Month: March 2018

Some countries are now likely to be spared from planned tariffs on metals advocated by U.S. President Donald Trump.  "We expect that the president will sign something by the end of the week, and there are potential carve-outs for Mexico and Canada, based on national security, and possibly other countries as well, based on that process," White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters Tuesday.  Sources at the White House also said Trump's controversial tariff plan could be put into action at a signing ceremony at 3:30 p.m. EDT (2030 UTC) Thursday. Reuters quoted a senior U.S. official as saying the measures would take effect about two weeks after Trump signed the proclamation.  Meanwhile Wednesday, U.S. Representative Kevin Brady, a Texas Republican, and other House members wrote a letter to…

U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to impose tariffs of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum has met criticism from his Republican allies in Congress, many of whom worry the measures could trigger a trade war that damages U.S. businesses. But the president does have supporters among some Senate Democrats from states where voters are concerned about the long-term loss of American manufacturing jobs. “This welcome action is long overdue for shuttered steel plants across Ohio and steelworkers who live in fear that their jobs will be the next victims of Chinese cheating,” Senator Sherrod Brown, a Democrat from Ohio, said in a statement released after the plan was announced. “If we fail to stand up for steel jobs today, China will come after other jobs up and…

President Donald Trump is selling Hispanic business owners on his new tax cuts. Trump is delivering the keynote address Wednesday at the annual legislative summit of the Latino Coalition. It's his first time addressing Hispanic business owners. The president says the $1.5 trillion package of tax cuts he signed late last year have finally given American business a "level playing field." He tells the Latino business owners that they'll "see more of this in the coming weeks." Trump highlighted administration efforts to eliminate regulations that many businesses find burdensome. Trump also touched on immigration. He blamed Democrats for failing to reach agreement with the White House on a plan to protect immigrants who were brought to the country illegally as children. ...

At Sweet Waters, a village in central Kenya, Veronicah Nyambura stands under the hot sun between two fields. One is full of lush plants - but the other has crops so wilted that their leaves have curled up. The green land is planted with tea tree, an Australian native that thrives in this semi-arid part of Kenya. Opposite is a field of maize, which suffers in years of poor rains and high temperatures. "Maize is very disappointing. You plant but you're never sure whether you'll harvest anything," said Nyambura, who has planted a quarter-acre of tea trees. The 65-year-old said she harvests 900 kg of tea tree branches every six months from that bit of land. When it was planted to maize, she got about 270 kg of grain every…

European Union states are set to remove Bahrain, the Marshall Islands and Saint Lucia from a list of tax havens next week, leaving only six jurisdictions on it, an EU document shows. The planned removals from the EU list drew criticism from an anti-corruption watchdog on Tuesday. The decision is also likely to bring more disapproval from lawmakers and activists who had strongly criticized a first delisting in January that cut the number of jurisdictions named to nine from 17. The latest decision was taken by the EU Code of Conduct Group, which includes tax experts from the 28 member states, according to an EU document seen by Reuters. EU finance ministers are expected to endorse the proposal at their regular monthly meeting in Brussels on March 13. The jurisdictions…

Mexico is looking into ways to deepen energy cooperation with Jamaica, Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray said on Tuesday on a Caribbean trip to promote U.S.-backed efforts to erode Venezuela’s diplomatic influence. Videgaray said he was hoping to get more Mexican firms to come to Jamaica as suppliers of oil and as potential investors in developing Jamaican oil resources. Last month, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson announced that Mexico, Canada and the United States were looking at how to mitigate the effect sanctions on OPEC-member Venezuela would have in the Caribbean. Videgaray, who visited St. Lucia before Jamaica, said deeper Mexican-Jamaican energy ties could serve as a model elsewhere in the island region. “Whatever we do in Jamaica can be a learning experience for what we do with other Caribbean…

Kenyan coffee has an international reputation for good quality. But Kenya’s coffee industry is struggling as production levels have dropped and a younger generation shows little interest in farming. VOA’s Daniel Schearf reports from Kirinyaga County, Kenya. ...

U.S. President Donald Trump reaffirmed his pledge to impose stiff tariffs on imported steel and aluminum Monday. The plan sparked outcry and criticism from the international community, including from members of Trump’s party. VOA’s Jesusemen Oni has more. ...

The Trump administration's proposal to expand offshore drilling off the Pacific Northwest coast is drawing vocal opposition in a region where multimillion-dollar fossil fuel projects have been blocked in recent years.   The governors of Washington and Oregon, many in the state's congressional delegation and other top state officials have criticized Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke's plan to open 90 percent of the nation's offshore reserves to development by private companies.   They say it jeopardizes the environment and the health, safety and economic well-being of coastal communities.   Opponents spoke out Monday at a hearing that a coalition of groups organized in Olympia, Washington, on the same day as an "open house" hosted by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. Attorney General Bob Ferguson told dozens gathered — some wearing…

Pennsylvania’s attorney general is suing the ride-hailing company Uber, saying it broke state law when it failed to notify thousands of drivers for a year that hackers stole their personal information. The lawsuit filed Monday in Philadelphia said hackers stole the names and drivers’ license numbers of at least 13,500 Pennsylvania Uber drivers. It accuses Uber of violating a state law to notify people of a data breach affecting them within a “reasonable time frame.” Uber acknowledged in November that for more than a year it covered up a hacking attack that stole personal information about more than 57 million customers and drivers. Pennsylvania’s lawsuit seeks civil penalties in the millions of dollars. An Uber spokesman declined immediate comment. Washington state and Chicago have also sued Uber.   ...

U.S. President Donald Trump says Mexico and Canada would be exempted from his planned tariffs on steel and aluminum imports if they can reach a "new and fair" trade agreement with the United States. The three countries are currently in negotiations on revising the North American Free Trade Agreement, with the latest round of talks wrapping up in Mexico City. Trump contended Monday on Twitter the 24-year-old agreement "has been a bad deal for U.S.A.  Massive relocation of companies & jobs."  He added, "Canada must treat our farmers much better.  Highly restrictive.  Mexico must do much more on stopping drugs from pouring into the U.S.  They have not done what needs to be done.  Millions of people addicted and dying." He said that "To protect our Country we must protect…

China's top economic official set a robust growth target Monday and promised more market opening and cuts in a bloated steel industry that has inflamed trade tensions with Washington and Europe. The growth target of "around 6.5 percent" announced by Premier Li Keqiang to China's ceremonial legislature, little-changed from last year, would be among the world's strongest if achieved. The premier also promised progress on developing electric cars and other technology and better regulation of China's scandal-plagued financial industries. The meeting of the National People's Congress is overshadowed by constitutional changes that would allow President Xi Jinping to stay in power indefinitely, but businesspeople and economists also are looking for signs Xi is speeding up reform. That follows complaints Beijing did too little while Xi focused on amassing power since…

Washington is bracing for the start of a possible trade war between the United States and its closest allies and biggest commercial partners and a radical departure from America's trading posture of the last seven decades. VOA's Michael Bowman reports, the Trump administration is not backing down from last week's announcement of looming tariffs on foreign-made steel and aluminum, with further details expected in coming days ...

China has added its voice to a growing chorus of concern about the rising threat of a trade war and tariffs that U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to impose on steel and aluminum imports later this week.   A top Chinese diplomat says that while Beijing does not want a trade war with Washington, it will defend its interests if necessary.   Speaking at a press conference ahead of China’s annual legislative meetings, Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Yesui also gave assurances that the rise of world’s second largest economy and a rise in military spending was no cause for alarm.   “China does not want a trade war with the Untied States, but we will absolutely not sit idly by and watch as China’s interests are damaged,” Zhang said.…

The EU will soon unveil a plan for taxing major internet companies like Amazon and Facebook by imposing a levy of two to six percent on revenues in every country where they operate, French finance minister Bruno Le Maire said Sunday. "The range will be from two to six percent; but closer to two than to six," Le Maire told the Journal du Dimanche newspaper. The European Commission has said it will present by end March an overhaul of its tax rules, which currently allow US digital economy giants to report their income from across the bloc in any member state. That leads them to pick low-tax nations like Ireland, the Netherlands or Luxembourg, depriving other nations of their share of the revenue even though they may account for more…

President Donald Trump threatened on Saturday to impose a tax on European cars if the European Union chooses to retaliate against his plans to place tariffs on imported steel and aluminum. In a tweet Saturday morning, Trump said the U.S. had an "$800 Billion Dollar Yearly" trade imbalance because of "very stupid" trade deals and policies. He warned that if the EU increased "tariffs and barriers" against American-made products, "we will simply add a Tax on their Cars." Presently, the U.S. imposes a 2.5 percent tariff on European-built cars and Europe imposes a 10 percent tariff on U.S.-built cars. Earlier this week, Trump announced that he plans sometime in the coming week to impose tariffs of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum imports. He said the tariffs…