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The US has announced 25% duties on many imports from Brazil, while unveiling a broader-than-expected list of exemptions, reviving a trade war that could embroil dozens of countries around the world as the Trump administration reworks its tariffs policy, one of its signature diplomatic tools.The late-night announcement by the office of the US Trade Representative made Brazil the first country targeted under the Trump administration's new tariff strategy, which relies on Section 301 of US trade law, a provision that authorizes investigations into alleged unfair trade practices, to justify new levies on dozens of countries.The new tariffs, which are expected to take effect on July 22, could eventually ensnare countries from India and China to the EU, Japan and South Korea as President Donald Trump seeks a trade reset after the US Supreme Court struck down a previous round of global levies.Wednesday's announcement by the USTR office follows months of fruitless negotiations and over 30 meetings between US and Brazilian officials after the Trump administration proposed new tariffs on many imports from Brazil in June, saying its practices were unfair on a range of issues from digital trade to illegal deforestation."Extensive negotiations with Brazil over the past year have not resolved these issues, but we remain open to continuing negotiations with Brazil to bring about long-needed changes to the problems identified in this investigation," US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in a statement.Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is expected to run for reelection in October, said the US decision was without any justification. Brazilian officials have long suggested, in private conversations, that the motives for the new tariffs were political rather than technical, making negotiations fruitless.Brazil would immediately begin proceedings to invoke instruments provided for under the "Reciprocity Law" and revisit the matter within the framework of the WTO dispute settlement mechanism, he said in a statement.India, one of the biggest trading partners of the US, has struggled to sign a trade deal with Washington at least partly because of the Section 301 investigations."The Brazil case...is a warning for India," said Ajay Srivastava, founder of the Global Trade Research Initiative think tank. "It shows that Washington can use trade action not only over tariffs and market access, but also against any policy it sees as unfair to US business."Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was accused by Lula of being anti-Latin America when the US tariffs were proposed in June, blamed the Brazilian president and said "Lula and his government have not negotiated with the US in good faith.""For the past year, Lula has put his own ego ahead of making a deal for the welfare of the Brazilian people, and these tariffs are the price for that," Rubio said in a strongly worded post on X.The Brazil tariffs would apply to thousands of imports, including sugar, agricultural machinery, apparel, electrical machinery, paper and steel. Still, the US said it would exempt all the products proposed for exemption in the June notice, except high-purity dissolving pulp and non-pharmaceutical applications of certain products, and include hundreds of others that were expected to face levies, such as pig iron and unflavored instant coffee.The most impactful exemptions include beef, coffee, rare earths, energy products, aircraft, and aircraft parts. The American Chamber of Commerce for Brazil, a business group, reported the new tariff increased exemptions by 25%, covering some $11bn in annual trade, $2bn less than expected, though it places "Brazil among the countries facing the most restrictive conditions for access to the US market."The investigation into Brazil, opened last July, cited several alleged unfair practices, including illegal deforestation and Brazil's instant payment system, Pix, which the US government argues disadvantages credit card companies.Brazil vehemently rejected all the allegations. 

Qatar has expressed its condolences to the government of Kuwait and its people, on the death of two members of its armed forces while performing their national duties.In a statement issued on Monday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) affirmed Qatar's full solidarity with Kuwait in this tragic loss and its support for all measures taken by Kuwait to preserve its sovereignty and security.  

Tariff rollback includes beef, tomatoes, bananas amid inflation concernsTrade deals with Argentina, Ecuador, Guatemala, El Salvador to eliminate tariffsDemocrats criticize Trump for inflation linked to tariffs (Adds Trump comments, paragraphs 3, 17, 18, details on order throughout, industry reaction paragraphs 12-15)US President Donald Trump has rolled back tariffs on more than 200 food products, including such staples as coffee, beef, bananas and orange juice, in the face of growing angst among American consumers about the high cost of groceries.The new exemptions — which took effect retroactively at midnight on Thursday — mark a sharp reversal for Trump, who has long insisted that the sweeping import duties he imposed earlier this year are not fueling inflation."They may in some cases" raise prices, Trump said of his tariffs when asked about the move aboard Air Force One on Friday evening. But he insisted that overall, the US has "virtually no inflation." Democrats have won a string of victories in state and local elections in Virginia, New Jersey and New York City, where growing voter concerns about affordability, including high food prices, were a key topic.Trump also told reporters aboard Air Force One that he would move forward with a $2,000 payment to lower- and middle-income Americans that would be funded by tariff revenues next year sometime. "The tariffs allow us to give a dividend if we want to do that. Now we're going to do a dividend and we're also reducing debt," he said.The Trump administration announced framework trade deals on Thursday that, once finalised, will eliminate tariffs on certain foods and other imports from Argentina, Ecuador, Guatemala and El Salvador, with US officials eyeing additional agreements before year's end.Friday's list includes products US consumers routinely purchase to feed their families at home, many of which have seen double-digit year-over-year price increases. It includes over 200 items ranging from oranges, acai berries and paprika to cocoa, chemicals used in food production, fertilizers and even communion wafers.The White House, in a fact sheet on the order, said it came on the heels of "significant progress the President has made in securing more reciprocal terms for our bilateral trade relationships." It said Trump decided certain food items could be exempted since they were not grown or processed in the US, and given the conclusion of nine framework deals, two final agreements on reciprocal trade, and two investment deals.Ground beef, as of the latest available data for September, was nearly 13% more expensive, according to Consumer Price Index data, and steaks cost almost 17% more than a year ago. Increases for both were the largest in more than three years, dating back to when inflation was nearing its peak under Trump's predecessor, Democrat Joe Biden.Although the US is a major beef producer, a persistent shortage of cattle in recent years has kept beef prices high.Banana prices were about 7% higher, while tomatoes were 1% higher. Overall costs for food consumed at home were up 2.7% in September.The tariff exemptions won praise from many industry groups, while some expressed disappointment that their products were excluded from the exemptions."Today’s action should help consumers, whose morning cup of coffee will hopefully become more affordable, as well as US manufacturers, which utilize many of these products in their supply chains and production lines," FMI-Food Industry Association president Leslie Sarasin said in a statement.Distilled Spirits Council president Chris Swonger said that excluding spirits from the European Union and Britain "is yet another blow to the US hospitality industry just as the critical holiday season kicks into high gear." "Scotch, Cognac and Irish Whiskey are value-added agricultural products that cannot be produced in the US," Swonger added.Asked if further changes were planned, Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, "I don't think it'll be necessary." "We just did a little bit of a rollback," he said. "The prices of coffee were a little bit high, now they'll be on the low side in a very short period." NEW FOCUS ON AFFORDABILITY Trump has upended the global trading system by imposing a 10% base tariff on imports from every country, plus additional specific duties that vary from state to state.Trump has focused squarely on the issue of affordability in recent weeks, while insisting that any higher costs were triggered by policies enacted by Biden, and not his own tariff policies.Consumers have remained frustrated over high grocery prices, which economists say have been fueled in part by import tariffs and could rise further next year as companies start passing on the full brunt of the import duties.The top Democrat on the House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee, Richard Neal, said the Trump administration was "putting out a fire that they started and claiming it as progress." "The Trump Administration is finally admitting publicly what we've all known from the start: Trump's Trade War is hiking costs on people," Neal said in a statement. "Since implementing these tariffs, inflation has increased and manufacturing has contracted month after month."

India will roll out a package of measures to help exporters hurt by a surge in US tariffs, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said Friday.The new US duties slapped on Indian goods last month included a 25% punitive levy over New Delhi’s Russian oil purchases - taking overall duties as high as 50% on a wide range of items from garments and jewellery to footwear and chemicals."The government will come out with something to handhold those who have been hit by 50% tariffs," Sitharaman told CNBC TV18, without going into further detail.The government plans to offer credit guarantees on loans overdue by up to 90 days for small businesses and exporters, Reuters reported earlier, citing government sources.Exporters said labour-intensive sectors such as textiles, jewellery and seafood, particularly shrimp - which all operate on margins of just 3%-5% - have been hit hardest, causing job losses in industrial hubs in Tamil Nadu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state of Gujarat."Textiles and apparel manufacturers in Tiruppur, Noida and Surat have halted production amid worsening cost competitiveness," S C Ralhan, president of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO), said.The tariffs, among the highest imposed by the administration of US President Donald Trump, delivered a serious blow to ties between the two powerful democracies that had in recent decades become strategic partners.Nearly 55% of Indian exports to the US, worth about $48bn, now face a cost disadvantage against rivals from Vietnam, China and Bangladesh, Ralhan said last week ahead of an exporters' meeting with the finance minister.Thousands of workers have already been laid off, exporters have said.