Trump announces new 100 percent China tariff, threatens to scrap Xi talks

US President Donald Trump announced an additional 100 percent tariff on China Friday and threatened to cancel a summit with Xi Jinping, reigniting his trade war with Beijing in a row over export curbs on rare earth minerals.Trump said the extra levies, plus US export controls on “any and all critical software,” would come into effect from November 1 in retaliation for what he called Beijing’s “extraordinarily aggressive” moves.”It is impossible to believe that China would have taken such an action, but they have, and the rest is History,” he said on Truth Social.Stock markets fell as the simmering trade war between the United States and China reignited, with the Nasdaq down 3.6 percent and the S&P 500 down 2.7 percent.Chinese goods currently face US tariffs of 30 percent under tariffs that Trump brought in while accusing Beijing of aiding in the fentanyl trade, and over alleged unfair practices.China’s retaliatory tariffs are currently at 10 percent.Trump had threatened the tariffs hours earlier in a lengthy surprise post on his Truth Social network that said China had sent letters to countries around the world detailing export controls on rare earth minerals.Rare earth elements are critical to manufacturing everything from smartphones and electric vehicles to military hardware and renewable energy technology. China dominates global production and processing of these materials.”There is no way that China should be allowed to hold the World ‘captive,'” Trump wrote, describing China’s stance as “very hostile”.The US president then called into question his plans to meet Chinese president Xi at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit later this month.It was to be the first encounter between the leaders of the world’s two largest economies since Trump returned to power in January.”I was to meet President Xi in two weeks, at APEC, in South Korea, but now there seems to be no reason to do so,” he wrote.Trump later told reporters in the Oval Office that he hadn’t canceled the meeting.”I haven’t canceled, but I don’t know that we’re going to have it. But I’m going to be there regardless, so I would assume we might have it,” he said.- ‘Lying in wait’ -The US president said he did not understand why China was choosing to act now. “Some very strange things are happening in China! They are becoming very hostile,” he said.Trump said other countries had contacted the United States expressing anger over China’s “great Trade hostility, which came out of nowhere.”He also accused Beijing of “lying in wait” despite what he characterized as six months of good relations, which has notably seen progress on bringing TikTok’s US operations under American control as required by a law passed by Congress last year.His outburst comes just weeks after he had spoken of the importance of meeting Xi at the APEC summit and said that he would travel to China next year.Washington and Beijing engaged in a tit-for-tat tariffs war earlier this year that threatened to effectively halt trade between the world’s two largest economies.Both sides eventually agreed to de-escalate tensions but the truce has been shaky.Trump said last week that he would push Xi on US soybean purchases as American farmers, a key voting demographic in his 2024 election win, grapple with fallout from his trade wars.China had said earlier Friday that it would impose “special port fees” on ships operated by and built in the United States after Washington announced charges for Chinese-linked ships in April.In a further development, the US communications watchdog said it had successfully managed to get “millions” of listings for banned Chinese items removed from commerce platforms.”The Communist Party of China is engaged in a multi-prong effort to insert insecure devices into Americans’ homes and businesses,” Brendan Carr, head of the Federal Communications Commission, said on X.

Trump announces new 100 percent China tariff, threatens to scrap Xi talks

US President Donald Trump announced an additional 100 percent tariff on China Friday and threatened to cancel a summit with Xi Jinping, reigniting his trade war with Beijing in a row over export curbs on rare earth minerals.Trump said the extra levies, plus US export controls on “any and all critical software,” would come into effect from November 1 in retaliation for what he called Beijing’s “extraordinarily aggressive” moves.”It is impossible to believe that China would have taken such an action, but they have, and the rest is History,” he said on Truth Social.Stock markets fell as the simmering trade war between the United States and China reignited, with the Nasdaq down 3.6 percent and the S&P 500 down 2.7 percent.Chinese goods currently face US tariffs of 30 percent under tariffs that Trump brought in while accusing Beijing of aiding in the fentanyl trade, and over alleged unfair practices.China’s retaliatory tariffs are currently at 10 percent.Trump had threatened the tariffs hours earlier in a lengthy surprise post on his Truth Social network that said China had sent letters to countries around the world detailing export controls on rare earth minerals.Rare earth elements are critical to manufacturing everything from smartphones and electric vehicles to military hardware and renewable energy technology. China dominates global production and processing of these materials.”There is no way that China should be allowed to hold the World ‘captive,'” Trump wrote, describing China’s stance as “very hostile”.The US president then called into question his plans to meet Chinese president Xi at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit later this month.It was to be the first encounter between the leaders of the world’s two largest economies since Trump returned to power in January.”I was to meet President Xi in two weeks, at APEC, in South Korea, but now there seems to be no reason to do so,” he wrote.Trump later told reporters in the Oval Office that he hadn’t canceled the meeting.”I haven’t canceled, but I don’t know that we’re going to have it. But I’m going to be there regardless, so I would assume we might have it,” he said.- ‘Lying in wait’ -The US president said he did not understand why China was choosing to act now. “Some very strange things are happening in China! They are becoming very hostile,” he said.Trump said other countries had contacted the United States expressing anger over China’s “great Trade hostility, which came out of nowhere.”He also accused Beijing of “lying in wait” despite what he characterized as six months of good relations, which has notably seen progress on bringing TikTok’s US operations under American control as required by a law passed by Congress last year.His outburst comes just weeks after he had spoken of the importance of meeting Xi at the APEC summit and said that he would travel to China next year.Washington and Beijing engaged in a tit-for-tat tariffs war earlier this year that threatened to effectively halt trade between the world’s two largest economies.Both sides eventually agreed to de-escalate tensions but the truce has been shaky.Trump said last week that he would push Xi on US soybean purchases as American farmers, a key voting demographic in his 2024 election win, grapple with fallout from his trade wars.China had said earlier Friday that it would impose “special port fees” on ships operated by and built in the United States after Washington announced charges for Chinese-linked ships in April.In a further development, the US communications watchdog said it had successfully managed to get “millions” of listings for banned Chinese items removed from commerce platforms.”The Communist Party of China is engaged in a multi-prong effort to insert insecure devices into Americans’ homes and businesses,” Brendan Carr, head of the Federal Communications Commission, said on X.

Le Nobel de la paix à l’opposante vénézuélienne Maria Corina Machado

Le Nobel de la paix a été attribué vendredi à la cheffe de l’opposition vénézuélienne Maria Corina Machado, contrainte de vivre cachée dans son pays et qui a dit compter sur l’aide de Donald Trump à qui elle a dédié son prix.La lauréate de 58 ans a été réveillée en pleine nuit par l’appel du secrétaire du comité Nobel norvégien qui l’a informée, la voix étranglée d’émotion, de son prix.”Nous travaillons très dur pour y parvenir, mais je suis sûre que nous l’emporterons”, a-t-elle dit lors de cet appel filmé.”Plus que jamais nous comptons sur le président Trump” qui a déployé des bateaux de guerre dans les Caraïbes, a-t-elle ensuite écrit sur X, dédiant son Nobel au peuple vénézuélien et au président américain.A Washington, où Donald Trump ne faisait pas mystère qu’il convoitait la prestigieuse récompense, le directeur de la communication de la Maison Blanche, Steven Cheung a estimé que le comité Nobel avait fait passer “la politique avant la paix”. Mme Machado “est l’un des exemples les plus extraordinaires de courage civique en Amérique latine”, a souligné le président du comité Nobel norvégien, Jørgen Watne Frydnes.Entrée en politique au début des années 2000 en militant pour un référendum contre Hugo Chavez, Mme Machado, aujourd’hui considérée comme une ultralibérale pro-Trump, a fait de la chute du régime chaviste la cause de sa vie.Mère de trois enfants, elle a été empêchée, malgré sa popularité, de se présenter à la présidentielle de 2024, où le sortant Nicolas Maduro a été déclaré vainqueur malgré les protestations de l’opposition.L’Union européenne, les Etats-Unis et de nombreux autres pays n’ont pas reconnu la victoire de M. Maduro, au pouvoir depuis 2013. Washington estime qu’Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, derrière lequel Mme Machado s’est rangée, était le “président élu”.- “Système criminel” -L’ONU a estimé que ce Nobel reflétait les aspirations des Vénézuéliens à des élections “libres et équitables”.Près d’une douzaine d’heures après l’annonce, les autorités vénézuéliennes n’avaient pas réagi.A New York, Samuel Moncada l’ambassadeur vénézuélien aux Nations Unies a ironisé après une réunion du conseil de sécurité sur son pays : “Je ne connais pas la réaction de mon gouvernement, mais je vais vous dire la mienne (…) J’espérais qu’elle gagne le prix Nobel de physique, parce qu’elle a les mêmes références pour le Nobel de physique que pour le Nobel de la paix”.Magalli Meda, ancienne cheffe de campagne de Mme Machado, assure que ce Nobel est “une profonde blessure à la colonne vertébrale d’un système criminel”. Elle a justifié la dédicace à Trump : “ici, la paix s’obtiendra par la force (…) ils ne sont pas prêts à céder le pouvoir”.Selon M. Frydnes, “le Venezuela est passé d’un pays relativement démocratique et prospère à un Etat brutal et autoritaire en proie à une crise humanitaire et économique” où “près de huit millions de personnes ont quitté le pays”.Mme Machado, qui vit dans la clandestinité depuis plus d’un an, refuse de quitter son pays. “L’esprit de liberté ne peut être emprisonné”, a commenté la présidente de la Commission européenne, Ursula von der Leyen. Emmanuel Macron a salué son “engagement résolu” pour la démocratie.A Caracas, une retraitée, préférant garder l’anonymat, se félicitait du prix: “Je prie Dieu pour qu’il l’aide. Qu’elle arrive (au pouvoir) pour faire quelque chose pour nous, les humbles”.Technicien, Luis Torres, 65 ans, estimait au contraire que “c’est une honte après tout le mal qu’elle a fait au Venezuela” en référence aux sanctions internationales visant son pays.Dans un communiqué, Mme Machado a écrit: “A chaque Vénézuélien, ce prix est à toi”, évoquant “26 ans de violence et d’humiliation aux mains d’une tyrannie”, depuis l’arrivée au pouvoir d’Hugo Chavez en 1999.”La machine de l’oppression a été brutale et systématique, caractérisée par des détentions, des tortures, des disparitions forcées et des exécutions extrajudiciaires qui constituent des crimes contre l’humanité et du terrorisme d’État”, a-t-elle ajouté. – Pas de Nobel pour Trump -Le prix échappe donc à Donald Trump. Depuis son retour à la Maison Blanche en janvier, il martèle qu’il “mérite” le Nobel, revendiquant un rôle dans la résolution de huit guerres, dont celle de Gaza. Une affirmation largement exagérée, selon les observateurs.Donald Trump “déteste Maduro”, a relevé l’historien Asle Sveen, spécialiste du prix Nobel, auprès de l’AFP. “Il bombarde les bateaux de pêche soupçonnés de transporter des stupéfiants. Il aura donc du mal à s’attaquer à ce prix”, a-t-il estimé.L’administration Trump a frappé en mer au moins quatre embarcations présentées comme étant celles de narcotrafiquants. M. Maduro accuse Washington d’utiliser le trafic de drogue comme prétexte “pour imposer un changement de régime” et s’emparer des réserves de pétrole du pays.Le prix sera remis le 10 décembre à Oslo et l’Institut Nobel enquête si des fuites ont précédé l’attribution, après une soudaine envolée de la cote de Mme Machado chez des bookmakers.

Morocco king calls for social reforms amid youth-led protests

Morocco’s King Mohammed VI on Friday said improving public education and healthcare was a priority, but made no reference to the youth movement that has been staging nationwide protests for sweeping social reforms.”We have set as priorities… the creation of jobs for young people, and the concrete improvement of the education and health sectors,” the monarch said in his annual address to the opening session of parliament.The royal speech had been much anticipated by the protesters, who have taken to the streets almost every night since September 27.The unrest that has rocked the usually stable north African country has been fuelled by recent reports of the deaths of eight pregnant women at a public hospital in the city of Agadir, which critics condemn as a symptom of a failing system.Demonstrators have been calling for a change in government and for Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch to resign.Many Moroccans have also expressed frustration at public spending as Morocco pushes ahead with major infrastructure projects in preparation for the 2030 World Cup, which it will co-host with Portugal and Spain.The king pleaded that “there should be no contradiction or competition between major national projects and social programmes”.- ‘Disappointed’ -GenZ 212, the online-based collective calling the protests — whose founders remain unknown — made no immediate reaction to the speech.Raghd, a 23-year-old sound engineer who had joined several demonstrations in Rabat, said she was “disappointed” that there was no explicit reference to the protests in the royal speech.”I thought he would say something stronger,” she told AFP without giving her last name.The collective had urged its followers to refrain from protesting on Friday night “out of respect” for the king.Yet Driss El Yazami, the former head of the National Human Rights Council, said the king’s speech might actually amount to “a national mobilisation”.He said the monarch “heard the call of the youth”.In his speech, the king said Morocco was “charting a steady path toward greater social and territorial justice”.He added that efforts must also ensure “that the fruits of growth benefit everyone”.In July, he had declared that “there is no place, today or tomorrow, for a Morocco moving at two speeds”.On Thursday, GenZ 212 demanded a “crackdown on corruption” and a “radical modernisation of school textbooks”.They also called for a national plan to renovate hospitals, recruit more doctors and healthcare workers, particularly in remote areas, and raise public health insurance reimbursement rates from 50 percent to 75 percent.Official figures show a lack of education in Morocco is a key driver of the country’s poverty, which has, nevertheless, fallen from nearly 12 percent of the population in 2014 to 6.8 percent in 2024.- ‘Shortfalls’ -GenZ 212 has insisted it had no political affiliation and no formal leadership.Members on the online messaging platform Discord where it was founded discuss issues openly and put every major decision up to a vote.Sociologist Mehdi Alioua said it comes as “part of a long history of youth-led social mobilisation in Morocco”.The north African country had seen mass protests in February 2011 and in 2016 with the Hirak uprising in the Rif region.Yet GenZ 212 has brought together “young, connected urbanites, from the middle or upper classes,” as well as “young rural and small-town workers, often exploited agricultural low-wage labourers with few rights”.The government made a fresh call on Thursday for dialogue with the protesters, saying their “message has been received” and vowing to “work quickly to mobilise resources and address shortfalls”.Rallies have been largely peaceful, though some nights have seen spates of violence and acts of vandalism.Three people were killed in clashes with security forces last week, while police have made dozens of arrests.