Trump 2.0 Is Using a Light Touch on Pipeline Safety Oversight
How is the second Trump administration approaching oversight of oil and gas flows between states? With a light touch — at least, that's what one key metric suggests.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNN
5 minutes ago
- CNN
Americans could pay more for these items from Mexico and the EU if Trump makes good on his latest tariff threats
President Donald Trump expanded his tariff threats over the weekend, calling for 30% levies on two of America's largest trading partners: the European Union and Mexico. Those tariffs are set to take effect August 1, unless either party inks a trade deal or takes other measures that cause the president to reverse course. If that does not happen, Americans could get stuck paying more for an extensive list of goods. But as is the case with the various tariffs Trump has already imposed — including the nearly universal 10% and the 25% tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico that don't already comply with his own free-trade deal known as the United States-Mexico-Canada-Agreement — it can take time for tariffs to translate into higher prices. For instance, inflation reports from the last three months have shown prices have remained stable despite higher tariffs. The Trump administration maintains that 'the cost of tariffs will be borne by foreign exporters who rely on access to the American economy, the world's biggest and best consumer market,' Kush Desai, a White House spokesperson, said in a statement to CNN. That's not exactly the full story, though, given importers pay tariffs up front, and while they may absorb some of the tax themselves, oftentimes they end up having to pass it on to consumers via higher prices. If Trump follows through with the 30% tariffs, here's what Americans could shell out more money for: Already, tomato prices are poised to increase as of Monday, with a key tomato-specific free-trade agreement between the United States and Mexico set to expire. But that's hardly the only produce Mexico ships to the US that could get more expensive. Last year, the US imported $46 billion of agricultural products from Mexico, according to data from the US Department of Agriculture. That includes $8.3 billion worth of fresh vegetables and $9 billion of fresh fruits, with avocados accounting for $3.1 billion of that total. Many of the EU's biggest exports to the US are already facing higher tariffs in Trump's second term. That includes 25% tariffs on cars and car parts as well as 50% tariffs on steel and aluminum. Trump has also said tariffs on semiconductors and pharmaceuticals, two other big sources of EU exports to the US, are in the works. The 30% tariffs on the EU, if implemented, would be 'separate' from sectoral tariffs, Trump said in his letter to European Commissioner President Ursula von der Leyen. Putting those sectoral tariffs aside, Americans may have to pay more for another top EU export to the US: medical equipment. Last year the US imported $16 billion worth of medical equipment and surgical supplies from the EU, according to US Commerce Department data. After Trump slapped higher tariffs on China in his first term, the US has looked more to Mexico for electronics than to China, which used to be a preferred source. Now, as the US's biggest trading partner, the top foreign source of electronic goods that came in to the US last year was Mexico. That includes $49 billion worth of computers, $20 billion worth of electrical equipment and $13 billion of audio and video equipment. Mexico and the EU each shipped over $11 billion worth of beer, wine and distilled spirits to the US last year, according to USDA data. Meanwhile, the EU has previously indicated it would respond to higher tariffs by taxing American alcoholic beverages at higher levels. That's why the Distilled Spirits Council of the US, whose members include Constellation Brands, Brown-Forman and Bacardi, among several others, has been advocating against higher tariffs on alcohol, especially from the EU, given the negative impact it can have on domestic producers.
UPI
15 minutes ago
- UPI
DOGE cuts on Senate agenda in busy week for lawmakers
1 of 2 | The Senate is set to consider a plan this week that will withhold funding from foreign aid and public broadcasting. File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo July 14 (UPI) -- Lawmakers will have a busy week in Washington as senators consider a GOP plan with a Friday deadline to pull back billions of dollars that hits foreign aid and public broadcasting. The Senate will hold yet another "vote-a-rama" after the House in June approved a Republican-crafted rescission package in a 214-212 vote to rescind some $9.4 trillion in federal money. It seeks to claw back already-approved funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting -- which funds PBS and NPR -- and cuts cash for the U.S. Agency for International Development, which was targeted this year by the Elon Musk-run Department of Government Efficiency. Trump has long attacked both NPR and PBS over a perceived bias. In May, he signed an executive order to halt federal streams. But concerns exist among some Republican members over cuts to public broadcasting and the 22-year-old President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief under USAID. Trump last week threatened to withhold political support for any Republican who opposed the legislation. "What we're trying to do is ensure that every dollar spent by the federal government is used efficiently and effectively," House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said in June on the package. Last month, four House Republicans broke from GOP ranks to vote against the proposed cuts. But Republicans can afford to lose only three votes this week in the Senate and still have it pass the upper chamber. "I want to strike the rescission of funds for PEPFAR, which has an enormous record of success, having saved some 26 million lives over the course of the program, as well as preventing nearly 8 million infants from receiving AIDS from their infected mothers," Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said previously. PEPFAR came to life under then-Republican President George W. Bush with global success in dealing with the immunity virus, which currently infects more than 1 million American women and men. "So I can't imagine why we would want to terminate that program," added Collins. In a social media post last week, the president said it was "very important" that "all Republicans adhere" to his recessions bill. "Any Republican that votes to allow this monstrosity to continue broadcasting will not have my support or Endorsement," Trump wrote. The Senate's Democratic leader has signaled that attempts to ditch pre-approved federal spending may lead to a breakdown in future budget talks headed to a government shutdown. "It is absurd to expect Democrats to play along with funding the government if Republicans are just going to renege on a bipartisan agreement," Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said last week on the floor. However, even some Republicans remain skeptical that Trump's cuts can pass the divided Congress. "Will it pass? I don't know. I really don't know," Sen. John Kennedy, R-L.a., told CNN on Monday. "We got a lot of Republicans who talk tough. We'll see if they're tough." Meanwhile, ex-U.S. Rep. Mike Waltz, a former Republican congressman from Florida who briefly served this year as Trump's national security adviser, will be on Capitol Hill this week for his confirmation as UN ambassador. The House will consider landmark cryptocurrency-related legislation, and also vote on a Pentagon funding bill for fiscal year 2026 that will include a further $831 billion in discretionary spending.
Bloomberg
15 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
Trump Threatens Secondary Tariffs of 100% on Russia
President Donald Trump said the US will send more Patriot air-defense batteries to Ukraine in an apparent shift to a more confrontational stance toward Russia after his attempts to negotiate a ceasefire failed. 'I haven't agreed on the number yet, but they are going to have some,' the president told reporters Sunday on his way back to the White House. 'We will get them Patriots, which they desperately need.' The announcement sets the scene for what Trump described would be his 'major statement' on Russia on Monday as Moscow steps up airstrikes against Ukraine. The US president has grown increasingly exasperated with Russian President Vladimir Putin's intransigence in talks to end the war, which is currently in its fourth year. Bloomberg's Ros Mathieson reports. (Source: Bloomberg)
