Continental's tyre margins hit by Trump's tariffs, weak dollar
Adjusted operating profit was 401 million euros ($462.59 million) at the German car parts supplier's core unit, below analysts' consensus of 416.8 million. The corresponding margin of 12 per cent also fell slightly short of expectations.
The tyre business suffered a net impact in a mid-double-digit million euro range from U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs, as efforts to mitigate them unfold with a delay, it said. But the 15 per cent baseline tariff on EU goods, agreed in July, means Continental will face a slightly smaller headwind and have more room to manoeuvre, finance chief Olaf Schick told Reuters, confirming the company's full-year outlook.
The group reported a 0.4 per cent decline in quarterly organic sales amid persistently weak markets. That excluded a negative currency exchange effect of 3.3 per cent, mainly from the U.S. dollar.
Continental, which made more than a quarter of its 2024 sales in North America, has seen its profits come under pressure as the euro strengthened by about 12 per cent against the dollar since the start of 2025, reducing the euro value of its U.S. sales.
The company's shares fell 2 per cent by 0820 GMT.
Restructuring continues
Continental is in the process of splitting off two of its three businesses, seeking to reposition itself as a pure-play tyre maker, which it hopes will leave it better placed to handle a volatile market rattled by tariffs.
The process includes the listing of its automotive division, which supplies a range of technologies for automakers, on September 18, and a planned sale of its Contitech unit.
Schick said on Tuesday that Contitech's Original Equipment Solutions (OESL) business would be sold in the third quarter, without providing details on the buyer or deal price.
The automotive business generated a profit margin of 4 per cent in the quarter, ahead of market expectations, thanks to cost cuts and sustained price adjustments, Continental said.
"We've worked hard to make our group sectors more resilient and more agile," CEO Nikolai Setzer said in a statement.
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Business Standard
27 minutes ago
- Business Standard
Shrimp prices fall up to 19% amid Trump's tariff blow to Indian exports
Shrimp farm-gate prices have crashed by almost 6–19 per cent across all counts in the last one week in anticipation of US President Donald Trump's steep tariff on exports from India, with the sharpest decline occurring in the past couple of days, traders and market watchers said. This could hurt farmer realisations, particularly in states such as Andhra Pradesh and Odisha, where shrimp farming is a major livelihood activity. India usually exports shrimp of 50 count and below to US markets, while the larger counts — ranging from 100, 90, 80, 70, and 60 — are primarily shipped to China, the European Union, Southeast Asia, Japan, and other Asian countries. Their prices have also declined. Data sourced from traders and exporters show that the average price of the most common shrimp variety exported to the US — the 40 count — has dropped by nearly 19 per cent in the past week to around Rs 365 per kilogram. Shrimps are sold based on count, meaning a 50 count equals 50 pieces per kilogram, each weighing about 20 grams. Overall, traders said that business worth around Rs 24,000–25,000 crore is at stake, with the US imposing a 50 per cent tariff on goods imported from India. Some traders also noted that shrimp feed meal rates have fallen, as state governments like Andhra Pradesh have urged feed companies to lower prices to support farmers. The concern now is that Indian shrimp, after factoring in the 50 per cent tariff, will be priced out of the US market compared to competitors such as Ecuador, Indonesia, Vietnam, and China. They feel that unless new markets are developed or the domestic market is strengthened to absorb the surplus, farm-gate prices could decline further. 'Shrimp trade is usually a 90–120-day cycle, of which 30–40 days are in hatcheries. Once stocking of seeds happens, the farmer has to complete the full cycle. Therefore, there is little chance for him to abandon production midway,' a senior industry official remarked. India annually exports marine products worth around Rs 60,000–62,000 crore, of which the US alone accounts for almost 40 per cent. Shrimp accounts for 41 per cent of the volume and 66 per cent of the value of India's total marine exports. According to the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA), India exported 716,004 tonnes of frozen shrimp worth $4.88 billion in 2023–24. Of this, 297,571 tonnes went to the US. One species dominates the Indian shrimp story: Vannamei, which accounts for 87 per cent — or 625,475 tonnes — of total shrimp exports, with a value of $4.25 billion. The US market alone absorbs 54 per cent of this, followed by China at 16 per cent and the European Union at 9 per cent, MPEDA data show. 'The recent imposition of a 50 per cent tariff by the US on Indian livestock and seafood exports is a significant blow to the sector. These duties severely impact price competitiveness and threaten millions of livelihoods, especially across coastal and rural areas where aquaculture and animal protein production are vital to local economies. Indian exporters are responding proactively to safeguard jobs and maintain global competitiveness,' said Divya Kumar Gulati, chairman of the Compound Livestock Feed Manufacturers Association (CLFMA), a body representing India's livestock sector, to Business Standard. He added that exploring alternative markets such as the United Kingdom — where the India–UK free trade agreement now offers duty-free access for fisheries products — presents a promising opportunity. 'We expect seafood exports to the UK to rise three-fold, partially offsetting the contraction in US-bound shipments. In parallel, the government must promote broader market diversification by facilitating access to regions such as East Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, and intensify trade diplomacy through platforms like the WTO and G20 to address unfair trade barriers,' Gulati said.
Hindustan Times
27 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
'56-inch chest': How Opposition reacted as India has 20 days to avoid 50% Trump tariffs
Several Opposition parties have launched a scathing attack on the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led central government after US President Donald Trump imposed an additional 25 per cent tariff on Indian goods, raising the total duties to 50 per cent. Congress MPs Rahul Gandhi and Shashi Tharoor outside Parliament in New Delhi.(PTI file) While criticism poured in from across party lines, the issue also triggered a rare moment of bipartisan unity. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi labelled Donald Trump a 'bully' and accused him of using economic pressure tactics. 'Trump's 50% tariff is economic blackmail — an attempt to bully India into an unfair trade deal,' Rahul Gandhi posted on X on Wednesday night. 'PM Modi better not let his weakness override the interests of the Indian people,' the Congress MP added. The comment marked a stark reversal from just days earlier, when Gandhi had accused Modi of "killing the Indian economy", seemingly agreeing with Trump's 'dead' economy remark. Another Congress MP Shashi Tharoor escalated his criticism of Trump, urging the India government to respond in kind by raising tariffs on American goods. 'It will definitely have an impact because we have a trade of $90 billion with them, and if everything becomes 50 per cent more expensive, buyers will also think why should they buy Indian things?... If they do this, we should also impose a 50 per cent tariff on American exports... It is not that any country can threaten us like this,' he told reporters on Thursday. Tharoor questioned why India should continue with the current 17 per cent average tariff on US goods. 'Why should we stop at 17%? We should also raise it to 50 per cent... We need to ask them, do they not value our relationship? If India doesn't matter to them, they should also not matter to us,' he said. How other Opposition leaders reacted Abhishek Banerjee: Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee led the charge, calling the steep tariff hike a 'diplomatic failure". Speaking in Kolkata, he said, 'Those who click photographs with (US President) Donald Trump and campaigned for him in Texas should answer why such steep tariffs have been imposed. This is a diplomatic failure. It will severely affect India's economy.' Banerjee, the newly appointed TMC Lok Sabha leader, accused the BJP of 'boasting about India's global clout while failing to protect economic interests.' He warned that the tariffs would hit jobs, exports, and key sectors like IT, pharma, and textiles. 'The economy is now in the ICU,' he added, blaming the Modi government's foreign policy for the crisis. "Those who used to talk about their '56-inch chest' are now being shown red eyes by other countries," Banerjee said, adding that the imposition of tariffs and the lack of global condemnation for the recent Pahalgam terror attack are indicators of India's diplomatic isolation. Siddaramaiah: In Karnataka, chief minister Siddaramaiah termed the tariff move 'economic blackmail' and said it was the result of Modi's obsession with 'headline management over real diplomacy.' Backing Congress MP Rahul Gandhi's criticism, Siddaramaiah said, 'His warning on Trump's 50 per cent tariff is no different. It is economic blackmail—the result of PM @narendramodi prioritising headline management over real diplomacy and national interest.' Siddaramaiah also accused Modi of pandering to Trump, recalling slogans like 'Abki Baar Trump Sarkar' and events like 'Howdy Modi' and 'Namaste Trump'. 'But Trump wasn't impressed. He saw it not as diplomacy, but surrender,' the chief minister said. Priyanka Chaturvedi: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi called Trump's move 'hypocrisy' and said India cannot be bullied into a trade deal. 'The way Donald Trump is particularly targeting India about Russian Oil, totally forgetting his own hypocrisy of doing trade with Russia... We cannot be bullied into a deal,' she said. Chaturvedi warned of serious consequences for Indian exporters, stating, 'Many of our exporters are going to be impacted by this tariff, making Indian goods unreachable and not viable for American consumers.' Karti Chidambaram: Congress MP Karti Chidambaram also questioned the Modi government's claims of a 'special relationship' with Trump. 'The special relationship which the Indian administration claimed to have with President Trump, doesn't exist,' he said. He demanded that the government take Parliament into confidence and outline a clear response strategy. Pappu Yadav: Independent MP Pappu Yadav said, 'Because of the 50% tariff that the US has imposed on us, our pharmaceutical industry will collapse.' Asaduddin Owaisi: AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi took a direct swipe at Trump, calling the move 'bullying by the buffoon-in-chief". He accused the Modi government of silence and strategic surrender. 'These tariffs will hurt Indian exporters, MSMEs, and manufacturers... Was selling out our strategic autonomy worth filling your friends' billionaire coffers?' he wrote on X. Uddhav Thackeray: The supremo of Shiv Sena (UBT) said Trump was 'mocking India and Narendra Modi' and that the PM had failed to respond strongly. 'Trump is mocking India and Narendra Modi. We are unable to respond to him, let alone seek answers from him. This government has failed on the foreign policy front,' he said. The latest round of criticism comes after Trump announced a separate 25% tariff on Indian goods on Wednesday, set to take effect in 21 days, in response to India's continued purchases of Russian oil. The decision has raised concerns about potential economic fallout across multiple sectors. The ministry of external affairs has termed the US action 'unfair, unjustified, and unreasonable,' vowing to protect India's national interests.
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First Post
27 minutes ago
- First Post
Irony just died, many times, in Trump's 25% tariff penalty on India
Trump slaps India with tariffs over Russian oil ties, even as the US and China trade freely with Moscow read more The announcement of a 25 per cent on Indian exports by US President Donald Trump, aimed at penalising India for purchasing oil from Russia, has drawn global attention—not merely for its economic implications, but for its profound inconsistency. The irony is multilayered: while India is being singled out for maintaining an energy relationship with Russia, the United States itself remains a significant importer of Russian goods. According to US government data, in 2024, American trade with Russia amounted to $5.2 billion. This included critical imports such as $1.3 billion worth of fertilisers, $878 million of precious metals (notably palladium), and $624 million of uranium (USITC, 2025). STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Even as Washington accuses New Delhi of indirectly funding 'Putin's war machine,' it quietly maintains its own economic ties to Moscow—ostensibly under the radar of public and political scrutiny. America buys Russian uranium, then scolds India India's Ministry of External Affairs was quick to flag what it called a 'revealing' double standard. The ministry pointed out that US imports of Russian palladium and uranium have not ceased, and that fertiliser imports are, in fact, rising. Between January and May 2025, US imports of Russian uranium were up 28 per cent year-on-year, and fertiliser imports surged 21 per cent in the same period, The Indian Express reported. India's criticism carries a sharp edge: unlike the US, it argues, India turned to Russian oil only after traditional Western suppliers diverted their supplies to Europe, at Washington's own urging. India, the MEA noted, did not indulge in Russian trade as an indulgence but out of 'vital national compulsion.' In contrast, America's imports from Russia serve specific industry needs but continue without the same punitive scrutiny. China buys more oil — and buys time If India is being penalised for its energy trade with Russia, China's treatment is even more telling. Despite importing nearly half (47 per cent) of all Russian oil exports—compared to India's 38 per cent—China received a 90-day pause in US tariffs. The reason appears less about diplomacy and more about leverage. China, with its dominance over the global supply of rare earth elements and essential electronics components, holds sway over American industry. This leverage was evident during US-China trade talks in Stockholm, where Beijing framed its energy strategy as an expression of sovereignty. In response, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent conceded that while the US didn't want to 'impede on [China's] sovereignty,' Beijing might still 'like to pay a 100% tariff', Reuters reported. The Chinese strategy of strategic ambiguity and long-term positioning is hard to ignore. As Scott Kennedy of the Center for Strategic and International Studies observed, Beijing is simply waiting out the storm while doubling down on energy security and its relationship with Moscow. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD From China first to India first… in penalties The irony deepens when considering that Trump's trade war initially focussed on China. The US ran its largest goods trade deficit—$295 billion in 2024—with Beijing. That imbalance made China the presumed primary target of the tariff campaign. Now, while Chinese goods are being slapped with a 30 per cent tariff, India, a country with whom the US runs a much smaller deficit, is facing a punitive 25 per cent penalty simply for energy purchases. Trump's rationale—that India is profitting from reselling Russian oil—was stated with characteristic bluntness: 'They don't care how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian War Machine,' he said. However, such rhetoric appears at odds with on-the-ground realities. India uses the bulk of imported Russian oil for domestic consumption. The 'reselling for big profits' argument, while provocative, lacks substantiation. Tariff logic: Russia threatens US, so India must pay? The official justification for the new sanctions is rooted in national security. Trump's executive order states that 'the actions and policies of Russia continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the US.' By extension, India, through its oil purchases, is allegedly sustaining that threat. But the logic seems flawed. If the real aim is to end the war in Ukraine by drying up Russian revenues, then China's much larger purchases of Russian oil—along with the EU's ongoing trade—would warrant stricter action. Instead, US has exempted its own uranium buyers and offered China a delay. Trump had once boasted he could end the war in 24 hours if elected; yet six months into his third campaign cycle, Vladimir Putin remains unmoved, and Ukraine still bleeds. Defiance from the Global South Both India and China have responded not with capitulation, but resistance. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's public framing of the issue ties directly into his government's Atmanirbhar Bharat (Self-Reliant India) narrative. Officials in the Ministry of External Affairs have likewise drawn a sharp line, stating that India's bilateral ties 'should not be seen from the prism of a third country.' In other words, Washington's sanctions won't dictate New Delhi's strategic calculations. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD China's stance mirrors India's, albeit with different rhetoric. It portrays energy decisions as sovereign choices, and positions itself as a leader of the Global South. Beijing's message isn't just directed at the White House—it's aimed at a world increasingly frustrated with US-centric norms. Brics: A quiet realignment India and China's parallel resistance fits into a broader shift. Brics, which now includes Egypt, Iran, Ethiopia and the UAE, is increasingly presenting itself as an alternative to the Western-led global order. At the July 2025 Brics summit in Rio de Janeiro, members called out unilateral trade measures and emphasised sovereign financial cooperation. Trump's recent comment that Brics is 'basically a group of countries that are anti-US' shows how far this sentiment has travelled into American politics. Washington's fear that Brics will undermine the dollar's dominance and bypass Swift reflects the economic realignment underway. Parallel but uncoordinated pushback Despite the complex and often tense relations between India and China, the Trump administration's aggressive tactics are inadvertently aligning their responses. Both countries are rejecting US pressure not in coordination, but in parallel. For India, it's about economic autonomy and for China, it's about geopolitical calculus. Yet both share a common interest in resisting what they view as economic coercion masked as moral high ground. Whether through 25 per cent tariffs or Senate bills proposing 500 per cent duties on countries buying Russian oil, the US risks isolating itself from two of the world's largest economies. Oil: The last lever? Ultimately, Washington's hope that tariffs will force India to abandon Russian oil may be misplaced. India now sources 35 per cent of its crude from Russia, and much of it cannot be easily replaced. Many fear that any hasty pullback could disrupt refining and supply chains. At the same time, the global oil market remains delicately balanced. Russia could still retaliate by cutting CPC pipeline flows, which would hit Western oil giants and potentially spike global prices beyond $80 per barrel. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Given this backdrop, punishing India—while ignoring similar or larger trade by others—risks weakening Washington's credibility and alienating a vital partner in the Indo-Pacific. Final Irony: Targeting allies while fuelling the fire In the end, Trump's 25 per cent tariff on India seems less like strategic statecraft and more like symbolic punishment. It offers an illusion of action while failing to curb Russian oil revenues, ignoring American-Russian trade, and driving India and China further toward economic alignment. In trying to isolate Russia, Washington may be isolating itself. And in a world of sharp geopolitical edges, irony is the first casualty.
