US envoy lands in Russia for meeting with Russian leadership: State media
"Steven Witkoff was met by Presidential Special Representative Kirill Dmitriev," said Russian state news agency TASS.
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Nahar Net
an hour ago
- Nahar Net
Trump's new tariffs go into effect as US economy shows signs of strain
by Naharnet Newsdesk 08 August 2025, 12:43 President Donald Trump began imposing higher import taxes on dozens of countries Thursday just as the economic fallout of his monthslong tariff threats has begun to cause visible damage to the U.S. economy. Just after midnight, goods from more than 60 countries and the European Union became subject to tariff rates of 10% or higher. Products from the EU, Japan and South Korea are taxed at 15%, while imports from Taiwan, Vietnam and Bangladesh are taxed at 20%. Trump also expects the EU, Japan and South Korea to invest hundreds of billions of dollars in the United States. "I think the growth is going to be unprecedented," Trump said Wednesday. He said the U.S. was "taking in hundreds of billions of dollars in tariffs," but did not provide a specific figure for revenues because "we don't even know what the final number is" regarding the rates. Despite the uncertainty, the White House is confident that the onset of his tariffs will provide clarity about the path for the world's largest economy. Now that companies understand the direction the U.S. is headed, the Republican administration believes it can ramp up new investments and jump-start hiring in ways that can rebalance America as a manufacturing power. So far, however, there are signs of self-inflicted wounds to the U.S. as companies and consumers brace for the impact of the new taxes. Risk of economic erosion Hiring began to stall, inflationary pressures crept upward and home values in key markets started to decline after the initial tariff rollout in April, said John Silvia, CEO of Dynamic Economic Strategy. "A less productive economy requires fewer workers," Silvia said. "But there is more, the higher tariff prices lower workers' real wages. The economy has become less productive, and firms cannot pay the same real wages as before. Actions have consequences." Many economists say the risk is that the American economy is steadily eroded. "It's going to be fine sand in the gears and slow things down," said Brad Jensen, a professor at Georgetown University. Trump has promoted the tariffs as a way to reduce America's persistent trade deficit. But importers tried to avoid the taxes by bringing in more goods before the tariffs took effect. As a result, the $582.7 billion trade imbalance for the first half of the year was 38% higher than in 2024. Total construction spending has dropped 2.9% over the past year. The economic pain is not confined to the U.S. Germany, which sends 10% of its exports to the U.S. market, saw industrial production sag 1.9% in June as Trump's earlier rounds of tariffs took hold. "The new tariffs will clearly weigh on economic growth," said Carsten Brzeski, global chief of macro for ING bank. Dismay in India and Switzerland The lead-up to Thursday fit the slapdash nature of Trump's tariffs, which have been rolled out, walked back, delayed, increased, imposed by letter and renegotiated. Trump on Wednesday announced additional 25% tariffs to be imposed on India because of its purchases of Russian oil, bringing its total import taxes to 50%. A leading group of Indian exporters said that will affect nearly 55% of the country's outbound shipments to America and force exporters to lose long-standing clients. "Absorbing this sudden cost escalation is simply not viable. Margins are already thin," S.C. Ralhan, president of the Federation of Indian Export Organizations, said in a statement. The Swiss executive branch, the Federal Council, was expected to meet Thursday after President Karin Keller-Sutter and other Swiss officials returned from a hastily arranged trip to Washington in a failed bid to avert a 39% U.S. tariffs on Swiss goods. Import taxes are still coming on pharmaceutical drugs, and Trump announced 100% tariffs on computer chips. That could leave the U.S. economy in a place of suspended animation as it awaits the impact. Stock market remains solid The president's use of a 1977 law to declare an economic emergency to impose the tariffs is under a legal challenge. Even people who worked with Trump during his first term are skeptical, such as Paul Ryan, the Wisconsin Republican who was House speaker. "There's no sort of rationale for this other than the president wanting to raise tariffs based upon his whims, his opinions," Ryan told CNBC on Wednesday. Trump is aware of the risk that courts could overturn his tariffs. In a Truth Social tweet, he said, "THE ONLY THING THAT CAN STOP AMERICA'S GREATNESS WOULD BE A RADICAL LEFT COURT THAT WANTS TO SEE OUR COUNTRY FAIL!" The stock market has been solid during the tariff drama, with the S&P 500 index climbing more than 25% from its April low. The market's rebound and the income tax cuts in Trump's tax and spending measure signed into law on July 4 have given the White House confidence that economic growth is bound to accelerate in the coming months. On the global financial markets, indexes rose across much of Europe and Asia, while stocks were slipping on Wall Street. But ING's Brzeski warned: "While financial markets seem to have grown numb to tariff announcements, let's not forget that their adverse effects on economies will gradually unfold over time." Trump foresees an economic boom. American voters and the rest of the world wait, nervously. "There's one person who can afford to be cavalier about the uncertainty that he's creating, and that's Donald Trump," said Rachel West, a senior fellow at The Century Foundation who worked in the Biden White House on labor policy. "The rest of Americans are already paying the price for that uncertainty."
LBCI
14 hours ago
- LBCI
Putin says UAE could host Trump summit
Russian President Vladimir Putin Thursday named the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as a potential location for an upcoming summit with U.S. counterpart Donald Trump. "We have many friends who are willing to help us organize such events. One of our friends is the president of the United Arab Emirates," Putin said standing next to UAE leader Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, adding "it (the UAE) would be one of the quite suitable places." AFP
L'Orient-Le Jour
20 hours ago
- L'Orient-Le Jour
One killed in Israeli strike on Baalbeck district; Cabinet discusses Hezbollah disarmament in Baabda
Israeli army kills one in Baalbeck district drone strike One person has been killed in an Israeli drone strike that hit the Baalbeck district village of Kfar Dan, near the shrine of prophet Joseph, our correspondent in the Bekaa reports. According to our information, the victim was targeted while walking through the village. The Bekaa has come increasingly under attack in recent days amid Israel's ongoing aggressions against Lebanon, despite the cease-fire in place since November 2024. Cabinet meeting: 'I will never accept that the state abandons its own' Labor Minister Mohammad Haidar, part of Hezbollah's quota in the government, spoke out against any attempt to disarm the party before the Israeli army ends its attacks and occupation of southern Lebanon. 'I am a son of this people," Haidar said. "How could I face the mother of a martyr, a father still living in a tent, or a young man who lives every day in existential anguish, and tell him that he must submit and give up the only guarantee that protects him?' "We cannot talk about disarming 'The Resistance' until the enemy has withdrawn, our prisoners have returned, the attacks have stopped, and reconstruction has begun," he continued. "Otherwise, I am sorry, but I cannot take responsibility for an unjust decision against my people, and I will never accept that the state abandons its own." Gaza sees highest yet acute malnutrition rates in children Gaza has seen its highest monthly figure of acute malnutrition in children, with hunger-related deaths rising in the enclave, the Director General of the World Health Organization said, as Israel continues its suffocating blockade of the Strip, inducing a man-made famine. "In July, nearly 12,000 children under five years were identified as having acute malnutrition in Gaza, the highest monthly figure ever recorded," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said from WHO's headquarters in Geneva. At least 99 people have died, including 64 adults and 35 children, including 29 below 5-years old since the start of this year to July 29, Tedros said. Some 2,500 of those children are suffering from severe malnutrition, according to the WHO. 17:01 Beirut Time Cabinet meeting: Hezbollah says disarmament 'free service' to Israel Hezbollah's parliamentary bloc, 'Loyalty to the Resistance,' issued a statement in parallel with the ongoing Cabinet meeting at Baabda Palace, describing the government's decision to disarm Hezbollah as a 'free service' rendered to Israel. 'We call on the Lebanese government to correct the situation it has put Lebanon in, having bowed to American demands that serve the interests of the enemy,' the statement reads. 15:48 Beirut Time U.S. President Donald Trump said it was very important to him that all 'Middle Eastern countries adhere to the Abraham Accords, ' according to Reuters. In 2020, the Abraham Accords, negotiated by Donald Trump during his first term, led to the normalization of relations between several Arab countries, including Morocco and the United Arab Emirates. 15:41 Beirut Time Israeli minister announces reconstruction of settlement in occupied West Bank Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced Thursday that the Sa-Nur settlement in the West Bank — evacuated by Israel in 2005 — will be rebuilt, according to AFP. 'We are correcting the sin of the expulsion,' said Smotrich, who accompanied a group of families preparing to resettle the ruins of the northern West Bank outpost. 'Even back then, we knew that even if the expulsion sadly happened, one day we would return to every place we were driven out of. That includes Gaza, and it's even more true here,' he added. 15:41 Beirut Time Cabinet convenes in Baabda The Cabinet meeting has started in Baabda Presidential Palace. Of the Hezbollah-Amal ministers, only Yassine Jaber (Finance, Amal) is absent. 15:40 Beirut Time Cabinet meets on state weapons monopoly As the Cabinet meets to continue discussing the state's exclusive control over arms, ministers Tamara Elzein (Amal, Environment), Mohammad Haidar (Hezbollah, Labor), and Rakan Nasreddine (Hezbollah, Health) have arrived at Baabda Presidential Palace, according to our reporter on site. Before the session began, President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam held a private meeting, the presidency announced. Earlier in the day, the president told Saudi outlet Al-Hadath that today's session would 'finalize decision-making on the weapons monopoly.' 13:42 Beirut Time The Lebanese Army recovered two defective Israeli drones in Yaroun, in the district of Bint Jbeil, in southern Lebanon, according to our correspondent. He specifies that these are two robotic drones, which means that they are remotely piloted to carry out missions such as detonating mines or surveilling locations. 13:42 Beirut Time Flotilla off the coast of Gaza to demand release of hostages The families of Israeli hostages boarded several boats this morning and set sail for the coast of the Gaza Strip in order to get 'as close as possible' to their loved ones held captive by Hamas, according to an AFP videographer on board one of the boats. 'Mayday! Mayday! Mayday! We need all the international help we can get to rescue the hostages,' said Yehouda Cohen, the father of a hostage and a member of the group that set sail from the Israeli port of Ashkelon, on the northern border of the Gaza Strip, and was joined at sea by several other boats. 13:41 Beirut Time Four new deaths due to starvation, malnutrition in Gaza Hospitals in the Gaza Strip have recorded four new deaths 'due to starvation and malnutrition in the last 24 hours,' Al Jazeera reported, citing the enclave's Health Ministry. This brings the total number of starvation-related deaths to 197, including 96 children. 'The latest victim of starvation is a two-year-old girl who died in the al-Mawassi area,' near Khan Younis, the channel reported. 12:45 Beirut Time Famine, displacement, killings in Gaza 'very much resemble' genocide: Senior European official A senior European Union official told Politico that famine, displacement and killings in Gaza 'very much resemble' genocide. According to the newspaper, this is one of the 'strongest condemnations of Israel by Brussels since the start of the war.' European Commission Executive Vice President Teresa Ribera emphasized: "What we are seeing is a population being targeted, killed, and condemned to starve. A population is confined, homeless — their homes destroyed — without food, water, or medicine — denied access — and subjected to bombing and shooting even when trying to obtain humanitarian aid. All humanity is absent, and no witnesses are allowed. She added: 'If this is not genocide, it very much resembles the definition used to express its meaning.' Ribera also said that the EU should consider suspending the EU-Israel Association Agreement, which is the basis of their trade and economic relations. 11:01 Beirut Time Israeli strikes targeted Hezbollah weapons, construction equipment: Army Commenting on this series of strikes, the Israeli army said, through its Arabic-speaking spokesman Avichay Adraee, that it had attacked 'Hezbollah targets, including weapons warehouses, a missile launch pad,' and 'construction equipment intended for the reconstruction of terrorist infrastructure.' 11:01 Beirut Time Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon last night killed 1 person The Lebanese Health Ministry and our local correspondent reported one death in the series of 20 Israeli nighttime strikes on southern Lebanon. According to our correspondent, the victim was a Syrian worker who was maintaining construction equipment in a garage that was hit by an Israeli missile. 11:01 Beirut Time 23 Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza since dawn At least 23 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli bombings on Gaza since the early hours of the day, according to medical sources cited by Al-Jazeera. Among the casualties, at least six Palestinians were killed in a strike on a tent in the al-Mawassi area, west of Khan Younis. Earlier, 17 other people were killed in the besieged enclave, according to the Qatari media outlet. 11:01 Beirut Time Humanitarian situation in Gaza remains 'very serious': European official The humanitarian situation in Gaza remains 'very serious,' an EU official told Reuters after EU foreign policy and humanitarian aid officials briefed member countries last night on the progress of an agreement reached last month with Israel to facilitate humanitarian access to Gaza. The official noted that there had been 'some positive developments' regarding fuel deliveries, the reopening of some roads, an upward trend in the number of trucks entering the enclave daily, and the repair of some vital infrastructure. However, he added that 'significant obstacles continue to hamper humanitarian operations and the delivery of aid to Gaza, including the lack of a secure operating environment that would allow for the large-scale distribution of aid.'
