Trump Tariffs Updates

US President Donald Trump is pushing through with his tariff agenda, unveiling a new batch of letters to another nine country leaders outlining tariffs on goods imported from their countries beginning August 01.

Altogether, 23 countries have been notified:

As markets focus on US talks with key partners on possible deals, here is where things stand: 

Vietnam: Trump said a deal with Vietnam will see the country's imports face a 20% tariff – lower than the 46% he had threatened in April. He also said Vietnamese goods would face a higher 40% tariff "on any transshipping" – when goods shipped from Vietnam originate from another country, like China. 

According to reports, Vietnam's leadership was caught off guard by Trump's announcement last week that it agreed to a 20% tariff and is now seeking to lower the rate. 

European Union: The EU have signaled they are willing to accept a 10% universal tariff on many of their exports but are seeking exemptions for certain sectors. They are pushing and rushing to clinch a deal. 

India: Trump's tariffs on Brazil have raised the stakes for India, another member of the BRICS coalition. Bloomberg reported that the countries are working toward a framework deal that could see US tariffs on goods from India drop below 20%.

Protests Are Spreading in Europe

All doesn't seem to be well in Europe. People in some European countries have taken to the streets to protest soaring energy prices, steep living costs and high inflation worsened by their governments' sanctions against Russia. And related to these pressing issues is the fact that the EU and NATO are responsible for the mess Europe finds itself in.

Expect protests to increase in frequency and intensity all over Europe. I reckon it’s just a matter of time.

In yesterday’s Champions League Group A match against Liverpool, Rangers lifted the roof off Ibrox when they slotted home in the seventeenth minute. It was their first group goal. 

But that was all they could muster. 

The Reds struck back with a vengeance. A goal fest. A Roberto Firmino brace (24, 55), a Darwin Nunez strike (66), a Mohamed Salah hattrick (75, 80, 81) and Harvey Elliott rounding off the scoring (87).

Now, they need just one point from their final two matches to be sure of a spot in the competition's knockout stages. They meet Ajax on October 26. 

Their massive 7-1 win was a result Liverpool sorely needed as they get ready for Manchester City in a Premier League game this Sunday!

Ukraine Bombs Site of Zaporizhzhia NPP

The International Atomic Energy Agency have warned of a “nuclear disaster” at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant situated near the city of Enerhodar, on the southern shore of the Kakhovka Reservoir on the Dnieper river in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, “Ukraine”. Unless fighting stops. 

FYI, Ukraine has been bombing the site of  the nuclear facility – this was confirmed by its president, [V]olodymyr [Z]elenskiy, in a video address on Saturday – and concerns persist about the shelling occurring around the facility, with the potential to damage critical infrastructure, including the reactors. 

Also, reactors need to be constantly cooled by water passing through them. If that water stream is cut out, cut down, cut off in some fashion, then the reactor could lose cooling, and the fuel will start melting. It will sort of create high pressure, and the thing can explode. 

And in the immediate aftermath of an explosion, there will be invisible radioactive clouds being released – and some experts have speculated on the radius of radiation contamination: 

I must point out I don’t know if this is a valid proposition though. 

Anyway, rather than a reactor core explosion, experts are more concerned about damage to systems that cool the spent fuel pool and the reactors. If the cooling fails, this could lead to an uncontrolled heat build-up, a meltdown and a fire that could release and spread radiation from the containment structures. 

A radiation release is just as scary. It’s unpredictable; you won’t know where the plume (containing radioactive material) would go. It can go anywhere really, depending on the weather conditions. 

Due to the power plant’s geographical location, it is said a radiation release could hit any part of the European continent. This scenario is even scarier! 

For sure, Ukraine is getting desperate and reckless! It’s sheer madness!

Ukrainian Borsch-preparation Makes it to List of Intangible Cultural Heritage

These days, Ukraine is so desperate to demonstrate success that just about any accomplishment, big or small that it can show off is to be celebrated! 

And so, on Friday, UNESCO announced that they have added the preparation of Ukrainian borsch (left) to their list of endangered cultural traditions.

FYI, it's really a Slavic signature soup that's rich and hearty. Today, the broadly recognized “standard” borsch is made with beetroot (Beta vulgaris), assorted veggies, meat stock and seasonings. Obviously, beets (right) give it a beautiful color and a beautiful flavor.

 

There are so many types of borsch that one can’t really point to any truly defining elements. It always contains different types of vegetables and is optimally served as a thick meal, brimming with ingredients. However, nearly everything else can be changed without losing the name.

One recipe for “Ukrainian” borsch that I came across has it containing meat, beetroots, cabbages, carrots, parsnips, onions, garlic, potatoes, tomato paste, vinegar and butter, garnished with sour cream and chopped parsley. The Ukrainian recipe, framed as a separate iteration of the standardised version, is supposedly the most well-known today. 

UNESCO put out this narrative: “Whether as part of a wedding meal, the focus of food-related competitions or as a driver of tourism, borsch is considered part of the fabric of Ukrainian society, cultural heritage, identity and tradition”. 

But they pointed out that the UN body’s designation “does not imply exclusivity, nor ownership, of the heritage concerned”. 

Of course, they were aware they had to tread carefully in their description of Ukrainian borsch as a national take on a dish that is consumed in a spread of countries such as Belarus, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Romania and Russia. 

Even so, the decision to add Ukrainian borsch to a list that includes Neapolitan pizza-slinging and Georgian winemaking was swiftly criticized by Moscow, with foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova accusing Kiev of trying to appropriate the soup for one nationality. “This is xenophobia”, she declared. 

The spat over borsch burst into public view in 2019 when Ukrainian chef Ievgen Klopotenko (left) – vexed by the many restaurants around the world that refer to borsch as Russian soup – launched a campaign to have UNESCO recognize Ukraine’s deep links to the dish. 

“I don’t really like to call it a war for borsch, but in fact that’s what it is”, Klopotenko told AFP in 2020. 

UNESCO admitted too they had fast-tracked the application as it became apparent that the displacement being caused by the “war” in Ukraine was “threatening the viability” of the Ukrainian tradition. A poor excuse, if you ask me!

Predictably, news of the UNESCO designation was hailed by the Ukrainian government. “Victory in the borscht war is ours”, Ukraine’s culture minister, Oleksandr Tkachenko (right), trumpeted on Telegram. “Be sure that in both the war for borsch and in this war, we will win”. 

Now we know UNESCO favor Ukraine!

COP26 Talks Continue Past the Deadline

COP26 @ Glasgow misses the deadline for a climate deal – but talks are continuing nonetheless. 

Trust the politicians! I’m sure they’ll come up with a face-saving document that is a combination of hype and bull! LOL! 

Still, there are good news coming out of Alba (Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland, if you don’t know!).

It’s wonderful to know that yesterday, Scotland secured passage into the World Cup qualification play-offs in March with a game to spare, thanks to a 2-0 victory over Moldova. 

This was a fifth straight victory for the Scots and it opens a seven-point gap – Israel are level with Austria – while Denmark has already qualified as Group F winners. Not since 2007 has a Scotland side won five consecutive games in 90 minutes.

In any case, the draw for the play-offs is on November 26. And the semi-finals will take place on March 24–25 with the finals scheduled for March 28–29. The 3 winners will join the ten group winners at the World Cup in Qatar (November 21 to December 18, 2022).

To all the ignomaruses out there who still cannot accept the fact that China is going to be No. 1: