Month: January 2018

Alaska’s all-Republican congressional delegation three weeks ago praised Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke after he announced nearly all federal waters off the state’s coast could be offered for petroleum lease sales. But after hearing from critics who do not want drilling in their home waters, U.S. Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan and Rep. Don Young are backtracking. In a letter Friday to Zinke, the delegation requested that most Alaska waters from the state’s Panhandle to the Bering Strait be removed from the proposed five-year drilling plan. Instead, they urged lease sales in only three areas: Cook Inlet, where petroleum platforms have extracted oil and natural gas for decades, and the Arctic waters of the Chukchi and Beaufort seas. “We believe the strongest near-term offshore program in Alaska is one that…

A U.S. trade commission on Friday handed an unexpected victory to Bombardier Inc. against Boeing Co., in a ruling that allows the Canadian company to sell its newest jets to U.S. airlines without heavy duties, sending Bombardier's shares up 15 percent. The U.S. International Trade Commission's unanimous decision was the latest twist in U.S.-Canadian trade relations that have been complicated by disputes over tariffs on Canadian lumber and U.S. milk and President Donald Trump's desire to renegotiate or even abandon the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Trump, who did not weigh in on the dispute personally, took his "America First" message to the world's elite on Friday, telling a summit that the United States would "no longer turn a blind eye" to what he described as unfair trade practices. The ITC commissioners voted 4-0 that Bombardier's prices did not harm…

President Donald Trump has warned that the United States will no longer tolerate unfair trade practices and will always put America first in future trade deals. Giving the closing speech at the World Economic Forum in the Swiss resort of Davos on Friday, Trump lauded the performance of the U.S. economy under his leadership. The speech, however, was overshadowed by further controversy over alleged links between the president's campaign team and Russia. Henry Ridgwell reports. ...

Around the world, an area larger than all of South America has been deforested, eroded, drained or salinized. A new report says there's money to be made restoring that land. VOA's Steve Baragona has more. ...

The U.S. economy likely maintained a brisk pace of growth in the fourth quarter, driven by an acceleration in consumer and business spending, which could set it on course to attain the Trump administration’s 3 percent annual growth target this year. Gross domestic product probably increased at a 3.0 percent annual rate also boosted by a rebound in homebuilding investment and a pickup in government outlays, according to a Reuters poll of economists. The strong growth pace would come despite anticipated drags from trade and inventory investment. It would follow a 3.2 percent pace of expansion in the third quarter and mark the first time since 2004 that the economy enjoyed growth of 3 percent or more for three straight quarters. The Commerce Department will publish its advance fourth-quarter GDP…

U.S. President Donald Trump has questioned whether peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians will ever resume. He made the remarks in a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netenyahu at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where he accused the Palestinians of disrespecting the United States by refusing to meet with Vice-President Mike Pence during his recent visit to the region. Trump threatened to cut aid money to the Palestinian territories. “That money is on the table and that money is not going to them unless they sit down and negotiate peace.  Because I can tell you that Israel does want to make peace, and they’re going to have to want to make peace too or we’re going to have nothing to do with it any longer,” he…

U.S. and Mexican unions will formally complain to the U.S. Labor Department on Thursday that Mexico continues to violate NAFTA’s weak labor standards, a move that they hope will persuade U.S. negotiators to push for stronger rules. The AFL-CIO told Reuters that it and Mexico’s UNT were filing the complaint with the U.S. office that oversees the labor accord attached to the North American Free Trade Agreement as U.S., Canadian, and Mexican negotiators met in Montreal to try to modernize the 1994 trade pact. The complaint, seen by Reuters, argues that Mexico’s proposed labor law amendments to implement constitutional reforms will violate the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation. It seeks efforts from the United States to prevent the measures from being implemented and to demand changes to bring Mexico…

Puerto Rico's governor submitted a revised fiscal plan overnight Thursday that estimates the U.S. Caribbean territory's economy will shrink by 11 percent and its population drop by nearly 8 percent next year. The proposal doesn't set aside any money to pay creditors in the next five years as the island struggles to restructure a portion of its $73 billion public debt. The original plan had set aside $800 million a year for creditors, a fraction of the roughly $35 billion due in interest and payments over the next decade. The five-year plan also assumes Puerto Rico will receive at least $35 billion in emergency federal funds for post-hurricane recovery and another $22 billion from private insurance companies. Some analysts view that assumption as risky given that the U.S. Treasury Department…

Gulf Arab officials used the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday to slam Iran for what they said was its destabilizing behavior in the region, taking advantage of Tehran's conspicuous absence at the annual event. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif had been a regular presence at the annual forum that brings together top politicians, CEOs and bankers, and he often clashed with his Gulf Arab counterparts at competing sessions. But this year, he did not show. As a result, the platform was wide open for Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain to criticize Iran. Iran, the leading Shiite Muslim power, and Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia, a key U.S. ally, are rivals for influence in the Middle East, where they support opposing sides in Yemen, Syria, Iraq and Lebanon. "In the Middle East, we have two competing…

Toys R Us, a nostalgic favorite even as many shoppers moved to Amazon and huge chains like Walmart, plans to close up to 182 stores, or about 20 percent of its U.S. locations. The company that once dominated toy sales in the U.S. has been operating under bankruptcy protection since last fall, when it filed for Chapter 11 under the weight of $5 billion in debt. Toys R Us operates about 900 stores in the U.S., including Babies R Us stores. Loyal fans lamented the closing of their hometown stores. Many said they liked to shop at Toys R Us because of the atmosphere and the variety of toys they found. "It's an experience," said Bryan Likins of Indianapolis, who takes his 4-year-old daughter to Toys R Us. "She likes…

Protesters have been pouring into the streets in several Swiss cities to express opposition to U.S. President Donald Trump's attendance at this week's World Economic Forum in Davos. Trump arrives Thursday in the Swiss ski resort and is slated to present his "America First" message in a speech Friday to global business and political leaders. On the eve of his arrival, members of Trump's economic team previewed the strategy for increasing U.S. global competitiveness. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, one of 10 Cabinet secretaries attending the gathering, endorsed a lower dollar, pushing the greenback to its lowest level in three years, according to the Bloomberg Dollar Index. "Obviously, a weaker dollar is good for us as it relates to trade and opportunities," Mnuchin told reporters at Davos. A day after Trump…

The Trump administration is set to announce a raft of trade decisions over the next months, ranging from curbs on foreign imports of steel and aluminum to steps to clamp down on China's alleged theft of intellectual property. U.S. President Donald Trump has stressed his "America First" agenda in his first year in office and called for fairer, more reciprocal trade. He has blamed globalization for ravaging American manufacturing jobs as companies sought to reduce labor costs by relocating to Mexico and elsewhere. Imported washing machines, solar panels In its first major trade decision of the year, the administration slapped steep tariffs on imported washing machines and solar panels, boosting Whirlpool Corp. and dealing a setback to the renewable energy industry. Monday's decision imposed a 20 percent tariff on the first…

Europe's economy is on a roll — raising the question of exactly when the European Central Bank will end its extraordinary stimulus efforts. Bank President Mario Draghi will be at pains this week to leave that point open. No changes in stimulus settings or interest rates are expected at Thursday's meeting of the bank's 25-member governing council, which sets monetary policy for the 19 countries that use the euro. Draghi's post-meeting news conference, however, will be closely scrutinized for any hints of a change in the timetable for withdrawing a key stimulus component — a massive bond-buying program — later this year. Here is a fast guide. Where's inflation? Stubbornly low inflation is why Draghi and his ECB colleagues want to keep the stimulus program running. The bank's mission is…

President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed into law a steep tariff on imported solar panels, a move billed as a way to protect American jobs but which the solar industry said would lead to tens of thousands of layoffs. The following are some questions and answers about the decision: What impact will the decision have on the solar industry? Trump has said the tariff will lead to more U.S. manufacturing jobs, by preventing foreign goods that are cheap and often subsidized from undercutting domestic products. He also expects foreign solar panel producers to start manufacturing in the United States. "You're going to have people getting jobs again and we're going to make our own product again. It's been a long time," Trump said as he signed the order. The main…

A trade group representing U.S. auto parts makers on Monday urged the Trump administration to adopt NAFTA automotive rules that cover research, engineering, design and software development work as part of North American regional value content goals. The proposal from the Motor and Equipment Manufacturers Association (MEMA) was sent to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer as a sixth round of negotiations to revise the North American Free Trade Agreement began in Montreal. U.S. demands for sweeping changes to automotive content rules are among the most contentious issues in the NAFTA talks, including a requirement that half the value of all North American vehicles come from the United States and a far higher content requirement of 85 percent from North America. Canada and Mexico have said the U.S. targets are unworkable,…

China invited Latin American and Caribbean countries to join its "One Belt, One Road" initiative on Monday, as part of an agreement to deepen economic and political cooperation in a region where U.S. influence is historically strong. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the region was a natural fit for the initiative, which China has leveraged to deepen economic and financial cooperation with developing nations. "China will always stay committed to the path of peaceful development and the win-win strategy of opening up and stands ready to share development dividends with all countries," Wang said at a meeting between China and 33 members of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC). Representatives from China and CELAC signed a broad agreement to expand ties in the second time China…