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Iran, Syria Establish Direct Shipping Line

Latakia port, Syria (Sputnik)
Latakia port, Syria (Sputnik)
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Iran, Syria Establish Direct Shipping Line

Latakia port, Syria (Sputnik)
Latakia port, Syria (Sputnik)

Iran will establish a direct shipping line between its southern port of Bandar Abbas and Syria’s Latakia port, announced Head of Iran-Syria Joint Chamber of Commerce Keyvan Kashefi.

Kashefi acknowledged that there are issues in trade with Syria regarding the shipping, transportation, and lack of common land borders. However, he noted that transportation through Iraq is currently impossible due to “several issues.”

The official told Fars news agency that the necessary coordination has been made between the Iran-Syria Joint Chamber of Commerce, the Committee for the Development of Iranian-Iraqi-Syrian Economic Relations, and the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL).

Cargo ships will hold freight from Iran to Syria once per month starting March 10, announced Kashefi, adding that the service could be held twice a month if demand for shipping increased.

“There are no restrictions on export items; these ships are both container and bulk carriers, and any trader can choose Syria as his export destination if they want,” Kashefi stressed.

He did not discuss the impact of economic sanctions imposed on both countries on shipping.

Kashefi explained that goods are transported to Syria through three ways including the Bandar Abbas-Lattakia shipping line which was active but not regular. The second route was by land via Iraq, an option which is currently not possible for several reasons, which he did not discuss.

He noted that goods were also transferred from Iran via Turkey’s Mersin port, but it was a costly and problematic option.

Tehran is looking forward to increasing trade exchanges with Damascus, however, Kashefi did not disclose any details regarding the possibility of transit for the Iranian ship, in light of the US economic sanctions.

Washington imposed Caesar Act on the Syrian regime, which also targets individuals or entities that support the Assaad regime.

Kashefi visited Syria recently and met with a number of senior officials and members of the Aleppo Chamber of Commerce.

A number of economic sources in Damascus said that Kashefi discussed during his meetings the establishment of an Iranian Commerce Center that includes 24 Iranian companies. The center could provide access to the Syrian chambers of commerce, industry, and agriculture.

The officials in Damascus suggested using Syria as a gateway that allows Iranian products into the Arab markets.

The Syrian side also requested finding a solution for the issue of bank transfers between the two countries.

They proposed a barter system that could facilitate the flow of goods in both directions and stimulate large Iranian companies to support and rebuild Syrian factories.

The officials also hope the new agreements will supply Syrian industrialists with the raw materials they need and establish a land shipping route in cooperation with Iraq.

Iran-Syria Joint Chamber of Commerce was established in 2019 on the sidelines of the Joint Business Forum, with the aim of encouraging Iranian companies to contribute to the reconstruction in Syria.

Before the imposition of the Caesar Act, the two countries witnessed a remarkable increase in economic activity in 2019, with the arrival of six Iranian cargo ships to Latakia port 12 times through the Iranian Syrian maritime line.

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World

Trump Pauses Tariffs on Most Nations for 90 Days, Raises Taxes on Chinese Imports

A crane lifts an imports container from the cargo ship Epaminondas while it is docked at the Port of Baltimore, Wednesday, April 9, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP)
A crane lifts an imports container from the cargo ship Epaminondas while it is docked at the Port of Baltimore, Wednesday, April 9, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP)
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Trump Pauses Tariffs on Most Nations for 90 Days, Raises Taxes on Chinese Imports

A crane lifts an imports container from the cargo ship Epaminondas while it is docked at the Port of Baltimore, Wednesday, April 9, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP)
A crane lifts an imports container from the cargo ship Epaminondas while it is docked at the Port of Baltimore, Wednesday, April 9, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP)

Facing a global market meltdown, President Donald Trump on Wednesday abruptly backed down on his tariffs on most nations for 90 days, but raised the tax rate on Chinese imports to 125%.

It was seemingly an attempt to narrow what had been an unprecedented trade war between the US and most of the world to a showdown between the US and China. The S&P 500 stock index jumped nearly 7% after the announcement, but the precise details of Trump's plans to ease tariffs on non-China trade partners were not immediately clear.

Trump posted on Truth Social that because "more than 75 Countries" had reached out to the US government for trade talks and have not retaliated in meaningful way "I have authorized a 90 day PAUSE, and a substantially lowered Reciprocal Tariff during this period, of 10%, also effective immediately."

The 10% tariff was the baseline rate for most nations that went into effect on Saturday. It's meaningfully lower than the 20% tariff that Trump had set for goods from the European Union, 24% on imports from Japan and 25% on products from South Korea. Still, 10% would represent an increase in the tariffs previously charged by the US government.

The announcement came after the global economy appeared to be in open rebellion against Trump's tariffs as they took effect Wednesday, a signal that the US president was not immune from market pressures.

Business executives were warning of a potential recession caused by his policies, some of the top US trading partners are retaliating with their own import taxes and the stock market is quivering after days of decline.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the walk back was part of some grand negotiating strategy by Trump.

"President Trump created maximum negotiating leverage for himself," she said, adding that the news media "clearly failed to see what President Trump is doing here. You tried to say that the rest of the world would be moved closer to China, when in fact, we’ve seen the opposite effect the entire world is calling the United States of America, not China, because they need our markets."

But market pressures had been building for weeks ahead of Trump's move.

Particularly worrisome was that US government debt had lost some of its luster with investors, who usually treat Treasury notes as a safe haven when there's economic turbulence. Government bond prices had been falling, pushing up the interest rate on the 10-year US Treasury note to 4.45%. That rate eased after Trump's reversal.

Gennadiy Goldberg, head of US rates strategy at TD Securities, said before the announcement that markets wanted to see a truce in the trade disputes.

"Markets more broadly, not just the Treasury market, are looking for signs that a trade de-escalation is coming," he said. "Absent any de-escalation, it’s going to be difficult for markets to stabilize."

John Canavan, lead analyst at the consultancy Oxford Economics, noted that while Trump said he changed course due to possible negotiations, he had previously indicated that the tariffs would stay in place.

"There have been very mixed messages on whether there would be negotiations," Canavan said. "Given what's been going on with the markets, he realized the safest thing to do is negotiate and put things on pause."

Presidents often receive undue credit or blame for the state of the US economy as their time in the White House is subject to financial and geopolitical forces beyond their direct control.

But by unilaterally imposing tariffs, Trump is exerting extraordinary influence over the flow of commerce, creating political risks and pulling the market in different directions based on his remarks and social media posts. There still appears to be 25% tariffs on autos, steel and aluminum, with more imports set to be tariffed in the weeks ahead.

On CNBC, Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian said the administration was being less strategic than it was during Trump's first term. His company had in January projected it would have its best financial year in history, only to scrap its expectations for 2025 due to the economic uncertainty.

"Trying to do it all at the same time has created chaos in terms of being able to make plans," he said, noting that demand for air travel has weakened.

Before Trump's reversal, economic forecasters say his second term has had a series of negative and cascading impacts that could put the country into a downturn.

"Simultaneous shocks to consumer sentiment, corporate confidence, trade, financial markets as well as to prices, new orders and the labor market will tip the economy into recession in the current quarter," said Joe Brusuelas, chief economist at the consultancy RSM.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has previously said it could take months to strike deals with countries on tariff rates, and the administration has not been clear on whether the baseline 10% tariffs imposed on most countries will stay in place. But in an appearance on "Mornings with Maria," Bessent said the economy would "be back to firing on all cylinders" at a point in the "not too distant future."

He said there has been an "overwhelming" response by "the countries who want to come and sit at the table rather than escalate." Bessent mentioned Japan, South Korea, and India. "I will note that they are all around China. We have Vietnam coming today," he said.

What's not yet known is what Trump does with the rest of his tariff agenda. In a Tuesday night speech, he said taxes on imported drugs would happen soon.