The Scotch whisky industry has welcomed a deal between the UK and US governments that has seen damaging tariffs, imposed by the Trump administration in 2019, suspended for four months. The 25% tariff fell under a range of European products targeted as part of a historical row over government subsidies given to European aerospace firm Airbus and to US plane-maker Boeing. Just last month, the Scotch whisky sector said the penalty applied to single malt, in a dispute not of its making, had accounted for more than £500m of export losses . The suspension of the US tariffs, which also cover some other UK-made products including cheese, allows time for a permanent agreement to be reached following the UK's unilateral decision at the end of the Brexit transition period to lift retaliatory tariffs imposed by the EU on some US goods. A joint statement said: "The United Kingdom and the United States are undertaking a four-month tariff suspension to ease the burden on … [Read more...] about Scotch whisky industry toasts Biden as US suspends trade tariffs
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Followers of ‘doomsday cult’ QAnon believe Donald Trump will retake power today
Their messiah is no longer in power, but some followers of the QAnon conspiracy theory believe that Donald Trump will return to the throne today. Followers of the wide-ranging movement think the former president is waging a secret war against elite Satan-worshipping paedophiles and will eventually be restored to high office. But why on 4 March? Well, that date was, until the 20th amendment was passed in 1933, the inauguration date for presidents. The fringe belief that is still the rightful date comes from the unfounded claim among some QAnon followers that the US turned from a country to a corporation after the District of Columbia Organic Act in 1871. Advertisement Some claim that any president sworn in before that date is therefore illegitimate. March the 4th began spreading among QAnon followers only days after Joe Biden was sworn in on 20 January. More from US COVID-19: San Diego Zoo's great apes given experimental coronavirus … [Read more...] about Followers of ‘doomsday cult’ QAnon believe Donald Trump will retake power today
George Floyd: US House of Representatives approves police reform bill banning chokeholds
A police reform bill in honour of George Floyd that will ban chokeholds and "qualified immunity" for law enforcement officials has been passed by the US House of Representatives. The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act would also ban no-knock warrants, mandate data collection on police encounters, prohibit racial and religious profiling and redirect funding to community-based policing programs. The 220-212 vote comes nine months after Mr Floyd , a black man, died when a police officer in Minneapolis pressed a knee on his neck for several minutes. As he died, Mr Floyd was repeatedly heard to say: "I can't breathe." His death in May 2020 prompted massive protests across the US and around the world calling for an end to racial injustice and police brutality. Advertisement California Representative Karen Bass, who authored the bill, said: "Never again should an unarmed individual be murdered or brutalized by someone who is supposed to serve and … [Read more...] about George Floyd: US House of Representatives approves police reform bill banning chokeholds