Trump administration ties bitcoin to US-China rivalry amid regulation revamp
LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Bitcoin, once the symbol of decentralized, nongovernment digital assets, is now emerging as a chip in geopolitics, with the Trump administration calling for supporters to buy and hold the cryptocurrency as a way to outcompete China.
Speaking at the Bitcoin Conference in Las Vegas on Wednesday, U.S. Vice President JD Vance said bitcoin is going to be a "strategically important asset" for the U.S. over the next decade.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Mainichi
an hour ago
- The Mainichi
Japan, US tariff negotiators to hold another round of talks
WASHINGTON (Kyodo) -- Japan's chief tariff negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, will hold another round of talks on Friday with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent as the two governments explore a possible agreement to be reached by their leaders next month. On the eve of the talks, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba spoke to U.S. President Donald Trump by phone, telling reporters afterward that each side was able to gain a better understanding of the views held by the other. Ishiba, however, said Japan's position on building a win-win relationship has not changed and it is necessary to achieve the goal by increasing his country's investment in the United States, rather than using tariffs. Akazawa was previously in Washington just a week ago, when he met separately with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. The Japanese minister in charge of economic revitalization later told reporters that the talks on trade, nontariff barriers and economic security were more in-depth than earlier discussions, and it would be "very desirable" for the Japanese and U.S. leaders to reach some sort of agreement in mid-June on the sidelines of a Group of Seven summit in Canada. The Trump administration is increasingly recognizing the importance of Japan for the U.S. economy, Akazawa also said at the time, while indicating that increased cooperation between the two countries on strategic sectors could hold the key to making progress in their negotiations. Akazawa's team has presented a set of proposals to the Trump administration since the first round of the bilateral ministerial talks kicked off in mid-April. The package includes more purchases of U.S. corn and soybeans to help counteract the decline of its exports of the two crops to China amid trade tensions between Washington and Beijing, officials familiar with the negotiations said. It also contains Japan's readiness to cooperate in resurrecting the shipbuilding capacity of the United States, a goal Trump has vowed to attain amid China's increasing dominance of the industry, according to the officials. In return, Akazawa has persistently asked the Trump administration to eliminate the new tariffs it imposed on Japanese imports. He is expected to do the same in his fourth round of talks with the United States. In early May, Akazawa and the U.S. Cabinet members agreed to accelerate the pace of their tariff talks from the latter half of the month with the aim of striking an agreement that will be beneficial for both Japan and the United States. Under Trump's so-called reciprocal tariff regime, announced April 2, Japan faces a country-specific tariff of 14 percent for a total rate of 24 percent. Along with other countries, Japan has been hit by the Trump administration's additional 25 percent tariff on automobiles and other sector-based levies implemented on national security grounds, on top of the baseline duty of 10 percent that is part of its reciprocal scheme.
Japan Times
2 hours ago
- Japan Times
U.S. soft power is a casualty in Trump's war on Harvard
By all appearances, the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has declared war on Harvard University. It has demanded changes in university policy that would give it a veto over much of its academic activities. When Harvard refused, the government cut all federal grants and contracts with the school. The steps are unprecedented and likely to fail as courts block the most onerous measures. That is not likely to undo the damage that is being done to the United States' international image and the country itself. Its educational institutions have been the envy of the world, one of its most powerful exports and a source of considerable economic activity and advantage. The fight against Harvard, which is only the most contentious front in a wider war against educational institutions that insist on maintaining their independence from Trump administration dictates, will do extensive and potentially irreparable injury. It is an extraordinary act of self-harm. The Trump administration has steadily, inexorably, squeezed Harvard University, the country's oldest, most prestigious and wealthiest institution of higher learning. The administration has accused the school of fomenting antisemitism and failing to protect its students against that scourge. In addition, it is charged with promoting liberalism and diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI. Since taking office, the Trump administration has launched at least eight investigations from at least six federal agencies, the Departments of Justice, Education and Health and Human Services among them. It has sought fundamental changes in the way that the university operates and the school's refusal to bend to those dictates — even while acknowledging the need for some reform — infuriated the White House and prompted it to double and triple down. When the school filed a lawsuit last month to challenge the government's demands, the Trump administration cut $3.2 billion in federal funding for the university; in the face of continued defiance, the White House this week announced that it would cut another $100 million in grants, which would constitute 'a complete severance' with the school. The government has also announced that it would end Harvard's ability to enroll international students — warning that foreign students must transfer elsewhere or risk their visa status — and has threatened its tax-exempt status. Resistance was not ordained. When it faced charges of failing to protect its students against antisemitism, letting professors promote views that were counter to U.S. foreign policy and was threatened with the loss of $400 million in federal funding, Columbia University caved. So too did several prestigious law firms when they found themselves in the administration's crosshairs. Harvard did not. President Alan Garber has published letters to the school community saying that the university would not 'surrender our academic independence' and 'submit to the federal government's illegal assertion of control over our curriculum, our faculty and our student body.' While noting that Harvard had made changes to its governance and developed a strategy to combat antisemitism, it would not bend on 'its core, legally-protected principles' because of fears of retaliation. It has filed two suits alleging that the Trump administration is acting unconstitutionally and is retaliating against Harvard's resistance. The university said that it complied with federal government mandates for information on students but the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) demanded more files related to foreign students, including disciplinary records and records related to 'dangerous or violent activity.' Harvard has also sought temporary restraining orders to block the government's actions. Courts have been receptive to Harvard's claims that the administration is overreaching. A federal judge has temporarily blocked the effort to stop Harvard from enrolling international students. The punishment imposed on Harvard is a lesson for other schools. Kristi Noem, secretary of homeland security, has been explicit: 'Let this serve as a warning to all universities and academic institutions across the country.' The suggestion that the U.S. government could revoke Harvard's tax-exempt status is another shot across the bow — even though it is illegal for any federal official to direct an IRS investigation against an entity. The opportunity to study in the U.S. is, insist Trump administration officials, 'a privilege, not a right.' Reports that the State Department has frozen all foreign students' visa applications while it considers new guidelines for screening their social media accounts confirms that while Harvard may be a special case, there is a larger effort to transform the U.S. educational ecosystem. It isn't clear why. There were more than 1.1 million foreign students in the U.S. in 2023-2024. There are about 7,000 foreign students at Harvard, 27% of the student body. Some schools have more. Foreign students typically pay full tuition and get little or no financial assistance. Denying them admission will transform university finances and force other students to make up the difference. Advanced education will get more expensive for all who seek to attend. The economic benefits of their attendance extend well beyond the school walls. It is estimated that international students contributed just under $44 billion to the U.S. economy when their housing and other living expenses are tallied. More than half of postdoctoral researchers at Harvard are foreigners. They are critical to research that has produced critical breakthroughs in medicine, science, technology and other fields. The elimination of federal grants and assistance will do similar damage to vital research efforts. Since Trump took office, just four months ago, it is estimated that there have been $11 billion in cuts to federal spending on university research. Barbara Snyder, president of the Association of American Universities, is right to warn that these moves threaten U.S. 'leadership in science and innovation and its prosperity.' While the economic impact of those cuts can be estimated, the losses to U.S. influence and image are incalculable. These policies have nurtured the belief that the U.S. is no longer welcoming of foreigners, as visitors or immigrants, an idea that has been fundamental to the nation since it was founded. The freedom to pursue intellectual inquiry wherever it goes — to dream, to venture, to explore — has been the lubricant of the engine of American success. Other countries recognize the impact of those policies and are moving to seize the opportunities they create. The University of Tokyo is reportedly considering temporarily accepting some of the Harvard students whose future is being derailed by the Trump administration's policies. Other top universities are as well, aiming to cultivate the students, researchers and professors that might have otherwise worked and studied in the U.S. U.S. universities have been the envy of the world. Now they are another battleground in an ever more pitched political struggle. The collateral damage is appalling. The Japan Times Editorial Board
The Mainichi
2 hours ago
- The Mainichi
Trump holding Pennsylvania rally to promote deal for Japan-based Nippon to 'partner' with US Steel
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) -- President Donald Trump is holding a rally in Pennsylvania on Friday to celebrate a details-to-come deal for Japan-based Nippon Steel to invest in U.S. Steel, which he says will keep the iconic American steelmaker under U.S.-control. Though Trump initially vowed to block the Japanese steelmaker's bid to buy Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel, he changed course and announced an agreement last week for what he described as "partial ownership" by Nippon. It's not clear, though, if the deal his administration helped broker has been finalized or how ownership would be structured. Trump stressed the deal would maintain American control of the storied company, which is seen as both a political symbol and an important matter for the country's supply chain, industries like auto manufacturing and national security. Trump, who has been eager to strike deals and announce new investments in the U.S. since retaking the White House, is also trying to satisfy voters, including blue-collar workers, who elected him as he called to protect U.S. manufacturing. U.S. Steel has not publicly communicated any details of a revamped deal to investors. Nippon Steel issued a statement approving of the proposed "partnership" but also has not disclosed terms of the arrangement. State and federal lawmakers who have been briefed on the matter describe a deal in which Nippon will buy U.S. Steel and spend billions on U.S. Steel facilities in Pennsylvania, Indiana, Alabama, Arkansas and Minnesota. The company would be overseen by an executive suite and board made up mostly of Americans and protected by the U.S. government's veto power in the form of a "golden share." In the absence of clear details or affirmation from the companies involved, the United Steelworkers union, which has long opposed the deal, this week questioned whether the new arrangement makes "any meaningful change" from the initial proposal. "Nippon has maintained consistently that it would only invest in U.S. Steel's facilities if it owned the company outright," the union said in a statement. "We've seen nothing in the reporting over the past few days suggesting that Nippon has walked back from this position." The White House did not offer any new details Thursday. U.S. Steel did not respond to messages seeking information. Nippon Steel also declined to comment. No matter the terms, the issue has outsized importance for Trump, who last year repeatedly said he would block the deal and foreign ownership of U.S. Steel, as did former President Joe Biden. Trump promised during the campaign to make the revitalization of American manufacturing a priority of his second term in office. And the fate of U.S. Steel, once the world's largest corporation, could become a political liability in the midterm elections for his Republican Party in the swing state of Pennsylvania and other battleground states dependent on industrial manufacturing. Trump said Sunday he wouldn't approve the deal if U.S. Steel did not remain under U.S. control and said it will keep its headquarters in Pittsburgh. In an interview on Fox News Channel on Wednesday, Pennsylvania Republican Rep. Dan Meuser called the arrangement "strictly an investment, a strategic partnership where it's American-owned, American run and remains in America." However, Meuser said he hadn't seen the deal and added that "it's still being structured." Pennsylvania Republican Sen. David McCormick came out in favor of the plan, calling it "great" for the domestic steel industry, Pennsylvania, national security and U.S. Steel's employees. A bipartisan group of senators, joined by then-Senate candidate McCormick, had opposed Nippon Steel's initial proposed purchase of U.S. Steel for $14.9 billion after it was announced in late 2023. In recent days, Trump and other American officials began touting Nippon Steel's new commitment to invest $14 billion on top of its $14.9 billion bid, including building a new electric arc furnace steel mill somewhere in the U.S. Pennsylvania's other senator, Democrat John Fetterman -- who lives across the street from U.S. Steel's Edgar Thomson Steel Works blast furnace -- didn't explicitly endorse the new proposal. But he said he had helped jam up Nippon Steel's original bid until "Nippon coughed up an extra $14B." The planned "golden share" for the U.S. amounts to three board members approved by the U.S. government, which will essentially ensure that U.S. Steel can only make decisions that'll be in the best interests of the United States, McCormick said Tuesday on Fox News. Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat who is seen as a potential presidential candidate, had largely refrained from publicly endorsing a deal but said at a news conference this week that he was "cautiously optimistic" about the arrangement. In an interview published Thursday in the conservative Washington Examiner, Shapiro said: "The deal has gotten better. The prospects for the future of steelmaking have gotten better." Chris Kelly, the mayor of West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, where U.S. Steel's Irvin finishing plant is located, said he was "ecstatic" about the deal, though he acknowledged some details were unknown. He said it will save thousands of jobs for his community. "It's like a reprieve from taking steel out of Pittsburgh," he said.
