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Big Tech Companies Antitrust Hearing - why 4 biggest companies are going under trial?

Big Tech companies Antitrust hearing As we all know for decades, the tech industry has avoided and dodge scrutiny over mergers, acquisitions, and potential anti-competitive behavior as antitrust crusaders argued their case from the sidelines. But this time, the industry’s biggest companies are forced to face that evidence head-on. On July 29th, lawmakers are set to face the chief executives of the tech industry’s, the four companies who are going under this big trial are respectively Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google. Since last June, house lawmakers have been engaged in a sweeping investigation into the tech sector, focusing on whether some of the most notable names in the industry have grown too big and powerful. At the hearing, evidence from an investigation may finally make a way into public record. Throughout the year of investigations, the committee has acquired at least 1.3 million documents from the testifying companies, held five public hearings, and conducted hundreds of hours of interviews. Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and Google’s Sundar Pichai have already faced grilling and issues from Congress but not under these circumstances. Under Chairman David Cicilline’s (D-RI) leadership, members of the committee are heading into this week’s hearing with a huge pile of receipts, leaving little room for the executives to avoid uncomfortable lines of questioning. “The other hearings where they’ve testified have not really been oversight hearings, they haven’t been about antitrust and monopolistic behavior,” told Pramila Jayapal. (U. S representative) The main reason behind the hearing was for Zuckerberg, Pichai, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, and Apple’s Tim Cook to address the evidentiary record the committee has already prepared over the last 13 months, an intimidating number of documents that no tech CEO has reckoned with since Microsoft’s antitrust charges in the ‘90s. At the end of this probe, the committee intends to publish a report in the coming months detailing how the executives’ respective companies have avoided liability under current antitrust laws because those competition rules were never crafted with the tech industry’s behaviours in mind. The question arose is, How the CEOs of Apple, Google, Amazon, and Facebook plan to defend Big Tech today? The hearing may be particularly rough on Jeff Bezos, who is testifying before Congress for the first time. Amazon has been a chief target for tech antitrust scholars for years, and recent evidence has put it in a particularly shaky position. At a hearing last July, Amazon’s associate general counsel Nate Sutton said that the company does not access sales data from sellers. But in April, The Wall Street Journal says that, Amazon employees used independent seller data to guide the development of Amazon’s own products. According to the Journal, employees allegedly the sales and profit margins of products like a car, trunk organizer sold by a third-party seller before launching it's own competing product. After the report was published, the House Judiciary Committee called on Bezos to testify in light of the story. There are similar points for nearly every company appearing. Apple is facing active antitrust in both the US and EU over its app store policies, particularly the flat 30 percent of the companies cut collects for fees paid through the store. Facebook’s has a history of troublesome acquisitions, including Instagram, that they have largely avoided regulatory scrutiny. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) sits on the subcommittee and has brandished himself as a prominent voice in the Republican fight against biased platform moderation. Gaetz has already filed a criminal referral against Zuckerberg for allegedly making false statements to Congress in hearings past. Companies are also trying to make the hearing about Chinese apps like TikTok and how new competition rules could make the US less competitive with products from China. “There are some common patterns and I hope that we can show those across the companies,” Jayapal told The Verge. “The patterns of behavior are to dominate and to use that dominance to set the rules, so that other competitors cannot succeed.” Apple, Facebook, and Google did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Amazon declined to comment on the topic. While the hearing ends the Judiciary Committee’s probe into Big Tech, it’s only the beginning of future regulatory or legislative action. What the executives say during the hearing could provide evidence for a new antitrust probe from law enforcement or provide the foundation for bills aimed at regulating the industry from Congress. For experts like Dipayan Ghosh, a former Facebook employee and a Pozen Fellow researching the tech industry at the Harvard Kennedy School, Wednesday’s hearing simply marks the end of evidence-gathering. As we can see “This is the starting point. This cannot be the endpoint, because if it were, I would anticipate nothing happening going forward if this is the end,” Ghosh told. There's a lot of pressure on lawmakers, but if its executed well, the hearing could introduce a new era in antitrust regulation in the tech sector. After months of interviews and document requests, lawmakers and regulators finally have a chance to get direct answers from all of the major companies at once. It took a lot of work to get these four CEOs(Amazon, facebook, apple, google) on the same panel at the same time, and it’s unlikely that Congress will have another chance like this anytime soon.

Pakistan will Not Recognize Israel after UAE

The UAE, on August 13 became the first Gulf Arab country to reach a deal on normalising relation between Palestine and Israel, broken connection among the countries in commerce and technology. Although, there are still 30 countries, including Pakistan, which are not ready to start a diplomatic relations with this Zionist state, which was vanquished by the Ottoman Empire in 1517. The reason for not recognising Israel as a country, what Pakistani Prime minister stated is verbatim "Our stance is very clear; as Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah said, Pakistan will never recognise Israel until Palestinians are given their right of a just settlement." They even compared the matter with Kashmir issue saying that, it will be like giving up Kashmir, and Pakistan won't do that. 'Recognising as a country,' means sharing diplomatic relations with the country, having access to visa of the country, also having commercial and technical connection. Even Saudi Arabia is against acceptance, as country's foreign minister Prince Faisal said, "peace must be achieved with the Palestinians. Once that is achieved all things are possible." There are speculations regarding countries that could make peace with Israel in near future, that are Bahrain, Oman and Morocco. Pakistan not recognising Israel is a benefit in some aspects for India, as Israel is a huge exporters of arms and ammunition. Simultaneously, Pakistan has decided not to establish relations with Israel it paves way for India to form long term defence relation with country's defence industry. Unlike Russia that recently decided to sell some military grade helicopter to Pakistan, India won't face such an issue with Israel at least in near future.

Russia China Financial Alliance - What is Dedollarisation?

In the latest development, China and Russia in their bilateral trade (exchange of goods between two nations and reduce trade barriers to encourage trade and investment) has reduced the usage of US Dollar and it is said they are slowly moving towards 'FINANCIAL ALLIANCE'. These two countries together taking the decision to reduce their dependence on the US dollar. In 2015, approximately 90% of bilateral transactions between Russia and US were conducted in US dollars. But the mind off between US-China trade war with the time increased due to which the bilateral transaction between Russia and China slowly started to decrease which lead to decline of the usage of US Dollar. For the first time in history, trade between the two countries through Dollar dropped 50% in a quarter. The dollar's share of trade between the two countries Russia and China is reduced to only 46% while the euro's share is 30% and China Russia's own national currencies accounted for a record high 24% share of bilateral trade settlement. China dropping dollar based trade slowly is a sign of growing economy. Alexey Maslov, director of the Institute of Far Eastern Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences, told that the Russia-China "dedollarization" was approaching a "breakthrough moment" that could elevate their relationship to a de facto alliance. He also said, "The collaboration between Russia and China in the financial sphere tells us that they are finally finding the parameters for a new alliance with each other." "Many expected that this would be a military alliance or a trading alliance, but now the alliance is moving more in the banking and financial direction, and that is what can guarantee independence for both countries." Since 2014, Dedollarisation was the priority of Russia as, US President Obama imposed sanctions on Russian-occupied Crimea by executive order prohibiting exports of US goods and services to the region. Also the mind off between US-China trade war gained further momentum after the Donald Trump administration imposed tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars worth of Chinese goods. As one expert says, "Only very recently did the Chinese state and major economic entities begin to feel that they might end up in a similar situation as our Russian counterparts: being the target of the sanctions and potentially even getting shut out of the SWIFT system" Due to this in 2014, Russia and China signed a three year Currency Swap Deal worth 150billion yuan. Infact the Swap deal between these two countries was so successful that they extended the deal after the 3 years in 2017 to another 3years. Also, through this particular agreement if we want to buy another country currency we can directly buy it with access to each others currency and will not have to give any extra transaction charge. The second important deal do be between China and Russia was when Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Russia in June 2019. They come upon a deal to replace the dollar with national currencies for international settlements between them. However experts said, "Dethroning the dollar, however, will not be easy." Jeffery Frankel, an economist at Harvard University, told Nikkei that the dollar enjoys three major advantages: the ability to maintain its value in the form of limited inflation and depreciation, the sheer size of the American domestic economy, and the United States having financial markets that are deep, liquid and open. So far, he argued, no rival currency has shown itself capable of outperforming the dollar on all three counts. Yet Frankel also warned that while the dollar's position is secure for now, spiraling debts and an overly aggressive sanctions policy could erode its supremacy in the long run. "Sanctions are a very powerful instrument for the United States, but like any tool, you run the risk that others will start looking for alternatives if you overdo them," he said. "I think it would be foolish to assume that it's written in stone that the dollar will forever be unchallenged as the number one international currency."

U.S Taiwan Sign a Massive 66 F-16 Deal

A deal was finalised on 15th of August, 2020, Taiwan will receive 66 new American-made F-16 fighter jets in the biggest arms sale to the self-governing island in years. This announcement was made on the website of United States Defense Department, under the contacts updated section. The reports said the US Air Force was awarding a contract to Lockheed Martin, the maker of the F-16, for 90 of the planes as part of US foreign military sales. A US State Department source confirmed that an order from Taiwan approved by the Trump administration, being a part of the deal a year ago. The other 24 aircrafts are expected to go to Morocco. While, final deliveries being expected by 2026. The new F-16s, known as the F-16V or Viper, will be made at Lockheed Martin factories in Greenville, South Carolina, and Fort Worth, Texas. They will be the latest, upgraded models of the single-engine aircraft which first flew with the US Air Force in the late 1970s. They will join about 140 others already in the Taiwanese lithe. The US has maintained close ties with Taiwan since it split from the mainland China in 1949 after the end of a civil war. The U.S. ceased recognizing the Republic of China in 1979 as "China" and started referring to it as "Taiwan". It was greeted with strong bipartisan backing from Congress, including from the Democratic chairman and the leading Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. With China increasing pressure on the island, which Beijing considers to be an inseparable part of its territory. However, China strongly criticized the F-16 sale, in a Chinese report. While, China itself has sold a lot of military equipment (for example, JY-14 Radar) to Venezuela in the last few years. Taiwan's purchase of the F-16s marks the first sale of advanced fighter jets to the island since President George HW Bush announced approval for 150 F-16s in 1992. This move has inflamed further tensions between the U.S. and China.

China launches Clean Plate Campaign

China Faces Food Shortage as Droughts, Flooding & Pests Ruin Harvest, Locusts and fall armyworms have invaded crops. XiJinping called the amount of food wasted is "shocking and distressing." So the Xi Government has started a new national campaign "CLEAN YOUR PLATE" against food waste in China to safely feed its 1.4 billion citizens. Campaign is indicating that China is entering a global food crisis. For months the goverment has been promoting "clean plate campaign" in order to reduce food waste.The campaign was set up a couple of years ago, but re-approched with great zeal recently as the crop production is reduced this year. It was first launched in year 2013 and now in 2020. Around 17 to 18 million tonnes food is wasted every year in China which would feed 30-50 million people every year. Xi Jinping govt takes creative measures to reduce food wastage. Eating shows are being censored from the internet, and social media sites are telling users to “value food.” More and more restaurants and catering associations in China have issued appeals and guidelines to prevent food waste, and restaurants are offering half-portions and order recommendations to save food as the country carries out a "Clean Your Plate Campaign 2.0" in full swing. Following Mr Xi- Jinping message, the Wuhan Catering Industry Association urged restaurants in the city to limit the number of plates which indictates N minus 1 system meaning if you have a group of 4 than you can only order 3 plates in a restaurant. Diners are asked to enter their measurements into an app that would then suggest menu items accordingly. Xi also gave specific requirements for reducing waste in schools and promoting students' awareness and practices of being thrifty, Xinhua reported. Due to historical poverty, Chinese culture has a tendency to over-order food and waste. This is seen as ‘good fortune and abundance’ XiJinping is trying to put a stop to this.

China’s Growing Influence in Serbia and Greece

The overabundant attention of China towards such regions has resulted in economic dependency. Their reality is overshadowed under China. However, the Central and Eastern Europe is comparatively less dependent on China than the rest part of the European Union. China is consequently expanding its influence with this long tradition. As per reports, Beijing is trying to divide and consequently conquer Europe. The evident deal making in 2012, with the Europe's poorer countries. The former communist governments of Central and Eastern Europe and China started holding annual summits. These summits were widely known as 16+1. However, with the addition of Greece last year, the platform expanded to 17+1. These summits were grand occasion for Beijing to fulfill the economic promises of trade and investments. The vast majority investments of China has gone to the Western, Northern and Southern Europe. Chinese-Greek relations established between the People's Republic of China and the Hellenic Republic. The Port of Piraeus helps China's transactions with the whole of Europe. Thousands of Chinese people are living in Greece under the Overseas Chinese context. The cargo level later was three times higher than before. Membership in 17+1 is part of Greece's broader plan to increase international trade agreements via new trade routes. The move seems to have revived an initiative which has been limited to upgrading infrastructure and had hindered since 2016. The new conservative government is prepared to upgrade strategic relations with China demonstrates that the relationship can survive political change in Athens. In 2017, Serbia and China mutually scrapped the requirement of obtaining an entry visa for its citizens. The things exported to China, by Serbia are natural rubber, rubber products, machinery and equipment, cork, timber, etc. While, Chinese exports to Serbia are machinery and equipments, various manufactured goods, clothing, footwear, textiles, chemicals and staple items. China took up $4 billion in direct investments and pledged slightly over $5 billion through loans and infrastructure projects for Serbia, but also tighter security cooperation and rapidly growing technological partnership with the Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei. The Serbian elect have been working hard to retract information critical of Beijing while at the same time promoting themselves as facilitators of a strong relationship with a rising China. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic kissed the Chinese flag while receiving medical supplies from China in March, during the early days of Europe's coronavirus crisis. He said at the time that "China is the only country that can help," while calling Chinese President Xi Jinping his "friend and brother."

Exit China Invest in India - 24 mobile manufacturers to invest $1.5 billion in India

As we all know about the trade tensions between USA and China and manufacturing companies were worried about their setup and manufacturing companies shifting from china to other countries as USA waa planning to put sanctions on China and after the effects of Corona virus in several countries most of the companies actually shifted from China Vietnam, Colombia and thailand. At that point of time this was considered to be a big huge loss for India as all companies were suppose to be set in India but they were actually shifted to other countries so in April India launched a schemes named (Production link Incentive scheme PLI) which provided incentives according to the increase of production within 5 years with the incentive of 4-6% . This scheme have given a huge benifit in the field of electronic production as after the scheme launch many companies started investing and enrolling with the prospects of benefits. They have pledged $1.5 billion in smartphones and electronic . The leading smartphone companies Samsung and apple pledge to invest 11,000 crore investment in India. The companies WISTRON, FOXCOON and PEGATRON CORP also shows interest and also they have started manufacturing I phone 11 in chennai(by foxconn) , bangalore (by wistron) . This project and investment will give a rise in the economy of India and also will help in the development of the other fields like sports, employment, and others and also will help in making the mission MAKE IN INDIA successful. Also the investment of companies in India will give 0.5% benefits to our economy and also 10% of global smartphone production shifting to India. So over all this scheme and step is beneficial for the country and also for the smartphone investors in each and every aspect with the global economical growth and expansion.

India USA Trade Relations - US surpasses China to become India's top trading partner

The US remains at top as a trading partner of India for second consecutive year, showing greater economic ties between the two countries. US is one of the few country with which India has a trade surplus. According to the data of Commerce Ministry in 2018-2019 the bilateral trade between US and India stood at USD 87.95 billion during the period India's two way commerce with China was 87.08 billion. Similarly, during April to December 2019 to 2020 the bilateral trade between US and India stood at USD 68 billion and 64.96 billion with China in the same period. Trade experts believe that the trend will continue, in the coming years also as new Delhi and Washington are engaged in further deepening the economic ties. FDA with America will be very beneficial, as US is a good market for domestic goods and services. America is one of the few country with which India has a trade surplus. In 2018-19 the surplus was of USD 16.85 billion with America while India has a deficit of USD 53.56 billion with the neighbouring countries. The data show that China was India's top trading partners since 2013-14 till 2017-18. Before China UAE was India's top economic parter. Though India's top economic partner is US but India come on the 9th position of US's list. India largest export to US is diamonds and import is oil. A trade deal between the two countries regarding easing tarrif restrictions will increase trade between India and US. Although the trade pact will be beneficial for both the countries but "India should be a bit cautious while negotiating the pact with US such as in agriculture, dairy issues and related property rights," said prof. Of Indian institute for foreign trade. Currently India is seeking relaxation in US vise regime where as US for reducing exercise duty on information and communication services. It ts also speculated that grow trade with US will help indian economy to grow.

Foreign Policy of India post Covid 19, Why Self Reliant Foreign Policy is need of the hour for India

Making borders redundant, the novel coronavirus pandemic continue to alert the political landscape. While on one hand the outbreak has accelerated the economy muscular between nation on the other hand it is creating a shift in multilateral priorities towards global development despite of domestic issue Nation globalisation standing supplies medicines and relief funds to an array of nation the outbreak. Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently held India’s first virtual bilateral summit with Australian counterpart Scott Morrison. To watch the well-planned format of the conference was impressive, yet, at the same time, unnerving. Each leader spoke and then reacted. But it was certainly not what the public was used to viewing. As India prepares to enter a post-COVID-19 lockdown world, the summit gave people a clear indication of what the new ‘normal’ will be. Virtual conferences, summits and increased use of digital interaction is not going anywhere in the near future. And it will most certainly impact India’s foreign relations. The first PM Modi government redefined India’s foreign relations in his first term both in content and panache. By 2019, there was no doubt in anybody’s mind that India stood on the international stage as a nation that influenced international relations. To add to that, soft power features like yoga and Bollywood also elevated India’s status as in influencer versus being influenced. At the beginning of his second term, PM Modi wasted absolutely no time. Literally. Immediately after taking his oath as at the swearing-in ceremony, PM Modi met world leaders to discuss the path ahead. Race ahead to the first year anniversary of the Modi 2.0 government. India made successful outreaches to India’s strategic maritime partners including Sri Lanka and the Maldives. India also strengthened extremely strategic ties with the United States in trade and defence. In the recent bilateral summit, Australian PM Morrison said that he missed the infamous ‘Modi hug.’ It just goes to show how positively PM Modi has engaged global leaders. At present, there are trying circumstances for India’s foreign policy. An ongoing issue is bringing home stranded Indians via the Vande Bharat Mission. Article 370 met a lot of resistance from the Opposition. Misunderstandings about the Citizenship Amendment Bill broke into misinformed riots. The bill gives citizenship a dignified life for religiously persecuted minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. Coming out of COVID-19, relations with China are already proving to be a challenge with recent skirmishes at the LAC. Just a few weeks ago, PM Modi wrote a letter on LinkedIn to citizens. He encouraged young students and working professionals to find ways of rebuilding and reforming digitally. Like citizens digitizing at a micro-scale, PM Modi must also rebuild and reform government structure digitally. Going forward, international relations, including decision-making, will be based heavily on digital platforms and technological communication. Economically, PM Modi has already reached out to national leaders on ways to diversify exports. The Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan stimulus package aims to make India self-reliant. India should take one more step and ramp up domestic manufacturing capability. PM Modi should also find ways to encourage more FDI. One way to do this is to provide incentives and encourage multi-national corporations to set base in India. Japan is allegedly incentivizing home-based companies to not put up institutions in China. India should encourage such companies to set up in India. It is unclear how overall global relations will be post-COVID-19. This means that India must take time now to both build and redefine international relations. As international interactions will be via digital means for the foreseeable future, costs are lower. to enhance relationships. Normally, relations are boosted through tours and foreign visits. As small as this amount of money is, it can be used very effectively by the Centre to digitize itself completely. The Government of India should simultaneously increase domestic manufacturing capability and with that diversify exports. Dependency on China will decrease for good as well if India can achieve this. As a result, India will easily be positioned as a post-pandemic global leader. Even better, a leader with strong, positive international relations that can only be strengthened in new ‘normal’ times. Self-reliance is the theme of India’s 74th Independence Day. This concept is commonly associated with the economy and production of key goods and services within the country. But it also has a parallel dimension in the domain of foreign policy. India has historically prided itself as an independent developing country which did not succumb to pressure from great powers. This can be reflected in the different phases of world order: Bipolar (1947 to 1991) in which the majority of global economic, military and cultural influence was held between U.S. and USSR. During this phase India adhered to the principle of Non Alignment to resist dilution of its sovereignty, rebuild its economy and consolidate its integrity. Unipolar (1991 to 2008) when the U.S. entered a long cycle of economic crises and China caught up with it in overall power. This is the period where India reached out to engage with US, Israel and ASEAN countries more intensively. The quest for strategic autonomy now was particularly focused on securing its nuclear weapon option (Pokhran II 1998). Multipolar (present times) where distribution of power is in more than two countries having nearly equal amounts of military, cultural, and economic influence. In this phase of transitional geopolitics, India's policy of Non-Alignment has turned into Multi Alignment. Flexibility in Strategic Autonomy Adherence to strategic autonomy has been the key pillar of India’s Foreign policy. However, it has often been adjusted as per the changing geopolitical situations in history . In moments of crisis, India has reinterpreted freedom and shown flexibility for survival at many instances. For Example: India-China War (1962): Initially,in pursuance of maintaining strategic autonomy, India established the Non-Alignment Movement (NAM) (1961). It marked the peak of Third World solidarity. However during the India -China war 1962, India had to appeal to the U.S. for emergency military aid to stave off the Chinese from taking over the whole of Eastern India. Indo Pakistan War (1971): In the build-up to the 1971 war with Pakistan, India had to enter a Treaty of Peace, Friendship and Cooperation with the Soviet Union to ward off both China and the U.S. Kargil War (1999): India welcomed a direct intervention by the U.S. to force Pakistan to back down. Present Day Scenario of Strategic Autonomy Risk From China: Today, although there are less prospects of a direct war with China in the wake of its incursions across the Line of actual control, India is at a turning point with regard to strategic autonomy. Aggressive foreign policy of China may require India to bandwagon (cooperating with like minded countries) to balance China. New Cold War like situation: The New Cold War scenario has created a threat environment in which China and the U.S. are now beginning to confront many areas like Trade warand . South China sea. India can promote new multilateralism under the aegis of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam- which relies on restructuring both the economic order and societal behaviour for equitable sustainable development. Fear of losing strategic autonomy to the U.S.: Fears in some quarters that proximity to the U.S. will lead to loss of India’s strategic autonomy. However, it seems overblown because independent India has never been subordinated to a foreign hegemony. Way Forward to Self-Reliance Revival of Non Alignment: Non-Alignment with China and the U.S. is the solution as they slide into a, New Cold War, risking India’s security and sovereignty. The New Cold War can be reflected in Trade War, Quad initiative, Indo-pacific narrative, emergence of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, naval presence in the Indian ocean, etc. Thus NAM2.0 can insulate India from active engagements in conflicts. Intensified Cooperation: India should aim to stay as an independent power centre by means of intensified cooperation with middle powers in Asia and around the world. Indegenous defence modernisation: India is dependent on many foriegn players like U.S, Russia etc for its defence requirement, this may not pave well in national interest. ∆Therefore, it is imperative to speed up indigenous defence modernisation. ∆Further, defense indigenisation assumes more significance, especially in the context of counterbalancing China. Diversification in strategic partners: The present-day geopolitical and geostrategic circumstances present a multifaceted challenge to India’s foreign policy. ∆Therefore, India's cold war narrative of strategic neutrality is being gradually replaced by Strategic hedging ∆In a multipolar world India should not limit its engagements with Russia, the US and China but expand its relationship with other countries of the EU, Asean etc. In the past, India has been successfully deploying ‘multi-vector’ foreign policy. In this context, Indian foriegn policy should not envisage complete isolation or entering into alliance with one great power but a variable combination with several like-minded partners.

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