Latest news with #US-Qatar
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Boeing secures landmark deal with Qatar Airways as Trump deepens Gulf ties
Boeing has secured a historic deal with Qatar Airways, as part of US President Donald Trump's regional trade drive. Shares in the largest US aerospace manufacturer rose 2% to a 52-week high on Wednesday following the announcement. During Trump's visit to Qatar, the White House revealed that the US president had reached agreements totalling $243.5 billion (€209 bn) with the Gulf state. 'The landmark deals celebrated today will drive innovation and prosperity for generations, bolster American manufacturing and technological leadership, and put America on the path to a new Golden Age,' stated the White House. The deals include a $96bn (€85.8 bn) Boeing aircraft order from Qatar Airways, a record order for the US's largest exporter. Following a $600bn (€535bn) investment plan made with Saudi Arabia earlier this week, the US-Qatar agreements further strengthen Washington's ties with the wealthy Gulf nations. President Trump is set to visit the United Arab Emirates (UAE) later today, with speculation that further Boeing deals may be signed with Emirates, Qatar Airways' larger regional competitor. Boeing announced that Qatar Airways would purchase 130 787 Dreamliners and 30 777X aircraft, calling the order 'a record as the largest widebody order for Boeing, the largest order for 787 Dreamliners, and Qatar Airways' largest-ever order.' The company claims the deal will support nearly 400,000 jobs in the US. President Trump attended the signing ceremony. "After two consecutive years of record-breaking commercial performance, and with this historic Boeing aircraft order, we're not simply chasing scale — we're building strength that will allow us to continue delivering unmatched products and customer experiences,' said Qatar Airways CEO Engr. Badr Mohammed Al-Meer. 'We thank our Boeing partners for answering the call and look forward to a future of continued smart growth together. Our team is excited to build 787s and 777s for Qatar Airways into the next decade, as they connect more people and businesses around the world with unmatched efficiency and comfort." The deal is a major win for Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg, who accompanied Trump on the Middle East trip. On Tuesday, Boeing also secured a $4.8bn (€4.3 bn) agreement for 737-8 MAX jets with AviLease, a Saudi Arabia-based aircraft lessor. Boeing's 737 MAX passenger airliner had been grounded between 2019 and 2020, and again in 2024, due to ongoing safety and production concerns. The company has remained unprofitable since 2018, with its shares falling to a multi-year low in early April following Trump's announcement of reciprocal tariffs. China halted orders from Boeing in late April in response to Trump's tariffs. During an interview with CNBC last month, Ortberg indicated that aircraft initially built for Chinese buyers may be redirected to other customers later this year. On Tuesday, Trump also finalised an $80bn (€71 bn) artificial intelligence investment plan with Saudi Arabia, which helped fuel rallies in Nvidia and other major tech stocks. Previously, US semiconductor shares had come under pressure amid the escalating US-China trade tensions. The Trump administration rescinded the AI diffusion rule introduced by former President Joe Biden, which would have taken effect today. However, the Department of Justice said it would rewrite the export curbs on AI chip exports to China. On Wednesday, China's Ministry of Commerce announced a 90-day suspension on export restrictions targeting 28 US companies, including rare earths and other critical materials, as part of a bilateral agreement reached after trade talks over the weekend.
Gulf Insider
16-05-2025
- Business
- Gulf Insider
Donald Trump in Qatar: $1.2tn Economic Exchange Announced
US President Donald Trump signed an agreement with Qatar to generate an economic exchange worth at least $1.2tn as part of his tour of the Gulf. President Trump also announced economic deals totalling more than $243.5bn between the United States and Qatar, including an historic sale of Boeing aircraft and GE Aerospace engines to Qatar Airways. The landmark deals will drive innovation and prosperity, said the Whitehouse in a statement. Among the deals secured in Qatar were: Boeing and GE Aerospace secured a landmark order from Qatar Airways, a $96bn agreement to acquire up to 210 American-made Boeing 787 Dreamliner and 777X aircraft powered by GE Aerospace engines. This is Boeing's largest-ever widebody order and largest-ever 787 order McDermott has a strong partnership with Qatar Energy in advancing critical energy infrastructure, with seven active projects worth $8.5bn Parsons has successfully won 30 projects worth up to $97bn Quantinuum finalised a Joint Venture Agreement with Al Rabban Capital, a prominent Qatari company. Qatar will invest up to $1bn in state-of-the-art quantum technologies and workforce development provided by the Joint Venture The agreements mark President Trump's intent to accelerate Qatar's defence investment in the US-Qatar security partnership—enhancing regional deterrence and benefitting the US industrial base. The defence deals lock in Qatar's procurement of state-of-the-art military equipment from two leading US defence companies. Raytheon, an RTX business, secured a $1bn agreement for Qatar's acquisition of counter-drone capabilities, signed by the US and Qatari governments. This deal establishes Qatar as the first international customer for Raytheon's Fixed Site – Low, Slow, Small Unmanned Aerial System Integrated Defeat System (FS-LIDS). General Atomics secured a nearly $2bn agreement for Qatar's acquisition of the MQ-9B remotely piloted aircraft system, signed by the US and Qatari governments. The United States and Qatar also signed a statement of intent to further strengthen our security partnership, outlining more than $38bn in potential investments including support for burden-sharing at Al Udeid Air Base and future defence capabilities related to air defence and maritime security. The agreements and instruments aim to drive the growth of the US-Qatar bilateral commercial relationship, create thousands of well-paying jobs, and open new trade and investment opportunities for both countries over the coming decade and beyond.
The Herald Scotland
16-05-2025
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
Trump conveniently forgets issues with Qatar. Price? One jet
History tells a different story. Eight years ago, during the first year of Trump's first term, he took his first overseas trip to Saudi Arabia, where he openly embraced that country in a dispute with Qatar. Trump, after that 2017 trip, cast Qatar as a hotbed for terrorist organizations. "The nation of Qatar, unfortunately, has historically been a funder of terrorism at a very high level, and in the wake of that conference, nations came together and spoke to me about confronting Qatar over its behavior," Trump said at the White House in June 2019 after he returned from the Middle East. Those comments came two days after Trump posted on the social media site then known as Twitter: "During my recent trip to the Middle East I stated that there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology. Leaders pointed to Qatar - look!" Trump and Qatar now have strong motivations to rewrite that history. Qatar wants influence with Trump, who wants a fancy jumbo jet that measures up when parked next to the luxury rides enjoyed by Gulf State rulers. Trump doesn't want us to forget all the things he said about Qatar To hear Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, Qatar's prime minister, tell it now, there's never been any friction between his country and Trump. He told CNN this during a May 14 interview: "I don't see any controversy." That's a convenient blind spot for Al-Thani, who looked and sounded uncomfortable with the topic. He has similar perception problems with history. "Why would we buy an influence in the United States?" he asked CNN. "If you look just in the last 10 years in the US-Qatar relationship. Qatar has been always there for the US, when it's needed, whether it's on the war against terror, whether it's in the evacuation of Afghanistan, whether it's on releasing hostages from different, different countries around the world." Opinion: All Trump does is win, win, win (in his head, head, head ...) Just before leaving Qatar on May 15, Trump took his own shot at recasting the history of the relationship, suggesting America has been in long-term lockstep with that country, just like with Saudi Arabia. Trump's comments, circulated by the White House media operation, did not mention his very public siding with Saudi Arabia against Qatar eight years ago. Al-Thani told CNN his country would withdraw the gift if it is deemed illegal by Trump's government. Trump's press secretary on May 12 said those details "are still being worked out." Trump has shown considerably less discretion here, reposting social media comments from supporters who compare the $400 million jet with Britain's 1880 gift of the Resolute Desk used by American presidents and France's 1886 gift of The Statue of Liberty. Republicans don't worry about the Constitution or ethics One difference here: Trump didn't try to take the Resolute Desk or the Statue of Liberty with him when he left office in January 2021. But that's exactly what he wants to do with the Qatari jet. He claims it will go to his presidential library and that he won't fly on it for personal trips. Trump is good at making promises and bad at keeping them. As for legality, who is going to stop Trump here? The U.S. Constitution's emoluments clause says a president needs "the consent of Congress" to accept a gift from a foreign country. But Trump's second administration has shown little interest in following the Constitution or orders from federal judges who insist on it. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi has already signed off on the gift. Democrats on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on May 14 asked for her memo about the gift and the names of any Department of Justice ethics officials who reviewed it. There's good cause for that: Bondi, before Trump picked her for AG, was on a team of lobbyists who represented Qatar in Washington on a $115,000 monthly contract. And the Department of Justice, under her leadership, has been firing career officials who focus on ethics. Democrats on the U.S. House Judiciary Committee on May 14 introduced a resolution, demanding that Trump follow the Constitution's emoluments clause. Like their colleagues in the Senate, those Democrats are in the minority and lack meaningful power in Congress to stymie Trump for now. Some Congressional Republicans have shown discomfort with Trump's pending gift, but not enough to actually act like a co-equal branch of our government with the power to hold an executive in check. Opinion: I asked Team Trump why they now hate a 'woke' bill he himself signed into law Trump knows how to dodge accountability. He's done it before. Trump sees all this, and I'm betting he'll use his most successful tactic: running out the clock. Remember, Trump faced all sorts of federal and state criminal troubles while out of office, including a conviction on 34 felonies in New York. But getting reelected as president pressed pause on all that. Opinion newsletter: Sign up for our newsletter on people, power and policies in the time of Trump from columnist Chris Brennan. Get it delivered to your inbox. Trump has also run out the clock on emoluments. Maryland and the District of Columbia sued him during his first term for profiting from foreign countries spending big at a Washington hotel his private company then controlled. As Michael Waldman, president of the Brennan Center for Justice, noted on May 14, his nonpartisan law and policy organization agreed with Maryland and the District of Columbia on the suit about the Trump International Hotel. "That case got tied up in court, and in 2021, the Supreme Court ultimately dismissed it since Trump was no longer president," Waldman wrote. Sounds like Trump's endgame, right? Take the jet, thumb his nose (as always) at the Constitution, count on the feckless and fearful Republicans in Congress to do nothing, and laugh off the Democrats who try to stop him. Sure, there will likely be lawsuits. Democrats, if they can win back one or both chambers in Congress next year, might even try to impeach him for a third time on this issue. Trump's constant thrum of emails seeking donations from supporters routinely cites the possibility of a third impeachment. That will all take time. By then, Trump may be laughing at 30,000 feet in his "palace in the sky" about how America repeatedly let him game our system. Unless, of course, this time we don't. Follow USA TODAY columnist Chris Brennan on X, formerly known as Twitter: @ByCrisBrennan. Sign up for his weekly newsletter, Translating Politics, here.
Shafaq News
16-05-2025
- Business
- Shafaq News
Trump under fire over Qatari jet gift
Shafaq News/ US President Donald Trump is facing fresh accusations of corruption and ethics violations after accepting a luxury jet from Qatar and allegedly promoting cryptocurrency ventures linked to his inner circle. Watchdog groups and opposition lawmakers have slammed Trump's decision to accept a Boeing 747 from Qatar's royal family—reportedly worth $400 million—intended to serve as a presidential aircraft before being donated to Trump's presidential library. 'It's perhaps the most blatant and egregious corruption we've seen compared to his first term,' Noah Bookbinder, president of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), told AFP. 'There's a real danger that when it comes time to make decisions involving Qatar, the president will be thinking about how grateful he is for that jet instead of considering what's best for the American people.' Trump dismissed criticism of the gift earlier this week, calling it 'stupid' to reject it and suggesting it reflects a new chapter in US-Qatar relations. However, the US Constitution prohibits federal officials from accepting gifts from foreign governments without congressional approval. The White House has claimed it is applying the "highest level of transparency" in handling the matter. Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer called the jet "the biggest presidential bribe in modern history,' amplifying concerns over Trump's financial entanglements with Gulf states. Beyond the aircraft, watchdogs have flagged growing concerns about Trump's promotion of cryptocurrency, including a May 22 dinner he plans to host at one of his private golf clubs exclusively for the top 220 investors in his "$Trump" token. The top 25 contributors will reportedly receive a special tour of the White House. Groups have also cited a March announcement that UAE-based fund MGX will invest $2 billion in crypto exchange Binance using a token associated with Trump's family business, World Liberty Financial. As part of his current Middle East trip, Trump arrived in the UAE on Thursday following visits to Saudi Arabia and Qatar—three countries with longstanding business ties to the Trump Organization, including real estate, sports, and finance sectors.
United News of India
15-05-2025
- Business
- United News of India
Trump asks Apple to not to produce iPhones in India
Doha, May 15 (UNI) Taking a tough stand on trade issues, US President Donald Trump has asked Apple CEO Tim Cook not to manufacture I-Phones in India. "Tim you're my friend, I have treated you very good, I hear you are building all over India. I don't want you building in India. You can build in India if you want to take care of India. We are not interested in you building in India. India can take care of themselves," Trump said after a meeting with US-Qatar business leaders. The statement comes days after India rebuffed the US President's offer of mediation on Kashmir between India and Pakistan in the midst of Operation Sindoor. Significantly the advice to Tim Cook also comes after US and China agreed on reduction of tariffs. President Trump attributed the decision to tariffs imposed by India on US goods and said India is one of the highest tariff nations in the world. Mr Cook had earlier said Apple would produce most of the iPhones for US market in India and would shift part of iPhone production from China to India in the next few years because of high tariff imposed by China. Apple planned to source from India about 60mn iPhones sold annually in the US by the end of next year. However, the US President also announced that India had offered to drop all tariffs on goods imported from US. ''India has offered us a deal where basically they are willing to literally charge us no tariff". UNI RB GNK
