Trump’s peace dividend

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Instead of an Oval Office photo-op for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday, he showered Donald Trump with flattery over a White House working dinner.

The US president wants the war in Gaza, still raging after 21 months, wound down. That's proving difficult. Despite him saying last week a truce could be "close," Israel and Hamas have yet to bridge key differences.

Having vexed US isolationists by sending bombers to hit Iranian nuclear sites last month, Trump is looking for the diplomatic success in Gaza that eluded his predecessor, Joe Biden.

That could help Trump win him the Nobel Peace Prize he covets.

But while Israelis are exhausted — socially and economically — by their multi-front conflict with Iran and its proxy militias, the goals of Netanyahu and his far-right ministers haven't been met.

Truce talks in Doha will, at best, return half of the 50 hostages held by Hamas. For the rest, the Palestinian group wants its survival guaranteed. And there's still no real sign it's willing to disarm.

Hence Netanyahu's letter to the Nobel Peace Prize committee nominating Trump. The US leader has, according to Netanyahu, "brought about dramatic change and created new opportunities to expand the circle of peace and normalization."

The subtext seems clear.

Netanyahu needs to keep Trump on side if fighting in Gaza continues. And he wants Trump's help to ensure Iran doesn't reconstitute its nuclear projects and build more ballistic missiles.

Failure on either front, Netanyahu believes, will weaken Israel's appeal to potential new Arab peace partners.

He must reckon with the chilling effect of the continued Gaza carnage on countries like Saudi Arabia, which will be feeling less urgency to engage after seeing Iran's military clout blunted. — Dan Williams

Netanyahu during a dinner at the White House yesterday. Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg

Global Must Reads

Trump released a wave of letters again threatening trading partners with high tariffs even as he delayed the duties until Aug. 1 and suggested he was still open to negotiations. After revealing his intent to impose 25% levies on goods from Japan and South Korea, he outlined plans for duties on partners including South Africa, Indonesia and Thailand. The European Union is seeking to conclude a preliminary deal with the US this week that would allow it to lock in a 10% tariff.

Soon after Moscow attacked Ukraine, a little-known Russian company partnered with Chinese firms to solve one of the most urgent challenges faced by the invading army. Documents reviewed by Bloomberg offer unprecedented insight into how Moscow capitalized on ties with Beijing to skirt sanctions and acquire the capability to build combat drones that were radically reshaping the battlefield. Meanwhile, Trump said he'd ship more weapons to Ukraine, an apparent reversal after the Pentagon halted flows of some air-defense missiles and artillery shells.

A Ukrainian air-defense group tracks Russian drones in Kyiv Oblast region. Photographer: Zinchenko/Global Images Ukraine/Getty Images

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva joined South Africa in blasting Trump for his threat to slap extra tariffs against the BRICS nations by calling the move "irresponsible," escalating a spat with the US leader during the final day hosting the 10-member group. Earlier, South Africa's Cyril Ramaphosa was the first leader to break cover, saying it was "really disappointing" that some want to punish those that participate in the collective.

Ramaphosa is lurching from one crisis to another, with his trip to Brazil for BRICS interrupted by explosive allegations against a key political ally, Police Minister Senzo Mchunu, whom a regional commissioner accused of sabotaging probes of political assassinations. It's the latest challenge to the coalition formed last year after his African National Congress lost its majority in parliament for the first time in three decades of rule.

Lula told Trump to mind his own business after his US counterpart defended embattled former leader Jair Bolsonaro, who is facing charges of attempting a coup in the South American nation. Trump alleged that Bolsonaro is a victim of political persecution. Read our interview earlier this year with Bolsonaro here.

At least 11 people were killed in violent clashes yesterday between Kenyan police and protesters demanding the removal of President William Ruto.

WATCH: Ondiro Oganga reports on the latest deadly protests in Kenya on Bloomberg TV.

A second vessel was attacked by rocket-propelled grenades in the Red Sea near Yemen just a few hours after Houthis claimed responsibility for an earlier strike in the same area.

Former Russian Transportation Minister Roman Starovoit died in an apparent suicide, the country's investigative committee said, hours after he was dismissed from his post.

China complained to India after Prime Minister Narendra Modi sent birthday wishes to the Dalai Lama, a spat that risks complicating efforts to mend ties.

On the latest episode of the Trumponomics podcast, we explore the potential for collateral damage from the US president's immigration crackdown and whether there will be an upside in the longer term for US-born workers. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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Chart of the Day

Pledges by almost 200 governments at the COP26 climate summit in 2021 to phase down coal have failed to make a dent on financial flows to fund use of the fossil fuel. An analysis by a group of nonprofits showed global banks channeled more than $385 billion to the coal-power industry over the past three years, with annual flows increasing last year from 2023.

And Finally

Customers are asking Taiwan's Delta Electronics to source more products from its plants in India as demand grows for more diverse, less China-dependent supply chains given the uncertain outlook for global trade. As manufacturers debate whether to leave China — which the US has saddled with some of the steepest tariffs — India is seeking to cash in. In its favor is an army of young workers and wages that are a fraction of those in other Asian manufacturing powerhouses.

Putting the finishing touches on Ather scooters at the company's factory in Hosur, Tamil Nadu. Photographer: Gayatri Ganju for Bloomberg Businessweek