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European Union and Mexico criticise Trump’s proposed 30% tariff
The European Union (EU) and Mexico have expressed disappointment at US President Donald Trump’s threat to impose 30% tariffs on their imports from 1 August.
Mexico criticised what it called Trump’s “unfair deal” and insisted its sovereignty is non-negotiable, while the EU’s chief, Ursula von der Leyen threatened to take “proportionate countermeasures”, if needed. Both said they want to keep negotiating with the US.
Trump has warned he would impose even higher import taxes if either of the US trading partners decided to retaliate.
This week Trump also announced new tariffs on goods from Japan, South Korea, Canada and Brazil from next month.
In the letter sent on Friday to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Trump wrote: “We have had years to discuss our trading relationship with the European Union, and have concluded that we must move away from these long-term-large, and persistent, trade deficits, engendered by your tariff, and non-tariff, policies and trade barriers.”
“Our relationship has been, unfortunately, far from reciprocal,” the letter added.
In his letters to the EU and Mexico, Trump warned that if either trade partner retaliated with import duties of their own against the US, he would hit back by raising tariffs by a similar percentage over and above the 30%.
In a pre-recorded interview with Fox News which aired on Saturday night, President Trump said some countries were “very upset now” but he insisted the tariffs meant “hundreds of billions of dollars” were “pouring in”.
The EU has been a frequent target of Trump’s criticism. On 2 April, he proposed a 20% tariff for goods from the bloc, as well as dozens of other trade partners. He then threatened to raise the EU import taxes to 50% as trade talks stalled.
Washington and Brussels had hoped to reach an agreement before a deadline of 9 July, but there have been no announcements on progress.
In 2024, the US trade deficit with the bloc was $235.6bn (€202bn; £174bn), according to the office of the US trade representative.
Von der Leyen said the EU remained ready “to continue working towards an agreement by Aug 1”.
“We will take all necessary steps to safeguard EU interests, including the adoption of proportionate countermeasures if required,” von der Leyen said.
“Few economies in the world match the European Union’s level of openness and adherence to fair trading practices,” her statement added.
The 27-member EU said earlier this week it hoped to agree a deal with Washington before 1 August.
France’s President Emmanuel Macron said he was in “very strong disapproval” of Trump’s announcement.
If no agreement is reached, the French leader suggested the EU plan “speeding up the preparation of credible countermeasures”.
Bernd Lange, the head of the European Parliament’s trade committee, described Trump’s move as “a slap in the face for the negotiations”.
He said that it was “no way to deal with a key trading partner,” adding said Brussels should enact countermeasures as soon as Monday.
Some EU leaders called for as deal with Trump. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said in a statement she trusted “a fair agreement” could be reached, adding: “It would make no sense to trigger a trade war between the two sides of the Atlantic.”
Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof said on social media that the EU “must remain united and resolute” in its aim to reach a “mutually beneficial” deal with the US.
Germany’s Association of the Automotive Industry warned about the prospect of rising costs for German carmakers and suppliers, and said it was “regrettable that there is a threat of a further escalation of the trade conflict”.
In his letter to Mexico’s leader, Trump said the country had not done enough to stop North America becoming a “Narco-Trafficking Playground”.
“Mexico has been helping me secure the border, BUT, what Mexico has done, is not enough,” Trump added.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum expressed confidence that a deal could be reached.
“We believe, based on what our colleagues discussed yesterday, that we will reach an agreement with the USA and that we will, of course, achieve better conditions,” Sheinbaum said on Saturday.
“We are clear on what we can work with the USA and we are clear on what we cannot,” she added. “And there is something that is never negotiated, ever, and that is the sovereignty of our country”.
Earlier on Saturday, the Mexican economy and foreign ministries called Trump’s tariffs an “unfair deal” in a joint statement.
Trump’s letter did not say if Mexico goods traded within the 2020 United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement would be exempt from the proposed 1 August tariff hikes, as the White House said would be the case with Canada.
Earlier this week, the White House sent a letter to Canada threatening a 35% tariff.
As of Saturday, the Trump administration has now proposed tariff conditions on 24 countries and the EU.
On 12 April, White House trade adviser Peter Navarro set a goal to secure “90 deals in 90 days”.
So far, the president has announced the outlines of two such pacts with the United Kingdom and Vietnam amid ongoing negotiations.
[BBC]
At least 14 members of the press were detained in Venezuela on Monday as they were covering the aftermath of the seizure of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro by US forces.
The union representing media workers in Venezuela said all but one of those detained were employed by foreign news organisations and were released later on Monday, with one reporter deported.
Foreign news media have long faced restrictions in Venezuela, with very few being granted visas to work in the country.
Their detention came as Delcy Rodríguez was sworn in as the interim president and shortly after she said that she was willing to co-operate with the Trump administration, which has said it would “run” Venezuela.
The union said the media workers were detained by Venezuelan security forces at the National Assembly and its environs, and in the neighbourhood of Altamira – all in the capital, Caracas.
At least two of them were seized by agents working for Venezuela’s military counterintelligence agency, while others were detained by Venezuela’s intelligence service.
They said they had their equipment searched, their phones checked and their social media posts and messages read, the union statement added.
A Colombian and a Spanish reporter were also detained at Venezuela’s border with Colombia near Cúcuta.
The two reporters were held for hours incommunicado before being released back into Colombia, the statement said.
The union called the incidents “alarming” and called for the release of 23 media workers who remain in detention in the country.
(BBC)
South Korea’s President Lee Jae Myung has called for a “new phase” in ties with China as he met its leader Xi Jinping in Beijing on Monday.
Regional security and lifting Beijing’s unofficial ban on Korean pop culture is high on Lee’s agenda, as he continues his four-day trip in China. He is set to meet China’s Premier Li Qiang and the chairman of parliament, Zhao Leji on Tuesday.
It marks the first visit by a South Korean leader since 2019. Bilateral ties had soured under Lee’s predecessor, impeached ex-president Yoon Suk Yeol, who was very critical of China.
Xi, meanwhile, has appeared keen to shore up ties with South Korea amid a diplomatic row between China and Japan.
South Korea is a US security ally – like Japan – but also relies on China for trade. Experts say Lee is expected to keep walking a diplomatic tightrope between Beijing and Tokyo.
The visit marks the second time the two leaders have met since November when Xi visited South Korea for a regional economic summit.
On Monday Lee stated that the visit was “a crucial opportunity” for the “full-scale restoration of South Korea-China relations”, reported South Korean newspaper Chosun. “We want to usher in a new phase in the development of South Korea-China relations.”
Government officials and companies from both countries signed a series of cooperation agreements on technology, trade and environment.
Lee also took selfies with Xi, using a Xiaomi phone that the Chinese president had gifted him last year.
“The image quality is certainly good, right?” Lee posted on X along with the photos.
Xi noted that the “international situation is becoming more turbulent and complex”.
The meeting followed the US’s capture of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro over the weekend.
Xi urged Lee to “firmly stand on the right side of history and make correct strategic choices”, China’s official Xinhua news agency reported.
He also brought up the two countries’ shared history of resisting Japan militarism, saying that China and South Korea should now “work hand in hand to safeguard the outcomes of the victory of World War Two and uphold peace and stability in Northeast Asia”.
Xi’s eagerness to meet Lee signals the pressure he faces in finding a regional ally, Park Seung-chan, professor of China studies at Yongin University told the BBC.
“China may beat around the bush but its demand is clear: side with China and denounce Japan.”
During his four-day trip to China, Lee is expected to hold a memorial service in Shanghai for activists who fought for Korea’s independence from Japan.
But while South Korea is “still showing all its deference towards China”, it wants to “strengthen its relationships with both Japan and China”, Mr Park said.
Lee is reportedly planning to visit Japan later this month to meet Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.
Security on the Korean Peninsula has also been part of the discussions. Lee has sought to engage North Korea diplomatically, but there has been little progress so far. He needs Chinese cooperation in pressuring the North’s Kim Jong Un to give up his nuclear weapons. Beijing is one of Pyongyang’s biggest supporters, economically and diplomatically.
Lee vowed on Monday to work with China on “viable alternatives for peace on the Korean Peninsula”.
On Sunday Seoul’s military said Pyongyang fired ballistic missiles off its east coast. And on Monday the North’s state news agency said the country test-fired hypersonic missiles to assess deterrence capabilities following recent developments, in an apparent reference to the US’s seizure of Maduro.
It remains unclear how much Lee will be able to push China on North Korea. In September, Xi had pledged to strengthen Beijing’s “traditional friendship” with Pyongyang.
And Seoul and Beijing are not natural allies.
US troops have been stationed in South Korea for decades in case of an attack from the North, and last year the two sides agreed to cooperate on building nuclear-powered submarines. The announcement drew warnings from China.
Lee has also sought to put a stop to China’s build-up of maritime structures in waters between the two countries. Beijing says the structures are fish-farming equipment, but they have sparked security concerns in Seoul.
The two leaders agreed on Monday to continue “constructive” dialogue on the matter, South Korea’s presidential spokesperson said.
Another item high on Lee’s agenda is China’s unofficial restrictions on South Korean music and dramas that have been in place for a decade. K-pop and K-dramas are either unavailable or difficult to access on Chinese media platforms.
While China has never acknowledged a ban on Korean artists, it’s believed to be a protest against South Korea’s decision to deploy a US anti-missile system in 2016, which China sees as a threat to its military operations in the region.
China is a massive market for Korean entertainment, which is already a huge global success.
At a Korea-China business forum on Sunday, Lee encouraged deeper bilateral collaboration in beauty products, food and cultural content including movies and music.
A South Korean presidential spokesperson said on Monday that the two leaders agreed to discuss the gradual expansion of cultural exchanges – without specifying concrete commitments on K-dramas or K-pop.
A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson similarly told reporters on Tuesday that both sides have agreed to “carry out orderly, healthy, and beneficial cultural exchanges”.
Speaking before Korean residents in Beijing on Sunday, Lee said his visit would “serve as a new starting point to fill in the gaps in Korea-China relations, restore them to normal and upgrade them to a new level”.
The Cabinet of Ministers granted approval to the proposal forwarded by the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Lands and Irrigation to appoint Mrs. P. K. L. S. Panduwawala, the officer
in the special grade of Sri Lanka Surveyors’ Service currently serving as the Additional Surveyor General (Central) to the post of Surveyor General with effect from 02.02.2026.
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Selfies and smiles: South Korea seeks ‘new phase’ in ties with China
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Motor Vehicles (Driving License Levy) Regulations No. 3 of 2022 to be amended
Mrs. P. K. L. S. Panduwawala appointed to the post of Surveyor General
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