Latest news with #economicSanctions
Daily Mail
08-08-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Trump's final ultimatum to Putin is HERE as experts give shrill warning on how it will impact oil prices in America
President Donald Trump, who once claimed he could end the Russia-Ukraine war in 24 hours, came up on his own deadline at midnight. Vladimir Putin shows no of backing down from his war machine after more than two-and-a-half years of grinding conflict - and the president's ultimatum may have fallen on deaf ears in the Kremlin. The Russian strongman has continuously dragged out every negotiation while pushing for total military victory, increasingly thumbing his nose at Trump and betting he can outlast Ukraine 's stubborn resistance. Trump's stark deadline - end the war or face crushing economic sanctions - is the biggest test yet of whether anything can be done to tame the Putin's unrelenting war machine. New sanctions could send gas prices soaring for American drivers, mirroring the inflation spike that hammered consumers immediately following Russia's 2022 invasion. Basic economics dictate the outcome: less oil supply means higher demand and more pain at the pump for everyday Americans. But the ripple effect goes even further. Everyday goods, even things like the price of medicine and technology, could be impacted. Foreign policy experts warn the autocrat has already proven he's willing to sacrifice his economy and his people for a chance at more territory. Foreign policy expert John Sitilides told the Daily Mail that Putin believes his military momentum will continue into the fall as he seeks to turn Ukraine into a 'rump land-locked state, cut off from the Black Sea.' He added that Trump's threat to remove Russia's share of oil exports from the global economy is 'non-credible' to Putin. Justin Logan, director of Defense and Foreign Policy studies at the CATO institute, told the Daily Mail that Trump is grappling with an unfortunate reality: 'Russia is slowly winning a grinding, brutal war of attrition and knows it.' 'Putin is unlikely to agree to a short-term ceasefire unless he feels confident he will make progress toward his political goals,' he added. Trump has said he would unleash a second round of tariffs at 100 percent on any nation that purchases Russian oil, including China, one of Russia's top allies. On Wednesday, the commander-in-chief enforced an extra 25 percent tariff on India – a punishment for the country buying Russian oil. That will bring the total tariff on imports from Indian to 50 percent, setting records as one of the highest rates imposed by the administration. Trump left the option open for other countries to follow in India's footsteps if they go against his orders. This week, the president sent his eyes and ears, envoy Steve Witkoff, to Moscow, hoping for a sort of 'Hail Mary' diplomatic resolution. The president said on Thursday that he would agree to meet with Putin without Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. 'They would like to meet with me and I'll do whatever I can to stop the killing,' Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. Kremlin leaders said a meeting between the two presidents has been agreed upon, and should happen in the 'coming days'. Zelensky has historically raised alarms at being left out of negotiations and decision-making regarding the Russia-Ukraine war. 'Ukraine is not afraid of meetings and expects the same bold approach from the Russian side. It's time to end the war. Thank you to everyone who is helping!' he wrote in a post on X. But Sitilides, a senior fellow for National Security at the Foreign Policy Research Institute and former State Department diplomacy consultant, told the Daily Mail, 'It is difficult to envision a serious breakthrough soon in the Russia-Ukraine stalemate.' Putin, he says, seeks to exhaust Ukraine's strained defense forces. 'His objectives are unchanged - he wants Ukraine turned into a rump land-locked state, cut off from the Black Sea and dependent on de-industrializing Europe for its long-haul recovery.' Logan decried Trump's oil sanctions as an ineffective long-term solution. 'Oil sanctions from Trump would be as ineffective as oil sanctions from Biden. This is because they are inherently leaky,' he explained. One popular Russian tabloid, Moskovsky Komsomolets, described the Trump and Putin relationship as locomotives speeding toward each other without a plan to stop or reverse. The Moscow daily newspaper adds that Trump's attempts to end the war on his watch have been a 'dismal failure' and that 'Trump received from Putin – albeit extremely politely and stretched out in time – a total slap down.' 'This is a medical fact that cannot be hidden or obscured. The US leader looks like a loser,' the report reads.
New York Times
30-06-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Trump Lifts Sanctions on Syria, Tightening His Embrace of Its New Leader
President Trump signed an executive order on Monday lifting most of the country's economic sanctions on Syria, tightening his embrace of a new government in Damascus despite concerns about its leaders' past ties to Al Qaeda. The move, which scraped decades of American policy toward Syria, delivered on a surprise announcement by Mr. Trump in May during a trip to the Middle East. At a stop in Saudi Arabia, Mr. Trump met with President Ahmed al-Shara of Syria, who assumed power in December after his fighters deposed the longtime dictator Bashar al-Assad. Mr. Trump declared Mr. al-Shara, who previously led a rebel group designated by the U.S. government as a terrorist organization, 'young, attractive' and 'tough,' and said Syria deserved 'a chance' to rebuild after a devastating civil war that began in March 2011. Some current and former U.S. officials remain wary of Mr. al-Shara and his jihadist background, although he cut ties with Al Qaeda several years ago. But Syria's Arab neighbors are impatient to begin reconstructing Syria, a project that offers not only opportunities to profit but also a chance to stabilize a country that has long exported terrorism, migrants and illegal drugs. Crushing U.S. sanctions imposed during the harsh rule of Mr. Assad, some dating more than 20 years, have kept would-be investors on the sidelines. Starting Tuesday, Mr. Trump's executive order dismantles many of those sanctions, including ones against state-linked entities such as Syria's central bank and other major financial institutions. Sanctions would remain on Mr. al-Assad, who fled to Russia, and his associates, as well as others accused of human rights abuses, drug smuggling and terrorist activities, Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, told reporters on Monday. Ms. Leavitt said Mr. Trump was delivering on a promise he made in Saudi Arabia that had 'shocked the world.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Wall Street Journal
29-06-2025
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
How Israel-Aligned Hackers Hobbled Iran's Financial System
While Israel and the U.S. were bombing Iran's nuclear sites, another battlefield emerged behind the scenes: the financial infrastructure that keeps Tehran connected to the world. Israeli authorities, and a pro-Israeli hacking group called Predatory Sparrow, targeted financial organizations that Iranians use to move money and sidestep the U.S.-led economic blockade, according to Israeli officials and other people familiar with the efforts. U.S. sanctions, imposed off-and-on for decades due to Tehran's nuclear program and support for Islamist groups, have aimed to cut Iran off from the international financial system.
Washington Post
18-06-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
US sanctions leadership of Mexico's Jalisco cartel
MEXICO CITY — The Trump administration on Wednesday imposed economic sanctions on five high-ranking members of Mexico's powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel for their drug trafficking, while also citing their involvement in killings. Previous administrations have also sanctioned the cartel – one of Mexico's most powerful -- as the Trump administration also did in May, when it targeted the cartel's fuel theft operations .
Arab News
30-05-2025
- Business
- Arab News
Syrian minister says lifting of economic sanctions offers hope for recovery
DAMASCUS: The lifting of economic sanctions on the Syrian Arab Republic will allow the government to begin work on daunting tasks that include fighting corruption and bringing millions of refugees home, Hind Kabawat, the minister of social affairs and labor, told The Associated Press on Friday. Kabawat is the only woman and the only Christian in the 23-member cabinet formed in March to steer the country during a transitional period after the ouster of former President Bashar Assad in December. Her portfolio will be one of the most important as the country begins rebuilding after nearly 14 years of civil war. She said moves by the US and the EU in the past week to at least temporarily lift most of the sanctions that had been imposed on Syria over the decades will allow that work to get started. Before, she said, 'we would talk, we would make plans, but nothing could happen on the ground because sanctions were holding everything up and restricting our work.' With the lifting of sanctions, they can move to 'implementation.' One of the first programs the new government is planning to launch is 'temporary schools' for the children of refugees and internally displaced people returning to their home areas. Kabawat said that it will take time for the easing of sanctions to show effects on the ground, particularly since unwinding some of the financial restrictions will involve complicated bureaucracy. 'We are going step by step,' she said. 'We are not saying that anything is easy — we have many challenges — but we can't be pessimistic. We need to be optimistic.' The new government's vision is 'that we don't want either food baskets or tents after five years,' Kabawat said, referring to the country's dependence on humanitarian aid and many displacement camps. That may be an ambitious target, given that 90 percent of the country's population currently lives below the poverty line, according to the UN. The civil war that began in 2011 also displaced half the country's pre-war population of 23 million people. The UN's refugee agency, UNHCR, estimates that about half a million have returned to Syria since Assad was ousted. But the dire economic situation and battered infrastructure have also dissuaded many refugees from coming back. The widespread poverty also fed into a culture of public corruption that developed in the Assad era, including solicitation of bribes by public employees and shakedowns by security forces at checkpoints. Syria's new leaders have pledged to end corruption, but they face an uphill battle. Public employees make salaries far below the cost of living, and the new government has so far been unable to make good on a promise to hike public sector wages by 400 percent. 'How can I fight corruption if the monthly salary is $40 and that is not enough to buy food for 10 days?' Kabawat asked. Syria's new rulers, led by President Ahmad Al-Sharaa, have been under scrutiny by Western countries over the treatment of Syrian women and religious minorities. In March, clashes between government security forces and pro-Assad armed groups spiraled into sectarian revenge attacks on members of the Alawite sect to which Assad belongs. Hundreds of civilians were killed. The government formed a committee to investigate the attacks, which has not yet reported its findings. Many also criticized the transitional government as giving only token representation to women and minorities. Apart from Kabawat, the Cabinet includes only one member each from the Druze and Alawite sects and one Kurd. 'Everywhere I travel … the first and last question is, 'What is the situation of the minorities?'' Kabawat said. 'I can understand the worries of the West about the minorities, but they should also be worried about Syrian men and women as a whole.' She said the international community's priority should be to help Syria build its economy and avoid the country falling into 'chaos.' Despite being the only woman in the Cabinet, Kabawat said 'now there is a greater opportunity for women' than under Assad and that 'today there is no committee being formed that does not have women in it.' 'Syrian women have suffered a lot in these 14 years and worked in all areas,' she said. 'All Syrian men and women need to have a role in rebuilding our institutions.' She called for those wary of President Al-Sharaa to give him a chance. The West has warmed to the new president — particularly after his recent high-profile meeting with US President Donald Trump.
