Iran condemns ‘malicious' US sanctions targeting oil trade
Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei in a statement called 'the new US sanctions against Iran's oil trade a malicious act aimed at undermining the economic development and welfare of the Iranian people.'
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Arab News
7 minutes ago
- Arab News
Pakistan says decision to roll back digital tax on foreign retailers to boost e-commerce sector
KARACHI: A senior Pakistani finance official said on Friday the government had decided to roll back a recently imposed digital tax on foreign retailers in an effort to promote e-commerce in the country. The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), the government's tax collection body, reversed this week a set of measures introduced in the federal budget that were aimed at regulating cross-border online purchases and affected international firms like China's Temu, Shein and AliExpress. These included a five percent fixed tax on digital platforms and a sharp reduction in the duty-free threshold for imported parcels, slashing it from Rs5,000 ($18) to Rs500 ($1.8). 'The government plans to continue expanding the e-commerce sector by keeping the market open to international players,' Finance Adviser Khurram Schehzad told Arab News. The move has sparked backlash from local retailers, who argue that the policy puts them at a disadvantage. 'The removal of the five percent levy on foreign goods is likely to negatively affect domestic sellers, including small businesses and established retailers,' Asfandyar Farrukh, Chairman of the Chainstore Association of Pakistan (CAP), said. According to CAP, foreign platforms, primarily those belonging to China, are sending as many as 30,000 parcels daily to Pakistani consumers, up from just 1,000 two years ago. Internal courier company data shared by CAP shows this as a nearly 2,900 percent surge in parcel volumes. Farrukh also questioned the timing and motivation behind the policy reversal, linking it to Pakistan's recent trade negotiations with the United States. 'The government's decision to withdraw the digital proceeds levy appears to have been heavily influenced by the US trade deal,' he said, pointing out that American tech giants such as Google and Meta were also affected by the tax and are now exempt. 'The five percent levy should have been maintained on foreign goods, even if removed for services, where it arguably didn't apply.' Still, Farrukh acknowledged parallel budgetary measures, such as the reduction in the duty-free threshold and stricter customs enforcement, may temper some of the impact. 'Authorities are now more vigilant in ensuring that foreign e-commerce goods aren't under-invoiced to evade taxes at import,' he added. Economist Shankar Talreja echoed some of these concerns. 'This tax withdrawal encourages the use of imported products at the cost of domestic manufacturing,' he said. 'It promotes a trading culture rather than production.' Talreja, who heads research at Karachi-based Topline Securities, added the domestic industry is losing competitiveness as local products are taxed through sales and income levies, while foreign goods bypass the same regulatory burden. He agreed with the CAP chairman about the circumstances of the tax withdrawal. 'The government, according to reports, reversed the tax under pressure from trade talks with the US,' he said. Pakistan's retail sector includes about five million shops generating an estimated Rs20 trillion ($71 billion) annually, but only 10 percent of this comes from the tax-compliant formal sector that CAP represents. Temu did not respond to Arab News's request for comment. Shein and AliExpress could not immediately be reached.
Arab News
an hour ago
- Arab News
Putin explains Trump's frustrations away by saying disappointments in peace talks come from ‘excessive expectations'
MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that Moscow hoped for more peace talks with Ukraine but that the momentum of the war was in its favor, signalling no shift in his stance despite a looming sanctions deadline from Washington. US President Donald Trump has said he will impose new sanctions on Moscow and countries that buy its energy exports — of which the biggest are China and India — unless Russia moves by August 8 to end the 3-1/2 year war. He has expressed mounting frustration with Putin, accusing him of 'bullshit' and describing Russia's latest attacks on Ukraine as 'disgusting.' Putin, without referring to the Trump deadline, said three sessions of peace talks with Ukraine had yielded some positive results, and Russia was expecting negotiations to continue. 'As for any disappointments on the part of anyone, all disappointments arise from inflated expectations. This is a well-known general rule,' he said. 'But in order to approach the issue peacefully, it is necessary to conduct detailed conversations. And not in public, but this must be done calmly, in the quiet of the negotiation process.' He said Russian troops were attacking Ukraine along the entire front line and that the momentum was in their favor, citing the announcement by his Defense Ministry on Thursday that Moscow's forces had captured the Ukrainian town of Chasiv Yar after a 16-month battle. Ukraine denied that Chasiv Yar is under full Russian control. Ukraine for months has been urging an immediate ceasefire but Russia says it wants a final and durable settlement, not a pause. Since the peace talks began in Istanbul in May, it has conducted some of its heaviest air strikes of the war, especially on the capital Kyiv. The Ukrainian government has said the Russian negotiators do not have the mandate to take significant decisions and President Volodymyr Zelensky has called on Putin to meet him for talks. 'We understand who makes the decisions in Russia and who must end this war. The whole world understands this too,' Zelensky said on Friday on X, reiterating his call for direct talks between him and Putin. 'The United States has proposed this. Ukraine has supported it. What is needed is Russia's readiness.' Russia says a leaders' meeting could only take place to set the seal on agreements reached by negotiators. Ukraine and its European allies have frequently said they do not believe Putin is really interested in peace and have accused him of stalling, which the Kremlin denies. 'I will repeat once again, we need a long and lasting peace on good foundations that would satisfy both Russia and Ukraine, and ensure the security of both countries,' Putin said, adding that this was also a question of European security. Putin was speaking alongside his ally Alexander Lukashenko, the president of Belarus, at talks on an island in Lake Ladoga that is the site of a famous Russian monastery. Russian TV earlier showed the two men greeting monks at the Valaam Monastery, where they have met several times before, and holding candles during the chanting of prayers.
Al Arabiya
an hour ago
- Al Arabiya
World economies reel from Trump's tariffs punch
Global markets reeled Friday after President Donald Trump's barrage of tariffs against nearly all US trading partners, as governments looked down the barrel of a seven-day deadline before higher duties take effect. Trump announced late Thursday that dozens of economies, including the European Union, will face new tariff rates of between 10 and 41 percent. However, implementation will be on August 7 rather than Friday as previously announced, the White House said. This gives governments a window to rush to strike deals with Washington under more favorable conditions. Neighboring Canada, one of the biggest US trade partners, was hit with 35 percent levies—up from 25 percent—effective Friday, though wide-ranging current exemptions remain in place. The tariffs are a demonstration of raw economic power that Trump sees as putting US exporters in a stronger position, while encouraging domestic manufacturing by keeping out foreign imports. But the muscular approach has raised fears of inflation and other economic fallout in the world's biggest economy. Stock markets in Hong Kong, London, and New York slumped as they digested the turmoil, while weak US employment data added to the concerns. Trump's actions come as debate rages over how best to steer the US economy, with the Federal Reserve this week deciding to keep interest rates unchanged despite massive political pressure from the White House to cut. Data released Friday showed US job growth missing expectations for July, while unemployment ticked up to 4.2 percent from 4.1 percent. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 dropped 1.6 percent, while the Nasdaq tumbled 2.2 percent. Political goals Trump raised duties on around 70 economies from a 10 percent level imposed in April, when he unleashed 'reciprocal' tariffs citing unfair trade practices. The new, steeper levels listed in an executive order vary by trading partner. Any goods 'transshipped' through other jurisdictions to avoid US duties would be hit with an additional 40 percent tariff, the order said. But Trump's duties also have a distinctly political flavor, with the president using separate tariffs to pressure Brazil to drop the trial of his far-right ally, former president Jair Bolsonaro. He also warned of trade consequences for Canada, which faces a different set of duties, after Prime Minister Mark Carney announced plans to recognize a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly in September. In targeting Canada, the White House cited its failure to 'cooperate in curbing the ongoing flood of fentanyl and other illicit drugs'—though Canada is not a major source of illegal narcotics. By contrast, Trump gave more time to Mexico, delaying for 90 days a threat to increase its tariffs from 25 percent to 30 percent. However, exemptions remain for a wide range of Canadian and Mexican goods entering the United States under an existing North American trade pact. Carney said his government was 'disappointed' with the latest rate hike, but noted that with exclusions, the US average tariff on Canadian goods remains one of the lowest among US trading partners. 'Tears up' rule book With questions hanging over the effectiveness of bilateral trade deals struck—including with the EU and Japan—the outcome of Trump's overall plan remains uncertain. 'No doubt about it—the executive order and related agreements concluded over the past few months tears up the trade rule book that has governed international trade since World War II,' said Wendy Cutler, senior vice president of the Asia Society Policy Institute. On Friday, Trump said he would consider distributing a tariff 'dividend' to Americans. Notably excluded from Friday's drama was China, which is in the midst of negotiations with the United States. Washington and Beijing at one point brought tit-for-tat tariffs to triple-digit levels, but have agreed to temporarily lower these duties and are working to extend their truce. Countries that managed to strike deals with Washington to avert steeper threatened levies included Vietnam, Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines, South Korea, and the European Union. Among other tariff levels adjusted in Trump's latest order, Switzerland now faces a higher 39 percent duty.
