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The Hindu
3 days ago
- Business
- The Hindu
‘Time of Great Opportunity' for U.S. and India: Usha Vance
The U.S. India relationship is in a phase of 'great opportunity', U.S. Second Lady Usha Vance has said. Ms. Vance, whose parents are from Andhra Pradesh, said that she had a personal relationship with India as she had family ties to the country and had visited India as she was growing up. 'So that's always been a relationship that I've personally thought of as very important,' Ms Vance said, during a Monday evening discussion at the U.S.-India Strategic Partnership Forum's (USISPF) Leadership Summit in Washington DC. 'The way that I think about it more broadly is I think this is a time of great opportunity. And I think if my husband [ U.S. Vice President J. D. Vance] were here, he'd say the same thing,' Ms Vance said, adding that historically , the two countries' goals and needs had not always been in alignment. Ms Vance suggested, however, that in the next four years and beyond there was an opportunity, which she linked to the people to people ties. The relationship has generally enjoyed strong bipartisan support in Washington. India and the U.S. are in the throes of negotiating the first phase of a Bilateral Trade Agreement, with U.S. trade negotiators in India this week for talks. U.S. President Donald Trump had threatened to impose 'reciprocal tariffs' on the U.S.'s trade partners, with India being subject to a 26% rate , potentially. During the discussion with USISPF Chairman John Chambers, which did not venture further into political topics, Ms. Vance spoke about how she met her husband at Yale Law School, their family's recent visit to India and their interactions with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. She also spoke about her program to promote reading among children in the U.S.
Zawya
27-05-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Malaysia PM says ASEAN leaders agree US tariff deals should not harm other members
Southeast Asian countries have reached a consensus to have an understanding on how to approach U.S. trade tariffs, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on Tuesday. Anwar, who is chair of the regional bloc ASEAN, told a press conference that the leaders had agreed that decisions should not be taken at the expense of any other country, and in proceeding with bilateral trade negotiations with Washington they agreed not to harm other ASEAN partners. (Reporting by Danial Azhar; Writing by Martin Petty; Editing by John Mair)
Zawya
15-05-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Oman opens trade office in US
Washington, US – The Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI) inaugurated the Omani Commercial Office in the United States during a ceremony held at the Sultan Qaboos Cultural Center in Washington, DC. The event was held under the patronage of H E Talal bin Sulaiman al Rahbi, the sultanate's ambassador to the US. The Omani Commercial Office in the US aims to support Omani exports to the American market, promote the import of high-quality US goods, attract American investments into Oman, and enable Omani companies to expand into US markets and strengthen bilateral trade partnerships. The office will also play a pivotal role in coordinating trade delegations, organising business meetings, and providing advice and consultations on how to leverage the Free Trade Agreement between Oman and the US. Additionally, it will issue economic reports to support decision-making in export development and mutual investment. H E Faisal bin Abdullah al Rawas, Chairman of OCCI, said that the opening of the trade office in the United States is a significant strategic step towards empowering the Omani private sector and enhancing its presence in global markets. He noted that it aligns with OCCI's broader efforts to expand trade and investment opportunities and to establish direct communication channels with major global economies. 'We hope that the trade office will contribute to supporting Omani exports, attracting quality investments, and providing an effective platform for enhancing trade exchange between the business communities of both countries. It will also facilitate the exchange of information on regulatory procedures for Omani products entering the US market, which will positively impact the growth of the Omani private sector and its contribution to achieving sustainable economic development,' said H E Rawas. For her part, Ibtisam bint Ahmed al Farooji, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion for Investment Promotion, explained that the launch of the Omani Commercial Office in the United States falls within Oman's strategic objective to increase the flow of foreign direct investment and its contribution to the national economy. She indicated that this move aims to offer broader opportunities for American companies to enter the Omani market and benefit from the competitive business environment the sultanate offers. She emphasised that the establishment of the office is part of a wider plan to expand Oman's foreign representative offices in key international markets, in order to bolster its global presence and intensify investment and trade promotion efforts. 'The US market is one of the most important commercial partners for Oman, particularly in light of the Free Trade Agreement between the two countries, which paves the way for greater trade facilitation and qualitative investment opportunities. This office will enhance access to commercial data and opportunities,' Farooji added. H E Talal bin Sulaiman al Rahbi, Ambassador of the Sultanate of Oman to the United States, described the office as a new milestone in the commercial relations between the two nations. 'This office is not merely a commercial representation designed to support Omani companies in the US market, but also an effective platform for direct engagement between the business communities of both countries. It serves as a gateway to broader cooperation and trade exchange, particularly in key sectors such as industry, technology, and clean energy,' he said. Amy Han, Director of the Omani Commercial Office in the United States, explained that the office offers specialised services and strategic support to investors and exporters from both nations. 'It aims to build effective trade links, support bilateral business growth, and facilitate market access by organising economic events, providing professional consultations, and promoting Omani products that meet the standards and requirements of the US market.' She also noted that the office's digital platform will serve as an integrated information hub, offering analytical insights, reliable data, and quality resources tailored to various business sectors. This will support decision-making for companies and investors, while providing an interactive environment that fosters growth and expansion. © Apex Press and Publishing Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
Times
14-05-2025
- Business
- Times
China warns Britain over US-UK trade deal
China has warned Britain over the terms of Sir Keir Starmer's trade deal with the US, claiming it may force UK companies to cut Chinese products out of their supply chains. Under the deal, the US and UK will co-operate on security aspects of their economic relationship — understood by most analysts to mean that both countries would try to reduce their economies' reliance on Chinese money and components, particularly in tech products. China has regularly hit out at what it calls 'scaremongering' over allegations that it would use products like computer chips and its broader investments in the UK as political, or even military, tools. Now it said it feared that the deal may breach what it calls a 'basic principle' that bilateral trade
Arab News
13-05-2025
- Business
- Arab News
An opportunity to re-anchor the Saudi-US relationship in a shared strategy
As US President Donald Trump visits Riyadh for a high-stakes visit to Saudi Arabia, the geopolitical and economic landscape he navigates is more fractured — and more fluid — than at any point in recent decades. This official visit to the Kingdom, his first foreign trip of a second term, comes amid the breakdown of long-standing global trade norms, a reshaping of energy markets, and an accelerating drift toward regional self-determination. For both Washington and Riyadh, this is no ceremonial engagement — it is a decisive opportunity to reconfigure the bilateral economic compact for a multipolar, tech-driven world. For decades, US-Saudi ties rested on a transactional foundation: American security guarantees and industrial expertise in exchange for oil stability and petrodollar reinvestment. But that formula, forged within the geopolitical architecture of the 20th century, has eroded. With oil prices hovering near the low $60s per barrel, Saudi Arabia's fiscal space is narrowing. It can no longer rely solely on hydrocarbons to finance its domestic ambitions or project geoeconomic influence abroad. In this context, Riyadh's investments in the US must be matched by a new framework of mutually beneficial incentives — including preferential access, co-innovation platforms, regulatory harmonization, and industrial localization. In 2024, trade between the two countries totaled approximately $39 billion, spanning aerospace, health care, defense, and education. Yet trade flows alone obscure a deeper realignment. Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, among the world's most dynamic sovereign wealth vehicles, has become a strategic actor in US capital markets — anchoring investments in artificial intelligence, electric mobility, cloud infrastructure and cinematic entertainment. This is not opportunistic capital. It is deliberate, long-term, and aligned with Riyadh's transformation under Vision 2030. From a US vantage point, Saudi Arabia is not simply a market — it is an investment partner with regional scale and strategic reach. Giga-projects such as Neom, Red Sea Global, Diriyah Gate, and New Murabba offer American firms an unparalleled testbed to scale frontier technologies — particularly in clean energy, AI, biotech, and next-generation infrastructure — underpinned by sovereign commitment and funding certainty. Trump's visit is thus a critical inflection point. It offers a chance to move beyond the zero-sum rhetoric of transactionalism and re-anchor the relationship in a shared strategy of co-investment and industrial policy coordination. To attract sustained Saudi capital, the US must offer more than financial returns — it must offer access. This includes targeted investment incentives, joint innovation hubs, and Saudi participation in the development of foundational technologies, from semiconductors to quantum computing. Giga-projects such as Neom, Red Sea Global, Diriyah Gate, and New Murabba offer American firms an unparalleled testbed to scale frontier technologies. John Sfakianakis A particularly promising domain for strategic alignment is the nexus between energy and data. As data centers become the physical substrate of the AI economy, demand for secure, scalable, and clean power will soar. Here, Saudi Arabia — with its abundant land, engineering capacity, and sovereign financing — can serve as a critical partner in powering next-generation US-linked data infrastructure using small modular nuclear reactors. This is a high-stakes, high-value collaboration: the fusion of American technological leadership with Saudi scale and capital to co-develop resilient digital and energy ecosystems. To realize this vision, institutional mechanisms are essential. The US must provide clear and stable regulatory pathways for Saudi investment in sensitive sectors, including transparent national security review procedures. Riyadh, in turn, must ensure predictable legal and commercial frameworks that protect foreign investors and enable effective dispute resolution. A next-generation alliance should be underpinned by joint ventures, dual IPO listings, technology transfer frameworks and mutual recognition standards across digital and industrial domains. This visit, then, is not a diplomatic overture — it is a geopolitical stress test. Can the Saudi-US relationship evolve beyond its traditional oil-for-security model into a 21st-century partnership built on innovation, industrial resilience and geoeconomic alignment? Or will it remain tethered to a geopolitical script that no longer reflects global realities? If successful, Trump's visit could mark the beginning of a more mature, adaptive, and future-facing US-Saudi alliance — one that sets a precedent for how advanced and emerging powers can jointly navigate the complexities of a fragmenting global order.
