Close to making a deal with India: Trump amid fresh tariffs on fourteen nations
New York/Washington (PTI): The US is close to making a trade deal with India, President Donald Trump has said.
“Now, we've made a deal with the United Kingdom, we've made a deal with China….We're close to making a deal with India. Others we met with and we don't think we're going to be able to make a deal, so we just send them a letter. If you want to play ball, this is what you have to pay,” Trump said on Monday.
The remarks came as the Trump administration sent out the first tranche of “letters” to various countries Monday detailing the tariffs that the US will impose on products from those countries entering America.
The countries that got these letters, signed by Trump, were Bangladesh, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Serbia, South Africa, South Korea, Thailand and Tunisia.
“We're sending out letters to various countries telling them how much tariffs they have to pay,” Trump said.
He added that the countries were “ripping” the US and “were charging us tariffs at levels that nobody's ever seen before. We have some countries that were charging 200% tariffs and making it impossible to do business.
“And what the tariffs are doing is they're driving people in and companies into the United States,” he said while speaking to reporters ahead of a bilateral dinner with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the White House on Monday.
Trump also repeated the claim that he stopped the war between India and Pakistan by telling the two neighbours that Washington would not do trade with them if they continued the fighting.
“We did a job with India and Pakistan, Serbia, Kosovo, Rwanda and the Congo, and this was all over the last three weeks or so… and others that were ready to fight,” Trump said.
“And we stopped a lot of fights. I think the very big one, frankly, a very, very big one, was India and Pakistan. And we stopped that over trade," he said.
"We said we're not going to be dealing with you at all if you're going to fight. And they were maybe at a nuclear stage. They're both nuclear powers. And I think stopping that was very important,” Trump added.
Trump went on to say that the US is trying to help out with the Russia-Ukraine conflict, calling it a (Joe) “Biden-created monster”.
“This whole thing that's happening with Russia and Ukraine, horrible, it's a horrible thing. And I'm not happy with Russian President (Vladimir) Putin at all. But this is something that would have never happened if I were president. This is a war that was never going to happen,” Trump said.
At the dinner, Netanyahu presented Trump with a letter that he had sent to the Nobel Prize Committee nominating Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Previously, Trump has bemoaned that he won’t get a Nobel Peace Prize for stopping the war between India and Pakistan or for his efforts in the Russia-Ukraine, Israel-Iran conflicts.
Since May 10, Trump has repeated more than a dozen times his claim that he “helped settle” the tensions between India and Pakistan and that he told the nuclear-armed South Asian neighbours that America will do a “lot of trade” with them if they stop the conflict.
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Experience comes when you play bigger teams in bilateral series: Rashid Khan
Chennai (PTI): Afghanistan skipper Rashid Khan called for more bilateral series against stronger cricketing nations after his team signed off from the T20 World Cup on a high, defeating Canada in their final group match here on Thursday.
Afghanistan played some exhilarating cricket, going down to South Africa in a gripping second Super Over after the scores were tied, a humdinger that provided one of the early thrills of the World Cup.
However, the spin-bowling stalwart said Afghanistan could make significant strides if they get regular opportunities to compete against stronger cricketing nations.
"Couple of areas to improve, with the batting, the middle order got a bit stuck against the big teams, and then with the bowling the death overs. That comes when you play the bigger teams in bilateral series," said Rashid after his team defeat Canada by 82 runs, with him returning excellent figures of 2 for 19.
The stalwart said the side had arrived well prepared for the tournament and produced some breathtaking cricket, but admitted the narrow defeat to South Africa proved costly and remained a painful setback.
"We were well-prepared (for the tournament), we played some unbelievable cricket. The game against South Africa, that really hurt everyone. We had to win one of those (first two) games and see how the tournament unfolded. We'll take some positive things from this World Cup and look forward," he said.
With head coach Jonathan Trott set to part ways with the team, Rashid described the departure as an "emotional" moment for the side.
"I think we had some wonderful times with him. Where we are now, he played a main role. It's emotional to see him leave us, but that's how life is. We wish him all the best and somewhere down the line we see him again."
Ibrahim Zadran, who was named Player of the Match for his unbeaten 95 off 56 balls, said it was satisfying to finally register a substantial score after two below-par outings.
"I enjoyed it, didn't play better cricket in first two innings, which I expect. Wanted to back my skills, really enjoyed it. Pressure was there, it's there all the time. I want to put myself in pressure situations and enjoy it," said Zadran.
"Wanted to play positive cricket, rotate strike and punish bad ball, create partnerships and this is what I have done."
