All posts tagged: International Trade

Swiss Deny Drop in Value of Frozen Russian Assets Signals Weak Enforcement

Swiss Deny Drop in Value of Frozen Russian Assets Signals Weak Enforcement

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ZURICH (Reuters) – Switzerland reported a 1.7 billion franc ($1.9 billion) fall in the value of frozen Russian assets on Tuesday compared to the end of last year, though it denied this was a sign it was doing too little to sanction Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine. The value of frozen Russian assets fell to 5.8 billion francs from 7.5 billion at the end of 2023. But the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), which oversees sanctions, said most of the reduction was because previously frozen assets were now worth less, not because it had become lax in enforcement. Falling stock values had wiped 2.3 billion francs off the worth of previously blocked assets, SECO said, while an extra 580 million francs in assets held via complex financial structures had been discovered and frozen last year. This included luxury cars and artworks. Switzerland was now in a “completely different place” to last year when the G7 countries criticised Swiss loopholes on sanctions, and was implementing them well, said Simon Pluess, head of export controls …

TikTok Says US House Bill That Could Ban App Would ‘Trample’ Free Speech

TikTok Says US House Bill That Could Ban App Would ‘Trample’ Free Speech

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) -TikTok on Sunday repeated its free-speech concerns about a bill passed by the House of Representatives that would ban the popular social media app in the U.S. if Chinese owner ByteDance did not sell its stake within a year. The House passed the legislation on Saturday by a margin of 360 to 58. It now moves to the Senate where it could be taken up for a vote in the coming days. President Joe Biden has previously said he would sign the legislation on TikTok. Many U.S. lawmakers from both the Republican and Democratic parties and the Biden administration say TikTok poses national security risks because China could compel the company to share the data of its 170 million U.S. users. The step to include TikTok in a broader foreign aid package may fast-track the timeline on a potential ban after an earlier separate bill stalled in the Senate. “It is unfortunate that the House of Representatives is using the cover of important foreign and humanitarian assistance to once again jam through a …

EU Leaders Mull New Iran Sanctions After Attack on Israel

EU Leaders Mull New Iran Sanctions After Attack on Israel

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By Tassilo Hummel, Philip Blenkinsop and Sabine Siebold BRUSSELS (Reuters) -European Union leaders met on Wednesday to discuss stepping up sanctions against Iran after Tehran’s missile and drone attack on Israel left world powers scrambling to prevent a wider conflict in the Middle East. The two-day summit in Brussels is the first meeting of the EU’s 27 national leaders since Saturday’s attack, more than six months into the war between Israel and the Iran-backed Palestinian militant group Hamas. War in Israel and Gaza Israel has signalled that it will retaliate but has not said how. The EU has urged Israel to exercise restraint while expressing readiness to tighten sanctions on Tehran. “We have to adjust, to expand them (the sanctions) on Iran,” French President Emmanuel Macron said in Brussels ahead of the summit. “We are in favour of sanctions that can also target all those who help manufacture drones and missiles that were used in the attacks last Saturday and Sunday.” Photos You Should See – April 2024 The Latest Photos From Ukraine German Chancellor …

Biden vows to block US Steel acquisition by Japan’s Nippon Steel

Biden vows to block US Steel acquisition by Japan’s Nippon Steel

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PITTSBURGH (AP) — President Joe Biden suggested to cheering, unionized steelworkers on Wednesday that his administration would thwart the acquisition of U.S. Steel by a Japanese company, and he called for a tripling of tariffs on Chinese steel, seeking to use trade policy to win over working-class votes in the battleground state of Pennsylvania. The Democratic president’s pitch comes as Donald Trump, his likely Republican opponent, tries to chart a path back to the White House with tough-on-China rhetoric and steep tariff proposals of his own. During a visit to the Pittsburgh headquarters of United Steelworkers, Biden said U.S. Steel “has been an iconic American company for more than a century and it should remain totally American.” Administration officials are reviewing the proposed acquisition of U.S. Steel by Japan’s Nippon Steel, and Biden said last month he would oppose the deal, saying it was “vital for it to remain an American steel company that is domestically owned and operated.” But in front of a union audience, he went much further in pledging he may block …

US to Hit Iran With New Sanctions in ‘Coming Days’, Yellen Says

US to Hit Iran With New Sanctions in ‘Coming Days’, Yellen Says

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By Andrea Shalal and David Lawder WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Tuesday warned that the U.S. intends to hit Iran with new sanctions in coming days over its unprecedented attack on Israel, and these actions could seek to reduce Iran’s capacity to export oil. “With respect to sanctions, I fully expect that we will take additional sanctions action against Iran in the coming days,” Yellen said told a news conference on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank spring meetings in Washington. War in Israel and Gaza “We don’t preview our sanctions tools. But in discussions I’ve had, all options to disrupt terrorist financing of Iran continue to be on the table,” Yellen added. She said that the Treasury and State Department have taken previous action to contain Iran’s “destabilizing” behavior by diminishing its ability to export oil. “Clearly, Iran is continuing to export some oil. There may be more that we could do. I don’t want to preview our actual sanctions activities, but certainly that remains in focus …

Former U.S. official’s work for Chinese client stirs concern over disclosure loopholes

Former U.S. official’s work for Chinese client stirs concern over disclosure loopholes

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Former U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch wrote a letter to a senior Defense Department official last July on behalf of SZ DJI Technology Co Ltd, asking that her client be removed from a list of Chinese military companies. Alex Wong | Getty Images News | Getty Images When a Chinese drone company came under U.S. government scrutiny over its alleged ties to China’s military, the company turned to one of America’s pre-eminent lawyers: Loretta Lynch, a former attorney general in the Obama administration. Lynch, who ran the U.S. Department of Justice from 2015 to 2017 and is now a partner at the Paul, Weiss law firm, wrote a letter to a senior Defense Department official last July on behalf of SZ DJI Technology Co Ltd, asking that her client be removed from a list of Chinese military companies. Advocating for foreign clients is legal and U.S. law includes a public disclosure exemption for lawyers. But the letter, seen by Reuters, is an example of what transparency advocates and some members of Congress — dozens of whom have supported bills to change rules — say are gaps in the …

India signs 0bn free trade deal with European EFTA bloc | International Trade News

India signs $100bn free trade deal with European EFTA bloc | International Trade News

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India to lift import tariffs for several industrial products from four-nation group in return for 15-year investment. India has signed a $100bn free trade agreement with a four-member European bloc and will lift most import tariffs on industrial products from these countries in return for the investment over 15 years. The deal signed on Sunday with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) – after several rounds of negotiations spanning 16 years – will see investments across a range of Indian sectors, including pharmaceuticals, machinery and manufacturing. The EFTA comprises Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein, all non-European Union nations, that will get access to a fast-growing market of 1.4 billion people, said India’s Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal. “The India-EFTA Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement [TEPA] marks a historic milestone in our growing partnership,” Goyal said after the signing in New Delhi. It “will pave the path for mutual growth and prosperity” by boosting exports, promoting investment and creating employment, he added. In the last two years, India has signed trade agreements with Australia …

Australia Warns Southeast Asia of ‘Coercive Actions’

Australia Warns Southeast Asia of ‘Coercive Actions’

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By Renju Jose and Lewis Jackson SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia said on Monday Indo-Pacific and Southeast Asian countries are facing serious defence threats as it set aside more funds for maritime security projects with ASEAN countries during a summit with regional leaders in Melbourne. Foreign Minister Penny Wong announced A$286.5 million ($186.7 million) in funding for ASEAN projects in areas including maritime security, amid tensions over China’s growing assertiveness and its disputed claims to the South China Sea. “We face destabilising, provocative and coercive actions including unsafe conduct at sea and in the air,” Wong said in a speech at the summit, without naming China. “What happens in the South China Sea, in the Taiwan Strait, in the Mekong subregion, across the Indo-Pacific, affects us all.” Melbourne is hosting leaders and officials from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Countries (ASEAN) for a summit from Monday to Wednesday. ASEAN member Myanmar was excluded due to the ongoing conflict in the country. Photos You Should See Australia is using the 50th anniversary of its ties with …

Canada Announces Fresh Sanctions Against Russia Over Navalny’s Death

Canada Announces Fresh Sanctions Against Russia Over Navalny’s Death

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(Reuters) – Canada announced a fresh round of sanctions against Russia on Sunday over the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny. The latest sanctions will target six Russian officials, including senior officials and high-ranking employees of Russia’s prosecution, judicial and correctional services, Canada’s Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said in a statement. (Reporting by Utkarsh Shetti in Bengaluru and Steve Scherer in Ottawa; editing by Miral Fahmy) Copyright 2024 Thomson Reuters. The Latest Photos From Ukraine Photos You Should See Source link

Turkey’s Feb Exports to Russia Down 34% From Year Earlier

Turkey’s Feb Exports to Russia Down 34% From Year Earlier

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ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey’s exports to Russia in February fell 33% year on year to $670 million, trade ministry data showed on Saturday. That was down from $1.1 billion in February 2023. Imports from Russia fell 36.65% to $1.3 billion from $2 billion a year earlier. War in Israel and Gaza A U.S. threat to impose sanctions on financial firms doing business with Russia has chilled Turkish-Russian trade, disrupting or slowing some payments for both imported oil and Turkish exports, Reuters reported this week. The Latest Photos From Ukraine (Reporting by Huseyin Hayatsever; editing by Jason Neely) Photos You Should See Copyright 2024 Thomson Reuters. Source link