Federal judge blocks enforcement of Trump's order on ICC
The ruling follows an April lawsuit by two human rights advocates challenging Trump's February 6 order authorizing potentially far-reaching economic and travel sanctions on people who work on ICC investigations of U.S. citizens or U.S. allies, such as Israel.
In her ruling, U.S. District Judge Nancy Torresen called the executive order an unconstitutional infringement on free speech.
"The executive order appears to restrict substantially more speech than necessary to further that end," she wrote.
"The executive order broadly prohibits any speech-based services that benefit the prosecutor, regardless of whether those beneficial services relate to an ICC investigation of the United States, Israel, or another U.S. ally."
The White House and the ICC did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The executive order imposed sanctions on ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan, who is British. The U.S. treasury department's Office of Foreign Assets Control also place him on a registry of sanctioned individuals and entities.
U.S. citizens who provide services for the benefit of Khan or other sanctioned individuals could face civil and criminal penalties, according to the order, which has been condemned by the ICC and dozens of countries.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
6 minutes ago
- Reuters
Trump pauses export controls to bolster China trade deal, FT says
July 28 (Reuters) - The U.S. has paused curbs on tech exports to China to avoid disrupting trade talks with Beijing and support President Donald Trump's efforts to secure a meeting with President Xi Jinping this year, the Financial Times said on Monday. The industry and security bureau of the Commerce Department, which oversees export controls, has been told in recent months to avoid tough moves on China, the newspaper said, citing current and former officials. Reuters could not immediately verify the report. The White House and the department did not respond to Reuters' requests for comment outside business hours. Top U.S. and Chinese economic officials are set to resume talks in Stockholm on Monday to tackle longstanding economic disputes at the centre of a trade war between the world's top two economies. Tech giant Nvidia (NVDA.O), opens new tab said this month it would resume sales of its H20 graphics processing units (GPU) to China, reversing an export curb the Trump administration imposed in April to keep advanced AI chips out of Chinese hands over national security concerns. The planned resumption was part of U.S. negotiations on rare earths and magnets, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has said. The paper said 20 security experts and former officials, including former deputy US national security adviser Matt Pottinger, will write on Monday to Lutnick to voice concern, however. "This move represents a strategic misstep that endangers the United States' economic and military edge in artificial intelligence," they write in the letter, it added.
The Guardian
6 minutes ago
- The Guardian
EU-US tariffs: five key takeaways from the trade deal
Donald Trump has announced a deal with the EU imposing tariffs of 15% on most goods entering the US from Europe and requiring the bloc to make huge investments in US energy products, averting a trade war between the two of the world's largest economies. Though the 15% rate is half of what Trump had threatened, many will be disappointed by it. When the UK accepted tariffs of 10% in its trade deal with the US in May, it was widely reported that European leaders considered it to be a bad deal. Brussels also agreed to buy, over three years, $750bn (£560bn) worth of oil, gas, nuclear fuel and semi-conductors, including liquified gas, while at the same time agreeing to invest $600bn (£446bn) in the US, including purchases of military equipment, according to Trump. One analyst suggested the deal was a 'big win' for the US president while it was less clear what the EU gained. 'A 15% tariff on European goods, forced purchases of US energy and military equipment and zero tariff retaliation by Europe, that's not negotiation, that's art of the deal.,' Prashant Newnaha, senior Asia-Pacific rates strategist at TD securities said. Here are five key takeaways: The US will keep in place a 50% tariff on steel and aluminium according to Trump, although European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said the tariffs on steel could be replaced with a quota system with further negotiation. There was also confusion over pharmaceuticals after Trump said the sector would not be included, however a senior US official later confirmed that they were in fact covered by the 15% tariff. According to von der Leyen, zero tariffs will apply to a range of sectors including 'all aircraft and component parts, certain chemicals, certain generics, semiconductor equipment, certain agricultural products, natural resources and critical raw materials'. But there was ongoing uncertainty for some industries – Sunday's announcement did not clear up what tariffs European wine and spirits producers will face in the US. Carsten Nickel, deputy director of research at Teneo, said Sunday's accord was 'merely a high-level, political agreement' that could not replace a carefully hammered out trade deal: 'This, in turn, creates the risk of different interpretations along the way, as seen immediately after the conclusion of the US-Japan deal.' On Sunday, a senior US administration official told reporters in Washington that Trump retained the ability to increase the tariffs in the future if European countries do not live up to the investment commitments contained in the deal. The deal creates a division on the island of Ireland, as traders in Northern Ireland can sell into the US on a 10% tariff rate, courtesy of the UK deal, while their neighbours in Ireland will be hit with the 15% rate. The disparity will make for difficult diplomatic conversations over guarantees to maintain stability on the entire island in the Good Friday agreement, which had already been rocked by the fallout from Brexit, when customs arrangements involving Northern Ireland became a huge headache for EU and UK negotiators. Ireland's deputy prime minister, Simon Harris, said he 'regretted' the 15% tariff rate but said 'certainty' was important. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz welcomed the deal, saying it averted a trade conflict that would have hit Germany's export-driven economy and its large auto sector. German carmakers, VW, Mercedes and BMW were some of the hardest hit by the 27.5% US tariff on car and parts imports now in place. But the powerful BDI federation of industrial groups was vocal in its disappointment. 'Even a 15% tariff rate will have immense negative effects on export-oriented German industry,' said Wolfgang Niedermark, a member of the federation's leadership. The country's VCI chemical trade association said the accord left rates 'too high'. The impact of the tariffs is likely to be substantial on some companies; automaker Volkswagen said it suffered a 1.3bn euro ($1.5bn) hit to profit in the first half of the year from the higher tariffs. Though von der Leyen framed the agreement as a 'good deal' that would bring 'stability' and 'predictability', Brussels' original aim in the talks was for a 'zero-for-zero' tariff deal and tariffs remain far higher than historically. 'The crippling uncertainty is largely over, the deal is bearable for the EU,' said Holger Schmieding, chief economist at Berenberg Bank. 'Trump can claim that the asymmetric deal is a 'win' for him. But of course, the outcome is still bad relative to the situation that prevailed before Trump started his trade wars.' US consumers are also likely to bear the costs of tariffs as companies pass on the expense in increased prices, many economists have warned. With agencies
Reuters
6 minutes ago
- Reuters
Trump, Starmer to meet in Scotland, with trade and Gaza on agenda
EDINBURGH, Scotland, July 28 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump will host British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at his golf resort in western Scotland on Monday for talks expected to range from their recent bilateral trade deal to the worsening hunger crisis in Gaza, the two governments said. Trump, riding high after announcing a huge trade agreement with the European Union late on Sunday, said he expected Starmer would also be pleased. "The prime minister of the UK, while he's not involved in this, will be very happy because you know, there's a certain unity that's been brought there, too," Trump said. "He's going to be very happy to see what we did." Starmer had hoped to negotiate a drop in U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs as part of the discussions, but Trump on Sunday ruled out any changes in the 50% duties for the EU and has said the trade deal with Britain has been "concluded." The two men are expected to travel from Trump's luxury golf resort in Turnberry, on Scotland's west coast, to a second sprawling estate owned by Trump in the east, near Aberdeen. Starmer was heading to Scotland from Switzerland, where England on Sunday won the Women's European Championship final. Casting a shadow over their visit has been the deepening crisis in the war-torn Gaza enclave, where images of starving Palestinians have alarmed the world. Starmer has recalled his ministers from their summer recess for a cabinet meeting, a government source said on Sunday, most likely to discuss the situation in Gaza as pressure grows at home and abroad to recognize a Palestinian state. The British leader on Friday said his country would recognize a Palestinian state only as part of a negotiated peace deal, disappointing many in his Labour Party who want him to follow France in taking swifter action. Trump on Friday dismissed French President Emmanuel Macron's plan to recognize a Palestinian state, an intention that also drew strong condemnation from Israel, after similar moves from Spain, Norway and Ireland last year. Trump said he understood Starmer wanted to discuss Israel, adding that while the U.S. would increase its aid to Gaza, it wanted others to join the effort. Ukraine will also be on the agenda. Dozens of Gazans have died of malnutrition in recent weeks, according to the Gaza Health Ministry in the Hamas-run enclave, with aid groups warning of mass hunger among Gaza's 2.2 million people. The war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led fighters stormed southern Israel, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostages back to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies. Since then, Israel's offensive has killed nearly 60,000 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to Gaza health officials. It has reduced much of the enclave to ruins and displaced nearly the entire population.
