Leaders of Azerbaijan and Syria discuss energy cooperation as they rebuild ties
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev expressed hope that the visit to Baku by Syria's interim Ahmad Al-Sharaa, whose rebel forces toppled Assad in December, would 'significantly contribute to the development of bilateral relations.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Who are the winners and losers of Trump's tariffs?
The penguins have been offered some relief. The people of Switzerland, Laos and Syria, not so much. This is the unlikely jumble of winners and losers of President Donald Trump's finalized list of tariffs, which governments, markets and businesses across the globe were scrambling to make sense of Friday. Some countries, such as Canada and South Africa, reacted with grave disappointment, warning that Trump's executive order could prompt job losses globally and rising costs for Americans. For others, the damage was not as bad as expected, with some able to thrash out deals before his deadline, and others hopeful of striking one in the future. The president had already drawn confusion and alarm when first unveiling his tariff list in April. Many analysts questioned, for example, why he was imposing a 10% levy on Heard and McDonald — two Antarctic outposts populated solely by penguins — or slapping a colossal 50% rate on the impoverished southern African nation of Lesotho. This week's finalized list elicited reprieve but also dismay— often with little or no explanation. The harshest import taxes were slapped on Syria (41%), Laos and Myanmar (40%), three relatively poor nations with, at best, modest trading relationships with Washington. And Iraq, Serbia (both 35%) and Algeria (30%) also found themselves subject to Trump's executive pen. (Brazil faces its own separate 50% tariff as punishment for what Trump says is a "witch hunt" against its former president and his right-wing ally, Jair Bolsonaro, who is accused of plotting a coup.) Elsewhere Thursday, Lesotho's 50% rate was slashed to 15% — but not before huge damage was already wrought. The initial tariff saw American buyers pausing orders, thousands of people losing their jobs and the government declaring a state of disaster. Meanwhile the Heard and McDonald Islands and its flightless bird inhabitants dodged the tariff Trump threatened to impose on Australia, which owns the islands, and remained at the 10% rate first announced in April. It is 'hard to tell if there is any logic' to deciphering why some countries have been hit so hard while others were spared, said David Henig, a trade expert at the European Center for International Political Economy, a think tank based in Brussels. Without a detailed explanation from the White House, Henig told NBC News, the calculations were most likely based on the previous formula Washington used that placed the biggest tariffs on the countries with the biggest trade surpluses. In announcing the tariffs Thursday, Trump said these surpluses 'constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and economy of the United States.' (Many economists disagree that the U.S. trade deficit is inherently a bad thing, and his tariffs are the subject of an ongoing legal fight that is likely to end up at the Supreme Court.) While the international uproar over Lesotho meant it was given a reprieve, other nations may have seen their tariffs maintained or even increased because 'they weren't the most obviously unfairly treated developing countries,' Henig said. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from NBC News on its rationale. It's not only developing or obscure places feeling the heat of Trump's taxes. Switzerland — one of the richest nations in terms of gross domestic product per capita — awoke Friday to find that it had been slapped with a colossal 39% rate, which its government noted with 'great regret.' This could spell trouble for Swiss chocolate and luxury watches, for which the U.S. is the largest market, with shares for Watches of Switzerland Group PLC tumbling 8.5% following the news Friday. India also caught the eye as an American ally hit with a large 25% tariff but dismissed any suggestion of a rift, with Goods Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal saying the world's most populous nation was 'confident that the relationship will continue to move forward.' In Southeast Asia, meanwhile, where exports to the U.S. have been increasing as manufacturers shift production from China, the reaction was generally relief. Thailand and Cambodia, which just agreed to a ceasefire after a five-day border conflict that killed more than 40 people, welcomed their 19% rate as 'win-win' and 'great news,' while Malaysia described its own rate as a 'positive outcome.' Cambodia had been threatened with 49%. The consistency creates a level playing field for Southeast Asian governments — with Indonesia and the Philippines on the same rate, and 20% for Vietnam — after they had worried Trump's tariffs might favor some countries over others. Taiwan, a tech hub that has a large trade surplus with the U.S., was hit with a 20% rate, lower than the 32% threatened in April but higher than the 15% negotiated by Japan, South Korea and the European Union. President Lai Ching-te said Friday that the 20% rate was 'temporary' and that his government expected to negotiate a lower number. Still up in the air are the final tariff rates between the U.S. and China, the world's two largest economies, who rattled global markets this spring as they imposed spiraling tit-for-tat levies before both sides agreed to put most on pause until Aug. 12. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said after meeting with Chinese trade officials this week that a potential extension of that pause could not be confirmed until Trump signed off on it. 'China's position on tariffs is consistent and clear,' Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told a daily press briefing Friday. 'There are no winners in tariff wars or trade wars.' Alexander Smith reported from London and Jennifer Jett reported from Hong Kong. This article was originally published on Sign in to access your portfolio
Associated Press
7 hours ago
- Associated Press
How Mississippians can intervene in natural gas pipeline proposal
Mississippians have until Tuesday to intervene in a proposal for a natural gas pipeline that would span nearly the full width of the state. The pipeline, called the 'Mississippi Crossing Project,' would start in Greenville, cross through Humphreys, Holmes, Attala, Leake, Neshoba, Newton, Lauderdale and Clarke counties and end near Butler, Alabama, stretching nearly 208 miles. Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co., a subsidiary of Kinder Morgan, sent an application for the project to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on June 30. The company hopes the pipeline, which would transfer up to 12 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day, will address a rising energy demand by increasing its transportation capacity. Kinder Morgan says on its website that, should it receive approval, construction would begin at the end of 2027 and the pipeline would begin service in November 2028. The company says the project would cost $1.7 billion and create 750 temporary jobs as well as 15 permanent positions. The project would also include new compressor stations in Humphreys, Attala and Lauderdale counties, although exact locations haven't been set. Singleton Schreiber, a national law firm that focuses on environmental justice, is looking to spread awareness of the public's ability to participate in the approval process, whether or not they support the proposal. 'We're just trying to raise awareness to make sure that people know this is happening,' said Laura Singleton, an attorney with the firm. 'They're going to have to dig and construct new pipelines, so it's going to pass through sensitive ecosystems like wetlands, private property, farmland, things like that. So you can have issues that come up like soil degradation, water contamination, and then after the pipeline is built you could potentially have leaks, spills.' Singleton added while such issues with pipelines are rare, when 'things go bad, they go pretty bad.' To comment, protest, or file a motion to intervene, the public can go to FERC's website (new users have to create an account, and then use the docket number 'CP25-514-000'). The exact deadline is 4 p.m. on Aug. 5. More instructions can also be found here. In addition to FERC, the proposal will also face review from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service and the state environmental agencies in Mississippi and Alabama. Mississippians have seen multiple incidents related to gas leaks in recent years. In March, three workers were injured after accidentally rupturing an Atmos Energy pipeline doing routine maintenance in Lee County, leaving thousands without service. Then last year, the National Transportation Safety Board found that Atmos discovered gas leaks over a month prior to two explosions in Jackson, one of which claimed the life of an 82-year-old woman. ___ This story was originally published by Mississippi Today and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Yahoo
Trump's America First biodiesel policy could cost US companies, consumers, trade groups warn
By Stephanie Kelly and Jarrett Renshaw NEW YORK (Reuters) -The Trump administration's push to discourage the use of foreign feedstocks in domestic biodiesel could lead to higher energy prices for U.S. consumers and restricted domestic production, according to some refining and biofuel trade groups. The warning reflects ongoing friction between President Donald Trump's Environmental Protection Agency and the administration's traditional allies in the energy and agriculture industries over biofuels policy. Trump has promised to slash consumer energy costs, but is also trying to advance his America First agenda to support domestic production through trade protectionism - which can often make costs go up instead. At issue is a proposal from the EPA in June that would for the first time allocate only half as many tradable renewable fuel credits to biodiesel that is either imported or made with foreign feedstocks. Under the Renewable Fuel Standard, refiners must blend large volumes of biofuels into the U.S. fuel supply or purchase the credits, called RINs, from those that do. While meant to help domestic farmers and producers, the new proposal - set to be finalized this autumn - would place unprecedented demand on domestic raw materials needed to make biodiesel like soybean oil, used cooking oil, and animal fat, in a market that currently must look abroad to meet its needs. Meanwhile, restricting the number of RINs that can be generated through such imports will raise credit prices, with a potential spillover impact on diesel and home heating oil, according to the industry groups. "This credit restriction ... will jeopardize the economic viability of renewable fuel production assets and raise overall compliance costs for all obligated parties, which ultimately harms U.S. consumers," Chet Thompson, head of the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers group representing refiners, said in a July 25 letter to top Republican lawmakers. The Advanced Biofuels Association also said the policy could mean ramped up consumer costs, by putting a $250 per metric ton premium on domestic versus imported feedstocks, according to a study it commissioned. "Economic analysis shows this would impose significant costs on U.S. biorefineries, raise fuel prices for millions of Americans, and benefit only a narrow set of stakeholders," ABFA President Michael McAdams said in a statement. The White House and EPA declined to comment directly on the price concerns, saying the administration is still seeking public comment on the proposal until August 8. Others in the biofuel industry backed the proposal. "American farmers need all the demand they can get. We should be developing our capacity here, rather than relying on imported used cooking oil from China, or giving Brazilian feedstocks preferential treatment at the expense of U.S. producers and their farm partners," said Emily Skor, CEO of Growth Energy. However, U.S. companies such as ADM, Bunge and Cargill that have global assets and process U.S. soy, as well as foreign companies with significant U.S. operations, will likely see negative effects. That includes Australia's Nufarm, which contracts with farmers in South America to grow new oilseed crops. UNCERTAIN NUMBERS The biofuel industry had not been seeking the import shift in EPA's June proposal, according to multiple renewable fuel lobbyists and company officials. The White House has since held several meetings with industry officials to hear about potential unintended consequences of the changes, according to multiple sources. The EPA's proposal in June was meant to set out biofuel blending mandates for the next two years. It included a quota of 7.12 billion biomass-based diesel RINs for 2026 - a measurement of the number of tradable credits generated by blending the fuel - and projected that mandate would lead to the blending of 5.61 billion gallons. The biofuels industry and the American Petroleum Institute, an oil trade group, had banded together to lobby the administration to set biomass-based diesel mandates to at least 5.25 billion gallons. The mandate was just 3.35 billion gallons in 2025. Still, there are scenarios in the EPA's accounting that could lead to a lower volume outcome. If all the biodiesel and renewable diesel used in the U.S. next year came from domestic feedstocks, for example, the RIN mandate would yield just 4.45 billion gallons, according to several industry analyses reviewed by Reuters. Ditching the penalty on imported feedstocks could help raise that number, according to the analyses. "That probably aligns with what the administration was trying to do in terms of supporting the agricultural side and farmers," said one industry analyst, who asked to remain anonymous to speak candidly. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
