Govt, oppn agree to end Parliamentary impasse; both Houses to hold discussion on Constitution
New Delhi (PTI): The ruling BJP and opposition parties reached an agreement on Monday to break the parliamentary impasse, with Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju expressing confidence that Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha will function smoothly from Tuesday.
Speaker Om Birla held a meeting with floor leaders of different parties where the breakthrough was achieved.
Rijiju, who attended the meeting, told reporters the Lower House will take up a discussion on the Constitution on December 13 and 14, and the Upper House on December 16 and 17.
The opposition parties had demanded discussions in both Houses of Parliament to mark the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution by the Constituent Assembly.
Rijiju expressed confidence that Parliament will function smoothly from Tuesday.
Several opposition leaders, who attended the meeting, also echoed similar sentiments.
VIDEO | "Lok Sabha Speaker met with floor leaders of all the parties. Everybody expressed their frustration on no functioning of the Parliament. Everybody was of the view that it is not appropriate to waste people's money. The Opposition also put forward their demand, there was a… pic.twitter.com/sDzNK6v1GV
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) December 2, 2024
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Trump says EU has until July 4 to approve last year's trade deal or it will face higher tariffs
Washington (AP): President Donald Trump has said in a social media post that goods from the European Union would face higher tariff rates if the 27-member bloc fails to approve last year's trade framework by July 4.
The announcement on Thursday appeared to be a deadline extension after the president said last Friday that EU autos would face a higher 25 per cent tariff starting this week. Trump made the updated announcement after what he described as a "great call" with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Still, the US president was displeased that the European Parliament had yet to finalize the trade arrangement reached last year, which was further complicated in February by the US Supreme Court ruling that Trump lacked the legal authority to declare an economic emergency to impose the initial tariffs used to pressure the EU into talks.
"A promise was made that the EU would deliver their side of the Deal and, as per Agreement, cut their Tariffs to ZERO!" Trump posted. "I agreed to give her until our Country's 250th Birthday or, unfortunately, their Tariffs would immediately jump to much higher levels."
It was unclear from the post whether Trump was implying that the tariff rates would jump on all EU goods or the increase would only apply to autos.
His latest statement indicates he might be backing away from his earlier threat on EU autos by giving the European Parliament several more weeks to approve the agreement.
Under the original terms of the framework, the US would charge a 15 per cent tax on most goods imported from the EU.
But since the Supreme Court ruling, the administration has levied a 10 per cent tariff while investigating trade imbalances and national security issues, aiming to put in new tariffs to make up for lost revenues.
