News Analysis India

Tag: Biden

  • US President Biden Increases Tariffs On Imports Of Electric Vehicles, Other Goods From China | world news

    New Delhi: US President Joe Biden has directed his Trade Representative to increase tariffs on USD 18 billion of imports from China, including semiconductors, solar cells, batteries, and critical minerals to ‘protect’ American workers and businesses, the White House said in a statement on Tuesday.

    The White House said that the decision has come in response to China’s ‘unfair trade practices’ and to counteract the resulting harms.

    “China’s unfair trade practices concerning technology transfer, intellectual property, and innovation are threatening American businesses and workers. China is also flooding global markets with artificially low-priced exports. In response to China’s unfair trade practices and to counteract the resulting harms, today, President Biden is directing his Trade Representative to increase tariffs under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 on USD 18 billion of imports from China to protect American workers and businesses,” the White House statement read.

    The statement on hiked tariffs on imports from China also noted that the Chinese government has used unfair and non-market practices for too long now.

    “China’s forced technology transfers and intellectual property theft have contributed to its control of 70, 80, and even 90 percent of global production for the critical inputs necessary for our technologies, infrastructure, energy, and health care–creating unacceptable risks to America’s supply. chains and economic security,” the White House said.

    “Furthermore, these same non-market policies and practices contribute to China’s growing overcapacity and export surges that threaten to significantly harm American workers, businesses, and communities,” it added.

    The US and the European Union have often expressed their concern over “industrial overcapacity” in China that is impacting their domestic companies.

    US Treasury Secretary Janet L Yellen met with the Economic Working Group (EWG) and Financial Working Group (FWG) between the US and China in April this year following her trip to Beijing and Guangzhou. “The US delegation continued to express concerns about China’s non-market practices and industrial overcapacity,” the US Treasury Department had said after the meeting.

    “Both sides agreed to further discuss these issues,” according to a readout on the meeting.

    In a meeting between Xi Jinping and President Emmanuel Macron of France, Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, urged the visiting Chinese President to address “the wave of subsidized exports flowing from his nation’s factories into Western countries,” NYT reported.

    “These subsidized products — such as the electric vehicles or, for example, steel — are flooding the European market,” von der Leyen said. “The world cannot absorb China’s surplus production,” von der Leyen was cited in the US daily.

  • Israel-Hamas War: US Approves More Bombs, Warplanes For Jerusalem | world news

    New Delhi: Amid escalating tensions and concerns over potential military actions in southern Gaza, the Biden administration has quietly sanctioned the transfer of billions of dollars of bombs and fighter jets to Israel, The Washington Post reported.

    Despite apprehensions about the impact on Palestinian civilians, Washington has proceeded with the arms packages, signaling its unwavering support for Israel’s defense strategies, the report added.

    The recent authorizations include a substantial arsenal of munitions, comprising over 1,800 MK84 2,000-pound bombs and 500 MK82 500-pound bombs, as confirmed by Pentagon and State Department officials familiar with the matter. The decision to greenlight such significant weaponry raises eyebrows, particularly given the lethal history of the 2,000-pound bombs in previous Israeli military campaigns in Gaza, which have resulted in mass casualties, as reported by The Washington Post.

    While the Biden administration has expressed concerns about the potential ramifications of an Israeli offensive in southern Gaza, it has refrained from conditioning aid or imposing restrictions on arms transfers. A White House official reiterated the administration’s stance, affirming its continued support for Israel’s right to self-defense and emphasizing that conditioning aid has not been part of its policy.

    However, some Democratic voices, including allies of President Biden, argue for a more nuanced approach, insisting on Israeli commitments to minimize civilian casualties and facilitate humanitarian aid into Gaza. Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland urged the administration to leverage its influence effectively, demanding assurances from Israel before approving further arms transfers to Gaza.

    The impasse highlights the delicate balance in US–Israel relations, with disagreements emerging over the conduct of the conflict. While the Biden administration seeks to engage with Israeli authorities to mitigate the bloodshed, tensions have flared over the refusal to veto a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for a temporary ceasefire, which Israel perceived as undermining its position.

    Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant’s recent visit to Washington underlined Israel’s urgent requests for expedited weaponry, with Gen Charles Q Brown Jr, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, acknowledging Israel’s persistent demands for critical military supplies. However, the US has exercised discretion in fulfilling these requests, citing capacity limits and strategic considerations.

    The decision to proceed with arms transfers has drawn criticism from some quarters, with concerns raised about the moral implications and potential complicity in Israel’s military actions. Critics argue that the indiscriminate use of powerful munitions, such as the MK84 bombs, poses significant risks to civilian populations and may constitute violations of international law, according to The Washington Post.

    The Biden administration’s approach has also sparked internal debate, with advocates defending the need to maintain robust support for Israel’s security while acknowledging the humanitarian imperative of minimizing civilian harm. Efforts to engage with Israeli officials behind the scenes have yielded mixed results, with delays in planned military operations in Gaza attributed partly to ongoing discussions.

    Despite the diplomatic tensions, the Biden administration remains committed to facilitating humanitarian assistance to alleviate the dire conditions in Gaza. However, logistical challenges and Israeli restrictions on aid deliveries have hindered efforts to address the humanitarian crisis effectively.

    In navigating the complexities of the conflict, the Biden administration faces mounting pressure to reconcile its support for Israel’s security with its humanitarian obligations and concerns about civilian welfare. The delicate balancing act underscores the broader challenges of US foreign policy in the Middle East, where geopolitical interests intersect with moral imperatives.

    As the situation in Gaza remains volatile, the Biden administration faces a daunting task in reconciling competing priorities and upholding its commitments to both Israel’s security and the well-being of Palestinian civilians, The Washington Post reported.

  • Biden Slams Trump For Not Reaching COVID Vaccine Distribution Goal

    President-elect Joe Biden on December 29 condemned US President Donald Trump for “falling behind” on distributing the coronavirus vaccines. In a live-streamed address on the COVID-19 pandemic crisis from Wilmington, Delaware, Biden said, “As I long feared and warned, the effort to distribute and administer the vaccine is not progressing as it should.” He berated the Trump administration, saying that the sitting US President had planned to vaccinate nearly 20 million Americans by the end of December and had been unable to achieve that target. “After ten months of the pandemic, we still don’t have enough testing. It’s a travesty,” the president-elect Joe Biden said in a tweet. Biden’s remarks came after he and Vice president-elect Kamala Harris held a COVID-19 meeting with experts. 

    In his address, Biden urged the Americans to wear a mask and follow health safety measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus. He reiterated the warning that “things will get worse before they get better.” Biden told the Americans that as the New Year approaches, “We have to be honest that we have a very tough year ahead, maybe the toughest during the entire pandemic.” Biden added, “We’re grateful to the companies, the doctors, the scientists, the researchers, the clinical trial participants, and operation warp speed for developing the vaccines quickly. But as I long feared and warned the effort to distribute the vaccine is not progressing as it should.”

  • Anthony Fauci Agrees With Joe Biden That ‘darkest Days’ Of COVID-19 Is Yet To Come

    America’s top infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci cautioned on Sunday that the United States is headed for the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic in the upcoming weeks as Americans will see the effects of the holiday season. 

    Fauci during an exclusive intercation with CNN said that the country is at a very critical point and he shares the concern of President-elect Joe Biden that as the U.S. gets into the next few weeks, it might actually get worse. Biden, who will take office in January, last week had said that “darkest days” against coronavirus “are ahead of us, not behind us.”

    Fauci had reportedly received the first dose of Moderna vaccine last week in Bethesda, Maryland. Fauci said he considered it an honor to be part of this process.

  • US Facing ‘four Historic Crises At Once’, Team Working Hard To Tackle: Joe Biden

    US President-elect Joe Biden on December 27 said that the United States was facing four historic crises all at once, adding, that his country had gotten through the tough times before and will get through it again. Addressing a press conference, Biden said that it was finally a time for America to “awaken, to get moving, and for hope”. In an official tweet, the US president-elect also clarified that his team was already working hard to tackle the challenges on day one as there was “no time to waste.” 

    “From COVID-19 and the economy to climate change and racial justice, our nation is facing four historic crises at once. And come January, there will be no time to waste. That’s why my team and I are hard at work preparing to take action on day one,” Biden tweeted. The US president-elect had earlier condemned President Donald Trump over his refusal to sign a $900bn Covid relief package, saying, that he was abdicating responsibility.

  • US President-elect Joe Biden Joins List Of World Leaders To Receive COVID-19 Vaccine On TV

    US President-elect Joe Biden received the first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine at a hospital in Newark, Delaware on Monday, December 21 (local time). The vaccination process was also broadcasted live on television across the 50 states. With just a month left for his White House inauguration, Biden took the opportunity to urge all Americans to get inoculated as soon as the vaccine becomes available to them.

    The 77-year-old also garnered accolades from Americans as he refused to count to three before receiving the shot. “I am ready,“ he said as instructed the health care professional to inject him with the vaccine. Biden praised the health care workers and said President Donald Trump’s administration “deserves some credit getting this off the ground.”

    The president-elect said that his wife Jill Biden had received her first dose earlier in the day. Biden’s running mate, Vice-President-elect Kamala Harris and her husband Doug Emhoff are expected to receive their first shots next week.

  • Twitter Updates Warning Label For Donald Trump’s US Election Lies; Declares Joe Biden Won

    Micro-blogging platform Twitter has updated the warning labels it applies to US elections misinformation to reflect that Joe Biden is the president-elect. Twitter’s fresh language change is now active on outgoing US President Donald Trump’s tweet from Saturday morning undermining the election outcome and will be applied to all future tweets that do the same. Earlier, the micro-blogging platform used to label the claims of election fraud as “disputed”

    Twitter’s misinformation label has become a topic of discussion when the company began adding them to Donald Trump’s tweets and in some cases even hiding tweets. In the last week, Twitter had said that it has “inadvertently” limited engagements for a brief period on Trump’s tweets with “disputed” labels. 

  • Joe Biden And Wife Jill To Receive COVID-19 Vaccine Publicly On Dec 21: Report

    President-elect Joe Biden and his wife Dr. Jill Biden will receive the COVID-19 vaccine in front of the press on Monday, confirmed his spokesperson Jen Psaki. According to New York Post, Psaki, while talking to reporters on Friday, said that Biden and his wife will publicly receive COVID-19 jabs in their home state Delaware on December 21 in order to convince the American citizens about the safety of the drug. The incoming White House press secretary further added that the Bidens will thank the health care workers after taking the vaccine shots. 

    Psaki said that Vice-President-elect Kamala Harris and her husband Doug Emhoff will take the COVID-19 vaccine shots the following week. Harris and Emhoff will also take the jabs publicly to build confidence among the people. Biden had earlier said that he is willing to take the vaccine shot live on television if it helps in clearing any doubts that people might be having regarding the vaccine. Biden will become one of the first Americans who are not health care professionals to receive the jab on Monday. 

  • Senate Leader McConnell Congratulates Biden, Harris For The First Time Since Poll Results

    Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on December 15 publicly acknowledged the victory of the President-elect Joe Biden for the first time since President Trump’s contesting of the election results. The Kentucky Republican congratulated Joe Biden and Kamala Harris after the electoral college officially declared the two as the winner of the 2020 US election over incumbent Donald Trump. In his speech on the Senate floor, streamed live by C-Span, McConnell said that the Electoral College has spoken and he wanted to take an opportunity to congratulate President-Elect Joe Biden and Vice President elect Kamala Harris. Furthermore, he added, that the President-Elect  Joe Biden was no stranger to the Senate and he had devoted himself to public service for several years. 

    The Senate session began with GOP lawmakers distancing themselves from US President Donald Trump’s incessant and groundless claims of voter fraud and the 2020 elections being stolen from the Republicans. Senate chaplain Barry Black, meanwhile, also acknowledged Joe Biden as the next president of the United States as he said that the senate members respected the conclusions of the Electoral College. His effort was joined by Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH), who said, that the lawmakers needed to respect the electoral process that the Founding Fathers had established, adding, that it was, in fact, a victory of the “will of the voters”.  

  • Brazil President Bolsonaro Congratulates Joe Biden, Says ‘ready To Work With You’

    Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on December 15 congratulated the United States President-elect Joe Biden for his victory. This development comes after the US electoral college votes formalized Biden’s victory. Taking to his official Twitter handle, the Brazilian President said that he will be ready to work with a new government and the US-Brazil alliance. 

    During the tenure of Donald Trump, President Bolsonaro announced that the country’s relations with the United States are currently at their best. The US and Brazil also signed three trade facilitation agreements during a virtual summit. Speaking at the summit organised by US Chamber of Commerce, Bolsonaro said that the Brazil-US relations have elevated to “its best moment ever”. Trump had repeatedly expressed his wish to boost ties with Brazil, a country led by far-right leader, to provide a counterweight to Beijing.