Honduran senior official, economist criticize US tariff policy

The sweeping tariffs taken by the United States show the country has been turning to protectionism and unilateralism, said some Honduran specialists, who worried the tariffs will cause more turmoil in global trade and capital market.

The analysts made the remarks in separate interviews with China Media Group (CMG), saying the changing tariff policy of the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump caused huge uncertainty in the global economy and it is part of the country's efforts to maintain its hegemony.

"They (the U.S.) want to reverse the history. The U.S. dismantled the model it established four decades ago. The globalization no longer works to their interests, so they started to impose additional tariffs. Over the recent years, the main export of the U.S. is the U.S. dollar and if they can no longer 'export' the U.S. dollar, the problem rises to another level. We are now seeing the U.S. making a last-ditch effort to maintain its hegemony," said Ricardo Salgado, Minister of Strategic Planning of Honduras.

A Honduran economist pointed out that the root cause of the U.S.' huge trade deficit is the lack of competitiveness of its products on the global market but the Trump administration wants to address the issue by forcing the rest of the world to pay the price.

"The Trump administration made a very impulsive decision without much consideration. They want to coerce others, change the rules of globalization, return to protectionism, and to focus primarily on the economic growth of the U.S. They wanted the manufacturing to go back to the U.S. and create more jobs, but the Trump administration made a mistake by imposing additional tariffs on a global scale, which cast the capital market in an environment of uncertainty and caused fluctuations in stock prices. The sudden and impulsive decision of the Trump administration even had an impact on global trade. The U.S. lost its competitiveness and it's a fault of its own. Why should other countries pay the price? Why?" said Alejandro Arone, the Honduran economist.

The U.S. stock markets ended sharply lower on Monday as economic uncertainties and a looming trade war depressed market sentiment, with the three benchmark indexes, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the Standard and Poor's 500, and the Nasdaq Composite Index, all dropping over two percent.

Besides, the tariffs have also dampened the confidence of investors. According to the weekly surveys issued by the American Association of Individual Investors from Feb. 26 to April 9, over 50 percent of U.S. individual investors were bearish for seven consecutive weeks about the outlook of the stock market in the next six months.

Honduran senior official, economist criticize US tariff policy

The Iranian government is focusing on public concerns and maintaining stable supplies of essential goods amid recent protests, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in a televised interview on Sunday.

In the city of Karaj, northwest of the capital Tehran, daily life has largely continued as normal. A video filmed by a local resident on Sunday shows food stores open and grocery shelves fully stocked.

"This is the block near my home, and there are some food stores here. Daily life continues here. Last night we did not see many protests in Karaj. Right now the city is very safe. This is a grocery store close to my home. All the food is available; nothing is in shortage. Here are noodles and different types of beans. Here are dairy products, cheese, and yogurt. I also checked other grocery stores and didn't see any shortages. Everything is available," said local resident Ali Reza.

Iranian officials have described recent disturbances as acts orchestrated by the "enemy," including some carried out by well-trained and armed "terrorists." The incidents have caused casualties among security personnel and civilians, as well as property damage.

The Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani has directed authorities to severely punish the "terrorists."

Meanwhile, Iran's police chief Ahmad-Reza Radan said on Sunday that the police had raised alert levels and arrested several leaders of the troublemakers during the operations on Saturday.

President Pezeshkian noted in the interview that the normal demands of the Iranian people are reasonable and justified, but they must realize that triggering riots and carrying out terrorist acts are the enemy's attempts to undermine the country. He urged the public to remain vigilant.

Also on Sunday, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf warned that Tehran would regard U.S. and Israeli bases and facilities in the Middle East as "legitimate targets" if Washington takes military action against Iran. His remarks followed media reports saying U.S. President Donald Trump is "seriously considering authorizing a strike" against Iran.

Iranian state media reported that at least 109 members of Iran's security forces have been killed in clashes since the protests began 14 days ago. Meanwhile, human rights groups based outside the country said the number of protesters killed has exceeded 200, though the figure could not be independently verified.

The protests initially erupted over a sharp depreciation of the rial and sweeping subsidy reforms. Iranian authorities have blamed the unrest on foreign-linked agents and sanctions imposed by the United States.

Iranian president says government focusing on ensuring supplies amid protests