All posts tagged: iShares MSCI India ETF

Trump’s Hormuz blockade tests U.S. ties with China and India

Trump’s Hormuz blockade tests U.S. ties with China and India

Published by Sam Flores

The U.S. blockade of the Strait of Hormuz is adding strain to Washington’s relations with China and India, as Beijing hardens its rhetoric and New Delhi faces rising energy risks. Getty The U.S. blockade of the Strait of Hormuz is not only squeezing Iran but also ratcheting up pressure on two of its most consequential relationships in Asia — India and China. With roughly 98% of Iranian oil exports bound for China, and a summit between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping weeks away, Washington’s maximum pressure campaign on Iran risks destabilizing the fragile detente that the administration has carefully cultivated with Beijing. India, with its complicated ties with the U.S., is increasingly finding U.S. policy at odds with its economic interests — most acutely in the energy shock now rippling through its economy. Trump is scheduled to visit China in mid-May, and the administration signaled repeatedly in recent weeks that it wants the bilateral relationship stable enough to keep the high-stakes meeting on track. “The Iran conflict, particularly the blockade, may upend …

Trump Section 301 trade probes to replace IEEPA tariffs

Trump Section 301 trade probes to replace IEEPA tariffs

Published by Sam Flores

US President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before boarding Marine One as he departs from the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, on March 11, 2026. Brendan Smialowski | AFP | Getty Images The Trump administration on Wednesday announced new trade investigations of China, Mexico, the European Union and more than a dozen other economies, with the goal of replacing President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs, which were recently ruled illegal by the Supreme Court. The probes, which will likely expand to more nations, will be conducted under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told reporters during a call. That law permits the U.S. to impose tariffs on imported goods from other nations found to have engaged in unfair trade practices. Section 301 tariffs could replace at least some of the reciprocal tariffs on most of the world’s nations that Trump imposed on them last year without congressional authorization.  “The president’s trade policy remains the same,” Greer said. “Protect American jobs and to make sure we …

China’s nudge, U.S. waiver and Iran tensions test India’s economic balancing act

China’s nudge, U.S. waiver and Iran tensions test India’s economic balancing act

Published by Sam Flores

Indian social and women’s rights activist, educationist, Syeda Saiyidain Hameed during the Iran Embassy opens condolence book on the martyrdom of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei at the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran, on March 5, 2026 in New Delhi, India. Hindustan Times | Hindustan Times | Getty Images India faces a difficult diplomatic balancing act as escalating tensions involving Iran threaten its oil supplies and test New Delhi’s traditional neutral foreign policy. The crisis also comes as China pushes for stronger cooperation within BRICS, the bloc that includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Sunday urged closer coordination within the group. “We must step up to the plate, and support each other’s BRICS presidency over the next two years, so as to make BRICS cooperation more substantive and bring new hope to the Global South,” Yi said in Beijing during a press conference. India has not responded to that statement yet. U.S. protectionism in Trump 2.0 has triggered a resumption of ties between India and …

Democrats demand reversal of Russia oil sales to India

Democrats demand reversal of Russia oil sales to India

Published by Sam Flores

U.S. Sen. Ruben Gallego (D–AZ) speaks during the “People’s State of the Union” event ahead of U.S. President Trump’s State of the Union address in Washington, D.C., U.S., Feb. 24, 2026. Elizabeth Frantz | Reuters Congressional Democrats are demanding that the Trump administration immediately reverse a sanctions waiver allowing Indian refiners to purchase Russian oil as the Iran war wreaks havoc on global energy markets. “Your recent decision to provide a 30-day waiver is dangerous, self-defeating, and indefensible,” Rep. Sam Liccardo, D-Calif., and Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., wrote in a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, which was shared exclusively with CNBC. “This waiver constitutes an inexplicable act of material benefit to the enemy.” The Treasury Department last week issued a temporary 30-day sanctions carveout to allow India to buy Russian oil, an effort to ease skyrocketing oil prices caused by the war and the traffic standstill at the Strait of Hormuz. The oil surge comes less than eight months before the November midterm elections that could flip the House of Representatives and the Senate …