace”.
—IANS
