Happy New Year 2025

Tag: Countries

White House economist says reciprocal tariff negotiations with other countries underway

National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett analyzes the impact of President Donald Trump’s tariffs on ‘Kudlow.’

National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett indicated that conversations with “other countries” on reciprocal tariffs are ongoing, telling the press that it remains a “high priority” for President Donald Trump.

“Reciprocal tariffs are absolutely a high priority for the president, [they] have been forever. You know, our trading partners charge us way more in tariffs than we charge them. And it’s something he talked about before,” Hassett said in a White House press gaggle Wednesday morning.

“And there’s got to be a lot more action on it today,” he continued. “We even started to have negotiations with other countries. Early this morning I was doing that.”

Trump’s 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada could take effect next month after both countries were granted a 30-day pause; the U.S. and China have enacted reciprocal across-the-board 10% tariffs as a phone call looms between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping; and just this week, Trump announced 25% tariffs on aluminum and steel imports.

TRUMP IS PLAYING A DANGEROUS TARIFF GAME DESPITE HIS ‘REALLY STRONG’ AGENDA, U.S. ECONOMIST WARNS

Tariffs are taxes levied on imported goods and services. While they historically played a more significant role in contributing to federal tax revenue, developed countries have moved away from relying on tariffs as a main source of funding and have shifted to other forms of taxes – such as income, payroll or sales taxes.

White House National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett indicated that reciprocal tariff negotiations are ongoing with “other countries.” (Getty Images)

In the U.S., tariffs are collected by the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency, which is a subagency of the Department of Homeland Security. Trump has proposed creating an “External Revenue Service” that would be responsible for collecting tariffs, though it’s unclear whether that plan will move forward.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent addresses President Donald Trump’s economic and fiscal goals during his first interview on ‘Kudlow’ since joining the administration.

President Trump has also discussed using tariffs to take the U.S. economy back to its “golden age,” potentially eliminating the federal income tax and predominantly supporting government spending with tariffs.

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MonetaryMacro.com CIO Joseph Wang argues President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canada and Mexico are more than just a negotiating tactic on ‘Making Money.’

“We were talking about just laying the groundwork for discussions over reciprocal trade,” Hassett said further of Wednesday’s alleged meetings. “The person leading those discussions today was Howard Lutnick, of course. But I was on those calls too.”

It’s all “a work in progress,” Hassett added. “Everybody’s talking about it right now. And actually, the conversations with other countries began this morning really early… You might see an announcement about progress or also guidelines of the things that [Trump’s] thinking after having some exchanges of views with foreign people today and yesterday. It’s more of an outline.”

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FOX Business’ Eric Revell contributed to this report.

February 13, 2025
Guatemala agrees to accept deportees from other countries, in deal with Rubio

Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo confirmed that his country is willing to accept migrants of other nationalities being deported from the U.S. under President Donald Trump’s administration.

Arevalo made the announcement during a visit from Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday. The new agreement declares Guatemala a “safe third country” for deportation, with the U.S. paying for migrants to be eventually returned to their home countries.

“We have agreed to increase by 40% the number of flights of deportees both of our nationality as well as deportees from other nationalities,” Arevalo said, speaking during a news conference with Rubio.

The agreement is similar to but less expansive than the one Rubio reached with El Slavador’s president, Nayib Bukele, on Tuesday. Bukele said his country would accept U.S. deportees of any nationality, including American citizens and legal residents who are imprisoned for violent crimes.

RUBIO HEADS TO PANAMA, LATIN AMERICA TO PURSUE TRUMP’S ‘GOLDEN AGE’ AGENDA

Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo cleared the path for his nation’s status as a “safe third country.” (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

“We have offered the United States of America the opportunity to outsource part of its prison system,” Bukele wrote on X Monday night. “We are willing to take in only convicted criminals (including convicted U.S. citizens) into our mega-prison (CECOT) in exchange for a fee. The fee would be relatively low for the U.S. but significant for us, making our entire prison system sustainable.”

TRUMP ANNOUNCES VENEZUELA WILL TAKE CRIMINAL ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS BACK

Rubio said the Salvadoran president “has agreed to the most unprecedented, extraordinary, extraordinary migratory agreement anywhere in the world.”

“We can send them, and he will put them in his jails,” Rubio told reporters, referring to illegal immigrants behind bars in U.S. prisons. “And, he’s also offered to do the same for dangerous criminals currently in custody and serving their sentences in the United States, even though they’re U.S. citizens or legal residents.”

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio meets with El Salvador President Nayib Bukele at his residence at Lake Coatepeque in El Salvador on Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (AP)

While Bukele did extend the offer to include violent American criminals, it is highly unlikely that part of the offer would actually happen, since it is illegal to deport U.S. citizens. A U.S. official said the Trump administration has no plans to deport American citizens, but noted that Bukele’s offer was significant.

The proposal with El Salvador, known as a “safe third country” agreement, could potentially be an option for Venezuelan gang members convicted in the U.S. if Venezuela refuses to accept them, and Rubio said Bukele offered to accept detainees of any nationality.

People are seen boarding a U.S. military aircraft. The White House announced Friday that “deportation flights have begun” in the U.S. (White House)

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Bukele also said he would take back all Salvadoran MS-13 gang members in the U.S. illegally, and promised to accept and incarcerate criminal illegal aliens from any country, especially those affiliated with Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Anders Hagstrom is a reporter with Fox News Digital covering national politics and major breaking news events. Send tips to [email protected], or on Twitter: @Hagstrom_Anders.

February 5, 2025
Trump reasserts towering 100% tariff threat against BRICS countries

Breitbart economics and finance editor John Carney breaks down President Donald Trump’s reason for threatening tariffs and dissects NPR’s failed fact-check on ‘The Bottom Line.’

In an apparent bid to preserve the U.S. dollar’s global economic dominance, President Donald Trump reiterated his 100% tariff threat against BRICS nations.

The president is demanding that the countries commit not to forming a BRICS currency or endorse a currency to supplant U.S. dollar hegemony.

“The idea that the BRICS Countries are trying to move away from the Dollar, while we stand by and watch, is OVER,” Trump warned in a Truth Social post on Thursday.

TRUMP WARNS BRICS COUNTRIES IF THEY TRY TO REPLACE DOLLAR: ‘100% TARIFFS’

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters about the collision of an American Airlines flight with a military Black Hawk helicopter near Ronald Reagan National Airport, in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on Jan. 30, 2025 in Washingto (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

BRICS is an acronym that refers to the nations of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, though the bloc also includes several other countries as well.

“We are going to require a commitment from these seemingly hostile Countries that they will neither create a new BRICS Currency, nor back any other Currency to replace the mighty U.S. Dollar or, they will face 100% Tariffs, and should expect to say goodbye to selling into the wonderful U.S. Economy,” Trump continued

“They can go find another sucker Nation. There is no chance that BRICS will replace the U.S. Dollar in International Trade, or anywhere else, and any Country that tries should say hello to Tariffs, and goodbye to America!” he concluded.

PUTIN, XI VOW TO ‘DEEPEN’ ALLIANCE HOURS AFTER TRUMP RE-ENTERS THE WHITE HOUSE

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) and President of China Xi Jinping (L) shake hands as they attend the 16th BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia on Oct. 22, 2024. (Kristina Kormilitsyna/PHOTOHOST AGENCY/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Trump, who just took office again last week, had issued a nearly identical threat on social media in November.

Euro Pacific Asset Managment chief economist and global strategist Peter Schiff, who discusses economic and political topics on his eponymous podast “The Peter Schiff Show,” pushed back against Trump’s comment last year.

“You have the relationship backwards. The BRICS nations are the suckers for accepting our fiat currency for their real consumer goods. We get actual products that make our lives better, that we lack the capacity to produce ourselves. All they get in return is our inflation,” Schiff tweeted in December in response to Trump’s November post threatening BRICS countries.

PUTIN WELCOMES IRAN, INDIA, CHINA TO BRICS SUMMIT TO DISCUSS ‘NEW WORLD ORDER’ TO CHALLENGE THE WEST

President of Russia Vladimir Putin, President of China Xi Jinping and Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi are seen during limited attendance meeting of BRICS leaders during the 16th BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia on Oct. 23, 2024. (Alexei Danichev/Photohost Agency/Anadolu via Getty Images)

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Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, and Indonesia, are also members of the bloc, according to Reuters.

Brazil, which holds the BRICS presidency this year, has suggested that Saudi Arabia is a BRICS member, but Saudi Minister of Economy and Planning Faisal Alibrahim recently told Bloomberg Television that while the nation has been invited into BRICS, it is assessing before making a decision.

January 31, 2025
First and Last Countries To Celebrate New Year 2025: Which Is the First Country To Enter New Year? Know When January 1 Begins Around the World at Different Time Zones
It is that time of the year again. The air is crisp, the streets are lit, the carols and songs are blasting around and people are gathered together to bid goodbye to another fruitful year and welcome New Year 2025! The celebration of New Year is a grand commemoration for people across the world, as it gives us a chance to begin anew, reflect on the year that has gone by and help us to plan on a way to be better and do better in the coming times. As we enter New Year 2025, people are sure to be curious on which country enters New Year 2025 first and what is the last country to enter the New Year! Well, here’s everything you need to know about this!

First Country to Enter New Year 2025

We know that the celebration of New year usually begins in the islands of Australia and Oceania. However, New Year 2025 will first be experienced in the tiny island nation of Kiribati in the Pacific Oceans. The country will enter the New Year on December 31, 01.30 PM according to IST (Indian Standard Time). The countries to follow suit are Tonga and Samoa, and finally New Year 2025 will be celebrated in New Zealand, Australia, Japan and South Korea. List of Long Weekends in 2025 in India: Check Out the New Year Calendar for the Holiday Dates To Plan Vacations and Weekend Getaways.

Last country to enter New Year 2025

The celebration of New Year rings across the world following its beginning and goes on well through New Year’s Day. However, the last country to enter 2025 will be Baker Island and Howland Island, two uninhabited territories in the Pacific Ocean. Both these Islands are 26 hours behind Kirbit and will enter the New Year last. At midnight, it will already be 05:30 PM on January 1 in India.

First and Last Countries To Enter New Year According to IST
- Kiribati’s Line Islands: 03:30 PM IST, December 31
- Tonga and Samoa: 04:30 PM IST, December 31
- New Zealand: 03:30 PM IST, December 31
- Russia and Fiji: 05:30 PM IST, December 31
- Australia: 06:30 PM IST, December 31
- Papua New Guinea: 7:30 PM IST, December 31
- India: 12:00 AM IST, December 31
- American Samoa: 11:00 AM IST, January 1
- Howland Island and Baker Island: 05:30 PM IST, January 1
A key reason that the celebration of New Year adds to the charm, happiness and excitement for New Year 2025 is the fact that it is one of the few events that is celebrated and experienced in real time by people across the world. Irrespective of their culture, religion and beliefs, the celebration of New Year can bring us all together. And we hope that New Year 2025 brings with it love, light and happiness for one and all.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 30, 2024 08:00 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
December 31, 2024