Jobless Claims by US Federal Workers Fall Back to End-2024 Level
There were 564 initial claims filed nationwide in the Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees program for the week ended March 22, according data posted on the Department of Labor's website on Thursday. That's about a third of a recent peak a month ago, at a time when the Trump administration started to fire employees across government agencies.
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Newsweek
14 minutes ago
- Newsweek
America Needs a Digital Dollar
As China accelerates deployment of its digital yuan, and the European Central Bank advances toward a digital euro, the Republican Party is seeking to prevent the creation of a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) in the United States. Their insistence on clinging to an increasingly obsolete financial infrastructure means that Americans will continue to be saddled with billions in unnecessary fees every year and that corporations will be empowered to erode our privacy in Orwellian fashion. What's more, handicapping ourselves in this way will only make it more likely that the dollar's dominance in global finance will come to a premature end. America needs a digital dollar, and we need it now. The Trump administration's recent digital assets report explicitly prohibits federal agencies from establishing or promoting CBDCs, arguing they "threaten the stability of the financial system, individual privacy, and the sovereignty of the United States." This position reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of how digital currencies actually work—and ignores the privacy advantages they could provide over our current system. Consider this analogy: when you send a package through the United States Postal Service, the Fourth Amendment protects its contents from unreasonable government search. That same package sent via FedEx or UPS enjoys no such constitutional protection. Similarly, a government-issued digital currency would operate under constitutional constraints and democratic oversight that private payment systems simply don't face. As such, a government run service inherently offers more privacy protection than its privately run counterpart. A visual representation of digital cryptocurrency coins sit on display in front of a European flag in Paris, France. A visual representation of digital cryptocurrency coins sit on display in front of a European flag in Paris, France. Chesnot/Getty Images Today, every swipe of your credit card, every electronic transfer, and every digital payment flows through private corporations that collect, analyze, and monetize your financial data. Banks routinely share transaction information with third parties, build detailed consumer profiles, and sell insights about your spending habits. In contrast, a properly designed CBDC could implement strong privacy protections by design, limiting data collection to only what's necessary for monetary policy and financial crime prevention. The economic benefits of a digital dollar are even more compelling. Americans currently pay $5-10 billion annually in overdraft fees alone—money that could stay in families' pockets with a CBDC system that allows direct government-to-citizen transfers and eliminates many banking intermediaries. The millions of Americans who remain unbanked or underbanked would finally have access to basic financial services without requiring a traditional bank account. Even for those in the baking system, the benefits of a CBDC are potentially enormous. Wire transfers, which cost $13-$44 each on average and take days to settle, could become nearly instantaneous and free. That speed in payment settlement would also make a huge difference to Americans when they need emergency aid quickly, as a CBDC could allow the government to deliver relief payments in minutes rather than weeks. The urgency in America to adopt a CBDC extends beyond domestic concerns. In an era of growing geopolitical competition, monetary policy has become a tool of statecraft. The country that controls the dominant digital payment infrastructure will wield enormous influence over global commerce. China understands this, which is why it has invested heavily in digital yuan infrastructure and is actively promoting its use. China is creating first-mover advantages that will be difficult or even impossibly to overcome if we continue to stall. The Federal Reserve has spent years studying CBDC technology. We should be encouraging and guiding them on this task rather than holding them back. In doing so, critics should keep in mind that CBDC implementation need not be revolutionary. A digital dollar should complement rather than replace physical currency, giving Americans choice while maintaining familiar monetary arrangements. So too could retailers freely choose whether to accept digital payments, just as they currently decide whether to accept credit cards. Additional privacy protections for all users can also be built into the system's architecture, not added as an afterthought. The real threat to American privacy and financial sovereignty isn't a democratically governed CBDC—it's ceding monetary leadership to authoritarian competitors and unaccountable private corporations that enrich themselves off our data while impoverishing the worst off among us. The question isn't whether digital currencies will reshape global finance, it's whether America will lead this transformation or watch from the sidelines as others determine the future of money. For the sake of American competitiveness, financial inclusion, and yes, even privacy, it's time for a digital dollar. Nicholas Creel is an associate professor of business law at Georgia College & State University. The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
Time Magazine
16 minutes ago
- Time Magazine
Tracking Trump's Tariffs
President Donald Trump's on-again, off-again approach to his signature tariff policy has taken global economies on a rollercoaster in just the first six months of his second presidential term. Trump slammed nearly every country in the world with tariffs as high as 50% on April 2, so-called 'Liberation Day.' A week later, he announced a temporary reduction that was meant to end July 9, during which time he said he'd negotiate '90 deals in 90 days' to re-balance U.S. trade relationships. But as that deadline neared, Trump announced a new deadline of Aug. 1 and began unveiling a slate of new tariffs on more than a dozen countries. Throughout this all, Trump has also announced sectoral tariffs on cars, steel, aluminum, and copper, as well as threatened countries appearing to align against American interests, like members of the intergovernmental organization BRICS, with additional tariffs. Read More: Trump's Trade Deals, Negotiations, and New Tariffs for Each Country On the eve of Trump's Aug. 1 trade deal deadline, the White House once again unveiled new tariff rates on much of the world, most of which will take effect Aug. 7. For countries with which the U.S. has a trade surplus—meaning that it exports more to those countries than it imports from them—the 'universal' tariff is 10%, which remains unchanged from April 2. For countries with which the U.S. has a trade deficit, the new baseline rate is 15%, which will apply to around 40 countries. More than a dozen other countries will face higher tariff rates, either imposed by Trump in a more recent announcement or obtained through trade agreements with the U.S. The U.S. has reached trade deals or framework agreements with a number of countries: the European Union, Indonesia, Japan, Pakistan, the Philippines, South Korea, the U.K., and Vietnam. The U.S. also reached an agreement with China, although the two sides are continuing to negotiate the details ahead of a later deadline of Aug. 12, which the White House has indicated could be extended. And Trump has granted Mexico a 90-day extension to facilitate further trade talks. The White House has bragged about raising more than $150 billion from tariffs over the past six months, while Trump has said 'tariffs are making America GREAT & RICH Again.' (A Monthly Treasury Statement from June shows that the government has collected around $108 billion in customs duties since October 1, 2024, while the Treasury Department reported the collection of upwards of $28 billion in duties in July.) Revenue from tariffs is likely to increase as higher tariffs for dozens of countries go into effect. Many economists, however, say tariffs are effectively a tax on American consumers and have warned that trade tensions could trigger a U.S.—or even global—recession. Here's a breakdown of all Trump's tariffs. Trump's 'reciprocal' tariffs Trump has said his tariffs are aimed at balancing the U.S.'s trade relationships with the rest of the world in two main ways: firstly, by pressuring countries to negotiate trade deals more favorable to the U.S., and secondly by incentivizing firms to bring manufacturing back to the U.S. The President has railed against the country's trade deficits with much of the rest of the world, though he's also imposed tariffs on countries that the U.S. has a trade surplus with, like Brazil. It's true that the U.S. imports much more goods from most countries than it exports, but economists have pointed out that that's a position many other countries are striving to be in. The U.S. exports mainly services—like banking services, software, and entertainment—while many poorer countries have much larger and lower-paying manufacturing sectors. Economists have also said tariffs aren't necessarily an effective way to address trade deficits and are instead likely to cause higher prices for American consumers, unsettle American businesses, and erode trust between the U.S. and its trading partners, leading trade and diplomatic partnerships away from the U.S. in the long term. Trump's 'Liberation Day' tariffs, imposed April 2, were 'reciprocal' based on what he said were tariffs and other manipulations against the U.S. by other countries, although economists have criticized his method of calculating those rates: each country's trade surplus with the U.S. was divided by its exports to the U.S. and then divided by two. It's not yet clear how the new rates, some of which Trump began announcing July 7 in 'letters' sent to each country and shared on his Truth Social platform, were determined. Trump has said they are based on countries' 'Tariff, and Non-Tariff, Policies and Trade Barriers.' For certain countries though he cited reasons unrelated to trade. The 50% tariff on Brazil, for example, is based partly on what Trump called a 'Witch Hunt' against the country's former President Jair Bolsonaro, a Trump ally who has been charged with attempting to launch a coup to stay in office in 2022. Other Trump tariffs Trump has also imposed tariffs on specific sectors, including a 25% tariff on cars and car parts and a 50% tariff on most foreign imports of steel, aluminum, and copper. Several more sectoral tariffs may be introduced pending Section 232 Commerce Department investigations, such as on semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, critical minerals, and commercial aircraft and engines. Imports subjected to section 232 tariffs do not always 'stack' on top of other tariffs. For example, a car imported from overseas will be tariffed at 25%, but will not be subject to tariffs on aluminum, steel, or other 'stacking' tariffs. Metals tariffs supersede country 'reciprocal' tariffs but both steel and aluminum tariffs can apply to the same product. Some trade agreements, like the U.S.-E.U. deal, also cap sectoral tariffs at a lower rate. For example, the 15% 'reciprocal' tariff on the E.U. also applies to cars and car parts. Some sectoral tariffs predate Trump's second term. Trump introduced tariffs on various sectors and countries in his first presidential term. In January 2018, he imposed tariffs on all solar panels, for which China is the world's largest producer, and washing machines. In June that year he also introduced 25% tariffs on over 800 products from China. Trump also imposed a 25% tariff on steel and a 10% tariff on aluminum from Canada, Mexico and the E.U. These tariffs set off retaliatory moves from the impacted countries, though most U.S. and retaliatory tariffs from Trump's first term eventually expired or were rolled back. The U.S. and China reached a truce in January 2020 after escalating tit-for-tat tariffs, but former President Joe Biden extended the solar panel tariffs in 2022. Some countries might also be subject to additional tariffs based on political reasons. Trump announced on July 6 that he would tariff countries aligning themselves with BRICS at an additional 10% rate. Among the countries whose new rates have been announced so far, that includes Brazil, South Africa, India and Iran. It's not yet clear whether it affects countries that the U.S. has cut a deal with, like China or Indonesia. Trump has also cracked down on what was known as the de minimis exemption, which exempted small shipments valued at $800 or less from customs duties and declarations. The tax provision, which was introduced in 1938, has largely benefitted fast fashion giants like Shein and Temu, which have sent millions of packages a day to the U.S. Trump closed the exemption for shipments from China and Hong Kong in an April 2 executive order, tariffing the low-value shipments from those exporters effectively at a 120% rate from May 2 (after tit-for-tat tariff hikes). He then reversed course with a May 12 executive order that eased levies on low-value imports. Then, he reversed course again with a July 30 executive order, ending the tariff exemption for all countries around the world.
UPI
16 minutes ago
- UPI
Trump's tariff deadline arrives with fewer deals than promised
President Donald Trump during a meeting with African leaders at the White House, Washington, D.C., on July 9. President Trump met with the leaders of Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania and Senegal at the White House to discuss trade. File Photo by Will Oliver/UPI | License Photo July 31 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump's suspension of reciprocal tariffs ends Friday and the United States has only managed a small portion of his goal for new trade deals. Trump has pushed back his self-imposed deadlines on multiple occasions during his second term but said in a post on social media on Wednesday that Friday's deadline will not be extended. A day after the post, Trump announced a 90-day pause on new tariffs on Mexico as trade negotiations continue. The United States has reached preliminary trade deals with at least five countries, though these framework agreements lack some publicly disclosed details. Trump has also announced an agreement with the European Union for a 15% tariff on most goods from the 27-nation bloc. The European Union is the largest trade partner of the United States, exchanging about $605 billion in goods annually. The easing of tariffs on the European Union does not extend to the 50% tariffs on steel that Trump imposed earlier this year. Trump's tariff gambit sparked immediate economic turmoil with the hope that it would reset global trade in favor of the United States. He claimed to have made 200 deals in April, though details about those deals were never shared, and the administration called "90 deals in 90 days" a possibility. While the administration is set to fall significantly short on its lofty goals, Trump has lauded the success of his tariff policy. "We are very busy in the White House today working on Trade Deals," Trump posted on Wednesday. "I have spoken to the Leaders of many Countries, all of whom want to make the United States 'extremely happy.'" Trump announced Wednesday on social media that negotiations continued this week with South Korea. The United States is imposing a 25% tariff on South Korean goods but Trump said South Korea has made an offer to "buy down" that tariff rate. The agreement materialized on Thursday. The United States will reduce the tariff on South Korea to 15% based on South Korea agreeing to $350 billion in investments "owned and controlled" by the United States and selected by Trump. China is among the United States' biggest trade partners and a primary target of Trump's tariff policy dating back to his first term in office. In June, Trump announced that the United States and China had come to an agreement over the trade of rare earth minerals. As part of the agreement, China would export rare earth minerals to the United States and both countries would reduce their tariffs for 90 days. The rare earth minerals discussed are a crucial component in energy sources for mobile devices like smartphones as well as electric vehicles. China is subject to a 34% reciprocal tariff that has been suspended until Aug. 12. The tariff is on all products, including those originating from Hong Kong and Macau. In response, China has increased tariffs on the United States by more than 120% since Trump took office. July was the busiest month in terms of trade announcements, starting with a deal reached with Vietnam on July 2. According to Trump, Vietnam will pay a 20% tariff on all goods exported to the United States and 40% on goods that are transhipped through Vietnam to the United States. U.S. exports to Vietnam face no tariff. As Trump discussed trade with Vietnam, he cast doubt that an agreement would be reached with Japan. He imposed a 24% tariff on the ally nation. According to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the United States and Japan traded $227.9 billion in goods in 2024. The United States exported about $79.7 billion to Japan, an increase of more than 5% over 2023. The United States also imported about $148.2 billion in goods, or about a $971 million increase. "Japan will continue to engage vigorously in sincere and honest discussions toward the realization of an agreement that will benefit both Japan and the United States," said Kazuhiko Aoki, Japan's deputy chief cabinet secretary. Trump met with the leaders of five African nations -- Senegal, Liberia, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania and Gabon -- in July to discuss increased trade activity. "We're shifting from aid to trade," he said. "In the long run, this will be far more effective and sustainable and beneficial than anything else that we could be doing together." Trump said at the time there was a possibility that the five countries would be exempted from reciprocal tariffs. No agreements have been officially announced since the meeting took place. A similar deal with Indonesia was announced days later by the president. Trump said he reached an agreement that would see Indonesia pay a 19% tariff on U.S. exports while dropping most tariffs on the United States. Trump added that the agreement includes a commitment by Indonesia to purchase $15 billion in U.S. energy, $4.5 billion in agriculture products and 50 Boeing jets. According to the White House, the United States and Indonesia seek to eliminate barriers for digital trade as part of their agreement. Indonesia is also committed to improving its labor standards by removing provisions that prevent workers and unions from collective bargaining. The Philippines has followed suit with cutting tariffs on U.S. products, according to Trump. The United States and the Philippines reached an agreement last week. The United States will lower its tariff on imports from the Philippines from 20% to 19%. The United States and the Philippines traded about $23.5 billion in goods in 2024.
