Author: Busman

VOA's Michael Bowman and Ira Mellman contributed to this report. China says it is imposing tariffs on $60 billion worth of imports from the United States, retaliating after President Donald Trump boosted taxes on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods sent to the United States and moved to impose duties on another $300 billion of Chinese exports. The Chinese finance ministry said Monday its new 5% to 25% tax would be imposed June 1 and affect 5,140 U.S. products exported to China. Beijing said its response was targeting "U.S. unilateralism and trade protectionism." "China will never succumb to foreign pressure," the foreign ministry said. "We are determined and capable of safeguarding our legitimate rights and interests. We still hope that the U.S. will meet us half way." The new Chinese…

Honda has confirmed its western England car factory, which employs 3,500 people, will close in 2021. The Japanese carmaker announced Monday that the Swindon plant will shut in two years, "at the end of the current model's production life cycle."   Honda makes its popular Civic model at the factory, 70 miles (115 kms) west of London.   Reports of the closure first emerged in February, heightening concerns about the impact of Brexit-related uncertainty on the U.K. economy.   Honda said the closure is not Brexit-driven but "is part of Honda's broader global strategy in response to changes to the automotive industry."   It said it had spoken to the British government and union consultants, but "no viable alternatives to the proposed closure of the Swindon plant have been identified."…

The U.S. said Sunday it expects that China will retaliate with increased tariffs on U.S. exports after President Donald Trump sharply boosted levies on Chinese products headed to the United States. Chief White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow told "Fox News Sunday" that "both sides will suffer" from the escalating trade war between the U.S. and China, the world's two biggest economies. In the U.S., he said that "maybe the toughest burdens" are on farmers who sell soybeans, corn and wheat to China. But he said the Trump administration has "helped them before on lost exports" with $12 billion in subsidies and that "we'll do it again if we have to and if the numbers show that out." Trump on Friday more than doubled tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese…

President Donald Trump's combative approach to trade has been one of the constants among his often-shifting political views. And he's showing no signs of backing off now, even as the stakes intensify with the threat of a full-blown trade war between the world's two biggest economies.      The president went after China on Day 1 of his presidential bid, promising to ``bring back our jobs from China, from Mexico, from Japan, from so many places.''    Trump's views on trade helped forge his path to victory in states such as Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and Ohio, where he linked the loss of manufacturing jobs to the North America Free Trade Agreement and other trade deals. He warned the worst was yet to come with President Barack Obama's proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership.     …

President Donald Trump let loose with a morning round of tweets Friday that downplayed the possible consequences of his trade war with China.        Trump minimized the worth of China's purchases of U.S. goods and services, which support nearly 1 million jobs in the U.S.; misstated the trade deficit; and ignored the inevitable rise in many costs to consumers when imports are heavily taxed.     The tweets came as his tariffs kicked in on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods, with another round of tariffs in the offing, and as U.S. and Chinese officials negotiated in Washington. With trade relations between the economic giants seemingly rupturing and the stock market sinking, Trump called the talks ``congenial.''     A look at some of his statements:     Trump: ``Your all time favorite President got…

With a ring of the opening bell, Uber began picking up passengers as a newly minted public company Friday and investors waited to bet on a service with huge potential, but a long way from turning a profit. Shares in the ride-hailing giant were sold in an initial public offering for $45 each, raising $8.1 billion, but it will take several hours for new investors to show how much they're interested. Officials expect trading to start around 11:30 a.m. CEO Dara Khosrowshahi and other company officials stood on a balcony above the New York Stock Exchange and clapped as the bell rang to signal the start of the day's trading. The IPO price on Thursday came in at the lower end of Uber's targeted price range of $44 to $50…

U.S. President Donald Trump sent a series of tweets Friday on the escalating trade war with China, as the U.S. increased tariffs from 10% to 25% on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports that China vows to retaliate to. "We have lost 500 Billion Dollars a year, for many years, on Crazy Trade with China. NO MORE!" Trump went on to tweet that trade talks with China are proceeding in a "congenial manner" and "there is absolutely no need to rush" to finalize a trade agreement. The president threatened to impose 25% tariffs on an additional $325 billion worth of Chinese goods. He noted that Washington sells Beijing about $100 billion worth of goods, and with the more than $100 billion in tariffs received, the U.S. will buy agricultural products…

The International Chamber of Commerce, the world’s largest business organization, has become the latest group to criticize a proposed change to Hong Kong law that would allow for criminal extradition to mainland China.  In a scathing letter issued to legislators Wednesday, the ICC questioned why Hong Kong is fast-tracking such significant changes to its legal system with a limited public consultation, calling the move “most unbecoming in terms of public governance.”  The ICC’s letter follows similar concerns echoed by the European Union, the American Chamber of Commerce, the Hong Kong Bar Association and US Consul General Kurt Tong.  The bill was introduced in April and is set to be voted on in July by its semi-democratic legislature, in which the majority is held by pro-establishment legislators.  If passed, it would…

A strike by Uber and Lyft drivers in cities across the United States this week caused barely a ripple to passengers looking to catch a ride, highlighting the challenges in launching a labor movement from scratch in an industry that is by nature decentralized. Activists and others involved in the labor movement are still declaring it a success. It grabbed headlines, trended on Twitter and won the support of several Democrats running for president. The action was also closely watched by labor organizers, who are brainstorming about ways to build worker power in the 21st-century economy. Drivers say they wanted to draw the attention of the public, technology investors and political leaders to their plight: low pay and a lack of basic rights on the job. “The goal is to…

U.S. and Chinese trade negotiators have ended the first of two days of talks aimed at saving a trade deal even as President Donald Trump said “We’re starting that paperwork today” for imposing new “very heavy tariffs” on Chinese products.” The United States is set to impose an increase in tariffs from 10% to 25% on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports. They will go into effect before Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin return to the table. Liu He is leading the Chinese negotiating team for the talks, which threatened to collapse after the Trump administration accused Beijing of backtracking. “We were getting very close to a deal, then they started to renegotiate the deal,” said Trump on Thursday…

Orlando, Florida, had 75 million visitors last year as the theme park mecca continued to be the most visited destination in the United States Orlando had 75 million visitors last year as the theme park mecca continued to be the most visited destination in the United States, tourism officials said Thursday. Orlando in 2018 had 68.5 million domestic visitors, a year-to-year increase of 4.1%, and almost 6.5 million international visitors, a year-to-year increase of 5.4%. The overall 4.2% increase over 2017 figures was slightly smaller than the previous year-to-year increase of 5%. But there was a robust return of international visitors, a segment that had softened in previous years. The international improvement was driven by Latin American visitors, especially from Brazil and Mexico, said George Aguel, CEO of Visit Orlando,…

President Donald Trump said Wednesday U.S. automaker General Motors will invest $700 million in Ohio and create 450 jobs, selling one of its shuttered plants to a company that will produce electric trucks. "GREAT NEWS FOR OHIO!" Trump tweeted. Trump said he had talked to GM chief Mary Barra who told him of plans to sell the Lordstown, Ohio plant to Workhorse, a company that focuses on producing electric delivery vehicles. In November, GM shuttered five U.S. plants, including auto assembly plants in Michigan and Ohio, as part of a 15 percent cut in its workforce worldwide — cutting around 14,000 employees — a move which drew Trump's wrath on Twitter. But in March, GM announced plans to invest $1.8 billion in U.S. operations creating 700 new jobs. About $300 million will…

In the U.S., there's an old saying that there are only two things that are certain in life: death and taxes. But as it turns out, death is way more certain than taxes in the United States. Corporations and some wealthy individuals, including President Donald Trump, are able to legally avoid any federal taxation in some years by deducting business expenses such as capital investments, charitable donations, interest on their home loans, health care costs and numerous other write-offs from their corporate or personal income. In a report late Tuesday, The New York Times said from 1985 to 1994, Trump lost more than $1 billion in his real estate business operations and paid no federal income taxes in eight of those 10 years. Trump called the report inaccurate but did…

If a rising tide lifts all boats, then Vietnam may find that there is a related saying in economics: when the tide goes out, you will see who was swimming naked. The Southeast Asian country has fared fairly well amid the trade frictions around the world, with its foreign investment and gross domestic product continuing to grow. But even Vietnam is not immune if a recession hits the global economy, as some are expecting, which is why they are bracing for a hard landing. News this week that U.S. President Donald Trump plans to increase tariffs on Chinese goods has just added to the frictions, sending Asian stock markets plummeting. An economic downturn — in other words, the tide going out — could expose vulnerabilities for Vietnam, the equivalent of those swimming…

Drivers for ride-hailing giants Uber and Lyft are turning off their apps to protest what they say are declining wages at a time when both companies are raking in billions of dollars from investors. Organizers are planning demonstrations in 10 U.S. cities Wednesday, including Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Washington, as well as some European locations like London.   The protests arrive just ahead of Uber's initial public stock offering, which is planned for Friday. Uber hopes to raise $9 billion and is expected to be valued at up to $91.5 billion.   It's not the first time drivers for ride-hailing apps have staged protests. Strikes were planned in several cities ahead of Lyft's IPO last month, although the disruption to riders appeared to be minimal. More…

Instead of managing livestock with her family on her Floyd, Iowa, farm, Pam Johnson would rather see tractors in her fields. “I look outside at the weather and how we should be planting right now to have optimum yields this year, and we’re kind of stuck,” she told VOA, standing in a building on her farm that provided shelter from the intermittent downpours. Johnson says she is stuck — not just because of the soggy weather, but also between a rock (trade agreements) and a hard place (tariffs).  “The soybean tariffs are hurting us here,” she somberly explained.  Tariffs on soybeans, imposed by China in retaliation for U.S. tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, have been in place for a year. The impact on prices, and the bottom line for…

U.S. stocks slid Tuesday as escalating trade tensions between the United States and China triggered global growth fears and drove investors away from riskier assets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average posted its second-biggest daily percentage drop of the year, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq registered their third-biggest percentage drops, even as the major indexes pared losses to end off their session lows. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said late Monday that China had backtracked from commitments made during trade negotiations. Those comments followed President Donald Trump’s unexpected statement Sunday that he would raise tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods to 25 percent from 10 percent. Beijing said Tuesday that Chinese Vice Premier Liu He will visit the United States Thursday and Friday…

German sports car maker and Volkswagen subsidiary Porsche will pay a 535-million-euro ($598 million) fine over diesel vehicles that emitted more harmful pollutants than allowed, Stuttgart prosecutors said Tuesday. "The Stuttgart prosecutor's office has levied a 535-million-euro fine against Porsche AG for negligence in quality control," the investigators said. Porsche "abstained from a legal challenge" against the decision, the prosecutors office added. Tuesday's levy against Porsche is the latest in a string of fines against VW over its years-long "dieselgate" scandal. The auto behemoth admitted in 2015 to manipulating 11 million vehicles worldwide to appear less polluting in laboratory tests than they were in real driving conditions. Following fines against VW, high-end subsidiary Audi and now Porsche, no further investigations over "administrative offences" remain open against the group, a spokesman…

U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said on Tuesday that American technologies and expertise could play an important role in developing India's economy, but were facing significant barriers to accessing its markets. Ross told a gathering of business leaders in New Delhi that foreign companies were at a disadvantage due to India's tariff and non-tariff barriers and myriad regulations.   Ross said India was already the world's third largest economy and by 2030 it would become the world's largest consumer market because of the rapid growth of its middle class. "Yet today, India is only the U.S 13th largest export market due to overly restrictive market access barriers."   Meanwhile, the United States is India's largest export market, accounting for something like 20 percent of the total. "That's a real imbalance,…

China has confirmed that its top trade negotiator will travel to the United States to conduct a new round of trade talks later this week, even after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened higher tariffs on billions of dollars of Chinese goods after he complained the process is taking too long.   The Commerce Ministry issued a statement Tuesday that Vice Premier Liu He, President Xi Jinping’s top economic advisor, will meet with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin for two days of talks beginning Thursday.   Trump's Twitter comments on Sunday about the new tariffs sent Asian stocks and U.S. futures tumbling Monday and added uncertainty over the future of U.S.-China trade negotiations. Despite the market drop, China's official media stayed silent on Trump's comments all…

Farah Ballout's big, infectious smile is the first thing that greets you at her workplace, a cafe in Lebanon with a mission to do more than just brew coffee. Before she was hired, the 29-year-old — who has Angelman Syndrome, a genetic disorder that means she has developmental disabilities — had struggled to find work in a country with high unemployment. "I feel like it is a dream that I started here," Ballout said as tears rolled down her face. "It feels like you are walking into your home — it doesn't feel like you are going to work." Almost all the 14 staff at the Agonist coffee shop near Beirut where Ballout has worked for the past five months have special needs, from autism to Down's Syndrome. Wassim El…

Pipeline operator Ukrtransnafta said on Monday that clean Russian oil had started flowing from Belarus towards Ukraine and it was ready to resume oil exports to the European Union following a transit hiatus over contaminated crude. Flows through the Druzhba pipeline were suspended in late April because tainted crude had entered the system, sending shocks through global oil markets and damaging Russia's image as a reliable supplier of energy. The southern spur of the Druzhba pipeline passes from Belarus through Ukraine to Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic. It was not immediately clear if clean supplies were also flowing on the northern spur, which runs directly between Belarus and Poland and Germany. "The oil with the quality, which is in line with the standard, has started to flow...to the Druzhba…

The Peruvian government passed a law on Monday aimed at closing loopholes that allow companies to avoid paying taxes, estimating it will be able to collect additional revenues equal to nearly 1 percent of gross domestic product per year. The law, which was passed by decree after being approved by Congress, targets tax schemes including corporate reorganizations and contracts that defer earnings or bring forward spending in order to avoid taxes, the finance ministry said in a statement. The government expects the new law to generate an additional 6 billion soles ($1.8 billion) per year, Prime Minister Salvador del Solar said in an interview with state-run TV Peru. The measure will likely help the government meet its goal of trimming the fiscal deficit to its goal of 2.2 percent of…

Boeing did not tell U.S. regulators for more than a year that it inadvertently made an alarm alerting pilots to a mismatch of flight data optional on the 737 MAX, instead of standard as on earlier 737s, but insisted on Sunday the missing display represented no safety risk. The U.S. plane maker has been trying for weeks to dispel suggestions that it made airlines pay for safety features after it emerged that an alert designed to show discrepancies in Angle of Attack readings from two sensors was optional on the 737 MAX. Erroneous data from a sensor responsible for measuring the angle at which the wing slices through the air - known as the Angle of Attack - is suspected of triggering a flawed piece of software that pushed the…

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders on Sunday proposed a sweeping agriculture and rural investment plan to break up big agriculture monopolies and shift farm subsidies toward small family farmers.   "I think a farmer that produces the food we eat may be almost as important as some crook on Wall Street who destroys the economy," Sanders said during a campaign event in Osage, a town of fewer than 4,000 people. "Those of us who come from rural America have nothing to be ashamed about, and the time is long overdue for us to stand up and fight for our way of life."   Sanders' plan expands on themes that have been central to his presidential campaign in Iowa since the start, including his emphasis on rural America and pledge to…

U.S. President Donald Trump, looking to pressure China to speed up talks on a new trade agreement, says that starting Friday he will impose sharply higher tariffs on billions of dollars of Chinese exports to the United States. Trump wrote Sunday on Twitter: "The Trade Deal with China continues, but too slowly, as they attempt to renegotiate. No!" He said he will raise existing 10% tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods to 25%, and to impose new tariffs on another $325 billion of other products. The Wall Street Journal reported late Sunday that China is considering canceling trade talks scheduled to take place in Washington this week. The White House press secretary had not yet responded to VOA for comment regarding the Wall Street Journal report. Trump and…

U.S. employers added a robust 263,000 jobs in April, suggesting that businesses have shrugged off earlier concerns that the economy might slow this year and anticipate strong customer demand. The unemployment rate fell to a five-decade low of 3.6% from 3.8%, though that drop partly reflected an increase in the number of Americans who stopped looking for work. Average hourly pay rose 3.2% from 12 months earlier, a healthy increase though unchanged from the previous month. Friday's jobs report from the Labor Department showed that solid economic growth is still encouraging strong hiring nearly a decade into the economy's recovery from the Great Recession. The economic expansion is set to become the longest in history in July. Many businesses say they are struggling to find workers. Some have taken a…

A White House meeting between the current U.S. president and a prominent businessman who is seeking to become president of Taiwan is causing concern.  The White House on Thursday sought to downplay any diplomatic or political sensitivities, saying President Donald Trump and Foxconn founder Terry Gou did not discuss support for the billionaire's presidential campaign in Taiwan.  "He is just a great friend" of Trump, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement.  The Taiwanese businessman, however, in a Facebook posting after Wednesday's meeting and in a discussion with reporters, said he told the president of his candidacy and Trump responded that being president "was a tough job."  He also displayed a pen and autographed coin he said that Trump gave him. "If I am elected president of the…