economy

Trump says Fed chief's 'termination cannot come fast enough'

BY ASAD HASHIM

  • The US president does not have the authority to fire Federal Reserve governors directly.
  • US President Donald Trump said Thursday that "termination" of the independent head of the Federal Reserve "cannot come fast enough" as he lashed out at Jerome Powell's warnings of tariffs-fueled inflation.
  • The US president does not have the authority to fire Federal Reserve governors directly.
US President Donald Trump said Thursday that "termination" of the independent head of the Federal Reserve "cannot come fast enough" as he lashed out at Jerome Powell's warnings of tariffs-fueled inflation.
In a scathing post on his Truth Social app, Trump repeated a demand for Powell to lower interest rates, suggesting the Fed Chair's decisions were "always TOO LATE AND WRONG."
"Powell's termination cannot come fast enough," Trump wrote. "Too Late should have lowered Interest Rates, like the ECB, long ago, but he should certainly lower them now."
Trump was referring to the European Central Bank, which on Thursday lowered its benchmark deposit rate by a quarter point.
Powell warned Wednesday that Trump's sweeping tariffs on virtually every trade partner could put the Fed in the unenviable position of having to choose between tackling inflation and unemployment.
Trump's stop-start tariff policy has unnerved investors and trading partners, leaving them unsure about his long-term strategy and what it might mean for international trade.
Trump has repeatedly urged Powell to cut interest rates, but the US central bank has adopted a wait-and-see attitude, holding rates steady at 4.25 to 4.5 percent since the start of this year.
The Republican has frequently criticized the Fed chairman, whom he originally nominated during his first term, accusing Powell of playing politics in his role running the central bank.
On the campaign trail in August, Trump threatened that independence by suggesting the White House should have a "say" in setting monetary policy. 
The US president does not have the authority to fire Federal Reserve governors directly. If he chooses to, Trump could initiate a lengthy process to attempt to unseat Powell by proving there was "cause" to do so.

Powell pledges to stay

While presidents have a long history of clashing with Fed chiefs, any move to force Powell to leave office would be unprecedented in modern US political history.
Speaking on April 4, Powell insisted he had no plans to step down as Fed chairman before his term ends next year. 
"I fully intend to serve all of my term," he said at an event in Virginia.
At the time, Powell also suggested that the Fed was in no rush to cut its benchmark lending rate from its current elevated level.
Financial markets see a roughly two-thirds chance that policymakers will vote to keep rates unchanged again at the next Fed interest rate meeting in May, according to data from CME Group.
Setting key interest rates is one of the primary levers the Fed exercises in its dual mandate of managing inflation and unemployment.
Lowering interest rates serves to make borrowing cheaper and tends to kickstart the economy by encouraging investment, while raising them -- or keeping them steady at higher rates -- can help cool inflation.
US year-on-year consumer inflation slowed to 2.4 percent in March, bringing it closer to the Fed's long-term two-percent target.
That drop was aided by a 6.3-percent fall in gasoline prices, according to official data.
tjx-aha/sms

Italy

Italy's Meloni in Washington seeking EU tariff deal from Trump

  • "We absolutely must avoid a tariff war," Italy's Industry Minister Adolfo Urso told reporters Tuesday, saying Meloni would seek in Washington to "convince everyone we need to talk."
  • Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni meets with Donald Trump Thursday in Washington, hoping a personal charm offensive can help convince the US president to cut a more favourable deal on EU tariffs.
  • "We absolutely must avoid a tariff war," Italy's Industry Minister Adolfo Urso told reporters Tuesday, saying Meloni would seek in Washington to "convince everyone we need to talk."
Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni meets with Donald Trump Thursday in Washington, hoping a personal charm offensive can help convince the US president to cut a more favourable deal on EU tariffs.
The far-right Meloni -- described by Trump as a "fantastic leader" who shares many of his conservative views -- is the first European leader to meet with Trump since his trade war with the bloc began. 
She has looked to maintain ties with the mercurial leader despite the widespread disruption caused by his tariff policies, even while criticizing as "wrong" his 20 percent duties on EU exports, which he later suspended for 90 days. 
Amid the uncertainty, Meloni has called for cool heads, urging Brussels not to retaliate while casting herself as the only EU leader able to potentially de-escalate the conflict through her personal relationship with the US president.
Her bilateral meeting with Trump, scheduled for noon at the White House, does not come without risk, however. 
Italian newspapers on Wednesday floated the possibility that Meloni could end up in a trap similar to the White House meeting in February with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky, in which Trump and his Vice President JD Vance berated their guest in front of reporters.
Meloni has been a staunch ally of Ukraine and Zelensky since Russia's invasion of the country in 2022, most recently calling Moscow's Palm Sunday attack on the city of Sumy "horrible and vile." 
The only EU leader to be invited to Trump's inauguration in January, Meloni has acknowledged the uncertainty weighing on her quick visit. 
"We know we're going through a difficult period, let's see how it goes in the coming hours. I don't feel any pressure, as you can imagine, for my next two days, let's say," she joked at an awards ceremony for Italian goods Tuesday. 
"Surely, I am aware of what I represent and I am aware of what I am defending," she added.
Italian newspapers reported that one of the goals of Meloni's visit was to pave the way for a meeting between Trump and EU chief Ursula von der Leyen. 

'Need to talk'

Meloni has said the goal should be to eliminate so-called reciprocal duties on existing industrial products as part of a "zero for zero" formula, as floated by the European Commission earlier this month.
"We absolutely must avoid a tariff war," Italy's Industry Minister Adolfo Urso told reporters Tuesday, saying Meloni would seek in Washington to "convince everyone we need to talk."
Meloni's decision to personally intercede with Trump has caused some disquiet among EU allies, concerned her visit could undermine the unity of the bloc.
"If we start having bilateral discussions, obviously it will break the current dynamic," France's industry minister, Marc Ferracci, warned last week, saying "Europe is only strong if it is united."
A French government spokeswoman said later, however, that all voices that helped encourage dialogue with the United States were welcome.
A European Commission spokeswoman had a similar line on Monday, noting that while the EU alone could negotiate trade agreements, Meloni's "outreach is very welcome".
Her meeting was "closely coordinated" with the EU, the spokeswoman said, noting that Meloni and von der Leyen had been "in regular contact."
Following Thursday's meeting with Trump, Meloni will fly back to Rome on Friday in time to host JD Vance, with whom she has a meeting planned.
Trump's threatened tariffs could have a major impact on Italy, the world's fourth-largest exporter, which sends around 10 percent of its exports to the United States.
During her meeting, Meloni is also likely to discuss Trump's demand for NATO allies to spend more on defence. 
Trump wants the current target raised from two to five percent of gross domestic product (GDP), a huge demand for debt-laden Italy, which currently spends around 1.5 percent. 
ar/ams/js/lb

education

Trump says 'joke' Harvard should be stripped of funds

BY SEBASTIAN SMITH

  • Trump is furious at the storied institution for rejecting government supervision of its admissions, hiring practices and political slant and ordered the freezing of $2.2 billion in federal funding to Harvard this week.
  • US President Donald Trump called Harvard a "joke" Wednesday and said it should lose its government research contracts after the prestigious university refused demands that it accept outside political supervision.
  • Trump is furious at the storied institution for rejecting government supervision of its admissions, hiring practices and political slant and ordered the freezing of $2.2 billion in federal funding to Harvard this week.
US President Donald Trump called Harvard a "joke" Wednesday and said it should lose its government research contracts after the prestigious university refused demands that it accept outside political supervision.
Trump's administration also threatened to ban the famed seat of learning from admitting foreign students unless it bows to the requirements, as US media reported that officials were considering revoking the university's tax-exempt status.
"Harvard can no longer be considered even a decent place of learning, and should not be considered on any list of the World's Great Universities or Colleges," Trump said on his Truth Social platform.
"Harvard is a JOKE, teaches Hate and Stupidity, and should no longer receive Federal Funds."
Trump is furious at the storied institution for rejecting government supervision of its admissions, hiring practices and political slant and ordered the freezing of $2.2 billion in federal funding to Harvard this week.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) also canceled $2.7 million worth of research grants to Harvard on Wednesday and threatened the university's ability to enroll international students unless it turns over records on visa-holders' "illegal and violent activities." 
"If Harvard cannot verify it is in full compliance with its reporting requirements, the university will lose the privilege of enrolling foreign students," a DHS statement said, with Secretary Kristi Noem accusing the university of "bending the knee to antisemitism."
International students made up 27.2 percent of Harvard's enrollment this academic year, according to its website.
Other institutions, including Columbia University, have bowed to less far-ranging demands from the Trump administration, which claims that the educational elite is too left-wing.
Harvard has flatly rejected the pressure, with its president, Alan Garber, saying that the university refuses to "negotiate over its independence or its constitutional rights."

Tax exemption

Trump also said Tuesday that Harvard "should lose its Tax Exempt Status" as a nonprofit educational institution if it does not back down.
CNN and the Washington Post reported on Wednesday that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) was now making plans to do so following a request from Trump.
White House Deputy Press Secretary Harrison Fields told AFP by email that "any forthcoming actions by the IRS will be conducted independently of the President."
Demonstrating the broadening resonance of the row, Golden State Warriors basketball coach Steve Kerr spoke out in support of Harvard.
Kerr, sporting a Harvard T-shirt, called the demands on the university the "dumbest thing I've ever heard" and cited his backing of "academic freedom."

Government seeks control

The payments frozen to Harvard are for government contracts with its leading research programs, mostly in the medical fields where the school's laboratories are critical in the development of new medicines and treatments.
Trump and his White House team have publicly justified their campaign against universities as a reaction to what they say is uncontrolled anti-Semitism and a need to reverse diversity programs aimed at encouraging minorities.
The anti-Semitism allegations are based on controversy over protests against Israel's war in Gaza that swept across US college campuses last year.
Columbia University in New York -- an epicenter of the protests -- stood down last month and agreed to oversight of its Middle Eastern studies department after being threatened with a loss of $400 million in federal funds.
The claims about diversity tap into long-standing conservative complaints that US university campuses are too liberal, shutting out right-wing voices and giving preference to Black people and other minority groups over whites.
In the case of Harvard, the White House is seeking unprecedented levels of government control over the inner workings of the country's oldest and wealthiest university -- and one of the most respected educational and research institutions in the world.
In a letter sent to Harvard, the administration's demands included:
- ending admissions that take into account the student's race or national origins
- preventing admission of foreign students "hostile to the American values and institutions"
- ending staff hiring based on race, religion, sex or national origin
- reducing the power of students in campus governance
- auditing students and staff for "viewpoint diversity"
- reforming entire programs for "egregious records of anti-Semitism or other bias"
- cracking down on campus protests.
sms/lb/tjx/pbt

Trump

US govt agency seeks criminal probe of Trump legal foe

  • US media reported the Federal Housing Finance Agency has asked the Justice Department to investigate James, alleging that she "appeared to have falsified records" related to properties she owns in Virginia and New York to obtain better loan terms.
  • A US government agency has asked for a criminal probe of New York State Attorney General Letitia James, one of President Donald Trump's main adversaries, on grounds of alleged mortgage fraud, US media said Wednesday.
  • US media reported the Federal Housing Finance Agency has asked the Justice Department to investigate James, alleging that she "appeared to have falsified records" related to properties she owns in Virginia and New York to obtain better loan terms.
A US government agency has asked for a criminal probe of New York State Attorney General Letitia James, one of President Donald Trump's main adversaries, on grounds of alleged mortgage fraud, US media said Wednesday.
James drew the wrath of Trump after leading a civil fraud case against him that saw the Republican ordered to pay a multi-million dollar penalty last year.
Trump and allies on the right regularly attacked James during the trial in New York, and he has put revenge against his foes high on the agenda since returning to the White House in January.
US media reported the Federal Housing Finance Agency has asked the Justice Department to investigate James, alleging that she "appeared to have falsified records" related to properties she owns in Virginia and New York to obtain better loan terms.
"Attorney General James is focused every single day on protecting New Yorkers, especially as this Administration weaponizes the federal government against the rule of law and the Constitution," her office said in a statement.
"She will not be intimidated by bullies -- no matter who they are," it added.
US Attorney General Pam Bondi told the Fox News channel that she and her staff were "reviewing" the allegations.
The housing agency did not immediately respond to AFP requests for comment.
"Based on media reports, Ms Letitia James has, in multiple instances, falsified bank documents and property records to acquire government backed assistance and loans and more favorable loan terms," the housing agency wrote in its referral letter, parts of which were carried in US media.
In James's civil case, Trump was found liable for fraud by conspiring to alter his net worth to get better loan and insurance terms. Trump and his older sons were ordered to pay $454 million.
The US president has vowed repeatedly to exact vengeance on those he feels wronged him during and following his first 2017-2021 term.
His second term in office has seen FBI and Justice Department staff involved in criminal cases against Trump fired, among other acts of retribution.
arb/dw-tgb/bjt

justice

'Promises kept?': Trump base bristles over lack of reprisals

BY FRANKIE TAGGART

  • We showed up when Donald asked!
  • Inflamed by endless claims of liberal "deep state" operatives targeting their president for prosecution, Donald Trump's supporters dreamed of the day when he would return to office and take his revenge.
  • We showed up when Donald asked!
Inflamed by endless claims of liberal "deep state" operatives targeting their president for prosecution, Donald Trump's supporters dreamed of the day when he would return to office and take his revenge.
But three months into his second term, the promised arrests and show trials of high-profile Democrats have not materialized -- and Trump's "Make America Great Again" (MAGA) movement is losing patience.
Frustrated MAGA figures have been complaining for weeks over the pace of efforts by the FBI and Justice Department to deliver on Trump's threats to target the lawmakers, journalists and prosecutors he considered "enemies from within."
This is especially true among "J6ers" -- hundreds of MAGA rioters convicted over the 2021 US Capitol insurrection, and then repeatedly promised vengeance by Trump on the presidential campaign trail.
The Republican leader may have hoped for plaudits over his order to criminally investigate two officials from his first term who defied him, and for his strong-arming of law firms that represented his adversaries.
But MAGA has indicated that it will only be fully appeased by significant indictments on the Democratic side.
And what MAGA wants, it often gets -- several members of the White House National Security Council seen as insufficiently loyal learned this recently when they were fired at the behest of far-right influencer Laura Loomer, who has Trump's ear.

'You've been let down'

The targets of the angry backlash are Attorney General Pam Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel and Patel's second-in-command, former talk show host Dan Bongino.
Bongino and other right-wing influencers have been telling their audiences for years that a criminal cabal of Democrats, guilty of calumnies against the Trump family, were about to get their comeuppance.
Rattled by accusations that he is letting the side down now he is on the other side of the fence, he has taken to X multiple times in recent weeks to protest that he was working hard in his new job.
In an appeal for patience this week, Bongino said cryptically that he was developing "a number of significant initiatives to ensure that the mistakes of the past are never repeated."
"I know you've been let down in the past," he said on X. "You're owed better. And we're going to produce it."
The deputy director didn't address anyone in particular in his posts, but the replies were dominated by MAGA figures angry over the lack of political prosecutions.
"We aren't trying to be the enemy. We want justice!" Richard "Bigo" Barnett, who was photographed with his feet on then-House speaker Nancy Pelosi's desk during the Capitol riot, posted separately.
"We want the promises made kept! We stood! We showed up when Donald asked! We have seen nothing."

'Scared in the corner'

Despite receiving more than 1,500 pardons and commutations from Trump, the J6ers have been among the most disgruntled MAGA figures. 
Suzzanne Monk, founder of the "J6 Pardon Project," has been tracking the arrests of insurrectionists during Democratic president Joe Biden's first year and comparing them unfavorably with the threadbare action against Democrats under Trump.
"Today is April 16th," she posted Wednesday. "By 4/16/21, the Biden regime had already arrested 406 January 6th Defendants and would go on to convict 99.7% of their arrests. How many arrests has Pam made?"
To be clear, the only Democrats credibly accused of crimes in the Trump era were investigated -- by Biden's justice department.
But MAGA is demanding heads on spikes.
Tom Fitton, head of the right-wing group Judicial Watch, echoed many MAGA figures in giving Trump a pass on the lack of prosecutions -- arguing that the president has a lot on his plate.
But he told Trump ally Steve Bannon's "War Room" podcast that Bondi and Patel need to be "much more aggressive." 
"There may be good people working at the FBI, but they're scared in the corner and unable to do anything," said Fitton.
ft/acb

migration

El Salvador becoming 'black hole' for US deportees, critics fear

  • "What they are trying to create here is a Guantanamo on steroids... a black hole where there is no legal protection for the people there," Juan Pappier, HRW's America's deputy director, told AFP, referring to the US prison for terror suspects at a military base in Cuba.
  • Rights groups are increasingly worried that El Salvador's notorious CECOT prison is becoming a "black hole" for the United States to rid itself of expelled migrants or other unwanted people with no legal consequences.
  • "What they are trying to create here is a Guantanamo on steroids... a black hole where there is no legal protection for the people there," Juan Pappier, HRW's America's deputy director, told AFP, referring to the US prison for terror suspects at a military base in Cuba.
Rights groups are increasingly worried that El Salvador's notorious CECOT prison is becoming a "black hole" for the United States to rid itself of expelled migrants or other unwanted people with no legal consequences.
A US senator who traveled to the Central American country Wednesday to try and retrieve a man wrongly deported and locked up there was sent away without even being able to speak to him.
The man, Salvadoran Kilmar Abrego Garcia, is one of nearly 300 migrants -- mostly Venezuelans -- the Donald Trump administration has sent to El Salvador since January without any kind of court hearing.
Once there, they were locked up in the infamously harsh Terrorism Confinement Center built to house gangsters rounded up in President Nayib Bukele's iron-fisted anti-crime drive.
Observers say most of the migrants had committed no crime, and many had enjoyed asylum status in the United States.
None have been heard from since they were sent to El Salvador, where they are now in legal limbo.
Human Rights Watch, in a report last week, said El Salvador and the United States have subjected dozens of people to "enforced disappearances and arbitrary detention."
At the CECOT, they are held incommunicado, not allowed even contact with lawyers.
"What they are trying to create here is a Guantanamo on steroids... a black hole where there is no legal protection for the people there," Juan Pappier, HRW's America's deputy director, told AFP, referring to the US prison for terror suspects at a military base in Cuba. It is synonymous with torture and other abuses.

'Illegally abducted'

The deportation of Abrego Garcia in particular has sparked an outcry and set off a legal crisis.
Trump officials have claimed he is an illegal migrant, a gang member and involved in human trafficking. He has never been convicted of any crime and had been granted a protected status that should have barred his deportation to El Salvador.
A federal judge, backed by the Supreme Court, has ordered Abrego Garcia's return, but the Trump administration contends he is now solely in Salvadoran custody.
Bukele, who has proudly adopted the moniker of "world's coolest dictator," has said he does not have the power to send the man back.
Hoping to heap political pressure on the Trump administration, Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen visited El Salvador on Wednesday to plead the case of Abrego Garcia, who he said was illegally abducted from the United States.
Van Hollen met Vice President Felix Ulloa, who denied him all access to the man.
"His answer was that the Trump administration is paying El Salvador, the government of El Salvador, to keep him at CECOT," the senator said of the response he got from Ulloa.
Washington and San Salvador have shrugged off criticism of their collaboration, and Trump on Monday warmly thanked Bukele for "helping us out" with his administration's mass deportation drive.
El Salvador is receiving $6 million to house the migrants, and Bukele left Monday's meeting with an agreement for his country to join the US Global Entry program, which allows expedited visa entry.
"Bukele's cooperation with President Trump's agenda, including disappearing people overseas... and into prisons notorious for abuse, is unprecedented, rights-violating and extreme," Noah Bullock of Central American rights group Cristosal said on X.

350 deaths

AFP interviewed several relatives of Venezuelans detained in El Salvador, all of whom insisted their loved ones were not criminals.
Alexis de Hernandez, mother of 31-year-old Andry Hernandez Romero, said her son was rounded up "just for having tattoos" -- a common complaint in this drama.
US officials have claimed the markings indicate loyalty to Venezuela's Tren de Aragua gang, but experts note that the group -- unlike Salvadoran gangs -- does not use tattoos for clan identification. 
According to Cristosal, nearly half of the CECOT detainees it has been able to trace had asylum status in the United States or were applying for asylum, "which should protect them from deportation."
Trump has encouraged Bukele to build more jails and said Tuesday he would "love" to start also sending American citizens who commit violent crimes to the CECOT.
The Washington-based WOLA advocacy group warned in a commentary published Monday "that thousands of citizens are languishing in Et Salvador’s abusive prison system" and "at least 350 people have died in custody as a result of these conditions."
"Corruption and lack of transparency (in El Salvador) should be of bipartisan concern" for the United States, it argued. 
"The US must not only monitor how its financial assistance is being used, but also examine whether it is inadvertently supporting a government that systematically withholds information and evades accountability."
cmm/fj/lbc/nn/mlr/dw

politics

Putin praises Musk, compares him to Soviet space hero

  • "You know, there's a man -- he lives in the States -- Musk, who, you could say, raves about Mars," Putin told students on a visit to Bauman University, a Moscow college that specialises in science and engineering.
  • Russian President Vladimir Putin praised Elon Musk on Wednesday, telling university students he was a pioneer comparable to legendary Soviet rocket engineer Sergei Korolev.
  • "You know, there's a man -- he lives in the States -- Musk, who, you could say, raves about Mars," Putin told students on a visit to Bauman University, a Moscow college that specialises in science and engineering.
Russian President Vladimir Putin praised Elon Musk on Wednesday, telling university students he was a pioneer comparable to legendary Soviet rocket engineer Sergei Korolev.
The comments came as Russia and the United States forged closer ties under President Donald Trump's administration, of which billionaire SpaceX founder Musk is a key figure.
"You know, there's a man -- he lives in the States -- Musk, who, you could say, raves about Mars," Putin told students on a visit to Bauman University, a Moscow college that specialises in science and engineering.
"These are the kind of people who don't often appear in the human population, charged-up with a certain idea."
"If it seems incredible even today, such ideas often come to fruition after a while. Just like the ideas of Korolev, our pioneers, came about in due time," Putin added.
Korolev is considered the father of the Soviet space programme, developing the first satellite Sputnik as well as Vostok 1, which carried first cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin into orbit in 1961.
Musk, the world's richest man and Trump's most powerful advisor, is the head of SpaceX -- a US company that launches rockets for NASA and owns the Starlink satellite internet network.
Musk has been a frequent critic of Ukraine, which is currently battling a three-year Russian offensive.
The billionaire accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky last month of wanting a "forever war", and in February said Kyiv had gone "too far" in the conflict.
bur/rmb

trade

Trump tariffs provoke growing economic uncertainty

BY SEBASTIAN SMITH AND DANIEL AVIS WITH SAM DAVIES IN BEIJING

  • The Daiwa Institute of Research warned on Wednesday that Trump's reciprocal tariffs could cause a decline of 1.8 percent in Japan's real GDP by 2029.
  • Concern over the economic fallout from US President Donald Trump's global tariffs mounted Wednesday, with Fed Chair Jerome Powell's warning of higher inflation sending stock markets tumbling.
  • The Daiwa Institute of Research warned on Wednesday that Trump's reciprocal tariffs could cause a decline of 1.8 percent in Japan's real GDP by 2029.
Concern over the economic fallout from US President Donald Trump's global tariffs mounted Wednesday, with Fed Chair Jerome Powell's warning of higher inflation sending stock markets tumbling.
Trump remained upbeat, posting on social media that there'd been "Big Progress!" in talks with Japan on a trade deal.
He is banking that his strategy, in which tariffs are meant to lead to multiple individual country agreements, will lower barriers to US products and shift global manufacturing to the United States.
But those negotiations are running parallel to a deepening confrontation with top US economic rival China -- and concern over widespread disruption.
Powell said tariffs are "highly likely" to provoke a temporary rise in prices and could prompt "more persistent" increases.
He also noted the "volatility" on the markets in a "time of high uncertainty."
That volatility was visible on Wall Street where the Nasdaq at one point plummeted more than four percent, the S&P more than three percent and the Dow Jones more than two.
Leading the downward charge was Nvidia, which momentarily dropped more than 10 percent after disclosing major costs due to new US export restrictions on semiconductors imposed as part of Trump's tussle with China.
World Bank chief Ajay Banga echoed Powell, telling reporters that, "uncertainty and volatility are undoubtedly contributing to a more cautious economic and business environment."

China says 'no winner'

While the rest of the world has been slapped with a blanket 10 percent tariff, China faces levies of up to 145 percent on many products. Beijing has responded with duties of 125 percent on US goods.
"If the US really wants to resolve the issue through dialogue and negotiation, it should stop exerting extreme pressure, stop threatening and blackmailing, and talk to China on the basis of equality, respect and mutual benefit," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said.
"There is no winner in a tariff war or a trade war," Lin said, adding: "China does not want to fight, but it is not afraid to fight."
China said on Wednesday that it saw a forecast-beating 5.4 percent jump in growth in the first quarter as exporters rushed to get goods out of factory gates ahead of the US levies.
But Heron Lim from Moody's Analytics told AFP the impact would be felt in the second quarter, as tariffs begin "impeding Chinese exports and slamming the brakes on investment."
World Trade Organization head Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said the uncertainty brought by the tariffs "threatens to act as a brake on global growth, with severe negative consequences for the world, the most vulnerable economies in particular."

Japan test case?

Ahead of the Japan talks, Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that he hoped "something can be worked out which is good (GREAT!) for Japan and the USA!"
Japan's envoy said he was optimistic of a "win-win" outcome for both countries.
South Korea, a major semiconductor and auto exporter, said Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok would meet US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent next week.
"The current priority is to use negotiations... to delay the imposition of reciprocal tariffs as much as possible and to minimize uncertainty for Korean companies operating not only in the US but also in global markets," Choi said on Tuesday.
But Stephen Innes at SPI Asset Management called the discussions with Japan the "canary in the tariff coal mine."
"If Japan secures a deal -- even a half-baked one -- the template is set. If they walk away empty-handed, brace yourself. Other nations will start pricing in confrontation, not cooperation," he wrote in a newsletter.
The Daiwa Institute of Research warned on Wednesday that Trump's reciprocal tariffs could cause a decline of 1.8 percent in Japan's real GDP by 2029.
Although popular among Republicans, the tariffs war is politically risky for Trump at home. 
California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom announced he was launching a new court challenge against Trump's "authority to unilaterally enact tariffs, which have created economic chaos, driven up prices, and harmed the state, families, and businesses."
burs-sms/dw

immigration

US judge says 'probable cause' to hold Trump admin in contempt

BY SUSAN STUMME

  • Since his return to the White House in January, Trump has flirted with open defiance of the judiciary following setbacks to his right-wing agenda, with deportation cases taking center stage.
  • A US judge said Wednesday he had found "probable cause" to hold President Donald Trump's administration in contempt in a deportation case, raising the stakes in the White House's confrontation with the justice system.
  • Since his return to the White House in January, Trump has flirted with open defiance of the judiciary following setbacks to his right-wing agenda, with deportation cases taking center stage.
A US judge said Wednesday he had found "probable cause" to hold President Donald Trump's administration in contempt in a deportation case, raising the stakes in the White House's confrontation with the justice system.
The White House said it planned an "immediate" appeal to the decision by District Judge James Boasberg, who had ordered the government to halt flights of more than 200 alleged gang Venezuelan members to El Salvador.
Boasberg issued a temporary restraining order on March 15 to halt the deportations, which were carried out under an obscure wartime law, the 1798 Alien Enemies Act, which strips away the usual legal due process.
In a written opinion, the judge cited evidence that the government had engaged in "deliberate or reckless disregard" of his order when it proceeded with the flights.
"Defendants provide no convincing reason to avoid the conclusion that appears obvious... that they deliberately flouted this Court's written Order and, separately, its oral command that explicitly delineated what compliance entailed," he wrote.
The administration's actions were "sufficient for the court to conclude that probable cause exists to find the government in criminal contempt," Boasberg wrote.
The judge said the government would be offered a final chance to "purge such contempt" or face further court action.
Since his return to the White House in January, Trump has flirted with open defiance of the judiciary following setbacks to his right-wing agenda, with deportation cases taking center stage.
"We plan to seek immediate appellate relief," White House Communications Director Steven Cheung said in a statement after the judge's ruling.
"The President is 100 percent committed to ensuring that terrorists and criminal illegal migrants are no longer a threat to Americans and their communities across the country."

'Administrative error'

In invoking the Alien Enemies Act -- which had only been used previously during the War of 1812, World War I and World War II -- Trump said he was targeting transnational gangs he had declared foreign terrorist organizations.
That included the Venezuelan group Tren de Aragua, but lawyers for several of the deported Venezuelans have said that their clients were not gang members, had committed no crimes and were targeted largely on the basis of their tattoos.
Trump has routinely criticized rulings that curb his policies and power, and attacked the judges who issued them, including Boasberg.
The Republican president said Wednesday that US courts are "totally out of control," writing on his Truth Social platform: "They seem to hate 'TRUMP' so much, that anything goes!"
His administration is also under fire over its admission that Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was living in the eastern state of Maryland and married to a US citizen, was deported to a notorious prison in El Salvador due to an "administrative error."
A judge has ordered Trump to "facilitate" his return, an order upheld by the Supreme Court, but his government has said the court did not have the authority to order it to have him returned.
Trump has alleged that Abrego Garcia is "an MS-13 Gang Member and Foreign Terrorist from El Salvador," while Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed that he was "engaged in human trafficking." 
The man has never been charged with any crimes.
sst-dk/bjt/tgb

politics

El Salvador rejects US senator's plea to free wrongly deported migrant

  • A legal US resident, Abrego Garcia was protected by a 2019 court order determining that he could not be deported to El Salvador, but he was sent there around a month ago.
  • A Democratic senator said Wednesday that El Salvador had denied his request to release a US resident whose wrongful deportation triggered a political firestorm over President Donald Trump's hard-line immigration policies.
  • A legal US resident, Abrego Garcia was protected by a 2019 court order determining that he could not be deported to El Salvador, but he was sent there around a month ago.
A Democratic senator said Wednesday that El Salvador had denied his request to release a US resident whose wrongful deportation triggered a political firestorm over President Donald Trump's hard-line immigration policies.
Chris Van Hollen said he had also been refused a visit or phone call with Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who is imprisoned in his native country despite a US federal judge's order, backed by the Supreme Court, for his return to the United States.
The White House condemned Van Hollen's trip to the Central American country and invited the mother of a woman killed by another migrant from El Salvador -- but in an unrelated case --  to speak as a "special guest" at a hastily arranged news briefing.
Van Hollen said he had asked Vice President Felix Ulloa when they met why Abrego Garcia was still locked up in the notorious Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) if he had committed no crime and El Salvador had no evidence that he was a member of street gang MS-13.
"His answer was that the Trump administration is paying El Salvador, the government of El Salvador, to keep him at CECOT," Van Hollen, who represents Abrego Garcia's home state of Maryland, told reporters during a visit to the Central American nation.
The Trump administration has paid President Nayib Bukele's administration several million dollars to keep deportees in detention.
"I'm asking President Bukele… to do the right thing and allow Mr Abrego Garcia to walk out of prison, a man who's charged with no crime, convicted of no crime, and who was illegally abducted from the United States," Van Hollen said.
A legal US resident, Abrego Garcia was protected by a 2019 court order determining that he could not be deported to El Salvador, but he was sent there around a month ago.
The Trump administration has admitted an "administrative error" and has been ordered by the Supreme Court to "facilitate" the 29-year-old father's return.
But the White House -- pressed on what action it was taking to remedy its error in lower court hearings -- has not announced any efforts toward Abrego Garcia's return.
Bukele said during a White House visit on Monday he did not have the power to return Abrego Garcia to the United States. 

'Protecting our children'

The Trump administration has mounted an increasingly aggressive pushback, accusing Abrego Garcia of gang links and domestic violence without providing any conclusive evidence.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Wednesday brought out Patty Morin of Maryland -- whose daughter Rachel was beaten, raped and strangled in an unrelated 2023 case in which the Salvadoran murderer had been deported three times -- to speak at a briefing.
"This is about protecting our children. It's more than just politics or votes or just anything," Morin told journalists. 
Leavitt slammed the "appalling and sad" visit by the Democratic senator and accused him and the media of prioritizing Abrego Garcia's case over that of Rachel Morin's.
US Attorney General Pam Bondi meanwhile released what she called "additional information" including a police report that said his Chicago Bulls baseball cap indicated he was an MS-13 member.
He denies gang membership and has never been charged with crimes in either country.
But Trump's critics have warned that his defiance of the courts has placed the country on the cusp of a constitutional crisis.
"It's a short road from there to tyranny," Van Hollen said earlier.
The issue has become a growing policial football.
West Virginia Republican congressman Riley Moore posted on X Tuesday that he had also traveled to El Salvador to see the prison where immigrants deported by the Trump administration are being held.
He declared himself supportive of Trump's actions, however.
Another Democratic senator, Cory Booker, and two Democratic members of the House of Representatives are also mulling a trip to the country.
burs-dk/tgb

trade

California sues US government over Trump tariffs

  • "We're asking the court to rein in the president...and uphold the Constitution," Attorney General Rob Bonta told reporters.
  • California is suing the federal government over Donald Trump's on-again-off-again tariffs, the governor and attorney general said Wednesday, claiming the American president does not have the right to impose them.
  • "We're asking the court to rein in the president...and uphold the Constitution," Attorney General Rob Bonta told reporters.
California is suing the federal government over Donald Trump's on-again-off-again tariffs, the governor and attorney general said Wednesday, claiming the American president does not have the right to impose them.
The move marks the strongest pushback yet against a tariff roll-out that has sent global stock markets into meltdown, and left businesses across the US fretting about uncertainty.
"It's the worst own-goal in the history of this country," California Governor Gavin Newsom said. "One of the most self-destructive things that we've experienced in modern American history."
With 40 million people and a large, outward-facing economy that accounts for 14 percent of US GDP, California looks set to bear the brunt of the economic damage forecasters expect from recent gyrations.
Newsom's office says California -- which would be the world's fifth-largest economy if it were an independent country -- could lose billions of dollars in revenue if Trump's tariff policies shrink international trade.
Trump has long prized tariffs as a tool to achieve what he says is the urgent need to rebalance America's trading relationships, and pledged on the campaign trail that he would hit imports with extra levies.
Initial punitive tariffs against Mexico and Canada were built on with his self-declared "Liberation Day," which saw onerous charges imposed on scores of countries, including allies and partners.
Many of those duties have since been paused, but their chaotic announcement sent global stock markets into spasms, wiping out trillions of dollars of value.
Newsom said Trump's economic mismanagement was costing everyday Americans -- including many who voted for Trump -- dearly, all while feathering the nests of billionaire donors and friends.
The United States, he said, has gone in a matter of weeks "from free capitalism to crony capitalism, just like that."
"This is the personification of corruption...this is smash-mouth, in-your-face, every minute of every day, every hour.
"How in the hell are we sitting by and allowing this to happen?" said Newsom, who is widely expected to put himself forward as a candidate for the presidency in 2028.
The legal action launched Wednesday argues that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which Trump has used to impose levies as high as 145 percent, does not grant him the authority to impose tariffs on goods coming into the United States.
"We're asking the court to rein in the president...and uphold the Constitution," Attorney General Rob Bonta told reporters.
"The president is yet again acting as if he's above the law, he isn't."
Bonta said the power to impose tariffs rests with Congress, and the suit sought to ensure his actions were rolled back.
"It's simple, Trump does not have the authority to impose these tariffs. He must be stopped."
The case is the latest of more than a dozen lawsuits that California has filed against the Trump administration.
hg/tgb

Fed

Trump tariffs could put US Fed in a bind, Powell warns

BY KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI WITH DANIEL AVIS IN WASHINGTON

  • Most economists have warned that tariffs will push up prices -- at least temporarily -- while acting as a drag on growth.
  • US President Donald Trump's tariffs will likely push up prices and constrain growth, and could put the Federal Reserve in the unenviable position of having to choose between tackling inflation and unemployment, the central bank's chair said Wednesday.
  • Most economists have warned that tariffs will push up prices -- at least temporarily -- while acting as a drag on growth.
US President Donald Trump's tariffs will likely push up prices and constrain growth, and could put the Federal Reserve in the unenviable position of having to choose between tackling inflation and unemployment, the central bank's chair said Wednesday.
US financial markets fell following Jerome Powell's remarks, with all three major Wall Street indices ending the day in the red as investors dumped tech stocks. 
"Tariffs are highly likely to generate at least a temporary rise in inflation," Powell told the Economic Club of Chicago, warning that the inflationary effects "could also be more persistent."
"Avoiding that outcome will depend on the size of the effects, on how long it takes for them to pass through fully to prices, and, ultimately, on keeping longer-term inflation expectations well anchored," he added, echoing similar remarks earlier this month. 
Unlike some other central banks, the US Fed has a dual mandate from Congress to ensure both stable prices and maximum sustainable employment over time.
It keeps those twin objectives in balance by lowering or raising interest rates, which act as either a throttle or a brake for demand in the world's largest economy.
Powell said that while the Fed's employment and inflation goals were largely in balance, policymakers could find themselves in the "challenging scenario in which our dual-mandate goals are in tension."

'Continued volatility'

Trump's stop-start tariff policy has unnerved investors and trading partners unsure about the long-term strategy, and what it might mean for international trade. 
Amid the rollout of the tariffs, global financial markets spiraled, pushing volatility to heights not seen since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.  
"You'll probably see continued volatility," Powell said Wednesday. "But I wouldn't try to be definitive about exactly what's causing that."
"I would just say markets are orderly and they're functioning kind of as you would expect them to in this time of high uncertainty," he added. 
Most economists have warned that tariffs will push up prices -- at least temporarily -- while acting as a drag on growth.
The Trump administration has insisted that the levies are just one part of an overall economic agenda including tax cuts and deregulation designed to stimulate supply, boost growth, temper inflation, and return manufacturing jobs to the United States.
Tariffs would be "likely to move us away from our goals," Powell said, referring to the Fed's dual mandate.
Futures traders currently see a roughly 85 percent chance that the Fed will vote to pause again at the next interest rate decision in May, according to data from CME Group. 
da/wd

disinformation

US eliminates unit countering foreign disinformation

BY ANUJ CHOPRA

  • In a statement on Wednesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the closure of the unit, saying it was the responsibility of government officials to "preserve and protect the freedom for Americans to exercise their free speech."
  • The United States on Wednesday eliminated a key government agency that tracked foreign disinformation, framing the move as an effort to preserve "free speech."
  • In a statement on Wednesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the closure of the unit, saying it was the responsibility of government officials to "preserve and protect the freedom for Americans to exercise their free speech."
The United States on Wednesday eliminated a key government agency that tracked foreign disinformation, framing the move as an effort to preserve "free speech."
The closure of the Counter Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference hub, previously known as the Global Engagement Center (GEC), comes as leading experts monitoring propaganda have been raising the alarm about the risk of disinformation campaigns from US adversaries such as Russia and China.
In December, just weeks ahead of President Donald Trump's inauguration, the US Congress failed to extend the agency's funding following years of Republican allegations that it censored conservative views.
In a statement on Wednesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the closure of the unit, saying it was the responsibility of government officials to "preserve and protect the freedom for Americans to exercise their free speech."
"Under the previous administration, this office, which cost taxpayers more than $50 million per year, spent millions of dollars to actively silence and censor the voices of Americans they were supposed to be serving," Rubio said. "That ends today."
The announcement comes at a time when the State Department is expected to propose an unprecedented dismantling of Washington's diplomatic reach, shuttering programs and embassies worldwide to slash the budget by almost 50 percent, according to US media.
The GEC, established in 2016, had long faced scrutiny from Republican lawmakers, who accused it of censoring and surveilling Americans. Its closing leaves the State Department without a dedicated office for tracking and countering disinformation from US rivals for the first time in over eight years.
The unit has also come under fire from billionaire Trump advisor Elon Musk, who accused the GEC in 2023 of being the "worst offender in US government censorship (and) media manipulation" and called the agency a "threat to our democracy."
Musk has overseen the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), tasked with radically reducing government spending.
The GEC's former leaders have pushed back on those views, calling their work crucial to combating foreign propaganda campaigns.
Last June, James Rubin, special envoy and coordinator for the GEC at the time, announced the launch of a multinational group based in Warsaw to counter Russian disinformation on the war in neighboring Ukraine.
The State Department had said that the initiative, known as the Ukraine Communications Group, would bring together partner governments to coordinate messaging, promote accurate reporting of the war and expose Kremlin information manipulation.
In a previous report, the GEC also warned that China was spending billions of dollars globally to spread disinformation and threatening to cause a "sharp contraction" in freedom of speech around the world.
ac/sms

rights

US sues Maine over transgender athletes in women's sports

  • "Today, the Department of Justice is announcing a civil lawsuit against the Maine Department of Education.
  • The US Justice Department is suing Maine for allowing transgender athletes to compete in women's sports, Attorney General Pam Bondi said Wednesday, the latest step in the government's showdown with the northeastern state.
  • "Today, the Department of Justice is announcing a civil lawsuit against the Maine Department of Education.
The US Justice Department is suing Maine for allowing transgender athletes to compete in women's sports, Attorney General Pam Bondi said Wednesday, the latest step in the government's showdown with the northeastern state.
US President Donald Trump clashed with the state's governor on the topic in February, after earlier issuing an executive order barring transgender competitors from women's sports.
The Republican's administration moved to cut Maine's federal funding for public schools over the issue last week.
"Today, the Department of Justice is announcing a civil lawsuit against the Maine Department of Education. The state of Maine is discriminating against women by failing to protect women in women's sports," Bondi told a news conference.
Bondi accused Maine of violating Title IX, the landmark civil rights law that forbids discrimination on the basis of gender in educational facilities that receive federal support.
Maine's Democratic governor Janet Mills hit back in a statement called Wednesday's move "the latest, expected salvo in an unprecedented campaign to pressure the State of Maine."
"This matter has never been about school sports or the protection of women and girls, as has been claimed, it is about states' rights and defending the rule of law against a federal government bent on imposing its will," Mills added.

'See you in court'

Trump had a heated exchange with Mills in February when the president raised his executive order targeting trans athletes while making televised remarks to a gathering of governors at the White House.
"Two weeks ago I signed an executive order banning men from playing in women's sports. Many Democrats are fighting me on that, I hope you continue because you'll never win another race," he said.
"Are you not going to comply with it?" he asked Mills.
"I'm complying with state and federal laws," she responded.
"Well, we are the federal law... You better do it, because you're not going to get any federal funding at all if you don't," the president said.
"See you in court," she responded.
Trump's order allows US government agencies to deny funds to schools that allow transgender athletes to compete on women's teams.
Republicans hammered Democrats on transgender issues -- especially when it came to youth and sports -- ahead of the 2024 election, capitalizing on a broader culture war over LGBTQ rights.
Since his return to office earlier this year, Trump has demonized any recognition of gender diversity, attacking transgender people -- a small minority of the population -- and gender-affirming care for minors in both his rhetoric and in executive orders.
Trump has said he will also push the International Olympic Committee to change its rules on transgender athletes before the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
sst-wd/aha

trade

China tells Trump to 'stop threatening and blackmailing'

BY SAM DAVIES WITH DANNY KEMP AND BEIYI SEOW IN WASHINGTON

  • "If the US really wants to resolve the issue through dialogue and negotiation, it should stop exerting extreme pressure, stop threatening and blackmailing, and talk to China on the basis of equality, respect and mutual benefit," Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said.
  • China told Washington on Wednesday to "stop threatening and blackmailing" after US President Donald Trump said it was up to Beijing to come to the negotiating table to discuss ending their trade war.
  • "If the US really wants to resolve the issue through dialogue and negotiation, it should stop exerting extreme pressure, stop threatening and blackmailing, and talk to China on the basis of equality, respect and mutual benefit," Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said.
China told Washington on Wednesday to "stop threatening and blackmailing" after US President Donald Trump said it was up to Beijing to come to the negotiating table to discuss ending their trade war.
Trump has slapped new tariffs on friend and foe alike but has reserved his heaviest blows for China, with new levies of up to 145 percent on many Chinese imports even as Beijing has retaliated with duties on US goods of 125 percent.
"If the US really wants to resolve the issue through dialogue and negotiation, it should stop exerting extreme pressure, stop threatening and blackmailing, and talk to China on the basis of equality, respect and mutual benefit," Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said.
"China's position has been very clear. There is no winner in a tariff war or a trade war," Lin said, adding: "China does not want to fight, but it is not afraid to fight."
Trump's new levies mean that the tariffs on certain Chinese goods are as high as 245 percent, which the White House said in a factsheet on Tuesday were "as a result of its retaliatory actions".
Beijing's commerce ministry said in a statement later on Wednesday it had "noted that the cumulative tariffs on some individual Chinese exports to the US have reached 245 percent under various designations", without detailing the scope of the products affected.
"The United States has instrumentalized and weaponized tariffs to a completely irrational level," the ministry said, adding that China would "ignore the US's utterly meaningless tariff numbers game".
The Republican initially imposed 20 percent tariffs on imports from China over its alleged role in the fentanyl supply chain, on top of duties from previous administrations, then added 125 percent over trade practices that Washington deems unfair.
His administration has, however, given temporary reprieve for certain tech products such as smartphones and laptops. 
The White House said on Tuesday it was up to Beijing to make the first move towards ending the dispute, which economists warn could cause a global recession.
"The ball is in China's court. China needs to make a deal with us. We don't have to make a deal with them," said a statement from Trump read out by Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.

China growth

China said on Wednesday its economy grew a forecast-beating 5.4 percent in the first quarter as exporters rushed to get goods out of factory gates ahead of the US levies.
"The escalation happening in April is going to be felt in the second-quarter figures as the tariffs will send stateside firms looking to other suppliers, impeding Chinese exports and slamming the brakes on investment," Heron Lim from Moody's Analytics told AFP.
Japan's envoy for talks slated for Wednesday in Washington said he was optimistic of a "win-win" outcome for both countries.
Ryosei Akazawa, who was due to meet US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, said he would "protect our national interest".
Carmaker Honda said on Wednesday it will shift production of its hybrid Civic model from Japan to the United States, although that represents a very small part of its global output.
The rationale behind the decision "is not a single issue", a spokesman for the Japanese firm said. "The decision is based on the company's policy since its foundation that we produce cars where the demand is."
South Korea, another major exporter in particular of semiconductors and cars, said Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok would meet Bessent next week.
"The current priority is to use negotiations... to delay the imposition of reciprocal tariffs as much as possible and to minimise uncertainty for Korean companies operating not only in the US but also in global markets," Choi said on Tuesday.
Trump has imposed the steep duties on imports from China since the start of the year, alongside his 10 percent "baseline" tariff on many US trading partners.
His administration recently widened its exemptions from those tariffs, excluding certain tech products like smartphones and laptops from the global 10 percent tariff and the 125 percent levy on China.
Chip stocks across Asia slumped after Nvidia said it expects a $5.5 billion hit due to a new US licensing requirement on the primary chip it can legally sell in China.
Trump also ordered a probe on Tuesday that may result in tariffs on critical minerals, rare-earth metals and associated products such as smartphones.
burs-mjw/pbt

diplomacy

Iran FM says uranium enrichment 'non-negotiable' after Trump envoy urged halt

  • But on Tuesday, Witkoff said Iran must "stop and eliminate" its enrichment of uranium as part of any nuclear deal. 
  • Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Wednesday that Iran's enrichment of uranium as part of its nuclear programme was "non-negotiable" after US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff called for a halt. 
  • But on Tuesday, Witkoff said Iran must "stop and eliminate" its enrichment of uranium as part of any nuclear deal. 
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Wednesday that Iran's enrichment of uranium as part of its nuclear programme was "non-negotiable" after US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff called for a halt. 
"Iran's enrichment is a real, accepted matter. We are ready to build confidence in response to possible concerns, but the issue of enrichment is non-negotiable," Araghchi told reporters after a cabinet meeting. 
The remarks came as Araghchi and Witkoff are due to meet again in Oman on Saturday, a week after they held the highest-level talks between the longtime foes since US President Donald Trump abandoned a landmark nuclear deal in 2018.
Trump reimposed sweeping sanctions in a policy of "maximum pressure" against Tehran that he has reinstated since returning to office in January.
In March, he sent a letter to Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urging talks but warning of possible military action if they fail to produce a deal.
Both sides described Saturday's meeting as "constructive".
But on Tuesday, Witkoff said Iran must "stop and eliminate" its enrichment of uranium as part of any nuclear deal. 
He had previously demanded only that Iran return to the 3.67 percent enrichment ceiling set by the 2015 accord between Iran and major powers that Trump withdrew from.
Araghchi condemned what he called the "contradictory and conflicting positions" coming out of the Trump administration ahead of Saturday's talks. 
"We will find out the true opinions of the Americans during the negotiation session," he said. 
Iran's top diplomat said he hoped to start negotiations on the framework of a possible agreement but said that required "constructive positions" from the United States. 
"If we continue to (hear) contradictory and conflicting positions, we are going to have problems," he warned.
On Tuesday, Khamenei cautioned that while the talks have proceeded well in their early stages, they could still prove fruitless. 
"The negotiations may or may not yield results," he said. 
ap-mz/kir

ASML

ASML CEO sees growing economic 'uncertainty' from tariffs

BY RICHARD CARTER

  • Tariffs aside, the tech giant was already caught in the middle of a US-led effort to curb high-tech exports to China over fears they could be used to bolster the country's military.
  • Dutch tech giant ASML warned on Wednesday of growing economic uncertainty due to US tariffs but the company kept its 2025 sales forecast intact.
  • Tariffs aside, the tech giant was already caught in the middle of a US-led effort to curb high-tech exports to China over fears they could be used to bolster the country's military.
Dutch tech giant ASML warned on Wednesday of growing economic uncertainty due to US tariffs but the company kept its 2025 sales forecast intact.
Shares in ASML, which makes cutting-edge machines for the chip sector, plunged at the market open, giving up around seven percent as the closely watched net bookings figures came in below expectations.
"Our conversations so far with customers support our expectation that 2025 and 2026 will be growth years," said CEO Christophe Fouquet.
"However, the recent tariff announcements have increased uncertainty in the macro environment and the situation will remain dynamic for a while," he added.
The United States has opened the door to tariffs targeting semiconductors and chip-making equipment, with Trump saying Sunday an announcement would be made "over the next week".
Trump has imposed a 10 percent global tariff on all imports to the United States, while pausing for now higher duties for goods from the European Union and dozens of other countries.
Despite the tariff turmoil, ASML firm predicted sales for this year at between 30 billion and 35 billion euros ($34.1 billion and $39.8 billion), unchanged from previous forecasts.
Net bookings, the figure most scrutinised by traders as a predictor of future performance, were 3.9 billion euros in the first quarter, compared to 7.1 billion euros in the fourth quarter of last year.
This was significantly below what the financial markets had been looking for, resulting in the share sell-off.
Sales for the first quarter came in at 7.7 billion euros, in line with the firm's expectations.
Fouquet predicted second-quarter total net sales between 7.2 billion and 7.7 billion euros.
ASML's net profit came in at 2.4 billion euros, compared to 1.2 billion euros in the first quarter of last year.
Longer term, ASML believes the rapidly expanding AI market will push sales up to between 44 and 60 billion euros by 2030.
"We still see a lot of strength in AI. In fact some of the demand for this year... but also for next year has solidified. So that's very encouraging," said Fouquet.

China chip curbs

The financial impact of the tariffs on the firm, Fouquet said, was "something that we don't know how to quantify yet. But this is adding definitely uncertainty on the long term."
Tariffs aside, the tech giant was already caught in the middle of a US-led effort to curb high-tech exports to China over fears they could be used to bolster the country's military.
Earlier this year, the Dutch government announced it was tightening its export controls on advanced semiconductor production equipment, but said the measures targeted a "very limited" number of goods.
ASML responded at the time that the moves would have "no additional impact" on its business.
Beijing has been infuriated by the export curbs, describing them as "technological terrorism."
ric/lth

Warriors

Kerr salutes Harvard defiance over Trump after Warriors win

  • The president had already moved to freeze $2.2 billion of federal funding to Harvard over its refusal to bow to demands which include how the university selects students. rcw/dhw
  • Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr rallied to the support of Harvard University on Wednesday, praising the US college's refusal to submit to government oversight demanded by President Donald Trump.
  • The president had already moved to freeze $2.2 billion of federal funding to Harvard over its refusal to bow to demands which include how the university selects students. rcw/dhw
Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr rallied to the support of Harvard University on Wednesday, praising the US college's refusal to submit to government oversight demanded by President Donald Trump.
Kerr, who has regularly criticised Trump and campaigned for Democratic candidate Kamala Harris before last year's election, arrived for his post-game news conference following Golden State's victory against Memphis wearing a Harvard t-shirt.
The 59-year-old revealed that he had been sent the shirt by Harvard basketball coach Tommy Amaker, who Kerr described as a friend.
"It felt like a great day to wear it," Kerr said, applauding Harvard's defiance of the Trump administration edict.
"I believe in academic freedom and I think it's crucial for all of our institutions to be able to handle their own business the way they want to, and they should not be shaken down and told what to teach and what to say by our government.
"That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. But it's kind of par for the course right now. So yes, this is me supporting Harvard -- way to go, way to stand up to the bully."
Trump threatened on Tuesday to strip Harvard of its tax-exempt status as the feud with the college escalated. 
The president had already moved to freeze $2.2 billion of federal funding to Harvard over its refusal to bow to demands which include how the university selects students.
rcw/dhw

trade

Trump orders critical minerals probe that may bring new tariffs

  • The imports targeted include so-called critical minerals like cobalt, lithium and nickel, rare-earth elements, as well as products that partly require these resources, such as electric vehicles and batteries.
  • US President Donald Trump ordered a probe Tuesday that may result in tariffs on critical minerals, rare-earth metals and associated products such as smartphones, in an escalation of his dispute with global trade partners.
  • The imports targeted include so-called critical minerals like cobalt, lithium and nickel, rare-earth elements, as well as products that partly require these resources, such as electric vehicles and batteries.
US President Donald Trump ordered a probe Tuesday that may result in tariffs on critical minerals, rare-earth metals and associated products such as smartphones, in an escalation of his dispute with global trade partners.
Trump has upended markets in recent weeks with his sweeping on-off levies, and this investigation could see him impose further tariffs if it shows that imports of critical minerals and their derivatives endanger US national security.
China dominates global supply chains for rare metals.
Without naming any other countries, the order says that the United States is dependent on foreign sources that "are at risk of serious, sustained, and long-term supply chain shocks."
It states that this dependence "raises the potential for risks to national security, defense readiness, price stability, and economic prosperity and resilience."
The imports targeted include so-called critical minerals like cobalt, lithium and nickel, rare-earth elements, as well as products that partly require these resources, such as electric vehicles and batteries.
The order states that critical minerals and their derivatives are essential for US military and energy infrastructure, noting their use in jet engines, missile guidance systems and advanced computing, among others.
The Department of Commerce will have up to 180 days to deliver its report to Trump, the order says, adding that any recommendations for action should consider the imposition of tariffs.
It follows a similar "national security" investigation that Trump ordered Monday into pharmaceutical imports, and another on semiconductors and chip-making equipment.
The process is based on a 1962 law that was seldom used before Trump, during his first 2017-2021 term, called on it to justify imposing taxes on steel and aluminum imports. 
The US president again resorted to this law, known as Section 232, to reintroduce in mid-March tariffs of 25 percent on steel and aluminum, and on automobiles. 
Trump has slapped new tariffs on friend and foe since returning to the presidency this year in a wide-ranging but often chaotic attempt to reorder the world economy by using levies to force manufacturers to relocate to the United States. 
tmc/aem/bjt/dw

social-security

Biden slams Trump 'destruction' in first post-presidency speech

  • Biden's choice of topic, Social Security, aimed to ramp up pressure on Trump over his rampaging government overhaul efforts.
  • Joe Biden, in his first major speech since leaving the White House, railed Tuesday against his successor Donald Trump's frenetic government overhaul, claiming the "hatchet" effort put Americans' retirement benefits at risk.
  • Biden's choice of topic, Social Security, aimed to ramp up pressure on Trump over his rampaging government overhaul efforts.
Joe Biden, in his first major speech since leaving the White House, railed Tuesday against his successor Donald Trump's frenetic government overhaul, claiming the "hatchet" effort put Americans' retirement benefits at risk.
"Fewer than 100 days, this administration has done so much damage, and so much destruction -- it's kind of breathtaking it could happen that soon," Biden told a conference of disability advocates in Chicago.
"They've taken a hatchet to the Social Security administration, pushing 7,000 employees out the door," said the former president, referring to the national agency which pays out retirement and disability benefits.
Wearing a blue suit and tie, and standing in front of American flags, the 82-year-old Democrat spoke for around a half-hour, displaying at times the signs of aging that prompted him to abandon his re-election campaign last year.
He stumbled over some sentences as he read from a teleprompter and struggled to get through winding off-the-cuff anecdotes, cutting himself off with a favorite phrase, "anyways."
President Trump, in a jab at Biden, posted a short video on social media of one of the rambling anecdotes, without comment.
Biden's choice of topic, Social Security, aimed to ramp up pressure on Trump over his rampaging government overhaul efforts.
He highlighted staff reductions at the agency that Trump and his billionaire aide Elon Musk have pushed as part of their "Department of Government Efficiency," saying the Social Security "website is crashing" and hindering retirees from getting their benefits.
The program, which more than 65 million Americans rely on, is colloquially known in Washington as the "third rail of politics" for its sensitivity to voters.
Many Americans "literally count on social security to buy food, just to get by," Biden said, and "many of these beneficiaries, it's their only income. If it were cut or taken away, it would be devastating, devastating for millions of people."
He bashed Trump's commerce secretary, former hedge fund manager Howard Lutnick, over a recent remark in which he said "fraudsters" would complain about a missing check, but not his mother-in-law.
Biden scoffed at that characterization, saying "what about the 94-year-old mother living all by herself -- who doesn't have a billionaire in the family?"
sla/des/dw