Trump | Pakistan

About 55 per cent of India’s merchandise exports to the United States will be subject to the tariff imposed by President Donald Trump’s administration, the Indian government said on Monday. Last week, Trump imposed an additional 25pc tariff on Indian goods as punishment for Delhi’s purchases of Russian oil. That raised the total duty on Indian exports to the US to 50pc — among the highest on any American trading partner. The Indian government had taken into account the 25pc tariff that Trump initially imposed on goods while providing Monday’s estimate, Pankaj Chaudhary, India’s junior finance minister, said in a written response to a question from a lawmaker. “The Department of Commerce is engaged with all stakeholders, including exporters and industry, for taking feedback of their assessment of the situation,” Chaudhary added. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday he would not compromise on the agriculture sector, a day after Trump announced 50pc tariffs on Indian goods. New Delhi also put on ...

United States President Donald Trump said on Saturday he was nominating State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce as the next US deputy representative to the United Nations. Bruce has been the State Department spokesperson since Trump took office in January. In a post on social media in which Trump announced her nomination, the president said she did a “fantastic job” as State Department spokesperson. Bruce will need to be confirmed for the role by the US Senate, where Trump’s Republican Party holds a majority. During press briefings, she has defended the Trump administration’s foreign policy decisions ranging from an immigration crackdown and visa revocations to US responses to the Russia-Ukraine war and Israel’s military onslaught on Gaza, including a widely condemned armed private aid operation in the Palestinian territory. Bruce was previously a political contributor and commentator on Fox News for over 20 years. She has also authored books like Fear Itself: Exposing the Left’s Mind-Killing Agenda, which ...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday hailed US President Donald Trump’s peace efforts following his role in brokering the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace deal. A day earlier, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed an initial US-brokered peace agreement during a meeting with Trump, a deal aimed at boosting economic ties between the two countries after decades of conflict. “Pakistan welcomes the historic peace agreement signed between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia at the White House Summit under the auspices of US President Donald J Trump,” the premier wrote in a statement on X. He congratulated both countries on “charting a course for a peaceful future for their region”, stating: “Pakistan has always stood by the brotherly nation of Azerbaijan and we stand with them at this proud moment of their history.” PM Shehbaz continued: “We also appreciate the facilitation role of the United States, under President Donald Trump, in bringing the two sides together and securing an agreement that opens new av...

Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to the leaders of China, India and three ex-Soviet states on Friday in a flurry of calls to brief them on his contacts with the United States about the war in Ukraine. Putin met US President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff in Moscow on Wednesday, after which the Kremlin said a summit between Putin and Trump could take place as early as next week. No venue, date or agenda have been announced. Trump, pressing for an end to the 3.5-year war, had set a deadline that expires on Friday for Russia to agree to peace or face new sanctions on Moscow and countries that buy Russian exports. China and India are the biggest buyers of Russian oil. China’s President Xi Jinping told Putin in a phone call that China is pleased to see Russia and the US maintaining contact and improving ties to advance a political resolution of the Ukraine crisis, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said. China is a major backer of Russia in its confrontation with the West, as well as Russia’s biggest trading...

New Delhi has put on hold its plans to procure new US weapons and aircraft, according to three Indian officials familiar with the matter, in India’s first concrete sign of discontent after tariffs imposed on its exports by President Donald Trump dragged ties to their lowest level in decades. India had been planning to send Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to Washington in the coming weeks for an announcement on some of the purchases, but that trip has been cancelled, two of the people said. Trump on Aug 6 imposed an additional 25 per cent tariff on Indian goods as punishment for Delhi’s purchases of Russian oil, which he said meant the country was funding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. That raised the total duty on Indian exports to 50pc — among the highest of any US trading partner. The US president has a history of rapidly reversing himself on tariffs, and India has said it remains actively engaged in discussions with Washington. One of the people said the defence purchases could go ahead once India had clarit...

US President Donald Trump is expected to sign an order requiring universities to hand over admissions data to prove that they are not engaged in affirmative action efforts, the White House press secretary said in a post on X on Thursday. In her post on X, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt did not give details on the order, such as the ramifications universities will face if they do not cooperate. Since taking office for his second term, Trump’s administration has attempted to dismantle affirmative action policies at universities, launching dozens of investigations and threatening to cut off funding to schools that promote diversity, equity and inclusion programs. Trump has particularly taken aim at Harvard University since he took office, calling the institution a “joke” that teaches “hate and stupidity” and going as far as to freeze their government funding. In May, Trump’s administration revoked Harvard’s right to enrol foreign students — more than a quarter of its annual enrollment. Though the m...

United States trade partners such as Switzerland, Brazil and India were still scrambling to get a better deal on Thursday as President Donald Trump’s higher tariff rates on imports from dozens of countries kicked in, raising the average US import duty to its highest in a century. The US Customs and Border Protection agency began collecting the higher tariffs of 10 per cent to 50pc at 12:01am EDT (09:01am PKT) after weeks of suspense over Trump’s final tariff rates and frantic negotiations with major trading partners that sought to lower them. The leaders of Brazil and India vowed not to be cowed by Trump’s hardline bargaining position, even while their negotiators sought a reprieve from the highest tariff levels. The new rates will test Trump’s strategy for shrinking US trade deficits without causing massive disruptions to global supply chains or provoking higher inflation and stiff retaliation from trading partners. After unveiling his “Liberation Day” tariffs in April, Trump has frequently modified his plan...

United States envoy Steve Witkoff held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin on Wednesday, two days before the expiry of a deadline set by US President Donald Trump for Russia to agree to peace in Ukraine or face new sanctions. Witkoff flew to Moscow on a last-minute mission to seek a breakthrough in the three-and-a-half-year war that began with Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. Russian state TV showed a brief clip of him shaking hands with Putin at the start of their meeting. Russian news agencies said the talks ended after about three hours, and Witkoff’s motor convoy was seen leaving the Kremlin. Russian investment envoy Kirill Dmitriev, who earlier greeted Witkoff on arrival and strolled with him in a park near the Kremlin, posted on social media: “Dialogue will prevail.” There was no immediate statement from either side on the substance of the talks. Later, Trump called the meeting “highly productive” in a post on Truth Social. “Great progress was made!” the US president wrote. “...

United States President Donald Trump on Wednesday issued an executive order imposing an additional 25 per cent tariff on Indian goods, citing New Delhi’s continued imports of Russian oil, sharply escalating tensions between the two countries after trade talks collapsed. The new measure raises tariffs on some Indian goods to as high as 50pc, among the steepest faced by any US trading partner. The move is expected to hit key Indian export sectors, including textiles, footwear, and gems and jewellery and marks the most serious downturn in US-India relations since Trump returned to office in January. In an executive order issued from the White House, Trump said: “I find that the Government of India is currently directly or indirectly importing Russian Federation oil. “Accordingly, and as consistent with applicable law, articles of India imported into the customs territory of the United States shall be subject to an additional ad valorem rate of duty of 25pc.” Trump said he determined it “necessary and appropriate...

United States President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he would increase the tariff charged on imports from India from the current rate of 25 per cent “very substantially” over the next 24 hours, given India’s continued purchases of Russian oil. “India has not been a good trading partner, because they do a lot of business with us, but we don’t do business with them. So we settled on 25pc but I think I’m going to raise that very substantially over the next 24 hours, because they’re buying Russian oil,” he told CNBC in a televised interview. “They’re fuelling the war machine, and if they’re going to do that, then I’m not going to be happy,” Trump said, adding that the main sticking point with India was that its tariffs were too high. He did not provide a new tariff rate for India. Trump last week said he would impose a 25pc tariff on goods imported from India and added that the world’s fifth-largest economy would also face an unspecified penalty, but gave no details. Later, Trump mou­nted a sharp attack and said:...

United States President Donald Trump said on Monday he will substantially raise tariffs on India over its purchases of Russian oil. Trump last week said he would impose a 25 per cent tariff on goods imported from India and added that the world’s fifth-largest economy would also face an unspecified penalty, but gave no details. Later, Trump mou­nted a sharp attack and said: “I don’t care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care.” Over the weekend, two Indian government sources told Reuters that India will keep purchasing oil from Russia despite Trump’s threats. In turn, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller had accused India of effectively financing Russia’s war in Ukraine by purchasing oil from Moscow. In a post on Truth Social today, Trump assailed New Delhi for buying Russian oil and then selling it. “India is not only buying massive amounts of Russian oil, they are then, for much of the oil purchased, selling it on the open market for big prof...

Russia urged caution on Monday after United States President Donald Trump said he would deploy two nuclear submarines following an online row with former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev. Trump said he had ordered the deployment in response to what he alleged were highly provocative comments by Medvedev, saying the submarines would be positioned in “appropriate regions”. Trump did not say whether he meant nuclear-powered or nuclear-armed submarines. He also did not elaborate on the locations, which are kept secret by the US military. “Russia is very attentive to the topic of nuclear non-proliferation. And we believe that everyone should be very, very cautious with nuclear rhetoric,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, including from AFP, on Monday. The row between Medvedev and Trump erupted against the backdrop of the US leader’s ultimatum for Russia to end its military offensive in Ukraine or face fresh economic sanctions, including on its remaining trading partners. Medvedev — one of Russia’s m...

Indian officials have said they would keep purchasing oil from Russia despite the threat of penalties that United States President Donald Trump said he would impose, the New York Times reported on Saturday. Reuters could not immediately verify the report. The White House, India’s Ministry of External Affairs and the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Trump on Wednesday imposed a 25 per cent tariff on goods imported from India starting August 1 along with additional penalties, potentially straining relations with the world’s most populous democracy. Trump indicated in a Truth Social post that India would face additional penalties for the purchase of Russian arms and oil. However, he later said that he did not care what India does with Russia. On Friday, Trump told reporters that he had heard that India would no longer be buying oil from Russia. Two senior Indian officials said there had been no change in policy, according to the NYT report, which added th...

PTI founder Imran Khan’s sons on Friday said that United States President Donald Trump was a figure who “can make a difference” in their incarcerated father’s situation. Imran, imprisoned since August 2023, is serving a sentence at the Adiala Jail in a £190 million corruption case and also faces pending trials under the Anti-Terrorism Act related to the protests of May 9, 2023. Sulaiman Khan, 28, and Kasim Khan, 26 called attention to their father’s incarceration for the first time publicly in May. Last month, Imran’s sister Aleema Khanum said they would go to the United States before coming to Pakistan as part of a movement calling for the ex-premier’s release. The siblings visited the US and engaged US lawmakers on the issue of their father’s incarceration. In an interview on ‘Piers Morgan Uncensored’ aired today, Kasim was questioned on whether he had any message for Trump, to which he said: “If anyone can make a difference, he (Trump) can.” Kasim said the two had met Trump’s key aide Richard Grenell — kno...

United States President Donald Trump on Friday said he had ordered two nuclear submarines to be positioned in regions near Russia in response to threats from former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev. “I have ordered two nuclear submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions, just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. “Words are very important, and can often lead to unintended consequences. I hope this will not be one of those instances.” Trump did not say whether he meant nuclear-powered or nuclear-armed submarines. He also did not elaborate on the locations, which are kept secret by the US military. The United States and Russia control the vast majority of the world’s nuclear weaponry, and Washington keeps nuclear-armed submarines on patrol as part of its so-called nuclear triad of land, sea and air-launched weapons. Trump and Medvedev, who is deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, traded taunts in recent days after Tr...

A federal judge in California has temporarily blocked deportations of Hondurans, Nepalese and Nicaraguans whose legal protections have been revoked by the Trump administration. “The freedom to live fearlessly, the opportunity of liberty, and the American dream. That is all Plaintiffs seek,” District Judge Trina Thompson said in a 37-page order on Thursday. “Instead, they […]

Posts from multiple users on social media platform X on Friday shared an image of an alleged Truth Social post of United States President Donald Trump’s angry rant against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. However, the image is fake and no such post was shared. On Wednesday, Trump imposed a 25 per cent tariff on goods imported from India from August 1, along with an unspecified penalty for buying Russian weapons and oil, potentially straining relations with the world’s most populous democracy. He also declared the Indian economy dead in the water. The US decision singled out India more severely than other major trading partners, and threatened to unravel months of talks between the two countries, undermining a key strategic partner of Washington and a counterbalance to China. Today, an X user, who seems to be Indian from previous posts, shared an image allegedly showing a post by Trump on Truth Social with the caption: “Disgruntled lover.” The post in the image stated: “So hard to believe that Prime Minist...

United States President Donald Trump has introduced tariffs on exports from dozens of trading partners, including a 19 per cent tariff on Pakistani goods — revised from the previous 29pc — a day after the two countries finalised a trade agreement. According to an executive order detailing the tariffs, it was announced that Pakistan is set to face a 19pc tariff rate as Trump’s tariff deadline comes to an end on August 1 (today). The order listed higher import duty rates of 10 to 41pc starting in seven days for 69 trading partners as the 12:01am EDT (9:01am PKT) deadline approached. What we know so far: Pakistani goods exported to US to now be taxed 19pc as part of Trump’s global tariffs The rate is lower than the proposed 29pc after trade talks with US Finance ministry sees major opportunity to expand Pakistan’s footprint in US market Official notes Pakistan ‘possibly only country’ offered investments alongside Levies for 68 other trading partners range from 10-41pc, with India facing 25pc tariff Canada’s duti...

• US president criticises India for doing business with Russia, describing both economies as ‘dead’ • Medvedev brushes aside Trump’s attack NEW DELHI: By declaring the Indian economy as dead in the water on Thursday, President Donald Trump has put Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party in a bind. Until recently, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party was canvassing support for the US president’s election. Its supporters were holding special prayers and muttering mystical chants for Trump’s victory. There was at least one temple created where a sculptured image of Trump was worshipped. But Trump has ignored the lavish praise and called out India’s energy imports from Russia and its tariff regime as non-negotiable. The Indian government said it was trying to figure out a response by consulting all the “stakeholders”, a euphemism for angry businesses whose hopes were riding on Mr Modi’s daring ability to play both sides of the street. That appears to have hit a dead-end. Encouraging words have come from former Ru...

Indian opposition parties criticised the government on Thursday, describing US President Donald Trump’s threat of a 25 per cent tariff as a diplomatic failure for New Delhi, while the rupee currency tumbled and equity indexes slid in response to the news. The 25pc rate would single out India more harshly than other major trading partners, and threatens to unravel months of talks, undermining one of Washington’s strategic partners in the region, viewed as a counterbalance to China. Trump said the tariff on imports from India would start from Friday, in addition to an unspecified penalty for Russian dealings and involvement in the BRICS grouping of nations. In response, the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi said it was studying the implications of Trump’s remarks and was dedicated to securing a fair trade deal. “This development reflects a broader collapse of foreign policy under the Modi government,” a lawmaker of the main opposition Congress party said in a notice to the lower house of parliament, as...