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As the world mourned the loss of innocent lives in a terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif raked up the ‘Kashmir issue’ at the heels of the tragedy during his meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara. At least 26 people were killed and several others were injured when terrorists opened fire at them in the tourist town of Pahalgam in Kashmir.

Hours after the heinous attack, Sharif, during a joint press conference with Erdogan in Ankara, thanked Turkey for its “unwavering support” on Kashmir. 

He “expressed gratitude for Turkey’s unwavering support on the Kashmir issue,” according to a report about the Pakistan Prime Minister’s Ankara visit in Pakistan-based Express Tribune.

The report said that Erdogan also expressed Turkey’s full support for “Pakistan’s efforts to eliminate terrorism.”

Turkey’s Support to Pakistan On The Kashmir Issue

This is not the first time that Turkey rallied behind Pakistan on the Kashmir issue. Earlier in February, Turkish President Erdogan extended his support for Pakistan on Kashmir and called for UN dialogue to address the issue during his visit to Islamabad. 

At the time, foreign ministry criticised Erdogan’s remark and said that it had lodged a strong protest with the Turkish ambassador.

“We reject such objectionable comments on matters that are eternal to India. We have lodged a strong protest with the Turkish ambassador. Such unwarranted statements on India’s territorial integrity and sovereignty are unacceptable,” the ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said. 

He asserted that J-K is an integral part of India and mentioned that Pakistan’s cross-border terrorism policy against India remains the biggest threat to the people of the Union Territory. 

Pahalgam Terror Attack

The horror began at around 3 PM on Tuesday when tourists were enjoying pony rides or picnics at roadside eateries in Baisaran Valley, a popular meadow near Pahalgam. Suddenly, terrorists “who wore clothes similar to those of local police” descended from a hill and started firing, killing at least 26 people, mostly tourists, and injuring around 17 others.

The dead included 25 Indians and one Nepalese national, police said. 

It was the worst attack on civilians in India since the 2008 Mumbai shootings, in which more than 160 people were killed.

While there is no official confirmation on who was behind the Pahalgam attack, the Resistance Front (TRF), an offshoot of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, has claimed responsibility for it in a social media post.

Meanwhile, Indian security forces have launched a massive manhunt and cordoned off the area to look for the terrorists behind the attack.
 

The global economic growth is set to slow down in the coming months, largely due to the trade war sparked by US President Donald Trump’s steep tariffs on virtually all trading partners, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Wednesday. In its latest World Economic Outlook, the IMF warned that the US is confronting an increased risk of recession as it downgraded its outlook for all G7 nations, along with other major economies including China, India, Brazil and South Africa.

The fund cautioned that if countries fail to “urgently resolve” their trade tensions, it could further damage their growth prospects.  “If sustained, this abrupt increase in tariffs and attendant uncertainty will significantly slow global growth,” it said. 

This came as global finance chiefs swarmed Washington seeking deals with Trump’s team to lower the levies. According to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, 18 different countries have offered proposals so far, and Trump’s trade negotiating team is set to meet with 34 countries this week to discuss tariffs. The US President himself expressed optimism that a trade deal with China could “substantially” cut tariffs, lifting markets.

What The IMF Said

The IMF’s projections, which incorporate some but not all tariff measures introduced this year, see the global economy growing by 2.8 per cent this year, 0.5 percentage points lower than the previous World Economic Outlook (WEO) forecast in January. Global growth is then forecast to hit 3.0 per cent next year, down 0.3 percentage points from January.

“We are entering a new era as the global economic system that has operated for the last 80 years is being reset…If sustained, increasing trade tensions and uncertainty will slow global growth,” IMF chief economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas told reporters in Washington on Tuesday, noting that the recent US tariff announcements had more than halved the Fund’s outlook for global trade growth this year.

It expects tariffs will cause a broader increase in global prices, slightly raising its outlook for world consumer prices to 4.3 per cent for 2025, and to 3.6 per cent in 2026. 

Given the stop-start nature of Trump’s tariff rollout, the IMF introduced a cutoff date of April 4, meaning they do not include the administration’s latest salvos, which have hiked the level of new levies against China to 145 per cent. If these policies were to be taken into account and sustained, this could significantly slow global growth, the IMF said. 

In a separate report also published Tuesday, the Fund warned that Trump’s stop-start tariff rollout had also caused an increase in risks to financial stability. “Global financial stability risks have increased significantly, driven by tighter global financial conditions and heightened economic uncertainty,” the IMF said in its latest Global Financial Stability Report. 

Impact On Top US Trading Partners

Top US trading partners– including Mexico, Canada, and China– are all predicted to be negatively impacted by the Trump administration’s tariffs. 

The IMF expects China, the world’s second-largest economy, to see growth slump to 4.0 per cent this year, down from 5.0 per cent in 2024, with increased government spending failing to counteract the effect of the new levies.

The Mexican economy is now projected to contract by 0.3 per cent this year, a 1.7 percentage-point reduction from January, while Canada’s growth outlook has also been sharply reduced. 

Japan, the world’s third-largest economy, is expected to grow by just 0.6 per cent this year and next, a sharp cut from January.

The IMF expects the tariffs to act as a drag on growth in most European countries as well, as the growth outlook for the euro area is cut to 0.8 per cent in 2025, and 1.2 per cent next year.

The Fund also sharply downgraded the outlook for the Middle East but still expects economic activity to pick up from 2024, as disruptions to oil production and shipping ease, and the impact of ongoing conflicts lessens.”

In sub-Saharan Africa, growth is projected to decline slightly to 3.8 per cent this year, before recovering next year.

“For India, the growth outlook is relatively more stable at 6.2 per cent in 2025, supported by private consumption, particularly in rural areas, but this rate is 0.3 percentage point lower than that in the January 2025 WEO Update on account of higher levels of trade tensions and global uncertainty,” IMF said in its report.

Elon Musk will significantly scale back his Trump administration work in May to focus on Tesla, the billionaire announced Tuesday as the electric vehicle maker reported a 71 percent drop in first-quarter profits.

“Probably in the next month, my time allocation to DOGE will drop significantly,” Musk said at the outset of an earnings conference call, referring to his work for the “Department of Government Efficiency.”

The comments came as Tesla reported profits of $409 million following a drop in auto sales that analysts said reflected brand damage due to Musk’s work for President Donald Trump in slashing the US federal workforce.

Revenues fell nine percent to $19.3 billion.

The company retreated from its 2025 guidance, citing unpredictability over trade policy and demand.

“Uncertainty in the automotive and energy markets continues to increase as rapidly evolving trade policy adversely impacts the global supply chain and cost structure of Tesla and our peers,” the company said.

“This dynamic, along with changing political sentiment, could have a meaningful impact on demand for our products in the near-term.”

On the positive side, Tesla said it was on track to launch new vehicles “including more affordable models” in the first half of 2025.

Tesla also confirmed in a press release that a planned launch of its Robotaxi for autonomous driving in Texas remained “on track” by June.

Musk reiterated his bullish outlook on the long-term prospects for Tesla, highlighting its leadership in key growth areas: robotics, autonomous driving and artificial intelligence.

– DOGE work ‘mostly done’ –

Musk, the world’s richest person, donated more than $270 million to Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign.

Analysts have warned of significant brand damage to Tesla from Musk’s leadership role in DOGE, which has granted itself access to government databases with sensitive personal information and implemented thousands of job cuts.

The shakeup to US government operations has led to questions about programs like the Social Security retirement benefit and the continuation of programs like hurricane forecasting and humanitarian aid.

Since Trump returned to the White House, Tesla has been targeted for consumer boycotts and vandalism while sales have dived across many markets and prices of used Teslas have plunged in a sign of the brand’s unpopularity.

On the call, Tesla Chief Financial Officer Vaibhav Taneja described the reaction as “unwarranted hostility to our brand.”

In his opening comments, Musk defended his work for DOGE, dismissing critics as “paid” beneficiaries of the “waste and fraud” he alleges.

But Musk said the work for DOGE was “mostly done,” adding he would not exit government work entirely.

“I think I’ll continue to spend a day or two per week on government matters, or as long as the president would like me to do so, and as long as it is useful,” Musk said.

“But starting next month, I’ll be allocating far more of my time to Tesla.”

Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives, a longtime backer of Tesla who called on Musk to wind down his DOGE work, praised the CEO’s announcement.

“Musk just made a huge step forward on call,” Ives said on X. “DOGE work basically ending (1-2 days a week)… now his focus back on Tesla. (Wall) Street needed to hear this.”

Besides its image, Tesla pointed to tariffs as another headwind for the company, while noting the EV maker is better situated than rivals that rely extensively on imported vehicles in the United States.

The Trump administration has enacted 25 percent tariffs on imported autos.

“I will weigh in with my advice with president, which he will listen to… but then it’s up to him, of course, to make his decision,” Musk said of Trump.

“I’ve been on the record many times as saying that I believe lower tariffs are generally a good idea for prosperity.”

Shares of Tesla rose 4.7 percent in after-hours trading.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah on Tuesday, where the two leaders held wide-ranging bilateral talks. Four key agreements were signed following the hours-long meeting between the two leaders. PM Modi, who was also supposed to attend a state dinner and address the Indian community could not do so as he cut short his visit over the terror attack in Kashmir that left 26 people, many of them tourists, dead and several others injured.

PM Modi’s visit to Saudi Arabia was a strategically significant one. The two nations are working to elevate their ties to an all new level. New Delhi and Riyadh are already strategic partners in the region and are key defence partners too. In Tuesday’s meeting, the two sides created two new ministerial committees, including one on defence, and agreed to collaborate on establishing two refineries in India.

Even before PM Modi landed in Jeddah earlier on Monday, his aircraft – Air India One – was escorted by several Saudi Air Force F-15 fighter jets in a symbolic gesture of respect accorded to only the closest strategic allies. The Royal Saudi Air Force’s gesture also highlights the ever-deepening defence cooperation between the two countries.

Upon his arrival, the Prime Minister was given a 21-gun salute as members of the Indian community sang “Saare Jahan Se Achha“. Later in the day, PM Modi was accorded a ceremonial welcome at the Al Salam Palace (Palace of Peace), where he was received by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Referring to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as “my brother”, Prime Minister Modi, who became the the first Indian PM in more than 40 years to visit Jeddah, said, “Landed in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. This visit will strengthen the friendship between India and Saudi Arabia.”

In an interview to Arab News, PM Modi called Saudi Arabia “a trusted friend, strategic ally, and one of India’s most valued partners”, adding that the India-Saudi partnership has “limitless potential and possibilities”.

“We consider Saudi Arabia a force of positivity and stability in the region. As maritime neighbours, India and Saudi Arabia share a natural interest in safeguarding peace and stability in the region,” he added.

PM Modi and the Saudi Crown Prince then co-chaired the second meeting of the Saudi-India Strategic Partnership Council, established during Prime Minister Modi’s 2019 visit, which was aimed to strengthen bilateral and strategic ties between the two nations.

“The Council reviewed the work of the various committees, subcommittees and working groups under the SPC, which encompass political, defence, security, trade, investment, energy, technology, agriculture, culture and people-to-people ties,” according to an official statement.

The two sides also signed four key agreements in the fields of defence and space, education, health, and communications. Both sides also agreed to collaborate on establishing two refineries in India.

“Building on the commitment of Saudi Arabia to invest USD 100 billion in India in multiple areas including energy, petrochemicals, infrastructure, technology, fintech, digital infrastructure, telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing and health, the joint High-Level Task Force on Investment came to an understanding in multiple areas to rapidly promote such investment flows,” the statement said.

The bilateral talks also explored investment opportunities in India and enhancing economic and business ties between the two nations. PM Modi also reportedly discussed the Hajj pilgrimage and sought a higher quota for Indian pilgrims.

At the start of the meeting, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman expressed his anguish over the terror attack in Kashmir, saying Saudi Arabia stands with India and shall extend any support that is needed in this time of grief.

Besides the strategic council meeting and bilateral talks, PM Modi was to visit a factory and interact with Indian workers, but that now stands cancelled along with the diaspora event that was scheduled for tomorrow. 

The prime minister left straight for the airport after his bilateral meeting with the Crown Prince and is expected to reach New Delhi early on Wednesday morning. Earlier in the day he had spoken with Home Minister Amit Shah to take stock of the situation in Jammu and Kashmir. The Prime Minister has called for a top-level meeting on the terror attack upon his arrival.
 

The storm that was brewing over the targeting of migrant students in the United States has taken a sharp upswing. More than 100 universities and colleges, including the elite Ivy League institutions, have come together to take on the US government.

Together, they have strongly condemned President Donald Trump’s “political interference” in America’s education system. The move came a day after Harvard University, America’s top educational institution, sued the Trump Administration over its decision to cut billions of dollars of funding while also imposing political supervision on the University.

In a joint letter that called out President Trump’s intrusion, the universities and colleges wrote, “We speak with one voice against the unprecedented government overreach and political interference now endangering American higher education. We are open to constructive reform and do not oppose legitimate government oversight. However, we must oppose undue government intrusion.”

The letter further states that “We must reject the coercive use of public research funding.”

DONALD TRUMP’S DIKTAT TO COLLEGES

Donald Trump has been targeting American colleges and universities claiming that campus premises have been allowed to be misused by students and faculty for alleged “anti-Semitic” activities. The President has also targeted educational institutions for allegedly promoting “woke” culture and “dividing America” over diversity policies, which have now been scrapped by the government.

In order to tackle the situation, President Trump has targeted educational institutions across the US by threatening massive budget cuts, revoking their tax exemption status, curbing the enrollment of foreign students, and in the case of Harvard, treating it as a “political entity”. The US President has also ordered external audits on all educational institutions and ordered them to change their policies for hiring faculty – diktats that have put severe pressure on institutions as they face a massive fund crunch should they not follow orders.

WHAT THE COLLEGES SAY

Finding courage in unity, these educational institutions wrote in their letter that colleges are centres where “faculty, students, and staff are free to exchange ideas and opinions across a full range of viewpoints without fear of retribution, censorship, or deportation.”

While on the one hand the Trump Administration has gone after institutions, on the other hand it has pursued a massive immigration crackdown targeting foreign students, with their visas getting revoked for little to no reason.

The White House has justified the actions claiming that the protests against Israel’s war in Gaza that swept across US college campuses last year were rife with anti-Semitism. The Trump administration also claims that the elite institutions of America have become too “left-wing”.

HARVARD SUES THE GOVERNMENT

While most top universities, including Ivy league ones like Columbia, facing a financial risk, bowed to the US government’s demands, Harvard University defied the Presidential diktats. The premier university has decided to take the Trump administration to court amid a risk of losing billions of dollars of funding.

“This case involves the Government’s efforts to use the withholding of federal funding as leverage to gain control of academic decision making at Harvard,” the Ivy League university said in a lawsuit filed in a Massachusetts federal court.

Calling President Trump’s actions “arbitrary and capricious”, Harvard University said in its lawsuit that “The Government’s actions flout not just the First Amendment, but also federal laws and regulations.”

The Trump administration last week ordered the freezing of $2.2 billion in federal funding to the institution. The Department of Homeland Security also threatened Harvard’s ability to enroll international students unless it turns over records on visa holders’ “illegal and violent activities.”

According to the Harvard University website, foreign students account for more than 27 per cent of all students in the university, according to the latest academic year data.
 

US Vice-President J D Vance on Tuesday called Prime Minister Narendra Modi a “special person”, and revealed he was only the second world leader apart from President Donald Trump his children are fond of.

Mr Vance, who arrived in India for a four-day visit with his wife Usha Vance and three children on Monday evening, said his affection for Mr Modi flowed from his kids’ perception of the Indian Prime Minister.

While addressing an event in Jaipur, the US Vice-President shared a light moment from a dinner that was hosted by Mr Modi for him and his family at 7 Lok Kalyan Marg residence in the Capital on Monday evening. Mr Vance said that after the warm gesture, his eldest son, Ewan, told him that he could live in India. 

“My son, Ewan, is seven-years-old. He is our first born son. Yesterday after we had dinner at the Prime Minister’s House, the food was so good and the Prime Minister was so kind to our three children, that Ewan came to me afterwards and said ‘dad, maybe I can live in India’,” the US Vice-President said, as the audience burst into laughter. 

Photo Credit: PTI

Mr Vance said it did not take much time for his son to change his mind.  

“I think after about 90 minutes in the Jaipur sun today at the Great Palace, he (Ewan) suggested maybe we should move to England. So you take the good with the bad here,” he said, referring to the Vances’ visit to a number of historical sites in Jaipur, including the Amer Fort, also known as Amber Fort. The fort is a UNESCO world heritage site.

Mr Vance also recalled his first meeting with Mr Modi during the AI Action Summit and the Prime Minister’s grand gesture for Ewan on his birthday, in Paris in February this year.

“I think he is a special person. I first met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the AI Action Summit in February. We had a lot of important discussions on AI and other policies to prepare for. And the Prime Minister also managed to figure out that my son Vivek was actually turning five-years-old on the trip. This was in Paris, just a couple of months ago. So think about this – huge international policy conference. He took the time to stop by where I was staying, wish our second son Vivek a happy birthday and even bring him a gift,” Mr Vance said.

The US Vice-President said he and his wife were “genuinely touched by his (Modi’s) graciousness”. “And we have even been more impressed by his warmth since we arrived in India,” he said. 

Photo Credit: ANI

Mr Vance also highlighted his children’s rapport with the Indian Prime Minister. 

“It’s interesting. Some of you may know that when you are a politician, your kids spend almost as much time in the limelight as you do and the great thing about kids is that they are brutally honest. They are brutally honest with everybody, whether you want them to be or not. And our seven-year-old, five-year-old and three-year-old baby girl Mirabelle … it’s interesting they’ve only really built a rapport with only two world leaders,” he said.

“First, of course, is President Trump. He just has some certain energy. And Prime Minister Modi is the exact same thing our kids just like and I think because kids are of such strong characters, I just like Prime Minister Modi too and I think it’s a great foundation of our relationship,” he added.

Mr Vance also said Mr Modi is a “serious leader, who has thought deeply of India’s prosperity and security not just the rest of his time in office but over the next century”. 

More than 100 US universities and colleges, including Ivy League institutions Princeton and Brown, issued a joint letter on Tuesday condemning President Donald Trump’s “political interference” in the education system.

The move comes a day after Harvard University sued the Trump administration, which has threatened to cut funding and impose outside political supervision.

“We speak with one voice against the unprecedented government overreach and political interference now endangering American higher education,” the letter read.

“We are open to constructive reform and do not oppose legitimate government oversight. However, we must oppose undue government intrusion,” it said, adding: “We must reject the coercive use of public research funding.”

Trump has sought to bring several prestigious universities to heel over claims they tolerated campus anti-Semitism, threatening their budgets, tax-exempt status and the enrolment of foreign students.

Several top institutions, including Columbia University, have bowed to demands from the Trump administration, which claims that the educational elite is too left-wing.

In the case of Harvard, the White House is seeking unprecedented levels of government control over the inner workings of the country’s oldest and wealthiest university.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

US Vice President JD Vance, who is on a four-day India trip, arrived in Jaipur along with his family, where he visited Amber Fort, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, on Tuesday. During his stay in the Pink City, the Vice President and his family are also likely to visit other popular monuments like Hawa Mahal, Jantar Mantar and meet dignitaries, including the Chief Minister and Governor of Rajasthan.

In an exclusive interview to NDTV, the Second Lady of the United States and wife of the US Vice-President, Usha Vance, spoke about myriad topics including her three children – Ewan, Vivek and Mirabel, their interest in the Ramayana and Mahabharata, on JD Vance’s cooking skills, on her roots in South India, and much more.

On Their Children

She said that although her family is from Andhra Pradesh, her children have never been to India, however, “They read Indian history so they have a sense of who would have been here historically”, she also added that the children love Indian food and that, “they can eat Indian food all the time”.

On JD Vance’s Cooking Skills

She also gave a glimpse into her kitchen and said that despite having a “vegetarian household”, JD Vance is an “experimental cook” and has tried Indian dishes such as chana masala and lamb dishes. She spoke about how her family has always been into cooking, “My mother and grandmother are excellent cooks, my father makes very good dosa”, and added that they get all the ingredients from Indian stores.

On Their Wedding

Being from an Indian family, she said that it was important for her to have a traditional Hindu ceremony wedding because her parents had one, and even though they married in Kentucky, their wedding embodied both the backgrounds.

On Their Visit To PM Modi’s Residence

They enjoyed a puppet show at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence, about a story from the Ramayana, and she said that the puppets caught the children’s attention. “Andhra Pradesh leather flat puppets against shadow screens blew their minds!”

On Their First Visit To India

The Second Lady of the United States also said that this visit will be the first visit for her husband in India, and said that it’s “special”. “It’s a country that’s growing, that’s young and vibrant and I think he has been very impressed by what he has read about India, it’s culture and trajectory”, she added.

Visiting Amer Fort was another spectacular moment for the family, “We were impressed by the salute, my children were caught by the dancing and were describing it last night!”

They Vance family was welcomed in traditional Rajasthani style by two elephants-named Chanda and Pushpa, who were trained at Hathi Gaon near Amber for their welcome.

She added that, “This is a trip of a lifetime. I have been to India but it is something I want to share with my nuclear family”.

The Vance family will leave for Agra on Wednesday morning and then return to Jaipur in the afternoon, as he is scheduled to visit the City Palace here. They will depart for the US early Thursday morning.

Vance, who arrived in India on Monday, held wide-ranging talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi yesterday. The two leaders discussed ways to enhance cooperation in areas of defence, energy and technologies.

PM Modi also hosted the Vance family over dinner at his 7 Lok Kalyan Marg residence after the official talks.
 

In a big signal amid fears of the impact of Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs, US Vice-President JD Vance has said his country and India have finalised terms for a trade deal. 

Speaking at an event in Jaipur on Tuesday, a day after his meeting with PM Narendra Modi, “Mr Vance said, “Our administration seeks trade partners on the basis of fairness and of shared national interests. We want to build relationships with our foreign partners who respect their workers, who do not suppress their wages to boost exports, but respect the value of their labour.”

“We want partners that are committed to working with America to build things, not just allowing themselves to become a conduit for trade and shipping others’ goods. And, finally, we want to partner with people and countries who recognise the historic nature of the moment we are in. Of the need to come together and build something completely new, a system of global trade that is balanced, one that is open and one that is stable and fair, ” he emphasised.

The Vice-President said that while the governments of US’ partners need not do things exactly the same way as the US, they need to have some common goals. These common goals with India, he said, are related to both economics and national security. 

In its latest tariff salvo, the Trump administration in the United States has imposed new duties– as high as 3,521 per cent– on solar imports from Southeast Asian countries. The new tariffs announced on Monday came after a probe found that solar manufacturers in Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand were unfairly benefiting from subsidies from China and were dumping unfairly cheap products in the US market.

The new tariffs will be in addition to the 10 per cent baseline tariffs already imposed by US President Donald Trump that have upended global supply chains and markets.

New duties came after a yearlong investigation by the US Department of Commerce into claims by American producers that Chinese companies in those countries were dumping solar cells and panels in America at artificially low prices.

Several Chinese companies moved operations to Southeast Asia in recent years to avoid US tariffs imposed during President Donald Trump’s first term.

How Much Tariff Is Imposed

Tariffs on solar imports from Cambodia will be as high as 3,521 per cent. This is because the country decided to stop participating in the investigation, according to the Commerce Department.

Companies in Vietnam will, meanwhile, face levies as high as 395.9 per cent, while those in Thailand will face a 375.2 per cent tariff. Country-wide rates for Malaysia were set at 34.4 per cent.

America imported $12.9 billion in solar equipment last year from Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia and Malaysia, according to a Bloomberg report.

How Will New Tariffs Benefit the US

The new levies will benefit American manufacturers in capturing the US renewable power market that’s on shaky ground amid political and policy changes in Washington.

“This is a decisive victory for American manufacturing,” Tim Brightbill, co-chair of Wiley’s international trade practice and lead counsel for the coalition of solar companies that pursued the case, told Bloomberg.

He said that the findings of the US probe confirm “what we’ve long known: that Chinese-headquartered solar companies have been cheating the system, undercutting US companies and costing American workers their livelihoods.”

The Biden administration started the investigation into the matter last year following a petition from the American Alliance for Solar Manufacturing Trade Committee, which represents companies including First Solar, Hanwha Q Cells and Mission Solar Energy LLC.

Trump Tariffs

So far, US President Trump has imposed tariffs as high as 145 per cent on imports from China. Other countries are facing a blanket 10 per cent US tariff until July.

The Trump administration last week said that when the new tariffs are added to existing ones, the levies on some Chinese goods could reach 245 per cent.

China has retaliated with a 125 per cent tax on products from the US and vowed to “fight to the end”.