UN plastic treaty talks: Countries embark on 10-day talks in Geneva to hammer out global agreement
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CNA
4 hours ago
- CNA
Swiss president meets US Secretary of State for last-minute trade talks
WASHINGTON: Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday (Aug 6) as Switzerland scrambled to avert a crippling 39 per cent tariff on its exports, with Washington reportedly seeking increased Swiss purchases of US arms and energy in exchange for easing the duties. The Swiss delegation, which includes Business Minister Guy Parmelin, landed in Washington on Tuesday for final negotiations. The talks come just one day before the punitive tariffs are set to take effect, threatening major damage to Switzerland's export-reliant economy. According to a Swiss source familiar with the talks, the Trump administration is pushing for Switzerland to buy more liquefied natural gas and defence products as part of any deal. "Look at the European Union – they promised to buy LNG. Switzerland imports LNG too — maybe that's one path," Parmelin said over the weekend. SEEKING A BETTER DEAL In a recent agreement with Washington, the EU secured a reduced 15 per cent tariff rate by pledging to buy US$750 billion in energy products over three years and to increase defence spending. While not formally committing to buy more arms, EU officials suggested US companies would benefit from increased NATO-linked military expenditures. Switzerland already purchases US military hardware and has committed to buying F-35A Lightning II fighter jets from Lockheed Martin in a deal worth 6 billion Swiss francs (US$7.43 billion). However, the trade standoff has fuelled calls from some Swiss politicians to cancel the F-35 order as a retaliatory measure if tariffs go ahead. LOOMING ECONOMIC HIT Keller-Sutter's meeting with Rubio began at 10:15am (1415 GMT) and was scheduled to last one hour, according to the State Department. 'There are currently no plans to meet President Trump, but the situation could change,' a Swiss government official told Reuters. Earlier in the day, the Swiss delegation met with key business leaders, including Roche Chairman Severin Schwan, Partners Group co-founders Alfred Gantner and Marcel Erni, and Daniel Jaeggi, president of commodity firm Mercuria. Further meetings with Swiss companies operating in the US were planned. "We greatly appreciate the tireless commitment of the Federal Council and the Federal Administration," said Noe Blancpain, executive board member of Swiss industry group Swissmem. The US is a top destination for Swiss exports, including watches, machinery and chocolate, all of which would be hit hard by the proposed 39 per cent tariff, far exceeding the rates secured by Britain, Japan and the EU. Swiss business associations have warned that tens of thousands of jobs could be at risk. Swiss cheese makers are particularly concerned, with the US accounting for 11 per cent of all cheese exports last year, including Gruyère and Emmentaler. "The taxes are enormous," said Anthony Margot, a fifth-generation cheese maturer. "We can't replace a market like the United States overnight." The Swiss Market Index was down 1 per cent in early afternoon trading on Wednesday ahead of the tariff deadline. WINNING OVER TRUMP The latest push follows a July draft agreement between Switzerland and the US, which reportedly set tariffs at 10 per cent. But Trump abruptly reversed course last Friday following what officials described as a difficult phone call with Keller-Sutter. Swiss sources denied a breakdown in relations but acknowledged the call did not go well. "Trump's team and the Swiss negotiators apparently already struck a deal. So it's in their mutual interest to get it over the line with Trump himself," said Claude Maurer, chief economist at Swiss think tank BAK Economics.
Straits Times
5 hours ago
- Straits Times
Ghana says eight people including two ministers die in helicopter crash
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox ACCRA - Ghana's defence and environment ministers died in a military helicopter crash on Wednesday in the southern Ashanti region along with three other officials and three airforce crew, the government said. Julius Debrah, President John Mahama's chief of staff, told a press conference that the crash in which Defence Minister Edward Omane Boamah and Environment, Science and Technology Minister Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed were killed was a national tragedy. "The president and government extend our condolences and sympathies to the families of our comrades and the servicemen who died in service to the country," Debrah said. Earlier Ghana's armed forces said radar contact had been lost with a Z9 airforce helicopter. REUTERS
AsiaOne
15 hours ago
- AsiaOne
Hiroshima warns against nuclear weapons as it marks 80 years since A-bomb, Asia News
HIROSHIMA, Japan — Exactly 80 years since an atomic bomb was used in war for the first time, thousands bowed their heads in prayer in Hiroshima on Wednesday (Aug 6), as the city's mayor warned world leaders about the nuclear warheads that still exist today. The western Japanese city of Hiroshima was levelled on Aug 6, 1945, when the United States dropped a uranium bomb nicknamed "Little Boy", killing about 78,000 people instantly. Hiroshima was the headquarters of some military units and a major supply base during World War Two. US war planners calculated that the surrounding mountains would concentrate the force of the bomb and enhance its destructiveness. "Little Boy" unleashed a surge of heat reaching 4,000 degrees Celsius and radiation that killed tens of thousands more by the end of the year. It was followed by a plutonium bomb on Nagasaki three days later, and Japan's surrender on Aug 15. Representatives from a record 120 countries and territories including nuclear superpower the United States, and Israel, which neither confirms nor denies having nuclear weaponry, attended the annual ceremony at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park for the milestone year. After a moment of silence observed at 8.15am local time, the exact time of the blast, mayor Kazumi Matsui called on leaders to heed the lessons of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and warned of the consequences of the global trend towards a military buildup. "Among the world's political leaders, there is a growing belief that possessing nuclear weapons is unavoidable in order to protect their own countries," he said, noting that the US and Russia possessed 90 per cent of the world's nuclear warheads. "This situation not only nullifies the lessons the international community has learnt from the tragic history of the past, but also seriously undermines the frameworks that have been built for peace-building. "To all the leaders around the world: Please visit Hiroshima and witness for yourselves the reality of the atomic bombing." Yoshikazu Horie, a 71-year-old tourist, expressed a similar sentiment. "It feels more and more like history is repeating itself. Terrible things are happening in Europe... Even in Japan, in Asia, it's going the same way, it's very scary," he said. "I've got grandchildren and I want peace so they can live their lives happily." In the decades following the attacks, those who survived, called "hibakusha", often faced discrimination as rumours spread that they carried diseases and their offspring could be tainted. Their numbers fell below 100,000 for the first time this year. Japan, the only country to have suffered nuclear attacks, has stated its commitment to nuclear disarmament but is not a signatory or observer of the UN treaty to ban nuclear weapons. [[nid:719985]]
