India A Safe Investment In A World Where Trade and Tech Are Being Weaponised: EU Envoy
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Mint
5 minutes ago
- Mint
Trump goes to bat for big tech in global trade talks
The Trump administration is using its global trade wars to advance the interests of the U.S. technology industry, seeking to prevent foreign countries from targeting American internet firms. The administration hopes to use the threat of tariffs and access to the U.S. economy to stop multiple countries from imposing new taxes, regulations and tariffs on American tech companies and their products ahead of a self-imposed Aug. 1 deadline, when higher levies are scheduled to take effect for dozens of trading partners. Measures targeting America's internet giants remain a sticking point in discussions with Brazil, South Korea and the European Union, according to people familiar with the discussions. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer are scheduled to meet Friday in Washington with South Korea's trade and finance ministers. President Trump's abrupt termination of trade talks with Canada last month over that country's proposed digital-services tax highlighted his administration's focus on the dominance of the American tech sector. Canada quickly rescinded the tax to salvage trade discussions. The emphasis on protecting America's internet companies abroad follows a yearslong campaign by tech companies, which have warned that what they call unfair taxes and regulations overseas could restrict the amount they can invest in the U.S. The U.S. approach to foreign digital taxes represents a win for an industry that nevertheless faces issues with the Trump administration domestically, including antitrust challenges and the impact of tariffs on their businesses. 'The companies have done a very good job at making the big tech agenda America first," said Nu Wexler, a public affairs consultant who previously worked at tech companies including Meta Platforms and Google. Many companies and executives donated millions of dollars to Trump's inauguration. Google CEO Sundar Pichai was among tech leaders in attendance for President Trump's inauguration in January. Tech companies have found allies on digital trade in Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Bessent and Greer. In the deal with Indonesia, U.S. negotiators secured commitments that the Jakarta government would drop plans to tariff electronic goods such as movies or software downloads. Similar commitments have been secured from Vietnam, say people familiar with the plans, though the administration has yet to release documentation of that deal. The administration is committed to delivering on Trump's pledge to defend innovative U.S. companies from unfair practices overseas, White House spokesman Kush Desai said. Brazil is focused on resuming trade talks, not retaliatory measures, a government official said. The European Commission, which is in charge of EU trade policy, declined to comment. The South Korean and Vietnamese embassies didn't respond to requests for comment. Veterans of the first Trump term say the president has long opposed efforts from other countries to tax and regulate U.S. tech companies, even as he often battles them on the home front. Trump 'sees this as a way for other countries to grab revenue unfairly from U.S. companies," said Everett Eissenstat, a former deputy director of the National Economic Council. When the European Union imposed hefty fines on Google and other tech companies in his first term, Trump referred to the bloc's then-competition czar as a 'tax lady" who 'really hates the U.S." The U.S. initiated probes of digital taxes in countries including France in 2019 that stalled during the Biden administration. Countries have long tried to allocate more of Silicon Valley's profits from digital advertising and online activities to their territories. Many are ramping up regulations for taking down misinformation, promoting transparency and keeping minors safe online. Some are trying to strengthen antitrust laws. Vice President JD Vance attended an AI summit in February in Paris. The Biden administration hoped a multilateral process would address digital-services taxes, but that effort stalled. Many tech executives felt former President Biden ignored the rise of overseas regulations. 'The U.S. government has finally acknowledged there is a fire we must put out," said Matt Schruers, chief executive officer of the Computer & Communications Industry Association trade group. Skeptics say the administration is battling for an already thriving industry that doesn't need its support while overlooking other segments of the economy that are more exposed to tariffs. Democrats have criticized Trump's ties to tech and cryptocurrency executives. After Trump was elected the second time, tech leaders including Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Google's Sundar Pichai made pilgrimages to Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in Florida. Curbing what they said were harmful policies overseas consistently came up in the conversations, people familiar with the conversations said. As administration officials threatened eye-watering tariffs on goods from many countries, they also demanded that those governments relax some of their tech restrictions. In March, India withdrew its digital-services tax. India and the U.S. are still negotiating, but Trump has said he thinks a deal is close. Canada's digital tax was seen as a bellwether because it could have encouraged other countries to follow through on similar measures. Ottawa's levy was expected to cost U.S. tech companies about $3 billion and included a retroactive component back to 2022. President Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney last month at the G-7 summit in Alberta, Canada. In late June, Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney clashed over the digital tax at a Group of Seven summit in Canada. Some tech companies were preparing to make the payments when Trump stepped in just before the deadline. The two sides haven't yet reached a trade deal, and Carney has indicated U.S. tariffs might remain in place even with an agreement. Last week, shortly after Trump said he would impose 50% tariffs on Brazilian goods, Greer initiated a tariff investigation on Brazil under a section of U.S. trade law targeting unfair trade practices. Trump cited the country's legal action against Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil's former president and one his political allies. The investigation includes Brazil's digital-trade and electronic-payments practices, the latest salvo cheered by the tech sector. 'This is a very acute focus right now," CCIA's Schruers said. Write to Amrith Ramkumar at and Gavin Bade at
The Hindu
35 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Trump announces trade deal with Japan including 15% tariff
U.S. President Donald Trump announced a trade framework with Japan on Tuesday (July 22, 2025), placing a 15% tax on goods imported from that nation. 'This Deal will create Hundreds of Thousands of Jobs — There has never been anything like it,' Mr. Trump posted on Truth Social, adding that the United States 'will continue to always have a great relationship with the Country of Japan.' Mr. Trump said Japan would invest 'at my direction' $550 billion into the U.S. and would 'open' its economy to American autos and rice. The 15% tax on imported Japanese goods is a meaningful drop from the 25% rate that Mr. Trump, in a recent letter to Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, said would be levied starting August 1. Also read: Threatened by President Donald Trump's tariffs, Japan walks delicate tightrope between U.S. and China With the announcement, Mr. Trump is seeking to tout his ability as a dealmaker — even as his tariffs, when initially announced in early April, led to a market panic and fears of slower growth that for the moment appear to have subsided. Key details remained unclear from his post, such as whether Japanese-built autos would face a higher 25% tariff that Trump imposed on the sector. But the framework fits a growing pattern for Mr. Trump, who is eager to portray the tariffs as a win for the U.S. His administration says the revenues will help reduce the budget deficit and more factories will relocate to America to avoid the import taxes and cause trade imbalances to disappear. But the wave of tariffs continues to be a source of uncertainty about whether it could lead to higher prices for consumers and businesses if companies simply pass along the costs. The problem was seen sharply Tuesday (July 22, 2025) after General Motors reported a 35% drop in its net income during the second quarter as it warned that tariffs would hit its business in the months ahead, causing its stock to tumble. As the August 1 deadline for the tariff rates in his letters to world leaders is approaching, Mr. Trump also announced a trade framework with the Philippines that would impose a tariff of 19% on its goods, while American-made products would face no import taxes. The president also reaffirmed his 19% tariffs on Indonesia. The U.S. ran a $69.4 billion trade imbalance on goods with Japan last year, according to the Census Bureau. America had a trade imbalance of $17.9 billion with Indonesia and an imbalance of $4.9 billion with the Philippines. Both nations are less affluent than the U.S. and an imbalance means America imports more from those countries than it exports to them. The President is set to impose the broad tariffs listed in his recent letters to other world leaders on August 1, raising questions of whether there will be any breakthrough in talks with the European Union (EU). At a Tuesday (July 22, 2025) dinner, Mr. Trump said the EU would be in Washington on Wednesday (July 23, 2025) for trade talks. 'We have Europe coming in tomorrow, the next day,' Mr. Trump told guests. The President earlier this month sent a letter threatening the 27 member states in the EU with 30% taxes on their goods to be imposed starting on August 1. The Trump administration has a separate negotiating period with China that is currently set to run through August 12 as goods from that nation are taxed at an additional 30% baseline. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he would be in the Swedish capital of Stockholm next Monday and Tuesday to meet with his Chinese counterparts. Mr. Bessent said his goal is to shift the American economy away from consumption and to enable more consumer spending in the manufacturing-heavy Chinese economy. 'President Trump is remaking the U.S. into a manufacturing economy,' Mr. Bessent said on the Fox Business Network show 'Mornings with Maria'. 'If we could do that together, we do more manufacturing; they do more consumption. That would be a home run for the global economy,' he added.
Mint
2 hours ago
- Mint
PM Modi embarks on 4-day visit to UK, Maldives today. Full itinerary and key agendas inside
Prime Minister Narendra Modi embark on a visit to the United Kingdom and the Maldives from today, July 23, to July 26. The visit to the UK is at the invitation of Prime Minister Keir Starmer, while the state visit to the Maldives is at the invitation of President Mohamed Muizzu, the Ministry of External Affairs said. The focus of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visits to Britain and the Maldives will be shoring up trade and defence cooperation with the formalisation of the landmark India-UK free trade deal set to be the key outcome of his trip to London. PM Modi's foreign trip comes in the middle of Monsoon Session of Parliament that began on July 21. The prime minister will first travel to the UK on Wednesday on a two-day trip and then visit the Maldives primarily to grace the island nation's Independence Day celebrations as "guest of honour". According to Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, besides holding wide-ranging talks with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Modi will also meet King Charles III during his July 23-24 visit to the UK. This is PM Modi's fourth visit to the UK since assuming office. Starmer is set to host Modi on Thursday, July 24, at Chequers, the official country residence of the British prime minister, 50 km northwest of London. Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and his British counterpart Jonathan Reynolds are likely to sign the free trade agreement (FTA) in the presence of the two prime ministers, people familiar with the matter were quoted as saying in a PTI report. In May, India and the UK sealed the FTA that is expected to benefit 99 per cent of Indian exports from tariffs and will make it easier for British firms to export whisky, cars and other products to India, besides boosting the overall trade basket. The trade deal, firmed up after three years of negotiations, is expected to ensure comprehensive market access for Indian goods across all sectors and India will gain from tariff elimination on about 99 per cent of tariff lines (product categories) covering almost 100 per cent of the trade values, according to officials quoted by PTI Along with the FTA—the biggest the UK has done since leaving the European Union—the two countries also sealed a double contribution convention. It provides for employers of Indian workers to be exempt from paying social security contributions in the UK. "This visit, though a short one, will give both leaders the opportunity to review the entire gamut of the bilateral relationship and discuss ways to strengthen it further, and also discuss issues that are of regional and global relevance," Misri said at a media briefing earlier this week. A day ahead of Modi's UK trip, PM-led Union Cabinet on Tuesday approved the India-UK free trade agreement, paving the way for the much-awaited formal signing of the pact during Modi's visit to London on 24 July, said two government officials, asking not to be identified. When asked whether the FTA would be formally signed during PM Modi's visit to the UK, Misri said work on it is continuing, and it is 'last-minute.' "We are continuing to work on those and last-minute work on that is continuing," he said. The India-UK bilateral trade crossed USD 55 billion in 2023-24. The UK is the sixth largest investor in India, with a cumulative investment of USD 36 billion. India's investments in the UK are close to USD 20 billion, and some 1,000 Indian companies operating in Britain provide employment to almost 100,000 people. The British side is understood to have made extensive security arrangements, including sensitising security agencies to Indian concerns, to avert any attempt by pro-Khalistan elements to disrupt PM Modi's visit or organise protests. The foreign secretary said defence, technology, research, innovation and education have emerged as key pillars of India-UK cooperation. "In the defence sector, we are seeing regular interactions and exercises amongst all three branches of the armed forces. We have placed military instructors at each other's military academies," he said. The foreign secretary also mentioned the Technology Security Initiative (TSI) between the two sides, which is focused on cooperation intelecom, critical minerals, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, semiconductors, advanced materials, and quantum computing. During his July 25-26 trip to the Maldives, Modi will hold extensive talks with President Mohamed Muizzu and inaugurate several India-assisted development projects in the island nation. The prime minister will also be the guest of honour at the Maldivian Independence Day celebrations on July 26. "The prime minister's state visit also happens to be the first state visit of a head of government that President Muizzu is hosting in his presidency since he assumed the office in November 2023," Misri said. "The Maldives is a very close partner in our neighbourhood, a very important partner in India's Neighbourhood First policy, and as part of the MAHASAGAR vision of India, which is Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions," he added. Misri also mentioned the India-Maldives joint vision for a 'Comprehensive Economic and Maritime Security Partnership' that was finalised last year. "This joint vision, in a sense, has become the guiding framework for our ties," he said. The prime minister's visit to the Maldives is seen as important as it marks a significant reset of bilateral ties that had come under severe strain after Muizzu, known for his pro-China leanings, became president in November 2023. Misri attributed the turnaround in the relationship to India working hard on the ties with the island nation. This visit, though a short one, will give both leaders the opportunity to review the entire gamut of the bilateral relationship and discuss ways to strengthen it further. "It's a question of working hard at a relationship. There will always be events that will impact or try to intrude on the relationship. But I think this is testimony to the kind of attention that has been paid to the relationship and including attention at the highest levels that has been paid to the relationship," he said.
