Menurut Jabatan Perdagangan AS, pada 2018, nilai import AS dari Mexico sebanyak AS$346.5 bilion. (Gambar AFP)
WASHINGTON: Pemangku ketua turus Rumah Putih Mick Mulvaney pada Ahad mempertahankan tindakan presiden Donald Trump mengenakan tarif ke atas semua barangan import dari Mexico untuk menangani kebanjiran migran haram, lapor agensi berita Xinhua.
“Presiden serius untuk memulihkan keadaan di sempadan selatan,” kata Mulvaney kepada Fox News.
Amerika Syarikat (AS) pada Khamis mengumumkan akan mengenakan tarif baru sebanyak 5% ke atas semua barangan import Mexico mulai 10 Jun, sebagai langkah untuk menekan negara itu menghentikan kebanjiran pendatang tanpa izin yang melintasi sempadan.
“Mulai 10 Jun, AS akan mengenakan 5% tarif ke atas semua barangan yang masuk ke negara kita dari Mexico, sehingga tiada lagi migran haram masuk melalui Mexico ke negara kita.
“Tarif itu kan dinaikkan secara beransur-ansur sehingga masalah imigran haram selesai,” tulis Trump di Twitternya.
Bagaimanapun, senator Republikan, Chuck Grassley merangkap pengerusi Jawatankuasa Kewangan Senat, mengkritik langkah Trump itu.
“Dasar perdagangan dan keselamatan sempadan adalah isu berasingan. Presiden telah menyalahgunakan kuasa dalam perkara berhubungkait dengan tarif,” kata Grassley.
Wakil perdagangan AS, Robert Lighthizer berpendapat tarif itu akan menjejaskan ratifikasi Perjanjian AS-Mexico-Kanada, cadangan untuk menggantikan Perjanjian Perdagangan Bebas Amerika Utara yang sebelum ini sudah berdepan pelbagai rintangan.
Pada 2018, nilai import AS ke atas barangan Mexico sebanyak AS$346.5 bilion, menurut Jabatan Perdagangan.
Naib presiden eksekutif dan ketua eksekutif dasar Dewan Perniagaan AS, menyifatkan langkah Trump itu adalah salah.
Presiden Majlis Pengilang Babi Kebangsaan, David Herring berkata “pengeluar daging babi Amerika tidak mampu membayar tarif yang akan dilaksanakan Mexico, pasaran eksport terbesarnya.”
“Kami merayu kepada presiden Trump untuk mempertimbangkan semula langkah itu,” kata Herring.
A man looks at Victoria Harbor as the International Commerce Centre (ICC) building stands in Hong Kong, China. (Bloomberg pic)
HONG KONG: Asian markets largely tumbled on Monday, tracking global losses as Wall Street clocked its worst month this year, with investors opting for safe-haven assets in the wake of intensifying trade tensions.
US President Donald Trump’s abrupt threat last week to hit Mexico with tariffs over immigration concerns did little to reassure investors, who were already anxious about the increasingly fractious US-China trade war.
The tariffs, which are set to kick off on June 10, will begin at 5% and rise up to 25%, unless Mexico substantially reduces the flow of illegal immigration to the United States, Trump warned.
“People have been saying for years that we should talk to Mexico. The problem is that Mexico is an ‘abuser’ of the United States, taking but never giving,” the US leader tweeted Sunday.
He followed up the threats against Mexico with an announcement that Washington would no longer offer preferential trade treatment to India, starting Wednesday, in a bid to pressure New Delhi to increase market access to US goods.
Coming on the back of a months-long trade spat with China, Trump’s latest salvos rattled markets, prompting a flight from equities to safe-haven investments.
That saw the yen strengthen which in turn weighed on Japanese shares, with Tokyo’s main index plummeting 1.2%.
Hong Kong fell 0.5%, while Shanghai dropped 0.6%. Sydney lost 0.9% while Singapore edged down 0.2%. But Seoul eked out gains of 0.6%.
‘Never-ending tariff tag’
Beijing’s imposition of duties on US$60 billion worth of US goods came into effect Saturday – the move, which emerged in retaliation for Washington raising its penalties on US$200 billion in Chinese goods, is the latest round in a bruising battle between the two superpowers.
Referring to “the never-ending game of tariff tag”, OANDA senior market analyst Edward Moya said there were fears “we could see a global recession by the middle of next year if the US imposes additional tariffs on China and Mexico”.
“The threats to global growth seem to be here to stay as markets appear convinced the new normal will be constant trade negotiations around the world.”
“Instead of focusing on one trade deal at a time, the US has overplayed its dominant hand and appears vulnerable to only finalising temporary solutions,” he said.
Since Trump fired the first shot, China and the US have deployed tit-for-tat tariffs on two-way trade worth hundreds of billions of dollars.
As talks have stalled, the dispute has spread beyond trade, with the US blacklisting Chinese tech giant Huawei over national security concerns, and Beijing threatening to unveil its own list of “unreliable” foreign companies.
In a sign of its unwillingness to cede too much ground, Chinese defence minister General Wei Fenghe said Sunday that “if the US wants to talk, we will keep the door open. If they want to fight, we are ready”.
There are hopes that Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet at the G20 summit this month to jumpstart negotiations.
The row has seen oil markets plunge due to its effect on demand, cancelling the positive impact of the OPEC+ production cuts.
“The month of May was a disaster for crude prices – the worst May performance in seven years – as the escalation of the global trade war saw the global growth outlook crumble,” said OANDA analyst Moya.
“Crude will need to rely on some positive outcomes on the trade front for prices to begin stabilising”, he added.
Key figures around 0310 GMT
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.2% at 20,361.76 (break)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng: DOWN 0.5% at 26,771.23
Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.6% at 2,881.88
Pound/dollar: UP at US$1.2655 from US$1.2629 at 2100 GMT Friday
Euro/dollar: UP at US$1.1189 from US$1.1167
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 108.11 yen from 108.35 yen
Oil – Brent Crude: DOWN 77 cents at $61.22 per barrel
Oil – West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 41 cents at US$53.09 per barrel
IPOH, June 3 — Two directors of different companies pleaded guilty separately at the Session Court here today of negligence leading to death and severe injury.
Teoh Kim Kuan, 46, of Tunas Gemilang TKK Enterprise was charged with negligence in the death of a company worker.
Ng Wai Chew, 51, who represented WIM Automation Jig and Moulding Sdn Bhd was charged over a worker’s loss of his fingers.
Teoh admitted his company had failed to close up or fence off pit holes at a working area, which caused Sajib Ahmmud Dulal, a foreign worker, to fall to his death at a 35-storey apartment block in Sitiawan, Manjung, last December 24.
Separately, Ng admitted to not taking reasonable measures to ensure his workers’ safety, health and welfare of his workers, specifically that of Chan Myae Aung who lost a finger when shifting a mould to a stamping machine at the company’s premises in Kawasan Perindustrian RIMA, Lahat on last August 28.
Teoh’s charge was proffered under Section 10(e) of the Factories and Machinery Act 1967, which relates to the provision of safety and is punishable by a fine of no more than RM50,000 or a maximum prison sentence of one year.
Ng’s charge under Section 15(1) of the Occupation Safety and Health Act 1994, which relates to ensuring the safety of the workers by employers, is punishable by the same maximum fine or no more than two years imprisonment.
Judge S.Indra Nehru set June 18 for sentenced.
Both Teoh and Ng were not represented while Occupation Safety and Health Department prosecuting officer Hanisah Ahmad prosecuted.
KANGAR, June 3 — The Raja of Perlis, Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Putra Jamalullail, and the Raja Perempuan of Perlis, Tuanku Tengku Fauziah Tengku Abdul Rashid, will hold an open house on the first day of Aidilfitri.
A statement issued today by the Office of the State Secretary said the open house will be held at Dataran Majlis of Istana Arau from 9am to 11.30am.
Their Royal Highnesses as well as the Raja Muda of Perlis, Tuanku Syed Faizuddin Putra Jamalullail, and the Raja Puan Muda of Perlis, Tuanku Lailatul Shahreen Akashah Khalil, will receive the guests and exchange greetings, it said.
The statement also said that the Raja of Perlis and Raja Perempuan, as well as the Raja Muda of Perlis and Raja Puan Muda, will perform Aidilfitri prayers at the State Mosque in Arau. — Bernama
<p>THE past week in Najib Razak’s trial over funds involving SRC International saw a witness telling the Kuala Lumpur High Court that the former prime minister was genuinely “shocked” and “very upset” to find that RM42 million had been transferred into his personal accounts in 2015.</p> <p>The money was from SRC International’s corporate social responsibility arm.</p>
<p>APPLE is set to court software savants at its annual developers conference beginning tomorrow while contending with criticism that the iPhone maker has made its App Store a walled garden.</p> <p>The App Store is the lone shop for content for Apple devices, with the technology giant deciding which software creations to accept and taking a 30% cut of financial transactions.</p>
Ahli kumpulan Blackpink iaitu Lisa menjadi artis K-pop pertama memiliki 20 juta pengikut di laman Instagram.
Menurut portal Soompi, pada April lalu dia memiliki 17.5 juta pengikut dan angka itu terus bertambah kepada 20 juta bulan ini.
Penyanyi berusia 22 tahun ini mula mendaftar di aplikasi tersebut pada bulan Jun 2018 dan pencapaiannya itu disifatkan luar biasa kerana diraih dalam masa kurang setahun.
Rata-rata pengikut turut teruja dan berharap Lisa akan terus berkongsi foto-foto indah di laman tersebut.
Hasil pemerhatian mendapati Lisa sudah memuat naik sebanyak 277 foto dan kerap berkongsi gambar menarik ketika dia mengadakan persembahan di seluruh dunia.
Selain Lisa, kumpulan ini turut dianggotai oleh Jennie, Jisoo dan Rose.
Blackpink menjadi kumpulan berasal dari Korea Selatan yang dikenali serata dunia.
China’s defence minister praises the government’s decisive actions in tackling the Tiananmen Square protesters. (AFP pic)
SINGAPORE: Chinese Defence Minister Wei Fenghe said on Sunday that the bloody crackdown on protesters around Beijing’s Tiananmen Square 30 years ago was the “correct” decision, citing the country’s “stability” since then.
Responding to a question at the Shangri La Dialogue in Singapore after a hardline speech about China and international security cooperation, he called the protests political “turbulence.”
It is rare for Chinese government officials to acknowledge the events of June 4, 1989; references to it are heavily censored in China.
“Everybody is concerned about Tiananmen after 30 years,” Wei said on Sunday. “Throughout the 30 years, China under the Communist Party has undergone many changes – do you think the government was wrong with the handling of June Fourth? There was a conclusion to that incident. The government was decisive in stopping the turbulence.”
He added that China’s development since 1989 showed that the government’s actions were justified.
The Tiananmen protests were “political turmoil that the central government needed to quell, which was the correct policy,” he said. “Due to this, China has enjoyed stability, and if you visit China you can understand that part of history.”
Tuesday marks the 30th anniversary of the protests, in which Chinese troops opened fire to end the student-led unrest. Rights groups and witnesses say hundreds or even thousands may have been killed. China has never provided a final death toll.
His comments echoed those of Defence Ministry spokesman Wu Qian, who last week decried the use of the word “suppression” to describe the military’s response to the 1989 protests.
China at the time blamed the protests on counter-revolutionaries seeking to overthrow the party.
The event will not be officially commemorated by the ruling Communist Party or government.
Ahli kumpulan Blackpink iaitu Lisa menjadi artis K-pop pertama memiliki 20 juta pengikut di laman Instagram.
