Japan exports fall most in four years as Trump tariffs bite
The year-on-year drop of 2.6 percent in July included a 10.1 percent plunge in exports to the United States, the finance ministry data showed. Japanese exports of motor vehicles – cars, buses, and trucks – to the world's biggest economy plummeted by 28.4 percent, while auto parts exports fell 17.4 percent.
Trump has imposed steep import tariffs on countries around the world in an attempt to boost US manufacturing and reduce the large US trade deficit. On close ally Japan, Trump initially imposed across-the-board levies of 10 percent as well as tariffs of 27.5 percent on cars.
Japan's automobile industry, which includes giants like Toyota and Honda, accounts for around eight percent of the country's jobs. Last month, Japan secured a trade deal that cut a threatened 25 percent 'reciprocal' tariff to 15 percent. The rate on Japanese cars was also cut to 15 percent, although to Tokyo's frustration, this has yet to take effect.
Data last week showed that the world's fourth-biggest economy eked out better-than-expected annualized growth of 1.0 percent in the second quarter.
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Arab News
3 hours ago
- Arab News
Trump blames renewable energy for rising electricity prices. Experts point elsewhere
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Increased use of electric vehicles also has boosted demand, even as the Trump administration and congressional Republicans move to restrict tax credits and other incentives for EV purchases approved under the Biden administration. Natural gas prices, meanwhile, are rising sharply amid increased exports to Europe and other international customers. More than 40 percent of US electricity is generated by natural gas. Trump promised during the 2024 campaign to lower Americans' electric bills by 50 percent. Democrats have been quick to blame him for the price hikes, citing actions to hamstring clean energy in the sprawling tax-and-spending cut bill approved last month, as well as regulations since then to further restrict wind and solar power. Advocates say renewables provide the extra energy needed 'Now more than ever, we need more energy, not less, to meet our increased energy demand and power our grid. Instead of increasing our energy supply Donald Trump is taking a sledgehammer to the clean energy sector, killing jobs and projects,' said New Mexico Sen. Martin Heinrich, the top Democrat on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. The GOP bill will cost thousands of jobs and impose higher energy costs nationwide, Heinrich and other critics said. A report from Energy Innovation, a non-partisan think tank, found the GOP tax law will increase the average family's energy bill by $130 annually by 2030. 'By quickly phasing out technology-neutral clean energy tax credits and adding complex material sourcing requirements,' the tax law will 'significantly hamper the development of domestic electricity generation capacity,' the report said. Renewable advocates were more blunt. 'The real scam is blaming solar for fossil fuel price spikes,' the Solar Energy Industries Association said in response to Trump's post. 'Farmers, families, and businesses choose solar to save money, preserve land, and escape high costs of the old, dirty fuels being forced on them by this administration,' the group added. As technology improves, wind and solar offer some of the cheapest and fastest ways to provide electric power. More than 90 percent of new energy capacity that came online in the US in 2024 was clean energy, said Jason Grumet, CEO of the American Clean Power Association, another industry group. States with the highest share of clean energy production have seen prices decline in the past year, according to data from the US Energy Information Administration, while prices have gone up in states with the least renewable energy use. 'By slowing clean energy deployment, the Trump administration is directly fueling cost increases,' Grumet said 'Blocking cheap, clean energy while doubling down on outdated fossil fuels makes no economic or environmental sense,' added Ted Kelly, director of US clean energy for the Environmental Defense Fund, a nonprofit advocacy group. Partisanship anchors debate over rising energy prices Energy Secretary Chris Wright blamed rising prices on 'momentum' from Biden-era policies that backed renewable power over fossil fuel sources such as oil, coal and natural gas. 'That momentum is pushing prices up right now. And who's going to get blamed for it? We're going to get blamed because we're in office,' Wright told POLITICO during a visit to Iowa last week. About 60 percent of the state's electricity comes from wind. Not all the pushback comes from Democrats. Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, a Republican who backs wind power, has placed a hold on three Treasury nominees to ensure wind and solar have 'an appropriate glidepath for the orderly phase-out of the tax credits' approved in the 2022 climate law under former President Joe Biden. Grassley said he was encouraged by new Treasury guidance that limits tax credits for wind and solar projects but does not eliminate them. The guidance 'seems to offer a viable path forward for the wind and solar industries to continue to meet increased energy demand,' Grassley said in a statement. John Quigley, senior fellow at the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania, said the Republican tax law will increase US power bills by slowing construction of solar, wind, and battery projects and could eliminate as many as 45,000 jobs by 2030. Trump administration polices that emphasize fossil fuels are 'an extremely backward force in this conversation,' Quigley said. 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Arab News
5 hours ago
- Arab News
Golden Dome is a game-changer — on Earth and in space
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It also reboots and amplifies Reagan's 1983 SDI, which at the time was nicknamed 'Star Wars,' and had the goal of placing lasers and interceptors in space to protect the US against Soviet nuclear missiles. SDI never materialized due to cost, technological limits, and political opposition, yet it had an effect on the morale of the USSR and contributed to the end of the Cold War. Moreover, it transformed the arms race and defensive thinking, inspiring and accelerating the development of many defensive systems already in place, such as the Patriot missile system. The Golden Dome is, in reality, more than just a space-based missile defense system. It brings order to space and ensures that space is safe. Through a constant monitoring network, it will keep track of objects in orbit and provide surveillance for any hostile actions against US and allied satellites. This is achieved through the deployment of sensors in orbit and what is described as space situational awareness. 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Khaled Abou Zahr We all know that war is also about disrupting everyday life, both civilian and commercial activities, sometimes even before the real conflict starts, as population morale is the first to take the hit. Well, here, too, satellites can affect global internet connectivity, aviation and maritime navigation, and disaster management, as well as financial transactions. The precise timing signals from space are essential to our everyday lives. Hence enemies destroying or disrupting key satellites not only make defense systems blind, but also affect economies and civilian life. This makes keeping assets in space a top priority across all domains: ground, sea, air, space, and cyberspace. The essential point is not to see the Golden Dome as a focal point of the defense space strategy, or else it would become a space Maginot Line. Let me explain. Between 1928 and 1940, France constructed a network of fortifications along its borders with Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, and Italy. This impressive fortification line, built with anti-tank barriers, bunkers, artillery, and machine-gun nests, was supposed to be the ultimate protection and make France impenetrable by any army. The line was rendered useless during the Second World War when German forces invaded through Belgium to go around it. This famous French reference shows that defense alone is not a good deterrent strategy, and it is only the capacity to defeat that creates real deterrence. Yet, when it comes to space, it is also about claiming the 'space' — meaning that a successful Golden Dome, with all the space infrastructure it requires, will most certainly create 'rule of law' in space. It will establish the US as the primary guarantor of security in orbit, and this should be welcomed by all Washington's friends and allies. 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Arab News
7 hours ago
- Arab News
Pakistan's inflation rate to remain within 3-4% range in June — finance ministry
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