US EPA to propose renewable fuel credits generated through imported feedstocks to receive lesser value
Under the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard, refiners are required to blend massive volumes of biofuels into the nation's fuel supply or purchase credits, called RINs, from those that do.
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The Independent
25 minutes ago
- The Independent
Ant smuggling into the US is out of control since Trump's cuts – and it could have dire impacts on the country
The smuggling of ants and other insects in the U.S. could be on the rise due to recent cuts to the USDA under the Trump administration, a new report says. The Department of Government Efficiency, the agency once led by billionaire Elon Musk, issued widespread layoffs and buyouts to federal employees this spring. This impacted several members of the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, which helps restrict the smuggling of invertebrates like ants, Wired reports. While some of those staff were later rehired, other positions have remained vacant, according to the outlet. These cuts have alarmed experts, and sources familiar with the industry say ant smugglers have been emboldened by the recent cuts under the Trump administration, according to Wired. 'It's getting out of hand,' one ant seller said. 'They realize the U.S. market is a gold mine.' Some members of the ant-selling community also told Wired that the process to sell ants legally has become harder, which in turn is contributing to an uptick in illegal sales. 'Smuggling ants hasn't gotten easier from the cuts to federal services, trading ants across state borders legally has gotten harder,' one former black market ant seller told Wired. This could pose a problem because invasive ants can have devastating impacts on the environment. In Florida, millions of tawny crazy ants — an invasive species from South America — are forming super colonies and driving out local wildlife, the Herald-Tribune reports. The ants are also invading residents' homes and damaging electrical equipment. Areas of the southeast U.S. also saw an increase in invasive Asian needle ants this summer. The venomous species has been found in the U.S. for 90 years, but its population exploded recently. A single sting can send someone to the hospital with life-threatening symptoms. Some experts say they're concerned about cuts to infrastructure that detects and prevents invasive species. 'There's been a lot of cutting of the inspectors as part of the quote-unquote 'efficiency' moves from the government recently,' Chris Stelzig, executive director of the Entomological Society of America, told Wired. 'A reduced infrastructure to detect invasive species can be problematic.' However, this isn't an entirely new problem. Retired USDA entomologist Carlos Blanco told Wired there were enforcement problems even before the DOGE cuts, too. Armando Rosario-Lebrón, the former co-chair of the Federal Interagency Committee on Invasive Terrestrial Animals and Pathogens, told Wired that the 'illegal market rapidly has become much more aggressive because of the lack of enforcement.' 'The invasiveness potential is off the charts,' he added. 'It's just ridiculous.' USDA spokesperson Heather Curlett told Wired that the agency has the 'same number of entomology staff within the pest permitting unit as we did before' and that the agency's enforcement of federal plant pest regulations 'has not changed or diminished.' 'We work to address all instances of noncompliance both from permit holders who fail to follow the terms and conditions of their permits and those who move plant pests without obtaining the proper permits,' Curlett added.
Reuters
25 minutes ago
- Reuters
International Paper to sell cellulose fibers unit for $1.5 billion
Aug 21 (Reuters) - International Paper (IP.N), opens new tab said on Thursday it will sell its global cellulose fibers business to private equity firm American Industrial Partners for $1.5 billion. The deal, expected to close by end-2025, is part of its strategy to focus on sustainable packaging solutions. The divestiture comes months after the company's $7.2 billion acquisition of UK rival DS Smith . Shares of International Paper were up about 1% in early trading. Separately, the packaging products maker announced a $250 million investment to equip its Riverdale mill in Selma, Alabama, to produce containerboard. The changes are expected to impact about 1,100 hourly and salaried positions. It also said the company was permanently closing its facilities in Savannah and Riceboro in Georgia.
Reuters
25 minutes ago
- Reuters
EU pushes for reduced US autos tariff from August 1 as joint text limits exemptions
WASHINGTON/BRUSSELS, Aug 21 (Reuters) - The European Union will work to ensure lower U.S. tariffs on its car exports are applied retroactively to August 1, the bloc's trade chief said on Thursday, as the transatlantic partners set out details of a framework trade deal struck in July. In a 3-1/2-page joint statement, the two sides spelled out that 15% U.S. tariffs would apply to most EU imports and listed the commitments made, including the EU's pledge to eliminate tariffs on U.S. industrial goods and to give preferential market access for a wide range of U.S. seafood and agricultural goods. Washington will take steps to reduce the current 27.5% U.S. tariffs on cars and car parts, a huge burden for European carmakers, once Brussels introduces the legislation needed to enact promised tariff cuts on U.S. goods, it said. The statement said U.S. tariff relief on autos and auto parts would kick in on the first day of the month in which the EU introduced the legislation. EU trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic said it was the European Commission's "firm intention" to make proposals by the end of this month, meaning the U.S. car tariff reduction would apply from August 1. A senior Trump administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said European carmakers could see relief from the current U.S. tariffs within "hopefully weeks." "As soon as they're able to introduce that legislation - and I don't mean pass it and fully implement it, but really introduce it - then we will be in a position to provide that relief. And I will say that both sides are very interested in moving quickly," they said. U.S. President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the deal on July 27 at Trump's luxury golf course in Turnberry, Scotland after months of negotiations. The two leaders met again this week as part of negotiations aimed at ending Russia's war in Ukraine, with both lauding their trade framework deal as an historic accomplishment. The joint statement said the deal could be expanded over time to cover additional areas and further improve market access. The joint statement was "a play to hold each other accountable" and ensure that both sides carried out the pledges announced last month, the U.S. official said. Ryan Majerus, a former U.S. Commerce Department official now with the King and Spalding law firm, said the statement "could serve as a conceptual model for what we will eventually see with Japan and South Korea." The two major U.S. trading partners negotiated similar reductions in Trump's automotive tariffs but are also waiting for them to be implemented. The EU and U.S. said they intended to accept and provide mutual recognition to each others' automotive safety and other standards, but industry officials said this language was more vague than initially announced. The joint statement noted that the U.S. agreed to apply only pre-existing Most Favored Nation tariffs of below 15% from September 1 on EU aircraft and parts, generic pharmaceuticals and ingredients, chemical precursors and unavailable natural resources, including cork. This exemption did not apply to wine or spirits, a key EU demand, but the two sides agreed to consider other sectors and products for inclusions. "So these doors are not closed forever," Sefcovic said, while acknowledging that securing an exemption for alcoholic drinks would not be easy. SpiritsEUROPE trade group Director General Herve Dumesny urged "both sides to remain at the negotiating table and deliver a swift, full return to zero-for-zero" tariffs on spirits. The U.S.-EU statement reiterated the EU's intention to procure $750 billion in American liquefied natural gas, oil and nuclear energy products, plus an additional $40 billion worth of U.S.-made artificial intelligence chips. It also repeated the intention for EU companies to invest an additional $600 billion across U.S. strategic sectors through 2028. Both sides committed to address "unjustified digital trade barriers," the statement said, and the EU agreed not to adopt network usage fees. They also agreed to negotiate rules of origin to ensure that the agreement's benefits accrued to both trading partners. The statement also left unchanged the 50% U.S. national security tariff on EU-produced steel, aluminum and goods made with the metals, which were expanded this week to hundreds of additional products. "There will be no exemptions, no exclusions for steel and aluminum tariffs," Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro told reporters at the White House, due to what he said were past exclusion abuses. But the joint statement left the door open to a future tariff rate quota for the EU as the two sides discuss "ring-fencing" their domestic markets from overcapacity, a reference to Chinese production. Navarro called the Trump administration's agreement with the EU a "magnificent achievement" for both sides of the Atlantic that U.S. courts should not criticize. A federal appeals court is expected to rule any day on a legal challenge that could strike down a significant portion of Trump's tariffs, those invoked under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
