Before the U.S. presidential election, President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump opposed a Japanese company’s planned $14 billion purchase of U.S. Steel, a once-iconic pillar of America’s industrial age. With the election over, there are indications that the deal may go through. VOA Chief National Correspondent Steve Herman went to Braddock, Pennsylvania, to gauge local sentiment to the acquisition. Videographer: Adam Greenbaum
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Прем’єр-міністр зауважив, що уряд розраховує на швидке погодження рішення з боку Ради ЄС, після чого загальна сума підтримки в межах Ukraine Facility за 2024 рік сягне 16,1 мільярда євро
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NEW DELHI — Analysts interviewed by VOA expressed skepticism over China’s recent decision to eliminate tariffs for goods from least developed countries with diplomatic relations with Bejing, including 33 in Africa, next month.

The move was announced by Chinese President Xi Jinping at the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Beijing in early September.

The analysts see it as an effort to expand China’s influence in Africa without bringing much benefit to the LDCs.

“This move has not generated the excitement it should, due to well-known structural difficulties in Africa,” Emmanuel Owusu-Sekyere, director of research, policy and programs at the African Center for Economic Transformation in Accra, Ghana, told VOA.

“Cooperation between China and Africa has benefitted China much more than it has Africa,” he said, adding, “Africa has given China unbridled access to its markets, which has crippled local production capacity in several aspects of the manufacturing sector e.g., textiles.”

Xi described the zero-tariffs plan as making China the first major economy to take such a step to offer Africa a substantial opportunity to do business in the large Chinese market.

Analysts see it as Beijing’s attempt to compete with the United States. The U.S. African Growth and Opportunity Act provides duty-free access to the U.S. market for more than 1,800 products from 32 sub-Saharan African countries. It will come up for renewal next year. They say China is also trying to take advantage of resentment of some African countries barred from AGOA on such grounds as human rights or lack of democracy and free markets.

“China’s move to allow African LDCs to export tariff-free is clearly a move to project its power in an alternative world order,” said Samir Bhattacharya, associate fellow at the New Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation.

“The rigid policies of the U.S. have made some African countries averse towards it. China sees this as an opportunity to undermine the U.S.-led world order and promote its own narrow interests,” Bhattacharya said.

“China has reworked its trade basket to lure African leaders,” he added.

“This scheme would offer additional support to dictators and military leaders in African countries who are not comfortable with the U.S.,” he said. “It would not improve the economy of these countries.”

China’s viewpoint

Chinese Commerce Ministry spokesperson He Yongqian has said that the initiative would boost LDC exports. It will also promote solidarity and cooperation among the countries of the Global South and advance the goal of “inclusive and equitable economic globalization,” she said.

She said China has signed framework agreements on economic partnership for common development with 22 African countries, including Ethiopia, Burundi, Gabon and Zimbabwe.

However, Owusu-Sekyere expressed a different view.

“African countries are not strategically located in Asian production value chains like Bangladesh and Vietnam. Lack of strategic positioning and planning as well as structural bottlenecks will make it difficult for African countries to take advantage of this plan,” Owusu-Sekyere said.

Every time China’s government enters into a trade or investment agreement with another country, Chinese entrepreneurs usually rush to grab the business opportunities created by the deal. This has been the experience of several countries in Africa and Asia that have received Chinese investments.

Owusu-Sekyere said several African countries have enacted laws reserving the retail sector exclusively for locals but it has been taken over in those countries by Chinese entrepreneurs using local partners as fronts.

The bigger challenge for African countries are nontariff barriers related to such things as quality, he said.

“African economies are not diversified enough to supply at the quality and scale required to meet the sophisticated and diverse demands of a huge market as China.” according to Owusu-Sekyere. 
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Уряд ухвалив зміни щодо виплати одноразової грошової допомоги родинам зниклих безвісти військових, які згодом були оголошені померлими.

Як повідомляє пресслужба Міноборони, тепер термін подання документів рахується не від дати смерті, зазначеній у свідоцтві, а від набрання чинності судового рішення про оголошення військового померлим.

За повідомленням, члени родин матимуть три роки на оформлення допомоги з моменту набрання законної сили рішення суду, що дозволить гарантовано реалізувати їхнє право на виплати.

Також запроваджено позачергову виплату одноразової грошової допомоги для осіб з інвалідністю І групи, враховуючи їхню потребу в невідкладному та вартісному лікуванні.

 
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Sales of personal luxury goods are set to fall 2% this year, making it one of the weakest on record, with price hikes and economic uncertainty shrinking the industry’s customer base, according to consultancy Bain & Company.

In its closely-watched report on the $386 billion global market, Bain estimated a 20-22% sales drop in China, which has turned into a drag after a years-long boom before the pandemic fueled by the wealthy and growing middle-class.

The forecasts include the effect of currency moves.

“This is the first time the personal luxury goods industry has declined since the 2008-09 crisis, with the exception of the pandemic,” Bain partner Federica Levato told Reuters.

The study released on Wednesday will likely heighten concerns among investors that the sector’s current downturn, which has knocked shares in the likes of LVMH and Kering, may be longer and deeper than anticipated.

Global sales of luxury personal goods – spanning clothing, accessories and beauty products – are expected to be flat at constant exchange rates during the holiday season, with China’s performance still negative, Levato said.

A shift by brands to position their products within a higher price band, coupled with weaker consumer confidence amid wars, China’s economic woes and elections across the globe, has led many customers, especially younger ones, to forgo purchases.

“The luxury consumer base has declined by 50 million over the last two years, from a total of approximately 400 million consumers,” Levato said.

Growth prospects for the market hinge partly on the strategies brands choose to pursue, including on pricing, she added.

In a further sign that higher prices are holding back consumers, Bain said the outlet channel was outperforming, driven by shoppers’ quest for value.  

The personal luxury goods sector is expected to grow by between 0% and 4% at constant exchange rates in 2025, supported by sales in Europe and the Americas, with China seen recovering only in the second part of 2025, Bain said.  

Levato said Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential election had removed one uncertainty, while possible interest rate and tax cuts could encourage Americans to spend more.  

In contrast to personal goods, luxury spending on experiences, such as hospitality and dining, is expected to increase this year, Bain said. 
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«Направляємо ці кошти на пріоритетні гуманітарні та соціальні програми», заявив голова уряду
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