Noted economist honored by Trump warns that 25% tariffs risk 'irreparable damage' to US automakers
WASHINGTON (AP) — Noted economist Arthur Laffer warns in a new analysis that President Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs on auto imports could add $4,711 to the cost of a vehicle. Laffer says the proposed taxes could weaken the ability of U.S. automakers to compete with their foreign counterparts. Trump had honored Laffer with the highest civilian honor 45 years after the economist famously sketched out on a napkin the “Laffer curve” showing that there’s an optimal tax rate for collecting revenue. While Trump’s tariff plans have frightened the stock market and U.S. consumers, Laffer’s analysis shows the administration has failed to convince even his favored economists that his import taxes would strengthen U.S. manufacturing.
A federal judge temporarily blocks parts of Trump's anti-DEI executive orders
CHICAGO (AP) — A federal judge has temporarily blocked the U.S. Department of Labor from implementing parts of President Donald Trump’s executive orders aimed at curbing diversity, equity and inclusion efforts among federal contractors and grant recipients. Judge Matthew Kennelly of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois halted the Labor Department from requiring federal contractors or grant recipients from certifying that they don’t operate any programs in violation of Trump’s anti-DEI executive orders. Kennelly's ruling came in response to a lawsuit filed by Chicago Women in Trades, a nonprofit with several contracts with the Department of Labor.
Trump signs executive order to end collective bargaining at agencies involved with national security
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is ending collective bargaining with federal labor unions in agencies with national security missions across the federal government, citing authority granted him under a 1978 law. The order, signed without public fanfare and announced late Thursday, appears to touch most of the federal government. Affected agencies include the Departments of State, Defense, Veterans Affairs, Energy, Health and Human Services, Treasury, Justice and Commerce and the part of Homeland Security responsible for border security. Police and firefighters will continue to collectively bargain. Trump said the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 gives him the authority to end collective bargaining with federal unions at these agencies because of their role in safeguarding national security.
How this auto union leader's support for Trump's tariffs scrambled labor politics again
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has once again scrambled the politics of organized labor and the working class with his planned tariffs on auto imports. The White House is eagerly promoting supportive comments from the nation’s top auto worker union leader, a previous Trump critic who endorsed Democrat Kamala Harris over Trump in 2024. At least a few Democrats from auto-producing states have joined their Republican colleagues in applauding the tariffs that Trump casts as a long-term jobs boost for U.S.-based auto production. Other Democrats, meanwhile, have blasted Trump’s policy, warning that a trade war will drive up inflation and raise costs for all Americans.
EPA offers industrial polluters a way to avoid rules on mercury, arsenic and other toxic chemicals
WASHINGTON (AP) — As part of a push to roll back dozens of environmental regulations, the Trump administration is offering coal-fired power plants and other industrial polluters a chance to receive exemptions from rules requiring them to reduce emissions of toxic chemicals, including mercury, arsenic and benzene. The Environmental Protection Agency has set up an electronic mailbox to allow regulated companies to request a presidential exemption under the Clean Air Act. Companies were asked to send an email by Monday seeking permission from President Donald Trump to bypass the new restrictions. The Clean Air Act enables temporary exemptions if technology required to meet new rules is not widely available and if the continued activity advances national security.
US economic growth to slow in the next 30 years, fueled by debt and declining birth rates, CBO says
WASHINGTON (AP) — Weak population gains and increased government spending will result in slower overall economic growth over the next 30 years, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said Thursday. The CBO’s latest long-term budget and economic outlook report — for a timeframe that spans 2025 to 2055 — projects publicly held debt to reach 156% of gross domestic product, or GDP, in 2055. That’s down from the agency’s March 2024 long-term budget projection, which said publicly held debt would be equal to a record 166% of American economic activity by 2054. However, that’s not necessarily a positive. The mix of slower population growth and unfettered spending will also result in weaker economic growth over the next three decades than what the CBO projected last year.
US cities located in states won by Trump would be most hurt by Canadian tariffs, an analysis finds
WASHINGTON (AP) — A new analysis finds the U.S. cities most vulnerable to a trade war with Canada turn out to largely be in the states that helped return Donald Trump to the White House. The findings by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce are a sign of the possible political risk the Republican president is taking with his tariff plans. The analysis released Thursday finds San Antonio and Detroit top the list of 41 metro areas most dependent on exports to Canada. Other cities most dependent on exports to Canada include Kansas City, Missouri; Louisville, Kentucky; Nashville, Tennessee; Columbus, Ohio; Chicago; and Cleveland. All those states but Illinois backed Trump in the last election.
Canada's new prime minister says he'll be speaking soon with Trump for the first time
TORONTO (AP) — Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney says he will talk to U.S. President Donald Trump soon after Trump announced 25% tariffs on auto imports. Carney said Thursday that Trump reached out Wednesday night to schedule a call. Trump says that he's placing 25% tariffs on auto imports. Carney said that “we will be speaking ... in the course of the next day or two." Carney was sworn in as Canada’s new prime minister on March 14. But he hasn’t spoken with Trump since taking office. It’s unusual for a U.S. president and Canadian prime minister to go so long without talking after a new leader takes office.
Trump's latest auto tariffs explained: What car buyers should know this year
DETROIT (AP) — President Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs on autos not made in the U.S. and certain auto parts will send ripple effects through an industry that is already being pummeled by steel and aluminum import duties and on-again, off-again 25% levies on Canada and Mexico. Wednesday’s news is likely to send new car prices soaring and impact the used car market. It was the latest of Trump’s many moves hobbling the auto industry in his first weeks back in the White House. Here’s what to know.
Social media trends are driving Indonesia's patchouli oil industry. The cost? Deforestation
SIMBORO, Indonesia (AP) — Demand for the patchouli plant’s oils has skyrocketed in recent years, and so too has the number of farmers in the region who now grow and process it. But the trend has an uglier underbelly as Indonesia’s vast rainforest is cleared to make way for patchouli farming. That loss of a vital ecosystem also increases the threat of landslides. Patchouli thrives in Indonesia’s tropical climate, which supplies over 80% of the global market. Local authorities are encouraging the community to get into the patchouli business to support their income. But West Sulawesi’s Environment and Forestry Agency has warned that the trend threatens the land and the people in the area around it.
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