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‘Trump Effect' website claims credit for $2.6tn in new investments

‘Trump Effect' website claims credit for $2.6tn in new investments

Kuwait Times6 days ago
WASHINGTON: Within hours of taking office in January, President Donald Trump boasted about attracting $3 trillion in new corporate investments to the United States. Since then, Trump has said the investments have swelled to $14 trillion, or roughly half of the nation's annual gross domestic product.
The White House calls it 'The Trump Effect' and features a rolling list on its website of more than 70 projects it says Trump's economic policies spurred, from a new bakery plant in Texas to a LEGO facility in Virginia and a microchip plant in Arizona. As of July 2, the website listed more than $2.6 trillion in US investments, well short of the $14 trillion Trump boasts about. But a Reuters review found that just under half of the claimed spending on the website - totaling more than $1.3 trillion - originated under former President Joe Biden or represented routine spending repackaged to promote domestic investments.
At least eight of the projects touted by the White House had sought or secured critical local incentive packages before Trump took office while at least a half dozen other projects had already been announced by local officials or the companies themselves, Reuters found.
Two of the Trump Effect projects were aided by Biden's legislative efforts to boost domestic manufacturing, the review found. One company on the list, Swiss-based Roche, warned that Trump's plans to equalize US and international drug prices now threatens its promised $50 billion in US investments.
Asked about taking credit for projects already underway before Trump came into office, the White House said the final investment decisions were announced under his watch and prove his economic policies are triggering US investment. 'President Trump is the greatest closer in modern history, and his leadership and policies are a critical catalyst converting hypothetical discussions into firm investment commitments and ground being broken for new plants and offices,' White House spokesman Kush Desai said.
The Reuters review included interviewing local officials and reviewing public records and corporate statements. It was not clear in many cases what role, if any, Trump or his policies played in getting the deals across the line. Mark Zandi, the chief economist at Moody's Analytics, said his economic forecast - along with the consensus estimates - for investment in the economy has remained relatively unchanged despite the White House's claims of new historic investments.
'I think despite all the announcements it hasn't translated into any change in expectations,' Zandi said. 'The fundamentals that ultimately drive investment spending, broadly, if anything, appear to have weakened since the start of the year.' Trump's push to impose sweeping tariffs on dozens of trading partners has injected uncertainty into global markets, lowering economic projections and freezing investment decisions, Zandi said.
Trump's supporters say his policies of deregulation combined with the extension of his corporate tax cuts last week have stoked interest from companies that will be converted into actual investments in the months ahead. 'I think you're going to see a lot more investment later this year, and certainly into next year,' Richard Stern, director of economic and budget policy at the conservative Heritage Foundation, said.
The Trump Effect list is not exhaustive, according to the White House, and does not include the foreign deals the administration says Trump secured during his Middle East tour in May. The White House did not respond to a Reuters request to provide a breakdown of the $14 trillion in US investments Trump claims he has attracted. Trump wouldn't be the first president to inflate or embellish economic activity on his watch. But the onetime businessman has made his dealmaking the centerpiece of his political persona, promising his presidency would ignite a manufacturing renaissance that would bring jobs back to the US.
Some companies, largely in the pharmaceutical industry, repackaged existing spending that was later touted as new investment by Trump. The pharmaceutical companies also credited Trump's 2017 tax cuts for spurring domestic investment. — Reuters
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Crypto exchanges rushed to list Trump's coin
Crypto exchanges rushed to list Trump's coin

Kuwait Times

time9 hours ago

  • Kuwait Times

Crypto exchanges rushed to list Trump's coin

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Trump to arm Ukraine, warns Russia
Trump to arm Ukraine, warns Russia

Kuwait Times

time10 hours ago

  • Kuwait Times

Trump to arm Ukraine, warns Russia

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In California strawberry fields, immigration raids sow fear
In California strawberry fields, immigration raids sow fear

Kuwait Times

time10 hours ago

  • Kuwait Times

In California strawberry fields, immigration raids sow fear

Farmers warn raids could hurt businesses, threaten food supply OXNARD, California: Flor, a Mexican migrant, picks strawberries in the agricultural town of Oxnard, but immigration roundups in recent weeks have infused the farmworker community in the strawberry capital of California with stress and fear. Flor said the raids are taking a toll on the farmworkers' children, who fear that their parents will be detained and deported and some are depressed. Flor, who has a permit to work in the fields, is a single mother of three US citizen daughters and when she picks them up in the afternoon she feels a palpable sense of relief. 'It hurts my soul that every time I leave the house they say, 'Mommy, be careful because they can catch you and they can send you to Mexico and we will have to stay here without you,'' said Flor, who asked that only her first name be used. 'You arrive home and the girls say, 'Ay Mommy, you arrived and immigration didn't take you.' It is very sad to see that our children are worried.' President Donald Trump has increased immigration enforcement since taking office in January, seeking to deport record numbers of immigrants in the US illegally. Farmers, who depend heavily on immigrant labor, have warned raids could damage their businesses and threaten the US food supply. Trump has said in recent weeks that he would roll out a program that would allow farmers to keep some workers, but the White House has not yet put forward any plan. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said on Tuesday that there would be 'no amnesty.' The Trump administration has arrested twice as many alleged immigration offenders as last year, but the number of farm workers specifically remains unclear. An immigration raid at marijuana farms near Los Angeles on Thursday prompted protests. Many Oxnard residents have not left their houses for three or four weeks and some simply don't show up for work, Flor said. 'It is really sad to see,' Flor said. 'We have senior citizens who work with us and when they see immigration passing where we are working , they begin to cry because of how fearful they are. They have been here many years and they fear they could be sent to their home countries. Their lives are here.' Flor has little hope that the circumstances will improve. 'The only hope we have is that the president touches his heart and does an immigration reform,' she said. The president of the United Farm Workers union, Teresa Romero, said they are working on organizing workers so they 'really stick together' as the fear persists. 'What the administration wants to do is deport this experienced workforce that has been working in agriculture for decades. They know exactly what to do, how to do it,' Romero said.A White House official told Reuters that Stephen Miller, the architect of Trump's immigration agenda, decided in January not to heavily target farms because the workers would be difficult to replace. When asked on CNN's 'State of the Union' on Sunday about people afraid of possible arrest even if they have legal immigration status, Trump's border czar Tom Homan was unapologetic about the crackdown.'It's not OK to enter this country illegally. It's a crime,' Homan said. 'But legal aliens and US citizens should not be afraid that they're going to be swept up in the raid(s).' The US Department of Homeland Security did not respond to requests for farmworkers get up at around 4 am local time (1100 GMT) and then wake up their children, who Flor says are suffering with the roundups. 'It is sad to see our community suffering so much. We are just workers who came for a dream, the dream we had for our children,' Flor daughters are 10, 7, and 2 - and the 10-year-old wants to be a police officer. 'And it breaks my heart that she might not fulfill her dream because they detain us and send us to Mexico,' Flor said. 'It makes me very sad to see how many children are being separated from their parents.'While some politicians in California have been outspoken about the immigration raids, Flor said they have not come out to the fields or come to learn about the workers' plight. 'I would like to invite all the politicians to come and see how we work on the farms so they can get to know our story and our lives,' said Flor. 'So they can see the needs we have.' Romero said they are working with representatives in Congress on a legislative bill called the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, which would protect the workers and has the support of at least 30 Republicans. Democratic Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren of California has introduced the bill to Congress, but it may not pass until the next Congress takes over in 2027. 'We are not going to give up,' said Romero. 'Si se puede (yes we can).' Flor earns about $2,000 a month, a salary that often does not go far enough. She pays $1,250 for rent each month and pays the nanny that helps care for the girls $250 per week. Sometimes, she doesn't have enough food for the children. She also says the back-breaking harvest work means she cannot spend enough time with her children. 'My work also means that I cannot dedicate enough time to my children because the work is very tough, we are crouched down all day and we lift 20 pounds every few minutes in the boxes,' Flor said. Romero said she has talked to some of the children affected by the raids. 'I have talked to children of people who have been deported and all they say is 'I want Daddy back,'' she said. 'It is affecting children who are US citizens and who do not deserve to be growing up with the fear they are growing up with now,' Romero added. 'Unless we get this bill done, this is what is going to continue to happen to these families and communities.' – Reuters

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