imports

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Obama: Cut Imported Oil by 1/3 by 2020

President wants to boost domestic production, biofuels

(Newser) - President Obama will put energy policy in the crosshairs today, calling for the United States to cut the 9.7 million barrels it imports each day by a third by 2020. But even given the precarious energy situations in the Middle East and Japan, notes the Washington Post, the president...

Obama Slaps Stiff Tariff on Chinese Tires

China threatens retaliation after president moves to protect US tire industry

(Newser) - President Obama has imposed tough new tariffs on the import of Chinese-made tires, the Wall Street Journal reports. The 35% import tariff comes in response to industry complaints that Chinese-made tires are flooding the US, jeopardizing thousands of jobs. China attacked the decision, saying it violated trade rules, and threatened...

Toilet Paper Shortage Gives Cuba a Pain in the . . .

(Newser) - Cuba is battling a toilet paper shortage, the Miami Herald reports. The country says the global financial crisis and recent hurricanes have forced it to shutter factories and cut down on electricity usage. The result: The cost of a four-pack of TP in Havana is the equivalent of 2 days'...

Big Food Battles Big Sugar to Cut Import Prices

Food firms warn of shortages if cheap foreign sugar blocked

(Newser) - America could "virtually run out of sugar" if more cheap foreign imports aren't allowed in, some of the nation's biggest food companies warned Agriculture Secretary Thomas Vilsack in a recent letter. The firms—which pay around twice the world market price for sugar because of tariffs to protect...

Virus-Wary Egypt to Destroy All 300K Pigs

USDA says American pork is safe; Russia, China ban imports

(Newser) - The Egyptian government says it will immediately slaughter the country’s entire population of 300,000 pigs to protect against the swine flu, the AP reports. Egypt has stressed that it has no reported cases of the virus, though two infections have been confirmed in neighboring Israel. The move comes...

Skirting Laws, Iran Buys Bomb Parts From US Firms

Materials used to make top weapon against US troops

(Newser) - Through front firms and complex maneuvering, Iran skirts trading laws to buy bomb parts from US companies, the Washington Post reports. The equipment allows production of improvised explosive devices, or IEDS, bombs that are the leading killer of US troops in Iraq, according to Justice Department documents and a new...

Mexico Halts Shipments From Top US Meat Plants

Move is seen as retaliation for country-of-origin labeling initiative

(Newser) - Mexico has temporarily banned meat from 30 US plants run by some of the largest American meat companies, Reuters reports. The Mexican government says violations in standards of packaging, labeling, and transport conditions occasioned the ban, but many US analysts suspect Mexico is registering its dissatisfaction with an American law...

GM Sales Off 45% as US Auto Sales Hit 25-Year Low

Asian brands add market share amid sales freefall

(Newser) - US auto sales dived in October to levels not seen since 1983, Bloomberg reports.  GM, Ford, and Chrysler saw sales drop 45%, 30%, and 36% respectively as credit dried up and consumer confidence plummeted. Toyota, Honda, and Nissan all saw sales fall over 20%, but managed to gain market...

GDP Grew More in Q2 Than First Reported
GDP Grew More in Q2
Than First Reported
Economy

GDP Grew More in Q2 Than First Reported

Commerce Department revision shows healthier growth

(Newser) - GDP growth was higher than initially reported in the second quarter, the Wall Street Journal reports. Commerce Department revisions put the increase at a seasonally adjusted 3.3% annual rate—the original estimate was 1.9%. Businesses decreased their inventories less than previously thought. At the same time, exports rose...

Swiss Face French-Fry Shortage
 Swiss Face French-Fry Shortage 

Swiss Face French-Fry Shortage

Snack crisis threatened soccer tourney

(Newser) - Switzerland faces a potato shortage just weeks before hundreds of thousands of famished European soccer fans descend on the country expecting to snack on French fries. The nation, which is co-hosting the upcoming international soccer tournament Euro 2008, is mashing the pending crisis by lifting trade barriers to import 5,...

Mexico Bans All Car Imports— Except '98s

New law allows only 10-year-old jalopies across the border

(Newser) - For used-car shoppers in Mexico, 1998 is about to become a very popular year. Starting today, only 10-year-old cars—nothing newer, nothing older—can be imported in Mexico, a move designed to curtail the flood of “vehiculos chatarra,” or jalopies, clogging the streets. Before the change, imports needed...

FDA Plans to Open Outpost in China
FDA Plans to Open Outpost
in China

FDA Plans to Open Outpost in China

Inspectors could block contaminated food from being exported to US

(Newser) - America's food imports from China are rising and the Food and Drug Administration is planning to start exporting American inspectors to protect the US food supply, Reuters reports. FDA officials hope to open a China office to help them raise food safety standards and to make it easier to act...

China Exports Inflation to US
China Exports Inflation to US

China Exports Inflation to US

Coinciding factors exert upward pressure on prices

(Newser) - After years of pumping out cheap consumer goods, China is driving up American price tags, the New York Times reports. As costs rise domestically, prices down the supply chain rise at the same time that recession threatens in the US. “China has been the world’s factory,” said...

Oil Sends Trade Deficit to 14-Month High

Soaring crude prices overshadow strong growth in US exports

(Newser) - The trade deficit widened 9.3% to $63.1 billion in November, despite a healthy growth in exports. With the dollar down, and demand for US goods rising in Asia and Latin America, exports moved at a healthy clip. But spending on imported oil overshadowed everything else, Bloomberg reports. “...

Tech Sales to China Raise Red Flags

Weapons experts say imports could upgrade military—or be sold

(Newser) - Chinese companies linked to the People’s Liberation Army were cleared to import sensitive high-tech equipment from the US after the Bush administration eased restrictions blocking the sale of technology with military applications, the New York Times reports. One company has ties to arms sales to Iran and Syria, claims...

Florida Juicer Puts Squeeze on Foreign Oranges

Company launches anti-import ad campaign

(Newser) - A Florida orange juice producer is starting an ad campaign to put the squeeze on imported citrus. The campaign by Florida's Natural is aimed primarily at major juice makers such Tropicana and Minute Maid, which rely heavily on Mexico and Brazil for oranges, the Orlando Sentinel reports. The latter nation...

White House Proposes New Import Safety Rules

Tougher rules, stiffer enforcement

(Newser) - The White House is set to roll out stiffer safety regulations governing imports today, reports the Wall Street Journal. The proposals, prompted by the wave of recalls this year, represent a move toward what the Journal calls "a prevention-based regulatory system that targets the riskiest products." The FDA...

Budget Batters FDA Oversight of Foreign Drugs

Commissioner to testify before Congress today

(Newser) - The federal Food and Drug Administration's spotty record inspecting foreign drug manufacturers will be even worse next year as its budget drops just as developing countries are flooding the market with new medications, reports the Washington Post. Foreign drug plants are inspected only once every eight to 12 years because...

Cargo Drop-off a Sign of Slow Economy

Observers stunned as port imports fall after years of growth

(Newser) - A drop in cargo at US ports has stunned analysts, who call the 1.4% fall more evidence of a stalled economy. A few factors are keeping foreign cargo at bay—the low dollar, wary buyers, and a cool housing market among them—yet observers still expressed shock. "When...

Trade Gap Dips to Lowest Level in 3 Years

Weak dollar, stronger world economies fuel rise in US exports

(Newser) - The US trade gap—the difference in total value between imports and exports—dropped to a 3-year low in July as exports jumped on a weak dollar and growing overseas demand. The figure fell 0.3% to $59.2 billion, roughly on par with the estimate economists surveyed by Bloomberg...

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