New Delhi (TIP)- The Centre may partially compensate exporters for their US shipments under Donald Trump’s punitive tariff regime, three people aware of the discussions said.
With the dawn of steep tariffs, Indian exporters are compelled to reduce prices to stay competitive, which makes a direct hit on their business. The government is now looking to bear 10-15% of the price cuts to help exporters stay in the game, the people cited above said on the condition of anonymity.
The relief, limited to US-bound consignments, will remain in force until the issue is settled through trade talks, which have been delayed but remain under discussion.
The proposal is being coordinated between the ministries of finance and commerce to address the mounting pressure on manufacturers and exporters, particularly those in labour-intensive sectors, which are struggling to execute confirmed orders. The Centre may support some of the affected sectors with 10-15% for the price sacrifice they make to keep their US business going, one of the two people cited above said, though the sectors had asked for even higher support. This aid will help exporters continue to execute their orders and keep the manufacturing process going, the person added.
Given that US importers must pay tariffs on goods imported from India, they are asking their Indian suppliers to reduce prices to compensate for the tariff burden, exporters have said. However, doing so would be an additional burden to the Indian exporter.
The matter was discussed in separate meetings held on Thursday with finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman and commerce minister Piyush Goyal, where stakeholders highlighted the challenges in meeting deadlines for the upcoming spring season.
The government has assured that there is no need to worry about the possible impact of the US tariffs on Indian goods exported to the US, stating the issue is being closely looked at.
The relief package is being explored for labour-intensive goods such as textiles, gems and jewellery, engineering goods, leather and footwear, seafood, among others, the people cited earlier said. “The finance minister sounded positive, stressing that exporters will not be left to face the storm on their own. While she didn’t reveal what specific measures the government is taking, she assured that the government is seized of the matter and will step in to provide support,” said Pankaj Chadha, chairman, Engineering Export Promotion Council. “The 50% tariff undeniably dents cost competitiveness, but it also pushes Indian manufacturers to think beyond pricing. For us, the way forward is twofold-strengthening technology and design leadership so clients see value in performance, and building diversified global linkages that reduce overdependence on any one market,” said Sarvadnya Kulkarni, chief executive officer of General Instruments Consortium, an engineering company. Queries sent to the spokespersons of the Prime Minister’s Office, and the ministries of finance and commerce remained unanswered.
According to a report by Global Trade Research Initiative, the damage could be substantial if the tariff remains in place for long. Once competitors gain ground in the US market, it will be very difficult for Indian exporters to reclaim lost space, and New Delhi will need to step up its engagement with Washington, it stated. Countries such as China, Vietnam, Mexico, Turkey, and even Pakistan, Nepal, Guatemala and Kenya stand to benefit from the US action, potentially locking India out of key markets even after the tariffs are rolled back.
As reported by Mint on 21 August, New Delhi is also exploring the possibility of joining China-led Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership to mitigate potential losses arising from supply chain disruptions amid strained trade relations with the US.
On Wednesday, Aug 27, Peter Navarro, a top aide to US president Donald Trump, characterized the Russia-Ukraine conflict as “Modi’s war,” arguing that India’s continued purchase of discounted Russian oil is funding Moscow’s military efforts. He also criticized India for its high tariffs and for “getting in bed with authoritarians” by aligning with Russia and China.
“India, you are getting in bed with authoritarians. China invaded Aksai Chin and all your territory. They are not your friends. And Russia? Come on!” Navarro told Bloomberg Television in an interview.
Tag: US President Donald Trump
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India may absorb some of tariff heat for US-bound shipments
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Trump rules out trade talks with India amid tariff dispute
- The White House on Wednesday issued an Executive Order imposing an additional 25 percentage points in tariffs on Indian goods, raising the total levy to 50%
- “For us, the interest of our farmers is our top priority,” PM Modi responded
WASHINGTON, D.C. (TIP): US President Donald Trump has said there will be no trade negotiations with India until a dispute over tariffs is resolved, following his administration’s decision to double tariffs on Indian imports.
When pressed by ANI at the Oval Office, whether he expected talks to resume in light of the new 50% tariff, “No, not until we get it resolved,” he replied.
The White House on Wednesday, August 6, issued an Executive Order imposing an additional 25 percentage points in tariffs on Indian goods, raising the total levy to 50%. The administration cited national security and foreign policy concerns, pointing specifically to India’s ongoing imports of Russian oil.
The order claims that these imports, whether direct or via intermediaries, present an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to the United States and justify emergency economic measures.
According to US officials, the initial 25% tariff came into effect on 7 August. The additional levy will take effect in 21 days and apply to all Indian goods entering US ports — with exceptions for items already in transit and certain exempt categories. The order also provides flexibility for the president to modify the measures, depending on changing geopolitical circumstances or retaliatory actions by India or other nations. India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi responded defiantly during a speech at the MS Swaminathan Centenary International Conference in New Delhi, signaling that New Delhi would not back down in the face of economic pressure.
“For us, the interest of our farmers is our top priority,” PM Modi said. “India will never compromise on the interests of farmers, fishermen and dairy farmers. I know we will have to pay a heavy price for it, and I am ready for it. India is ready for it.” India has consistently pushed back against opening sensitive sectors such as agriculture and dairy to international competition, citing the potential impact on millions of rural livelihoods.
The standoff marks a sharp escalation in trade tensions between the two countries, as both sides dig in over economic policy and matters of national interest.
(Source: ANI) -
India, UK ink landmark trade pact to boost economic ties
Bilateral trade to double by 2030 from $56 bn, deal eliminates tariffs on 99% of Indian exports Textiles, gems, EVs win big as pact unlocks $23-bn opportunities; simplified visas for professionals
LONDON / NEW DELHI / NEW YORK (TIP): India and the UK on Thursday, July 24, sealed a landmark free trade agreement (FTA) that will eliminate tariffs on 99 per cent of Indian exports, open new markets for British whisky and automobiles and create thousands of jobs in both nations.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his UK counterpart Keir Starmer attended the signing ceremony, hailing the pact as a transformative step toward enhancing trade, generating employment and stimulating economic growth.The pact, officially called comprehensive economic and trade agreement (CETA), was finalized in May after three years of negotiations. It comes amid shifting global trade dynamics influenced by protectionist policies of US President Donald Trump.
Indian farmers stand to gain preferential access to the UK’s $37.5 billion agricultural market, with reduced tariffs on key exports such as basmati rice, millets, cotton, fruits, vegetables, spices, tea and coffee. Sectors sensitive for India like dairy, vegetables, apples, cooking oils and oats remain protected, while the UK’s $5.4 billion seafood market will open with duties dropping from 20 per cent to zero.
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and UK Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds signed the deal, marking Britain’s most significant trade agreement since Brexit in 2020 and India’s largest strategic partnership to date.
Modi described the pact as “more than just an economic partnership; it is a blueprint for shared prosperity,” while Starmer emphasized its potential to deliver “huge benefits” by making trade cheaper, faster and more efficient.
Bilateral trade between the two nations currently stands at nearly $56 billion, with targets to double this figure by 2030. The CETA ensures duty-free access for 99 per cent of India’s exports to the UK, potentially unlocking $23 billion in new opportunities, said Goyal. Key sectors such as textiles, marine products, leather, footwear, gems, jewelry and engineering goods will benefit from zero tariffs, down from previous rates of 4 per cent to 16 per cent. The UK, in turn, gains from lower duties on clothing, footwear, tea, seafood and coffee.
The agreement also facilitates greater mobility for Indian professionals, including architects, engineers, chefs and IT specialists through streamlined visa processes. Additionally, it opens doors for Indian startups, MSMEs and service providers in IT, finance, law and education.
Notably, tariffs on Scotch whisky will plummet from 150 per cent to 75 per cent immediately, eventually reducing to 40 per cent over 10 years. India will also cut duties on UK cars from over 100 per cent to 10 per cent under a phased quota system, while Indian manufacturers will gain access to the UK’s electric and hybrid vehicle market, also under a quota system.
The deal further benefits the aerospace sector, with India eliminating import duties on components, a move expected to support major contracts with firms like Airbus and Rolls-Royce. With the UK already importing £11 billion worth of Indian goods annually, the liberalized tariffs are poised to make Indian products more affordable for British consumers while boosting export opportunities for Indian businesses, it said in a statement before signing the agreement.
(Source: TNS) -
Trump sues Wall Street Journal over Epstein report, seeks USD 10 billion
Denies WSJ report on Epstein birthday letter, govt wants Epstein grand jury transcripts made public
WASHINGTON, D.C. (TIP): US President Donald Trump sued the Wall Street Journal and its owners including Rupert Murdoch for at least USD 10 billion on Friday, over the newspaper’s report that his name was on a 2003 birthday greeting for Jeffrey Epstein that included a sexually suggestive drawing and a reference to secrets they shared, a Reuter report says.
The lawsuit filed in Miami federal court names Murdoch, Dow Jones, News Corp and its Chief Executive Robert Thomson, and two Wall Street Journal reporters as defendants, saying they defamed Trump and caused him to suffer “overwhelming” financial and reputational harm.
Epstein, the disgraced financier and sex offender, died by suicide in a New York jail cell in 2019.
His case has generated conspiracy theories that became popular among Trump’s base of supporters who believed the government was covering up Epstein’s ties to the rich and powerful.
Trump has said he parted ways with Epstein before the financier’s legal troubles became public in 2006.
The president has vehemently denied the Journal report, which Reuters has not verified, and had warned Murdoch that he planned to sue. Dow Jones, the parent of the newspaper, is a division of News Corp.
“We have just filed a POWERHOUSE Lawsuit against everyone involved in publishing the false, malicious, defamatory, FAKE NEWS ‘article’ in the useless ‘rag’ that is, The Wall Street Journal,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
“I hope Rupert and his ‘friends’ are looking forward to the many hours of depositions and testimonies they will have to provide in this case,” Trump added.
A spokesperson for Dow Jones said in a statement: “We have full confidence in the rigor and accuracy of our reporting, and will vigorously defend against any lawsuit.” The lawsuit called Trump’s alleged birthday greeting “fake,” and said the Journal published its article to harm Trump’s reputation.
“Tellingly, the Article does not explain whether Defendants have obtained a copy of the letter, have seen it, have had it described to them, or any other circumstances that would otherwise lend credibility to the Article,” the lawsuit said.
To prevail on his defamation claims, Trump must show the defendants acted with “actual malice,” meaning they knew the article was false or acted with reckless disregard for its truth.
A $10 billion award would far exceed the largest defamation judgments and settlements in recent history.
These include a $1.5 billion judgment against conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, and Fox News’ settlement with Dominion Voting Systems for $787.5 million.
“Ten billion dollars is a ridiculously high number,” said Jesse Gessin, a lawyer with experience in defamation and First Amendment litigation. “It would be the largest defamation verdict in US history.”
WHITE HOUSE ROILED
The Epstein affair has increasingly disquieted the White House, after the Justice Department this month concluded that there was no evidence to support long-held conspiracy theories about his clients and death.
Some of Trump’s most loyal followers became furious after his administration reversed course on its promise to release files on Epstein.
A Justice Department memo released on July 7 concluded that Epstein killed himself and said there was “no incriminating client list” or evidence that Epstein blackmailed prominent people.
With pressure to release the Epstein files building, Trump on Thursday said he directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to ask a court to release grand jury testimony about Epstein.
The US government on Friday filed a motion in Manhattan federal court to unseal grand jury transcripts in the cases of Epstein and former associate Ghislaine Maxwell.
She was convicted in 2021 of five federal charges related to her role in Epstein’s sexual abuse of underage girls. Maxwell is appealing her conviction and 20-year prison sentence to the US Supreme Court. “Public officials, lawmakers, pundits, and ordinary citizens remain deeply interested and concerned about the Epstein matter,” Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said in the filing. “After all, Jeffrey Epstein is the most infamous pedophile in American history.”
Blanche said prosecutors would work to redact all victim-identifying information before making anything public.
The release of the grand jury documents may fall short of what many of Trump’s supporters have sought, including case files held by the administration, and a judge may reject the administration’s request to make the transcripts public.
BAWDY LETTER
The Journal said the letter bearing Trump’s name was part of a leather-bound birthday book for Epstein that included messages from other high-profile people.
It also said the letter contained several lines of typewritten text framed by the outline of a naked woman, which appeared to be hand-drawn with a heavy marker.
The newspaper said the letter concluded “Happy Birthday – and may every day be another wonderful secret,” and featured the signature “Donald.”
Allegations that Epstein sexually abused girls became public in 2006, after the birthday book was allegedly produced, and he was arrested that year before accepting a plea deal.
Epstein died just over a month after he was arrested for a second time and charged with sex-trafficking conspiracy. Trump was photographed with Epstein multiple times in social situations in the 1990s and early 2000s, and had been a neighbor of Epstein’s in Florida.
He was quoted in 2002 in New York magazine as saying, “I’ve known Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy. He’s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.” In 2019, Trump told reporters that he and Epstein had a “falling out” before the financier was first arrested.
Trump said he “knew him like everybody in Palm Beach knew him” but that “I had a falling out with him. I haven’t spoken to him in 15 years. I was not a fan of his, that I can tell you.”
(Source: Reuter) -
India, US teams conclude 5th round of talks on proposed trade pact: Official
NEW DELHI / WASHINGTON, D.C. (TIP): India and the US teams have concluded the fifth round of talks for the proposed bilateral trade agreement (BTA) in Washington on July 17, an official said.
The negotiations were held for four days (July 14-17) in Washington.
“The Indian team is coming back,” the official said. India’s chief negotiator and special secretary in the Department of Commerce Rajesh Agrawal led the team for negotiations.
These deliberations are important as both sides are looking at finalizing an interim trade deal before August 1, which marks the end of the suspension period of Trump tariffs imposed on dozens of countries, including India (26 per cent).
On April 2 this year, US President Donald Trump announced these high reciprocal tariffs. The implementation of high tariffs was immediately suspended for 90 days till July 9 and later until August 1, as America is negotiating trade deals with various countries.
Issues related to agriculture and automobiles are learnt to have figured during the fifth round of negotiations. Matters related to ways to deal with non-market economies, and SCOMET (Special Chemicals, Organisms, Materials, Equipment, and Technologies) also came up for discussion.
On the possibility for an interim trade agreement before August 1, an official has recently stated, “We are not differentiating between an interim or the first phase of the bilateral trade agreement. We are negotiating a complete deal. Whatever will be finished (agreed upon), we can package it as an interim deal and for the rest, talks will continue”.
India has hardened its position on the US demand for duty concessions on agri and dairy products. New Delhi has, so far, not given any duty concessions to any of its trading partners in a free trade agreement in the dairy sector. Certain farmers’ associations have urged the government not to include any issues related to agriculture in the trade pact.
India is seeking the removal of this additional tariff (26 per cent). It is also seeking the easing of tariffs on steel and aluminum (50 per cent) and the auto sector (25 per cent).
These issues are an important part of the trade pact negotiations, the official said.
Against these, India has reserved its right under the WTO (World Trade Organization) norms to impose retaliatory duties. The country is also seeking duty concessions for labor-intensive sectors, such as textiles, gems and jewelry, leather goods, garments, plastics, chemicals, shrimp, oil seeds, grapes, and bananas, in the proposed trade pact.
On the other hand, the US wants duty concessions on certain industrial goods, automobiles, especially electric vehicles, wines, petrochemical products, agri goods, dairy items, apples, tree nuts, and genetically modified crops.
The two countries are looking to conclude talks for the first tranche of the proposed bilateral trade agreement (BTA) by fall (September-October) this year. Before that, they are looking for an interim trade pact.
India’s merchandise exports to the US rose 22.8 per cent to USD 25.51 billion in the April-June quarter this fiscal year, while imports rose 11.68 per cent to USD 12.86 billion.
(Source: PTI) -
‘Trump missile’ fired 24th time, PM must make statement in Parliament: Congress
NEW DELHI (TIP): With US President Donald Trump once again repeating his claims about the India-Pakistan conflict, the Congress on Saturday, July 19, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should now himself make a clear and categorical statement in Parliament on the American leader’s claims over the last 70 days, says a PTI report.
The opposition party’s assertion came after Trump reportedly said, “We stopped a lot of wars. And these were serious, India and Pakistan, that was going on. Planes were being shot down in the air. I think five jets were shot down, actually.”
“…But India and Pakistan were going at it, and they were back and forth, and it was getting bigger and bigger, and we got it solved through trade. We said, you guys want to make a trade deal. We’re not making a trade deal if you’re going to be throwing around weapons, and maybe nuclear weapons, both very powerful nuclear states,” the US President reportedly said.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said just two days before the Monsoon Session of Parliament begins, “the Trump missile gets fired” for the 24th time with the same two messages.
He pointed out that Trump has again stated that the US stopped the war between India and Pakistan, two countries that have nuclear weapons.
Justice Vibhu Bakhru sworn in as Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court’
View More right-arrow. The US President also reiterated his remarks that there would be no trade deal if the war continued, he said.Trump stated that if India and Pakistan want a trade agreement with the US, they have to agree to an immediate ceasefire, Ramesh pointed out.
“The sensational new revelation by President Trump this time around is that five jets may have been downed,” Ramesh said.
“The prime minister, who has had years of friendship and huglomacy with President Trump going back to Howdy Modi in September 2019 and Namaste Trump in February 2020, has to now himself make a clear and categorical statement in Parliament on what President Trump has been claiming over the past 70 days,” the Congress leader said.
The Congress has been demanding that Modi must answer President Trump’s India-Pakistan “ceasefire” claims in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha during the forthcoming Monsoon session of Parliament.
Since May 10, when Trump announced on social media that India and Pakistan had agreed to a full and immediate ceasefire after a long night of talks mediated by Washington, he has repeated his claim on several occasions that he helped settle the tensions between India and Pakistan.
However, India has been consistently maintaining that the understanding on cessation of hostilities with Pakistan was reached following direct talks between the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of the two militaries.
In a nearly 35-minute phone call with Trump last month, Modi firmly stated that India does not and will “never accept” mediation and that the discussions between Indian and Pakistani militaries on cessation of military actions were initiated at Islamabad’s request.
India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in retaliation for the Pahalgam attack that killed 26 civilians.
India and Pakistan reached an understanding on May 10 to end the conflict after four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes.
(Source: PTI) -
Trump cuts off trade talks with Canada
WASHINGTON, D.C. (TIP): US President Donald Trump has said he is cutting off trade talks with Canada “immediately” as the country looks to start enforcing a tax policy targeting big tech companies.
The latest move, which he announced on social media, comes as the neighboring nations had been working to agree on a trade deal by mid-July.
Both countries have imposed tariffs on each other’s goods after Trump sparked a trade war earlier this year and threatened to annex Canada using “economic force”.
On Friday, June 27, the US president said he was ending talks due to what he called an “egregious tax” on tech companies and added he would announce new tariffs on goods crossing the border within the next week.
“We are hereby terminating ALL discussions on Trade with Canada, effective immediately,” he wrote on social media.
“We will let Canada know the Tariff that they will be paying to do business with the United States of America within the next seven day period.”
In brief comments to reporters, Prime Minister Mark Carney suggested that talks would continue.
“We will continue to conduct these complex negotiations in the best interest of Canadians,” he said.
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Very big deal coming: Trump
WASHINGTON, D.C. (TIP): Just as an Indian delegation reached Washington to resume discussions on a bilateral trade agreement with the Americans, US President Donald Trump said a “very big deal” with India was coming.
“We are having some great deals. We have one coming up, maybe with India, a very big one, where we are going to open up India,” Trump said at a White House event promoting passage of the GOP’s tax and spending cuts legislation on Thursday. Trump also said the US was “starting to open up China” also.
“Things that never really could have happened, and the relationship with every country has been very good,” Trump said without elaborating on details of the deal signed with China.
Trump’s comments on the deal with India came as Indian chief negotiator Rajesh Agarwal reached Washington to resume talks as the deadline to finalize the issue looms. Trump had suspended reciprocal tariffs until July 9. Once the deadline ends, a 26 per cent reciprocal tariff on India would kick in.
Back in India, the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said a trade agreement with the US should not be politically driven or one-sided and India should protect its farmers, digital ecosystem and policy space.
The economic think tank on Friday, June 27, said the more likely outcome of the negotiations could be a limited trade pact styled after the US-UK trade deal announced on May 8.
GTRI founder Ajay Srivastava said, “A trade deal with the US must not be politically driven…it must protect our farmers, digital ecosystem and sovereign regulatory space.”
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Trump imposes sanctions on International Criminal Court
WASHINGTON, D.C. (TIP): US President Donald Trump on Thursday, February 6, authorized economic and travel sanctions targeting people who work on International Criminal Court investigations of US citizens or US allies such as Israel, repeating action he took during his first term, a Reuters report says. ICC condemned the sanctions on Friday, February 7, and called on its 125 member states to support its staff.
“The court stands firmly by its personnel and pledges to continue providing justice and hope to millions of innocent victims of atrocities across the world, in all situations before it,” it said in a statement.
Trump’s move coincided with a visit to Washington by Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who — along with his former defense minister and a leader of Palestinian militant group Hamas — is wanted by the ICC over the war in the Gaza Strip.
It was unclear how quickly the US would announce names of people sanctioned. During the first Trump administration in 2020, Washington imposed sanctions on then-prosecutor Fatou Bensouda and one of her top aides over the ICC’s investigation into alleged war crimes by American troops in Afghanistan.The sanctions include freezing any US assets of those designated and barring them and their families from visiting the United States.
The Netherlands, the host nation of the court based in The Hague, said it regretted the sanctions. “The court’s work is essential in the fight against impunity,” Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp said in a post on X. But Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a staunch ally of Trump, said the sanctions showed it might be time to leave the ICC. The ICC is a permanent court that can prosecute individuals for war crimes.
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Ahead of Nov mid-term elections, Trump coins India-US friendship slogan in Hindi
WASHINGTON, D.C. (TIP): Former US president Donald Trump has coined an India-US friendship slogan in Hindi as part of his efforts to woo the influential Indian-American community before the mid-term elections in November.
“Bharat and America sabse achhe dost” Trump is seen rehearsing and saying in a video released by the Republican Hindu Coalition (RHC). The slogan in English means “India and the United States are best friends”.
In the short 30-second video, Trump is seen seated with his supporter Chicago-based businessman Shalabh Kumar from the Republican Hindu Coalition. The new slogan is inspired by the phenomenal success of the 2016 slogan of Trump in Hindi “Abki Baar Trump Sarkar” which had caught the imagination of the Indian-Americans then and had played a key part in his victories in some of the key swing states.
Kumar, who has been instrumental in both Trump’s slogans “Abki Baar Trump Sarkar” and “Bharat and America sabse achhe dost”, told PTI in an interview this week that he and the RHC plan to run the former president’s latest slogan in the ethnic Indian media to gain Indian-American support and vote for Republicans in the November 8 mid-term elections. Political observers and the latest polls indicate that Republicans are most likely to regain the majority in the House of Representatives. “The end goal is to heavily support five (Republican) candidates for Senate” where the margin of victory is going to be “less than 50,000 votes. Some might be even 10,000 votes or 5,000 votes,” Kumar said. These Senate races are in the states of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Wisconsin, Arizona and Georgia, he said, adding that the small Hindu community in these states can make that difference. “The Hindu vote will make the difference. That’s the biggest block of independent voters,” Kumar said in response to a question.
“We are going to have a (national) campaign (with focus on these states) which is going to be close to what the 2016 campaign was,” he said.
Kumar and the RHC were an important part of Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. However, the two fell apart in the 2020 presidential elections. Kumar says early this year he met Trump at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida on March 21. There have been a few meetings after that as well. Indian-Americans comprise slightly more than 1 per cent of the total US population and less than 1 per cent of all registered voters.
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Trump Jr criticizes Nikki Haley for ‘sitting on the sidelines’ on prez’s vote counting fraud claims
NEW YORK (TIP): In an apparent attack on popular Indian-American Republican politician Nikki Haley, Donald Trump Jr has accused that “2024 GOP hopefuls” are “sitting on the sidelines” and not speaking out against the “fraud” in counting of votes as claimed by his father and US President Donald Trump. Trump, 74, is trailing behind his Democratic rival Joe Biden, who is nearing the magical figure of 270 electoral votes to win the race to the White House. The former US vice president has so far bagged 253 votes as compared to 213 won by Trump, according to latest US media projections. To win the election, a candidate has to win at least 270 electoral college votes out of the 538 up for grabs.
The incumbent president has claimed without presenting any evidence that there has been “fraud” in counting of votes and he will legally challenge the election result.
“All of a sudden everything just stopped. This is a fraud on the American public. This is an embarrassment to our country. We were getting ready to win this election. Frankly, we did win this election…Our goal now is to ensure integrity, for the good of this nation…This is a major fraud on our nation. We want law to be used in a proper manner. So we’ll be going to the US Supreme Court,” Trump told his supporters on Wednesday.
Responding to a tweet on Thursday, Trump Jr said, “This is an important point! Everyone should be watching who is actually fighting this flagrant nonsense and who is sitting on the sidelines. Republicans have been weak for decades which has allowed for the left to do these things. Let’s end that trend once and for all.” He was responding to a Twitter user who wrote, “Where are the so-called future of the GOP? Nikki Haley is doing what?”
In a series of tweets later, Trump Jr said, “The total lack of action from virtually all of the ‘2024 GOP hopefuls’ is pretty amazing. They have a perfect platform to show that they’re willing & able to fight but they will cower to the media mob instead. Don’t worry @realDonaldTrump will fight & they can watch as usual!” The 48-year-old former US Ambassador to the United Nations, Haley is seen as a potential Republican candidate for president in 2024.
She also has the distinction of being the first ever Indian-American Cabinet ranking official in any administration. Haley, who had campaigned for Trump during the just concluded presidential election, later tweeted, “We all owe @realDonaldTrump for his leadership of conservative victories for Senate, House, & state legislatures.” “He (President Trump) and the American people deserve transparency & fairness as the votes are counted. The law must be followed. We have to keep the faith that the truth will prevail,” she added.
(Source: PTI)
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Swedish environment activist Greta Thunberg mocks Trump in his own words
“So ridiculous. Donald must work on his anger management problem, then go to a good old-fashioned movie with a friend! Chill, Donald, Chill.”
WASHINGTON (TIP): Amid ongoing tensions over the results of the US presidential election, Swedish environment activist Greta Thunberg has mocked US President Donald Trump in his own words in the ultimate social media revenge. In response to Trump’s “stop the count” tweet, the 17-year-old said on the micro-blogging platform on Thursday: “So ridiculous. Donald must work on his anger management problem, then go to a good old-fashioned movie with a friend! Chill, Donald, Chill.” Thunberg’s tweet was the exact copy of the one that Trump posted in December 2019 criticizing the Time magazine’s decision to name her “Person of the Year”.
“So ridiculous. Greta must work on her Anger Management problem, then go to a good old-fashioned movie with a friend! Chill Greta, Chill!,” the President had tweeted on December 12, 2019.
Within hours of posting, the teenage activist’s tweet has garnered over 1 million likes and nearly 300,000 retweets. The development comes as President Trump has made controversial broad allegations of voter fraud in Tuesday’s election. “If you count the legal votes, I easily win,” the President told reporters at the White House earlier on Thursday, implying that some of the postal ballots, the counting of which he was trying to stop was illegal. “If you count the illegal votes, they can try to steal the election from us. If you count the votes that came in late, we’re looking at them very strongly, but a lot of votes came in late.
“This is a case where they’re trying to steal an election, trying to rig an election,” he asserted.
Trump’s allegations about election fraud brought immediate condemnation from the media, almost all of which labelled it “false”, and politicians in Republican and Democratic parties.
The main TV networks, ABC, CBS and NBC, stopped broadcasting his speech midway. Meanwhile, his Democratic rival Joe Biden said: “Each ballot must be counted and that’s what is going on now. And that’s how it should be. Democracy is sometimes messy, so sometimes it requires a little patience.” While the New York Times and CBS gave Biden 253 electoral college votes, the Associated Press and Fox News gave him 264 votes and Trump 214, both projections put the presidency in Biden’s reach.
(Agencies)
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Biden vows to rejoin Paris Climate Agreement
NEW YORK (TIP): On November 4, the US formally withdrew from the 2015 Paris Agreement on Climate Change. Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has pledged that his administration would rejoin the historic Paris Agreement on climate change.
Mr. Biden, 77, has not won the presidential elections yet, but is inching closer to be declared the winner by garnering 253 electoral votes out of the required 270. His Republican rival and incumbent US President Donald Trump has got 213 electoral votes, according to latest projections released by the US media. On November 4, the US formally withdrew from the 2015 Paris Agreement on Climate Change, a decision originally announced three years ago.
“Today, the Trump Administration officially left the Paris Climate Agreement. And in exactly 77 days, a Biden Administration will rejoin it,” Mr. Biden tweeted on Wednesday night, reflecting his decision to reverse one of the key policies of the Trump administration on day one.
The US, under the Obama administration, had acceded to the Paris Agreement in 2016. It was a signature achievement of the Obama administration.
The Paris accord committed the US and 187 other countries to keeping rising global temperatures below 2C above pre-industrial levels and attempting to limit them even more, to a 1.5C rise.
Mr. Trump argues that the agreement is disadvantageous for the US, while it gives benefits to countries like China, Russia and India. According to him, it could be economically detrimental and cost 2.5 million Americans their jobs by 2025. The decision by the US – one of the world’s biggest emitters of greenhouse gases – to quit the agreement has led to condemnation from environmentalists and expressions of regret from world leaders.
Mr. Biden has proposed a USD 5 trillion plan to combat climate change.
The US is the second leading producer of all carbon dioxide emissions globally, behind China.
President Trump originally announced his intention to withdraw from the agreement in 2017 and formally notified the United Nations last year. The US exited the pact after a mandatory year-long waiting period that ended on Wednesday.
The US is the only country to withdraw from the global pact. It can still attend negotiations and give opinions, but is relegated to observer status. Mr. Trump had stated that he intended to renegotiate the details of the US’ membership within the Paris Agreement that can better protect US workers in industries like coal, paper, and steel.
(Agencies)
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Indian Americans believe Joe Biden, Kamala Harris have best Understanding of Community
WASHINGTON (TIP): Joe Biden and his running mate Senator Kamala Harris have the best understanding of the Indian-American community, the leaders supporting the two Democratic candidates have said, describing US President Donald Trump as a “foe” who criticizes India on the world stage.
With less than four to go for the November 3 presidential election, Indian Americans on Friday asserted that Biden, first as a US Senator and thereafter as the vice president, has a strong track record of helping the community.
Trump, a Republican, is being challenged by Biden in the US presidential election.
“After four years of the Trump administration, we know our children and grandchildren will not have the same opportunities as we had. We need a leader who understands our community, our values, our pride and appreciates our hard work and gives equal opportunity and say in his administration,” said Ajay Jain Bhutoria, a Silicon Valley-based entrepreneur.
Mr Bhutoria said that Biden and Harris are the leaders who will lead the country out of this mess and restore its soul, revive the middle-class economy and re-establish America’s leadership on the world stage and best relationship with India.
Referring to the final presidential debate between Trump and Biden on Friday, Mr Bhutoria said that the president criticized India on the world stage. “The community understands who the real friend of India is, who the foe. Trump is a foe. Most recently on the debate stage saying- you cannot trust India’s COVID-19 numbers and India is filthy. He has suspended the H1 Visa Programme, put trade deals with India in jeopardy, and has used (Indian Prime Minister Narendra) Modi’s friendship for photo opportunities only,” he alleged.
During the final presidential debate, Trump accused China, India and Russia of not taking care of their “filthy air” as he justified America’s withdrawal from the landmark Paris climate agreement.
“Biden celebrated Diwali with (former) President Obama in the White House and at his residence. The former vice president has a deep connection with Indo-American community and India. Biden understands the values of Indo Americans. In his recent Op-ed he shares how he felt deeply connected to the Indian community and the values of the Indian community,” he said.
Indian-Americans share deep connections with Biden and Kamala Harris, he said. According to a recent survey, 80 per cent of Indian-American community is strongly behind Biden and Harris.
“Indo Americans understand that the way they share their values with Biden and Harris, (they) think that (US President Donald) Trump does not share their values and has failed and is leading America on the wrong path,” Mr Bhutoria said.
California State Assembly member Ash Kalra said that he has known Senator Harris and her sister Maya for over two decades.
“Kamala’s pride of her Indian heritage runs as deep as her love for her late mother, Shyamala Gopalan Harris. Kamala speaks fondly of her trips to India as a child and connects many of the ideals she fights for as an elected leader to the Indian values of her upbringing,” he said.
“With Joe Biden, a leader who during the course of his long career has proven his deep understanding of the needs of the Indian community, Kamala Harris will reaffirm the commitment our future president will have to our needs. The entire Indian community will be well represented with her as our next vice president,” Kalra said.
Aditi Pal with Desi Blue said that the community has always known Biden as a friend of India.“Seven years ago, as vice president, he told business leaders in Mumbai that the US-India partnership was the defining relationship of the 21st Century. As a Senator, he was instrumental in the passing of India’s Civil Nuclear Deal. And it was during Obama-Biden administration that the two countries saw their best years for the Indo-US relationship. Joe’s choice of Kamala Harris also gave us immigrants from India a sense of pride,” she said.
“Joel’s humility & inclusiveness is evident when he tells immigrants ”thank you for choosing America”,” she added.
According to Ashok Bhatt, businessman and former California Water commissioner, Obama-Biden administration Democrats gave India priority. When Narendra Modi became Prime Minister, Obama-Biden welcomed him and opened up economic areas and visas to students and tourists. H1 visas became so liberal and India benefitted the most from it.
“I believe the Biden-Kamala team will be great for Indo-American relationships and the economy of both countries will be flourishing,” Mr Bhatt said.
Biden is deeply connected to the Indian American community. As vice president, Biden strengthened relations with India and Indian Americans, said Neha Dewan from South Asians for Biden.
“The Obama-Biden administration appointed Indian Americans to serve in high level cabinet and ambassador positions, and as judges. Biden has consistently recognized Indian Americans,” she said.
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Trump slams his ‘favorite’ Fox News for covering Obama’s campaign
WASHINGTON (TIP): US President Donald Trump Tuesday, October 27, slammed his “favorite” Fox News channel for broadcasting live his predecessor Barack Obama’s poll campaign for his opponent and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden. “Fox (News) puts him on all the time and they put sleepy Joe on all the time and what they should do is they should show the picture of sleepy Joe yesterday when he rushed to Pennsylvania because he saw that I had 25,000 people at each event,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “When he rushed to Pennsylvania and he did a statement and he got lost in a fog. They should show that,” he said as he expressed disappointment over the election coverage of the Democratic presidential candidate.
“They should show the picture where he (Biden) called me George. He thought I was George. I guess he’s talking about George Bush, but he thought I was George and they should show that,” he said.“Fox is very disappointing. But Fox puts on this—this would not have happened with Roger Ailes, I can tell you that,” Trump said.The Hill Newspaper on Tuesday reported that the president has for months had a love-hate public relationship with Fox News. He watches the network regularly, tweeting clips from its shows and responding to programming in real, it said.
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Indian American Hip-hop lover judge to try Google case
WASHINGTON (TIP): Hip-hop loving Indian American US district judge Amit P. Mehta is set to preside over Trump administration’s landmark antitrust lawsuit against search engine giant Google.
In its most aggressive move since its case against Microsoft more than 20 years ago, the US Justice Department and 11 states have accused Google of weaponizing its dominance in online search and advertising to kill off competition and harm consumers.
“Two decades ago, Google became the darling of Silicon Valley as a scrappy startup with an innovative way to search the emerging Internet. That Google is long gone,” the complaint alleged.
Calling the lawsuit “deeply flawed,” Google asserted in a tweet that “People use Google because they choose to — not because they’re forced to or because they can’t find alternatives.”
Gujarat-born Amit Priyavadan Mehta lit up his online fandom when in an epic footnote to a 2015 judgment in a copyright infringement case, he claimed to be no “lay person” when it comes to hip-hop music and lyrics.
“The court has listened to hip-hop for decades and considers among his favorite musical artistes, perhaps as a sign of his age, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Drake, and Eminem,” Mehta wrote.
Appointed by President Barack Obama as a District judge for the District of Columbia in December 2014, he became the first Asia Pacific American judge on what is considered the second highest court in the US after the Supreme Court.
Raised in Reisterstown, Maryland, Mehta received his BA degree in 1993 from Georgetown University and a JD in 1997 from the University of Virginia School of Law.
Beginning his career in a San Francisco law firm before clerking in the Ninth Circuit court, Mehta went on to work at the Washington DC-based law firm Zuckerman Spaeder LLP.
Focusing on white-collar criminal defense, complex business disputes, and appellate advocacy, he also worked as a public defender in Washington for five years.
Among his more famous cases, Mehta was part of the defense team for former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn in a sexual assault case filed against him by hotel maid Nafissatou Diallo.
In July 2019, he ruled in favor of pharmaceutical firms, blocking a Trump administration rule that required drug makers to put prices in television ads, mainly to lower the cost of prescription medications.
In another case Mehta ruled that President Donald Trump couldn’t block a subpoena from a House committee seeking financial records from his accounting firm.
The decision enraged Trump, who slammed it as a “crazy” decision by an “Obama appointed judge”.
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Biden wins, according to polls sponsored by the mainstream media; Trafalgar poll predicts Trump will win
By Ven Parameswaran There are only 12 days to the Presidential election on November 3, 2020. Everyone is interested in knowing who has better chances to win – President Trump or former Vice President Biden. This discussion and speculation will keep on going till the election.
All the TV networks including Fox, CBS, ABC, NBC, CNN and the mainstream media including NYT and Washington Post and the polls sponsored by them have been predicting Biden will win by a comfortable margin. How can one believe them? They predicted in 2016 that Hillary Clinton would win.But Trump defeated Clinton by 306 electoral votes, though Clinton won the popular vote by 2%.
Therefore, the decision will be made by the voters in battleground states of Florida, North Carolina, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, and Wisconsin. In 2016, Trump’s major victory against Clinton was in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Ohio, and Michigan. He won with a narrow margin of 77,000 votes combined from these four states. According to my calculations Trump has good chances to win New Hampshire, Nevada, and Minnesota this year.
The upstart Trafalgar does not see 2020 the same way everyone else does. Trafalgar’s strategist Robert Cahaly was born in Georgia and got involved in politics going door-to-door as a kid. He started a political consulting firm with some others in the late 1990s. Around 2008, he says, they realized that the polling they were getting was not very good, so they started doing their own. He says they got good, accurate results in the races they were working.
In the 2016 primaries, they started putting out some of their own polls. “Our polls ended up being the best ones in South Carolina and Georgia, “ Cahaly says. “So we started studying what it was that made those so different.”
Then there was the breakthrough in the 2016 general election. “We ended up having an incredible year,” he says. “I mean, we got Pennsylvania right. We got Michigan right. We had the best poll in five of the battleground states in 2016. And I actually predicted 306 to 232 on the electoral college. And we went from doing a little bit of polling on the side to that (being) our primary business in about 24 hours. And since then, that is what we have been doing.”
As a general matter, he discounts national polls. First, because the race for the presidency is won state by state, not on the basis of the national vote. Second, because all the methodological difficulties involved in getting a balanced, representative sample in a state poll of 1,000 people are magnified in a national survey. It is easily skewable at that point, and you start making assumptions.
So how does he see the 2020 race? Fundamentally, as a motivation race, rather than a persuasion race, with perhaps 1.5 per cent, at most, of the electorate UNDECIDED in battleground states.
The likeliest Trump electoral path to victory involves winning the battlegrounds of North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Arizona, and either Michigan or Pennsylvania among the former Blue Wall states (assuming he does not lose states such as Iowa or Ohio).
THIS IS CAHALY’S BREAKDOWN: He believes Trump will win North Carolina and Florida and discount’s Biden’s chances in Georgia because the Republican-base vote is too big there (the same is true in Texas).
As for Arizona, “I think Trump has the lead,” Cahaly says. “I think Republican Senator Martha McSally has some ground to make up. I see her about 5 points behind Trump, but I think Trump will probably win the state. And win it by a couple of points or more. And if he wins it big enough, McSally has a shot.”
Trump is not there yet in Pennsylvania, according to Cahaly. “Right now, we have got him down in Pennsylvania,” he says, “I think if it were held today, the Undecides would break toward Trump and there would be some hidden vote.
In Michigan, Trafalgar has Trump ahead. “I think he will win Michigan, “ Cahaly says, citing fear of the Democratic economic agenda.
Overall, Cahaly sees another Trump win. “If it all happened right now,” he maintains, “my best guess would be an Electoral College victory in the high to 270s, low 280s.”
THERE IT IS. AMONG POLLSTERS, YOU HEARD IT FROM ROBERT CAHALY FIRST, AND PERHAPS EXCLUSIVELY—A POSITION HE HAS BEEN IN BEFORE.
I must point out that the second Presidential debate scheduled for 22nd October can have an impact.
Do not forget Trump has been most unpredictable. President Obama said Trump won’t run, won’t be nominated and cannot win against Hillary Clinton. Nobody expected Trump would defeat nine veteran governors and 5 senators in the Primaries. Trump proved everyone wrong by defeating the most popular Hillary Clinton. There are more women voters than men voters.
Trump is generating more enthusiasm than Biden. The working class of America cannot forget Trump brought the unemployment to 3.4%, a 50-year record. Four organizations have nominated Trump for Nobel Peace Prize based on foreign policy achievements, especially peace in the Middle East.
THE GALLUP POLL ASKED THE AMERICANS: Are you better off today than four years ago? 56% said they are better off. This is the most favorable poll for Trump.The question was coined by President Ronald Reagan during the Presidential debate.
(Ven Parameswaran, Chairman, Asian American Republican Committee (founded 1988), lives in Scarsdale, NY. He can be reached at vpwaren@gmail.com)
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Finally, a substantive and informative debate
By Gary Abernathy NBC’s Kristen Welker maintains order for final presidential debate
As always, the “winner” of Thursday’s debate will be largely a matter of partisan opinion. The undisputed winner was journalism. After too many missteps in the Trump era when the media has fallen short of past standards, Welker did a good job of returning some respect to the profession.
The debate Thursday night between President Trump and former vice president Joe Biden was so substantive and informative it sometimes bordered on boring, reflecting a level of gravitas we need more of in politics today.
Trump, of course, can be counted on to bring at least a minimum level of bombast. He has a knack for enlivening things even when it seems safe to nod off. He was determined to inject into this nationwide broadcast claims about the business dealings of Hunter Biden, including allegations that the elder Biden was aware of — and involved in — his son’s business dealings (something Joe Biden has denied).
Whether Trump laid a glove on Biden isn’t yet clear, but it was to moderator Kristen Welker’s credit that, even if she didn’t invoke Hunter Biden herself, she also didn’t try to stop Trump from doing so. Biden responded mostly by trying to change the subject to Trump’s foreign dealings. Eventually, Biden will need to answer in more detail questions about his son’s foreign business arrangements, and his attempt to blame Russia for these allegations is all but certain to seem obviously nonsensical.
Over an hour and a half, the debate also covered the pandemic, health care in general, foreign business dealings, the economy, immigration, race relations, climate change, energy and leadership. Viewers were able to hear the stark and substantial differences between the candidates.
On the more than 500 children separated from their parents at the border, Biden did a good job making the emotional case for the tragedy of such circumstances. But Trump was effective in explaining efforts being made to reunite children and parents and the care that children are receiving in the meantime. And when Trump charged that the Obama administration initially supplied the notorious “cages” that housed children, Biden never answered Trump’s repeated question: “Who built the cages, Joe?”
On how governors have handled covid-19, Biden scored with his comment that he doesn’t look at states “in the way [Trump] does, blue states, red states,” saying that to him, “they’re all the United States.” Trump’s upbeat outlook on covid-19 may strike some as too rosy, but it stood in contrast to Biden’s “dark winter” and suggestion that Americans are learning not to live with the virus but “to die with it.” Voters tend to prefer optimism to defeatism. And Biden’s late-in-the-game admission, under pressure from Trump, that he would transition the country away from the oil industry might haunt him.
Trump was good Thursday evening, and probably not just because of the debate sponsors’ decision to mute microphones if necessary to allow for uninterrupted answers. The president took a different approach to this debate than he did to the first one, which was a disaster for him. Trump’s performance Thursday encapsulated what makes him frustrating for those who want him to succeed. This is the version of Trump many of his supporters want to see more often — smart, informed and even presidential. Sadly, he doesn’t show up often enough.
As moderator, NBC’s Welker offered a master class in handling the two candidates. It stood in sharp contrast to last week’s examples of what not to do at the competing town halls that replaced the canceled second debate.
Last week, Trump was aggressively — some might say rudely — grilled by NBC’s Savannah Guthrie, who turned what was intended to be an audience-driven event into a one-on-one debate. Bizarrely, Guthrie spent an inordinate amount of time pressing Trump on QAnon, a fringe conspiracy movement most Americans aren’t focused on as an election issue. In the event’s opening minutes, she also demanded that Trump denounce white-supremacy groups, a favorite media topic no matter how many times Trump repudiates them.
On ABC, meanwhile, Biden was treated like an old friend dropping by for drinks. Moderator George Stephanopoulos never broached reporting in the New York Post and other outlets on emails purportedly obtained from a laptop belonging to Hunter Biden. Stephanopoulos only mildly pressed Biden on whether he would pack the Supreme Court, settling for a “noncommittal committal” that Biden would answer the question before Election Day — depending on how the Amy Coney Barrett nomination turned out.
These set the stage for how Welker would moderate Thursday’s face-off. She was respectful and tough in equal measure for both candidates, allowing them to make their points but always returning to the topics she wanted addressed. Focusing on the agenda, she put both candidates on the spot. For instance, she hit Trump hard on the allegations of racism frequently leveled against him, but she also pressed Biden on negative consequences of the 1994 crime bill he oversaw as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. And so it went throughout the night, fair and balanced.
As always, the “winner” of Thursday’s debate will be largely a matter of partisan opinion. The undisputed winner was journalism. After too many missteps in the Trump era when the media has fallen short of past standards, Welker did a good job of returning some respect to the profession.
(Gary Abernathy is contributing Columnist with Washington Post)
(Source: Washington Post)
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U.S.- India 2+2 talks will focus on regional issues
NEW DELHI (TIP): US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and US Secretary of Defense Mark T. Esper will arrive in New Delhi on October 26 and meet with their Indian counterparts External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Defense Minister Rajnath Singh the next day to discuss “salient regional” issues . They are also scheduled to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.
“The Third India-U.S. 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue will entail a comprehensive discussion on cross-cutting bilateral issues of mutual interest. In addition, both sides will also exchange views on salient regional and global issues,” said Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Anurag Srivastava during a weekly briefing with journalists.
On Wednesday, October 21, Mr. Pompeo had said talks during his visit will include “discussions on how free nations can work together to thwart threats posed by the Chinese Communist Party.”
However, the MEA did not respond to a specific question about whether LAC tensions, and the ongoing talks with China would feature during the 2+2 meeting, nor would Mr. Srivastava comment on which agreements, including the geo-spatial agreement BECA would be signed at the meetings, adding that he would rather not “prejudge the outcomes” of the visit.
“India and U.S. have a comprehensive global strategic partnership which includes political, security and defense, economic, commercial, technology and people-to-people contacts. We have regular dialogue for various levels to discuss ongoing bilateral cooperation and to exchange views on developments in the region,” the MEA statement said.
The MEA denied that the timing of the visit of senior U.S. officials exactly one week before U.S. elections on November 3, was unusual, and said it followed the pattern of “2+2” meetings in previous years.
“As regards the timing of the meeting, you know that diplomatic calendars have their logic, and you will notice that the earlier two meetings have been held towards the end of the year,” Mr. Srivastava said in response to a question from The Hindu.
In a separate response on progress in border negotiations with China, the MEA said, “India and China continue to have discussions through both diplomatic and military channels to peacefully resolve the issues along the LAC in India China Border areas.. []The immediate task is to ensure a comprehensive disengagement of troops in all the friction areas.”
Mr. Pompeo will also travel to Maldives, Sri Lanka and Indonesia during the visit, where his focus will remain on the U.S.’s Indo-Pacific strategy, which he has frequently repeated, will involve “countering” the challenge from China.
The 2+2 Foreign and Defense Minister’s mechanism, which was announced by U.S. President Trump and PM Modi during their first meeting in 2017, was held in Delhi in September 2018 and in Washington DC in December 2019. It replaced the “India-U.S. Strategic and Commercial dialogue”, involving the Foreign and Commerce Ministers, announced by then U.S. President Barack Obama and PM Modi in 2015.
(Source: EAM / The Hindu)
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The final debate, a Pandora’s Box of Accusations and Lies
“I am the least racist person in this room”, Trump claimed.NEW YORK (TIP): The October 22 debate between President Donald Trump and Vice President Joe Biden may be characterized as a friendly verbal duel between the two. President Trump, heeding the counsel of his advisors did manage to overcome his impulse to attack left and right, and appear aggressive. He was assertive though, with all his unfounded accusations and claims, but the saving grace was an absence of Trumpian aggression. He did try to provoke Biden by repeatedly referring to the latter’s and his son Hunter Biden’s shady financial deals with countries like Ukraine, Russia and China.
Debate Moderator NBC White House Correspondent Kristen Welker chose 6 topics for the debate which included Coronavirus, American Families, Race in America, Climate Change , National Security, and Leadership.
U.S. President Donald Trump defended his approach to the coronavirus outbreak and claimed the worst of the pandemic was in the past.
Democrat Joe Biden renewed his attacks on U.S. President Donald Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic while Trump leveled unfounded corruption accusations at Biden and his family.
Trump appeared to be straight lying with regard to his claim that the Coronavirus vaccine will be ready in weeks. When Moderator Kristen Welker asked him if he was guaranteeing that the vaccine will be ready “in weeks”, he said “NO”, and tried to explain away that many companies were almost there. And, on demand from Welker, he named a few companies , adding there were many others engaged in developing the vaccine.
But even when the subject was the pandemic, Trump was foreshadowing what was to come, which was his onslaught of hazy accusations about Biden’s son Hunter and his foreign financial entanglements which have sprouted into Biden family entanglements, which Trump couldn’t really explain and didn’t really have his facts straight on and which are wholly unproven if not outright disproved. But still, Trump carried on with this story line through the foreign policy conversation — with a slight detour to fracking — and on through health care where he looks forward to the complete dismantling of the Affordable Care Act but still has yet to pull the big, beautiful Republican health care plan out of his hat.
Biden spent much of this time declaring himself innocent of any foreign wrongdoing and reminding Trump that he was, in fact, not running against Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) or Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) or any of the Democratic governors who have gotten under Trump’s skin. “He thinks he’s running against someone else. He’s running against Joe Biden,” said Joe Biden.
One of the final topics of discussion was race and it was, as always, the most nerve-racking. What white supremacist group will the president refuse to disavow? What racist retweet will he refuse to acknowledge? What horrible thing will the president say and then declare himself misunderstood? Welker asked each candidate to speak directly to Black Americans who feel compelled to give their children “the talk” in which they snatch away their innocence and explain how they must interact with police officers with a combination of fear and self-preservation. Do you empathize with those families?, Welker asked.
Biden spoke first and looked into the camera as he both outlined his understanding of “the talk” and what it means to have to deliver it. Trump couldn’t keep his gaze directed at the viewers. His eyes darted from the moderator to Biden and back again. As the conversation moved on to the Black Lives Matter movement and systemic racism, the president bragged about his funding of historically Black colleges and universities and his support of criminal justice reform. “I am the least racist person in this room,” he declared. But what does he say to those who believe he throws fuel on the fires of racial animosity and hatred? “I don’t know what to say.” And perhaps that was his most honest moment of the night.
In closing, Welker asked each man to imagine his Inauguration Day speech. What might he say to those Americans who didn’t vote for him? How would he bind up the country? Trump spoke of money. “Success is going to bring us together,” he said. Trump believes that all things are transactional and when enough money is offered, anything, anyone can be bought. Black Americans can buy themselves out of racism. Women can buy themselves gender parity. The country can buy back its disintegrating reputation as humane and just.
Biden’s inaugural speech would not ignore the economy. But it would also recognize that some things simply do not have a price. “I’m going to make sure you’re represented,” he said. “I’m going to choose hope over fear.”
It should be said to the credit of Kristen Welker that she was in total control of the debate, unlike Chris Wallace who was moderator for the first debate on September 29 , when he had often to raise his voice many a time to bring about order.
(With inputs from agencies)
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Trump’s ‘filthy’ comment on India dismays strategists
‘Look at India, it’s filthy,’ the US President said in the Oct 22 presidential debate
NEW DELHI / NEW YORK (TIP): After not figuring in the first presidential debate between US President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden, India did crop up in the second edition but not in the manner proponents of a much closer Indo-US strategic relations would have wished for. “Look at China. How filthy it is. Look at Russia. Look at India, it’s filthy. The air is filthy,’’ said Trump in a remark that cut several strategic analysts to the bone. On the other hand, the US has the “lowest number in carbon emissions”, he claimed.
Several questioned on social media the need for Trump to make an unsavory reference to India when they were expecting Indo-US ties to turn the strategic corner during the forthcoming visit of two top American cabinet ministers to India. They also wondered if Trump had this view of India why did he pay a return stadium-visit to Ahmedabad barely six months after being hosted in a Houston stadium by PM Narendra Modi.
Biden did not mention India.
Trump was responding to debate moderator Kristen Welker’s question on how he would simultaneously combat climate change and support job growth.The debate was expected to feature India and the wider neighborhood. During the first debate, the two candidates did not speak much on the American foreign policy, especially in the Asia Pacific, which seems to be the focus of the current administration.
One reason for the cursory references to foreign policy is also because one debate was cancelled after Trump refused to participate in an on-line format.Welker had chosen six topics for in-depth discussions. Three of them were domestic issues while the other three – climate change, leadership and national security – had foreign policy ramifications. Trump, however, was consistent in his observations in blaming the three countries. In the first debate on September 29, he had said, “China sends up real dirt into the air. Russia does, India does — they all do.’’
(Source: The Tribune)
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Trump’s ‘filthy’ comment on India dismays strategists
‘Look at India, it’s filthy,’ the US President said in the Oct 22 presidential debate
NEW DELHI / NEW YORK (TIP): After not figuring in the first presidential debate between US President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden, India did crop up in the second edition but not in the manner proponents of a much closer Indo-US strategic relations would have wished for.
“Look at China. How filthy it is. Look at Russia. Look at India, it’s filthy. The air is filthy,’’ said Trump in a remark that cut several strategic analysts to the bone. On the other hand, the US has the “lowest number in carbon emissions”, he claimed.
Several questioned on social media the need for Trump to make an unsavory reference to India when they were expecting Indo-US ties to turn the strategic corner during the forthcoming visit of two top American cabinet ministers to India. They also wondered if Trump had this view of India why did he pay a return stadium-visit to Ahmedabad barely six months after being hosted in a Houston stadium by PM Narendra Modi.
Biden did not mention India.
Trump was responding to debate moderator Kristen Welker’s question on how he would simultaneously combat climate change and support job growth.
The debate was expected to feature India and the wider neighborhood. During the first debate, the two candidates did not speak much on the American foreign policy, especially in the Asia Pacific, which seems to be the focus of the current administration.
One reason for the cursory references to foreign policy is also because one debate was cancelled after Trump refused to participate in an on-line format.
Welker had chosen six topics for in-depth discussions. Three of them were domestic issues while the other three – climate change, leadership and national security – had foreign policy ramifications.
Trump, however, was consistent in his observations in blaming the three countries. In the first debate on September 29, he had said, “China sends up real dirt into the air. Russia does, India does — they all do.’’
(Source: The Tribune)
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Trump continues to be most unpredictable, as in 2016
By Ven Parameswaran Youth interest in voting has hit its lowest since 2000, GALLUP reports
Does Ohio provide a model?
The shy Trump vote is bigger this year…and who falls into this category should terrify Democrats. I will say it again, folks. The polling is skewed. It is a mess. Either we are right to be highly skeptical and Trump wins an Electoral College landslide, or the pollsters are right and Biden wins landslide. Young Americans are not excited about this election at all. They are not planning on voting. Gallup is reporting the youth interest in voting this cycle has hit its lowest since 2000. That is in keeping with the results from Democracy Institute’s Patrick Basham, whose polling data, which has been mentioned in The Washington Times and Forbes, suggests there will be one million fewer young people voting this cycle. Hill-Harris X Research shows younger voters are consistently more likely to say they do not plan to vote.
Basham spoke with Joseph Cotto about his new data. Pollwatch had a good thread summarizing the interview. Democracy Institute’s poll had a sample size of 1500 voters, where Trump leads Joe Biden by one point. He also noted that the “shy Trump” vote is very much alive and will be bigger this time. Suburban white women and urban black women are the two groups that are most likely to fall into the shy category for the 2020 cycle. That latter part should shake Democrats to their core. And as for Florida, a state that Biden must carry, it could already be out of his reach. Basham notes Trump cannot fall asleep at the wheel, but things are becoming more comfortable for him in the Sunshine State. And based on some recent polling from the state, it looks like the tide has shifted solidly in favor of Trump.
The outcome of Election Day 2020 would seem to be a foregone conclusion if the latest national and battleground polls are any guide as to whether President trump will win in his reelection bid.
However, the GALLUP poll has just released the results of a new survey that suggests President Trump might have a better shot than you would think.
Most Americans responded positively to the survey question asking whether they feel better off now than they did four years ago.
Trump’s odds of winning reelection seem to be growing slimmer by the day—though, it is worth remembering that we have also seen this movie play out before. This is not the first time that Trump has been in this predicament.
DOES OHIO PROVIDE A MODEL FOR PRESIDENTIAL VICTORY?
No Republican has won the Presidency without winning Ohio. Franklin D Roosevelt in 1944, and John F Kennedy in 1960 won without winning Ohio. President Trump won Ohio by 8 points in 2016. He accomplished this in spite of stiff opposition from Republican Governor John Kasich. So far, all indications are Trump will easily win Ohio. Biden has been visiting Ohio but his reception has been poor. If Trump wins Ohio like in 2016, it will influence his outcome in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.
POINT OF CAUTION IN READING POLLS SPONSORED BY THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA:
All these pollsters have been interviewing registered voters — there are much more registered Democrats than Republicans. Polling most likely voters may give a better clue. The undecideds and third parties comprise 10% of final voters.
(Ven Parameswaran, Chairman, Asian American Republican Committee (Founded 1988), lives in Scarsdale, NY. He can be reached at vpwaren@gmail.com)
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Trump says he supports larger coronavirus relief package
WASHINGTON (TIP): U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday, Oct 15 he was willing to support a comprehensive COVID-19 coronavirus relief package larger than $1.8 trillion to make a deal with Democrats and get a bill passed.
“I would,” he said during a telephone interview with Fox Business News. “Absolutely, I would. I would say more. I would go higher. Go big or go home.”
He went on to say that he had directed Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to make an offer over the $1.8 trillion package previously supported by the White House but said Mnuchin “hasn’t come home with the bacon.”
Trump said he would not accept “goodies” in the Democrats’ proposal.
House Democrats, led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), have been pushing for a $2.2 trillion package that would include funding for state and local governments, schools, and coronavirus testing and tracing, among other priorities.2
Republicans in the Senate support a $500 billion bill that would not offer a wide a range of measures. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the upper chamber would be working on the bill next week.
REPUBLICANS
Democrats demanding a ‘wish list’
“(Democrats) say anything short of their multi-trillion-dollar wish list, jammed with non-COVID-related demands, is ‘piecemeal’ and not worth doing,” McConnell said in a statement. “Speaker Pelosi frequently says she feels ‘nothing’ is better than ‘something.’ And she has worked hard to ensure that nothing is what American families get.”
DEMOCRATS
Republicans have the wrong priorities
“We want to have an agreement. Yet Republicans refuse to ensure that such an agreement puts #FamiliesFirst,” Pelosi said.
(Agencies)
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Trump administration imposes new curbs on H-1B visas to protect US workers
Move likely to affect thousands of Indian IT professionals
WASHINGTON (TIP): The Trump administration has announced new restrictions on H-1B nonimmigrant visa program which it said is aimed at protecting American workers, restoring integrity and to better guarantee that H-1B petitions are approved only for qualified beneficiaries and petitioners, a move which is likely to affect thousands of Indian IT professionals.
The interim final rule announced by the Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday, October 6, less than four weeks ahead of the US presidential election, will narrow the definition of “specialty occupation” as Congress intended by closing the overbroad definition that allowed companies to game the system.
It will also require companies to make “real” offers to “real employees,” by closing loopholes and preventing the displacement of the American workers. And finally, the new rules would enhance the department’s ability to enforce compliance through worksite inspections and monitor compliance before, during and after an H1-B petition is approved.
The H1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise.
The technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China.
Such a decision by the Trump administration is likely to have an adverse impact on thousands of Indian IT professionals. Already a large number of Indians on the H-1B visas have lost their jobs and are headed back home during the coronavirus pandemic that has severely hit the US economy.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, the interim final rule to be published in Federal Register will be effective in 60 days.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services is forgoing the regular notice and comment period to immediately ensure that employing H-1B workers will not worsen the economic crisis caused by COVID-19 and adversely affect wages and working conditions of similarly employed US workers, it said.
The pandemic’s economic impact is an “obvious and compelling fact” that justifies good cause to issue this interim final rule.
“We have entered an era in which economic security is an integral part of homeland security. Put simply, economic security is homeland security. In response, we must do everything we can within the bounds of the law to make sure the American worker is put first,” said Acting Secretary Chad Wolf.
US Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia said that these changes will strengthen foreign worker programs and secure American workers’ opportunities for stable, good-paying jobs.
“The US Department of Labor is strengthening wage protections, addressing abuses in these visa programs and ensuring American workers are not undercut by cheaper foreign labor,” she said.
In a conference call with reporters, Deputy Labor Secretary Patrick Pizzella said that these changes were long overdue, and it had become imperative in light of the current conditions in the US labor market.
“We’re making good on the president’s promise to protect Americans from those who seek to exploit the system for their gain,” he said, adding that the rule would “ensure that Americans are first in line for American jobs as we continue our recovery”.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, the H-1B program was intended to allow employers to fill gaps in their workforce and remain competitive in the global economy, however, it has now expanded far beyond that, often to the detriment of US workers.
Data shows that more than half-a-million H-1B nonimmigrants in the United States have been used to displace US workers, which has led to reduced wages in a number of industries in the US labor market and the stagnation of wages in certain occupations, said the Department of Homeland Security.
“This is part of a larger Trump administration goal in coordination with the Department of Labor to protect American workers,” it said.
The Department of Labor said that the prevailing wage rates in these programs play an integral role in protecting US workers from unfair competition posed by the entry of lower-cost foreign labor into the US labor market.
It is essential that the methodology used by the Department in calculating the prevailing wage rates accurately reflect what US workers performing the same kinds of jobs and with similar qualifications make to ensure employers cannot use foreign workers in place of US workers, it said.
The Interim Final rule, it said, will improve the accuracy of prevailing wages paid to foreign workers by bringing them in line with the wages paid to similarly employed US workers.
This will ensure that the Department more effectively protects the job opportunities and wages of American workers by removing the economic incentive to hire foreign workers on a permanent or temporary basis in the US over American workers, it said.
Trump, a Republican, is seeking another term in the White House. He is being challenged by former Vice President Joe Biden of the Democratic Party in the November 3 presidential election.
In June, the Trump administration suspended the H-1B visas along with other types of foreign work visas until the end of 2020 to protect American workers.
(Source: PTI)
