Oslo: Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen Friday dismissed speculation that Greenland might become part of the United States, following remarks by US President Donald Trump suggesting a potential US annexation of the island.

Speaking about the recent election in Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, Rasmussen said that it would be incorrect to interpret the results as a sign of imminent independence or any intention to join the United States.

“If I read the Greenlandic election correctly, I believe that Greenland will remain part of the Danish Commonwealth for quite some time,” Rasmussen said. “This is a Commonwealth that needs to be renewed and modernized, and I hope we will work together to strengthen the Greenlandic economy even further.”

He also dismissed any suggestion that Greenlanders wished to abandon their ties with Denmark. “I do not see any indication from the Greenlandic election that there is a desire to leave the Commonwealth in favour of becoming American,” he said.

Trump, speaking on Thursday during a meeting with North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office, claimed that he believed the United States would eventually annex Greenland, calling Denmark “very far away” from the territory despite its status as an autonomous region within the Danish Kingdom.

In response, Rutte distanced himself from the issue, stating that discussions regarding Greenland’s status fell outside his purview and that NATO should not be involved, Xinhua news agency reported.

Greenland, the world’s largest island with a population of around 60,000, was a Danish colony until 1953, when it became an integral part of Denmark with Greenlanders given Danish citizenship. In 1979, Greenland achieved home rule, gaining greater self-governance while Denmark retained authority over its foreign and defence policy.

Ottawa: Canada has taken official steps by requesting consultations with the World Trade Organization (WTO) to dispute US import duties on steel and aluminum products from Canada, according to a statement issued by the trade organization.

The request was circulated to WTO members Thursday, said the statement.

Canada argued that US measures, which ceased its exemption and increased duties, contravene US obligations under GATT 1994, Xinhua news agency reported.

Mary Ng, minister of export promotion, international trade and economic development, said Wednesday that Canada was seeking formal consultations with the US regarding tariffs on steel and aluminum.

“Canada is deeply disappointed that the US has chosen to reimpose these unjustified tariffs that hurt workers and businesses on both sides of the border,” Ng said in the statement. “These unilateral tariffs violate the United States’ obligations under both the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) and the WTO Agreement.”

Francois-Philippe Champagne, minister of innovation, science and industry, made a statement Thursday that Canadian steel and aluminum form the basis of North America’s critical infrastructure and manufacturing base, while supporting vital US industries, including defense, shipbuilding and automotive.

The industry minister said he directed Industry Canada to prioritise funding of projects that use predominantly Canadian steel and aluminum.

Canada announced Wednesday reciprocal tariffs on US steel and aluminum imports worth 29.8 billion Canadian dollars ($20.7 billion). This trade move came in response to US President Donald Trump’s 25 per cent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports coming into effect on the same day.

February 10, US President Donald Trump signed proclamations to raise tariffs on aluminum from 10 per cent to 25 per cent, aligning them with the existing tariff rate for steel.

He also decided to eliminate duty-free quotas, exemptions, and exclusions for steel and aluminum tariffs. These measures were set to take effect March 12.

March 11, Trump announced a plan to double tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum imports to 50 per cent in response to tariffs on electricity exports from the Canadian province of Ontario. But the plan was reversed later that day after Ontario dropped the electricity export tariffs affecting three US states.

IANS

Taipei: Representatives of China, Russia and Iran called Friday for an end to US sanctions on Iran over its rapidly advancing nuclear program and a restart to multinational talks on the issue.

The talks are the latest attempt to broach the matter, coming after US President Donald Trump wrote to Iran’s supreme leader in an attempt to jumpstart talks.

The letter, which hasn’t been published, was offered as Trump levied new sanctions on Iran as part of his “maximum pressure” campaign that holds out the possibility of military action while emphasising he still believed a new deal could be reached.

The three nations who met Friday morning “emphasised the necessity of terminating all unlawful unilateral sanctions,” China’s Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu read from a joint statement, flanked by Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Ryabkov Sergey Alexeevich and Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi.

“The three countries reiterated that political and diplomatic engagement and dialogue based on the principle of mutual respect remains the only viable and practical option in this regard,” Ma read.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi was due to meet with the representatives later in the day.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has mocked Trump, saying he wasn’t interested in talks with a “bullying government,” although Iranian officials have offered conflicting signals over the possibility of negotiations. Trump sent a letter to Khamenei in 2019 with no apparent effect on rising tensions.

China and Russia are both permanent members of the UN Security Council, along with France and Britain, that took part in the original 2015 Iran nuclear deal preliminary framework agreement alongside Germany and the European Union. Trump withdrew America from the accord in 2018, setting in motion years of attacks and tensions in the wider Middle East.

China and Russia have particularly close relations with Iran through energy deals, and Iran has provided Russia with bomb-carrying drones in its war against Ukraine.

They are also seen as sharing a joint interest in diminishing the role of the US and other liberal democracies in determining world events in favour of their own highly authoritarian systems.

Iran insists its nuclear program is peaceful. However, its officials increasingly threaten to pursue a nuclear weapon. Iran now enriches uranium to near weapons-grade levels of 60%, the only country in the world without a nuclear weapons program to do so.

Under the original 2015 nuclear deal, Iran was allowed to enrich uranium only up to 3.67% purity and to maintain a uranium stockpile of 300 kilograms (661 pounds). The last report by the International Atomic Energy Agency on Iran’s program put its stockpile at 8,294.4 kilograms (18,286 pounds) as it enriches a fraction of it to 60% purity.

While Iran has maintained it won’t negotiate under duress, its economy has been savaged by the US sanctions. Protests over women’s rights, the economy and Iran’s theocracy in recent years have shaken its government.

China has sought to become more involved in Middle Eastern affairs and a year ago hosted talks leading to the full restoration of diplomatic ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

AP

Washington: Federal agencies will begin to vacate hundreds of offices across the country this summer under a frenetic and error-riddled push by Elon Musk’s budget-cutting advisers to terminate leases that they say waste money.

Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency maintains a list of canceled real estate leases on its website, but internal documents obtained by The Associated Press contain a crucial detail when those cancellations are expected to take effect. The documents from inside the General Services Administration, the US government’s real estate manager, list dozens of federal office and building leases expected to end by June 30, with hundreds more slated over the coming months.

The rapid pace of cancellations has raised alarms, with some agencies and lawmakers appealing to DOGE to exempt specific buildings. Several agencies are facing 20 or more lease cancellations in all, including the IRS, the Social Security Administration, the US Department of Agriculture and the US Geological Survey.

Many of the terminations would affect agencies that aren’t as well-known but oversee services critical to many Americans.

They span from a Boise, Idaho, office of the Bureau of Reclamation — which oversees water supply and deals with disputes across the often-parched American West — to a Joliet, Illinois, outpost of the Railroad Retirement Board, which provides benefits for railroad workers and their survivors.

The lease terminations do not mean all the locations will close. In some cases, agencies may negotiate new leases to stay in place, downsize their existing space or relocate elsewhere.

“Some agencies are saying I’m not leaving. We can’t leave,’ said Chad Becker, a former GSA real estate official who now represents building owners with government leases at Arco Real Estate Solutions. “I think there’s going to be a period of pushback, a period of disbelief. And then, if necessary, they may start working on the actual execution of a move.

Errors add to confusion

DOGE says GSA has notified landlords in recent weeks that it plans to terminate 793 leases, focusing mostly on those that can be ended within months without penalty. The group estimates those moves will save roughly $500 million over the terms of the leases, which in some cases were slated to continue into the 2030s. The Bureau of Reclamation cancellation in Boise, for instance, would take effect Aug. 31 and is expected to save a total of $18.7 million through 2035.

But DOGE’s savings estimates — a fraction of Musk’s $1 trillion cost-cutting goal — have not been verified and do not take into account the costs of moves and closures. The group has released no information about what they will mean for agencies.

“My initial reaction is this is just going to cause more chaos,” said Jim Simpson, an accountant in Arizona who helps low-income people file taxes and serves on an IRS panel that advocates for taxpayers. “There’s a lot of room to help with government efficiency, but it should be done surgically and not with a chainsaw.”

Simpson said he was surprised to learn that dozens of IRS offices, including local taxpayer assistance centres, were facing upcoming lease cancellations. He refers clients there to get paperwork to file returns and answer IRS inquiries, and he said losing services would “cause a lot of anxiety” and delay refunds.

Plans to cancel the leases at several of the IRS centres and other sites were in error and have been rescinded, according to a person with direct knowledge of the changes who spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity in order to avoid retaliation. Those changes are not yet reflected on DOGE’s list, which only removed one and added dozens more in its latest update published Thursday.

The GSA walked back the cancellation of a Geological Survey office in Anchorage, Alaska, for instance, after learning it did not have termination rights, according to the person familiar with the matter.

Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., said Monday that he’d convinced DOGE to back off lease terminations planned for the National Weather Centre in Norman, a Social Security office in Lawton and the Indian Health Services office in Oklahoma City. But all three leases remained on DOGE’s list of cancellations as of Thursday.

GSA’s press office didn’t respond to inquiries.

The real estate market is blindsided

While there was already a bipartisan push to reduce the government’s real estate footprint, the mass cancellations blindsided an industry known for its stability.

Landlords who had been expecting government agencies to remain tenants, for several more years in some cases under their existing leases, were stunned. Some agencies learned from building managers, not their federal partners, that their leases were being canceled, according to real estate managers.

Becker, whose firm is tracking the DOGE lease cancellations, and other observers said they expect some agencies will be unable to move their personnel and property out of their spaces within such tight timelines. That may force some agencies to pay additional rent during what’s known as a holdover period, undermining DOGE’s stated goal of saving taxpayer money.

The Building Owners and Managers Association, which represents the commercial real estate industry, told landlords in a recent advocacy alert to be prepared to seek payment from any federal government tenants who stay beyond their leases.

Many affected agencies aren’t speaking up

Asked about plans for buildings with leases that will soon expire, the IRS did not respond. A Social Security Administration spokesperson downplayed the impact of its offices losing leases, saying many were “small remote hearing sites,” did not serve the public, were already being consolidated elsewhere or planned for closure.

Several other agencies provided little clarity — saying they were working with GSA to consider their options, in statements that were nearly identical in some cases.

But a spokesperson for the Railroad Retirement Board expressed concern over the upcoming lease cancellations of its offices in Joliet, Illinois, and eight other states, saying it was working to maintain a public-facing office presence for the local railroad community.”

Government Accountability Office official David Marroni told a congressional hearing last week that the push to unload unnecessary federal real estate was “long overdue,” saying agencies have for too long held on to unnecessary space. But he warned the downsizing must be deliberate and carefully planned to “generate substantial savings and mitigate the risk of mistakes and unexpected mission impacts.”

That process had already started before Musk’s team arrived, with the federal government’s real estate portfolio steadily declining over the last decade. Indeed, critics of DOGE say if it were truly interested in cost-cutting, it could learn from GSA, whose mission even before Trump took office was to deliver “effective and efficient” services to the American public.

A law signed by former President Joe Biden before he left office in January directed agencies to measure the true occupancy rates of leased spaces by this summer. Those that did not meet a target of 60% use rate over time would be directed to dispose of their excess space.

”There is a logical and orderly way to do this,” Rep. Greg Stanton, an Arizona Democrat, said at last week’s hearing. Instead, he said, DOGE is pursuing a reckless approach that threatens to harm the delivery of public services.

Industry observers cautioned that each situation is different, and it will take months or years to understand the full impact of the lease cancellations.

“It really depends on the terms. But it is a shock, there is no question, that all of a sudden, boom, in six weeks, all these things have happened,” said J. Reid Cummings, a professor of finance and real estate at the University of South Alabama.

AP

Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his gratitude to several world leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump, for their continued attention to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

During a press briefing Thursday, Putin acknowledged the efforts of these leaders and others for their commitment to seeking peace in the war-torn region, despite the many global challenges they face.

“I would like to start by offering my sincere thanks to President Trump of the US for his focus on the Ukraine situation. Many state leaders, including President Xi Jinping of China, Prime Minister Modi of India, and the Presidents of Brazil and South Africa, have been dedicating significant time to this issue. We appreciate their contributions, as it is all for the noble cause of stopping the conflict and preventing further loss of life,” Putin stated.

Prime Minister Modi has been stressing and reiterating about bringing peace to the region, thereby clearly setting India’s stance on the Russia- Ukraine conflict. During his recent meeting with Trump at the White House, PM Modi made it clear that India was not neutral in the matter, emphasising that India sides with peace.

“This is not an era of war but of dialogue and diplomacy,” PM Modi had said, underscoring India’s commitment to diplomatic efforts. PM Modi has also maintained open channels of communication with both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, repeatedly stressing the need for peaceful resolution.

The US has proposed a 30-day ceasefire, urging Russia to accept the deal without any conditions.

Putin, while expressing support for a ceasefire, acknowledged there are “nuances” that need to be addressed, adding that he had “serious questions” about how the proposal would be implemented.

In response, US President Donald Trump referred to Putin’s comments as “promising” but also noted that the statement was “not complete”, suggesting that further discussions were necessary.

Meanwhile, Ukraine has agreed to the ceasefire proposal during talks held in Saudi Arabia earlier this week, following mounting pressure after a meeting between Trump and Zelensky in February.

The war in Ukraine, which began in February 2022, has caused immense devastation, with hundreds of thousands dead or injured and millions displaced. The conflict has led to severe economic and geopolitical tensions between Russia and the West, with the ceasefire discussions now offering a glimmer of hope for a resolution.

IANS

Washington: President Donald Trump Thursday threatened a 200 per cent tariff on European wine, champagne and spirits if the European Union goes forward with a planned tariff on American whiskey.

The European tariff, which was unveiled in response to steel and aluminum tariffs by the US administration, was expected to go into effect April 1.

But Trump, in a morning social media post, vowed a new escalation in his trade war if the EU pushes ahead with the planned 50 per cent tariff on American whiskey.

“If this Tariff is not removed immediately, the U.S. will shortly place a 200% Tariff on all WINES, CHAMPAGNES, & ALCOHOLIC PRODUCTS COMING OUT OF FRANCE AND OTHER E.U. REPRESENTED COUNTRIES,” Trump wrote. “This will be great for the Wine and Champagne businesses in the U.S.”

The Republican president  Wednesday signalled that he intended to take the action.

“Of course I will respond,” Trump told reporters during an Oval Office exchange with reporters.

AP

Washington: President Donald Trump officially increased tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports to 25% on Wednesday, promising that the taxes would help create US factory jobs at a time when his seesawing tariff threats are jolting the stock market and raising fears of an economic slowdown.

Trump removed all exemptions from his 2018 tariffs on the metals, in addition to increasing the tariffs on aluminum from 10%.

His moves, based off a February directive, are part of a broader effort to disrupt and transform global commerce. The US president has separate tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China, with plans to also tax imports from the European Union, Brazil and South Korea by charging “reciprocal” rates starting on April 2.

Trump told CEOs in the Business Roundtable on Tuesday that the tariffs were causing companies to invest in US factories. The 8% drop in the S&P 500 stock index over the past month on fears of deteriorating growth appears unlikely to dissuade him, as Trump argued that higher tariff rates would be more effective at bringing back factories.

“The higher it goes, the more likely it is they’re going to build,” Trump told the group. “The biggest win is if they move into our country and produce jobs. That’s a bigger win than the tariffs themselves, but the tariffs are going to be throwing off a lot of money to this country.”

Trump on Tuesday threatened to put tariffs of 50% on steel and aluminum from Canada, but he chose to stay with the 25% rate after the province of Ontario suspended plans to put a surcharge on electricity sold to Michigan, Minnesota and New York.

In many ways, the president is addressing what he perceives as unfinished business from his first term. Trump meaningfully increased tariffs, but the revenues collected by the federal government were too small to significantly increase overall inflationary pressures.

Trump’s 2018 tariffs on steel and aluminum were eroded by exemptions.

After Canada and Mexico agreed to his demand for a revamped North American trade deal in 2020, they avoided the import taxes on the metals. Other US trading partners had import quotas supplant the tariffs. And the first Trump administration also allowed US companies to request exemptions from the tariffs if, for instance, they couldn’t find the steel they needed from domestic producers.

While Trump’s tariffs could help steel and aluminum plants in the United States, they could raise prices for the manufacturers that use the metals as raw materials.

Moreover, economists have found, the gains to the steel and aluminum industries were more than offset by the cost they imposed on “downstream’ manufacturers that use their products.

At these downstream companies, production fell by nearly USD 3.5 billion because of the tariffs in 2021, a loss that exceeded the USD 2.3 billion uptick in production that year by aluminum producers and steelmakers, the US International Trade Commission found in 2023.

Trump sees the tariffs as leading to more domestic factories, and the White House has noted that Volvo, Volkswagen and Honda are all exploring an increase to their U.S. footprint. But the prospect of higher prices, fewer sales and lower profits might cause some companies to refrain from investing in new facilities.

“If you’re an executive in the boardroom, are you really going to tell your board it’s the time to expand that assembly line?” said John Murphy, senior vice president at the U.

AP

Washington: Elon Musk pushed debunked theories about Social Security Monday while describing federal benefit programmes as rife with fraud, suggesting they will be a primary target in his crusade to reduce government spending.

The billionaire entrepreneur, who is advising President Donald Trump, suggested that $500 billion to $700 billion in waste needed to be cut.

“Most of the federal spending is entitlements,” Musk told the Fox Business Network. “That’s the big one to eliminate.”

The comments on the popular programme and other benefits provided to Americans could rattle politicians on both sides of the aisle as Musk works to downsize the federal government, especially as he already faces blowback for his chainsaw-wielding approach to laying off workers and slashing programs.

Musk’s estimate for the level of fraud in entitlements far outpaces figures from watchdogs like Social Security’s inspector general, who previously said there was $71.8 billion in improper payments from fiscal years 2015 through 2022. That’s less than 1% of benefits paid out during that period.

Musk also said there were “20 million people who are dead marked as alive in the Social Security database.” However, the leader of the agency has rejected claims about widespread payments to dead people.

“These individuals are not necessarily receiving benefits,” said Lee Dudek, Social Security’s acting commissioner.

The interview with Fox Business was a reminder of Musk’s deep skepticism and even hostility toward the programme, which provides monthly benefits to retirees and some children. Trump has promised to defend Social Security from cuts, but Musk has described it as “the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time,” and the administration is shutting down some of the agency’s offices.

Musk said Monday that federal entitlements are “a mechanism by which the Democrats attract and retain illegal immigrants by essentially paying them to come here and then turning them into voters.” The allegation echoed the “great replacement” theory, which claims that politicians are trying to expand their power by reshaping the country’s racial demographics.

The interview was conducted in the White House complex by Larry Kudlow, who served as an economic adviser to Trump during his first term. During the conversation, Musk seemed to acknowledge the unusual nature of his role in the administration.

“Frankly, I can’t believe I’m here doing this,” Musk said. “It’s kind of bizarre.”

Musk is the world’s richest person and still runs his private enterprises as he advises the president on ways to overhaul the federal government.

He also thanked Trump for his confidence, saying, “Without the president’s support, we couldn’t make any progress here.”

Trump has publicly backed Musk and given him extraordinary influence over the federal government. However, the Republican president has indicated a shift in approach, saying that Musk’s team would use a “scalpel” rather than a “hatchet.”

Musk has not often spoken publicly since joining the administration, preferring instead to present a stream of consciousness on X, his social media platform. Monday, he accused Democrats of attacking Tesla dealerships, bragged about X being “the top source for news on Earth,” and accused Arizona Democratic Senator Mark Kelly, a former fighter pilot and astronaut, of being a traitor for visiting Ukraine over the weekend.

Musk’s sit-down with Kudlow was his third interview since joining Trump’s administration, and he hasn’t strayed from his ideological safe space. He previously did a joint interview with the president and Sean Hannity of Fox News, and he sat down with Joe Rogan, a podcaster who endorsed Trump last year.

Republicans have spent decades trying to reduce the size and scope of the federal government, and many have cheered Musk’s work.

“The American people are sick of the swamp. They’re sick of waste, fraud and abuse,” said Rep. Richard Hudson of North Carolina, who leads the National Republican Congressional Committee. “For the first time ever, we finally have the tools to affect it. So I think the voters are going to reward us.”

But there are signs of backlash and skepticism. Some Republicans have even boasted of blocking budget cuts.

Oklahoma Rep. Tom Cole issued a statement saying three federal offices in his state — the National Weather Center in Norman, the Social Security Administration Office in Lawton and the Indian Health Services Office in Oklahoma City — would stay open.

“I am thrilled to announce that common sense has prevailed,” he said. Cole added that “all three of these places provide vital and valuable services to Oklahomans, and I am so proud to have advocated for them.”

About half of Americans said it’s “a bad thing” that Trump has given Musk a prominent role in his administration, according to a mid-February CNN/SSRS poll. Only a third saw it as “a good thing.”

Another mid-February survey by The Washington Post and Ipsos found that Americans were divided on whether Musk is mainly cutting wasteful spending or necessary programs, with about a third falling into each camp.

AP

Riyadh: Saudi Arabia is set to host high-level talks Tuesday, bringing together the United States and Ukraine to discuss the ongoing conflict with Russia.

The talks, scheduled to take place in Jeddah, come after a heated exchange during President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to the White House, February 28, 2025, which strained relations between the two nations.

While Riyadh may seem like an unconventional venue for such critical discussions, Saudi Arabia, under the leadership of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has positioned itself as a neutral mediator with aspirations to broker peace.

The Kingdom has made significant strides in recent years to establish itself as a key player in global diplomacy, including offering itself as a potential venue for face-to-face talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump.

The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced earlier Friday that Jeddah, a port city located along the Red Sea, would be the location for these critical talks.

The decision to hold the discussions in Jeddah rather than Riyadh, the capital city where earlier Russia-US talks took place, remains unclear. However, the Saudi government reiterated its commitment to facilitating “a lasting peace to end the Ukrainian crisis.”

Ukraine’s delegation, led by President Zelensky’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak, Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha, and Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, will participate in the talks.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to lead the American team and meet with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Before the discussions, Sybiha had a “constructive call” with Rubio, emphasising the importance of securing a sustainable peace and ending the war as soon as possible.

The outcome of the talks in Jeddah could have significant implications for the three-year-old conflict and may shape the future of diplomatic efforts in the region.

IANS

New York: The US stock market’s sell-off is getting even worse Monday, and it’s on track for its worst day in years as Wall Street questions how much pain President Donald Trump will let the economy endure in order to get what he wants.

The S&P 500 was down 3.2% in afternoon trading, which would be its sharpest drop since the highest inflation in generations was shredding budgets in 2022. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1,042 points, or 2.4%, with just over an hour remaining in trading, and the Nasdaq composite was 4.6% lower.

The main measure of the US stock market is on track for a seventh swing of more than 1%, up or down, in the last eight days following a scary stretch dominated by Trump’s on-and-off-again tariffs. The worry is that the whipsaw moves will either hurt the economy directly or create enough uncertainty to drive US companies and consumers into an economy-freezing paralysis. The S&P 500 is down 9.1% from its all-time high set February 19.

The economy has already given some signals of weakening, mostly through surveys showing increased pessimism. And a widely followed collection of real-time indicators compiled by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta suggests the US economy may already be shrinking.

Asked over the weekend whether he was expecting a recession in 2025, Trump told Fox News Channel: “I hate to predict things like that. There is a period of transition because what we’re doing is very big. We’re bringing wealth back to America. That’s a big thing.” He then added, “It takes a little time. It takes a little time.”

Trump says he wants to bring manufacturing jobs back to the United States, among other reasons he’s given for tariffs. His Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, has also said the economy may go through a “detox” period as it weans off an addiction to spending by the government.

The US job market is still showing stable hiring at the moment, to be sure, and the economy ended last year running at a solid rate. But economists are marking down their forecasts for how the economy will perform this year.

At Goldman Sachs, for example, David Mericle cut his estimate for U.S. economic growth to 1.7% from 2.2% for the end of 2025 over the year before, largely because tariffs look like they’ll be bigger than he was previously forecasting.

He sees a one-in-five chance of a recession over the next year, raising it only slightly because “the White House has the option to pull back policy changes” if the risks to the economy “begin to look more serious.”

“There are always multiple forces at work in the market, but right now, almost all of them are taking a back seat to tariffs,” according to Chris Larkin, managing director, trading and investing, at E-Trade from Morgan Stanley.

The worries hitting Wall Street have so far been hurting some of its biggest stars the most. Big Tech stocks and companies that rode the artificial-intelligence frenzy in recent years have slumped sharply.

Nvidia fell another 5.9% Monday to bring its loss for the year so far to 21%. It’s a steep drop-off from its nearly 820% surge over 2023 and 2024.

Elon Musk’s Tesla fell 15.1% to deepen its loss for 2025 to nearly 45%. After getting an initial post-election bump on hopes that Musk’s close relationship with Trump would help the electric-vehicle company, the stock has since slumped on worries that its brand has become intertwined with Musk. Protests against the US government’s efforts to cull its workforce and other moves have targeted Tesla dealerships, for example.

Stocks of companies that depend on US households feeling good enough about their finances to spend also tumbled sharply. United Airlines lost 8.4%, and cruise-ship operator Carnival fell 9.2%.

It’s not just stocks struggling. Investors are sending prices lower for all kinds of investments whose momentum had earlier seemed nearly impossible to stop at times, such as bitcoin. The cryptocurrency’s value has dropped below $78,000 from more than $106,000 in December.

Instead, investors have been bidding up US Treasury bonds as they look for things whose prices can hold up better when the economy is under pressure. That has sent prices for Treasurys sharply higher, which in turn has sent down their yields.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury tumbled again to 4.21% from 4.32% late Friday. It’s been dropping since January, when it was approaching 4.80%, as worries about the economy have grown. That’s a major move for the bond market.

All the uncertainty, though, hasn’t shut down dealmaking on Wall Street. Redfin’s stock jumped 64.7% after Rocket said it would buy the digital real estate brokerage in an all-stock deal valuing it at $1.75 billion. Rocket’s stock sank 17.2%.

ServiceNow fell 7.9% after the AI platform company said it was buying AI-assistant maker Moveworks for $2.85 billion in cash and stock.

In stock markets abroad, European indexes largely fell following a mixed session in Asia.

Indexes fell 1.8% in Hong Kong and 0.2% in Shanghai after China said consumer prices fell in February for the first time in 13 months. It’s the latest signal of weakness for the world’s second-largest economy, as persistent weak demand was compounded by the early timing of the Lunar New Year holiday.

AP

Toronto: Ontario’s premier, the leader of Canada’s most populous province, announced that effective Monday his province is charging 25% more for electricity to 1.5 million Americans in response to US President Donald Trump’s trade war.

Ontario provides electricity to Minnesota, New York and Michigan.

“President Trump’s tariffs are a disaster for the US economy. They’re making life more expensive for American families and businesses,” Ontario Premier Doug Ford said in a statement. “Until the threat of tariffs is gone for good, Ontario won’t back down. We’ll stand strong, use every tool in our toolkit and do whatever it takes to protect Ontario.”

Ford has said Ontario’s tariff would remain in place despite the one-month reprieve from Trump, noting a one month pause means nothing but more uncertainty.

Ford’s office said the new market rules require any generator selling electricity to the US to add a 25% surcharge to the US Ontario’s government expects it to generate revenue of $300,000 Canadian (US$208,000) to $400,000 Canadian (US$277,000) per day, “which will be used to support Ontario workers, families and businesses”.

The new surcharge is in addition to the federal government’s initial $30 billion Canadian (US$21 billion) worth of retaliatory tariffs have been applied on items like American orange juice, peanut butter, coffee, appliances, footwear, cosmetics, motorcycles and certain pulp and paper products.

Trump launched a new trade war last week by imposing tariffs against Washington’s three biggest trading partners, drawing immediate retaliation from Mexico, Canada and China and sending financial markets into a tailspin.

Trump later said he has postponed 25% tariffs on many goods from Canada and Mexico for a month, amid widespread fears of a broader trade war.

New Delhi: Parliament’s Budget session resumes Monday amid indications of an ‘EPIC’ showdown between the government and the opposition, which is planning to raise issues such as the alleged manipulation of electoral rolls, the fresh bout of violence in Manipur and India’s handling of the Trump administration.

The focus of the government will be on getting Parliament’s nod for the demands for grants, completion of the budgetary process, seeking approval for the Manipur budget and passage of the Waqf Amendment Bill.

Home Minister Amit Shah is expected to move a statutory resolution seeking Parliament approval for the proclamation of President’s Rule in Manipur.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is also scheduled to table the budget for Manipur Monday. Manipur has been under President’s Rule since February 13, after the resignation of Chief Minister N Biren Singh.

The opposition said it is set to corner the government over the issue of duplicate Electoral Photo Identity Card (EPIC) numbers.

The Trinamool Congress has taken the lead in flagging the issue, following which the Election Commission declared that it would take corrective measures within the next three months.

The Election Commission rejected the Trinamool Congress’s claim that the voter lists were manipulated to allow voters from other states to exercise their franchise in West Bengal.

The poll body also made it clear that while the EPIC numbers of some voters may be identical, other details such as demographic information, Assembly constituency and polling booth are different.

Trinamool Congress leaders are meeting the Election Commission Monday and have also rallied other opposition parties, including the Congress, DMK, and Shiv Sena-UBT, to raise the issue in both Houses of Parliament during the second part of the Budget session.

For the government, the early passage of the Waqf Amendment Bill is a priority.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said at the India Today Conclave last week that the government is keen on the early passage of the Waqf Amendment Bill as it will solve many issues of the Muslim community.

A Joint Committee of Parliament submitted its report on the bill in the Lok Sabha amid vociferous protests by the opposition.

Issues such as the fresh violence in Manipur, the threat of reciprocal tariffs by US President Donald Trump, and the political furore over the delimitation of parliamentary constituencies are also expected to find an echo in Parliament.

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh has said the opposition INDIA bloc leaders will hold extensive consultation to jointly oppose the Waqf bill.

Ramesh also said the Congress will also keep raising the issue of irregularities in the election process, alleging that elections are no longer free and fair and are being masterminded and orchestrated.

He said the Congress will raise the issue of Trump’s reciprocal-tariff threats during the second half of the Budget session and called for a bipartisan collective resolve to deal with the threats.

The first part of the Budget session of Parliament was from January 31 to February 13. The second part will commence March 10 and continue till April 4.

PTI

Some problems humanity has created together and must tackle together. Some problems are created locally. Climate change is something that the world has to solve as a whole. If half the world lessens its emissions while the other half increases them, climate change will not be solved. The earth’s atmosphere and the oceans bind humanity.

Local problems are created because of an imbalance in power and the desire to stir up trouble. Ukraine is one such example and Gaza is another. It is hard to understand why apartheid, ethnic cleansing and indeed genocide are acceptable in the world of 2025.

Then there are other problems that might not even be thought of as problems at all, but punitive solutions emanating from them are still inflicted on the world. One such solution that we are dealing with is regarding the problem of the United States’ trade deficit and the desire to level it out through tariffs. These are required, according to the American president, because the system is grossly unfair to the US and other nations have been “ripping us off,” in his words. Have they? If they have this ripping off has been mostly to their detriment.

The average per person GDP of the world is $13,000, according to the World Bank. Most countries are considerably lower than that. These include India ($2500), Indonesia ($4800), Iran ($4400), Iraq ($5500), Thailand ($7100) and Vietnam ($4200). Sub-Saharan Africa, which has a population a little smaller than India’s, is at $1600. Of our fellow BRICS members, Brazil is $10,200, Russia $13,800, South Africa $6000 and China is at $12,600.

A few countries have a per person GDP considerably higher than the global average. The Euro area average is $45,000 with Germany at $54,000, France at $44,000 and Italy at $39,000. The UK is similar to France. The United States of America is at $82,000, meaning it is more than six times the global average and more than 30 times India’s per person GDP. The US is by far the wealthiest large nation. Its position has made the dollar the world’s reserve currency, meaning most trade globally happens in US dollars, and it is the most attractive destination for the world’s talented people. Its population growth is bolstered by this migration and its corporate and academic elites are studded with those who were born abroad. Its future is assured because of this enormous corps of talent. US per person GDP has doubled since 2004, which is incredible given how high the base already was. This has not been the case for Europe and the Euro area’s per person GDP has stagnated since 2004. Of course there is the problem of inequality in the US, as there is elsewhere, but that is an issue for the US to sort out internally, and not inflict it on a world that is much poorer than the average American.

This weekend, Donald Trump said about us that: “India charges us massive tariffs. Massive. You can’t even sell anything in India… They have agreed, by the way; they want to cut their tariffs way down now because somebody is finally exposing them for what they have done.” Whatever position one has on free trade, it is hard to blame India and its government for trying to protect the interests of its people and to advance its economy. In a nation where a billion people cannot buy anything discretionary and must spend all their earnings on survival, what is there to buy from advanced nations?

Economists suggest that the US trade deficit is a reflection of the country’s budget deficit. The US government spends more than it earns and so it has to borrow. In 2024, this deficit was $1.8 trillion. This borrowing means capital inflows into the US, raising the demand for the dollar and keeping it strong. The strong dollar in turn makes it difficult for the US to export its products and easier to import, which explains the deficit in the trade balance. If the US were to balance its budget and borrow less, according to this “twin deficits” theory, it would not have a trade deficit as wide as it does. This is not going to happen, especially when Trump is going to continue and deepen tax cuts that will reduce his government’s income.

Mexico has a per person GDP of $13,790, meaning it is around the global average. Canada is $53,000, meaning about $30,000 per person per year lower than the US. It is not easy to make out the case as Trump is trying to do that these countries are engaging with the US on trade in bad faith. If they were the numbers, they would not be what they are. It is strange that someone is making the case that they are ripping the US off.

Take a look at the markets around the world and we see the turbulence that has been deliberately created by one man in a powerful nation.

Some problems we have to hunker down and face and resolve as a species, and there are enough of these, and these are problems of sufficient difficulty, to require our full attention. And then we have these ones that are being gratuitously thrust on us, ones that we did not have till a few weeks or months ago, but are now keeping a large part of the world occupied.

By Aakar Patel

Deir Al-Balah: Foreign ministers from Muslim nations Saturday rejected calls by US President Donald Trump to empty the Gaza Strip of its Palestinian population and backed a plan for an administrative committee of Palestinians to govern the territory to allow reconstruction to go ahead.

Meanwhile, Hamas reported “positive signals” in talks with Egyptian and Qatari mediators in Cairo on starting negotiations on the delayed second phase of its ceasefire deal with Israel.

Spokesman Abdel-Latif al-Qanoua gave no details, but said the group is willing to start talks and its delegation has been discussing the means to do so.

The foreign ministers have gathered in Saudi Arabia for a special session of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation to address the situation in Gaza while the 7-week-old ceasefire has been thrown into doubt. Its second phase is meant to bring the release of remaining hostages, a lasting truce and full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.

The gathering threw its support behind a plan to rebuild Gaza put forward by Egypt and backed by Arab states, including Saudi Arabia and Jordan, aimed at countering Trump’s call.

The OIC has 57 nations with largely Muslim populations.

Without specifically mentioning Trump, the ministers’ statement said they rejected “plans aimed at displacing the Palestinian people individually or collectively… as ethnic cleansing, a grave violation of international law and a crime against humanity.”

They also condemned “policies of starvation” that they said aim to push Palestinians to leave, a likely reference to Israel’s cutting off all supplies to Gaza in the past week as it presses Hamas to instead extend the ceasefire’s first phase.

The OIC also reinstated Syria as a member. Syria was removed from the OIC in 2012 over then-President Bashar Assad’s brutal crackdown on opposition protests. After 14 years of civil war, Assad was ousted in December by Islamist-led insurgents who have created a transitional government.

The ceasefire in Gaza that began in mid-January brought a pause in Israel’s campaign of bombardment and ground offensives aimed at destroying Hamas after its October 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel.

The ceasefire’s first phase, which ended last weekend, saw the release of 25 Israeli hostages and the bodies of eight others in exchange for the freeing of nearly 2,000 Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.

But Israel has balked at entering negotiations over the terms of the second phase. Instead, it has called for Hamas to release half the remaining hostages in return for an extension of the first phase and a promise to negotiate a lasting truce.

Since last Sunday, Israel has barred all food, fuel, medicine and other supplies from entering Gaza for its more than 2 million people, demanding Hamas accept the revised deal.

At the same time, Trump has called for Gaza’s population to be resettled elsewhere permanently so the United States can take over the territory and develop it for others.

Palestinians reject calls to leave

The ministers at the OIC gathering supported an Egyptian-backed proposal that an administrative committee replace Hamas in governing Gaza. The committee would work “under the umbrella” of the Palestinian Authority, based in the West Bank. Israel has rejected the PA having any role in Gaza, but has not put forward an alternative for post-war rule.

The foreign ministers of France, Germany, Italy and Britain said in a joint statement that they welcome the Arab initiative for a Gaza reconstruction plan, calling it “a realistic path.” They added that “Hamas must neither govern Gaza nor be a threat to Israel anymore” and they support the central role for the PA.

Under the ceasefire, Israeli forces have pulled back to a zone along Gaza’s edges. Early Saturday, an Israeli strike killed two Palestinians in the southernmost city of Rafah, the Health Ministry there said.

The Israeli military said it struck several men who appeared to have been flying a drone that entered Israel.

Israel’s military offensive has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t say how many of the dead were militants.

Hamas’ October 2023 attack killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, inside Israel and took 251 people hostage. Most have been released in ceasefire agreements or other arrangements.

Hamas is believed to still have 24 living hostages and the bodies of 34 others.

AP

New Delhi: Congress Saturday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take Parliament into confidence on US President Donald Trump’s claims that India has agreed to cut its tariffs.

The opposition party’s general secretary, communications, Jairam Ramesh asked whether the interests of Indian farmers and manufacturers are being compromised.

“Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal is in Washington DC to talk trade with the Americans. Meanwhile, President Trump says this…,” he said in a post on X, tagging a video of the US president speaking on trade tariffs.

US President Donald Trump said India has agreed to cut its tariffs “way down” as he reiterated his claim that the country charges America massive tariffs that make it difficult to sell products there.

Ramesh said, “What has the Modi Government agreed to? Are the interests of Indian farmers and of Indian manufacturing being compromised? The PM must take Parliament into confidence when it resumes on March 10.”

Both houses of Parliament will meet on Monday as the second part of the budget session resumes.

In the video shared by Ramesh on X, Trump is heard saying, “Our country, from an economic standpoint and a financial standpoint and a trade standpoint, has been absolutely ripped off by almost every country in the world — Canada, Mexico, and then you just go right down the line.”

“India charges us massive tariffs. You can’t even sell anything in India… It is restrictive. We do very little business inside. They’ve agreed. By the way, they want to cut their tariffs way down now because somebody is finally exposing them for what they’ve done,” Trump goes on to say in the clip.

Trump has been threatening several countries with reciprocal trade tariffs ever since he assumed charge as US President.

PTI

New York/Washington: US President Donald Trump said India has agreed to cut its tariffs “way down” as he reiterated his claim that the country charges America massive tariffs that make it difficult to sell products there.

“Our country, from an economic standpoint and financial standpoint and a trade standpoint, has been absolutely ripped off by almost every country in the world,” Trump said in remarks from the Oval Office Friday.

“Canada, Mexico and then you just go right down the line. India charges us massive tariffs, massive, you can’t even sell anything into India. It’s almost, it’s almost restrictive. It is restrictive. We do very little business inside,” he said.

“They’ve agreed, by the way, they want to cut their tariffs way down now because somebody’s finally exposing them for what they’ve done. And the same thing with China, same thing with a lot of other countries, and the EU has been a terrible abuser of this country,” Trump added.

This was the third time this week that Trump has criticised the high tariffs charged by India.

On Thursday, Trump said India is a very high-tariff nation and reiterated that reciprocal tariffs on countries that impose levies on American goods will kick in April 2.

In his address to the joint session of Congress Tuesday, the first of his second term in the White House, Trump criticised the high tariffs charged by India and other countries and termed them as “very unfair”.

Addressing lawmakers from the US Capitol, Trump announced that reciprocal tariffs will kick in next month.

In the past, Trump has called India a “tariff king” and a “big abuser”.

Last month, during a joint press conference with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the White House, Trump said that India has “been very strong on tariffs”.

“I don’t blame them, necessarily, but it’s a different way of doing business. It’s very hard to sell into India because they have trade barriers, very strong tariffs,” he had said.

Washington: US President Donald Trump Friday said he is “strongly considering” sanctions and tariffs on Russia in hopes of forcing a settlement to the war in Ukraine.

He said in a post on Truth Social that they could remain in place “until a Cease Fire and FINAL SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT ON PEACE IS REACHED.”

The post came as Trump faces criticism for increasing pressure on Ukraine to reach a deal while downplaying or even denying Russia’s responsibility for starting the war with its invasion three years ago.

“To Russia and Ukraine, get to the table right now, before it is too late,” Trump added.

AP

Washington: US President Donald Trump said he sent a letter to Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, something not immediately confirmed by the supreme leader.

Trump made the comments in an interview aired Friday by Fox Business News.

The White House confirmed Trump’s comments, saying that he sent a letter to Iran’s leaders seeking to negotiate a nuclear deal. Trump made the comments in an interview that will air fully Sunday.

Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported on Trump’s comments, citing the broadcast. However, there was no immediate word from the office of the 85-year-old Khamenei, who has final say over all matters of state.

AP

Washington: US President Donald Trump has signed executive actions that delay for nearly one month tariffs on all products from Mexico and Canada that are covered by the USMCA free trade treaty, a significant walk back of the administration’s signature economic plan that has rattled markets, businesses and consumers.

The executive actions follow a discussion Trump held on Thursday with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and negotiations between Canadian and Trump administration officials.

“After speaking with President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico, I have agreed that Mexico will not be required to pay Tariffs on anything that falls under the USMCA Agreement,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Thursday, after a phone conversation with the Mexican President.

He said the tariffs would be delayed until April 2.

The USMCA is the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, negotiated by Trump during his first term, that makes the three North American countries a free trade zone.

“I did this as an accommodation, and out of respect for, President Sheinbaum. Our relationship has been a very good one, and we are working hard, together, on the Border, both in terms of stopping Illegal Aliens from entering the United States and, likewise, stopping Fentanyl,” Trump added.

“Thank you to President Sheinbaum for your hard work and cooperation!”

Sheinbaum, in a post on X, thanked US President Donald Trump for a “respectful” discussion about the tariffs he imposed.

Sheinbaum said that “virtually all” of Mexico’s trade with the United States is included in the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

“Practically all the trade we have with the United States is within the Mexico, United States, Canada Agreement. There is a part that has to do with rules of origin, but everything is practically within the trade agreement,” Sheinbaum said at a news conference Thursday.

Muchas gracias al presidente Donald Trump. Tuvimos una excelente y respetuosa llamada en la que coincidimos en que nuestro trabajo y colaboración han dado resultados sin precedentes, en el marco de respeto a nuestras soberanías. Continuaremos trabajando juntos, particularmente en… pic.twitter.com/JzD9jkm8tz

— Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo (@Claudiashein) March 6, 2025

However, a White House official on a call with the press added some nuance to that argument: About 50 per cent of imports from Mexico and 36 per cent of imports from Canada are covered under the agreement, the official said, but many more items – such as avocados – are generally not covered because of the high cost of compliance. However, those items that technically are not in compliance with USMCA have in effect been treated at customs as if they were, or they weren’t subject to tariffs.

It’s complicated trade policy, and the White House official suggested those goods producers could register to comply with USMCA rules to avoid the 25 per cent tariff for a month.

But the official referred the press to the US Trade Representative for more details about which products will maintain the 25 per cent tariff and which won’t once those details become available.

Included in the USMCA-compliant goods are autos, which Trump announced on Wednesday would be subject to a one-month reprieve from the tariffs. The administration said the delay would give automakers time to move more production to the United States to avoid tariffs, which are now set to go into effect next month. But that is almost certain not to happen, because that would mark a significant undertaking, requiring massive hiring, investment and strategic planning.

Energy from Canada, however, is not included in the USMCA, the White House official said. So that lower 10 per cent tariff is expected to remain in place, boosting gas prices in the Northeast United States. But the Trump administration temporarily Thursday reduced the tariff on Canadian potash to 10 per cent (from the 25 per cent tariff imposed Tuesday) to give farmers a bit of a break.

Trump has frequently praised Sheinbaum, and Thursday she said she informed him that there was a dramatic reduction in the amount of fentanyl seized at the US border with Mexico in February from January, crediting increased border controls between the two countries. Sheinbaum also said on Thursday that, with the pause in effect, she will not announce previously planned retaliatory measures against the US tariffs.

However, Trump has sharply criticised Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whom he accused of trying to capitalise politically on the tariff angst Canadians have felt. It was notable that Trump initially announced a reprieve for Mexico but not Canada, although he eventually granted one for Canada, too.

“Believe it or not, despite the terrible job he’s done for Canada, I think that Justin Trudeau is using the Tariff problem, which he has largely caused, in order to run again for Prime Minister,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.

“So much fun to watch!”

Trudeau has been equally and publicly critical of Trump, and he said in a press conference on Thursday that he expects Canada and the US to be in a trade war for the foreseeable future.

And Trudeau said that all his country’s retaliatory measures would remain in place unless the United States completely rolls back its tariffs, not just temporarily.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford told CNN Thursday his province is implementing a 25 per cent tariff on electricity exports to 1.5 million Americans’ homes in Minnesota, Michigan and New York next week.

The back and forth on tariffs alone is causing confusion. Trump has routinely threatened or briefly put in place tariffs only to announce delays or pauses, leaving Corporate America unclear on how to invest and whether to hire.

Trump campaigned on steep tariffs on Day One. Instead, he signed several executive actions on his first day in office ordering his administration to investigate whether to pursue tariffs on a wide range of goods. In a signing ceremony, Trump announced that 25 per cent tariffs on Canada and Mexico would be coming February 1.

But those tariffs were delayed — first by a few days and then by a month after both countries sent delegations to negotiate on illegal border crossings and fentanyl.

Earlier Thursday, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told CNBC that more one-month tariff exemptions under USMCA are “likely”.

“It’s likely that it will cover all USMCA compliant goods and services, so that which is part of President Trump’s deal with Canada and Mexico are likely to get an exemption from these tariffs,” Lutnick said.

Trump’s latest announcement on Mexico tariffs came one day after White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the President is granting a one-month exemption to three major automakers from the newly imposed 25 per cent tariffs on Mexico and Canada.

The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) is a trade agreement negotiated, signed, and ultimately enacted during Trump’s first term, aimed at replacing the former North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

On February 1, Trump signed an executive order imposing a 25 per cent tariff on products imported from Mexico and Canada, with a 10 per cent tariff increase on Canadian energy products. On February 3, Trump announced a 30-day delay in implementing the tariffs on both countries and continued negotiations. According to this decision, the relevant tariff measures took effect March 4.

Canada has announced retaliatory measures, while Mexico has signaled its intent to implement tariffs and other economic countermeasures. Businesses are increasingly concerned about the rising costs due to these tariffs, which could drive up consumer prices and contribute to an economic slowdown.

The stock market has shown significant volatility in response to the new tariffs, with investor uncertainty mounting as fears of potential economic repercussions grow.

The escalating tensions and economic uncertainties might have prompted Trump to reassess his trade policies.

Trump has yet to make announcement on an overall pause on Canada tariffs. In a post on Truth Social on Thursday, he accused Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of using the tariff problem to further his re-election bid.

Trudeau, meanwhile, said on Thursday that Canada will continue to be in a trade war with the United States for the foreseeable future.

Brussles: Facing the prospect that the United States might cut them adrift under President Donald Trump, European Union leaders launched a day of emergency talks Thursday in a bid to beef up their security and ensure that Ukraine will still be properly protected.

Friedrich Merz, the likely next chancellor of Germany, and summit chairman Antonio Costa discussed over breakfast in Brussels ways to fortify Europe’s defences on a short deadline.

Merz pushed plans this week to loosen the nation’s rules on running up debt to allow for higher defence spending.

Meanwhile, the 27-nation bloc was waking up to news that French President Emmanuel Macron would confer with EU leaders about the possibility of using France’s nuclear deterrent to protect the continent from Russian threats.

It all underscored the sea change that has taken place in the two months since Trump took office and immediately started questioning the cornerstones of cooperation between the United States and Europe that had been the bedrock of Western security since World War II.

“Given these profound shifts in US policy, and the existential threat of another war on the continent, Europe must manage its essential defence tasks,” the European Policy Center think tank said in a commentary.

The bloc will “take decisive steps forward,” Macron told the French nation Wednesday evening. “Member states will be able to increase their military spending” and “massive joint funding will be provided to buy and produce some of the most innovative munitions, tanks, weapons and equipment in Europe,” he said.

Adding to the ebullient message, he said that “Europe’s future does not have to be decided in Washington or Moscow.”

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is taking part in the summit.

Limited room to increase spending

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has proposed a plan to loosen budget rules so countries that are willing can spend much more on defense. Her proposal is underpinned by 150 billion euros ($162 billion) worth of loans to buy priority military equipment.

Most of the increased defense spending would have to come from national budgets at a time when many countries are already overburdened with debt.

France is struggling to reduce an excessive annual budget deficit of 5% of its GDP after running up its total debt burden to 112% of its GDP with spending on relief for businesses and consumers during the COVID-19 pandemic and the energy crisis that followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Five other countries using the euro currency have debt levels over 100% of GDP: Belgium, Greece, Spain, Italy and Portugal.

Europe’s largest economy, Germany, has more room to borrow, with a debt level of 62% of GDP.

Pressing security needs

Part of any security plan is also to protect the increasingly beleaguered position of Ukraine.

A Russian missile killed four people staying at a hotel in Zelenskyy’s hometown overnight. He said that a humanitarian organisation’s volunteers had moved into the hotel in Kryvyi Rih, in central Ukraine, just before the strike. The volunteers included Ukrainian, American and British nationals, but it wasn’t clear whether those people were among the 31 injured.

Early this week, Trump ordered a pause to US military supplies to Ukraine as he sought to press Zelenskyy to engage in negotiations to end the war with Russia, bringing fresh urgency to Thursday’s summit.

Thursday’s meeting is unlikely to address Ukraine’s most pressing needs. It is not aimed at urgently drumming up more arms and ammunition to fill any supply vacuum created by the US freeze. Nor will all nations agree to unblock the estimated 183 billion euros ($196 billion) in frozen Russian assets held in a Belgian clearing house, a pot of ready cash that could be seized.

Still, the Europeans underlined the importance of the moment.

“Europe faces a clear and present danger on a scale that none of us have seen in our adult lifetime. Some of our fundamental assumptions are being undermined to their very core,” von der Leyen warned in a letter to the leaders ahead of their meeting.

But perhaps the biggest challenge for the EU will be to take a united stance at a moment when it’s fractured, since much of what the bloc does requires unanimous support. Hungary is threatening to veto part of the summit statement on Ukraine.

Even if the challenges are so daunting, Thursday’s summit is unlikely to produce immediate decisions on spending for Ukraine or its own defenses. Another EU summit where the real contours of decisions would be much clearer is set for March 20-21.

AP