TMR

INDIA is racing to contain the economic fallout from President Donald Trump’s threatened tariffs, which has left officials in New Delhi feeling shocked, jilted and unsure of how to respond.

Trump’s harsh language — calling India’s economy “dead,” its tariff barriers “obnoxious” and its people indifferent to the plight of Ukrainians — has been akin to a verbal slap in the face, according to an official in New Delhi said, who asked not to be identified as the discussions are private. Officials have no template to deal with these kinds of public assaults, the person said, adding that the latest turn of events has put a strain on India’s relationship with the US.

Trump said Tuesday he’ll increase the 25% tariff on Indian exports to the US “substantially over the next 24 hours,” citing the Asian nation’s high barriers to trade and its purchases of Russian oil. India was “fueling the war machine, and if they’re going to do that, I’m not going to be happy,” Trump told CNBC. 

India’s government is now bracing for higher tariffs and seeking to limit the possible economic damage. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been urging Indians to buy more local goods to offset any slump in global demand. The Ministry of Commerce and Industry is discussing ways to help exporters who would be hardest hit, such as in the gems and jewelry and textile sectors. And officials say they will continue to seek back-channel talks to help ease the tensions.

India has been a target of Trump for weeks now because of its economic ties with Russia. The US president has given Vladimir Putin until Aug. 8 to reach a truce with Ukraine, and wants to ramp up the pressure by targeting energy purchases from countries like India and China that are helping to keep Russia’s economy afloat.

Modi’s government is so far holding its ground, saying it’s being unreasonably targeted by the US for its ties to Russia — its biggest supplier of oil and military equipment. Officials have signaled they won’t instruct refiners to halt Russian crude purchases.

For months, Indian trade officials had been negotiating with the Trump administration on a deal that both sides said was close to being finalized, with a tariff rate possibly below 20%. The US president’s tone appeared to change last month, when he threatened India with higher duties alongside others in the BRICS bloc of nations for what he said was the group’s anti-US stance. He then followed up several days later with warnings about financial penalties on countries like India for buying oil from Russia. 

India has been buying Russian crude at a rate of about 1.7 million barrels a day so far this year, all of it from seaborne imports, while China has purchased an average of about 2 million barrels, comprising both seaborne imports as well as oil transported via an inland pipeline.

To offset the tariff hikes, officials in New Delhi are now considering expediting an export promotion plan, first outlined in the February budget, which set aside 22.5 billion rupees ($256 million) to support exporters. The budgeted amount may be increased to help businesses offset potential losses resulting from greater competition with regional rivals, who have secured lower tariff rates of around 15%-20%, a person familiar with the matter said. 

The discussions are still ongoing and the government hasn’t made any decision on what kind of support it will provide, the person said.

India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry and Ministry of Finance didn’t immediately respond to emails seeking further information.

New Delhi is also weighing easing some dairy market access rules for the US in order to placate Trump, officials familiar with the matter said. The government is discussing whether it can allow limited imports of some dairy products, such as cheese not made in India and condensed milk with clear labeling of the animal feed used in manufacturing, they said. 

India maintains tariffs of as high as 60% on dairy products to protect its local industry and enforces strict rules to ensure imported dairy goods aren’t from cattle fed with animal-based products in order to adhere to religious sensitivities. Any easing of restrictions in the dairy sector would represent a significant concession by India, which didn’t grant the UK any similar market access in a recently concluded free trade agreement.

Economists estimate that a 25% tariff could cut India’s gross domestic product growth by 0.3 percentage point. Pranjul Bhandari, chief India economist at HSBC Holdings Plc., said an additional penalty would curb growth further, resulting in lower capital inflows and investment. An internal assessment by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry shows that a 25% tariff would impact about 10% of India’s exports in the July-to-September period.

Modi’s rivals have criticized his previously friendly relationship with Trump and called him out for his silence on the US leader’s comments.

“We are receiving threats — that there will be more than 25% tariffs and we are being told that we should not buy oil from Russia. This friendship has turned out to be expensive,” Jairam Ramesh, a senior leader in the main opposition Indian National Congress, told reporters Tuesday.

#WATCH | On US President Trump saying he will substantially raise tariffs on India over Russian oil purchases, Congress MP, Jairam Ramesh says, “…For years, PM has been claiming that President Trump and he share a special bond…This friendship proved to be very expensive…MEA… pic.twitter.com/yBPzxFrOmQ

— ANI (@ANI) August 5, 2025

Trump’s actions will push India to react, although it’s unlikely to retaliate and will more likely seek further talks with the US, said Indrani Bagchi, chief executive officer at Ananta Centre, a Delhi-based research group.

“My sense is the government will contain this and will not take this forward, will not escalate,” she said. India will want to continue the trade deal negotiations in spite of Trump’s “personal anger,” she said. 

The US president likely wants to have Modi call him and “fold in the way that other countries have,” she said. “That is not India’s style.” –BLOOMBERG

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HIROSHIMA – Japan marked 80 years since the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on Wednesday with a ceremony reminding the world of the horrors unleashed, as sabre-rattling between the United States and Russia keeps the nuclear “Doomsday Clock” close to midnight.

A silent prayer was held at 8:15 am (2315 GMT), the moment when US aircraft Enola Gay dropped “Little Boy” over the western Japanese city on August 6, 1945.

On a sweltering morning, hundreds of black-clad officials, students and survivors laid flowers at the memorial cenotaph, with the ruins of a domed building in the background, a stark reminder of the horrors that unfolded.

In a speech, Hiroshima mayor Kazumi Matsui warned of “an accelerating trend toward military buildup around the world”, against the backdrop of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the chaos in the Middle East.

“These developments flagrantly disregard the lessons the international community should have learned from the tragedies of history,” he said.

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said it was Japan’s mission “to take the lead… toward a world without nuclear weapons”.

The final death toll of the Hiroshima attack would hit around 140,000 people, killed not just by the colossal blast and the ball of fire, but also later by the radiation.

Three days after “Little Boy”, on August 9, another atomic bomb killed 74,000 people in Nagasaki. Imperial Japan surrendered on August 15, bringing an end to World War II.

Today, Hiroshima is a thriving metropolis of 1.2 million but the attacks live on in the memories of many.

On the eve of the ceremony, people began lining up to pay their respects to the victims in front of the cenotaph.

Before dawn on Wednesday, families who lost loved ones in the attack also came to pray.

Yoshie Yokoyama, 96, who arrived in a wheelchair with her grandson, told reporters that her parents and grandparents were bomb victims.

“My grandfather died soon after the bombing, while my father and mother both died after developing cancer. My parents-in-law also died, so my husband couldn’t see them again when he came back from battlefields after the war.

“People are still suffering,” she added.

Wednesday’s ceremony was set to include a record of around 120 countries and regions including, for the first time, Taiwanese and Palestinian representatives.

The United States — which has never formally apologised for the bombings — was represented by its ambassador to Japan. Russia and China were absent.

Nihon Hidankyo, the grassroots organisation that last year won the Nobel Peace Prize, is representing the dwindling number of survivors, known as hibakusha.

As of March, there were 99,130 hibakusha, according to the Japanese health ministry, with the average age of 86.

“I want foreign envoys to visit the peace memorial museum and understand what happened,” the group’s co-chair Toshiyuki Mimaki told local media ahead of the commemorations.

Pope Leo XIV said in a statement that “in our time of mounting global tensions and conflicts”, Hiroshima and Nagasaki remained “living reminders of the profound horrors wrought by nuclear weapons”.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that “the very weapons that brought such devastation to Hiroshima and Nagasaki are once again being treated as tools of coercion”.

Younger generation

The attacks remain the only time atomic bombs have been used in wartime.

Kunihiko Sakuma, 80, who survived the blasts as a baby, told AFP he was hopeful that there could eventually be a nuclear-free world.

“The younger generation is working hard for that end,” he said ahead of the ceremony.

But in January, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists’ “Doomsday Clock” shifted to 89 seconds to midnight, the closest in its 78-year history.

The clock symbolising humanity’s distance from destruction was last moved to 90 seconds to midnight over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Russia and the United States account for around 90 percent of the world’s over 12,000 warheads, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

SIPRI warned in June that “a dangerous new nuclear arms race is emerging at a time when arms control regimes are severely weakened,” with nearly all of the nine nuclear-armed states modernising their arsenals.

Earlier this month, US President Donald Trump said that he had ordered the deployment of two nuclear submarines following an online spat with former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev. –AFP

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SEOUL – South Korean prosecutors questioned former first lady Kim Keon Hee on Wednesday over a litany of allegations, including stock manipulation and bribery.

The questioning comes as her husband, former president Yoon Suk Yeol, remains in detention over his declaration of martial law in December, which briefly suspended civilian rule before being overturned by parliament.

Prosecutors are expected to seek an arrest warrant for Kim following Wednesday’s interrogation, which they said began shortly after 10:00 am (0100 GMT).

If granted, the warrant would mark the first time in South Korean history that a former president and first lady were both arrested.

Kim is accused of colluding with traders to inflate the share price of a company between 2009 and 2012. She also allegedly accepted luxury gifts, including a $2,200 designer handbag, in violation of anti-graft laws.

“I sincerely apologise for causing trouble despite being a person of no importance. I will cooperate fully with the investigation,” Kim said before entering the special prosecutor’s office in Seoul.

Kim’s questioning drew significant media attention, with local journalists following the vehicle she was in as it made its way to the prosecutors’ office on Wednesday.

Supporters of Kim and Yoon gathered outside the office, waving national flags and holding signs that read “Investigators must be fair”.

Controversy has long surrounded the 52-year-old with lingering questions about her alleged role in stock manipulation. A video filmed in 2022 showing her accepting a Dior handbag from a self-proclaimed fan reignited public criticism.

She is also accused of interfering in the nomination process for MPs in Yoon’s party, in violation of election laws.

Yoon, as president, vetoed three special investigation bills passed by the opposition-controlled parliament that sought to probe the allegations against Kim, with the last veto issued in late November. A week later, Yoon declared martial law.

He had claimed the bills were “political propaganda”.

Yoon, a former top prosecutor, was impeached and removed from office in April over his martial law declaration, prompting the country to hold a snap election in June. –AFP

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TWO Chinese nationals were arrested this week on charges that they sent tens of millions of dollars worth of advanced AI chips made by Nvidia Corp. to China in violation of US export restrictions, according to authorities.

The defendants used a company based in El Monte, California, to export sensitive technology, including graphics processing units, used in artificial intelligence without obtaining the necessary government licenses, the Justice Department said in a statement Tuesday.

According to a criminal complaint provided by the agency, the two individuals shipped Nvidia-designed chips, including the company’s H100 AI accelerators, which are the basis for computers used to create and run artificial intelligence software. Such chips require official approval for sales to certain countries. 

The accused were identified by authorities as Chuan Geng, 28, of Pasadena, and Shiwei Yang, 28, of El Monte. They have been charged with violating the Export Control Reform Act and could face as much as 20 years in prison, according to the Justice Department.

Lawyers for the Geng and Yang couldn’t be immediately located for comment. 

“This case demonstrates that smuggling is a nonstarter,” Nvidia said in a statement. The company said it primarily sells its products to well-known partners “who help us ensure that all sales comply with US export control rules.”

“Even relatively small exporters and shipments are subject to thorough review and scrutiny, and any diverted products would have no service, support or updates,” Nvidia said.

Over the past several years, the US has steadily tightened restrictions on exports of semiconductors and chipmaking equipment to keep China from gaining ground in the race for AI dominance. The Trump administration is exploring ways to include enhanced location-tracking in AI chips to help with export control enforcement.   

Up until being superseded earlier this year by a new line of products from Santa Clara, California-based Nvidia, the H100s were considered the most capable such processors. Their export to China and other countries the US has deemed a threat to national security requires licenses from the Commerce Department that are not usually given. 

In the complaint, authorities called the H100 “the most powerful GPU chip on the market” and claimed the defendants sought to evade US export restrictions on it by shipping through third countries. The Justice Department said Geng and Yang operated a company called ALX Solutions Inc. that was founded in 2022 shortly after the US Commerce Department began requiring licenses to sell such chips to overseas buyers.  

Export records and other business documents indicate that the company sent at least 20 shipments to shipping and freight-forwarding companies in Singapore and Malaysia but never received payments from those entities, the Justice Department said. ALX Solutions instead received “numerous payments” from companies based in Hong Kong and China, including a $1 million payment from a China-based company in January 2024, the DOJ said.

Those records show that in December 2024, the company had sent a shipment of GPUs that it claimed was in compliance with US export rules, the DOJ said, but neither ALX Solutions nor the defendants had received the US licenses required for such a transaction.

Authorities said they searched the ALX Solutions office and seized phones belonging to Geng and Yang and found evidence of communications about shipping chips covered by export controls to China through Malaysia in violation of US restrictions. 

Yang was also accused of overstaying her visa, according to the Justice Department. Geng is a legal permanent resident, authorities said. A federal judge in Los Angeles on Monday ordered Geng released on a $250,000 bond and scheduled a detention hearing for Yang on Aug. 12. The court did not take any pleas in the case. 

The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security is assisting the probe, along with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. –BLOOMBERG

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SEVEN & i Holdings Co. said it will open 1,300 new international stores, mainly in the US, in an update to its mid-term plan after Circle-K operator Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. dropped its ¥6.77 trillion ($44.9 billion) takeover proposal.

The company said it will also add 1,000 net new outlets in Japan as part of its growth strategy. The goal is to “satisfy changing customer needs with new formats and accelerate openings,” the operator of 7-Eleven stores said in a presentation released ahead of a briefing on Wednesday.

Stephen Dacus, who took over as chief executive officer earlier this year, is under pressure to deliver on a plan to streamline Seven & i around convenience stores. The failed deal has intensified pressure on the CEO to reassure investors skeptical of the company’s turnaround strategy, which involves narrowing its business focus to convenience stores, divesting lower-margin units, and aggressively returning cash to shareholders. 

The yearlong pursuit of what would have been the largest foreign takeover of a Japanese company ended in acrimony last month. Couche-Tard accused Seven & i’s board of a “calculated campaign of obfuscation and delay,” while Seven & i argued that the suitor failed to take antitrust concerns seriously and lacked an understanding of how business is conducted in Japan.  

Seven & i’s stock dropped more than 10% in the days after Couche-Tard walked away. They have since recovered, but remain almost 20% year, underscoring investors’ concerns over the turnaround plan.

The retailer’s recent history, punctuated by clashes with activist investors, underscores a pattern of reform driven largely by external pressures rather than internal initiative.

Even before Couche-Tard’s bid, Seven & i had a track record of implementing reforms under outside pressure. Two years ago, activist fund ValueAct Capital Management LP pushed to boost the company’s valuation and attempted unsuccessfully to oust then-CEO Ryuichi Isaka. The campaign helped fuel Seven & i’s decision to sell its Sogo & Seibu Co. department stores to Fortress Investment Group in 2022 for ¥250 billion. 

In 2016, concerns raised by activist fund Third Point LLC over executive appointments resulted in the exit of former chairman Toshifumi Suzuki and elevated Isaka to the top post. –BLOOMBERG

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CATHAY Pacific Airways Ltd. is poised to place an order for new aircraft from Boeing Co. for the first time in 12 years, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Hong Kong-based carrier’s latest aircraft purchase plan for additional 777X jets could be announced as soon as Wednesday, the people said, asking not to be identified because the discussions are private.

Cathay is expected to unveil its first-half financial results at the same time and may show improved earnings on robust passenger demand and lower jet fuel costs. The plane purchase plan needs to be approved by its board of directors, and the composition of the airline’s order could change.

An order for Boeing jets would be a major boost for the 777X program, which is still to be certified and is years late coming into service. Cathay’s last Boeing order was in 2013. Since then, the US planemaker has lost to rival Airbus SE on commitments amounting to about 150 jets.

A representative for Cathay didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. A Boeing spokesperson declined to comment.  

Cathay was one of the first airlines to commit to the 777X program when it placed an order in December 2013 for 21 777-9s. 

The carrier has also been closely studying the 787 Dreamliner, an aircraft type it does not operate, as well as additional Airbus A350s, according to the people.

The climate around the latest round of plane orders has become more political with President Donald Trump combining jet orders with trade deals. 

New jets would help Cathay replace existing older-generation Boeing 777 aircraft and help support growth that it forecasts coming from an expanded Hong Kong International Airport. 

Cathay Pacific, whose major shareholders include Swire Pacific Ltd. and Air China Ltd., operates a fleet of 236 aircraft: 73 Boeing planes and 163 Airbus jets. It has agreements to buy more than 110 new aircraft, according to its 2024 annual report.

Airbus has previously scooped up consecutive orders with Cathay for passenger widebody, single-aisle and freighter jets. –BLOOMBERG

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