European auto shares rally after US-Japan trade deal
ADVERTISEMENT Shares in Japanese and South Korean automakers surged overnight on news the deal would cut the U.S. tariff on Japanese vehicle imports to 15%, from a proposed 25%.
Volvo Car jumped around 7% to its highest since mid-May. Germany's Porsche, BMW, Mercedes Benz, Volkswagen all rose between 3.8% and 6.8%. Shares in Stellantis and Renault were up around 3%.
The European auto stocks index rose 3.4% by 0706 GMT, the most among other sectoral indices, compared with a 0.9% rise in the regional STOXX 600 index.
The European Commission is seeking to reach a trade deal outline with the United States ahead of the August 1 deadline set by U.S. President Donald Trump for broad tariff increases. As part of these efforts, Brussels is discussing
ADVERTISEMENT with U.S. counterparts a range of measures aimed at protecting the European Union auto industry, including tariff cuts, import quotas and credits against the value of EU automakers' U.S. exports, industry sources and trade officials say. Citi analysts said it was notable the tariffs for a major auto exporting country were reduced without a cap on shipments, which could have implications for negotiations with the EU and South Korea.
ADVERTISEMENT Europe shipped nearly 758,000 cars worth 38.9 billion euros ($45.57 billion) to the U.S. in 2024, more than four times as many as in the other direction, according to data from European auto association ACEA. However, a group representing U.S. automakers that includes Chrysler-parent Stellantis signalled their unhappiness with the deal, raising concerns about a trade regime that cuts tariffs on auto imports from Japan, while leaving tariffs on imports from their plants and suppliers in Canada and Mexico at 25%.
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US imports from Russia surge 23% in 2025, India calls out Trump for hypocrisy amid tariff threats
Even as Donald Trump threatens India with tariffs over its oil imports from Russia, fresh data shows the US itself has quietly ramped up trade with Moscow, importing key commodities like uranium, fertilisers, and palladium despite earlier sanctions. read more Even as US President Donald Trump attempts to dictate tariff terms and impose penalties on India for importing oil from Russia, Washington's own trade with Moscow is quietly on the rise, even as it chastises New Delhi over its energy and defence ties. According to a report from The Indian Express, between January and May 2025, American imports from Russia rose by 23 per cent year-on-year to $2.1 billion, driven largely by uranium, palladium, and fertilisers. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD This surge comes despite earlier heavy US sanctions on Moscow. Following the outbreak of the Ukraine war in 2022, US imports from Russia plummeted from $30 billion in 2021 to just $3 billion by 2024. Crude oil, once the top US import from Russia, valued at over $17 billion in 2021, has virtually disappeared. Yet essential commodities such as fertilisers, uranium, and palladium continue to enter the US in significant volumes. According to data from the US International Trade Commission cited in the report, America imported $806 million worth of Russian fertilisers in the first five months of 2025, a 21 per cent increase from last year and 60 per cent higher than the same period in 2021. Uranium imports surged 28 per cent year-on-year to $596 million, nearly 150 per cent higher than in 2021. Although the US formally banned enriched uranium imports from Russia in 2024, companies are allowed to apply for waivers until 2028, a key reason behind the continuing flow. Palladium, primarily used in catalytic converters to reduce vehicle emissions, also remains a significant import. In 2024, the US imported $878 million worth of the metal from Russia. This growing trade has drawn scrutiny after President Donald Trump threatened steep new tariffs on Indian goods, accusing New Delhi of taking advantage of discounted Russian crude. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD India hit back sharply. 'The US continues to import uranium, palladium, and fertilisers from Russia even as it criticises us,' the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Monday. 'India's oil imports are based on economic necessity, not political preference.' The MEA had earlier criticised the US and European nations for what it called blatant hypocrisy. In 2024, the EU traded goods worth €67.5 billion and services worth €17.2 billion with Russia far surpassing India's total trade. European imports of Russian LNG also hit a record 16.5 million tonnes that year, higher than pre-war levels. 'Unlike India, whose trade is driven by national need, many Western countries continue their commerce with Russia by choice,' the MEA said.
Indian Express
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Stock markets decline in early trade dragged down by Oil & Gas shares, foreign fund outflows
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Indian Express
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Because of this, I will be substantially raising the tariff paid by India to the USA,' Trump said in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social. Rating agency ICRA said that the higher-than-expected US tariffs on India — and the potential penalty linked to India's crude and defence purchases from Russia — are likely to pose a headwind to India's GDP growth in the current fiscal. 'We have lowered our growth forecast for India for FY2026 by 20 basis points to 6.0 per cent; the extent of the said penalties could result in a further downside,' the agency said. Simon J Evenett, Professor of Geopolitics and Strategy at the International Institute for Management Development (IMD), an independent academic institute in Switzerland, said in a LinkedIn post that tariff threats against India have 'nothing to do with economics'. He said that the United States has now antagonised all five of the original BRICS nations, home to more than 3.2 billion people. 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As Trump has threatened several countries with additional tariffs over the re-routing of goods to the US, Deborah Elms, a trade and economic policy expert with the Hinrich Foundation, said in a LinkedIn post that one key complaint from the business community is the lack of clarity on what the US currently means by 'transshipment'. 'Given that tariffs are about to be 40 per cent on anything deemed to be transshipped, definitions are critically important. Typically, firms are required to 'substantially transform' products. In other words, you aren't allowed to simply take a box, slap a new label on it saying 'from country X', but must take raw materials, parts, and components to create something transformed. The amount of transformation is critically important. In a free trade agreement, officials spend months or years wrangling over these rules. Is there a value threshold that needs to be crossed? Is it a change in tariff heading? Subheading? Unfortunately, with new tariffs coming on August 7, we have no guidance at all on these rules,' Elms said. Ravi Dutta Mishra is a Principal Correspondent with The Indian Express, covering policy issues related to trade, commerce, and banking. He has over five years of experience and has previously worked with Mint, CNBC-TV18, and other news outlets. ... Read More
