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Sri Lanka President vows to prevent racism, communal slogans in politics

Thursday November 21, 2024 3:26 pm

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s Marxist-leaned President Anura Kumara Dissanayake promised to prevent politicians using racism as well as communal and religious slogans to capture state power in future.

Dissanayake’s National People’s Power swept the parliament election held last week to record a landslide win with 159 seats in the 225-member parliament.

For the first time in Sri Lankan history, a political party was backed by all Sinhala, Tamil, Muslim, and Catholic communities during the election with the majority of them backing the NPP.

The NPP won 21 out of 22 electoral districts and 150 out of 160 electorates, the official election results showed. A Marxists party led coalition has won national elections for the first time in Sri Lanka’s history.

Dissanayaka in his policy statement during the inaugural session of the new parliament said when racism becomes a theme of a political camp; the definite consequence is counter racism from opposition political camps.

“Racism does not remain in one place. One portion of racism will nurture and grow the other portion of racism. We have experienced this in our long history, politics, and society,” Dissanayake told the parliament while addressing the new parliament in which his party had 156 new legislators compared to the last parliament.

“Although we were in different provinces, although we were far apart in cultural views, although we spoke different languages, although we practiced different religions, this election has shown that we have converged into focusing on one purpose and lined up for that,” he said.

“This election has shown that a very strong opportunity has now been created to build national unity, which has been a long-cherished wish in our country.”

“We can have different political ideologies, but I also say one thing responsibly. We will not give in to racist politics in our country again.”

Previous president Gotabaya Rajapaksa used racism against Muslims after the April 2019 Easter Sunday attack. His government before the 2020 parliament election ordered forced cremation of Muslim and Catholic victims of Covid-19 despite heavy criticism from the international community.

The island nation also has seen a 26-year civil war as a result of successive governments’ communal-based decisions while depriving the rights of ethnic minority Tamils. That war killed more than 100,000 people with thousands still missing amid a large number of human rights violations.

The island nation also has seen riots targeted ethnic minority Tamils, Muslims, and Catholics, mainly for political reasons in the past.

He said his government will not allow religious extremism to rise its head “at any cost”.

“Our people have been affected enough by communal conflicts. This land has been soaked with blood. Rivers have been filled with people’s tears. Suspicion, distrust, and anger have been there between us. Today, our responsibility as representatives of this parliament is to not create a state like this for our future children,” he said.

“We have the responsibility to do politics with whatever slogans, it could be economy, it could be democracy. You can use anything you want. But we will not allow the creation of communal and religious slogans to capture political power in the country.” (Colombo/November 21/2024)⍐

How Trump’s tariffs could spark a trade war and ‘Europe’s worst economic nightmare’

How Trump’s tariffs could spark a trade war and ‘Europe’s worst economic nightmare’

European countries could be among those hardest hit if Trump follows through on tariffs. 

The European Union says it wants to negotiate but is prepared to retaliate.

Shipping containers are stacked in Hamburg. (Phil Noble/Reuters)

By Ellen Francis

 and 

Kate Brady

November 20, 2024 at 8:21 a.m. EST The WPost

The prospect of a trade war ignited by the Trump administration is looming over European capitals. The European Union — which counts the United States as its largest export market and one of its closest strategic allies — could be among those hardest hit if President-elect Donald Trump follows through on his tariff plans.

Already, Europe’s major economies are lagging behind the United States in their post-pandemic recovery. Economists say that protectionist policies imposed by Trump after taking office in January could trigger further contraction on the continent, while straining alliances.

Here’s what to know.

Trump has threatened the biggest tariff hike in nearly a century

Donald Trump holds a campaign rally in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Nov. 4. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

Trump imposed hefty tariffs on steel and aluminum last time he was in office. But this time, he says he would go much further. He has threatened to slap tariffs of 60 percent on all Chinese goods and 10 to 20 percent on imports from other countries. That would include the E.U.

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Trump has expressed particular frustration with trade imbalances on cars and agriculture. The E.U. maintains a 10 percent tariff on cars (compared to the 2.5 percent U.S. rate) and agricultural tariffs of about 11 percent (more than double the U.S. rate).

Following

“I’ll tell you what, the European Union sounds so nice, so lovely, right? All the nice European little countries that get together,” Trump said at a Pennsylvania rally last month. “They don’t take our cars. They don’t take our farm products. They sell millions and millions of cars in the United States. No, no, no, they are going to have to pay a big price.”

Those tariffs could seriously hurt European economies

How big a price is uncertain. There is talk of “Europe’s worst economic nightmare” and “full-blown recession.”

Some economic models estimate that, faced with an across-the-board 10 percent tariff, euro zone exports to the United States could fall by nearly a third. That would be a big deal, because Europe is so export-dependent, and its largest economies are already facing sluggish growth and rising debt. Goldman Sachs calculates that trade conflict with the United States could subtract 0.9 percent from the euro zone economy.

Some models suggest that Trump’s floated tariffs could hurt Europe as much as or more than China. While China is the top single-country supplier to the United States, the total value of imports from the E.U. has tended to be greater than those from China, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. New U.S. tariffs on China could also have an indirect impact on Europe. If China responds by diverting more goods to the continent, that would increase supply and put downward price pressure on competing goods produced in Europe.

Germany and its car industry would be particularly vulnerable

New cars are parked at a logistics terminal in Essen, Germany. (Christopher Neundorf/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)

Germany — traditionally the economic engine of Europe, and a frequent target of Trump — would be especially exposed.

Among E.U. countries, Germany is by far the leading exporter to the United States, with exported goods valued at $171.8 billion in 2023, according to the German federal statistical office. A Trump tariff hike could lead to a damaging drop in those exports, with the biggest anticipated impact on the car and pharmaceutical industries.

Trump likes to take aim at German cars. But that sector is already struggling in the face of increased competition from China and weakened demand.

Volkswagen has said it may have to close plants for the first time in its history.

Meanwhile, the German economy has stagnated. And the prospect of a trade war has exacerbated recession fears in Berlin. The president of the German Federal Bank, Joachim Nagel, said new Trump tariffs could cost Germany 1 percent in economic output. “If the new tariffs actually materialize, we could even slip into negative territory,” he told German news weekly Zeit.

The German Economic Institute warned that the combination of 10 percent U.S. tariffs and retaliatory E.U. tariffs could result in a loss of more than $134 billion in Germany’s GDP by the end of Trump’s allotted four years in office. Tariffs of 20 percent from both sides could cost the German economy $190 billion.

Europe could retaliate with tariffs that target red states

Kentucky whiskey was among the past targets of E.U. tariffs. (Jeff Chiu/AP)

As they prepare for Trump’s return, E.U. officials have drafted lists of potential retaliatory tariffs.

“It’s a lose-lose situation because, yes, it means we’re fighting back, but it also hurts the economy on both sides,” said an E.U. diplomat, speaking on the condition of anonymity to share internal discussions.

The plans haven’t been made public. But clues can be found in the E.U.’s response to the steel and aluminum tariffs of Trump’s last presidency. Then, as now, the E.U. favored targeted tariffs designed for maximum political impact. The block went after industries based in the home states of Republican leaders. Among the goods singled out: Kentucky bourbon, Harley-Davidson motorcycles and Levi’s jeans.

Europe is strategizing to avert a trade war

A flight deck crew member signals to an F-35 jet on the USS George Washington. (Kim Kyung-Koon/Reuters)

The strong preference among European officials would be to collectively persuade Trump to forgo steep tariffs. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen laid out the intended approach. “First of all: engage,” she said. “Secondly, discuss common interests … and then go into negotiations.”

E.U. officials assess that Trump may be using the threat of tariffs as leverage. His real goal, they say, may be to trigger new trade talks and extract concessions. They think he could be enticed by European offers to buy more liquefied natural gas or military equipment from U.S. companies. He might also welcome European pledges to take a harder line on Chinese trade by imposing their own new tariffs or otherwise restricting Chinese goods.

Trump’s tariffs threats could divide the E.U.

Parmigiano-Reggiano Parmesan cheese wheels are stored in Noceto, near Parma, Italy. (Antonio Calanni/AP)

European leaders are emphasizing the need to remain united in the face of tariff threats, but that could prove difficult.

There are diverging views within the E.U. on whether a harder line on China would be a reasonable concession. Germany is especially reluctant to relinquish the Chinese market for German cars or to lose access to manufacturing facilities that German companies have set up there.

“There’ll be a risk of division among Europeans, depending on the sectoral interests and of different countries, some of which are very exposed to the Chinese market,” French President Emmanuel Macron warned, “while others who are more dependent on the American market will give in more quickly to the pressure that the American federal government may put on them.”

There is also concern that Trump could try to play favorites among leaders in Europe or that individual countries could seek tariff exceptions from a transaction-oriented administration. Trump allies have described Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, the rising star of Europe’s far right, as “a natural partner.” Could that be enough to shield Italian cheeses from tariff hikes?

“There is a risk that he will cozy up to some and shut others out — that this will play to divisions,” said a second E.U. diplomat. “But there’s also a chance to figure out something together.”⍐