Vikram khanna

1 week ago | straitstimes.com | Vikram khanna

The Trump administration has pulled the US out of the Paris Agreement on climate change for the second time. It has also withdrawn from the climate loss and damage fund, which is aimed at helping developing countries with their green transition. At home, it has terminated some US$20 billion (S$26 billion) in climate grants and frozen funding of the Inflation Reduction Act which supports climate-friendly tech and products. It is rewriting regulations to favour the fossil fuels industry.

2 weeks ago | straitstimes.com | Vikram khanna

Tariffs can no longer be the centrepiece of the US strategy to bring manufacturing back home as the Trump administration imagined until recently, says the writer.PHOTO: AFPPUBLISHED Apr 29, 2025, 05:00 AMAfter all the high drama and bluster on trade during US President Donald Trump’s first 100 days in office, US tariffs are headed down.

3 weeks ago | straitstimes.com | Vikram khanna

Responding to the policy-driven market chaos in the United States, many analysts have, in recent days, been focusing on the fate of the US dollar. The behaviour of the world’s most important currency has, of late, been wayward. To recap some recent history: During the first week of April, soon after US President Donald Trump announced his so-called “reciprocal tariffs” on the world, equity markets fell.

1 month ago | straitstimes.com | Vikram khanna

Last week, the threat of a US Treasury bond market blow-up forced US President Donald Trump to “pause” many of his misnamed “reciprocal tariffs” except the 10 per cent baseline duties on all countries. But after a series of tit-for-tat hikes, US tariffs on China have soared to 145 per cent, while China’s retaliatory tariffs on the US stand at 125 per cent.

1 month ago | straitstimes.com | Vikram khanna

Amid the turmoil of the global trade war, there will one small mercy for Singapore consumers: bargain prices because of massive trade diversion from foreign exporters. But the upside may not last. A likely growth slowdown, maybe even a recession later in the year, could take its toll on job and wage prospects. Lower prices will result from several exporters, especially in the region, flooding markets with goods hit by US tariffs.