Reuters World News - Tariffs blitz, Canada's Palestinian stance, Fed and CEO sackings

Episode Date: August 1, 2025

U.S. President Donald Trump releases fresh plans on imports from Brazil, South Korea and India ahead of the August 1 deadline. Canada becomes the latest Western power to announce plans to recognize a Palestinian state in September if the fighting in Gaza does not stop by then. U.S. companies are removing CEOs at the fastest rate in 20 years. And Kamala Harris says she will not run for governor of California. Sign up for the Reuters Econ World newsletter here. Listen to the Reuters Econ World podcast here. Find the Recommended Read here. Visit the Thomson Reuters Privacy Statement for information on our privacy and data protection practices. You may also visit megaphone.fm/adchoices to opt out of targeted advertising. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today, Trump issues a blitz of tariff announcements. Gazans struggle to get aid as Canada says it will recognize a Palestinian state. And why US companies are shedding CEOs at a fast pace. It's Thursday, July 31st. This is Reuters World News, bringing you everything you need to know from the front lines in 10 minutes. Every weekday. I'm Carmel Grimmons in Dublin. US President Donald Trump is unleashing a flurry of trade surprises.

ahead of a self-imposed Friday deadline. The president announcing tariffs of 15% on imports from South Korea and 50% on most Brazilian goods. He shocked copper markets by sparing the most widely traded forms of the metal from a new 50% import tax. That hurt investors betting on higher prices, sending the US copper market plunging, and there was a nasty surprise for India.

A painful 25% levy and an unspecified penalty that Trump says is partly due to India buying Russian arms and oil. But he's leaving the door open to last-minute changes. We're talking to India now. We'll see what happens. It doesn't matter too much whether we have a deal or whether we charge him a certain tariff. But you'll know at the end of this week. Aftab Ahmed is in New Delhi.

Aftab, how is this all being received in India? The immediate reaction is political right now. India's opposition parties are calling this a diplomatic failure for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I remember Narendra Modi had doubted himself as the closest friend that Donald Trump had and the opposition is challenging that. But there is a lot to unpack even for the Indian government, right?

India is still trying to understand what unspecified penalties announced by Trump means and also his comments on India buying oil and arms from Russia. What's the government's plan now? The Indian government's game plan seems to be that it is still on the negotiating table with the United States. They are ignoring some of the tough comments that Donald Trump has made about how India is buying oil from Russia and both of those economies, Trump says, can die together. India still wants a deal but without giving up its farm and dairy sectors, which are politically very important for Prime Minister Narendh Moodie.

As for reaching a deal with Canada before the August 1st deadline, President Trump says it's now become harder. This follows Prime Minister Mark Carney's decision to recognize Palestinian statehood. at the UN General Assembly in September. The deepening suffering of civilians leaves no room for delay and coordinated international action to support peace, security and the dignity of human life. Carney says the planned recognition was based on repeated assurances from the Palestinian Authority

that it's willing to hold general elections in 2006, in which Hamas can play no part. The US and Israel both reject Canada's move. France and Britain have made similar announcements. The US and Canada are currently negotiating a trade deal. The deadline is tomorrow, Friday, August 1st. Carney says that tariff negotiations are ongoing and a deal may not be reached by the deadline.

Look, these are complex, they're comprehensive, they're constructive negotiations with the Americans. It's possible that they may not conclude by the 1st of August. In Gaza, large black boxes containing food fall from the sky. But for many, like Amman, Al-Abu Asi, a mother of three, the aid is not just insufficient. It's degrading. Enough with this humiliation, she says. People are running after these parcels and dying. It's not worth it. She holds up a can of hummus.

What should I do with this? she asks. Children are pale, turning to skeletons. They've forgotten what meat and fruit are. A global hunger monitor says a family. scenario is unfolding in the Gaza Strip, and that children under five especially are dying. At Nasser Hospital in Gaza's can, Eunice, a doctor places infant Watin on a scale. She now weighs less than when she was born three months ago. Her arms are about as wide as her mother's thumb. Yasmine Abu Sultan says that her daughter was cut off milk for 10 days, and that she went to many places and no one helped. Finally, in desperation, she came to.

the hospital. Maria Radwan sits next to her 10-month-old daughter, Zayna, who's lying down. She says Zayna is always lethargic like this. She doesn't move. She says there's no food available, that she's unable to breastfeed her because she too is experiencing severe malnutrition. As aid begins to trickle in, the United Nations says the scale of what is needed is vast in order to stave off famine and avert a health crisis. The Gaza Health Ministry says 150, 54 people, including 89 children, have died of malnutrition, most in recent weeks. Israel says it has no aim to starve Gaza. This week, it announced steps to allow more aid in, including pausing fighting in some locations,

airdropping food and offering more secure routes. US-envoy Steve Whitkoff is heading to Israel for talks on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Former Vice President Kamala Harris says she will not run for governor of California, ending speculation that the failed presidential candidate would seek the high-profile post. In a statement, Harris said that, for now, my leadership and public service, will not be in elected office. California Governor Gavin Newsom cannot run for re-election due to term limits. Local authorities have lifted the tsunami alert in French Polynesia

and say people can return to their homes. Japan, Hawaii and Russia have also downgraded most tsunami warnings after a very powerful earthquake off Russia's far eastern coast, triggered alerts across the Pacific. Fed Chair Jerome Powell says the U.S. Central Bank is holding interest rates steady. Focusing on the first half of the year helps smooth through the volatility in the quarterly. That might not go down well with Trump, who wants lower rates now. We should be the lowest interest rate, and we're not.

Fed reporter Howard Schneider has been following the decision. I think the message is that one analyst put it, This was a reminder that it's the Federal Reserve that sets interest rates, not the White House, not the markets, and not anyone else. And he cut the legs out from under this idea that a September rate cut is a done deal. The July to September meeting is one of the longer ones, eight weeks instead of six, so they get a full two months worth of data effectively. And he said, listen, that's a lot to absorb.

The data is going to have to tell the story. The data is going to have to show a turn, either towards slower growth and employment risk or towards slowing inflation before we start to cut rates. While Trump and Powell face off over interest rates, US companies are removing CEOs at the fastest rate in 20 years. So far this year, at least 41 CEOs have left S&P 500 companies. Procter and Gamble just announced CEO John Mueller will step down next year. In the past month, Tylenol maker Kenvue

and healthcare products distributor Henry Shine also replaced their top bosses. reporter Ila Binney has been diving into the data. We are looking at a likely rate of departures of chief executives this year, which would be the fastest if it continues on an annualized basis that we've seen since 2005. There are huge pressures that have been building up on chief executives, really since the COVID-19 pandemic. Companies are dealing with high inflation, geopolitical instability, and corporate culture questions are seen to really be the responsibility of the chief executive. Investors are really keen to see returns. And in those cases where shareholder returns have not been that great for a company,

they are at risk from activist investors. Activist investors have launched some successful campaigns for real change at the company. In the case of Tylenol maker Kenview, we saw the company say that they were looking to increase shareholder returns when they announced the departure of their chief executive. Separately, another factor which has built up over the last few years, is that boards in general have become more diverse. Now, some observers say that the increasing diversity of boards means that they are more willing to challenge the executive suite. There were times in history when the board's relationship with the chief executive was more cozy. But as they have become more objective, we see them asking more uncomfortable questions.

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