Trump allège l’impact des droits de douane pour des constructeurs auto

Le président américain Donald Trump a décidé mardi d’éviter aux constructeurs automobiles produisant aux Etats-Unis de payer un cumul de droits de douane sur les véhicules et les pièces détachées importées, et leur a également accordé un allègement temporaire.”Nous voulons simplement les aider pendant cette période de transition. Du court terme”, a déclaré le président avant son départ pour Detroit (Michigan), coeur de l’industrie automobile américaine, pour marquer ses 100 premiers jours au pouvoir.Les constructeurs vont ainsi être exemptés de payer d’autres taxes douanières, comme celles sur l’acier ou l’aluminium.Ils paieront le montant “le plus élevé”, avait indiqué plus tôt un responsable du ministère du Commerce.Le président a également décidé de mettre en place un dispositif temporaire pour réduire la facture douanière des constructeurs produisant et vendant leurs véhicules aux Etats-Unis.Il s’agit de “protéger la sécurité nationale en incitant la production automobile sur le territoire national et en réduisant la dépendance américaine à l’égard des importations de véhicules étrangers et de leurs pièces détachées”, précise la proclamation.Pour tous les véhicules fabriqués et vendus aux Etats-Unis utilisant des pièces détachées importées, constructeurs américains et étrangers pourront ainsi déduire 15% du prix de vente recommandé la première année – et 10% la seconde – des frais de douane de 25% sur les importations suivantes.Cela correspondra, détaille la proclamation, à une déduction de 3,75% du prix recommandé la première année (3 avril 2025 au 30 avril 2026) et de 2,50% la seconde (1er mai 2026 au 30 avril 2027).Il s’agit “d’une déduction et non d’un remboursement”, avait expliqué le responsable du ministère, affirmant que cette période de deux ans avait été jugée suffisante par les industriels pour installer une chaîne d’approvisionnement aux Etats-Unis.

Wall Street termine en hausse, s’accroche avant une salve de données économiques

La Bourse de New York a terminé en hausse mardi, aidée par un assouplissement des surtaxes douanières sur le secteur automobile américain, l’attention des investisseurs étant désormais tournée vers des données économiques importantes, tandis que la saison des résultats bat toujours son plein.Le Dow Jones a gagné 0,75%, l’indice Nasdaq a progressé de 0,55% et l’indice élargi S&P 500 a avancé de 0,58%.

India gives army ‘operational freedom’ to respond to Kashmir attack

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given the military “operational freedom” to respond to a deadly attack in Kashmir that New Delhi has blamed on arch-rival Pakistan, a senior government source told AFP Tuesday.A week after the deadliest attack on civilians in the contested region in years, Modi on Tuesday held a closed-door meeting with army and security chiefs, during which he granted “complete operational freedom to decide on the mode, targets and timing of our response to the terror attack”, said the government source, who was not authorised to speak to the media.The development comes as nations around the world, from neighbouring China to the United States, express deep concerns over the nuclear-armed neighbors’ mounting tensions and urge restraint.India’s army on Tuesday also said it had repeatedly traded gunfire with Pakistani troops across the Line of Control (LoC), the de facto Kashmir border, a heavily fortified zone of high-altitude Himalayan outposts.Pakistan’s military did not confirm the shooting, but state radio in Islamabad reported on Tuesday it had shot down an Indian drone, calling it a violation of its airspace.It did not say when the incident happened, and there was no comment from New Delhi.India said the “Pakistan Army resorted to unprovoked small arms firing across the Line of Control” overnight Monday to Tuesday, the fifth night in a row that fire was exchanged there.The Indian army said its troops had “responded in a measured and effective manner to the provocation”. There were no reports of casualties.- ‘Ends of the Earth’ -Relations have plummeted after India accused Pakistan of backing an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir on April 22 in which 26 men were killed.Islamabad has rejected the charge and both countries have since exchanged gunfire in Kashmir and diplomatic barbs, as well as expelled citizens and ordered the main land border crossing shut.Last week, Modi vowed to pursue those who carried out the attack in the tourist hotspot of Pahalgam in Indian-administered Kashmir, and those who had supported it.”I say to the whole world: India will identify, track and punish every terrorist and their backer,” he said on Thursday.”We will pursue them to the ends of the Earth”.The bellicose statements have prompted worries of a rapid spiral into military action, with calls from several nations for restraint.The US State Department said top diplomat Marco Rubio would call his Pakistani and Indian counterparts soon to urge them “to not escalate the situation.”UN chief Antonio Guterres meanwhile held calls Tuesday with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in which he “offered his Good Offices to support de-escalation”, his spokesman said.Sharif’s office later said he had urged Guterres to “counsel India” to exercise restraint, while pledging to defend Pakistan’s “sovereignty and territorial integrity with full force in case of any misadventure by India”.Muslim-majority Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since their independence from British rule in 1947. Both claim the territory in full.Rebels in the Indian-run area have waged an insurgency since 1989, seeking independence or a merger with Pakistan.Indian police have issued wanted posters for three men accused of carrying out the Kashmir attack — two Pakistanis and an Indian — who they say are members of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba group, a UN-designated terrorist organisation.They have announced a two million rupee ($23,500) bounty for information leading to each man’s arrest and carried out sweeping detentions seeking anyone suspected of links to the alleged killers.The worst attack in recent years in Indian-run Kashmir was at Pulwama in 2019, when an insurgent rammed a car packed with explosives into a security forces convoy, killing 40 and wounding 35.Indian fighter jets carried out air strikes on Pakistani territory 12 days later.Iran has already offered to mediate and Saudi Arabia has said Riyadh was trying to “prevent an escalation”.US President Donald Trump downplayed tensions, saying on Friday the dispute will get “figured out, one way or another”.burs-pjm/sco/des/md

Trump celebrates tumultuous 100 days in office

Donald Trump celebrated Tuesday the first 100 days of what is already one of the most radical and far-reaching presidencies in US history, but polls show Americans becoming disenchanted with the economic and political tumult.The 47th president will mark the milestone in trademark style, seeking to rejuvenate his base with a rally in the battleground state of Michigan that swung his way in November as he soundly defeated Kamala Harris.Trump has shaken up the United States like few presidents before him. His billionaire backer Elon Musk has led dramatic cutbacks of the federal workforce, and the president himself has reshaped relations with the world by unveiling sweeping tariffs, berating allies and eliminating much foreign aid.Polls show that the honeymoon period that Americans historically accord presidents at the start of their terms has evaporated for Trump.A poll published Sunday by The Washington Post and ABC News found that only 39 percent of Americans approve of Trump’s performance.The survey showed net disapproval even on what was his most popular issue — his aggressive crackdown on immigration — as controversy swirls over deportations without due process.Trump angrily dismissed the polling, but has been tacitly acknowledging that he must moderate some policies as stock market turmoil takes a toll.Wall Street, down more than six percent since Trump took office, ticked up Tuesday on news he would soften some of the sweeping tariffs impacting automakers.- ‘We’ve done everything’ -He also recently backtracked on threats to fire Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, who has warned that Trump’s tariffs would likely reignite inflation.After a 2017-2021 term in which some aides sought to rein him in, Trump has surrounded himself this time with unabashed loyalists — and told reporters he was on track to accomplish all of his second-term goals.”I think either we’ve done everything, or it’s in the process of being done,” Trump said as he prepared to fly to his rally at a community college in Warren, Michigan.In a Q&A with reporters, he was asked about his preference for the next pope, and he joked: “I would like to be pope. That would be my No. 1 choice.”In the grand entrance hallway of the White House, Trump has removed a portrait of Barack Obama, the United States’ first Black president, to make way for a painting of himself surviving an assassination attempt.He has used threats of cutting off government access and contracts to pressure law firms whose partners once were involved in cases against him, and he has frozen billions of dollars in funding for universities — hotbeds of criticism against the administration.- Stretching limits -Unlike most presidents, Trump has focused more on energizing his base than broadening his appeal — and many supporters are still with him.”He’s amazing. Everybody’s worried about tariffs. We don’t care — look at everything else that’s coming together too,” said Donna Fitzsimons, a 65-year-old merchandise seller at Michigan the rally venue ahead of Trump’s appearance.”People don’t realize it takes time to get where you need to go.”The rival Democratic Party has seized on economic anxieties although it has also struggled in polling.”Trump is to blame for the fact that life is more expensive, it’s harder to retire, and a ‘Trump recession’ is at our doorstep,” the Democratic National Committee said, calling the 100 days a “colossal failure.”Even with Congress narrowly in Republican hands, Trump has tested the limits of presidential power by signing more than 140 executive orders, many of which have faced court scrutiny.He has sought to end birthright citizenship — which is guaranteed by the US Constitution — and Musk has summarily axed billions of dollars appropriated by Congress.Trump has shown signs of impatience. He promised on the campaign trail to end the Ukraine war within 24 hours, but Russia has rebuffed a broad ceasefire offer.The former reality TV star has claimed the pledge was made “in jest,” although CNN reported that he made it more than 50 times before taking office, and was even at pains to point out that he was being serious.aue-mlm-sct-ft/bgs