As he lived in a tent and battled to provide for his family, Hussam al-Masri, a Reuters journalist killed by Israeli fire on Monday while running a live video feed at Gaza's Nasser Hospital, covered the suffering of civilians during the conflict. According to journalist colleagues, Masri, 49, was a seasoned cameraman who was well-liked by Gaza's close-knit community of reporters because of his upbeat demeanor in the most perilous circumstances. In the months before his death, he would say, "Tomorrow will be better," despite the fact that the Palestinian enclave was becoming increasingly desolate and hungry. That was the conclusion of his final discussion with Mohamed Salem, a senior Reuters visuals journalist who had collaborated with Masri in Rafah, in southern Gaza, last year and had known him since 2003. Salem, who left Gaza later in 2024 but stayed in daily contact with Masri until Monday morning, said he was a pleasure to work with because of his smiles and o...
On Sunday, a framework trade deal was struck between the United States and the European Union, including a 15% import tariff on most of the EU goods. This tariff could have evolved into a confrontation between two allies that represent nearly a third of global trade.
The announcement came after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen flew in to meet with U.S. President Trump at his golf course in western Scotland to finalize the hard-fought deal.
"I think this is the biggest deal ever made," Trump said to reporters after the meeting lasted for an hour with von der Leyen, who stated that the 15% tariff was imposed "across the board." "We have a trade deal between the two largest economies in the world, and it's a big deal. It's a huge deal. It will bring stability. It will bring predictability," she said.
Hence, this deal will definitely bring some much-needed clarity for EU companies, along with $600 billion in investment by the EU into the United States, and $750 billion in purchases of U.S. energy during the second term of Trump.
The very base rate of 15% will be looked upon by many in Europe as a poor result, given that the initial desire of Europe was a zero-for-zero tariff deal. At any rate, the base is better than the threatened 30% rate.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz was welcoming the arrangement, saying in his statement that a trade conflict had been averted that probably would have hurt Germany's export-driven economy and large auto sector.
However, Bernd Lange, the German Social Democrat who chairs the trade committee of the European Parliament, said he was "quite critical" because the tariffs were imbalanced and the promised $600 billion investment would probably do harm to EU industry.
The euro gained about 0.2% against the dollar, sterling, and yen within an hour of the announcement.
MIRROR OF JAPAN DEAL
The deal mirrors some key features of the framework agreement agreed upon by the United States and Japan just last week.
"We are agreeing that the tariff ... for automobiles and everything else will be a straight-across tariff of 15%," said Trump. That said, steel and aluminum shall be exempt from this tariff, and under von der Leyen's view, the tariffs would be withdrawn and replaced by a quota system.
The rate is then said by von der Leyen to apply also to semiconductors and pharmaceuticals, while from both sides, there shall be no tariffs imposed on aircraft and aircraft parts, certain chemicals, certain generics, semiconductor equipment, some agricultural products, natural resources, and critical raw materials.
"We will keep working to add more products to this list," she said, "the issue of spirits is still to be discussed."
Eric Winograd, chief economist at Alliance Bernstein in New York, pointed out the similarity to the U.S. deal with Japan.
"We will need to see how long the sides stick to the deal. From a market perspective, it is reassuring in the sense that having a deal is better than not having a deal," he said.
He has periodically railed against the European Union, stating it was "formed to screw the United States" on trade. Shortly after arriving in Scotland, Trump whipped out his usual spiel against the European Union, saying it "wants to make a deal very badly," and as he met with von der Leyen, he said Europe had been "very unfair to the United States" over trade.
The biggest bugbear he has is the U.S. merchandise trade deficit with the EU, which in 2024 reached $235 billion, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. EU claims in return that the United States' surplus in services so partly tilts the balance. "Hundreds of billions of dollars" are also being made from tariffs, Trump said on Sunday.
Starting on August 1, Trump threatened to enforce a 30% tariff on imports from the EU on July 12, following weeks of failure with key U.S. trading partners to nail down a comprehensive trade agreement.
The EU had prepared its counter-tariffs of 93 billion euros ($109 billion) on U.S. goods if a deal was not reached, and Trump was pushing forward with the implementation of the 30% tariffs. Some member states had also pushed for the bloc to use its strongest trade tool, the anti-coercion instrument, in targeting U.S. services in the event of no deal.
SOURCE : NEWS AGENCIES