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Ya Libnan
04-08-2025
- Business
- Ya Libnan
Iran to remove 4 zeros from plunging Rial , its national currency
New Iranian bank notes of one million, 500,000, and 100,000 rials AFP-Yonhap . The most recent street exchange rate was 920, 000 rials for a US dollar. Prior to the Iranian revolution the rial was trading at about 70 rials to a US dollar TEHRAN- The economic commission of Iran's parliament revived long-delayed plans Sunday to cut four zeros from the country's plunging currency, as part of efforts to simplify financial transactions. 'Today's meeting of the economic commission approved the name 'rial' as the national currency, as well as the removal of four zeros,' said the parliament's website ICANA, quoting Shamseddin Hosseini, the commission's chairman. Under the proposed system, one rial would be equivalent to 10,000 at the current value and subdivided into 100 gherans, according to ICANA. The proposed redenomination was first mooted in 2019 but then shelved. The current bill will have to pass a parliamentary vote and gain the approval of the Guardian Council, a body empowered to vet legislation. It was not immediately clear when the parliamentary vote would take place. In May, Iran's Central Bank Gov. Mohammad Reza Farzin said he would pursue the plan, noting that the Iranian rial 'does not have a favourable image' in the global economy. The move comes as Iran faces deepening economic challenges, including runaway inflation, a sharply devalued currency, and the prolonged impact of international sanctions. As of Sunday, the rial was trading at around 920,000 to the US dollar on the street market, according to local media and the Bonbast website that monitors unofficial exchange rates. In practice, Iranians have long abandoned the rial in everyday transactions, using the toman instead. One toman equals 10 rials. Iran's economy has long been under severe strain due to sweeping US sanctions since Washington's 2018 withdrawal from a landmark nuclear deal during US President Donald Trump's first term in office. Upon returning to office in January, Trump revived his 'maximum pressure' sanctions campaign on Tehran. In June, Iranian lawmakers approved new economy minister Ali Madanizadeh after his predecessor, Abdolnaser Hemmati, was ousted in a no-confidence vote for failing to address the country's economic woes. The same month Israel launched an unprecedented attack on Iran's nuclear and military infrastructure, beginning a deadly 12-day war. Korea Herald / AFP
Korea Herald
08-03-2025
- Business
- Korea Herald
Trump says dairy, lumber tariffs on Canada may come soon
US President Donald Trump said Friday that he could impose reciprocal tariffs on Canadian dairy and lumber within days -- a move set to fuel tensions with Ottawa just days after an earlier wave of levies. Since taking office in January, Trump has unleashed a series of tariffs and threats targeting US allies and adversaries, including duties of up to 25 percent on imports from Canada and Mexico. On Thursday, he provided the vital trading partners temporary reprieve, exempting goods coming in from both countries under a North American trade pact. But he has vowed broader "reciprocal tariffs" as soon as April 2, aimed at remedying practices that Washington deems unfair. Trump also signaled that reciprocal levies could come as soon as Friday: "Canada has been ripping us off for years on tariffs for lumber and for dairy products." "They'll be met with the exact same tariff unless they drop it, and that's what reciprocal means," the president added. "We may do it as early as today, or we'll wait till Monday or Tuesday," he said of the two sectors which have long been affected by trade disputes between the neighbors. Economists warn that blanket levies could weigh on US growth and raise inflation, adding that they also weigh on business and consumer sentiment. But Trump kept the pressure up on Canada on Friday: "It's not fair. Never has been fair, and they've treated our farmers badly." In an earlier interview with Fox Business, Trump said that tariffs affecting Canada and Mexico could rise in the future. Asked if companies might get more clarity on his trade policies, Trump said: "I think so. But, you know, the tariffs could go up as time goes by." White House senior counselor Peter Navarro told CNBC in a separate interview he rejected the idea that there was uncertainty surrounding Trump's trade policies. "The uncertainty is created by the fact that people don't take President Trump at his word," he said. Trump's move to back off some tariffs on Canada and Mexico came after stock markets tumbled as his levies of up to 25 percent took effect this week. On Thursday, the White House said adjustments exempting goods under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) recognize "the unique impact that these tariffs could have on American automotive manufacturers." A White House official told reporters that about 62 percent of Canadian imports will still face the fresh levies, though much of them are energy resources slapped with a lower 10 percent rate. For Mexico, the proportion of imports affected is around 50 percent, the official added on condition of anonymity. However, Marcelo Ebrard, Mexico's secretary of economy, said 90 percent of its exports to the United States fall under the three-nation trade pact and will be exempted from tariffs until April. "Under the agreement, we estimate that we will reach very close to 90 all types of products," he told a press conference. (AFP-Yonhap)
