Shares in South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix tumble on US tariffs
SK Hynix supplies Nvidia with chips called high-bandwidth memory used in artificial intelligence chipsets.
Trump said on Wednesday the United States will impose a tariff of about 100 per cent on semiconductors imported from countries not producing in the U.S. or planning to do so. But it would not apply to companies that had made a commitment to manufacture in the U.S. or were in the process of doing so.
South Korea's trade envoy said on Thursday that SK Hynix and rival Samsung Electronics would not be subject to a 100 per cent U.S. tariff on chips.
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Straits Times
3 hours ago
- Straits Times
Iran threatens planned Trump corridor envisaged by Azerbaijan-Armenia peace deal
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox DUBAI/MOSCOW - Iran threatened on Saturday to block a corridor planned in the Caucasus under a regional deal sponsored by U.S. President Donald Trump, Iranian media reported, raising a new question mark over a peace plan hailed as a strategically important shift. A top Azerbaijani diplomat said earlier that the plan, announced by Trump on Friday, was just one step from a final peace deal between his country and Armenia, which reiterated its support for the plan. The proposed Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP) would run across southern Armenia, giving Azerbaijan a direct route to its exclave of Nakhchivan and in turn to Turkey. The U.S. would have exclusive development rights to the corridor, which the White House said would facilitate greater exports of energy and other resources. It was not immediately clear how Iran, which borders the area, would block it but the statement from Ali Akbar Velayati, top adviser to Iran's supreme leader, raised questions over its security. He said military exercises carried out in northwest Iran demonstrated the Islamic Republic's readiness and determination to prevent any geopolitical changes. "This corridor will not become a passage owned by Trump, but rather a graveyard for Trump's mercenaries," Velayati said. Iran's foreign ministry earlier welcomed the agreement "as an important step toward lasting regional peace", but warned against any foreign intervention near its borders that could "undermine the region's security and lasting stability". Analysts and insiders say that Iran, under mounting US pressure over its disputed nuclear programme and the aftermath of a 12-day war with Israel in June, lacks the military power to block the corridor. MOSCOW SAYS WEST SHOULD STEER CLEAR Trump welcomed Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in the White House on Friday and witnessed their signing of a joint declaration aimed at drawing a line under their decades-long on-off conflict. Russia, a traditional broker and ally of Armenia in the strategically important South Caucasus region which is crisscrossed with oil and gas pipelines, was not included, despite its border guards being stationed on the border between Armenia and Iran. While Moscow said it supported the summit, it proposed "implementing solutions developed by the countries of the region themselves with the support of their immediate neighbours – Russia, Iran and Turkey" to avoid what it called the "sad experience" of Western efforts to mediate in the Middle East. Azerbaijan's close ally, NATO member Turkey, welcomed the accord. Baku and Yerevan have been at odds since the late 1980s when Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountainous Azerbaijani region mostly populated by ethnic Armenians, broke away from Azerbaijan with support from Armenia. Azerbaijan took back full control of the region in 2023, prompting almost all of the territory's 100,000 ethnic Armenians to flee to Armenia. "The chapter of enmity is closed and now we're moving towards lasting peace," said Elin Suleymanov, Azerbaijan's ambassador to Britain, predicting that the wider region's prosperity and transport links would be transformed for the better. "This is a paradigm shift," said Suleymanov, who as a former envoy to Washington who used to work in President Aliyev's office, is one of his country's most senior diplomats. Suleymanov declined to speculate on when a final peace deal would be signed however, noting that Aliyev had said he wanted it to happen soon. There remained only one obstacle, said Suleymanov, which was for Armenia to amend its constitution to remove a reference to Nagorno-Karabakh. "Azerbaijan is ready to sign any time once Armenia fulfils the very basic commitment of removing its territorial claim against Azerbaijan in its constitution," he said. MANY QUESTIONS UNANSWERED Pashinyan this year called for a referendum to change the constitution, but no date for it has been set yet. Armenia is to hold parliamentary elections in June 2026, and the new constitution is expected to be drafted before the vote. The Armenian leader said on X that the Washington summit had paved the way to end the decades of conflict and open transport connections that would unlock strategic economic opportunities. Asked when the transit rail route would start running, Suleymanov said that would depend on cooperation between the U.S. and Armenia whom he said were already in talks. Joshua Kucera, Senior South Caucasus analyst at International Crisis Group, said Trump may not have got the easy win he had hoped for as the agreements left many questions unanswered. The issue of Armenia's constitution continued to threaten to derail the process, and it was not clear how the new transport corridor would work in practice. "Key details are missing, including about how customs checks and security will work and the nature of Armenia's reciprocal access to Azerbaijani territory. These could be serious stumbling blocks," said Kucera. Suleymanov played down suggestions that Russia, which still has extensive security and economic interests in Armenia, was being disadvantaged. "Anybody and everybody can benefit from this if they choose to," he said. REUTERS
Straits Times
3 hours ago
- Straits Times
Trump's environment agency terminates contract with unionised employees
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Eliminating union deals allows US agencies like the EPA to more easily fire or discipline employees. WASHINGTON - The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) moved to end its contract with unionised employees, according to the union's president, the latest action in President Donald Trump's push to weaken collective bargaining across the federal government. The union, which represents 8,000 EPA employees, is planning a legal response to the decision, said Mr Justin Chen, president of the agency's chapter of the American Federation of Government Employees, in a statement on Aug 8. The decision gets Mr Trump closer to his goal to strip hundreds of thousands of federal workers of the ability to collectively bargain with US agencies. Eliminating union deals would allow agencies to more easily fire or discipline employees, according to attorneys representing federal workers. 'EPA is working to diligently implement President Trump's Executive Orders with respect to AFGE, including 'Exclusions from Federal Labor-Management Relations Programs', in compliance with the law,' an EPA spokesperson said in a statement, referring to the executive order Mr Trump issued in March. The order involves removing collective bargaining rights at more than 30 federal agencies, including the EPA, and is currently being challenged in court by unions who say it violates free speech and obligations to bargain with workers. The EPA had more than 16,000 employees as of March 2025, according to federal HR records. That figure does not include employees that accepted buyouts. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore 4 men arrested after police search operation in forested area near Rail Corridor Singapore SAF regular serviceman dies after being found unconscious at Hendon Camp swimming pool: Mindef Singapore E-bike rider arrested for rash act causing hurt after accident with pedestrian in Toa Payoh Singapore Man arrested for allegedly stealing from business class passenger on flight to Singapore Asia Manila struggles to keep a lasting hawker culture, casts eyes on how Asian nations lifted street food Singapore Driver taken to hospital after car hits lamp post in Orchard Road Singapore Urban farming, robots, AI exhibitions: Public invited to share ideas for new Science Centre Asia 2 Malaysian tourists critically injured after being set on fire in Bangkok The agency said in July it would cut the size of its workforce by at least 23 per cent and close its scientific research office as part of Mr Trump's broad effort to downsize the federal government. Unions are suing to stop Mr Trump's effort to dismantle collective bargaining agreements. A federal appeals court on Aug 1 said the administration could move forward with exempting certain federal agencies from their obligation to negotiate with unions. AFGE, which represents the EPA workers, is a plaintiff in that lawsuit. REUTERS
CNA
3 hours ago
- CNA
Trump-backed World Liberty proposes $1.5 billion crypto holder, Bloomberg News reports
World Liberty Financial, a crypto venture backed by U.S. President Donald Trump's family, is sounding out investors for a $1.5 billion fundraising meant to set up a public company that will hold its WLFI tokens, Bloomberg News reported on Friday. The structure of the deal is yet to be finalised, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter, adding that large investors in the crypto and tech space had been approached for the venture. Reuters could not immediately verify the report. World Liberty declined to comment. World Liberty, a "decentralised platform" which counts Donald Trump and his sons as co-founders according to its website, has earned the family $500 million since its launch, according to Reuters' calculations. World Liberty tokens, known as $WLFI, are not classified as securities by the Securities and Exchange Commission and are hence not subject to the same level of scrutiny as investments like stocks.
