Friday, April 4, 2025 | 31 Pages | `5 & for State (+4 pages) `6 only Reg.No MCS/048/2021-23; RNI No. 1541/1957 M.p.c.s office Mumbai. PIN 400001 THE FREE PRESS JOURNAL Vol. 68 No. 155 | Leader in E-paper circulation l www.freepressjournal.in ● EDITIONS: ● MUMBAI ● INDORE ● PUNE ● BHOPAL ● NASHIK ● KONKAN ● E-paper ● Member: Audit Bureau of Circulation (July to December 2024) NATION Rahul slams government over Chinese occupation of Indian territory, US tariffs Flip-Flop Waqf Bill: 2 of JD(U) resign Two senior leaders of Janata Dal (United) resigned from the party on Thursday citing differences over its support to the Waqf (Amendment Bill). The bill was passed in the Lok Sabha well past midnight on Wednesday. Mohammed Qasim Ansari and Mohammed Nawaz Malik, in separate letters to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, said that they had "lost all trust" of Muslims who believed that the party was secular. "I am disheartened that I gave several years of my life to the party," Ansari wrote in Hindi. BJD TAKES A STEP BACK The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Thursday took a step back from voting against the Waqf Amendment Bill and said the decision is left to its MPs' conscience. The development came a day after the party announced that all its members would oppose the bill in Rajya Sabha. The BJD said it would make the decisions after taking the sentiments of the minority community into consideration. While the party has no members in the Lok Sabha, where the Waqf bill was passed yesterday, it has seven members in Rajya Sabha. GAMES Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant look to come out of lean patch in MI v LSG clash Cinema Akshay shuts down journalist for this question Edit Govt may re-introduce the NJAC Act to appoint judges IN THE ICU | The patient lived, and is healing. The prognosis is that he will be far stronger, bigger, better, and more resilient than ever before Operation over, says Dr Trump FPJ News Service NEW YORK. A firestorm is on. President Donald Trump’s latest tariffs ripped through the world’s economies, sending stock markets plunging and igniting fears of a global recession. It was a streak of red on Wall Street as US stock markets opened for the first time since Trump unveiled higher-thanexpected tariffs. For every stock increasing in value, ten were falling. By 11am in New York, the S&P 500 was down 4.37 percent, the Nasdaq down 5.59 percent and the Dow Jones 3.74 percent.  All were on course for their worst days since the pandemic. According to western media reports, trillions of dollars was wiped off the value of US stocks — a blow that will also hit ordinary Americans whose retirement savings are tied to the market. Retail experts said tariffs will also push up prices for shoppers since they are so big companies will have to pass on higher costs.  Companies that rely on imports were down the most, since they will now be hit by tariffs as high as 54 percent for cheap goods from Asia.  As the bloodbath continued, in the U.S., Asia and Europe, American allies and adversaries alike were weighing their responses. DON’T RETALIATE: The US treasury secretary said that every country spooked by President Trump’s actions needs to take stock of the situation before reacting dramatically. ‘My advice is, do not retaliate. Sit back. Take it in. Let’s see how it goes. Because, if you retaliate, there will be escalation,’ he said. Trump had said for weeks that he would impose “reciprocal tariffs” on allies and adversaries, but the tariffs announced on Wednesday were far higher than experts had expected. 4Contd on | Nation FPJ News Service MUMBAI Canada imposes 25% tariff on US auto imports to counter Trump's move TRILLIONS wiped from stock markets in meltdown, igniting fears of global recession Tariffs on penguins: Trade war waddles on! FPJ News Service MUMBAI In his latest act of economic genius, Donald Trump has officially declared war on global trade—so much so that even the penguins aren't safe. Yes, the world's most powerful nation has slapped a 10% tariff on a group of barren, ice- India’s tariff game plan: Diplomacy over retaliation covered islands that contain zero human beings but are home to a thriving population of utterly bewildered penguins. The Heard and McDonald Islands, Australian territories so remote they require a twoweek boat ride just to say hello, have now joined the ranks of global trade of- fenders, as per Trump's brilliant strategic calculations. And if that wasn’t enough, the Arctic island of Jan Mayen, whose only notable inhabitants are some Norwegian meteorologists and military personnel, also made the blacklist. 4Contd on | Nation Breathe easy. It’s not the end of the world. India is unlikely to take recourse to rash or retaliatory action against the Trump tariff tornado that hit the world early Thursday morning. Instead, New Delhi is preparing to leverage the power of negotiations to safeguard its interests. In the end, it’s not about huffing, puffing, or retaliating—it’s about playing the long game. And India is doing just that. The Commerce Ministry, which has been in a huddle since morning following President Donald Trump’s announcement of reciprocal tariffs, is of the view that India must negotiate its way forward rather than react with countermeasures. “India will cut tariffs across the board, and the quantum of the cut will be significant,” said a senior government source. India is set to engage under Section 4C of Trump’s executive order, which allows for reductions in tariffs on economic and national security grounds. This clause states: “Should any trading partner take significant steps to remedy non-reciprocal trade arrangements and align sufficiently with the United States on economic and India stays calm amid Trump’s tariff storm, opts for negotiation over retaliation national security matters, I may further modify the HTSUS to decrease or limit in scope the duties imposed under this order.” India is carefully assessing the impact of the newly imposed 27% reciprocal tariffs. A senior government official stated that the move is a “mixed bag” rather than a severe setback. The official noted that while the tariff increase presents immediate challenges, it also opens the door for negotiations. 4Contd on | Nation