Donald Trump will damage his own economy if he goes ahead with huge steel tariffs, IMF warns - Independent

Donald Trump will damage his own economy if he goes ahead with huge steel tariffs, IMF warns

“We encourage the US and its trading partners to work constructively together to reduce trade barriers and to resolve trade disagreements without resort to such emergency measures"

Peter Stubley - posted on 2/3/2018

Bomb Cyclone brings snow, flooding, power outages across US northeast

Donald Trump’s plan to impose taxes of up to 25 per cent on imports of steel and aluminium would damage the US economy as well as America's trading partners around the world, the International Monetary Fund has warned.

The financial organisation said the import restrictions could lead to other countries imposing similar tariffs for reasons of national security.

“The import restrictions announced by the US President are likely to cause damage not only outside the US, but also to the US economy itself, including to its manufacturing and construction sectors, which are major users of aluminium and steel,” said IMF spokesperson Gerry Rice.

“We are concerned that the measures proposed by the US will, de facto, expand the circumstances where countries use the national-security rationale to justify broad-based import restrictions.

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“We encourage the US and its trading partners to work constructively together to reduce trade barriers and to resolve trade disagreements without resort to such emergency measures.”

Canada and the EU have already vowed to introduce their own countermeasures and Mexico, China and Brazil said they were also considering retaliation.

European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker told German television that the EU will put tariffs on “Harley-Davidson, bourbon and blue jeans”.

The Swedish company Electrolux has already delayed a $250m investment in the US state of Tennessee because of the tariffs.

China's Commerce Ministry said Trump's plan would "seriously damage multilateral trade mechanisms represented by the World Trade Organisation and will surely have huge impact on normal international trade order."

But the US President defended the proposals to impose duties of 25 per cent on steel and 10 per cent on aluminium as early as next week by tweeting that “trade wars are good, and easy to win”.

He said: “We must protect our country and our workers. Our steel industry is in bad shape. IF YOU DON’T HAVE STEEL, YOU DON’T HAVE A COUNTRY.”

@realDonaldTrump

When a country (USA) is losing many billions of dollars on trade with virtually every country it does business with, trade wars are good, and easy to win. Example, when we are down $100 billion with a certain country and they get cute, don’t trade anymore-we win big. It’s easy!

9:50 PM - Mar 2, 2018

@realDonaldTrump

When a country Taxes our products coming in at, say, 50%, and we Tax the same product coming into our country at ZERO, not fair or smart. We will soon be starting RECIPROCAL TAXES so that we will charge the same thing as they charge us. $800 Billion Trade Deficit-have no choice!

12:57 AM - Mar 3, 2018

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) describes itself as “an organisation of 189 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world.”

UN: War crimes likely committed in Syria's Eastern Ghouta - Al Jazeera

3/3/2018

UN: War crimes likely committed in Syria's Eastern Ghouta

UN Human Rights chief Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein says perpetrators of 'these crimes' will be held to account.

The UN's human rights chief has warned that attacks on Syria's Eastern Ghouta probably amount to "war crimes" and that those behind the targeting of civilians will be held to account.

"I must emphasise that what we are seeing, in Eastern Ghouta and elsewhere in Syria, are likely war crimes, and potentially, crimes against humanity," Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein said at an emergency meeting of the UN Human Rights Council on Friday.

"The perpetrators of these crimes must know they are being identified; that dossiers are being built up with a view to their prosecution; and that they will be held accountable for what they have done," he added.

His comments come as some 400,000 civilians trapped in the besieged rebel-held suburb of Damascus are subject to a campaign of bombardment by Syrian government and Russian warplanes, which has killed at least 674 people and wounded hundreds more just two weeks, according to the White Helmets volunteer group.

Eastern Ghouta: What is happening and why

Hussein said civilians were being "pounded into submission or death" in the Syrian government offensive and that aid was being prevented from entering the area.

Smoke rises from the besieged Eastern Ghouta in Damascus [Bassam Khabieh/Reuters]

The UN official pointed to the prosecution of Serbian and Argentinian war criminals, as examples of justice being meted out to perpetrators of crimes against civilians.

"The wheels of justice may be slow, but they do grind," he said.

Failed ceasefire

Syria's campaign in East Ghouta has drawn international condemnation and an emergency UN ceasefire quickly failed to reign in its offensive on the Damascus suburb.

The Syrian government has faced accusations of indiscriminate bombing of civilians, targeting of medical facilities and emergency workers, and the use of toxic chemical agents.

In late February, Russia said it would implement a five-hour daily ceasefire to allow civilians to leave the area through a humanitarian corridor, but residents say the plan has not materialised.

The ongoing siege of East Ghouta has resulted in a shortage of food and vital medicine, and according to the UN, nearly 12 percent of the area's children suffer from acute malnutrition.

Syria's President Bashar Al-Assad has enjoyed an upturn in fortunes since Russian military intervention started in September 2015.

Since then forces loyal to the Syrian leader have been able to claw back territory from Syrian rebels, as well as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group, which is fighting both sides.

The war in Syria started in 2011 when initially peaceful protests were violently put down by the Syrian government.

The conflict has cost more than 500,000 lives, according to groups tallying the casualties.

WATCH Syria: Eastern Ghouta 'humanitarian pause' marred by more attacks (2:56)

Tech Mogul Gets $12 Billion Richer Just by Leaving New York for China - Bloomberg

Tech Mogul Gets $12 Billion Richer Just by Leaving New York for China

By and

February 28, 2018, 2:00 PM GMT+11 Updated on February 28, 2018, 8:44 PM GMT+11

Online security firm Qihoo 360 was delisted from NYSE in 2016

Founder Zhou Hongyi becomes China’s 12th-Richest Person

Qihoo and Zhou Hongyi

Why be content with almost $2 billion when your net worth can be multiples more simply by moving your company from one stock exchange to another?

Zhou Hongyi did just that, relocating his online security firm to China and merging it into a shell company, which soared as much as 550 percent since he announced the plan in November. Qihoo 360 Technology Co. delisted from the New York Stock Exchange in July 2016 and began trading Wednesday in Shanghai as 360 Security Technology Inc. The move boosted Zhou’s net worth to $13.6 billion, making him China’s 12th-richest person, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

See also: SJEC plans to acquire 360 Technology via asset sale, swap

Zhou, 47, told reporters in November that aligning himself with China’s national interest was among the reasons he moved the listing to his homeland, where the Communist Party has been tightening the country’s “cybersecurity sovereignty.”

The first day back was rocky. The shares swung between gains and losses on Wednesday -- opening 3.8 percent higher before declining 10 percent as of the close in Shanghai. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index dropped 1 percent.

Still, China’s richer tech valuations may have been a draw, said Sun Mengqi, an analyst at BOCOM International Holdings Co. “There could be a substantial valuation gap between the U.S. and China.”

Read more: Chinese workers abandon Silicon Valley for riches back home

Zhou owns a 23 percent stake in 360 Security, directly and through holding companies Tianjin Qixin Zhicheng Technology Ltd. and Tianjin Zhongxin Investment LP, according to an acquisition proposal last month. Yue Jing, a company spokeswoman, declined to comment on Zhou’s net worth.

The firm posted 2016 revenue of 9.9 billion yuan ($1.6 billion), up from 9.4 billion yuan a year earlier. Most of its sales come from online ads, many which are pushed to users of its antivirus products.

Zhou isn’t the first tech mogul to take the back door to China. Billionaire Jason Jiang’s Focus Media went private in a $3.7 billion buyout in 2013 after coming under pressure from short-seller Carson Block, relisting two years later in Shenzhen. The company’s market value has swelled to $29 billion since then.

Zhou did a stint as the head of Yahoo China in the 2000s after selling a search engine startup to the U.S. firm and, in 2006, co-founded Qihoo 360 with fellow billionaire Qi Xiangdong.

China pledges friendship with Taiwan amid tensions over U.S. bill - Reuters

MARCH 3, 2018 / 7:33 PM / UPDATED AN HOUR AGO

China pledges friendship with Taiwan amid tensions over U.S. bill

Reuters Staff

BEIJING (Reuters) - China wants to deepen friendship with Taiwan, the ruling Communist Party’s fourth-ranked leader said on Saturday, a day after state media warned China could go to war over Taiwan if a U.S. bill promoting closer ties with the island becomes law.

Yu Zhengsheng, chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), speaks at the CPPCC's opening session at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China March 3, 2018. REUTERS/Jason Lee

China has been infuriated over the bill, telling Taiwan on Friday it would only get burnt if it sought to rely on foreigners, adding to the warnings from state media about the risk of war.

The legislation, which only needs President Donald Trump’s signature to become law, says it should be U.S. policy to allow officials at all levels to travel to Taiwan to meet their Taiwanese counterparts, permit high-level Taiwanese officials to enter the United States“under respectful conditions” and meet with U.S. officials.

Yu Zhengsheng, the Communist Party’s fourth most senior official, put on a friendlier face at the opening session of a largely ceremonial advisory body to parliament which he heads, making no direct mention of the bill.

“We will deepen solidarity and friendship with our compatriots in Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan as well as overseas Chinese,” Yu told the 2,000-odd delegates to the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference in Beijing.

The body will“mobilize all the sons and daughters of the Chinese nation to work together for the greater national interests and realization of the Chinese Dream”, Yu added, referring to President Xi Jinping’s aspiration to restore a rejuvenated China to its full standing globally.

Yu Zhengsheng, chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), walks past Chinese President Xi Jinping, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang (front C) at the opening session of the CPPCC at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China March 3, 2018. REUTERS/Jason Lee

Hong Kong has been another troublesome area for China’s leadership, especially after students organized weeks of protests in late 2014 to push for full democracy.

Young activists in both Hong Kong and Taiwan have irked Beijing in recent years by pushing for greater autonomy or even independence and by organizing protests against China’s influence.

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen attends at the island's Ministry of Foreign Affairs Chinese Lunar New Year dinner in Taipei, Taiwan February 27, 2018. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu

Hong Kong and Macau were former European colonial outposts that returned to Chinese rule in the 1990s.

China’s hostility towards Taiwan has risen since the election to president of Tsai Ing-wen from the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party in 2016.

China suspects Tsai wants to push for formal independence, which would cross a red line for Communist Party leaders in Beijing, though Tsai has said she wants to maintain the status quo and is committed to ensuring peace.

Beijing considers democratic Taiwan to be a wayward province and integral part of“one China”, ineligible for state-to-state relations, and has never renounced the use of force to bring the island under its control.

Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore

America's Overlooked Addiction Crisis - Bloomberg

America's Overlooked Addiction Crisis

Alcohol abuse is a fast-growing problem. Higher taxes on beer, wine and spirits could help.

By

September 1, 2017, 11:00 PM GMT+10

Cheap hit. Photographer: Denver Post via Getty Images

As alarms over the opioid crisis sound ever louder, a larger and more expensive substance problem in the U.S. is quietly growing much worse. One in eight Americans abuses alcohol, a new study finds, a 50 percent increase since the start of the century.

Alcohol abuse is as old as civilization itself, of course, but quantifying its costs is a more recent endeavor. Alcohol is responsible for one in 10 deaths among working-age Americans -- from accidents as well as illnesses. There are almost 90,000 alcohol-related deaths in America every year. Excessive drinking, mainly binge drinking, costs some $250 billion a year in lost productivity, health care and other expenses. The toll in personal suffering and ruined lives is incalculable.

Yet there has been a strange reluctance to fight back with the weapons known to work: restrictions on alcohol sales and advertising and, even more effective, higher taxes on alcohol. The federal tax on spirits (about 21 cents per ounce of alcohol; taxes on beer and wine are less than half that) has not changed since 1991, and over the past few decades the inflation-adjusted cost of drinking has fallen considerably. Many states have likewise neglected to index their alcohol taxes to inflation.

That's too bad, because making drinking more expensive is the single strongest way to reduce harm from alcohol. Yes, higher prices burden the poor more than the well-off, but they can significantly reduce excessive drinking and its harmful effects: crime, violence, car crashes, suicides and sexually transmitted diseases.

If that's not enough reason for Congress and state legislatures to raise alcohol taxes, consider that the government's share of alcohol's economic cost is about $100 billion a year, while state and federal alcohol taxes bring in about $15 billion. The difference amounts to quite a subsidy for excessive drinkers paid by many taxpayers who drink moderately or not at all.

There are other ways besides simply raising taxes -- setting a minimum price for every unit of alcohol a drink contains, for example. Unlike taxes, which can be selectively absorbed by wholesalers or retailers, minimum prices must be borne by the drinkers. Five years ago, Scotland passed a law meant to set a 50-pence (65-cent) minimum price for every unit a drink contains, though the Scotch Whisky Association has so far kept it tied up in court.

Lawmakers need to be clear about the problem, however, and ways to control it. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has declared drug overdose deaths, which reached nearly 60,000 in 2016, to be America's "top lethal issue." He's not the only one who needs to be reminded that alcohol abuse is significantly more deadly, and just as deserving of attention.

To contact the senior editor responsible for Bloomberg View’s editorials: David Shipley at davidshipley@bloomberg.net .

National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster's job is in jeopardy - CBS News

March 2, 2018, 10:48 AM

National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster's job is in jeopardy

In this Feb. 20, 2017 file photo, Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster listens as President Donald Trump makes the announcement at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., that McMaster will be the new national security adviser. AP

National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster, who has long been the subject of rumors about his ouster, is in real jeopardy of losing his job, sources tell CBS News chief White House correspondent Major Garrett.

Some had expected McMaster to be out very soon, possibly by the week's end. But that had died down a bit due to the White House insisting late Thursday night that McMaster wasn't going anywhere.

Raj Shah, the principal deputy press secretary, said that the White House frequently faces "rumor and innuendo about senior administration officials. There are no personnel announcements at this time."

On Thursday, NBC News reported that White House Chief of Staff John Kelly and Defense Secretary James Mattis were planning to remove McMaster. According to the network, McMaster, who is the second national security adviser to serve President Trump since he took office last year, might be replaced by Ford executive and former Bush national security aide Stephen Biegun.

The White House claimed the story was incorrect. "I was just with President Trump and H.R. McMaster in the Oval Office. President Trump said that the NBC News story is 'fake news,' and told McMaster that he is doing a great job," Michael Anton, the spokesman for the National Security Council, said in a statement provided to reporters.

However, sources tell Garrett that the tension regarding McMaster is real, and that an exit strategy may now be in the works.