Trump ratcheted up tariffs on India to 50 percent
President Trump signed an order yesterday that would double tariffs on India to 50 percent as punishment for the country’s purchase of Russian oil.
The new 25 percent tariff, which will be added to the 25 percent tariff Trump announced last week, will take effect on Aug. 27 if India doesn’t stop buying Russian oil. Trump also threatened to impose similar penalties on other countries that buy Russian energy, as a way to pressure the Kremlin into ending the war with Ukraine.
India’s foreign ministry called the move “extremely unfortunate” and reiterated that it was importing oil from Russia to meet the energy needs of its 1.4 billion people. India is the second-largest importer of Russian oil after China; Turkey is another major oil customer. Here’s what to know about India’s oil trade with Russia.
Analysis: Trump had been expected to bolster trade with India as a counterweight to China. Now, Trump has all but declared economic war against India, writes Alex Travelli, who covers the Indian economy.
In tech: Trump and Tim Cook, Apple’s chief executive, announced that the company was pledging $100 billion in additional U.S. investment, its latest move to avoid iPhone tariffs. Trump also threatened to impose levies of 100 percent on all foreign-made chips next week unless manufacturers agreed to invest and build in the U.S.
Trump intends to meet with Zelensky and Putin
Trump told European leaders during a call yesterday that he intends to sit down with President Vladimir Putin of Russia as soon as next week. He then aims to meet with both Putin and the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, according to two people familiar with Trump’s plan.
It was not immediately clear whether Putin or Zelensky had agreed to the joint meeting. Zelensky said in a statement that he had had a conversation with Trump and that he and Europe’s leaders agreed that the war in Ukraine “must end,” but that it must be “an honest end.”
Trump’s announcement came after his envoy, Steve Witkoff, met with Putin. Russian news agencies reported that the talks in the Kremlin lasted about three hours.
Trump has been stymied for months in his efforts to negotiate a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine after more than three years of war.
Related: Thousands of Ukrainians now struggle with the trauma of severe facial injuries, but the country’s doctors have made strides with 3-D printing in facial reconstruction.
China turns to A.I. in information warfare
The Chinese government is using companies with expertise in artificial intelligence to monitor and manipulate public opinion in Hong Kong and Taiwan, according to current and former U.S. officials and documents.
Internal documents from the Chinese company GoLaxy show how Beijing had undertaken influence campaigns in Hong Kong and Taiwan, and collected data on members of the U.S. Congress and other influential Americans. Experts said that using A.I. in this way could result in far more sophisticated influence operations than those in the past.
GoLaxy denied that it had done any work related to Hong Kong or other elections, and it said its products were mainly based on open-source data and did not specifically target U.S. officials. After being contacted by The Times, GoLaxy began altering its website, removing references to its national security work on behalf of the Chinese government.
| MORE TOP NEWS |
| Israel: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans to convene his security cabinet today to discuss expanding Israel’s military campaign into the rest of Gaza. Pakistan: A video of an honor killing has gone viral, forcing the authorities to confront gender violence. Sudan: The Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group is battling for gains in the Kordofan region after being driven out of central Khartoum. Syria: A cease-fire has taken hold in Sweida after a wave of violence between the Bedouins and Druse, but the atmosphere remains tense. China: As Beijing pushes consumer lending, millions of borrowers, especially the young, are falling into debt spirals, our columnist writes. U.S.: An Army sergeant using a personal handgun opened fire at an Army base in Georgia, wounding five soldiers. Ghana: The ministers of defense and the environment died in a military helicopter crash, which killed all eight people on board. Italy: After 50 years of proposals, the island of Sicily will be linked to the mainland of Italy by bridge. Royals: A British independent watchdog cleared Prince Harry of accusations of bullying, harassment and sexism at a charity he co-founded. |
| SPORTS NEWS |
| Soccer: Manchester United is spending big on transfers against a backdrop of tightening finances. Cycling: The superstar cyclist Remco Evenepoel announced he would switch teams for the 2026 season. Formula One: How will McLaren handle having two drivers battling for the world championship? |
| MORNING READ |
Barry James, a paleontologist, built a business in Pennsylvania with his wife, April, painstakingly assembling the skeletons of T. rexes and sauropods, which can sell for tens of millions of dollars.
They were reconstructing a triceratops when April died last year, and James, bereaved, stopped working. But he has started again, and has one heartfelt request for whoever buys the triceratops: that they call it April.
| CONVERSATION STARTERS |
| Revolutionary: The cultural impact of “Hamilton” has reached far beyond Broadway in the decade since the musical opened. Hero or war criminal? The statue of a general accused of torture during Algeria’s war for independence is dividing his French hometown. World renowned: Some of London’s blockbuster Indian restaurants are coming to the U.S. Home on the range: Buy a Wyoming ranch four times the size of New York City for $79.5 million. |
| ARTS AND IDEAS |
A pacifist nation not entirely at peace
Hiroshima has a Peace Boulevard, a Peace Bell and a Peace Memorial Park. The city and the rest of Japan were rebuilt with pacifism at their core after the American atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.
But 80 years after the world’s only nuclear attacks, Japan is not entirely at peace. Ultranationalist politicians are pushing for a more militaristic Japan in a world cleaved by conflict, and many younger Japanese are in favor.
Here’s more on why public opinion is changing, and watch this video of my colleague Hannah Beech explaining the shift.
| RECOMMENDATIONS |
Cook: This chile crisp fried rice is vegan and packed with protein.
