Hook Weekly Wrap | 01.08.25
Trump’s “Modified Reciprocal Tariff Rates” kick-in
With the August 1 deadline here, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order reimposing “reciprocal tariffs” ranging from 10-41% on US imports from several nations.
In a statement on Thursday titled “Further Modifying the Reciprocal Tariff Rates”, the US listed some 69 trading partners and their respective “adjusted” tariff rates, including key allies like India, UK, Canada, Australia, South Korea and Taiwan. The EU was spared having inked a deal earlier in the week. The US-China tariff truce will also continue, though Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Trump has the final say.
Trump under fire amid Epstein furore
To the latest in the hugely controversial Epstein case, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Wednesday said House Democrats will sue the US Department of Justice using a near century-old and obscure federal law known as the “Rule of Five”.
Also watch: “Rule of 5”: Democrats use 1928 law to force Trump to release Epstein files
The latest move comes after several previous failed attempts to get the Epstein files released. The DoJ first sought court permission on July 18 to make public transcripts of the confidential grand jury testimony. But Manhattan-based US District Judges asked the government to flesh out the legal basis for the requests. This even as a Republican-led Congressional committee denied Epstein associate and convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell’s request for immunity in turn for her testimony.
Canada follows UK, France in recognising a Palestinian state
Shifting focus, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has announced plans to recognise a Palestinian state in September. Canada becomes the third G7 nation to make such an announcement in recent days following the UK and France before that. Carney added that the move depends on democratic reforms, including the Palestinian Authority holding elections next year without Hamas.
Tsunami fears ebb after 8.8 magnitude Russia earthquake
Earlier in the week, a magnitude 8.8 earthquake off Russia’s Kamchatka peninsula, on its east coast, sparked tsunami fears throughout the Pacific.Fortunately, the tsunami waves were not as bad as initially feared and warnings were cancelled thereafter.
The Kamchatka earthquake finds its place amongst the strongest ever recorded. Only five other earthquakes since 1900 were stronger.
Putin’s Russia gets Aug 8 as deadline for peace deal with Ukraine
Speaking of Russia, on Monday, Trump declared that Putin had about 10-12 days to strike a peace deal with Ukraine. Today, we finally got a date.
Also watch: Ukraine to recruit people over 60 to fight in war against Russia
John Kelley, Acting US Representative to the UN declared that President Trump has made it clear that a peace deal with Ukraine must be done by August 8. Importantly he added that the US is “prepared to implement additional measures to secure peace”.
That’s all for geopolitics this week. Download the app or log on to Hook.online for all the latest updates.
