EU to seek more tariff exemptions during US commerce secretary visit

The EU will demand more tariff exemptions on products including wines when US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick meets the bloc’s trade ministers on Monday.US President Donald Trump and EU chief Ursula von der Leyen struck a deal in July for most EU exports to face a 15-percent US levy, but the European Union has been seeking various exemptions for more sectors.Despite the deal, both sides point to outstanding issues and the agreement still awaits approval by the EU parliament before further implementation.The EU’s trade ministers will meet in Brussels on Monday during which Lutnick and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will join them for lunch.Greer will also hold talks with EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic on Sunday, the European Commission said.As the EU’s digital rules are the subject of thorny relations with Washington, the bloc’s tech chief Henna Virkkunen is also expected to meet the Americans.The European Commission said on Friday it continues “to engage with the US both at political and technical level”.Diplomats said EU states were set to finalise a list of sectors they want to exempt from levies on Friday that will likely include wines and spirits — and potentially pasta, already the subject of tensions between Rome and Washington.Italy last month appealed to Washington and Brussels in an attempt to dissuade the United States from imposing provisional anti-dumping duties of over 91 percent on pasta from January 2026, on top of the 15 percent already in place.”The EU is aiming to present a united front and not come off as divided with all ministers arguing their own national exemptions,” a diplomat told AFP.Relations between the transatlantic allies remain tense.The United States is pushing Brussels to scrap digital and green rules, viewed as “non-tariff” barriers to trade by Washington.But the EU has insisted its digital laws are not up for discussion.President Donald Trump has lashed out at Brussels’ moves against US Big Tech companies including a whopping 2.95-billion-euro ($3.4-billion) fine on Google in September, threatening tariffs if the bloc does not repeal the measure.Brussels also wants Washington to cut its 50-percent steel tariffs, and proposes to create a broader “metals alliance” with the United States to ringfence their respective economies from Chinese overcapacity.

Indian warplane crashes at Dubai Airshow, killing pilot

An Indian fighter jet crashed during a flying display at the Dubai Airshow on Friday, killing the pilot in front of hundreds of shocked onlookers.The Indian-made Tejas warplane was executing a manoeuvre when it plunged to the ground and erupted in a fireball. The pilot was unable to eject.The crash happened in full view of a packed grandstand watching the aerobatics display on the last day of the Middle East’s biggest air show.Dubai’s government-run media office confirmed the “tragic death of the pilot” and the Indian Air Force (IAF) announced an inquiry.”IAF deeply regrets the loss of life and stands firmly with the bereaved family in this time of grief,” it said in a statement.The plane went down about a mile (1.6 kilometres) from the show site, which was full of planes, helicopters and other hardware on static display.The United Arab Emirates’ president and prime minister, aviation industry leaders and military top brass were among thousands who attended the show this week.Videos on social media showed the aircraft plunging to the ground and bursting into flames on impact. Smoke billowed from the crash site as emergency vehicles sped towards it.”The pilot was flying at a low altitude, performing risky manoeuvres,” Iraqi eyewitness Hassan Loqman told AFP.”Then he seemed he was trying to avoid the accident, he began to steer the plane upwards, but he couldn’t do so in time.”The incident happened near the start of the daily flying display, which features barrel rolls, loops and other stunts. The demonstration later resumed.It is the second crash involving the single-seat Tejas in less than two years after a non-fatal training accident in Rajasthan in March last year.In September, India signed a $7 billion order for 97 upgraded Tejas Mk1A fighter jets to replace its Russian MiG-21 fleet after decades of use.The Tejas, designed and built in India, was first commissioned into the air force in 2016.Friday’s crash is believed to be the first in the history of the Dubai Airshow, which dates back to 1986. Dubai’s state-owned Emirates and flydubai airlines signed several major agreements at the airshow, including Emirates’ order for 65 Boeing jets valued at $38 billion.

Afghanistan seeks new trade routes as Pakistan ties sour

Afghanistan is scrambling to diversify its trade partners after a deadly border clash with Pakistan last month brought ties to their lowest point in years, affecting people on both sides of the frontier.The South Asian neighbours have been locked in an increasingly bitter dispute since the Taliban took over Kabul in 2021, with Islamabad accusing Afghanistan of harbouring the militants behind cross-border attacks — charges the Taliban government denies.Abdul Ghani Baradar, Afghanistan’s deputy prime minister for economic affairs, urged traders last week to “redirect their trade toward other alternative routes instead of Pakistan”. Pakistan is landlocked Afghanistan’s top trading partner, supplying rice, pharmaceuticals and raw materials, while taking in 45 percent of Afghan exports in 2024, according to the World Bank. More than 70 percent of those exports, worth $1.4 billion, are perishable farm goods such as figs, pistachios, grapes and pomegranates. Dozens of Afghan trucks were stranded with rotting produce when the frontier shut on October 12 due to deadly cross-border fire, which was followed by a fragile truce. Losses have topped $100 million on both sides, and up to 25,000 border workers have been affected, according to the Pakistan Afghanistan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PAJCCI), which seeks to promote bilateral trade.Baradar warned traders that Kabul would not intervene if they kept relying on Pakistan.Wary of further disruptions, the Taliban government is now hedging its bets with Iran, Central Asia — and beyond.- Pomegranates to Russia -Trade with Iran and Turkmenistan has jumped 60–70 percent since mid-October, said Mohammad Yousuf Amin, head of the Chamber of Commerce in Herat, in western Afghanistan.Kabul also sent apples and pomegranates to Russia for the first time last month. Russia is the only country to have officially recognised the Taliban administration.Taliban leaders crave wider recognition and foreign investment, but sanctions on senior figures have made investors wary.The vast market in India is a prime attraction. On Sunday, state-owned Ariana Afghan Airlines cut freight rates to the country of 1.4 billion people.Two days later, Kabul sent its commerce and industry minister to New Delhi.”Afghanistan has too many fruits and vegetables it cannot store because there are no refrigerated warehouses,” said Torek Farhadi, an economic analyst and former IMF adviser. “Exporting is the only way,” he told AFP. And quickly, before the products spoil.Kabul touts Iran’s Chabahar port as an alternative to Pakistan’s southern harbours, but Farhadi noted it is farther, costlier and hampered by US sanctions on Tehran.- ‘Distraught’ -“It’s better for both countries to end this trade war… They need each other,” Farhadi said.Afghanistan relies on Pakistan’s market of 240 million people and its sea access, while Islamabad wants Afghan transit to reach Central Asia for textile and energy trade. Pakistan says the closure curbs militant infiltration, but its economy is also feeling the pinch.The spokesman for Pakistan’s foreign ministry said on Friday that Islamabad had reached its “threshold of patience” after recent attacks.”Either we get ourselves killed or we undertake very risky trade… This is a difficult choice that we have made,” spokesman Tahir Hussain Andrabi told a weekly briefing.”Can you put a price tag on a human life, on a Pakistani life?” he said.In Peshawar, near the frontier, Afghan produce has all but vanished from markets. Grapes cost four times more and tomatoes have more than doubled to over 200 rupees (70 cents) a kilogram, an AFP correspondent found.On Monday, the PAJCCI urged Islamabad to act, warning of mounting costs as shipping containers bound for Afghanistan and Central Asia remain stuck in Pakistan.Each container is racking up $150–$200 in daily port charges, the group said, adding: “With thousands of containers stuck, the collective economic burden has become unbearable and continues to grow with each passing day.”Truck driver Naeem Shah, 48, has been waiting at the Pakistani border town of Chaman with sugar and cooking oil bound for Afghanistan.”I haven’t been paid for a month. No matter who I call, they say there is no money because the border is closed,” he told AFP.”If it doesn’t reopen, we will be distraught.”

Afghanistan seeks new trade routes as Pakistan ties sour

Afghanistan is scrambling to diversify its trade partners after a deadly border clash with Pakistan last month brought ties to their lowest point in years, affecting people on both sides of the frontier.The South Asian neighbours have been locked in an increasingly bitter dispute since the Taliban took over Kabul in 2021, with Islamabad accusing Afghanistan of harbouring the militants behind cross-border attacks — charges the Taliban government denies.Abdul Ghani Baradar, Afghanistan’s deputy prime minister for economic affairs, urged traders last week to “redirect their trade toward other alternative routes instead of Pakistan”. Pakistan is landlocked Afghanistan’s top trading partner, supplying rice, pharmaceuticals and raw materials, while taking in 45 percent of Afghan exports in 2024, according to the World Bank. More than 70 percent of those exports, worth $1.4 billion, are perishable farm goods such as figs, pistachios, grapes and pomegranates. Dozens of Afghan trucks were stranded with rotting produce when the frontier shut on October 12 due to deadly cross-border fire, which was followed by a fragile truce. Losses have topped $100 million on both sides, and up to 25,000 border workers have been affected, according to the Pakistan Afghanistan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PAJCCI), which seeks to promote bilateral trade.Baradar warned traders that Kabul would not intervene if they kept relying on Pakistan.Wary of further disruptions, the Taliban government is now hedging its bets with Iran, Central Asia — and beyond.- Pomegranates to Russia -Trade with Iran and Turkmenistan has jumped 60–70 percent since mid-October, said Mohammad Yousuf Amin, head of the Chamber of Commerce in Herat, in western Afghanistan.Kabul also sent apples and pomegranates to Russia for the first time last month. Russia is the only country to have officially recognised the Taliban administration.Taliban leaders crave wider recognition and foreign investment, but sanctions on senior figures have made investors wary.The vast market in India is a prime attraction. On Sunday, state-owned Ariana Afghan Airlines cut freight rates to the country of 1.4 billion people.Two days later, Kabul sent its commerce and industry minister to New Delhi.”Afghanistan has too many fruits and vegetables it cannot store because there are no refrigerated warehouses,” said Torek Farhadi, an economic analyst and former IMF adviser. “Exporting is the only way,” he told AFP. And quickly, before the products spoil.Kabul touts Iran’s Chabahar port as an alternative to Pakistan’s southern harbours, but Farhadi noted it is farther, costlier and hampered by US sanctions on Tehran.- ‘Distraught’ -“It’s better for both countries to end this trade war… They need each other,” Farhadi said.Afghanistan relies on Pakistan’s market of 240 million people and its sea access, while Islamabad wants Afghan transit to reach Central Asia for textile and energy trade. Pakistan says the closure curbs militant infiltration, but its economy is also feeling the pinch.The spokesman for Pakistan’s foreign ministry said on Friday that Islamabad had reached its “threshold of patience” after recent attacks.”Either we get ourselves killed or we undertake very risky trade… This is a difficult choice that we have made,” spokesman Tahir Hussain Andrabi told a weekly briefing.”Can you put a price tag on a human life, on a Pakistani life?” he said.In Peshawar, near the frontier, Afghan produce has all but vanished from markets. Grapes cost four times more and tomatoes have more than doubled to over 200 rupees (70 cents) a kilogram, an AFP correspondent found.On Monday, the PAJCCI urged Islamabad to act, warning of mounting costs as shipping containers bound for Afghanistan and Central Asia remain stuck in Pakistan.Each container is racking up $150–$200 in daily port charges, the group said, adding: “With thousands of containers stuck, the collective economic burden has become unbearable and continues to grow with each passing day.”Truck driver Naeem Shah, 48, has been waiting at the Pakistani border town of Chaman with sugar and cooking oil bound for Afghanistan.”I haven’t been paid for a month. No matter who I call, they say there is no money because the border is closed,” he told AFP.”If it doesn’t reopen, we will be distraught.”