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Global Food Crisis Demands Support for People, Open Trade, Bigger Local Harvests International Monetary FundDemocratic leadership in the House of Representatives tanked an opportunity to pass a key ethics reform Thursday, according to several Democratic and Republican staffers involved in bipartisan efforts to ban stock trading by members of Congress. Those staffers say leadership’s move appears crafted to head off broad bipartisan support for reform.
After House leaders introduced a bill to curtail stock trading by federal officials on Tuesday, Democrats and Republicans pointed out the discrepancies between the leadership-approved version and the carefully negotiated bipartisan bills that predated it. Those discrepancies led to several members saying they could not vote on the measure without reviewing the text and determining whether the bill could draw enough votes in both chambers to become law.
When backlash to the leadership version of the bill emerged, leaders pulled it from the schedule. The decision to punt further action until after the midterm elections imperils the odds that any version of the ban will pass the House and Senate. Several sources close to bipartisan negotiations on the subject tell The Intercept that may have been the point. On Friday, Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., called it “a kitchen-sink package that they knew would immediately crash upon arrival.”
The “non-starters” in the leadership’s legislation, according to one Democratic staffer, included issues around the structure of qualified blind trusts, the inclusion of dependent children in the ban, and a measure expanding the ethics rules to members of the judiciary — sticking points that negotiators addressed in bipartisan reforms hashed out earlier this year. “The qualified blind trusts are kind of fake and are not an appropriate safeguard to really ensure that we have, you know, real divestiture from conflicting interests,” the staffer, who was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter, said.
Several Democratic and Republican staffers involved in earlier bipartisan efforts say House leadership made no effort to consult them on what sort of framework might pass. In particular, the process ignored a version of the legislation co-authored by Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., and Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Mont. That measure also has bipartisan support in the Senate, where Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Steve Daines, R-Mont., have introduced a corresponding bill. Rosendale’s chief of staff, Trevor Whetstone, told The Intercept his office has long believed that package has the votes to pass both chambers.
“It wasn’t a real process,” one Democratic staffer told The Intercept. “There were all these things thrown in here that on the surface look good, but make it so expansive, that, you know, it’s not going to make it to the President’s desk.”
Those sources claim that the leadership’s introduction — and quick scuttling — of legislative text on the issue make sense only if viewed as a calculated play to kill efforts at reform. “Several of the key issues that were worked out in some of the bipartisan efforts just weren’t addressed,” a Republican staffer told The Intercept. “There’s a lot of overwhelming consensus here, a lot of work that’s been done to achieve that. You don’t completely ignore all that on accident.”
Representatives for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer did not respond to requests for comment. Christiana Stephenson, the communications director for House Democratic Caucus Chair Hakeem Jeffries, did not address the substance of the questions, instead referring The Intercept to Jeffries’s public comments on the scuttling of the stock trade ban earlier Thursday, where Jeffries deflected responsibility to Hoyer, who controls the floor schedule. Hoyer has expressed varying levels of hostility to any potential reform for months. Pelosi, one of the wealthiest members of Congress, has mostly declined to speak at length on the issue since declaring members of Congress have a right to participate in the “free market” in December of last year.
The CFTC is considering the approval of two ETFs that would allow consumers to buy a product mirroring the holdings of senior members of congress. The proposed tickers are NANC and KRUZ, for Ted Cruz and Nancy Pelosi. https://t.co/qXGS0nNllm
— Daniel Boguslaw (@DRBoguslaw) September 28, 2022
Joel Valdez, a spokesperson for Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., who has been an outspoken advocate for reforms, told The Intercept that the episode is indicative of how Congress functions when popular ethics reforms are pitted against the financial interests of members. “The last-minute shenanigans are unfortunate, but predictable, because Congress is corrupt,” he said.
The comments echo some of the implications made publicly by members who have been pushing for such legislation, including vulnerable front-liners who see the issue as electorally beneficial. As Insider’s Bryan Metzger reported Thursday afternoon, Reps. Chip Roy, D-Texas, and Spanberger, who have partnered on one of several bipartisan efforts to ban stock trades, made comments that also seemed to suggest they were suspicious of leadership’s maneuvering. “I don’t think this bill was written to pass the House,” Spanberger said.
While some conservative Democrats — most notably retiring Blue Dog and perennial corporate-friendly obstructionist Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla. — have tried to claim reforms are a tough sell for front-liners, that argument is hard to square with the considerable amount of data indicating any ban would be overwhelmingly popular. With further action delayed until after the midterms, Democrats have deprived members in tough races of the benefits the popular legislation might confer.
The fate of any potential reform now rests on the volatile politics of what appears to be an increasingly packed lame duck session. The session is set to be dominated by negotiations over the annual budget and the National Defense Authorization Act — two sprawling and time-consuming packages that are considered must-pass. In addition, other higher priority pieces of legislation, like the Electoral Count Act and the Respect for Marriage Act, may sap away what little legislating energy remains. Those bills are expected to advance because careful bipartisan negotiations have primed them to achieve consensus, regardless of how the November elections turn out. House leadership has ensured the stock trade ban is in no such position.
One Democratic staffer summed up leadership’s feint: “We have bills that were bicameral and bipartisan, and none of us involved with those were consulted, and now we have a bill that can’t move. … A lot of folks are calling the release of any text a step forward. But it’s not a genuine step forward.”
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NEW DELHI, Sept 30 (Reuters) - A comprehensive trade deal between India and the European Union could pave the way for Mercedes-Benz (MBGn.DE) to produce more cars in the South Asian nation, potentially making it an export hub, Mercedes' country head told Reuters on Friday.
In June, the EU and India relaunched talks for a free trade agreement with the aim of completing them by the end of 2023. Talks began in 2007, but were frozen in 2013 due to lack of progress on issues including EU demands for greater access to Indian markets for its cars.
A trade deal that puts India in a competitive situation or gives it an advantage over other markets where Mercedes produces cars would "definitely help", Martin Schwenk said in an interview, when asked about the German firm's export plans.
"To produce one car out of India for all markets of the world could be a strategy. But if we cannot, for example, export to the EU without penalties then we will not be able to compete against our factory in Hungary," he said.
Mercedes on Friday launched its first locally built electric vehicle (EV) in India - the EQS 580, a variant of its flagship S-Class sedan, with plans to potentially build more clean cars in the country.
"We are aiming in the next 8-10 years, to fully electrify the portfolio and be an electric manufacturer here. The intention is to build the capability now and depending on how demand develops ... increase the numbers," he said, adding the current strategy was not to export.
To produce a model in one location would require an annual volume of 150,000 to 200,000 cars, Schwenk said.
Although Mercedes is India's largest luxury carmaker, it sold just 11,242 cars in 2021. At its peak in 2018, it sold 15,500.
India is largely a small- and low-cost car market, in which luxury models make up 1% of total annual sales of about three million cars. The luxury EV market is even smaller and largely untested, with most models currently imported at high tariffs.
The EQS has a certified range of 857 kilometres (532.5 miles) on a single charge and will be priced at 15.5 million rupees ($190,564).
Reporting by Aditi Shah Editing by Mark Potter
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
From rising populism and the COVID-19 pandemic to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, this has already been an extraordinarily difficult decade for global trade and the principles, rules, and multilateral institutions that sustain it. To assess the current state of the international trading system and what lies in store for it, Anne O. Krueger, a former chief economist at the World Bank, queries World Trade Organization Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on what she sees as the biggest challenges and opportunities.
Anne O. Krueger: Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, trade has been weaponized to punish the Kremlin. What do you think the long-term consequences of this approach will be?
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala: The war affects all multilateral organizations, and the WTO is no exception. Since member states cannot ignore the conflict, they will need to make their views known as they see fit, within the WTO and elsewhere.
The multilateral trading system had its origins in the idea that trade and interdependence would foster peace and prosperity, and that stable global relations would in turn facilitate trade flows. The past 75 years have been remarkably prosperous and peaceful by historical standards.
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Veteran forward Derrick Favors is reportedly headed to Houston.
The Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder came to terms on a trade Thursday evening, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Eight players in total will be involved, four from each team, as well as a 2025 second-round pick headed to Houston.
Houston gets:
Oklahoma City gets:
Per Wojnarowski, the Thunder will accumulate two trade exceptions while moving well under the luxury tax, with the second-round pick compensating Houston for taking on extra salary.
Cap-centric deal for both teams: Thunder gain two trade exceptions and drop about $10M under luxury tax. Rockets get a second-round pick for taking on $1M in salary. Favors will have value as a backup center, or elsewhere on a trade in marketplace too. https://t.co/k8zpgthwOh
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 30, 2022
Favors, the No. 3 pick in the 2010 Draft, joins his fourth team in four years after spending the bulk of his career with the Utah Jazz. The 31-year-old big man has averaged 5.4 points and 5.2 rebounds since moving to a full-time bench role over the last two seasons.
SAN JOSE, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Costa Rica will suspend tariff benefits for Panamanian products, the country's foreign trade ministry said on Thursday, marking another step in a trade dispute that started in 2020 and is the subject of a World Trade Organization (WTO) lawsuit.
Costa Rica suspended tariff benefits for its southern neighbor after Panamanian authorities failed to comply with a 2021 ruling regulating tomato trade between both parties, according to a statement published by the ministry, which did not specify the items affected or when the suspension would be enacted.
"I hope they understand … we are ready to go all the way," Costa Rican Trade Minister Manuel Tovar told lawmakers on Wednesday.
"Taxing products that arrive through free trade as a retaliatory measure is an example of what we are willing to do," he added.
Costa Rica and Panama entered a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in 2008.
Panama blocked the entry of products from Costa Rica for sanitary reasons, Panama's Commerce and Industries Minister Federico Alfaro said in a statement published late on Thursday in response to Costa Rica's suspension of tariff benefits.
"International norms prohibit these unilateral actions and we will not hesitate to exercise our rights in case they apply them," he added.
Panama is the fifth largest market for Costa Rican products by value, according to government statistics.
Costa Rica's imports from Panama totaled $221 million and exports amounted to $603 million in 2021.
Reporting by Alvaro Murillo; Additional reporting by Valentine Hilaire; Editing by Chris Reese and Subhranshu Sahu
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
On Wednesday in Tokyo, in what greyer heads around the table may have relished as a historic role-reversal, US vice-president Kamala Harris gathered top executives from Japan’s semiconductor sector to discuss the implications of the US’s industry-boosting $280bn Chips and Science Act.
Fiscal “plan-splaining” does not get much more poignant: 40 years since Japan As Number One was a bestseller and 30 years since Rising Sun was a blockbuster, here was the America of market forces sitting down with Japan Inc to tell it all about targeted industrial policy.
A day earlier, the US trade ambassador Katherine Tai had also painted a picture of shifting times. The US, she told the FT, was now actively co-ordinating trade policy and domestic investment programmes in deliberate contrast with its traditional, single-minded prioritising of maximal liberalisation.
So might this shift — industrial policy’s ascent from curse word to the new Washington mantra of strategic competition — be the ultimate symptom of American Japanification?
The setting of Wednesday’s meeting makes it a very tempting thesis. Harris was holding the discussions on the US’s state-turbocharged semiconductor ambitions just a few hundred metres away from Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. This is the successor to the Ministry of International Trade and Industry, or Miti, that authored the story of Japan Inc and oversaw the combination of industrial and trade policies that appeared to make Japan so unstoppable in the 1970s and 1980s. Her roundtable participants were from companies that had, in their heyday, been favoured by a government that saw them as critical to the national interest.
Japan Inc’s was a narrative propelled by genuine policies and a willingness of Japan itself and the outside world to believe in their effectiveness. The Japanese government really did direct resources to particular industries, semiconductors among them, in the quest for greater international competitiveness. To those (particularly the US) whom this strategy comprehensively outcompeted, the idea of a conspiratorial state-corporate complex (with its convenient “Japan Inc” terminology) was an easily grasped concept to either laud or lambast. However critical the roles of liberalised world trade and fundamental Japanese business skill may actually have been, Miti and industrial policy hogged the limelight.
Throughout the periods of both Japan Inc’s success and subsequent decline, the US position seemed clear. However enviable the trophies held by Japan, it was anathema to talk positively about a Japan Inc-style industrial policy as an option for the US. To do so, in theory, would be to admit to a range of desirable outcomes that market forces alone might never achieve, let alone guarantee.
Such an admission, though, now feels implicit — not just in the chips act itself, but in the bipartisan support it attracted. The prevailing narrative in Washington on China is alarm at its surging industrial power. But while the creation of an overt industrial policy for America may be driven by pragmatism, giving pragmatism free rein, arguably requires at least a form of ideological shift. Belatedly, perhaps, the magnitude of the perceived China threat has caused the US to decide that it cannot afford the laissez-faire approach to private sector decision-making when it affects the national interest.
This is why Japanification is probably not the right word here. Whatever the front-of-house rhetorical taboos around industrial policy may have been, the reality is that Washington has been running versions of them for years — most visibly under the framework of the military-industrial complex.
When concerns over critical technology have intensified, this has provided a mechanism for directing investment in a way that the markets might not have on their own. For all its “business is war” sloganeering during the 1980s, the overwhelming desire of Japan was to outperform its great rival in growth and market share. Its industrial policy was a reflection of that, the US understood it as such and did not, despite books like the 1991 classic The Coming War With Japan, feel the need to create industrial policy of its own to offset that.
The situation with semiconductors in the 2020s is very different. The perceived threat from China is not outperformance in business, but, in the longer term, the opening of a technological gap that cannot easily be narrowed. The immediate rival on chips may be Taiwan but America’s new industrial policy is crafted around fears of a greater foe.
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Sept 29 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's stock market rose in early trade on Thursday, leading gains in the Gulf region, on track to extend its rebound for a second session following a slide.
On Monday, the Saudi bourse hit its lowest in over 9 months, as fears grew that racing to raise interest rates to tame inflation will drag the global economy into recession.
Saudi Arabia's benchmark index (.TASI) advanced 1.5%, buoyed by a 1.9% rise in oil behemoth Saudi Aramco (2222.SE) and a 1% increase in Al Rajhi Bank (1120.SE).
Separatelty, Arabian Drilling Company, a Saudi oilfield services firm, will price its planned initial public offering between 90 riyals and 100 riyals per share, HSBC Saudi Arabia said on Wednesday. read more
Arabian Drilling, which operated 45 rigs as of 2021 and has been drilling since 1964, will sell 30% of the company, or 26.7 million shares. That includes 17.7 million existing shares held by The Industrialization & Energy Services Company (TAQA) and 9 million new shares.
Dubai's main share index (.DFMGI) 0.4%, helped by a 0.3% gain in blue-chip developer Emaar Properties (EMAR.DU).
Elsewhere, the emirate's toll-road operator Salik (SALIK.DU) surged 20% above its listing price on its market debut in a sign that investors still have appetite for local flotations despite skittish global markets. read more
The company is the third state-linked entity to execute a Dubai listing successfully this year in a programme aimed at attracting investor interest in the domestic stock exchange.
In Abu Dhabi, the index (.FTFADGI) added 0.3%.
The Qatari index (.QSI) climbed 1.1%, boosted by a 2.2% leap in petrochemical maker Industries Qatar (IQCD.QA).
Reporting by Ateeq Shariff in Bengaluru, Editing by Angus MacSwan
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
In this exclusive footage we see how it went down with the Utah Jazz and their trade with Donovan Mitchell. It was shocking to see all these revelations in 4K high-definition pixels. Now you can see them too.
All summer we heard that Mitchell would be traded to the New York Knicks. So when Danny Ainge let us all know that the trade would be to the Cleveland Cavaliers for 3 unprotected picks, everyone was surprised how the NBA offseason had changed. Leon Rose tried to steal Donovan Mitchell away with as little as possible, even though they had spent the last year doing everything they could to bring him to the Knicks.
Here’s how it went down.
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Drought-Hit Mississippi River Puts US Farm Trade Flow at Risk BloombergWASHINGTON, Sept 28 (Reuters) - The U.S. trade deficit in goods narrowed for a fifth straight month in August amid a decline in imports, which is being driven by slowing domestic demand as the Federal Reserve aggressively tightens monetary policy to tame inflation.
The report from the Commerce Department on Wednesday suggested that trade would again contribute to gross domestic product in the third quarter. The economy could also get a lift from big gains in wholesale and retail inventories last month, though consumer and business spending are likely to be tepid.
"Trade should be a positive for third-quarter GDP," said Ryan Sweet, a senior economist at Moody's Analytics in West Chester, Pennsylvania. "Still, the third quarter isn't shaping up to be overly impressive."
The goods trade deficit contracted 3.2% to $87.3 billion last month, the smallest since October 2021. Imports of goods dropped $4.6 billion to $267.1 billion. There was a 6.9% plunge in imports of industrial supplies, which include petroleum.
Imports of capital goods dropped 1.8%, while those of consumer goods slipped 0.2%. There were, however, increases in imports of food, motor vehicles and other goods, which boosted retail inventories.
The U.S. central bank last week raised its policy interest rate by 75 basis points, its third straight increase of that size. It signaled more large increases to come this year. Since March, the Fed has hiked its policy rate from near zero to the current range of 3.00% to 3.25%.
Rising borrowing costs and high inflation are squeezing consumers, forcing them to limit spending. Economists expected imports would continue to decline.
Stocks on Wall Street were higher in volatile trading. The dollar fell against a basket of currencies. U.S. Treasury prices rose.
Goods exports fell $1.7 billion to $179.8 billion in August. The decrease in exports was led by motor vehicles, which tumbled 8.9%. Exports of industrial supplies fell 3.5%. But exports of consumer goods surged 8.0%. There were also increases in exports of food, capital and other goods.
The overall decline in exports reflects a strong dollar, driven by tighter monetary policy, and weakening global demand. The dollar has gained 10.5% against the currencies of the United States' main trade partners this year.
"We do not expect this landscape to change markedly in the near term and we look for the goods trade gap to continue to narrow in the months ahead," said Matthew Martin, a U.S. economist at Oxford Economics in New York.
Record exports and moderate consumer spending were the only bright spots in the economy in the second quarter, helping to limit the hit to gross domestic product from a sharp deceleration in the pace of inventory accumulation.
The economy contracted at a 0.6% annualized rate last quarter. That followed a 1.6% pace of decline in GDP in the January-March quarter. Growth forecasts for the third quarter are below a 1.5% rate, with a big drag from housing anticipated.
Soaring mortgage rates, in response to the tighter monetary policy, are weighing on the housing market. The 30-year fixed mortgage rate averaged 6.29% last week, the highest since October 2008, from 6.02% in the prior week, according to data from mortgage finance agency Freddie Mac.
A separate report from the National Association of Realtors on Wednesday showed signed contracts to buy previously owned homes dropped 2.0% in August. Contracts, which become sales after a month or two, have declined in nine of the last 10
months.
The Commerce Department also reported that wholesale inventories jumped 1.3% in August after rising 0.6% in July. Retail inventories increased 1.4% after advancing 1.1% in July.
Motor vehicle inventories shot up 3.7% after rising 3.5% in the prior month. Retail inventories excluding motor vehicles, the component that goes into the calculation of GDP, increased 0.6% after gaining 0.3% in July.
"The pace of real inventory accumulation is now on track to firm between the second and third quarters, implying that inventories will help support GDP growth in the third quarter," said Daniel Silver, an economist at JPMorgan in New York. "We see significant upside risk to our third-quarter GDP tracking."
Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Paul Simao and Andrea Ricci
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
WASHINGTON, Sept 28 (Reuters) - The U.S. trade deficit in goods narrowed for a fifth straight month in August amid a decline in imports, which is being driven by slowing domestic demand as the Federal Reserve aggressively tightens monetary policy to tame inflation.
The report from the Commerce Department on Wednesday suggested that trade would again contribute to gross domestic product in the third quarter. The economy could also get a lift from big gains in wholesale and retail inventories last month, though consumer and business spending are likely to be tepid.
"Trade should be a positive for third-quarter GDP," said Ryan Sweet, a senior economist at Moody's Analytics in West Chester, Pennsylvania. "Still, the third quarter isn't shaping up to be overly impressive."
The goods trade deficit contracted 3.2% to $87.3 billion last month, the smallest since October 2021. Imports of goods dropped $4.6 billion to $267.1 billion. There was a 6.9% plunge in imports of industrial supplies, which include petroleum.
Imports of capital goods dropped 1.8%, while those of consumer goods slipped 0.2%. There were, however, increases in imports of food, motor vehicles and other goods, which boosted retail inventories.
The U.S. central bank last week raised its policy interest rate by 75 basis points, its third straight increase of that size. It signaled more large increases to come this year. Since March, the Fed has hiked its policy rate from near zero to the current range of 3.00% to 3.25%.
Rising borrowing costs and high inflation are squeezing consumers, forcing them to limit spending. Economists expected imports would continue to decline.
Stocks on Wall Street were higher in volatile trading. The dollar fell against a basket of currencies. U.S. Treasury prices rose.
Goods exports fell $1.7 billion to $179.8 billion in August. The decrease in exports was led by motor vehicles, which tumbled 8.9%. Exports of industrial supplies fell 3.5%. But exports of consumer goods surged 8.0%. There were also increases in exports of food, capital and other goods.
The overall decline in exports reflects a strong dollar, driven by tighter monetary policy, and weakening global demand. The dollar has gained 10.5% against the currencies of the United States' main trade partners this year.
"We do not expect this landscape to change markedly in the near term and we look for the goods trade gap to continue to narrow in the months ahead," said Matthew Martin, a U.S. economist at Oxford Economics in New York.
Record exports and moderate consumer spending were the only bright spots in the economy in the second quarter, helping to limit the hit to gross domestic product from a sharp deceleration in the pace of inventory accumulation.
The economy contracted at a 0.6% annualized rate last quarter. That followed a 1.6% pace of decline in GDP in the January-March quarter. Growth forecasts for the third quarter are below a 1.5% rate, with a big drag from housing anticipated.
Soaring mortgage rates, in response to the tighter monetary policy, are weighing on the housing market. The 30-year fixed mortgage rate averaged 6.29% last week, the highest since October 2008, from 6.02% in the prior week, according to data from mortgage finance agency Freddie Mac.
A separate report from the National Association of Realtors on Wednesday showed signed contracts to buy previously owned homes dropped 2.0% in August. Contracts, which become sales after a month or two, have declined in nine of the last 10
months.
The Commerce Department also reported that wholesale inventories jumped 1.3% in August after rising 0.6% in July. Retail inventories increased 1.4% after advancing 1.1% in July.
Motor vehicle inventories shot up 3.7% after rising 3.5% in the prior month. Retail inventories excluding motor vehicles, the component that goes into the calculation of GDP, increased 0.6% after gaining 0.3% in July.
"The pace of real inventory accumulation is now on track to firm between the second and third quarters, implying that inventories will help support GDP growth in the third quarter," said Daniel Silver, an economist at JPMorgan in New York. "We see significant upside risk to our third-quarter GDP tracking."
Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Paul Simao and Andrea Ricci
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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JERUSALEM, Sept 28 (Reuters) - A free trade agreement between Israel and South Korea will go into effect on Dec. 1, Israel's Economy Ministry said on Wednesday, in a move expected to lower the prices of Korean-made cars, toys, video game consoles and soy sauce.
The agreement was ratified by Korea's parliament on Tuesday.
The ministry estimated that it would also improve the competitiveness of Israeli exporters, since South Korea has 18 other free trade deals, and benefit Israel's economy by about 500 million shekels ($141 million) a year.
It expects to boost and diversify Israeli exports to South Korea, as well as encourage South Korean investments in the Israeli market.
The free trade deal, signed in May 2021, is Israel's first with an Asian country and tariff reductions will apply to imports, exports as well as to investments, the ministry said. More than 95% of Israeli exports to South Korea will be duty free.
Israel recently forged a free trade agreement with the United Arab Emirates and is negotiating similar deals with China, Vietnam, Bahrain and the United Kingdom.
Bilateral trade between Israel and South Korea rose 35% in 2021 to some $3.5 billion.
($1 = 3.5430 shekels)
Reporting by Steven Scheer, Editing by William Maclean
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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GENEVA, Sept 27 (Reuters) - The head of the World Trade Organization told Reuters on Tuesday that she expects that global trade forecasts will be revised lower from the current 3% for 2022, citing the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and related food and energy crises.
"We are in the middle of revising our forecasts now but it's not looking very promising. All the indicators are pointing to downside numbers," Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala told Reuters in an interview. "Grosso modo the outlook is looking gloomy," she said, without giving exact estimates.
The WTO already revised down its forecast for global trade growth this year to 3% from 4.7% in April. It projected 3.4% growth in 2023. read more
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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SAN ANTONIO DE TACHIRA, Venezuela/CUCUTA, Colombia Sept 26 (Reuters) - Colombia and Venezuela reopened cargo transport at a major border crossingon Monday, potentially enabling billions of dollars in trade after years of icy bilateral relations and heavily-restricted economic ties.
The re-opening - which will allow goods like coal, toilet paper and fruit to move through crossings between the Colombian city of Cucuta and the Venezuelan state of Tachira - was a key campaign promise of Colombia's new leftist President Gustavo Petro.
Petro crossed the Simon Bolivar bridge on foot on Monday, standing on the Venezuelan side with his ambassador to Caracas Armando Benedetti, Venezuela's ambassador to Colombia Felix Plasencia, Venezuela's transport minister and other officials as they listened to military bands play each other's national anthems.
"I want the first people who benefit to be those who live on either side of the border, those who risked (illegal crossings)...gangs of all kinds, multicriminals who could kill them, who could rape them," said Petro in later remarks, referring to dozens of irregular crossings controlled by crime gangs and home to smuggling and drug trafficking.
"The result should be a qualitative jump in human rights all along the Colombian-Venezuelan border," he said.
Petro told journalists there was no set date for his first meeting with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
TRUCK CROSSINGS HAVE BEGUN A truck loaded with rolls of aluminum and festooned with flags and red, yellow and blue balloons was the first to cross the frontier from Tachira into Colombia.
The first truck moving from Colombia to Venezuela, one of four belonging to company Transporte Condor, carried medical supplies.
Four of the company's trucks were also set to move toilet paper, plastic glasses and textiles valued at some $80,000, manager Diego Bohorquez said.
Cargo trucks can cross each day between 10 a.m. (1400 GMT)and 5 p.m., Venezuela's transport minister Ramon Velasquez told a separate briefing, while pedestrian crossings will begin earlier.
The border was already open to pedestrians, with many Venezuelans crossing to buy basic goods as their country experiences a long-running economic crisis.
Cargo transport had previously only been allowed through one northern crossing. A second road bridge near Cucuta will open within weeks, Petro said.
Merchants on both sides of the 2,219-kilometer (1,380-mile) frontier have been eagerly awaiting the normalization, hopeful open trade will allow them access to raw materials and new customers.
Bilateral trade totaled $7 billion in 2008, before Venezuela's then-president Hugo Chavez froze it to protest a Bogota-Washington military deal.
Caracas broke off relations with Bogota in 2019 after Venezuelan opposition activists tried to send aid trucks from Colombia. Maduro's government said it was a front for an attempted coup.
Previous governments in Bogota have accused Maduro of harboring Colombian rebel groups and criminals, accusations he has denied.
The two countries had said flights between their capitals would also restart, but U.S. sanctions against Venezuela's state airline Conviasa have delayed them.
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
The situation surrounding Giants receiver Kenny Golladay could come to a head soon.
The highly paid pass catcher is expected to be active for tonight's game against the Cowboys, hoping for more productivity than he has provided during the first two weeks and another chance to show New York's new coaching staff that he can get it done.
If it doesn't happen against Dallas, and if the storyline regarding his playing time loudly continues, there are options.
Among them: The Giants could trade Golladay to an interested party, and likely the only way it would work is if New York pays the bulk of his contract in exchange for a late-round pick, sources say. That is a possibility.
Through today's game, sources say Golladay has been great inside the building. He does all the right things and has been a positive influence in the locker room. When he's spoken, he's been honest but not bombastic.
Golladay played just two snaps last week, while fourth-year receiver David Sills played 67. In the view of the coaches and those making decisions, Sills is more deserving of playing time, as he gains more separation in his routes than Golladay.
"I should be playing regardless, that's a fact," Golladay told reporters flatly this week.
Coach Brian Daboll responded, "I have a great respect for Kenny. I'm glad he's (un)happy that he didn't play -- shows competitiveness. But he's been a pro. And we'll see how it goes this week."
As of now, the situation is tenable. If Golladay becomes disgruntled or his relationship with New York becomes more of a problem, the Giants may take action. A release would be a last resort.
A trade, however, is possible. Simply, the Giants would eat much of the salary, allowing another team to trade for an effectively low-cost Golladay.
To be sure, it's been a disappointing tenure for Golladay, who arrived under the old regime with a four-year, $72 million deal in 2021. He had just 37 catches for 521 yards with zero TDs last year and has just two catches for 22 yards so far this campaign.
In fact, there is a chance the Giants would have cut Golladay prior to this season. Except they couldn't.
Golladay had $10 million of his $17.75 million 2022 salary fully guaranteed at signing, but an additional $4.5 million of it became fully guaranteed on the first day of the 2022 league year -- which meant the Giants didn't have an opportunity to release him prior to $14.5 million being fully guaranteed.
The timing of the additional $4.5 million guarantee is extremely rare. Typically, teams structure guarantees to become fully guaranteed on the third or fifth day of the league year so the team has an opportunity to release an underperforming player prior to the guarantee kicking in.
In Golladay's case, not only did that $4.5 million guarantee kick in on the first day of the league year, but an additional $3 million of 2022 salary and $4.5 million of 2023 salary became fully guaranteed on the third day of the 2022 league year, too.
The Giants may have looked to move on from Golladay with only $10 million guaranteed, but they didn't have that opportunity as it became $14.5 million fully guaranteed beforehand. So they kept him.
What's next? The Giants will be on the hook for $40 million unless they can find a trade partner. If they do find one, that new team would take on whatever salary is left this year and $4.5 million guaranteed next season.
Complicated, but the Giants do potentially have a way out of it. Unless Golladay begins to perform and then it all becomes moot.
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Veteran forward Jae Crowder requested to not report to Phoenix Suns training camp, and the team agreed as it continues trying to find a trade for him, sources told ESPN.
Crowder, 32, is headed into the final season of his contract paying him $10.1 million but was facing a diminished role as the Suns are expected to increase playing time for forward Cameron Johnson. That is one of several factors that might have led to Crowder's request.
The Suns announced on Sunday that Crowder would be away from the team. In a tweet, Crowder wrote "ONE MUST SEEK WORK WHERE HE IS WANTED.. WHERE HE IS NEEDED.!"
ONE MUST SEEK WORK WHERE HE IS WANTED.. WHERE HE IS NEEDED.! I AM THANKFUL FOR WHAT THESE PAST 2 YRS HAVE TAUGHT ME.! NOW I MUST TAKE ON ANOTHER CHALLENGE WITH CONTINUED HARDWORK & DEDICATION.! FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO CLOSED THE DOOR ON ME.... THANK YOU! 99 BACK SOON.! 🥷🏾🤫🤐
— JAE CROWDER (@CJC9BOSS) September 25, 2022
Team owner Robert Sarver announced he was selling the franchise last week after an NBA investigation confirmed reports of racially insensitive and misogynistic comments during his tenure.
Crowder's scoring and shooting numbers dipped slightly last season after he was a key member of the Suns' Finals team in 2021. The defensive specialist averaged 9.4 points and 5.3 rebounds in 67 games last season.
The Suns have been in trade talks surrounding Crowder during the summer but haven't been able to find a deal. They had been in talks with the Utah Jazz over Bojan Bogdanovic before he was traded to the Detroit Pistons last week.
Everything happens for a reason, or so they say.
That much certainly appears true for the 49ers, who had the parameters of a trade agreement in place back in early March that would have sent quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to the Washington Commanders, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Sunday, citing sources.
The deal came about at this year’s NFL scouting combine, per Schefter, and would have involved “multiple draft picks." But talks quickly dissolved when Garoppolo opted to undergo shoulder surgery.
For reference, the combine began March 1 and its last day was March 7. Garoppolo had surgery on March 8 -- a move 49ers general manager John Lynch said came as a surprise to the team when he spoke to reporters at the NFL Annual Meetings later that month, and one he admitted derailed any talks of trading the veteran signal-caller.
“The decision that was made for Jimmy to have surgery certainly cause a lot of teams to pause and at least slow down the process to do their due diligence,” Lynch said. “He made a decision for his long term, along with doctors, that he needed that surgery.
“We all blessed that, but that did affect his market. So now we hold onto him.”
ESPN's Tim Keown and Nick Wagoner also reported last week that the 49ers thought a Garoppolo-to-Washington trade was likely prior to the quarterback's shoulder surgery.
The Commanders ultimately ended up trading two third-round picks and a fourth-round pick to the Indianapolis Colts for Carson Wentz in a move that has worked out splendidly for the team so far.
And despite the 49ers remaining steadfast in their attempts to trade Garoppolo throughout the following months, everything worked out OK for them, too, as he now is starting in place of Trey Lance after the 2021 No. 3 overall pick suffered a broken ankle in Week 2.
But three draft picks for Garoppolo, what Washington ended up dealing for Wentz, would have been quite the haul considering how the quarterback market moved afterward.
In the weeks after the Wentz trade, the Carolina Panthers nabbed Baker Mayfield by surrendering only a 2024 conditional draft pick to the Cleveland Browns, while the Colts acquired former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan for a 2022 third-round pick.
No other trade partners came forward for Garoppolo after the quarterback shuffle, and that ended up being a good thing for the 49ers.
The 30-year-old agreed to take a pay cut to remain with the team as Lance’s backup once the preseason had concluded and now looks to lead them to the playoffs once again with their young starter sidelined for the season.
And in retrospect, the team’s failure to trade Garoppolo might end up feeling pretty great … baby.
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gamagana.blogspot.com Les Snead typically wheels and deals during the NFL draft, making several trades to either move up or down the boar...
