Latest news with #industrialdevelopment
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
The most surprising victim of Trump's terrible tax agenda
The Republican Party's saving grace is supposed to be its commitment to economic growth and consumer abundance. Sure, the GOP may see unemployed cancer patients as shiftless mooches — and the Lorax as literature's greatest villain — but for precisely those reasons, Republicans are allegedly able stewards of industrial development: Unconstrained by concerns about inequality, the environment, or social justice, the GOP will unleash the private sector's productive potential. Republicans won't balance Americans' hunger for cheap gasoline against their enlightened interest in cleaner air or a cooler planet — they'll get you the cheap fuel now. And they won't weigh America's stake in technological supremacy against the risks of unregulated innovation — they'll give cutting-edge companies whatever they need to achieve global dominance. At least, this is the impression that Republicans have tried to cultivate, and which voters largely bought last November. According to polling by Democratic data firm Blue Rose Research, Americans in 2024 believed that the GOP would be better than Democrats on the economy and cost of living — but worse on income inequality and the environment — and considered the former issues more important. But the GOP's priorities aren't as advertised. President Donald Trump's agenda does not ask Americans to accept a dirtier atmosphere and more inegalitarian social order in exchange for cheaper goods, faster technological progress, and national industrial dominance. Rather, it asks us to accept not only greater inequality and environmental degradation, but also, higher prices, slower technological progress, and worse industrial performance for the sake of…I'm not sure what. Perhaps the conservative movement's cultural grievances? Or Trump's odd ideological fixations? In any case, Trump has long made his disregard for affordability and economic growth plain. As of mid-June, Trump's tariffs were still poised to increase Americans' annual cost of living by $2,000 on average, while knocking 0.6 percent off of economic growth. His administration's assault on funding for scientific research, meanwhile, has undermined US tech companies. And his crackdown on immigration is both chasing top-tier talent out of the US and exacerbating labor shortages in the construction industry, thereby slowing the pace of housing and infrastructure development. Now, with his inaptly named One Big Beautiful Bill (BBB) — which is poised to clear the Senate this week — Trump is rounding out his 'worst of both worlds' agenda. Predictably, his tax cut package would exacerbate inequality, taking health care and food assistance away from poor people in order to shower tax breaks on the wealthy. And the legislation also evinces contempt for the environment, offering new subsidies to American coal producers. More remarkably, however, BBB would also increase electricity prices for consumers while undermining America's competitiveness in a range of critical sectors. Specifically, the latest version of Trump's bill aims to throttle the production of renewable energy in the US. The legislation not only phases out federal subsidies for wind and solar power by 2027, but also imposes a new excise tax on renewable projects that use inputs made in China. Since Chinese firms dominate green energy supply chains, a very high percentage of all wind and solar development in the United States would be adversely impacted by the tax. What's more, Trump's legislation would actually reinforce American green energy companies' dependence on Chinese suppliers by curtailing subsidies to domestic manufacturers of solar panels, wind turbines, and batteries. (As of this writing, some Republican senators are pushing an amendment that would strike the excise tax from the bill. But that amendment's fate is unclear. And even if it is adopted, Trump's legislation would still curtail subsidies to the solar and wind industries.) Taken together, these measures could slash the amount of new clean energy capacity added to America's grid over the next 10 years by more than 72 percent, according to an analysis from the Rhodium Group. That scarcity will translate into higher electricity costs for consumers. According to a variety of recent studies, merely ending federal tax credits for wind and solar could push up the average family's energy bill by as much as $400 per year within a decade. While increasing US households' costs, Trump's bill also reduces American firms' competitiveness in some of the world's fastest-growing industries. On one level, this is obvious. Renewables accounted for more than 90 percent of all newly added electricity generation last year. Even if America clings tightly to fossil fuels, demand for wind and solar energy is going to surge worldwide in the coming decades. If the United States actively sabotages its clean power industry, it will cede a larger share of the global energy market to China and other rival nations. Less intuitively, the BBB also undermines America's artificial intelligence industry. AI companies need vast amounts of new electricity to power their data centers. And renewables are uniquely well-suited to provide such power. At present, utilities can build wind and solar much faster than new natural gas plants, as there is a years-long backlog in the global market for natural gas turbines. Likewise, nuclear energy takes an enormous amount of time and regulatory wrangling to expand. Thus, if the federal government makes building renewables slower and more expensive, then American AI firms' progress could also be stymied. This has led some in the tech industry to criticize the bill. 'We urge the Senate to prioritize a reliable and resilient energy mix that advances AI innovation and growth and reject provisions that will harm the U.S.'s ability to compete in the global race for AI and energy dominance,' Janae Washington, a spokesperson for the Information Technology Industry Council, told the Washington Post on Sunday. Elon Musk, meanwhile, declared Saturday that 'The latest Senate draft bill will destroy millions of jobs in America and cause immense strategic harm to our country! Utterly insane and destructive. It gives handouts to industries of the past while severely damaging industries of the future.' Even one of the bill's strongest proponents — the pro-fossil fuels advocate Alex Epstein — has lamented its new tax on renewables with Chinese inputs, as has the US Chamber of Commerce. Nevertheless, as of this writing, that tax remains in the legislation. It is therefore a mistake to see Trump's agenda as prioritizing innovation over equality or affordability over the environment. The BBB doesn't concentrate wealth or degrade the climate in pursuit of some higher objective. Rather, it treats increasing inequality and boosting carbon emissions as ends in themselves — goals that it is prepared to pursue even at great cost to America industrial competitiveness and living standards.
Times of Oman
3 days ago
- Business
- Times of Oman
Shura Council committee discusses Unified Industrial Regulation Law of GCC
Muscat: As part of its discussion on the draft Unified Industrial Regulation Law for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) States, the Economic and Financial Committee of the Shura Council hosted on Monday, several specialists from the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion. The draft law was referred by the government to the Council for study. The ministry's representatives affirmed that the draft law aims to regulate the industrial sector, promote industrial development, encourage industrial investment, and increase the sector's contribution to national income. It also seeks to strengthen industrial integration and the interconnection of economic activities among the GCC states. The law is expected to support the alignment of economic policies related to industrialisation, meet the requirements of economic development plans and programmes, foster innovation, and adopt and localise advanced technologies to enhance the competitiveness of the industrial sector. Members of the committee emphasised the importance of ensuring that the provisions of the draft law take into account the specific characteristics of the local industrial sector and align with existing laws and regulations governing industry in Oman. The discussion took place during the Committee's fifteenth meeting of the second annual session (2024–2025) of the tenth term of the Council, chaired by Ahmed bin Saeed Al Sharqi, Chair of the Committee, and attended by its members. During the meeting, the committee also reviewed and approved the final report on the expressed desire regarding the assessment of the current state of local industries in the Sultanate of Oman. The report aims to analyse the industrial landscape in terms of challenges, opportunities, and readiness to contribute to the goals of the industrial strategy and Oman Vision 2040. The report concluded with a number of findings and recommendations aimed at supporting the growth of the industrial sector, most notably the need to align policies with the national industrial strategy and provide a package of incentives and facilitations. Additionally, the committee approved the final report on the expressed desire concerning the evaluation of the competitiveness and attractiveness of Oman's business environment. This discussion reflects the committee's ongoing efforts to support economic development and enhance the business climate in line with the aspirations of Oman Vision 2040, and to contribute to attracting investments and diversifying sources of national income. The report outlined key challenges facing the business sector and presented recommendations to enhance its competitiveness and appeal to foreign investors. It is worth noting that, as part of its study of the expressed desires, the committee held several meetings and hosted experts from relevant economic and industrial authorities to gather their opinions and observations. This study was conducted in accordance with Article (59) of the Law of the Council of Oman, which states: "The Shura Council may, on its own initiative, express desires to the government regarding public services and facilities, their development and performance improvement, or concerning challenges facing the economic sector and ways to enhance development, whenever the Council deems such action to be in the public interest." During the meeting, the committee also adopted its opinion on the annual report submitted by the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion, in accordance with Article (55) of the Law of the Council of Oman, which states: "Service ministers shall provide the Shura Council with an annual report on the progress of projects implemented by their respective ministries. The Council may summon any minister to present a statement on matters within the jurisdiction of their ministry and to discuss it with them." The committee also reviewed and discussed the draft amendment to certain provisions of the GCC Common Customs Law, which was referred by the government to the Council for consideration.
Zawya
7 days ago
- Business
- Zawya
Jordan: APC pays over $1.5blb to Treasury since 2019 — Chairman
AMMAN — Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Arab Potash Company (APC) Shehada Abu Hdeib on Wednesday stressed that the company has developed an industrial and development "model" to be followed in Jordan and the region. During a dialogue session organised by the Amman Group for Future Dialogues, with the participation of APC CEO Maan Nsour, Abu Hudaib said that the company has achieved "qualitative" leaps in its operational efficiency since 2019, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. He added that these strides have strengthened APC's position as a "major" supplier of fertilisers in global markets, which contributed to securing agricultural supply chains in multiple regions of the world. He presented the "growth strategy" for the fertilisers and derivative chemicals sector for the years 2024-2034, which is in line with the Economic Modernisation Vision, aiming to consolidate Jordan's position as a "major" exporter of fertiliser and chemical products at the regional and global levels, Abu Hudaib pointed out that the company is boosting its global presence through integration with other national companies, such as the Jordan Phosphate Mines Company, through joint projects related to producing phosphoric acid and specialised fertilisers. The chairman also referred to the expansion project in Jordan Bromine Company, which consists of four main parts, with a total cost of $813 million. He presented the "huge" financial contributions of the company in supplementing the state Treasury, as APC, since 2019, has paid more than JD1.1 billion as payments to the state Treasury, in addition to enhancing the foreign currency reserves in the banking system in the Kingdom by about $8.6 billion. Abu Hudaib pointed out that the APC is one of the few companies that apply an institutional and advanced system in social responsibility programmes, as the volume of its contributions exceeded JD66 million over the past five years. He noted that the company raised the quantities produced from 2.4 million tonnes in 2018 to 2.84 million tonnes in 2024, 'a record achieved thanks to qualitative projects in raising operational efficiency.' The company's production capacity of new products, such as red granular potash and ordinary red potash, where six new varieties of them meet the requirements of the markets in Europe, Asia and the Americas. Nsour discussed the financial impact of this performance, where net profits amounted to JD1.6 billion over five years. The CEO noted that the profits from the production and sale of potash accounted for 54 per cent of the total profits achieved by the APC in 2018, rising to 73 per cent in 2024, reflecting the strength of the company's core operations. He reviewed the company's strategy for the years 2024-2028, which focuses on enhancing the company's ability to expand production, diversify the product portfolio, adopt the latest manufacturing technologies, apply digitisation and artificial intelligence systems, invest in research, development and innovation, and entre promising transformational industries such as lithium, ammonia and specialised fertilisers. Regarding future plans, Nsour revealed that the company will implement capital investments worth $3 billion until 2034, including the southern expansion project, which aims to increase potash production to about 3.7 million tonnes per year. © Copyright The Jordan Times. All rights reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
Zawya
24-06-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Egypt forms mini committee to tackle customs evasion, support local industry
Egypt - Deputy Prime Minister for Industrial Development and Minister of Industry and Transport Kamel Al-Wazir has ordered the formation of a mini committee to develop effective solutions for combating customs evasion—a practice that poses a growing threat to local industry, state revenues, and product quality in the Egyptian market. The committee, announced during the 26th meeting of the Ministerial Group for Industrial Development held Monday, will include representatives from the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade, the Egyptian Customs Authority, the Organization for Standards and Quality, the General Organization for Export and Import Control, the Federation of Egyptian Industries, and a private-sector company owner. Its mandate is to formulate recommendations aimed at curbing customs evasion while safeguarding the interests of domestic manufacturers and improving market integrity. At the start of the meeting, Minister Al-Wazir reviewed the outcomes of his recent visit to the Abu Rawash Industrial Zone, which currently hosts 800 facilities and is expected to expand to 1,000. He highlighted the zone's most pressing challenge: inadequate basic infrastructure, which is hampering production and hindering operational efficiency. He called for urgent inter-ministerial cooperation—particularly from the Ministries of Housing and Irrigation—to upgrade infrastructure in the zone and expedite the establishment of a water and wastewater treatment plant. Approvals and permits for the plant have already been obtained, with financial allocations being finalised in coordination with the Giza Governorate. Al-Wazir also urged authorities to boost the zone's utilities capacity, particularly given the presence of major labour-intensive factories with export capabilities. The Ministry of Housing and Urban Communities has been tasked with preparing a detailed plan for the plant, to be presented at the next ministerial group meeting. The session also reviewed complaints from several Egyptian manufacturers of filtration systems regarding the negative impact of customs evasion on their operations. The discussion included a review of the automated classification and pricing mechanism currently employed by the Customs Authority, which determines reference prices for import valuation purposes. The group also assessed the status of three companies previously granted single industrial licences to establish factories in animal feed production, rubber recycling, and food packaging. These companies had exceeded the designated timelines for setting up their operations. Consequently, the committee approved the withdrawal of the allocated land and its reallocation to more committed investors, particularly in cases where land hoarding was evident. Minister Al-Wazir emphasised the need for a thorough evaluation of all future applicants for the single licence, ensuring that projects secure the necessary technical approvals and environmental clearances. He reaffirmed that such licences should be limited to strategic projects, and that all relevant agencies must issue approvals within specified timeframes. Additionally, the consolidated industrial committee will carry out regular inspections of projects granted the licence. The meeting also reviewed progress by the Arab Organization for Industrialization to localise the production of water pumps at its Engine Factory. The organisation has successfully manufactured water lifting pumps with 78% local content and split-case pumps with 80% local content, both approved by the National Authority for Potable Water and Sewage. Further advancements include the production of the first prototype of horizontal centrifugal pumps, and the assembly of additional pump types—such as submersible, horizontal, and vertical split-case pumps—in cooperation with international partners. These models incorporate local content ranging from 40% to 80%, marking a significant step towards import substitution and industrial self-reliance.
Arab News
14-06-2025
- Business
- Arab News
Climate challenge as a development opportunity
When climate change is framed as a global problem requiring collective regulation of greenhouse gas emissions, developing country governments see little reason to prioritize the issue over others. After all, the rich, industrialized countries that contributed disproportionately to the problem are themselves backing away from decarbonization and climate finance commitments, while low-income countries bear the brunt of the costs of climate change. Decision-makers in developing countries understandably conclude it may be more rational to hunker down and focus on climate resilience rather than emissions reductions. But this is not the only way to frame the problem. While climate change undoubtedly poses a global collective action problem, in practice, climate outcomes are shaped by myriad decisions concerning development objectives such as industrial development, urbanization, job creation and local pollution management. Because late developers often have not entirely locked into energy systems, transport infrastructure, urbanization plans and energy consumption patterns, they have greater flexibility to steer investment and consumption choices toward lower-carbon and climate-resilient options. In other words, the climate challenge can be framed as a choice among alternative development pathways. In many cases, development choices are also climate choices and, in a world where being a low-carbon economy confers a competitive edge, the absence of structural lock-in could be turned into an advantage. Pursuing a climate-as-development approach is not easy or foolproof: it requires considerable state capacity, strategy-setting capabilities and full mobilization of the necessary technologies and finance. Importantly, it does not negate concerns about climate equity. Developing countries may opt to pursue the climate-as-development opportunity, but rich countries that disproportionately caused the problem remain on the hook to support this transition. Yet, this perspective offers an alternative to the zero-sum framing of climate policy and a basis for nationally specific visions. An important starting point is that elites internalize and support low-carbon development as a potential opportunity, with climate resilience as a necessary component. Climate objectives cannot trump development goals but, equally, development innocent of climate considerations is no longer viable. To be politically feasible, any strategy must be rooted in the national context. Low-carbon development pathways are not easily replicable and need to be tailored to geography, local capacities and other variables. And, as with any long-term structural change, a durable, widely shared national narrative is needed (South Korea's 'green growth' in the 2010s is a useful example). Shifting from narrative and vision to policy and implementation requires high levels of state capacity. Technical capabilities, along with the ability to identify climate-as-development opportunities and sources of climate vulnerability, are necessary, but by no means sufficient. In addition, as sociologist Peter Evans' analysis of East Asian industrial policy reminds us, the state must be simultaneously 'embedded' to engage and support private sector players and maintain sufficient 'autonomy' to avoid capture. Developing countries, in particular, will have to be strategic and nimble in finding a niche for themselves. Navroz K. Dubash In practice, this means building institutions that can set the strategy, coordinate across sectors and at different scales, and provide trusted platforms to mediate conflict, ideally enshrined in law. All too often, climate policymaking is entrusted to relatively weak or siloed environmental ministries that cannot organize or enforce an all-of-government approach. Moreover, because broad structural changes can introduce distributional concerns and leave some communities behind, deliberative bodies — such as South Africa's Presidential Climate Commission — can help to entrench low-carbon options by mediating social frictions and maintaining broad-based political buy-in. Another major challenge for developing and emerging economies facing high capital costs is mobilizing adequate finance for capital-intensive low-carbon development. There are no easy answers here. According to BloombergNEF, global investment in the low-carbon energy transition in 2024 was only about a third of the annual amount required through 2030 and there were wide disparities in spending. Developing countries have experienced few tangible gains from multilateral initiatives to scale up climate finance and reform the international financial architecture. Holding advanced economies to their financing commitments should remain a priority; but developing countries also need to mobilize more domestic finance and develop credible investment programs to attract global capital. Recent efforts to create 'country platforms' — government-led coordination mechanisms that articulate a vision and identify financing pathways to achieve it — suggest one way forward. In preparing to host this year's COP30 UN climate change conference, Brazil is seeking to lead the way with a comprehensive multisectoral development program to mobilize investment. Independent research suggests that Brazil has all the ingredients for a successful green industrial transformation: a strong resource base, a legacy of advanced manufacturing and a large market. Such models are worth exploring elsewhere, provided that they reflect a national vision, not donor-driven objectives. One common criticism of nationally led, multi-objective development strategies is that the urgency of the climate crisis demands more direct action focused on emissions reduction, rather than on the indirect pathways suggested here. But this view ignores political reality. If climate action is seen to be at odds with other development objectives, it will lose. The only option is to devise strategies that can realize both sets of goals. The most effective climate policy over the long term might be one that shapes structural choices regarding urbanization and industrialization, rather than one that focuses narrowly on regulating emissions. With the scope for global cooperation receding in today's fraught geopolitical environment, these arguments should not be interpreted as a call for atomization. On the contrary, developing national visions for low-carbon, resilient economies would benefit from mutual learning and enhanced coordination rooted in attention to local contexts. Moreover, deploying low-carbon technologies will require investment in stable value chains, which depends on political and economic predictability. Developing countries, in particular, will have to be strategic and nimble in finding a niche for themselves. And the provision of finance at the necessary scale will still depend on a threshold degree of global cooperation. But there is only one foundation that can support all these elements: a domestically developed vision of a low-carbon, competitive and resilient economy. • Navroz K. Dubash is Professor of Public and International Affairs at the High Meadows Environmental Institute at Princeton University. ©Project Syndicate
