China slaps retaliatory tariffs on 128 US products

China slaps retaliatory tariffs on 128 US products BEIJING: China on Monday imposed tariffs on 128 US imports worth $3 billion, including fruit and pork, retaliating for US duties on steel and aluminium that Beijing said “seriously infringed” Chinese interests. The move, which was decided by the customs tariff commission of the State Council, followed weeks of rhetoric that has raised fears of a trade war between the world’s two biggest economies. The Trump administration had said its duties were aimed at steel and aluminium imports that it deemed a threat to US national security, but China’s Commerce Ministry on Monday called that reasoning an “abuse” of World Trade Organization (WTO) guidelines. The US measures “are directed only at a few countries, seriously violating the principle of non-discrimination as a cornerstone of the multilateral trading system, which seriously infringed the interests of the Chinese side,” said a statement on the Commerce Ministry website. President Donald Trump has repeatedly railed against China’s massive trade surplus with the United States and promised during the election campaign to take steps to slash the US deficit. Beijing had warned last month that it was considering the tariffs of 15 percent and 25 percent on a range of products that also include wine, nuts and aluminium scrap. They came into force on Monday, Xinhua said, citing a government statement. The levies are in response to tariffs of 10 percent on aluminium and 25 percent on steel that have also angered US allies. “We hope that the United States can withdraw measures that violate WTO rules as soon as possible to put trade in the relevant products between China and the US back on a normal track,” the Commerce Ministry statement said. “Cooperation between China and the United States, the world’s two largest economies, is the only correct choice.” Trump has temporarily suspended the tariffs for the European Union as well as Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico and South Korea. But the White House has unveiled plans to impose new tariffs on some $60 billion of Chinese imports over the “theft” of intellectual property. Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, the top economic official, told US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in a phone call last month that the IP investigation violated international trade rules and Beijing was “ready to defend its naitonal interests”. ‘Heavy blow’ But Beijing has so far held fire against major US imports such as soybeans or Boeing aircraft — items that state-run daily the Global Times suggested should be targeted. The nationalistic newspaper said in an editorial last week that China has “nearly completed its list of retaliatory tariffs on US products and will release it soon.” “The list will involve major Chinese imports from the US,” the newspaper wrote, without saying which items were included. “This will deal a heavy blow to Washington that aggressively wields the stick of trade war and will make the US pay a price for its radical trade policy toward China,” the Global Times wrote. Despite the rhetoric, US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross on Thursday suggested the new measures on intellectual property were a “prelude to a set of negotiations”. The United States ran a $375.2 billion deficit with China last year. US Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat, held meetings with Chinese officials on Friday and Saturday, including Vice Premier Liu. “With Vice Premier Liu He, I had an extensive discussion about how China’s trade-distorting measures end up hurting American workers,” Warren wrote on Twitter. “I’ve long been skeptical of trade policy -– both at home and abroad -– that caters to big corporations instead of working families,” she said. PICKED : https://arynews.tv/en/china-slaps-tariffs-us-products/

U.S. government seeks end to Supreme Court privacy fight with Microsoft

U.S. government seeks end to Supreme Court privacy fight with Microsoft
President Donald Trump on March 22 signed a provision into law making it clear that U.S. judges can issue warrants for such data, while giving companies an avenue to object if the request conflicts with foreign law. The U.S. government's Supreme Courtbattle with Microsoft over whether technology companies can be forced to hand over data stored overseas could be nearing its end, after federal prosecutors asked that the case be dismissed. President Donald Trump on March 22 signed a provision into law making it clear that U.S. judges can issue warrants for such data, while giving companies an avenue to object if the request conflicts with foreign law.
"This case is now moot," the U.S. Department of Justice said, citing the newly passed legislation, in a 16-page court filing on Friday that requested the dismissal. The Supreme Court on Feb. 27 heard arguments in the case, which had been one of the most closely watched of the high court's current term. Some justices urged Congress to pass a law to resolve the matter. Microsoft and the Justice Department had been locked in a dispute over how U.S. prosecutors seek access to data held on overseas computer servers owned by American companies. The case involved Microsoft's challenge to a domestic warrant issued by a U.S. judge for emails stored on a Microsoft server in Dublin relating to a drug-trafficking investigation. The bipartisan new law, known as the Cloud Act, was supported by Microsoft, other major technology companies, and the Trump administration. But civil liberties groups opposed it, saying it lacked sufficient privacy protections.
Microsoft, which has 100 data centers in 40 countries, was the first American company to challenge a domestic search warrant seeking data held outside the United States. The Microsoft customer whose emails were sought told the company he was based in Ireland when he signed up for his account. A representative for Microsoft did not immediately return requests for comment on the Justice Department's filing.
Picked : https://cio.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/government-policy/u-s-government-seeks-end-to-supreme-court-privacy-fight-with-microsoft/63579994

UAE postpones good conduct certificate requirement for job visas

UAE postpones good conduct certificate requirement for job visas 

Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation announces postponement of new requirement
Image Credit: Ahmed Ramzan/Gulf News archives Dubai: The UAE has postponed the mandatory requirement for a good conduct certificate for employment visas from April 1, according to the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation. The ministry, in a response to a Twitter user's inquiry, said that the requirement is postponed "until further notice".
The UAE had made the good conduct certificate mandatory for employment visas starting on February 4. Sources told Gulf News that authorities have started processing visa applications from certain nationalities without the good conduct certificate from last week. However, the ministry had not officially confirmed this. Until Thursday, the last working day in March, the ministry replied to Twitter users that there was no update when they enquired about the status of the requirement of good conduct certificate. “If there is any update, [it] will be shared on the official channels,” it had added.
On Sunday morning, the ministry updated the latest decision to all those who had made the enquiry through Twitter. However, no media statement has been issued as of press time on Sunday. The rule making it mandatory to obtain a certificate of good conduct for expatriates to get a work permit in the UAE had come into effect after the UAE Coordination Committee in January approved a Cabinet Resolution issued in 2017 stipulating that expatriates who apply for work visa in the UAE must first obtain a certificate of good conduct — issued either by their home country or the country where they lived for the last five years.
Sourced : http://gulfnews.com/news/uae/government/uae-postpones-good-conduct-certificate-requirement-for-job-visas-1.2197723

Price of petrol, diesel slashed by over Rs2

Price of petrol, diesel slashed by over Rs2 

The federal government announced a new tariff for petroleum products on Saturday, reducing the per-litre price of petrol and diesel by Rs2.07 and Rs2.00 respectively. From April 1, 92 RON petrol will be sold for Rs86 and high speed diesel for Rs96.45, while prices of kerosene and light diesel will be maintained, a press release by the Ministry of Finance stated.
The statement said the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) had asked that the prices of light diesel and kerosene should be increased — recommendations that were not adopted and thus respective price for the products maintained at Rs65.30 and Rs76.46 respectively. The ministry, however, also stated that Ogra had asked for a greater price cut for petrol — another recommendation that could not be followed completely as, the ministry explained, the price cut granted in previous months was more than what was asked for.
The prices will remain effective until April 30. Based on existing tax rates and import prices reported by Pakistan State Oil, Ogra had recommended a reduction of Rs5.26 per litre in the price of petrol for April. The regulator had also recommended an increase of 65 paisa per litre for high speed diesel, 55 paisa per litre for light diesel oil and 13 paisa per litre for kerosene.
Picked Fromhttps://www.dawn.com/news/1398732/price-of-petrol-diesel-slashed-by-over-rs2

Trump supporter Malloch to testify to Mueller grand jury

Trump supporter Malloch to testify to Mueller grand jury 

Washington: An American academic who supports US President Donald Trump and is a strong advocate of Britain’s exit from the European Union will testify next month before the federal grand jury considering evidence in the investigation into possible collusion between Trump’s 2016 election campaign and Russia.
Theodore Malloch, the author of a forthcoming pro-Trump book and an ally of Nigel Farage, a former leader of Britain’s UK Independence Party, said in a statement emailed to Reuters on Friday by the book’s publisher that he was questioned by FBI agents when he landed at Boston’s Logan International Airport on Tuesday after a flight from London and served with a subpoena to appear before the grand jury. Malloch “is scheduled to testify in Washington D.C. on April 13th under Robert Mueller’s Grand Jury investigation,” Hector Carosso, a representative of Skyhorse Publishing, said in a separate email.
Malloch’s book, “The Plot to Destroy Trump: How the Deep State Fabricated the Russian Dossier to Subvert the President,” is scheduled for publication on May 1. Mueller is investigating possible illegal coordination between Trump and his 2016 campaign and Russia. Trump and Russia have denied any collusion. The FBI and Mueller’s team had no comment on Malloch or events at the airport in Boston. Malloch said in his email that the FBI presented him with a document authorizing the agents to seize his cellphone. He said he handed it over and later was told the FBI had to send it to Washington for a “full assessment.”
He also said the FBI questioned him for about an hour about his career, government security clearances, and academic credentials. He said the agents then asked him about his role in the Trump campaign, which he said was informal and unpaid. He said they also questioned him about his contacts with Trump supporter and political consultant Roger Stone, the WikiLeaks website and Jerome Corsi, a contributor to conspiracy theory websites.

In his statement, Malloch said he knew nothing about WikiLeaks, which published emails U.S. intelligence officials concluded last year were hacked from the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign by the GRU, Russia’s military intelligence agency. Sources familiar with Mueller’s investigation say one avenue of inquiry is how the hacked emails made their way to WikiLeaks from Russia, and whether any Trump allies ever handled them.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange declined to comment directly on any possible contacts with Malloch when contacted by Reuters.

Sourced : http://gulfnews.com/news/americas/usa/trump-supporter-malloch-to-testify-to-mueller-grand-jury-1.2197520

Character certificate not mandatory for UAE work visa

ISLAMABAD: The government of United Arab Emirate (UAE) has suspended the mandatory condition of submitting character certificate of District Police Officer for applying work visa of UAE. The suspension of this condition made possible due to the untired efforts of the Bureau of Emigration and Overseas Employment. According to a press release issued here on Friday, it has been directed to the Pakistanis those are interested for getting employment opportunity in the UAE they must apply through previous procedure.

Sourced : https://www.samaa.tv/economy/2018/03/character-certificate-not-mandatory-for-uae-work-visa/

US on track to meet climate change target despite Trump

US on track to meet climate change target despite Trump 


UN Secretary-General Guterres says emissions-cutting puts goals within reach despite Trump's planned withdrawal The United States is on track to meet the targets of the Paris climate agreement despite President Donald Trump’s plan to withdraw from the accord, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Thursday.
Guterres said emissions-cutting plans put in motion by American businesses, regional governments and cities meant that the goals set by the former US administration which signed the deal in 2016 were within reach. “We have seen in the cities, and we have seen in many states, a very strong commitment to the Paris agreement, to the extent that some indicators are moving even better than in the recent past,” Guterres told reporters at UN headquarters in New York. “There are expectations that, independently of the position of the administration, the US might be able to meet the commitments made in Paris as a country.” Under the deal, the administration of former president Barack Obama pledged to cut domestic greenhouse gas emissions 26 to 28 percent below 2005 levels by 2025. Nearly 200 countries and parties have signed the landmark agreement after intense negotiations in Paris, where all nations made voluntary carbon-cutting pledges running to 2030. The agreement is aimed at limiting global warming to within two degrees Celsius, but Guterres warned that more action was needed by 2020 to reach that goal.
Trump faced condemnation when he announced in June 2017 that the United States was pulling out, painting the accord as a “bad deal” for the US economy. Under the agreement, the United States can formally give notice that it plans to withdraw in 2019, three years after the accord came into force, and the withdrawal would become effective in 2020. Describing climate change as “the most systemic threat to humankind,” Guterres said recent data on extreme weather events showed that “2017 was filled with climate chaos.” “2018 has already brought more of the same,” he said. “Food security, health, stability itself all hang in the balance.” Guterres is planning to host a major summit next year to take stock of progress in implementing the climate deal, but it remains unlikely that Trump would attend
Sourced : http://gulfnews.com/news/americas/usa/us-on-track-to-meet-climate-change-target-despite-trump-1.2196814