The ‘full term’ decision of the coalition government
We all are well aware of the fact that state has a coalition government. It would be partial truth to say this government came to this agreement because they wanted to keep BJP out of power. Some people wanted to keep Siddaramaiah out of the power circles too. The results were conducive for that. If this coalition didn’t happen, would the JD(S) still maintain a distance from BJP? This question has no easy answer. Though Devegowda had said they would stay far from BJP, Kumaraswamy hadn’t bolstered it with his statement. He followed the wait and watch method. Even if JD(S) maintained a distance, the party feared that BJP would split their party and come to power. Congress stretched the hand of coalition having realized BJP would take the same route to form the government.
The desperation on this was so much that when Cong accepted HD Kumaraswamy as CM of the coalition government, the party didn’t have clarity on the aspect of whether he’d be the full term CM or for some particular time frame in the five years tenure they have. It has just been days since the coalition government has come into existence, the discussion on whether HDK is a full term CM is coming to the forefront. If this question has not been dealt with right now, this would definitely end the coalition government rather unceremoniously.
Was it imperative for Cong to join hands with JD(S) is the primary question. Even if JD(S) and BJP had formed the government, they would have never offered CM’s seat to HDK is the biggest truth. While accepting the ‘terms and conditions’; Cong should have negotiated clarity on whether it would be partial time by both parties in the CM’s chair. Both parties should have known keeping BJP out of power is important for both. But the results pushed DK Shivakumar and Parameshwar to be inevitable candidates. Siddu’s grip loosened on Cong and DKS held the reins. If JD(S) stretches hand of coalition with BJP, DKS and Parameshwar would have lost the opportunity. Hence, it was important to form the government immediately. And the ‘term’ discussion is in the forefront only now. While Parameshwar has said no decision has been taken on ‘full term CM’, HDK has been stating he would be the CM for the entire term. Siddu also reiterated Parameshwar’s words after discussion with high command of his party and said full term CM is something that wasn’t discussed earlier. That may mean HDK would have to vacate the seat after half a term. But Kumaraswamy has gone silent over the matter now. The silence is rather strategic too.
In less than 3 days of being in power, HDK has already spoken about ‘resignation’ because he feels he is at the beck and call of Cong High command and not that of the people of the state. ‘Loan waiver cannot be done in 24 hours. Farmers need to give me more time. If not, I’d waive off the loans,’ he says. Indirectly, he has indicated Cong is against loan waiver decision. ‘Beck and call’ words are against the spirit of democracy. Hence CM HDK has taken the voters and put them in the witness box. He says he does not need to be indebted to them because they didn’t give him majority seats. That he cannot waive off the loans in 24 hours is a fact.
HDK must have known he’d never get the majority to waive off loans, hence this promise was probably made in overconfidence. Today HDK sits in the CM’s chair owing to his own reputation, and not as a Cong man. If people wished for it, they could have given a massive blow to HDK by rejecting him and giving majority to BJP too. Hence HDK should know he is to be accountable to people of the state, and not Cong high command. To seek time to execute loan waiver is what a seasoned politician would do. The new CM has also threatened them with ‘resignation’ demon. Should the coalition government collapse tomorrow, HDK has already prepared his own pitch. This is an indirect warning to Cong too.
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China slaps a 34 pc tax on all US imports in retaliation for Trump's tariffs
Bangkok (AP): China announced Friday that it will impose a 34 per cent tax on all US imports next week, part of a flurry of retaliatory measures to US President Donald Trump's new tariffs that delivered the strongest response yet from Beijing to the American leader's trade war.
The tariffs taking effect Thursday match the rate that Trump this week ordered imposed on Chinese products flowing into the United States. In February and March, Trump slapped two rounds of 10 per cent tariffs on Chinese goods, citing allegations of Beijing's role in the fentanyl crisis.
The US stock market plunged Friday following China's retaliatory moves. They include more export controls on rare earth minerals, which are critical for various technologies, and a lawsuit at the World Trade Organization over what Trump has dubbed reciprocal tariffs.
China also suspended imports of sorghum, poultry and bonemeal from six US companies, added 27 firms to lists of companies facing trade restrictions, and launched an anti-monopoly investigation into DuPont China Group Co., a subsidiary of the multinational chemical giant.
Trump posted Friday on Truth Social: “CHINA PLAYED IT WRONG, THEY PANICKED - THE ONE THING THEY CANNOT AFFORD TO DO.”
Yet he also indicated he could still negotiate with China on the sale of TikTok even after Beijing pressed pause on a deal following the new tariffs. On Friday, he extended the deadline for the social media app to divest from its Chinese parent company, per a federal law, for another 75 days.
“We hope to continue working in Good Faith with China, who I understand are not very happy about our Reciprocal Tariffs,” Trump posted on his social media site. “We look forward to working with TikTok and China to close the Deal.”
China's response to tariffs grows tougher
Beijing's response is “notably less restrained” than during the recent two rounds of 10 per cent tariffs on Chinese goods, and that “likely reflects the Chinese leadership's diminished hopes for a trade deal with the US, at least in the short term,” wrote Gabriel Wildau, managing director of the consultancy Teneo.
He said Beijing's tough response could trigger further escalation, with no sign that Chinese President Xi Jinping and Trump might meet soon or get on the phone to ease the tensions.
If China's previous responses were scalpels, this time it drew a sword, said Craig Singleton, senior China fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington-based think tank.
“China's new tariffs stop short of full-blown trade war, but they mark a clear escalation — matching Trump blow-for-blow and signaling that Xi Jinping won't sit back under pressure,” Singleton said.
But the escalation also is squeezing out space for diplomacy, he warned.
“The longer this drags, the harder it becomes for either side to deescalate without losing face,” Singleton said.
What China's retaliatory measures look like
In Beijing, the Commerce Ministry said it would impose more export controls on rare earths — materials used in high-tech products such as computer chips and electric vehicle batteries. Included in the list was samarium and its compounds, which are used in aerospace manufacturing and the defense sector. Another element called gadolinium is used in MRI scans.
China's customs administration said it had suspended imports from two US poultry businesses after officials detected furazolidone, a drug banned in China, in shipments from those companies. It said it found high levels of mold in the sorghum and found salmonella in the bonemeal feeds from four other US companies.
The Chinese government said it also added 16 US companies to the export control list, subjecting them to an export ban of dual-use products. Among them are High Point Aerotechnologies, a defense tech company, and Universal Logistics Holding, a publicly traded transportation and logistics company.
An additional 11 US companies were added to the unreliable entity list, including the American drone makers Skydio and BRINC Drones, banning them from import and export activities as well as making new investments in China.
In announcing its WTO lawsuit, the Commerce Ministry said Trump's new tariffs move “seriously violates WTO rules, seriously damages the legitimate rights and interests of WTO members, and seriously undermines the rules-based multilateral trading system and international economic and trade order.”
The ministry called the tariffs “a typical unilateral bullying practice that endangers the stability of the global economic and trade order.”
Beijing's previous tariff moves
In February, in response to Trump's first 10 per cent tariff, China announced a 15 per cent tariff on imports of coal and liquefied natural gas products from the US It separately added a 10 per cent tariff on crude oil, agricultural machinery and large-engine cars.
A month later, Beijing responded to Trump's second round with additional tariffs of up to 15 per cent on imports of key US farm products, including chicken, pork, soy and beef. Experts then said Beijing exercised restraint, leaving room for negotiations with Washington.
By now, dozens of US companies are subject to controls on trade and investment, while many more Chinese companies face similar limits on dealings with US firms.
While friction on the trade front has been heating up, the two sides have maintained military dialogue.
US and Chinese military officials met this week for the first time Trump took office in January to share concerns about military safety on the seas. The talks held Wednesday and Thursday in Shanghai were aimed at minimizing the risk of trouble, both sides said.
