
Tariffs run into a wall; US court says President Trump overstepped authority
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A US trade court ruling that blocked most of President Donald Trump 's tariffs and found he had overstepped his authority triggered some relief on financial markets on Thursday, while adding to the uncertainties weighing on the global economy Among the United States' big trading partners, in the throes of negotiation with the Trump administration, Germany said it could not comment, as did the European Commission."We ask for your understanding that we cannot comment on the legal proceedings in the US, as they are still ongoing," a spokesperson for Germany's economy ministry said. "We continue to hope that a mutually beneficial solution can be reached in the negotiations between the EU Commission and the U.S. government."The British government said the sweeping ruling was a domestic matter for the US administration but noted that it was "only the first stage of legal proceedings".Winners on financial markets included chip makers, banks, luxury stocks and auto industry, all hit hard by tariff-led disruptions. White House officials quickly signaled on Thursday that Trump will pursue many of the same levies through other legal authorities, if appeals fail.The administration meanwhile is aggressively pushing to overturn the decision, saying it would go to the US Supreme Court as soon as Friday if a federal appeals court does not keep the original ruling from taking effect while the challenge continues. The ruling was "blatantly wrong" and "we are confident this decision will be overturned on appeal," the White House posted on X.The US dollar had earlier rallied against the yen and Swiss franc but its gains faded as the trade outlook remained uncertain and worries emerged about how Trump could respond.The US economy shrank at the start of the year, restrained by weaker consumer spending and an even bigger impact from trade than initially reported.Gross domestic product decreased at a 0.2% annualised pace in the first quarter, the second estimate from the Bureau of Economic Analysis showed Thursday.
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Mint
23 minutes ago
- Mint
Trump tariffs: Here's how Indian exporters of apparel, drugs and tyres are preparing for all contingencies
New Delhi/Mumbai: Indian exporters of apparel, automotive parts, pharmaceuticals and tyres – with significant shipments to the US – are preparing contingency plans or revising their business strategies to mitigate the business risk from the imposition of tariffs. US President Donald Trump's administration has imposed a 10% universal tariff on all imports from every country, including India. Gokaldas Exports Ltd, a listed garments exporter, will focus on expanding its business in Europe because tariffs have hurt business with its main export market – the US. 'Since there is a lot of tariff uncertainty, we are pivoting to Europe. The idea is not to reduce our US business in absolute terms, but for incremental business we will focus on Europe including the UK," said Sivaramakrishnan Ganapathi, managing director of Gokaldas Exports. Margins of apparel exporters including Gokaldas have come under pressure following the tariff levy. US retailers have been unable to pass on the increased cost to consumers and are pushing for their suppliers to share the burden, Ganapathi said. Also Read | As US court declares Trump's tariffs illegal, experts urge India to reassess trade talks 'In the short term, we may also have to bear some of that cost just to keep up the relationships," he said. Gokaldas got about three-fourths of its ₹3,864 crore FY25 revenue from the US. The US is the largest export destination for Indian apparel exports. This is because competing apparel-exporting nations Bangladesh, Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Pakistan get preferential tariff rates in Europe, putting Indian exporters at a disadvantage. India's in-principle trade agreement with the UK last month and progressing talks with the European Union could now level the playing field for Indian exporters. 'Once an FTA with the UK is finalised, it will bring at least a $1 billion apparel export opportunity for India. The opportunity in the EU will be much larger. We should ready ourselves up for this incremental business," Ganapathi said. India exported readymade garments worth $16 billion ( ₹1.35 trillion) in FY25, as per data from the Apparel Export Promotion Council, an industry group. India business Indian tyre companies are chalking out similar contingency plans. The US is a key export market for Indian tyremakers, constituting about one-fifth of the country's total overseas tyre sales of $3 billion in FY24. Balkrishna Industries Ltd, which gets almost three-fourths of its revenue from exports, will focus on expanding business in India with a series of product launches. The company now targets 8% of the global tyre market by 2030 compared with its earlier goal of a 10% share. "Please note that we are under a slow-moving economy. There are wars happening, there are trade wars happening. Uncertain times are there. So that is why we are looking at it very conservatively," Rajiv Poddar, managing director at Balkrishna Industries, said on an earnings call on 24 May. 'In case anything changes and there's a catalyst, we are absolutely ready to pounce on that opportunity and go back to our original vision of 10%." Also Read | India's exports face geopolitical woes but trade deals offer relief: RBI report Ceat, which acquired Canada's Camso in December, is betting that India will be successful in signing a bilateral trade pact with the US before Sri Lanka and is planning to change its tyre distribution accordingly. Camso gets 30% of its business from the US through its two manufacturing facilities in Sri Lanka. "In case the tariffs go through, we will produce for the United States from Indian facilities if tariffs are lower here and for Europe from Sri Lanka," said Arnab Banerjee, managing director and CEO at Ceat. Apprehensive pharma Indian pharmaceutical companies are exploring partnerships and investment opportunities to manufacture in the US. While the pharmaceuticals sector has not been slapped with tariffs yet by the US, Indian exporters are apprehensive of surprise levies by Trump. 'We have a very good balance sheet; we have a very healthy financial capacity. We are always looking for opportunities," Dr. Reddy's Laboratories chief executive Erez Israeli said last month on investing in the US. 'We are not rushing, and we are not obliged for any commitment… But we certainly want to be in the United States long term. We will look for the relevant opportunity for us." Also Read | Bitter pill for Indian pharma as Trump tariffs could hurt exports by $2.25 billion The contingency plans of pigment manufacturer Sudarshan Chemicals include leveraging its ₹1,180 crore acquisition of Germany's Heubach Group. Heubach has a plant in the US as well as 19 units in Europe, allowing it the flexibility to tweak its distribution depending on the tariff scenario. "The new acquisition gives us a lot of flexibility. If there are tariffs on India, we supply from Europe into the US market," Rajesh Rathi, managing director of Sudarshan Chemicals, told Mint in March. Jessica Jani in Mumbai contributed to this story.


New Indian Express
25 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
Lok Sabha MP Gaurav Gogoi takes charge as new Assam Congress president
Lok Sabha MP Gaurav Gogoi on Tuesday assumed charge as the Assam Congress president and he is all set to lead the party in next year's assembly polls. He was handed over the reins by outgoing president Bhupen Kumar Borah, who had helmed the state's main opposition party for over three years, at the state Congress headquarters here. Speaking to reporters after assuming charge, Gogoi said the party will continue to be inspired by its ideology of equality and inclusiveness. "Inspired by the ideology of leaders from Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru to Hitestwar Saikia and Tarun Gogoi, we will together take the party forward," he said. Gogoi was named the new state unit chief by the party's central leadership last week at a time when Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had been attacking him over his British wife's alleged connection with Pakistan's spy agency ISI.


Mint
38 minutes ago
- Mint
Taxing the money immigrants send home would hurt economies here and abroad
A proposed new tax from the Trump administration would slow the flow of money that U.S. immigrants send home to their families, and that has economic implications at home and abroad. Remittances from the U.S. to Latin America totaled an estimated $160.9 billion in 2024, according to the latest research from the Inter-American Development Bank Migration Unit. Those remittances not only generate transaction fees for the largely American financial institutions that execute the payments, but they also make up between roughly 20% to 30% of gross domestic product growth in countries like El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica and Nicaragua. President Donald Trump's budget, which recently passed the House of Representatives, included a 3.5% tax on all remittance transfers made by noncitizens to accounts outside the country. That would be a double tax on many immigrants who have already paid income tax on the funds they send to family and friends abroad. 'Remittance growth from the United States could fall to half of what it was in 2024," estimates Manuel Orozco, director of the migration, remittances and development program at the Inter-American Dialogue, a think tank that aims to boost democratic resilience and shared prosperity in the Americas. In addition to the proposed remittance tax, the U.S. is experiencing slowing migration and increased deportations. Both trends could reduce the number of foreign-born individuals in the U.S., thereby also diminishing the population sending remittances home. The slowing migration trends in effect since 2023 are expected to continue this year. Morgan Stanley economists estimate that immigration will slow to 800,000 this year, down from 1 million new arrivals in 2024. That is expected to drop to just 500,000 in 2026. Deportations are also set to rise. The Department of Homeland Security reported 152,000 deportations during the first hundred days of the Trump administration. And the Supreme Court ruled last week that the Trump administration could end temporary status granted by the Biden administration to 532,000 people from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela. Remittances are a key form of support for many countries. Honduras, for example, received $9.8 billion in remittances from the U.S. in 2024, according to Orozco. The country was on track to experience 7% growth in remittances in 2025, but with the proposed tax and the projected declines in immigration, Orozco expects that the country will actually see a 9% decline instead. El Salvador is projected to experience an 8% decline, while remittances to Guatemala and Nicaragua could be down by 7%. Haiti is expected to see a 3% drop. A drop in remittances could lead to lower domestic incomes and consumer spending, as well as potentially expanding deficits, writes William Jackson, chief emerging markets economist at Capital Economics. The reduction in consumer spending could occur in the U.S. as well. Migrants typically send 15% of their remittances abroad, but that means about 85% of their incomes remain in the U.S. Last year, immigrant households held $1.7 trillion in spending power, according to data from the American Immigration Council, a nonprofit that aims to shape immigration policies. Undocumented immigrants, specifically, had about $299 billion in spending power. But if the cost of remittances increases, generally the income spent in-country tends to shrink as well, says Ananya Kumar, deputy director for future of money at the GeoEconomics Center. So this issue does affect consumer spending levels in the U.S. as well. Even countries with large economies could feel the impact of lower payment flows. U.S. remittances to Mexico—which Mastercard's research has found to be the 'single largest remittance pipeline in the world"—totaled $67.7 billion last year, according to BBVA research. India and the Philippines also rank high in remittance flows. The remittance tax would be on top of the high transaction fees that already exist when sending money across borders. Last year, the average cost of sending money from the U.S. was 6.03% during the third quarter, according to the World Bank's quarterly report. It can be challenging to determine the effects of a tax on remittances because many times these payments go underground if taxed. That makes this a 'slippery tax space," says Alan Cole, senior economist with Tax Foundation's Center for Federal Tax Policy. That could make it more difficult to administer and collect the projected tax revenues, but could also increase cartels' power as payment brokers. 'There's a U.S. national security interest in wanting to not create more friction from remittance payments," Kumar says. Americans need to stop viewing remittances as a 'burden" on the U.S. economy, but instead, should start viewing it as something that accrues advantages abroad, she adds. Write to Megan Leonhardt at