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Moored off a Manhattan pier for New York’s annual Climate Week is one of the world’s first ammonia-powered vessels — a green flagship for an Australian tycoon’s drive to decarbonize his mining empire.Even as President Donald Trump’s second term has triggered environmental backtracking among many corporations, iron ore giant Fortescue — founded by Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest — is investing billions to clean up its dirty operations.”We’re a huge polluter right now,” he told AFP in an interview aboard the Green Pioneer, a 75-meter former oil-rig supply ship given a swish makeover. “But we’re changing so fast, and within five years, we’ll stop burning fossil fuels.”The Green Pioneer is meant to be the first in a fleet of ammonia-powered ships. Ammonia contains what Forrest calls the “miracle molecule” — hydrogen. Ammonia burns to produce harmless nitrogen and water, though incomplete combustion of can still generate greenhouse gases.- ‘Real Zero,’ not offsets -The 63-year-old Forrest has become a fixture at global summits, rubbing shoulders with leaders such as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen as he evangelizes his climate vision.Where other companies tout green credentials by buying carbon credits — generated through nature protection or carbon-removal projects for example — to claim “net zero,” Forrest dismisses the practice as a scam.”Carbon credits have already been proved by science to be next to worthless,” said Forrest, whose net worth Forbes pegs at more than $16 billion. “That’s why we go ‘Real Zero.'”Achieving genuine decarbonization by 2030 is no small feat, particularly in one of the world’s dirtiest industries. Fortescue’s plan involves replacing diesel-powered mining equipment with electric excavators and drills; building vast wind, solar and battery farms to power operations; and running battery-powered haul trucks.Further along the value chain, the company wants to process its own iron ore — the stage responsible for the lion’s share of emissions — using “green hydrogen” produced by splitting water molecules with renewable electricity, instead of coke or thermal coal.”Fortescue’s climate commitments are certainly different to most other corporations, including its peers in the iron ore mining sector” such as Rio Tinto and BHP, Simon Nicholas, the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis’ lead analyst for global steel told AFP. “It has a ‘green iron’ pilot plant under construction in Australia which will use green hydrogen. The company is aiming to eventually process all of its iron ore into iron for export — about 100 million tonnes a year” — and even getting close to those targets would be transformative, said Nicholas.- Technical challenges -But he cautioned that the technological hurdles remain immense: green hydrogen is still expensive, and the pilot plant must prove it can handle lower-grade ore.Then there’s the inherent ecological cost of mining. “If you destroy parts of a forest, including its soils, for your mining operation, even if you don’t use fossil fuels for your operations, you will not be ‘true zero,'” Oscar Soria, co-director of The Common Initiative think tank told AFP.Forrest’s outlook is grounded in his personal journey.Raised in the Australian Outback, where he earned the nickname “Twiggy” for his skinny childhood frame, he got his start in finance before taking over a company and renaming it Fortescue Metals Group in 2003.Forrest said his environmental commitment deepened after a hiking accident in 2014 left him temporarily wheelchair-bound. Encouraged by his children, he returned to university and completed a PhD in marine ecology.”That convinced me I’ve got to put every fiber of my being into arresting this threat so much bigger than any geostrategic issues, so much bigger than politics, so much bigger than anything,” he said.Climate now sits at the heart of his philanthropic Minderoo Foundation.And while the Trump administration derides the “green scam” as economically catastrophic, Forrest insists the opposite is true, pointing to Fortescue’s financial record.”Don’t accuse us of being unbusiness-like. We’re the most business-like in the world.”

Donald Trump recently said that “I hate my opponent.” Now the US president is making them pay.The indictment of former FBI chief and critic James Comey is the starkest and most high-profile confirmation of Trump’s repeated vows to exact revenge on his political enemies.But the Republican has made it clear it’s only the beginning. Trump called on Friday for more prosecutions of his foes as he continues to shatter the norms of American politics.”I hope there will be others,” Trump told reporters at the White House, describing Comey as a “dirty cop.”Trump has long fumed about Comey for the investigation that the FBI conducted into whether Trump colluded with Russia to win the 2016 election.Democrats said Trump’s targeting of his opponents resembled those in authoritarian regimes. Andrew Bates, former senior deputy press secretary in president Joe Biden’s White House, said Trump was already “historically unpopular” because of a failure to tackle “costs, chaos and corruption that he promised to fight.””I don’t see the genius in following that up with ‘watch me spit on George Washington’s memory so I can dress up like Kim Jong Un,'” Bates told AFP.- ‘Witch hunt’ -Trump’s administration insists it is not about weaponizing justice — the exact same thing it has accused Biden of doing.”It’s about justice really, it’s not revenge,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Friday. “They are sick, radical left people, and they can’t get away with it.”But other recent comments showed how personal it was for the 79-year-old.”James ‘Dirty Cop’ Comey was a destroyer of lives” Trump said on Truth Social just hours earlier.By “lives,” Trump meant his own, from what he calls the Russia “witch-hunt” to the series of criminal and civil charges following his 2020 election defeat and the January 6 2021 Capitol riots. Now critics say it is Trump leading a witch hunt since his return to office. He has made unprecedented use of presidential power to make law firms, universities, federal employees and media outlets have all been forced to bend the knee.He has also loaded the top echelons of US justice with allies, including the conspiracy theory-promoting Kash Patel as the current FBI chief.But his revenge campaign has now entered a new stage in which his opponents now risk time behind bars.The American Civil Liberties Union said Comey’s indictment was “the latest in a series of Trump Administration actions targeting political opponents of the president and exploiting the powers of the federal government to do so.”- ‘There will be others’ -Trump has also given up any pretense of maintaining the firewall between the White House and the Justice Department that US presidents have insisted on since the Watergate scandal toppled Richard Nixon in the 1970s.At the weekend Trump publicly berated Attorney General Pam Bondi for failing to take any action against Comey and others — and got his wish within days.Future targets could include former New York state prosecutor Letitia James, who brought a civil fraud case against Trump, and California Senator Adam Schiff, who led the prosecution at the president’s first impeachment in 2019.The Justice Department is reportedly pushing for charges against John Bolton, Trump’s former national security advisor-turned-critic, whose house was raided by FBI agents recently.”It’s not a list but I think there will be others,” Trump said Friday.When it comes to his attitude to his perceived enemies, Trump said the quiet part out loud earlier this month at the funeral of assassinated right-wing activist Charlie Kirk.Noting that the combative Kirk had still wished his opponents well, Trump said: “That’s where I disagreed with Charlie. I hate my opponent and I don’t want the best for them.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Friday in an angry UN address to block a Palestinian state, accusing European leaders of pushing his country into “national suicide” and rewarding Hamas.Netanyahu, who said his speech was being partially broadcast on Israeli military loudspeakers in Gaza, vowed to “finish the job” against Hamas even as President Donald Trump said he thought he had sealed a deal on a ceasefire.Days after Britain, France and other Western powers recognized a state of Palestine, Netanyahu said that they had sent “a very clear message that murdering Jews pays off.””Israel will not allow you to shove a terrorist state down our throats,” Netanyahu said.”We will not commit national suicide because you don’t have the guts to face down the hostile media and antisemitic mobs demanding Israel’s blood,” he said.Hamas carried out the worst-ever attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, triggering a relentless Israeli offensive in Gaza.Palestinian Authority president Mahmud Abbas, a rival of Hamas, condemned the attack as well as antisemitism in his own address Thursday, which he delivered virtually after the United States refused him a visa.Netanyahu — who has opposed a Palestinian state for decades — mocked Western support for Abbas and called the Palestinian Authority “corrupt to the core.”But Palestinian foreign ministry official Adel Atieh called Netanyahu’s address “the speech of a defeated man.” Netanyahu notably did not touch on the issue of annexing the West Bank, which some members of his cabinet have threatened as a way to kill any prospect of a real Palestinian state.Trump, normally a staunch ally of Netanyahu, has warned against annexation as he pitches a peace plan on Gaza that would include the disarmament of Hamas.Netanyahu went out of his way to praise Trump, whom he will meet Monday in Washington.Trump said Friday just after Netanyahu spoke, “I think we have a deal.”Former British prime minister Tony Blair was floated in some media reports as a possible leader of a transitional authority for Gaza under the US proposals.- Protests and circuitous route -With Netanyahu facing an International Criminal Court arrest warrant over war crime allegations, including using starvation as a weapon, the Israeli prime minister took an unusual route to New York that included flying over the narrow Strait of Gibraltar.As he walked up to the General Assembly rostrum many delegations walked out. Protesters marched nearby in Times Square calling for his arrest.”War criminals don’t deserve any peace of mind. They don’t deserve any sleep,” said Andrea Mirez, a young woman who kept up an overnight noisy protest outside Netanyahu’s hotel.Netanyahu in his address aggressively challenged allegations that Israel was committing genocide in Gaza, noting Gazans were repeatedly urged to flee.However, humanitarian law also considers forced displacement to be a war crime. Nearly the entire population of the Gaza Strip has been displaced during the war.The October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas killed 1,219 people, also mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally from Israeli official figures, in the deadliest day in the country’s history.Israel’s offensive has killed more than 65,549 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to health ministry figures in the Hamas-run territory that the United Nations considers reliable.Twenty people across Gaza were killed Friday ahead of Netanyahu’s speech alone, Gaza’s civil defense agency reported.Medical charity Doctors without Borders said Friday it had been forced to suspend its work in Gaza City because of the ongoing Israeli offensive.- ‘Not forgotten you’ -Netanyahu said that his speech was broadcast in part on loudspeaker in hopes of reaching both Hamas leaders and hostages still held since the October 7, 2023 attack.”We have not forgotten you — not even for a second,” Netanyahu said in Hebrew.A number of hostage families have criticized Netanyahu’s renewed military campaign and sought a ceasefire to save their loved ones.Netanyahu spoke months after he ordered a major bombing campaign of Iran’s nuclear sites.During his speech he showed a map of the Middle East, taking out a pen to cross out adversaries Israel has killed. Iran boycotted the speech.

Sweeping UN sanctions look likely to return on Iran despite a last-ditch effort on Friday by China and Russia to secure a delay to allow further talks, diplomats say.European powers were urging Iran to reverse a series of steps it took after Israel and the United States bombed its nuclear sites in June.Complaining that Iran has not complied with a landmark but moribund deal, the Europeans have triggered a return of sweeping UN sanctions — notably on its banking and oil sectors — that are set to take effect at the end of Saturday.China and Russia at a Security Council session on Friday put forward a draft resolution, seen by AFP, that would give another half year for talks, or until April 18, 2026.But diplomats said they did not expect it to receive the nine votes on the 15-member Security Council for passage.French President Emmanuel Macron met Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Wednesday and said a deal was possible to avoid the sanctions, but that Iran had only hours left.One diplomat, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, said late Thursday that the Europeans believed they had “done everything to try to move things,” but that Iran did not offer the desired flexibility.Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Friday the Security Council vote was “a fleeting opportunity for the Council to say ‘No’ to confrontation and ‘Yes’ to cooperation.””Iran has put forward multiple proposals to keep the window for diplomacy open,” he wrote on X.France — speaking for itself, Germany and Britain — has told Iran it must allow full access to UN nuclear inspectors, immediately resume nuclear negotiations and offer transparency on highly enriched uranium, the whereabouts of which has been the subject of speculation.- ‘Illegal and irresponsible’ -The 2015 deal, negotiated during Barack Obama’s presidency, lifted sanctions in return for Iran drastically scaling back its controversial nuclear work.President Donald Trump in his first term withdrew from the deal and imposed sweeping unilateral US sanctions, while pushing the Europeans to do likewise.The Chinese and Russian draft resolution, in a reference to the United States, would call on all initial parties to the deal to “immediately resume negotiations.”On Thursday, Araghchi met his British counterpart, Yvette Cooper, to discuss the row.Araghchi “strongly criticized the position of the three European countries as unjustified, illegal and irresponsible,” the Iranian foreign ministry said.Steve Witkoff, Trump’s real estate friend and roving envoy who had been negotiating with Iran until Israel attacked, said Wednesday that Iran was in a “tough position” but also held out hope for a solution.”I think that we have no desire to hurt them. We have a desire, however, to either realize a permanent solution and negotiate around snapbacks,” Witkoff told the Concordia summit on the sidelines of the General Assembly.”If we can’t, then snapbacks will be what they are. They’re the right medicine,” Witkoff said.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a speech to the United Nations on Friday demanded the reimposition of the sanctions, calling on the world to “remain vigilant” on Tehran’s nuclear program. Iran has long contended that it is not seeking nuclear weapons, pointing to an edict by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and US intelligence has not concluded that the country has decided to build a nuclear weapon.But Israel, the United States and European countries have long been skeptical due to the country’s advanced nuclear work, believing it could quickly pursue a bomb if it so decided.Standing at the General Assembly rostrum this week, Pezeshkian showed pictures of people killed in the 12-day Israeli military campaign against Iran in June, which Tehran says killed more than 1,000 people.The United States joined in the campaign on June 22, striking several of Iran’s nuclear facilities.dt-abd-gw-sct/md

The United Nations on Friday released a long-awaited update of its database of companies with activities in Israeli settlements in Palestinian territories, listing 158 firms from 11 countries.UN rights chief Volker Turk has condemned as a war crime Israel’s policy of settlements on Palestinian territory in the occupied West Bank.While several companies including Alstom and Opodo had been removed from the non-exhaustive database, major firms such as Airbnb, Booking.com, Motorola Solutions and TripAdvisor remained on the list. Contacted by AFP for their reaction, the companies have not so far responded.While most of the companies were based in Israel, others were based in Canada, China, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Britain and the United States.The report, from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), urged companies to “take appropriate action to address the adverse human rights impacts” of their activities.Turk said in a statement: “This report underscores the due diligence responsibility of businesses working in contexts of conflict to ensure their activities do not contribute to human rights abuses.”Israel denounced the report as “a document with no legal ground and far beyond the scope of the OHCHR”.The country’s UN office in Geneva added: “The OHCHR continues to misuse UN resources to tarnish Israel, proving that it is not able to execute its mandate in any adequate way.”We call on friends not to yield to this ugly attempt to blacklist Israeli firms.”- Mostly Israeli firms -The list was first produced in 2020 after a UN Human Rights Council resolution called for a database of firms that profited from business in illegally occupied Palestinian territory. The UN rights office was asked to list companies found to be taking part in any of 10 activities, including construction, surveillance, demolitions and destruction of agricultural land in Israeli settlements in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.Listing companies in the database was “not, and does not purport to be, a judicial or quasi-judicial process”, it stressed.Despite a requirement for the database to be updated annually, it has been revised just once before, in 2023, when some companies named in the original list were removed.Friday’s release marks the first update that includes fresh names.”A total of 68 new companies were added to the list published in 2023, while seven of those… were removed as they were no longer involved in any of the activities concerned,” the rights office said.- Contentious -The list is not exhaustive, the rights office said, acknowledging that it had only had time to review 215 of the 596 companies about which it received submissions.For this latest update it said it had prioritised companies with a direct physical link in the settlements, in the fields of construction, real estate, mining and quarries.The remainder will be assessed in future updates, it said.The exercise has been contentious from the start.In 2020, Israel and the United States  condemned the creation of the database.The then Israeli foreign minister Israel Katz slammed it as “a shameful surrender to pressure from countries and organisations who want to harm Israel”.Today, nearly two years into the war raging in Gaza, where Israel faces growing accusations of committing genocide, the issue has become even more contentious.Israel has controlled the West Bank since 1967 in an occupation considered illegal under international law.Violence in the West Bank has also soared since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel at the start of the Gaza war, even as Israeli government ministers have ramped up their calls to annex the West Bank.

Donald Trump brands his opponent James Comey a “dirty cop.” At an imposing six feet, eight inches (two meters), Comey would likely call himself the ultimate tough cop.Abruptly fired from his post as FBI chief by Trump in 2017, Comey went into opposition, winning widespread praise for his independence — and engaging in a years-long feud that has now seen the 64-year-old indicted.Thursday’s charges of making false statements and obstruction of justice thrust Comey to the forefront of a broader and growing battle over Trump’s unprecedented efforts during his second term to amass power and to punish perceived enemies.But the feud is rooted all the way back in the opening days of Trump’s first presidency and shock 2016 election win against Democrat Hillary Clinton.Comey was four years through a standard 10-year term as FBI director when he sparked controversy on the eve of Election Day by issuing a damning assessment of Clinton’s use of a private, rather than government email server.No charges were brought. But Democrats say that bringing the FBI’s focus on the issue just as voters were about to go to the polls might have cost Clinton the tight contest.When Trump decided to keep Comey — who had been appointed by Democratic president Barack Obama — critics suspected that the FBI director was being rewarded by the Republican for damaging Clinton.But just months later, Comey clashed with Trump. In a March 2017 hearing followed live by millions around the world, Comey confirmed for the first time that the FBI was investigating Russian interference in the 2016 vote and possible collusion with Trump’s campaign.A furious Trump fired him in May 2017, overturning inbuilt protections against interference in the FBI and sparking outcry even among some prominent Republicans.- Tenacity and drama -Before coming to prominence for his fight with Trump, Comey was known for his tenacity at the head of the FBI.He locked horns with Silicon Valley magnates as he sought to force Apple to unlock a smartphone used by the perpetrator of a terror attack in California. The FBI’s own experts ended up breaking into the device.The Clinton emails investigation saw him attacked by Democrats, but he was widely respected within the FBI and credited for independence.The father of five began his career in New York and racked up experience as a federal prosecutor in New York and the Washington area. In 2003, he became deputy attorney general and by March 2004 plunged into the kind of high-profile national drama which would come to define his career.Comey had refused to sign off on extending a secret — and hugely controversial — domestic surveillance program that had been instituted after the September 11 terrorist attacks and was about to expire.With his boss, John Ashcroft, in hospital for emergency surgery, Comey was serving as acting attorney general.But two senior aides of then-president George W. Bush tried to circumvent Comey, rushing to see the ailing Ashcroft. Comey was alerted and also went to his boss’s bedside — and the backdoor bid was shut down.

The US Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation measure edged up in August as tariffs filtered through the economy, while analysts warn of further cost pressures after President Donald Trump unveiled a slew of upcoming duties.But personal spending also rose last month, pointing to resilience in consumption — a key driver of the world’s biggest economy.The personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index rose 2.7 percent last month on a year-on-year basis, up from July’s 2.6 percent, the Department of Commerce said Friday.But the PCE price index, when excluding the volatile food and energy sectors, increased at a rate of 2.9 percent, the same as in July.Trump told reporters Friday that the country had “virtually no inflation,” stressing that the economy was doing well.But both PCE figures are notably above the central bank’s longer-run inflation target of two percent, adding to pressure on the Fed as it adjusts interest rates.The Fed walks a tightrope between reining in inflation and maintaining the labor market’s health.This month, policymakers lowered rates for the first time in 2025 as employment weakened. But inflation continues to inch up, even if tariffs have had a relatively limited impact on costs for now — complicating the path forward.Trump this year slapped a sweeping 10-percent duty on imports from almost all trading partners, before hiking this to various steeper levels on dozens of economies.Businesses have been grappling with higher costs as a result, although they have not passed the burden on to consumers entirely — partly as they stocked up on inventory in anticipation of tariffs and also as they are wary of how much price hikes buyers will tolerate.- Shaky ground -“The PCE price indexes show inflation creeping higher as tariffs push up a range of goods prices,” said Oxford Economics’ deputy chief economist Michael Pearce in a statement.He estimates that about two-thirds of the tariff burden has fed through to consumers.But, he cautioned, “the range of new sectoral tariffs announced overnight mean further price pressures are likely on the way.”On Thursday, Trump announced in a series of social media posts that he would slap steep duties on imports of heavy trucks, kitchen cabinets and other furniture, as well as certain branded or patented pharmaceutical products come October 1.The range of tariff levels goes from 25 percent for trucks to 100 percent on branded pharmaceuticals — unless companies built their manufacturing plants in the United States.The recent spending momentum “lacks firm foundations,” warned economists Samuel Tombs and Oliver Allen of Pantheon Macroeconomics.The full effects of tariffs have yet to be seen, they said, while real after-tax income will likely remain stagnant through the end of the year, given weakness in the jobs market.For now, on a month-on-month basis, the PCE price index was up 0.3 percent in August, also picking up slightly from July’s level.Personal spending rose 0.6 percent in the month, up from 0.5 percent in July, the report showed.

US President Donald Trump called Friday for more of his political opponents to face criminal charges as he cheered the indictment of former FBI director James Comey and branded him a “dirty cop.”The Republican’s comments step up an extraordinary, undisguised campaign of retribution against those who oppose him that defies decades of norms in US politics.”Frankly I hope there are others,” Trump told reporters at the White House when asked about Comey’s indictment on Thursday.”It’s not revenge. It’s also about the fact that you can’t let this go on.”Presidents have historically bent over backward — at least in public — to show clear separation between the White House and the Justice Department. Trump has smashed that precedent, making clear he intends to influence Comey’s case — and others.Comey was charged with making false statements and obstruction of justice in connection with the probe he conducted into whether Trump colluded with Russia to win the 2016 election.”He’s a dirty cop, he’s always been a dirty cop,” Trump told reporters about Comey, echoing an earlier post on his Truth Social network in which he declared him guilty.The charges against the former FBI chief came days after Trump publicly urged Attorney General Pam Bondi to take action against Comey and others he sees as enemies.They included Leticia James, who as New York’s state prosecutor brought a civil fraud case against Trump, and California Senator Adam Schiff, who led the prosecution at the president’s first impeachment in 2019.Asked who would be next for prosecution, Trump said: “It’s not a list, but I think there will be others.”Trump has used his office since returning to power in January to pressure a huge variety of individuals and institutions that either opposed him in the past or, as in the case of several media outlets, had sought to maintain their independence from him.Current FBI chief Kash Patel on Friday denied accusations from Democrats that the Comey charges were politically linked.”The wildly false accusations attacking this FBI for the politicization of law enforcement comes from the same bankrupt media that sold the world on Russia Gate — it’s hypocrisy on steroids,” Patel posted on X.- ‘Not afraid’ -The charges against Comey are the most dramatic instance yet of Trump’s retribution drive.Comey faces up to five years in prison if convicted, according to federal prosecutor Lindsey Halligan, who was appointed by Trump just days ago to pursue the case. A former personal lawyer to the president, she has no experience as a prosecutor.In a video posted on Instagram, Comey said “I’m not afraid” and denied any wrongdoing.Comey has been prominent during Trump’s second term, as a critic of what he says are the Republican’s efforts to weaponize the justice system for his own political use.But Trump’s feud with Comey goes back to the early days of his tumultuous first term when Comey was the director of the FBI.Trump fired Comey in 2017 amid a probe into whether any members of the Trump campaign had colluded with Moscow to sway the 2016 presidential vote — an issue that dogged the Republican throughout his first term.Trump has vowed to take revenge on all who investigated him in the affair, which he brands the “Russia hoax.” And his intelligence chiefs have issued reports casting the original probes as politically motivated and flawed.But the case against Comey has been criticized as deeply flawed from the start.The five-year statute of limitations on his alleged lying to Congress expires Tuesday, forcing prosecutors to rush to indict. The chief prosecutor for the Eastern District of Virginia declined to press charges but then left her job under pressure from Trump — and was replaced by the inexperienced Halligan.

Donald Trump has shocked the global drug industry by announcing 100-percent tariffs on all branded, imported pharmaceutical products — unless companies are building manufacturing plants in the United States.With just five days left until the US president is set to impose the harshest measures yet in his global trade war, analysts have been racing to figure out which nations, firms and drugs could be affected.While plenty of uncertainty remains, there do appear to be some exemptions. Major exporter the European Union says a previous trade deal shields the bloc from the tariffs.- Which products will be hit? -Trump announced late Thursday he would impose a 100-percent tariff on “any branded or patented Pharmaceutical Product” unless the company has started construction on a manufacturing plant by October 1.The statement indicates that generic medicines — cheaper versions of drugs produced once patents expire — are exempt.Neil Shearing, an economist at Capital Economics, said this exemption would have limited impact because while “90 percent of US drugs consumption volumes go toward generic drugs”, they account for “just 10 percent or so of spending values”.Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, said that “most of the big pharma producers already produce their drugs for the American market in the US”.However there are many popular exceptions — such as the blockbuster weight-loss drugs Wegovy and Mounjaro — as well as some cancer treatments that are all made in Europe, she added.Last year, the US imported nearly $252-billion worth of drugs and other pharma products, making it the second-largest import in value after vehicles, according to the Department of Commerce.- Which countries could be spared? -The EU said Friday that a trade deal sealed with the US in July shielded the bloc.”This clear all-inclusive 15 percent tariff ceiling for EU exports represents an insurance policy that no higher tariffs will emerge for European economic operators,” EU trade spokesman Olof Gill said.Tariffs on medicine “would create the worst of all worlds” by increasing costs, disrupting supply chains and preventing patients from getting life-saving treatment, Nathalie Moll of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations said in a statement to AFP.Macro Angel Talavera from Oxford Economics said the July trade deal should in principle protect EU companies– but it remains “far from clear”.Switzerland — which is home to pharma giants Roche, Novartis and AstraZeneca — was likely most at risk because the country is not a member of the EU, he said. Denmark, where Ozempic and Wegovy producer Novo Nordisk has a major impact on the national economy, was also under threat, he added.The pharma sector in Ireland — whose exports to the US represent roughly 12 percent of GDP, according to Shearing — was among the European groups calling for urgent talks to avert the looming tariffs. A British government spokesperson said the UK was “actively engaging with the US and will continue to do so over the coming days”.In Asia, Japan and South Korea are thought to be shielded by trade deals, while India mostly exports generic drugs, according to Louise Loo at Oxford Economics.”Singapore, focused on high-value patented drugs, faces the greatest risk,” she added.- What are pharma firms doing? -Trump had previously threatened even steeper tariffs of 200 percent on pharmaceuticals in July.Aiming to protect themselves from Trump’s protectionist policies, pharma giants have announced around $300 million in investments in the US in recent months. “Although many pharma companies have pledged to build plants in the US, construction may not have started yet, as these plants are complex to build,” Brooks said.However Trump was clear that he defined building as “breaking ground” on construction sites.Swiss pharma giant Novartis said on Friday that “we have ongoing construction and expect to announce five new sites to be under construction before end of year”.A spokesperson for Bayer said the German company was “assessing the situation”. Other major firms contacted by AFP have yet to respond.

US President Donald Trump on Friday followed up his cheering of the indictment of political opponent James Comey by branding the former FBI director a “dirty cop” and declaring him guilty.Presidents have historically bent over backward — at least in public — to show clear separation between the White House and the Justice Department. Trump has smashed that precedent, making clear he intends to influence Comey’s case.”He is a Dirty Cop, and always has been,” Trump said in a statement on his Truth Social platform.”He just got unexpectedly caught” and “a very big price must be paid!” Trump wrote.Comey was charged late Thursday with making false statements and obstruction of justice in connection with the probe he conducted into whether Russia interfered in the 2016 election that Trump won and if he colluded with the Russians.The charges on Thursday came days after Trump publicly urged Attorney General Pam Bondi to take action against Comey and others he sees as enemies.Trump, who just hours earlier had insisted he had nothing to do with the case, swiftly went on social media to celebrate.”JUSTICE IN AMERICA!” he wrote, calling Comey “one of the worst human beings this Country has ever been exposed to.”Trump has used his office since returning to power in January to pressure a huge variety of individuals and institutions that either opposed him in the past or, as in the case of several media outlets, had sought to maintain their independence from him.The charges against Comey are the most dramatic instance yet.Comey faces up to five years in prison if convicted, according to federal prosecutor Lindsey Halligan, who was appointed by Trump just days ago to pursue the case. A former personal lawyer to the president, she has no experience as a prosecutor.- Trump’s Russia ties -In a video posted on Instagram, Comey said “I’m not afraid” and denied any wrongdoing.Comey has been prominent during Trump’s second term, as a critic of what he says are the Republican’s efforts to weaponize the justice system for his own political use.But Trump’s feud with Comey goes back to the early days of his tumultuous first term when Comey was the director of the FBI.Trump fired Comey in 2017 amid a probe into whether any members of the Trump campaign had colluded with Moscow to sway the 2016 presidential vote.The controversy over Russia’s involvement — and links to the 2016 Trump campaign, as well as to Trump himself — dogged the Republican throughout his first term.Trump has vowed to take revenge on all who investigated him in the affair, which he brands the “Russia hoax.” And his intelligence chiefs have issued reports casting the original probes as politically motivated and flawed.However, the intelligence community’s original findings that Russia meddled in the tumultuous 2016 US election have been backed up by committees both in the House of Representatives and the Senate.The case against Comey has been criticized as deeply flawed from the start.The five-year statute of limitations on his alleged lying to Congress expires Tuesday, forcing prosecutors to rush to indict. However, the chief prosecutor for the Eastern District of Virginia declined to press charges, reportedly because there was not enough evidence.She then left her job under pressure from Trump, who appointed Halligan and exhorted her to “get things moving.”