Holding a prototype that bore his face and an inscription “The Trump Card”, the Republican president told reporters that the special visa would probably be available “in less than two weeks”.

“I’m the first buyer,” he said. “Pretty exciting, huh?”

Trump previously said that sales of the new visa, a high-price version of the traditional green card, would bring in job creators and could be used to reduce the US national deficit.

The billionaire former real estate tycoon, who has made the deportation of millions of undocumented migrants a priority for his second term, said the new card would be a route to highly prized US citizenship.

He said in February that his administration hoped to sell “maybe a million” of the cards and did not rule out that Russian oligarchs may be eligible.

(AFP)

President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced a range of tariffs targeting almost all countries that the United States trades with including Afghanistan.

Trump announced the tariffs in an executive order alongside an address in the Rose Garden at the White House on Wednesday.

In the executive order, Trump said while the US trading policy has been built on the principle of reciprocity, taxes and barriers on US products by its trading partners had hurt the US.

The tariffs, he said, were a response. The base tariff of 10 percent on almost all US imports will be imposed by April 5, the additional reciprocal tariffs on countries will kick in on April 9. 

During his address, Trump made the argument that the US is charging its trading partners with smaller tariffs compared with the tariffs and non-tariff barriers that the partners impose on the US.

“For decades, our country has been looted, pillaged, raped and plundered by nations near and far, both friend and foe alike,” Trump said.

“If you want your tariff rate to be zero, then you build your product right here in America,” he said.

According to information from officials at the Chamber of Commerce and Investment, currently the total volume of trade between Afghanistan and the United States is between $8 and $10 million annually.

Afghan private sector representatives call on the US to reconsider Afghanistan’s inclusion in the tariffs list.

“It will undoubtedly affect us to some extent. Our trade with the US is small, but important items are exported, such as handicrafts, an industry in which women especially work. Handicrafts such as hats are exported. Antique items that are very important to know our identity are also exported. Dried fruits and sometimes fresh fruits and carpets are also exported,” Khan Jan Alokozai, a member of the Chamber of Commerce and Investment, said.

Abdul Qasim Amarkhel, head of the Dried Fruit Exporters’ Union, says: “The 10% tariff is cruel and illegal. This country is not China or Europe, but Afghanistan. Our dried fruit exports to the US are not that high. It is around $10 million. We ask the US to reconsider this decision. It should also release our frozen funds.”

Afghanistan’s exports to the US are mainly carpets and dried fruits.

A faulty scanner on the Pakistan side of Torkham border left goods trucks stranded in Afghanistan this week, Pakistani media reported.

Pakistani authorities closed the border to vehicles coming in from Afghanistan after the scanning machine used to track imports developed technical problems.

Importers in Pakistan told Dawn that both the Afghan and Pakistani authorities allowed only empty trucks stranded on the Afghan side to cross into Pakistan.

This comes after the border crossing was closed for a month due to disputes and clashes between border forces. The crossing only reopened late March.

According to border officials, this is the second time that the scanner developed problems since the reopening of the crossing. As a result exports from Afghanistan to Pakistan ground to a halt. Exports included coal, soapstone, fresh produce and dried fruit.

Frustrated traders have called for the scanning system to be replaced with a modern version in order to resolve trade challenges at the border.

Traders also voiced their frustration over customs tariffs at the border. They said the customs terminal operator, National Logistic Cell, charges Rs8,000 for every truck that crosses, whether it is loaded or empty.