Trump delays decision on auto tariffs for up to six months
Washington: President Donald Trump on Friday announced a six-month delay in imposing steep tariffs on auto imports, seeking to pressure Europe and Japan into bargaining table concessions on trade.
The decision marked a temporary reprieve from what would have been a sizable escalation in Trump's multi-front trade wars.
Trump's threat targets a major chunk of global economic activity with profound disruptions. Hundreds of billions of dollars in autos are manufactured, shipped and sold internationally every year.
In a proclamation, the president directed US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to update him within 180 days on the outcome of negotiations with the EU, Japan and "any other country" Lighthizer deems appropriate.
By leaving the threat of tariffs hanging, Trump's move raises the temperature in European capitals already angered by the imposition of punishing US duties on steel and aluminum last year.
Trump's decision also preserved a truce declared last year with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in which both sides agreed to cease trade hostilities while efforts continued to resolve the trade dispute.
Despite the decision, Trump continued his attacks on EU trade policy. "The European Union treats us, I'd say, worse than China -- they're just smaller," Trump said at an event.
"They don't want our farmers, they don't want our cars... They send Mercedes-Benz here like they're cookies," Trump said, adding that "they take advantage of us on trade." "We all love Europe but it's not fair."
In response to the US metal tariffs, the EU last year imposed stinging duties on American exports like motorcycles, orange juice, whiskey and blue jeans, and threatened to retaliate further should the auto tariffs be imposed.
European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom confirmed an existing offer that "the EU is prepared to negotiate a limited trade agreement including cars." The six-month delay had been expected this week as industry sources confirmed media reports that Trump would hold off -- delighting markets which had feared sharp economic consequences of such a move.
In his proclamation, Trump described the US auto sector as facing decline due to unfair foreign competition.
A report by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross concluded that America's shrinking share of the auto market jeopardized its research, development and manufacturing -- all "vital to national security," according to Trump.
In a conclusion likely to invite challenges from manufacturers and industry analysts, Trump said America's defense industrial base relied on the domestic auto sector for technological advances essential to US "military superiority."
Citing Ross's conclusions, Trump pointed to a doubling of US imports over the last 34 years but accused Europe and Japan of raising "significant barriers" to accepting American exports in return.
In that same period, the domestic market share of American-owned manufacturers fell to just 22 percent from 67 percent, he said.
"In light of all of these factors, domestic conditions of competition must be improved by reducing imports," Trump said.
Reacting to the announcement, Dieter Kempf, head of the German industrial federation, said "cars do not threaten the national security of the United States." Japanese automaker Toyota, which has factories and research centers in the United States also strongly rejected the notion.
"Today's proclamation sends a message to Toyota that our investments are not welcomed, and the contributions from each of our employees across America are not valued," a statement read.
"If import quotas are imposed, the biggest losers will be consumers who will pay more and have fewer vehicle choices." Charlie Chesbrough, senior economist at Cox Automotive, said that by jacking up tariffs on 200 billion worth of Chinese merchandise last week Trump had shown Brussels his tariff threats were not idle.
"I think it's a signal to everybody that he means business," Chesbrough told AFP.
"I think in general it's a good news story in that it buys the industry a little more time to try to get the president to change his mind about the tariffs." The United States imported almost 200 billion worth of autos in 2017, according to the proclamation.
But, while foreign-branded cars are popular in the United States, many automakers have championed their US-based manufacturing operations in places like Alabama, Kentucky and South Carolina.
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Israel launches first airstrike on Lebanon since ceasefire, accusing Hezbollah of breaching truce
Beirut, Nov 28: The Israeli military on Thursday said its warplanes fired on southern Lebanon after detecting Hezbollah activity at a rocket storage facility, the first Israeli airstrike a day after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took hold.
There was no immediate word on casualties from Israel's aerial attack, which came hours after the Israeli military said it fired on people trying to return to certain areas in southern Lebanon. Israel said they were violating the ceasefire agreement, without providing details. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said two people were wounded.
The back-to-back incidents stirred unease about the agreement, brokered by the United States and France, which includes an initial two-month ceasefire in which Hezbollah members are to withdraw north of the Litani River and Israeli forces are to return to their side of the border. The buffer zone would be patrolled by Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers.
On Thursday, the second day of a ceasefire after more than a year of bloody conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon's state news agency reported that Israeli fire targeted civilians in Markaba, close to the border, without providing further details. Israel said it fired artillery in three other locations near the border. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
An Associated Press reporter in northern Israel near the border heard Israeli drones buzzing overhead and the sound of artillery strikes from the Lebanese side.
The Israeli military said in a statement that “several suspects were identified arriving with vehicles to a number of areas in southern Lebanon, breaching the conditions of the ceasefire.” It said troops “opened fire toward them” and would “actively enforce violations of the ceasefire agreement.”
Israeli officials have said forces will be withdrawn gradually as it ensures that the agreement is being enforced. Israel has warned people not to return to areas where troops are deployed, and says it reserves the right to strike Hezbollah if it violates the terms of the truce.
A Lebanese military official said Lebanese troops would gradually deploy in the south as Israeli troops withdraw. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.
The ceasefire agreement announced late Tuesday ended 14 months of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that began a day after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza, when the Lebanese Hezbollah group began firing rockets, drones and missiles in solidarity.
Israel retaliated with airstrikes, and the conflict steadily intensified for nearly a year before boiling over into all-out war in mid-September. The war in Gaza is still raging with no end in sight.
More than 3,760 people were killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon during the conflict, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The fighting killed more than 70 people in Israel — over half of them civilians — as well as dozens of Israeli soldiers fighting in southern Lebanon.
Some 1.2 million people were displaced in Lebanon, and thousands began streaming back to their homes on Wednesday despite warnings from the Lebanese military and the Israeli army to stay out of certain areas. Some 50,000 people were displaced on the Israeli side, but few have returned and the communities near the northern border are still largely deserted.
In Menara, an Israeli community on the border with views into Lebanon, around three quarters of homes are damaged, some with collapsed roofs and burnt-out interiors. A few residents could be seen gathering their belongings on Thursday before leaving again.
