Trump close to victory on flagship 'Big Beautiful' tax bill
03/07/2025
Israel orders evacuation of West Bank's Tulkarem
03/07/2025
A 'tsunami of need' feared as US House close to final vote on Trump tax bill
03/07/2025
French diplomat visits detainees held in Iran in first 'proof of life' since Israeli strikes
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Sean 'Diddy' Combs denied bail after prostitution conviction
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Ukraine scrambling for clarity as US downplays halt to arms shipments
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Italy to issue half million non-EU work visas over next three years
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Palestinians mourn director of key Gaza hospital killed in Israeli strike
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French air traffic controllers' strike disrupts early summer season travel
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Dozens still missing after ferry sinks on way to Indonesia's Bali
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LeMonde
an hour ago
- LeMonde
US House passes Trump's sweeping tax and spending bill, sending it to president to sign
US President Donald Trump on Thursday, July 3 secured a major political victory when Congress narrowly passed his flagship tax and spending bill, cementing his radical second-term agenda and boosting funds for his anti-immigration drive. The bill underlined the president's dominance over the Republican Party, which had been wracked by misgivings over a text that will balloon the national debt and gut health and welfare support. A small group of opponents in the party finally fell into line after Speaker Mike Johnson worked through the night to corral dissenters in the House of Representatives behind the "One Big Beautiful Bill." The bill squeezed past a final vote, 218-214. The White House declared "VICTORY" on social media and said Trump would sign the bill into law on Friday, the July 4th Independence Day holiday. "One of the most consequential Bills ever. The USA is the 'HOTTEST' Country in the World, by far!!!" Trump said on social media as he scented victory. The timing of the vote slipped back as Democratic minority leader Hakeem Jeffries spoke against the bill for nearly nine hours to delay proceedings. Mass deportations, tax breaks and massive Medicaid cuts The legislative win is the latest in a series of successes for Trump, including a Supreme Court ruling last week that curbed lone judges from blocking his policies, and US air strikes that led to a ceasefire between Israel and Iran. His sprawling mega-bill just passed the Senate on Tuesday and had to return to the lower chamber for a rubber stamp of the senators' revisions. The package honors many of Trump's campaign promises: boosting military spending, funding a mass migrant deportation drive and committing $4.5 trillion to extend his first-term tax relief. "Everything was an absolute disaster under the Biden-Harris radical regime, and we took the best effort that we could, in one big, beautiful bill to fix as much of it as we could," Johnson said. "And I am so grateful that we got that done." But it is expected to pile an extra $3.4 trillion over a decade onto the country's fast-growing deficits, while shrinking the federal food assistance program and forcing through the largest cuts to the Medicaid health insurance scheme for low-income Americans since its 1960s launch. Some estimates put the total number of recipients set to lose their insurance coverage under the bill at 17 million. Scores of rural hospitals are expected to close. While Republican moderates in the House fear the cuts will damage their prospects of reelection, fiscal hawks chafed over savings that they say fall far short of what was promised. Johnson had to negotiate tight margins, and could only lose a handful of lawmakers in the final vote, among more than two dozen who had earlier declared themselves open to rejecting Trump's 869-page text. Trump has spent weeks hitting the phones and hosting White House meetings to cajole lawmakers torn between angering welfare recipients at home and incurring the president's wrath. Democrats hope public opposition to the bill will help them flip the House in the 2026 midterm election, pointing to data showing that it represents a huge redistribution of wealth from the poorest Americans to the richest. Jeffries held the floor for his Democrats ahead of the final vote, as he told stories of everyday Americans who he argued would be harmed by Trump's legislation. "This bill, this one big, ugly bill -- this reckless Republican budget, this disgusting abomination – is not about improving the quality of life of the American people," he said. After the bill was passed, Trump predecessor's Joe Biden said it was "not only reckless – it's cruel." Extra spending on the military and border security will be paid in part through ending clean energy and electric vehicle subsidies – a factor triggering a bitter public feud between Trump and former supporter Elon Musk.
France 24
2 hours ago
- France 24
How will Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill' impact US climate policy?
Here's a breakdown of how the new legislation will reshape US climate and energy policy. Clean energy tax incentives slashed The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), signed by Biden in 2022, was the largest climate investment in US history, allocating around $370 billion in tax credits for renewable energy projects, efficient appliances, and more. Much of that now faces imminent repeal. "These credits were all huge motivating incentives for clean energy to be built out across the country," said Jean Su, senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. "With those removed, those renewable energy projects are all at risk of entirely failing." Su noted the cuts come amid surging electricity demand from AI data centers. "Removing tax incentives for clean energy means that all of this new energy demand will be given over to the fossil fuel industry" -- resulting in more greenhouse emissions and air pollution. Critics say keeping the US energy mix heavily tied to fossil fuels locks in market volatility, as seen during the Ukraine war. Su added that utilities are incentivized to build costlier fossil plants to boost profits-raising electricity rates in the process. Trump, who received an estimated $445 million from Big Oil during his campaign, has framed the clean energy rollbacks as a victory over what he calls the "Green New Scam." Doug Jones, a tax attorney and partner at Husch Blackwell, told AFP that "wind and solar took the biggest hit." Under the new rules, clean energy projects must be in service by 2027 or begin construction within 12 months of the bill's enactment to qualify for remaining credits. "The pipeline of projects that had begun construction by the prescribed time is eventually going to dry up -- I don't know how they're going to start financing these projects without the tax credits," said Jones. He added his clients include Fortune 500 companies now alarmed by the ripple effects of ending the credits, which they have been purchasing from renewable developers -- a practice that has infused the market with much-needed liquidity. Tax credits for energy-efficient home and commercial upgrades also now face a shorter runway, expiring June 30, 2026. However, the bill preserves credits for nuclear, geothermal power, hydrogen and carbon capture technologies. Electric vehicles and fuel economy Electric vehicles come in for some of the harshest treatment. Tax credits for new and used EV purchases are set to sunset this year, while charging station installation credits expire June 30, 2026. Albert Gore of the Zero Emission Transportation Project said the bill effectively abandoned "the goal we all share of making the United States globally competitive in the mineral, battery, and vehicle production markets of the future," ceding the market to China. One eye-catching provision allows automakers to effectively ignore fuel economy rules by reducing fines to zero. "If you tell a kid before a test, it's okay, there's no penalty if you cheat, what do you think they're going to do?" said Dan Becker of the Center for Biological Diversity. Skewing the market Meanwhile, provisions of the IRA that benefited fossil fuel companies remain intact, including billions in subsidies and drilling leases in the Gulf of Mexico. There's a new tax credit for coal used in steel making, while a program to help gas and petroleum companies reduce waste and methane emissions is nixed. The legislation also clears the way for drilling, mining and logging on vast swaths of public lands, including in the sensitive Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Analysts had hoped that the surge of investment and job creation driven by Biden's landmark climate law -- much of it in conservative-led states -- would serve as a check on efforts to fully dismantle it. That has largely not materialized, though renewable advocates did win a small concession: the late withdrawal of a provision that would have imposed a devastating new tax on wind and solar.
Fashion Network
2 hours ago
- Fashion Network
Shein faces government crackdown in France as minister confirms ongoing investigations
The French government has sent a clear signal to the ultra-fast fashion sector. On July 3, Trade Minister Véronique Louwagie announced that Shein had been fined €40 million for deceptive business practices. Speaking at the annual event hosted by Alliance du Commerce —an organization representing 16,000 stores and 150,000 retail workers in France—Louwagie addressed an audience of retail chain and department store representatives in Paris. During the morning's discussions, concerns were repeatedly raised about the competitive imbalance posed by ultra-fast fashion players who operate outside the regulatory frameworks that European retailers must follow. The fine issued against Shein followed an investigation by the DGCCRF (Directorate-General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control). Louwagie added that 'other investigations are underway,' although she declined to provide further details. Responding to frustration within the retail sector over the perceived disparity in enforcement between domestic and foreign platforms, Louwagie announced new enforcement measures. 'I've asked for stricter controls on foreign platforms—specifically, a threefold increase in product sampling to verify compliance,' she said. 'We're also implementing full-spectrum checks on all elements involved.' She noted that, in coordination with Customs Minister Amélie de Montchalin, a new protocol would ensure systematic information sharing between customs authorities and the DGCCRF regarding incoming parcels. Louwagie emphasized that enforcement is also expanding at the European level. 'At the end of 2024, we began verifying platform compliance with the Digital Services Act,' she explained. 'A specific procedure has been initiated by the European Commission targeting Temu, and a separate investigation is underway concerning Shein. France, along with Germany and Ireland, is challenging multiple practices that violate EU regulations. Shein has 30 days to respond.' Amid calls to replicate the 2021 delisting of the e-commerce site Wish, the minister acknowledged that such action remains an option. 'Wish failed to comply with official injunctions, which led to its removal. While today's platforms often respond to enforcement measures, I'm pushing the European Commission to revise the legal framework so that platforms can still be delisted under certain conditions—even if they cooperate.' Highlighting the scale of the issue, Louwagie noted that 800 million parcels valued under €150 enter France annually, part of a broader influx of 1.5 billion parcels into the country and 4.5 billion across Europe. The stakes, she said, are high—not only in terms of consumer health and safety but also in protecting European businesses from unfair competition. She reiterated the government's support for ending customs exemptions on low-value imports. After months of scrutiny surrounding Shein's business model and its impact on the local economy, the July 3 announcement marks a significant turning point. Whether it paves the way for lasting structural change across the industry remains to be seen.
