Forest fire sweeps through northern Morocco
A major forest fire in northern Morocco is now largely under control, though efforts to fully extinguish it are still underway, the national water and...
Major U.S. companies are adjusting fast, but few are escaping the cost. President Donald Trump is preparing to impose sweeping new tariffs by 1 August, pushing the U.S. toward a trade regime unseen since the 1940s.
From canned food giants to tech exporters, the pressure is building. Conagra, which owns brands such as Hunt’s and Birds Eye, says inflation on tinplate steel is forcing it to raise prices. Nike expects to pay $1 billion in new tariffs this year and is already planning what it calls “surgical” price increases.
Fastenal, a U.S. industrial supplier, is now splitting shipments between Canada and the U.S., disrupting its supply chain. Yedi Houseware, a kitchen appliance importer, says it has paid more in tariffs this year than in the past decade combined.
Trump's policy has lifted the average U.S. import tax from around 2% to roughly 15%, the highest in more than 80 years. While some new deals are being struck — including with the UK, Vietnam, and Indonesia — U.S. allies are also looking elsewhere.
“The U.S. is no longer seen as the leader of the global trading system,” said Alan Wolff, former WTO deputy director general. “It will do what it wants, regardless of past obligations.”
That shift is visible on multiple fronts. European officials are now expanding deals with South America and the UAE. China is forging new ties with Europe. And U.S. companies such as Hewlett Packard are relocating production to Thailand, Vietnam, and Mexico.
The impact of tariffs extends beyond geopolitics. Inflation is back in focus. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent claimed victory over “inflation propagandists,” yet consumer prices are rising — up 2.7% in June year-on-year.
Trump says the tariffs will restore U.S. manufacturing and end unfair foreign trade practices. But the data tells a mixed story. Factory construction is down. Manufacturing jobs have dipped. And companies such as Conagra and Fastenal are raising prices just to keep pace.
Some firms are using Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other tools to cut losses. Cardinal Health says it reduced its expected tariff costs from $450 million to $75 million by using smarter logistics and pressing suppliers.
But others feel cornered. Yedi’s CEO called his firm “collateral damage” and said the president’s claim that foreign governments pay the tariffs is false.
Trump’s strategy of unpredictability is driving a new global realignment. The U.S. is betting on pressure. But the world is already moving to adapt.
The world’s biggest dance music festival faces an unexpected setback as a fire destroys its main stage, prompting a last-minute response from organisers determined to keep the party alive in Boom, Belgium.
A powerful eruption at Japan’s Shinmoedake volcano sent an ash plume more than 3,000 metres high on Sunday morning, prompting safety warnings from authorities.
According to the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ), a magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck the Oaxaca region of Mexico on Saturday.
A resumption of Iraq’s Kurdish oil exports is not expected in the near term, sources familiar with the matter said on Friday, despite an announcement by Iraq’s federal government a day earlier stating that shipments would resume immediately.
A magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck 56 kilometres east of Gorgan in northern Iran early Sunday morning, according to preliminary seismic data.
A major forest fire in northern Morocco is now largely under control, though efforts to fully extinguish it are still underway, the national water and forests agency (ANEF) said on Wednesday.
Supporters of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) threw flares and firecrackers at anti-government protesters in Novi Sad on Wednesday evening, according to Reuters, prompting police to intervene to end the standoff, a major escalation of nine-month-long protests in Serbia.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for the 14th of August, covering the latest developments you need to know.
WhatsApp said Russia was trying to block its services because the social media messaging app owned by Meta Platforms META.O offered people's right to secure communication, and vowed to continue trying to make encrypted services available in Russia.
Pakistan will create a new force in the military to supervise missile combat capabilities in a conventional conflict, apparently a move to match the neighbouring arch-rival India.
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