Ata mārie and welcome to your Monday summary of global business and political news.
In developing news, a man carrying a shotgun and a fuel can was shot dead by United States Secret Service agents after he broke into the secure perimeter at President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, the ABC reported.
The man, in his early 20s, was shot by agents and a deputy from the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office. Sheriff Rick Bradshaw said the man was ordered to drop two pieces of equipment he had.
No Secret Service or other personnel were injured, while Trump was in Washington DC at the time.
Meanwhile, Trump promised to raise a temporary tariff to 15% on imports from all countries, the maximum level allowed under the law, after he was knocked back by the Supreme Court, Reuters, and the ABC reported.
That ruling found Trump had exceeded his authority when he imposed previous higher rates to countries under an economic emergency law. Trump’s new levies were part of an untested law, known as Section 122, that granted tariffs up to 15% but required congressional approval to extend them after 150 days.
Trump said he would use the 150 days to work on issuing other "legally permissible" tariffs.
"I, as President of the United States of America, will be, effective immediately, raising the 10% Worldwide Tariff on Countries, many of which have been 'ripping' the U.S. off for decades, without retribution (until I came along!), to the fully allowed, and legally tested, 15% level," he wrote on Truth Social.
The US had already collected at least US$130 billion in tariffs, according to the most recent government data, the BBC noted.
Indian trade negotiators were expected to reschedule their planned visit to Washington DC to a “mutually convenient date”, amid the latest developments, CNBC said.
Chief negotiator Darpan Jain and his team were scheduled to start the three-day meeting in the US later this week. India is currently facing a 25% reciprocal tariff, which was due to be cut to 18% after the two sides agreed to an interim deal earlier this month.
Bloomberg also reported the Supreme Court decision gave economic powerhouse China an upper hand in trade talks with the US.
Fudan University Centre for American Studies director Wu Xinbo said China now had a stronger bargaining position, using the example of China’s commitment to buy about 25 million tons of soybeans, which was predicated on previous tariff negotiations.
“If those tariffs are now deemed illegal, the ‘soybean card’ is back in China’s hand.”
Broadly, the removal of tariff threats would make it harder for Trump to press counterpart Xi Jinping for larger purchases of certain products, Bloomberg said.
Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Elsewhere, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee triggered a wave of criticism from Arab and Muslim countries after he suggested Israel had a right to expand its territory across the Middle East, Al Jazeera reported.
Commentator Tucker Carlson asked Huckabee to clarify his stance on the biblical promise of the land spanning the area between the Euphrates River in Iraq and the Nile River in Egypt to the descendants of Abraham.
“It would be fine if they took it all,” Huckabee replied.
Saudi Arabia described Huckabee’s comments as “extremist rhetoric” and “unacceptable”. He later appeared to walk back the claim, saying it was “somewhat of a hyperbolic statement”. He also said Israel was not looking to expand its territory.
In France, Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said he would summon US Ambassador Charles Kushner over comments made about the death of a far-right activist earlier this month, CNN reported.
Quentin Deranque died two days after suffering severe head injuries in a brawl in Lyon. The Trump administration described the death as the result of left-wing violence.
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry condemned so-called “ultimatums and blackmail” by Hungary and Slovakia, after they threatened to stop electricity supplies to Ukraine unless Kyiv restarted flows of Russian oil, Reuters reported.
Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico said he would cut off emergency electricity supplies to Ukraine within two days. Slovakia and Hungary were the only two EU countries that still relied on significant amounts of Russian oil shipped via the Soviet-era Druzhba pipeline over Ukraine.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
Elsewhere, UK MPs will meet on Tuesday local time to discuss launching an inquiry into the role of UK trade envoys following Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest last week, the BBC reported.
The former prince was arrested by Thames Valley Police on suspicion of misconduct in public office and was released under investigation about 11 hours later. He held the role of the UK's trade envoy from 2001 to 2011.
The cross-party committee will discuss options after allegations Andrew shared confidential government files while he was in the role.
