Latest news with #SteffenHebestreit
Al Etihad
07-04-2025
- Business
- Al Etihad
Stock plunge a 'wake-up call' on impact of US tariffs: Berlin
7 Apr 2025 14:33 BERLIN (AFP)Plunging stock markets worldwide are a "wake-up call" that show there would "only be losers at the end" of any trade war, German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said Monday."We must now act smartly and act clearly to avoid... escalating a trade war," he told a Berlin press briefing, adding that the European Union needed "to represent our interests clearly and resolutely".Markets worldwide have plunged after US President Donald Trump last week announced sweeping new tariffs, including a 20 percent duty on European Union bluechip DAX index of the largest companies at one point fell 10 percent on Monday morning before recovering somewhat to be down 5.3 percent at 0945 GMT. Hebestreit said that on financial markets, "considerable value is being destroyed" and that "you can already see the economic upheavals that affect everyone".
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
German government opposes boycott of US products
BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's government rejected on Wednesday calls for a boycott of U.S. goods despite disagreements over tariffs, saying Europe's biggest economy wanted to foster good trade relations. European Union officials are trying to ease tensions with the United States and prevent a trade war as U.S. President Donald Trump embarks on a tariff offensive that could lead to retaliatory measures. "The German government is interested in good relations and also good trade relations with the United States. We are doing everything we can to achieve this," government spokesperson Steffen Hebestreit told reporters. "We don't need more trade barriers, we need fewer," he said, adding: "In this respect, we do not agree with such demands." The comment echoes a warning from the head of Germany's BGA association representing importers and exporters who said a boycott of U.S. products would be a "false response" to political disagreements which could stoke a cycle of reprisals. "We shouldn't bring an already complex situation further to a head. Rather than get embroiled in boycotts, tariffs and counter-tariffs, we should seek dialogue with the United States over the transatlantic trade questions of the future," said BGA president Dirk Jandura. Germany's trade surplus with the U.S. reached a record level of 70 billion euros ($75.49 billion) last year, statistics office data showed. However, cooling relations in trade and security between the United States and its traditional European allies has prompted some calls in Europe to replace U.S. products with home-made brands, following similar moves in Canada. A forum on social media website Reddit called "BuyFromEU" has attracted 189,000 members to discuss alternatives to U.S. brands. U.S. carmaker Tesla's market share continued to shrink in Europe last month. It has been hit by increased competition and Europe's economic slowdown but also by the support of CEO Elon Musk, an adviser to the Trump administration, for far-right parties in Europe, including in Germany. German Finance Minister Joerg Kukies travels to the United States this week for talks with his U.S. counterpart as well as with the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. ($1 = 0.9273 euros)
Jordan Times
22-03-2025
- Business
- Jordan Times
Germany approves 3 billion euros in new Ukraine military aid
Germany on Friday approved three billion euros in new military aid for Ukraine, just days before planned US-brokered talks with Moscow and Kyiv on a limited truce (AFP photo) BERLIN — Germany on Friday approved three billion euros in new military aid for Ukraine, just days before planned US-brokered talks with Moscow and Kyiv on a limited truce. The money is earmarked for defence equipment for the country fighting Russian forces, including artillery munitions and air defence systems, government officials have said. The three billion euros now released, after months of delay, come on top of four billion euros in Ukraine military aid already planned in the budget for 2025. A further 8.3 billion euros were earmarked for Kyiv for 2026 to 2029 by a parliamentary budget committee, although this may be topped up with more spending from a major new fiscal package that passed a final hurdle Friday. Government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said the latest package would include units of the German-made Iris-T air defence systems that had yet to be built and would be delivered over the next two years. Germany has been Ukraine's second-largest supplier of military aid, worth some 28 billion euros so far, after the United States since Russia launched its full-scale invasion over three years ago. But the situation has changed dramatically since US President Donald Trump has reached out to Russia's Vladimir Putin to end the war and frozen military aid for Ukraine, while casting doubt on the future strength of NATO ties. Russia and Ukraine on Friday traded accusations of massive overnight attacks, three days before both sides will hold talks with US officials in Saudi Arabia on how to halt the war. Both countries have said they agree with a 30-day pause in strikes on energy targets, though they have continued their aerial attacks unabated and each has repeatedly accused the other of breaking the truce, which has not been formally agreed. Germany's chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz has pushed through a spending "bazooka" worth hundreds of billions that also loosens Germany's so-called debt brake to bolster its own armed forces and keep backing Ukraine. Merz's conservatives are in coalition talks with the SPD of outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who has also vowed that Germany would keep supporting Kyiv. Ukraine "can rely on us and we will never leave it on its own," Scholz said at a European Council summit late Thursday. "It will also need a strong army in times of peace, and it must not be put in danger by any peace agreement." The three-billion-euro package had been held up for months after Scholz's three-way coalition imploded last November amid bitter infighting, mostly on fiscal questions. Earlier Friday, Germany's upper house of parliament gave the final approval to easing Germany's fiscal straightjacket for defence spending and for a 500-billion-euro infrastructure fund.
The Guardian
22-03-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Ukraine war briefing: Two people killed as Russia pounds Zaporizhzhia
Russian attacks killed two people in Ukraine's south-eastern city of Zaporizhzhia late on Friday. The Zaporizhzhia regional governor, Ivan Fedorov, said on Telegram the city had been struck more than 10 times, killing two people and injuring nine. The injured included a nine-month-old infant and a woman in serious condition. Pictures posted online showed rescue teams sifting through rubble and apartment blocks and homes with windows and facades badly damaged. Fires burned amid piles of rubble. Two people were reported killed in the Sumy region, on Ukraine's northern border with Russia, after Russian forces dropped at least six guided bombs on the village of Krasnopillia, while in the eastern Donetsk region, Russia dropped three bombs on the town of Kostiantynivka, close to the frontlines, killing one person. Germany on Friday approved €3bn (£2.5bn) in new military aid for Ukraine, including artillery munitions and air defence systems, government officials have said. The funds were released after months of delay and come on top of €4bn in Ukraine military aid already planned in the budget for 2025. Government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said the latest package would include units of the German-made Iris-T air defence systems that had yet to be built and would be delivered over the next two years. The UK is to 'accelerate the pace and scale' of its military planning to be ready to support Ukraine, with No 10 saying all options, including troops on the ground, are possible. Keir Starmer's spokesperson said thousands of troops would be needed to support Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire and agreement to end the war with Russia, whether by 'sea, on land or in the air'. 'Not all the countries in the coalition will have capabilities for Ukraine but might have the capability for other deployments, which would free up other nations to deploy to Ukraine,' the prime minister's spokespersons said. The UK said on Friday it had frozen more than £25bn in Russian assets since the start of the war in Ukraine three years ago. In a report, the UK Treasury also said it had sanctioned '2,001 individuals and entities' in the period between Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine and March 2024. The economic secretary to the Treasury, Emma Reynolds, said: 'Working with our allies, we have deprived [Russia] of over $400bn the equivalent to four years of Russia's military spending.' A Soviet-era dissident has been sentenced to 16 years in prison in Russia for his anti-war views. Alexander Skobov, 67, was sentenced on Friday over a social media post supporting Ukraine's 2022 strike on the Crimea Bridge, as well as his alleged involvement with the foreign-based opposition group the Free Russia Forum. In a final statement before sentencing, Skobov accused the Putin regime of 'waging an aggressive war [and] of committing war crimes in Ukraine'. Ukraine accused Russia on Friday of illegally pressuring Ukrainians in occupied territory to change their legal status or leave, and said it would report the practice to the international criminal court. The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, issued a decree on Thursday saying Ukrainian citizens living 'in Russia without legal grounds' should 'regulate' their status by 10 September. Ukraine's foreign ministry spokesman, Heorhii Tykhyi, said Russia was conducting the 'forced displacement of Ukrainian citizens from their homeland, or forcing them to acquire foreigner status'. Putin's decree affects Ukrainians who live in the Crimean peninsula, as well as occupied parts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions. The North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, expressed his unwavering support for Russia's war in Ukraine during a meeting with Russia's security council secretary, Sergei Shoigu, in Pyongyang on Friday. North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency said Kim during the meeting said his government will 'invariably support Russia in the struggle for defending the national sovereignty, territorial integrity and security interests'. Shoigu expressed gratitude for North Korea's 'solidarity with Russia's position on all critical geopolitical issues, particularly on the Ukrainian issue,' according to his televised comments.
Local Germany
21-03-2025
- Business
- Local Germany
Germany approves 3 billion euros in new military aid for Ukraine
The money is earmarked for defence equipment for the country fighting Russian forces, including artillery munitions and air defence systems, government officials have said. The three billion euros now released, after months of delay, come on top of four billion euros in Ukraine military aid already planned in the budget for 2025. A further 8.3 billion euros were earmarked for Kyiv for 2026 to 2029 by a parliamentary budget committee, although this may be topped up with more spending from a major new fiscal package that passed a final hurdle Friday. Government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said the latest package would include units of the German-made Iris-T air defence systems that had yet to be built and would be delivered over the next two years. Germany has been Ukraine's second-largest supplier of military aid, worth some 28 billion euros so far, after the United States since Russia launched its full-scale invasion over three years ago. But the situation has changed dramatically since US President Donald Trump has reached out to Russia's Vladimir Putin to end the war and frozen military aid for Ukraine, while casting doubt on the future strength of NATO ties. Advertisement Russia and Ukraine on Friday traded accusations of massive overnight attacks, three days before both sides will hold talks with US officials in Saudi Arabia on how to halt the war. Both countries have said they agree with a 30-day pause in strikes on energy targets, though they have continued their aerial attacks unabated and each has repeatedly accused the other of breaking the truce, which has not been formally agreed. Germany's chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz has pushed through a spending "bazooka" worth hundreds of billions that also loosens Germany's so-called debt brake to bolster its own armed forces and keep backing Ukraine. Merz's conservatives are in coalition talks with the SPD of outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who has also vowed that Germany would keep supporting Kyiv. Ukraine "can rely on us and we will never leave it on its own," Scholz said at a European Council summit late Thursday. "It will also need a strong army in times of peace, and it must not be put in danger by any peace agreement." The three-billion-euro package had been held up for months after Scholz's three-way coalition imploded last November amid bitter infighting, mostly on fiscal questions. Earlier Friday, Germany's upper house of parliament gave the final approval to easing Germany's fiscal straightjacket for defence spending and for a 500-billion-euro infrastructure fund.
