Thailand-Cambodia tensions: US, China send representatives to join border talks in Malaysia
Defence ministers from Thailand and Cambodia will meet on Aug 7 in Malaysia on the final day of ongoing talks to keep alive a tenuous truce reached late last month. This is their first face-to-face meeting after hostilities broke out two weeks ago. What started as a border conflict between two ASEAN neighbours has now also seen an active interest from both the US and China.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNA
an hour ago
- CNA
Trump announces US$100 billion new investment pledge from Apple
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday (Aug 6) that Apple will invest an additional US$100 billion in the United States, a move which will expand the company's domestic investment commitment and could help it sidestep potential tariffs on iPhones. The new pledge brings Apple's total investment commitment in the US to US$600 billion. Earlier this year, the company had announced it would invest US$500 billion and hire 20,000 workers across the country over the next four years. The announcement centres on expanding Apple's supply chain and advanced manufacturing footprint in the US, but still falls short of Trump's demand that Apple begin making iPhones domestically. "Companies like Apple, they're coming home. They're all coming home," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, moments after Apple CEO Tim Cook gave him a US-made souvenir with a 24-karat gold base. "This is a significant step toward the ultimate goal of ensuring that iPhones sold in America also are made in America," Trump added. Asked if Apple could eventually build entire iPhones in the US, Cook noted that many components such as semiconductors, glass and Face ID modules are already made domestically, but said that final assembly will remain overseas "for a while". While the investment pledge is significant, analysts say the numbers align with Apple's typical spending patterns and echo commitments made during both the Biden administration and Trump's previous term. In May, Trump had threatened Apple with a 25 per cent tariff on products manufactured overseas, a sharp reversal from earlier policy when his administration had exempted smartphones, computers and other electronics from rounds of tariffs on Chinese imports. Trump's effort to reshape global trade through tariffs cost Apple US$800 million in the June quarter. "Today is a good step in the right direction for Apple, and it helps get on Trump's good side after what appears to be a tension-filled few months in the eyes of the Street between the White House and Apple," said Daniel Ives, an analyst with Wedbush Securities. "A SAVVY SOLUTION" Apple has a mixed track record when it comes to following through on investment promises. In 2019, for instance, Cook toured a Texas factory with Trump that was promoted as a new manufacturing site. But the facility had been producing Apple computers since 2013 and Apple has since moved that production to Thailand. Apple continues to manufacture most of its products, including iPhones and iPads, in Asia, primarily in China, although it has shifted some production to Vietnam, Thailand and India in recent years. Despite political pressure, analysts widely agree that building iPhones in the US remains unrealistic due to labour costs and the complexity of the global supply chain. "The announcement is a savvy solution to the president's demand that Apple manufacture all iPhones in the US," said Nancy Tengler, CEO and CIO of Laffer Tengler Investments, which holds Apple shares. Partners on Apple's latest US investment effort include specialty glass maker Corning, semiconductor manufacturing equipment supplier Applied Materials, and chipmakers Texas Instruments, GlobalFoundries, and Broadcom.
Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
What's a ‘secondary tariff' like the one Trump imposed on India?
On top of an existing 25 per cent levy on goods from India, US President Trump added an additional 25 per cent tariff to penalise India for buying oil from Russia. WASHINGTON – In his second term as US president, Donald Trump has used tariffs as a blanket solution to pursue a wide range of goals: increasing domestic manufacturing and foreign market access, boosting federal revenue, and even punishing the government of Brazil for prosecuting his political ally, former President Jair Bolsonaro. Now he's deployed a tool he calls a 'secondary tariff' in an effort to get countries to distance themselves from US adversaries. On Aug 6, Mr Trump announced that such a tariff on imports from India would take effect in 21 days. On top of an existing 25 per cent levy on goods from India, he added an additional 25 per cent tariff to penalise India for buying oil from Russia. What is Trump's concept of 'secondary tariffs'? The idea behind 'secondary tariffs' is to use a weapon against one country to penalise or try to influence a different country. The concept is similar to the one behind so-called secondary sanctions. How are 'secondary tariffs' and secondary sanctions different? The US uses secondary sanctions to multiply the effect of its primary sanctions on countries or entities. Secondary sanctions target commercial activity involving a party under primary sanctions but occurring outside US legal jurisdiction. They are meant to force companies, banks and individuals to make a tough choice: continue doing business with the sanctioned entity or with the US, but not both. Unlike primary sanctions, which can be enforced by fines and the seizure of US-held assets, secondary sanctions rely on the centrality of the US financial system to the world economy and the widespread use of the dollar as the global reserve currency to work. A company or individual who violates a secondary sanction could be hit by US export controls or be placed on the Treasury Department's Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List, which would prevent Americans from doing business with it. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Some ageing condos in Singapore struggle with failing infrastructure, inadequate sinking funds World Trump eyes 100% chips tariff, but 0% for US investors like Apple World White House says Trump open to meeting Russia's Putin and Ukraine's Zelensky Singapore MRT track issue causes 5-hour delay; Jeffrey Siow says 'we can and will do better' Singapore ST Explains: What is a track point fault and why does it cause lengthy train disruptions? Singapore ST and Uniqlo launch design contest for Singapore stories T-shirt collection Asia Malaysia plans barrierless toll system modelled after Singapore's ERP Singapore S'pore and Indonesia have discussed jointly developing military training facilities: Chan Chun Sing The 'secondary tariff' Mr Trump announced on imports from India isn't aimed at magnifying the impact of a primary tariff, as the name might suggest. US tariffs on energy from Russia are irrelevant given that such imports were banned in 2022 after the country's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Instead, the extra 25 per cent tariff on imports from India appears to be aimed at compelling its government to adopt a similar ban, with the larger goal of pushing Russia to stop its war. In March, Mr Trump created a mechanism for imposing tariffs on imports from countries that buy oil from Venezuela, whose regime, he said, poses a threat to US national security. How can the US know who other countries buy oil from? Ships on the water have identifying transponders that allow third parties to track their location in real time via satellite. That enables analysts in and out of government to, for example, follow oil tankers loading in Russia and unloading in India. Bloomberg
Business Times
2 hours ago
- Business Times
Apple to invest additional US$100 billion in US
[WASHINGTON] Apple will invest an additional US$100 billion in the United States, taking its total pledge to US$600 billion over the next four years, US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday (Aug 6). Trump announced the increased commitment at the White House alongside the tech giant's CEO Tim Cook, calling it 'the largest investment Apple has made in America'. 'Apple will massively increase spending on its domestic supply chain,' Trump added, highlighting a new production facility for the glass used to make iPhone screens in Kentucky. In February, Apple said it would spend more than US$500 billion in the United States and hire 20,000 people, with Trump quickly taking credit for the decision. It builds on plans announced in 2021, when the company founded by Steve Jobs said that it would invest US$430 billion in the country and add 20,000 jobs over the next five years. 'This year alone, American manufacturers are on track to make 19 billion chips for Apple in 24 factories across 12 different states,' Cook said in the Oval Office. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up Trump, who has pushed US companies to shift manufacturing home by slapping tariffs on trading partners, claimed that his administration was to thank for the investment. 'This is a significant step towards the ultimate goal of... ensuring that iPhones sold in the United States of America also are made in America,' Trump said. Cook later clarified that, while many iPhone components will be manufactured in the United States, the complete assembly of iPhones will still be conducted overseas. 'If you look at the bulk of it, we are doing a lot of the semiconductors here, we are doing the glass here, we are doing the Face ID module here... and we are doing these for products sold elsewhere in the world,' Cook said. Apple reported a quarterly profit of US$23.4 billion in late July, topping forecasts despite facing higher costs due to Trump's sweeping levies. The tariffs are essentially a tax paid by companies importing goods to the United States. This means Apple is on the hook for tariffs on iPhones and other products or components it brings into the country from abroad. AFP
