Why is Poland introducing controls on its border with Germany? – DW – 07/03/2025
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Int'l Business Times
4 hours ago
- Int'l Business Times
Impact Of US Tariffs Varies Across European Union
European countries are not all equally exposed to the US market and so will not suffer the same consequences should President Donald Trump go ahead with his threats to impose 30-percent tariffs on the European Union. Ireland, with a major pharmaceutical industry, is in the front line along with Germany, for whom the United States is a major outlet for its cars, steel and machine tools. France is less exposed, even if it does have aeronautics, food, wine and luxury goods companies that risk losing markets. The EU as a whole has an annual trade surplus with the United States of $235.6 billion, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), which reports to the U.S. Department of Commerce. Only China has a higher amount. Ireland has the largest surplus among EU members, at $86.7 billion. That is largely due to the presence of major American pharmaceutical companies such as Pfizer, Eli Lilly, and Johnson & Johnson. They all set up in Ireland to benefit from a 15 percent corporate tax, compared to 21 percent in the United States. These companies can thus host their patents in Ireland and sell on the American market, where drug prices are traditionally higher than in the rest of the world. Ireland also hosts most of the European headquarters of American tech giants, such as Apple, Google and Meta, also attracted by the attractive Irish tax system. Overall, pharmaceuticals account for 22.5 percent of EU exports to the United States, according to Eurostat, with many major players having announced major investments in the United States. Germany, the EU's largest economy, is under particular pressure due to its dependence on exports: it has a surplus of $84.8 billion with the United States, thanks to its large automobile, chemical, steel and machine industries. The United States accounts for 23 percent of the revenue of Mercedes Benz. While some of that is accounted for by SUVs manufactured in the United States and exported, they risk being hit by any tariff reprisals from the EU. The Federation of German Industries (BDI) reacted promptly to Donald Trump's announcements on Saturday, calling on the EU and the United States to "quickly find solutions and to avoid an escalation". Italy and France, with surpluses of $44 billion and $16.4 billion respectively, according to US statistics (French data says the surplus is much smaller), would appear to be less affected. But some sectors are heavily exposed. The food and wine industries would be particularly affected in both countries, as is also the case for Spain. A 30-percent tariff would be a "catastrophe" for the French wine and spirits sector, Jerome Despey, head of the viticulture branch of the FNSEA union, said Saturday. Coldiretti, Italy's main agricultural organisation, said Saturday that tariffs of 30 percent would cost US consumers and Italian food producers some $2.3 billion. Like Germany, Italy is also concerned about its automotive sector. Franco-Italian manufacturer Stellantis (particularly Fiat and Peugeot) has suspended its forecasts for the year due to these uncertainties. Exposed French sectors also include aeronautics and luxury goods. LVMH, the world's largest luxury conglomerate, makes a quarter of its sales in the United States. About a fifth of France's exports to the United States come from the aerospace industry, much of it from Airbus. Austria and Sweden also have surpluses with the United States, $13.1 billion and $9.8 billion respectively. US trade deficits AFP
DW
10 hours ago
- DW
Why Russia is stepping up attacks on Ukraine – DW – 07/12/2025
Kyiv has recently suffered the most intense bombing it has seen since Russia began its full-scale invasion three years ago. What does Vladimir Putin hope to achieve — and how can the destruction be stopped? On Friday morning, Russia carried out another drone attack on Odessa. The Ukrainian army's territorial recruitment center and residential buildings were hit, local media reported. A day earlier, at least two people were killed in a massive overnight attack that targeted several districts in the capital Kyiv. Mayor Vitali Klitschko said an ambulance station was destroyed. The damage is part of a series of sweeping combined attacks that included what Ukrainian media called a "night from hell" in Kyiv on July 4, when the Russian army deployed more than 500 drones, in addition to Kinzhal and Iskander missiles. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video As a result, even US President Donald Trump, who had previously seen himself as a mediator in the conflict, declared that he was disappointed with Russian President Vladimir Putin. "We get a lot of bullshit thrown at us by Putin," Trump said. "He's very nice all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless." Shortly after these remarks, the US resumed deliveries of artillery shells and mobile rocket artillery missiles to Ukraine, news agency Reuters reported. Thanks to the expansion of its drone production, Russia is now in a position to carry out this level of attacks. It is no longer dependent on Iran as it was back in 2022. They're currently producing thousands a month," military technology expert David Hambling told DW. "That might make it up to tens of thousands, and that's simply enough to swamp most forms of defense that would take out missiles." Still, Colonel Markus Reisner from the Austrian Armed Forces told DW that Russia would not have the capacity carry out such attacks without the help of other countries. China supplies drone parts and North Korea delivers ballistic missiles, he added. "You can see that Russia is relying on supporters here," he said. Following the recent attack on Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told news portal NV that the intensified shelling was a result of Putin's wish for "people to suffer and flee Ukraine, to see houses, schools — life itself — destroyed everywhere, not just on the front line." The , citing sources close to the Kremlin, reported that this is how Russia intends to break Ukraine's defenses in the coming months. Colonel Reisner said that Putin has two strategic aims with his latest combined attacks: to destroy Ukraine's military-industrial complex and to influence the Ukrainian public. "Targeted attacks on the population, which is intended to be further weakened by terror, are thus an indirect attempt to exert pressure on the Ukrainian government," Reisner said. Many military experts like German political scientist Andreas Heinemann-Grüder expect Russia to launch a new offensive this summer. He sees the increasing number of combined attacks as part of this campaign. Russia's goal is to incapacitate Ukrainian air defenses to such an extent that the losses cannot be offset by supplies from Western countries, he said. The attacks could also signal that Russia is preparing for a "decisive battle," he added, saying that he could not rule out the possibility that Russia could corner Ukraine into subordinating to the Kremlin's demands by around year's end. The experts who spoke to DW all said that more decisive action from the West would be necessary to reclaim control on the battlefield. At the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome this week Zelenskyy also said that while Ukraine had found a solution to fend off Russian attacks in interceptor drones, his country's defense sector remains in urgent need of investment. Ukraine is now achieving good results in the production of its own drones, but still cannot do without support, Colonel Reisner said. "It needs support from the West, especially for special weapons systems, such as the Patriot anti-aircraft missiles," he said. This week, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that Germany was prepared to buy Patriot systems from the US for Ukraine. To provide truly effective aid, the West must overcome fears that the weapons supplied to Ukraine could fall into Russian hands, political scientist Heinemann-Grüder said. Were that to happen, Western arms companies would worry about losing their technological edge, he explained. Another concern is that establishing joint ventures with Ukraine could drive down prices for their products. "These kinds of thoughts need to be overcome," Heinemann-Grüder said.
Int'l Business Times
11 hours ago
- Int'l Business Times
Trump Says Mexico, EU To Face 30% Tariff From Aug 1
President Donald Trump on Saturday said major US trading partners Mexico and the European Union would face a 30 percent tariff starting next month, ramping up pressure for deals in his trade wars. Both sets of duties would take effect August 1, Trump said in separate letters posted to his Truth Social platform, citing Mexico's role in illicit drugs flowing into the United States and a trade imbalance with the EU respectively. Since returning to the presidency in January, Trump has unleashed sweeping tariffs on allies and competitors alike, roiling financial markets and raising fears of a global economic downturn. But his administration is coming under pressure to secure deals with trading partners after promising a flurry of agreements. So far, US officials have only unveiled two pacts, with Britain and Vietnam, alongside temporarily lower tit-for-tat duties with China. The fresh duties for Mexico announced by Trump would be higher than the 25 percent levy he imposed Mexican goods earlier this year, although products entering the United States under the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) are exempted. "Mexico has been helping me secure the border, BUT, what Mexico has done, is not enough," Trump said in his letter. "Starting August 1, 2025, we will charge Mexico a Tariff of 30% on Mexican products sent into the United States." Canada earlier received a similar letter setting out 35 percent tariffs on its goods. A US official earlier told AFP that the USMCA exemption was similarly expected to remain for Canada. The EU tariff is also markedly steeper than the 20 percent levy Trump unveiled in April, as negotiations with the bloc continue. The EU, alongside dozens of other economies, had been set to see its US tariff level increase from a baseline of 10 percent on Wednesday, but Trump pushed back the deadline to August 1 just days before the elevated rates were due to take effect. Since the start of the week, Trump has sent out letters to more than 20 countries with updated tariffs for each. Brussels said Friday that it was ready to strike a deal with Washington to prevent the return of 20 percent levies, and the latest letter suggests talks will carry on. The EU has prepared retaliatory duties on US goods worth around 21 billion euros after Trump also slapped separate tariffs on steel and aluminum imports earlier this year, and they are suspended until July 14. European officials have not made any move to extend the suspension but could do it quickly if needed.
