USA

US not ready to make trade deal with China, Trump says

Published

5 years ago

August 9, 2019

Eric

President Donald Trump said on Friday he was not ready to finalize a trade deal with Beijing and signalled he might cancel talks set for September, raising the stakes in the intensifying US-China trade war.

“We’ll see whether or not we keep our meeting in September,” Trump told reporters at the White House before heading out on vacation at his New Jersey golf resort.

Relations have soured further in the past week after Trump announced a new round of punitive tariffs on Chinese goods, despite a truce agreed with President Xi Jinping, and Beijing responded by halting all purchases of US agricultural goods.

e US Treasury then declared China a currency manipulator, after the yuan lost value in the face of the new round of tariffs due to take effect September 1.

“We’re not ready to make a deal but we’ll see what happens,” Trump said. “We have all the cards. We’re doing well.”

US and Chinese negotiators met in Shanghai in late July for the first time since talks collapsed in May, and were due to hold another round in September.

“Whether or not they’re cancelled, we’ll see,” Trump said.

The countries have imposed tariffs on $360 billion in two-way trade and with the new round Trump announced, all Chinese goods would be subject to punishing duties.

Trump on Thursday lamented the strength of the US dollar which puts American manufacturers at a disadvantage, and once again demanded the Federal Reserve lower interest rates to counteract that.

His latest comments continued the relentless campaign against the US central bank, but backed away from calls for a weaker exchange rate for the dollar.

“No I wouldn’t do that,” Trump said when asked if he wanted to devalue the dollar.

However, “If the Federal Reserve would bring down interest rates over a period of time, I would love to see a point or a little more than that.”

The Fed raised the benchmark US interest rate four times last year, a total of a full percentage point, but pulled back with a rate cut last week.

USA

Biden Steps Down from Re-Election Bid, Says ‘It’s in the Best Interest of the Country’

Published

5 days ago

July 21, 2024

Eric

President of the United States of America, Joe Biden, has announced his resignation from seeking reelection into the White House.

Biden, who made the announcement on Sunday, said much as he would love to return to the Oval Office, his decision to quit the race is in the interest of the Democratic Party and country.

The Full Speech

“My Fellow Americans, Over the past three and a half years, we have made great progress as a Nation,” Biden said.

My Fellow Americans,

Over the past three and a half years, we have made great progress as a Nation. Today, America has the strongest economy in the world. We’ve made historic investments in rebuilding our Nation, in lowering prescription drug costs for seniors, and in expanding affordable health care to a record number of Americans. We’ve provided critically needed care to a million veterans exposed to toxic substances. Passed the first gun safety law in 30 years. Appointed the first African American woman to the Supreme Court. And passed the most significant climate legislation in the history of the world. America has never been better positioned to lead than we are today.

I know none of this could have been done without you, the American people. Together, we overcame a once in a century pandemic and the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. We’ve protected and preserved our Democracy. And we’ve revitalized and strengthened our alliances around the world.

It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President. And while it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term.

I will speak to the Nation later this week in more detail about my decision. For now, let me express my deepest gratitude to all those who have worked so hard to see me reelected. I want to thank Vice President Kamala Harris for being an extraordinary partner in all this work. And let me express my heartfelt appreciation to the American people for the faith and trust you have placed in me.

“I believe today what I always have: that there is nothing America can’t do – when we do it together. We just have to remember we are the United States of America.”

Some Americans and top democrats had raised concerns over Biden’s health following his botched presidential debate with Donald Trump, Republican Party nominee.

USA

Fresh Challenge, Pressure As Biden Contracts COVID-19

Published

1 week ago

July 18, 2024

Eric

United States President Joe Biden faces new pressure to step aside because of his age – with his campaign activity currently halted due to a Covid-19 infection.

The top two Democrats in the US Congress, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, are both reported by US media to have met him privately to express concerns over his candidacy.

Nancy Pelosi, the former House Speaker, is also reported to have told him that he cannot beat Donald Trump in November’s election.

Announcing his Covid infection on Wednesday night, the White House said the 81-year-old was facing mild symptoms.

Karine Jean-Pierre, his press secretary, said the president was vaccinated and boosted. He has tested positive for Covid twice before.

Mr Biden was seen earlier in the day visiting supporters in Las Vegas and speaking at an event. He cancelled a campaign speech later in the night.

Ms Jean-Pierre said the president planned to isolate at his home in Delaware while carrying out “all of his duties fully”.

The president’s doctor, Kevin O’Connor, said Mr Biden had presented with upper respiratory symptoms, including a runny nose and a cough, and had been given his first dose of Paxlovid.

He felt fine during his first event of the day but later tested positive, Dr O’Connor said.

Mr Biden later used X/Twitter to thank everyone for “the well wishes” and said he would “work to get the job done for the American people” while in recovery.

In another tweet his account stated “I’m sick” before replying back “… of Elon Musk and his rich buddies trying to buy this election. And if you agree, pitch in here”.

The tweet pointed to a donations portal.

Source: BBC

USA

Trump Has Absolute Immunity for Official Acts, US Supreme Court Rules

Published

4 weeks ago

July 1, 2024

Eric

The United States Supreme Court has for the first time recognised that former presidents have immunity from prosecution for certain actions taken in office, as it threw out a judicial decision rejecting Donald Trump’s bid to shield himself from criminal charges involving his efforts to undo his 2020 election loss.

The court on Monday ruled 6-3 that while former presidents enjoy immunity for actions they take within their constitutional authority, they do not for actions taken in a private capacity.

The ruling marked the first time since the nation’s 18th-century founding that the Supreme Court has declared that former presidents may be shielded from criminal charges in any instance.

The decision will boost Trump’s defence against federal charges over his efforts to overturn the 2020 vote, which he lost to President Joe Biden. It could also affect similar state-level election interference charges in Georgia.

Trump was quick to welcome the ruling. “BIG WIN FOR OUR CONSTITUTION AND DEMOCRACY. PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN,” the former president wrote in a social media post.

Chief Justice John Roberts announced the landmark decision on behalf of the court’s six-justice conservative majority. The court’s three liberal justices dissented.

The Supreme Court justices argued that enabling the prosecution of former presidents over their official acts in office could open the door for political retribution and despotism.

“The President enjoys no immunity for his unofficial acts, and not everything the President does is official. The President is not above the law. But Congress may not criminalize the President’s conduct in carrying out the responsibilities of the Executive Branch under the Constitution,” they wrote.

They stressed that the immunity does not apply just to Trump but “to all occupants of the Oval Office, regardless of politics, policy, or party.”

Three of the six justices who backed the ruling were appointed by Trump himself.

Liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor forcefully rejected the majority’s opinion on Monday, arguing that the ruling effectively legalises abuse of power.

“The President of the United States is the most powerful person in the country, and possibly the world. When he uses his official powers in any way, under the majority’s reasoning, he now will be insulated from criminal prosecution,” she wrote.

“Orders the Navy’s Seal Team 6 to assassinate a political rival? Immune. Organizes a military coup to hold onto power? Immune. Takes a bribe in exchange for a pardon? Immune. Immune, immune, immune.”

Source: Aljazeera