Wisconsin, United States:

Donald Trump has nominated Fox Business host Sean Duffy to be the next Transportation Secretary. The former congressman will replace Pete Buttigieg in January to oversee a huge federal portfolio of infrastructure spending and transit regulations.

President-elect Donald Trump. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

President-elect Donald Trump has selected Chris Wright, a campaign donor and fossil fuel executive, to serve as energy secretary in a second Trump administration.

Mr. Wright, CEO of Denver-based Liberty Energy, is a vocal advocate of oil and gas development, including fracking, a key pillar of Trump’s quest to achieve U.S. “energy dominance” in the global market.

Mr. Wright has won support from influential conservatives, including oil and gas tycoon Harold Hamm. Hamm, executive chairman of Oklahoma-based Continental Resources, a major shale oil company, is a longtime Trump supporter and adviser who played a key role on energy issues in Mr. Trump’s first term.

Hamm helped organise an event at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in April where Mr. Trump reportedly asked industry leaders and lobbyists to donate $1 billion to Trump’s campaign, with the expectation that Mr. Trump would curtail environmental regulations if re-elected.

Mr. Wright has been one of the industry’s loudest voices against efforts to fight climate change and could give fossil fuels a boost, including quick action to end a year-long pause on natural gas export approvals by the Biden administration.

Mr. Wright has criticised what he calls a “top-down” approach to climate by liberal and left-wing groups and said the climate movement around the world is “collapsing under its own weight”.

Mike Sommers, president of the American Petroleum Institute, the oil and gas industry’s top lobbying group, said Mr. Wright’s experience in the energy sector “gives him an important perspective that will inform his leadership” of the Energy Department.

“We look forward to working with him once confirmed to bolster American geopolitical strength by lifting DOE’s pause on LNG export permits and ensuring the open access of American energy for our allies around the world,” Mr. Sommers said.

Jackie Wong, senior vice president for climate and energy at the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental group, called Mr. Wright “a champion of dirty fossil fuels” and said his nomination to lead the Energy Department was “a disastrous mistake.”

This combination photo shows Nikki Haley, former United States Ambassador to the United Nations, left, speaking in Taipei, Taiwan, Aug. 21, 2024, and Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaking at a campaign rally, Oct. 27, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo)

President-elect Donald Trump ruled out two of his previous Cabinet members — former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former envoy to the United Nations Nikki Haley — to be part of his upcoming administration.

Trump, 78, was elected as the 47th President of the United States. He defeated Vice President Kamala Harris, 60, in the elections held on November 5. In the first term, Trump served as the 45th President from January 20, 2017, to January 20, 2021.

Also read | Donald Trump wins White House race: U.S. Election Results 2024 in Charts

“I will not be inviting former Ambassador Nikki Haley, or former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, to join the Trump Administration, which is currently in formation,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

Mr. Pompeo served as the CIA Director and Secretary of State in his first term, while Ms. Haley served as his ambassador to the United Nations in the first two years of his presidency. Both his cabinet-ranking officials later entered the presidential race against him in the Republican primaries.

While Mr. Pompeo dropped from the race early, Ms. Haley was the last challenger against Trump till February this year. Later on, the two endorsed his campaign. Ms. Haley announced her support for Trump during the Republican National Convention in Wisconsin in July this year.

However, in his post, Trump thanked his two former Cabinet officials for their service.

“I very much enjoyed and appreciated working with them previously, and would like to thank them for their service to our Country. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” Trump said.

The Department of Commerce building in Washington D.C. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

The story so far: The government is still gauging the impact of a decision by the U.S. Treasury department to impose sanctions on 19 Indian entities among nearly 400 companies, mainly for supplying “dual-use” technologies to Russia. In addition, the Bureau of Industry and Security run by the U.S. Commerce Department added 40 companies including five from India for re-exporting goods and parts to Russia that were imported from the U.S.

Why are recent U.S. sanctions significant?

Since April 2021, when U.S. President Joe Biden passed an executive order (E.O. 14024) on “Blocking Property With Respect To Specified Harmful Foreign Activities of the Government of the Russian Federation”, the U.S. has sanctioned hundreds of companies from more than 20 countries worldwide for supplies and sales to Russia, including some from India. But on October 30, the U.S. Department of Treasury invoked the E.O. to sanction 19 Indian entities, including companies and individuals for providing “dual-use” technologies to Russia and other deals with Russian companies calling them “Third-Country Sanctions Evaders”. The companies, mostly based in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bengaluru and Hyderabad, are reputable, well-established companies dealing in technological manufacturing, with some even holding government contracts. These companies will now be on a U.S. “blacklist”, have assets or funds in the U.S. frozen, and face travel bans.

How has the Indian government responded?

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has been fairly muted on the action by the U.S., which is likely to cost Indian companies millions of dollars in contracts and legal appeals. When asked during a briefing, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that the MEA had “seen reports of U.S. sanctions”, but declined to comment on whether this was discussed between U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and NSA Ajit Doval, who spoke a day later. The MEA said the companies were “not in violation of Indian laws”, and pointed out that the government was trying to “clarify issues”. “India has a robust legal and regulatory framework on strategic trade and non-proliferation controls,” Mr. Jaiswal said, referring to India’s membership of key non-proliferation export control regimes such as the Wassenaar Arrangement, Australia Group and the Missile Technology Control Regime.

What else can India do?

India does not recognise unilateral sanctions by the U.S. or any other country, following only those sanctions imposed by the UN. However, as India-U.S. high-tech trade increases, the U.S.’s strictures will have an increasing impact on both Indian companies and the government’s moves. According to the MEA, Indian agencies are already “sensitising” Indian companies on the new measures being implemented by the U.S. that could impact them. The government could also increase measures to sanction-proof those Indian companies doing business with Russia, by building more structural banking mechanisms, and facilitating payments in national currencies, as have been explored for refineries procuring Russian oil, diamond processing units and other sectors where the U.S. and EU sanctions have been the most stringent. Eventually, rejecting any U.S. decision will come at the cost of bilateral ties, and the government will have to evaluate the cost-benefit calculus on whether to accept U.S.’s moves, or to react more strongly to sanctions.

Will the Trump victory make a difference?

While a new U.S. administration after Donald Trump’s electoral win is expected to pursue a softer line on Russia, it is unlikely that these sanctions will be removed anytime soon, say analysts. During his campaign, Mr. Trump has consistently side-stepped any criticism of Russia’s war in Ukraine, saying that once he comes to power, he would “end the war within 24 hours”. This has been seen as an indication that the Trump administration would not impose further sanctions on Russia. However, the U.S. Congress has frequently taken very tough positions on Russia, and in 2017, virtually forced Mr. Trump’s hand during his first tenure into signing the CAATSA law (Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act) that threatened sanctions against countries for procuring major Russian military hardware, including the S-400 missile defence systems that India has signed a deal for. While Mr. Trump has led the Republican party to a majority in the Senate, it is unlikely that he will reverse any of the sanctions already imposed on Russia.