MUMBAI:&nbsp;US and Indian trade negotiators begin two days of talks Wednesday as they try to reach a deal amid geopolitical turbulence after Washington hit New Delhi with huge tariffs over its purchases of Russian oil. The 50% levies on most goods was imposed in August, with US officials arguing the imports of discounted Russian crude effectively bankroll Moscow&#39;s war in Ukraine. Deputy US Trade Representative Rick Switzer&rsquo;s visit comes a week after Prime Minister Narendra Modi embraced Russian President Vladimir Putin in New Delhi. India&rsquo;s foreign ministry described Switzer&#39;s meetings as a &ldquo;familiarization&rdquo; trip. India was among the first countries to begin trade talks after President Donald Trump unveiled sweeping tariffs on most US trade partners in April. But it is one of the few major economies still without an agreement, raising risks for jobs, economic growth and markets. <h2 style="line-height: 2;">A serious blow&nbsp;</h2>India is the world&rsquo;s fastest-growing major economy and recorded a $45.8 billion goods trade deficit with the United States in 2024. Large export categories such as smartphones and generic drugs are exempt from Trump&#39;s tariffs, but many labor-intensive industries are not. That&rsquo;s a serious blow for a country already struggling to generate well-paid jobs for millions of young graduates, and the turmoil threatens Modi&#39;s ambition to lift the country into high-income status. Fall in exports&nbsp;Exports fell nearly 12% year-on-year in October, driven by a plunge in US-bound shipments. The Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) estimates that labour-heavy sectors -- gems and jewelery, textiles and seafood -- saw export drops of 37&ndash;60% between May and September. Foreign investors have dumped more than $16 billion in Indian equities this year, helping push the rupee to a record low past 90 per dollar. Cut in growth forecast&nbsp;The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has also cut India&rsquo;s 2026-27 growth forecast from 6.4% to 6.2%, assuming &ldquo;prolonged 50% US tariffs&rdquo;. Exports could shrink to about $49.6 billion this fiscal year, from $86.5 billion last year, potentially knocking up to 80 basis points off growth, according to the GTRI. <h2 style="line-height: 2;">Severe sanctions &nbsp;&nbsp;</h2>India enthusiastically bought discounted Russian crude after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine as Moscow was hammered with severe sanctions including on its sale of oil. But Trump&#39;s decision to link trade policy to geopolitics upended US-India relations in August, with roughly half of the tariff burden stemming from Washington&#39;s attempt to penalize those purchases. No comment&nbsp;The US president has repeatedly claimed India either plans to stop, or has already mostly stopped, buying Russian oil -- a claim&nbsp;New Delhi has neither confirmed nor denied. But when in the Indian capital, Putin offered to &ldquo;continue uninterrupted shipments of fuel&rdquo;.&nbsp; Modi did not comment directly on oil flows. &lsquo;Notable dip&rsquo;However, top buyer Reliance Industries said in November it stopped importing Russian oil for its export-focused refinery, while smaller refiners like HPCL-Mittal Energy have said they have stopped entirely. Analysts at trade intelligence platform Kpler expect a &ldquo;notable dip&rdquo; in India&#39;s December&ndash;January imports. Whether that decline will sway Washington is unclear. <h2 style="line-height: 2;">Rice &lsquo;dumping&rsquo;&nbsp;</h2>Talks also stalled over agriculture, with India resisting pressure to cut tariffs on staples like rice and wheat -- wary of angering its farmers, a politically powerful constituency. A senior Indian commerce ministry official told AFP that these issues are &ldquo;largely resolved&rdquo;, although Trump on Monday also criticized the country for &ldquo;dumping&rdquo; rice into the United States. Negotiating a trade pact is complicated by the need to address Trump&rsquo;s so-called reciprocal tariffs, though both tracks are linked, officials say. &ldquo;These are two separate, parallel negotiations that are going on, but one will feed into another,&rdquo; Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal told an industry event last week. <h2 style="line-height: 2;">Is a breakthrough likely?</h2>Relations have improved since August, with several smaller deals advancing. That includes US approval in November for two arms sales worth nearly $93 million, and New Delhi&#39;s &ldquo;significant&rdquo; deal for the United States to supply nearly 10% of its liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) imports. Energy commitments have anchored past US trade deals, and experts say the LPG contract may help convince Washington that India is reducing its reliance on Russia.

Business

The 50% levies on most goods was imposed in August, with US officials arguing Indian imports of discounted Russian crude effectively bankroll Moscow's war in Ukraine; India’s foreign ministry described Switzer's meetings as a “familiarization” trip.

US, India start fresh trade talks seeking elusive deal

GYEONGJU: Canadian Premier Mark Carney on Saturday called talks with China&#39;s leader Xi Jinping a &quot;turning point&quot; in relations, adding he had raised tricky topics like foreign interference with Beijing. Canada&#39;s relations with China have been among the worst of any Western nation, but both are at the sharp end of Donald Trump&#39;s tariff onslaught, even after Xi and the US leader&#39;s deal Thursday to dial back tensions. China and Canada on Friday held their first formal talks between their leaders since 2017 on Friday. &lsquo;Unlocked a path forward&rsquo;&quot;We have now unlocked a path forward to address current issues,&quot; Carney told journalists in the South Korean city of Gyeongju, referring to China.&nbsp;&quot;Our overall discussion was constructive,&quot; he added. Carney said Saturday he had accepted an invitation from Xi to visit &quot;in the new year&quot;. &quot;I directed our ministers and officials to work together to find solutions to current challenges and to identify areas for cooperation and growth,&quot; he said. Carney apologizes to Trump&nbsp;The US president last Saturday said he was hiking tariffs on Canadian goods by an additional 10% and terminated all trade talks. This followed what Trump called a &quot;fake&quot; anti-tariff ad campaign that featured the late ex-president Ronald Reagan. Carney said Saturday he had apologized to Trump for that ad. &quot;I did apologize to the president. The president was offended,&quot; he said.

Americas

Carney said Saturday he had accepted an invitation from Xi to visit "in the new year"; says ‘we have now unlocked a path forward to address current issues’, adding ‘our overall discussion was constructive.’

Canada PM says Xi talks 'turning point', apologizes to Trump

AIR FORCE ONE: US President Donald Trump said Saturday he was hiking tariffs on Canadian goods by an additional 10%, in the latest fallout over a Canadian anti-tariff ad that featured late US leader Ronald Reagan. The announcement came two days after Trump said he had terminated all trade talks with Canada over what he called the &quot;fake&quot; ad campaign. &quot;Their Advertisement was to be taken down, IMMEDIATELY, but they let it run last night during the World Series, knowing that it was a FRAUD,&quot; Trump said on his Truth Social platform, posting the message as he flew to Asia for meetings with key regional leaders. &quot;Because of their serious misrepresentation of the facts, and hostile act, I am increasing the Tariff on Canada by 10% over and above what they are paying now,&quot; he said. &#39;High tariffs trigger trade wars&#39;The ad from the Canadian province of Ontario used quotes from a 1987 radio address on trade that Reagan delivered, in which he warned of the ramifications he said high tariffs on imports could have on the US economy. It cited the Republican as saying that &quot;high tariffs inevitably lead to retaliation by foreign countries and the triggering of fierce trade wars,&quot; a quote that matches a transcript of his speech on the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library&#39;s website. The Ronald Reagan Foundation wrote on X on Thursday that the Ontario government had used &quot;selective audio and video&quot; and that it was reviewing its legal options. Adding extra spice to the cross-border row, baseball&#39;s World Series features a Canadian team, the Toronto Blue Jays, facing a US team, the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Blue Jays thrashed the Dodgers 11-4 in the first game on Friday. Ontario said it would pull the offending anti-tariff ad on Monday so that negotiations could restart, but not before it aired again on Saturday night during the second game of the baseball showdown. Economic strategy &#39;needs to change&#39;Trump&#39;s global sectoral tariffs -- particularly on steel, aluminum, and autos -- have hit Canada hard, forcing job losses and squeezing businesses. For now, the United States and Canada adhere to the existing North American trade deal, the USMCA, which ensures that roughly 85% of cross-border trade in both directions remains tariff-free. But in a speech on Wednesday, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said the United States has raised &quot;its tariffs to levels last seen during the Great Depression.&quot; &quot;Our economic strategy needs to change dramatically,&quot; Carney added, saying the process &quot;will take some sacrifices and some time.&quot; Trump and Carney are both set to attend a dinner on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in South Korea on Wednesday. But Trump has said he had no plans to meet Carney.

Taxation

US President Donald Trump raised tariffs on Canadian goods by 10%, condemning Ontario’s anti-tariff ad featuring Ronald Reagan as 'fraudulent.' The move follows halted trade talks, escalating tensions ahead of the APEC summit in South Korea

Trump increasing tariffs on Canada by 10%

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said Thursday that he was immediately ending all trade talks with Canada, accusing it of misquoting former president Ronald Reagan in an advertising campaign against tariffs. &ldquo;Based on their egregious behavior, ALL TRADE NEGOTIATIONS WITH CANADA ARE HEREBY TERMINATED,&rdquo;&nbsp;Trump&nbsp;said on his Truth Social network. &ldquo;The Ronald Reagan Foundation has just announced that Canada has fraudulently used an advertisement, which is FAKE, featuring Ronald Reagan speaking negatively about Tariffs.&rdquo; <div class="fr-embed" style="line-height: 2;"><iframe src="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/115426967566430347/embed" class="truthsocial-embed" style="max-width: 100%; border: 0;" width="600" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen">&nbsp;</iframe></div> The ad used quotes from Reagan&#39;s speech, in which he warned against some of the ramifications that high tariffs on foreign imports could have on the US economy. It cited Reagan as saying that &quot;high tariffs inevitably lead to retaliation by foreign countries and the triggering of fierce trade wars,&quot; a quote that matches a transcript of his speech on the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library&#39;s website. The latest extraordinary twist in relations between the North American neighbors comes just over two weeks after Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney visited Trump in the White House to seek a relaxation of stiff US tariffs. The Ronald Reagan Foundation said on X that the government of the Canadian province of Ontario had used &ldquo;selectively audio and video&rdquo; from a radio address to the nation on trade by Reagan in April 1987. It said the ad &ldquo;misrepresents&rdquo; what the Republican former actor had said in his address, adding that it was &ldquo;reviewing its legal options in this matter.&rdquo;<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; line-height: 2;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1981524620265046408&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Flogin&sessionId=1141a9813ad0ce793e60bfedfb742088948967ab&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 777px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;"></iframe></div></div>Trump said the ad was designed to &ldquo;interfere with the decision of the US Supreme Court,&rdquo; which is due to rule on his sweeping global tariffs. &lsquo;World-class leader&rsquo;The sudden decision to end trade talks will come as a blow to Carney, whom Trump described as a &ldquo;world-class leader&rdquo; when they met on Oct. 7, adding that the Canadian would be &ldquo;very happy&rdquo; with their discussion. At the time, however, Trump offered no immediate concessions on tariffs. Roughly 85% of cross-border trade in both directions remains tariff-free, as the United States and Canada continue to adhere to the existing North American trade deal, the USMCA. But Trump&#39;s global sectoral tariffs -- particularly on steel, aluminium, and autos -- have hit Canada hard, forcing job losses and squeezing businesses.

The latest extraordinary twist in relations between the North American neighbors comes just over two weeks after Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney visited Trump in the White House to seek a relaxation of stiff US tariffs.

Articles tagged with "Trump Tariffs"

US, India start fresh trade talks seeking elusive deal

Canada PM says Xi talks 'turning point', apologizes to Trump

Trump increasing tariffs on Canada by 10%

All Canada trade talks ‘terminated’: Trump