Chinese Steel Profits Recover as Beijing Targets Overcapacity
At the half-year mark, accumulated profits from ferrous metal smelting leaped nearly 14-fold, albeit from the tiny base of the same period last year, according to the statistics bureau on Sunday. Margins found support in June as mills cut output, and raw material costs were generally weaker than product prices.
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2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Shein's and Temu's prices will get hit even harder by the new de minimis rule
President Donald Trump last week suspended a global trade loophole allowing smaller parcels into America duty-free. This closes a backdoor into the United States for Chinese mega-shippers like Shein and Temu, who could potentially pass the cost of those duties down to consumers. Trump eliminated the so-called 'de minimis exemption,' which had admitted duty-free shipments of goods worth $800 or less into the United States. Giant e-commerce sites used the loophole when shipping hundreds of millions of packages to US consumers. The administration did away with the exemption for goods coming out of China and Hong Kong in May amid the US-China trade war. This latest move extends that to every country around the world. Trump said in an executive order issued on Wednesday that 'many shippers go to great lengths to evade law enforcement and hide illicit substances in imports that go through international commerce' and the risk of 'evasion, deception, and illicit-drug importation are particularly high for low-value articles that have been eligible for duty-free de minimis treatment.' This is more bad news for Chinese retailers and their customers because it shuts down the option of re-routing small shipments duty-free through countries like Vietnam, which is facing a tariff rate of 20%. The executive order also demands that the origin of the package must be declared to US Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Temu and Shein had already started stockpiling goods and bulk-shipping to US warehouses to lower shipping times. Hours after the de minimis exemption expired for China in early May, Temu announced it was overhauling its shipping model. It said it would send out all American orders via US-based distributors, adding that its 'pricing for US consumers remains unchanged.' But some of Temu's American buyers subsequently complained of higher prices and items were quickly out of stock. Companies also will eventually need to restock their warehouses, and 'by imposing (the suspension of de minimis) for the whole world, there is no other workaround,' Chris Tang, a professor of global supply chain management at the University of California, Los Angeles, told CNN. Companies will now have to pay a hefty import tax even if they ship in bulk, which means customers may eventually have to pay more. The suspension of de minimis will also affect the millions of sellers on Amazon Haul, a discount competitor to Temu and TikTok Shop. Amazon and Temu have not responded to CNN's request for comment. Overhauling how Americans shop Last week's repeal will affect a massive amount of packages that Americans are accustomed to receiving duty-free, the sheer amount of which has grown exponentially over the past decade. CBP previously told CNN it processes 'nearly 4 million duty-free de minimis shipments a day.' Research indicates that a majority of those shipments come from China and Hong Kong. In total, over the last fiscal year, CBP said 1.36 billion packages came to the United States under the de minimis exemption. When Trump's executive order goes into effect on August 29, most goods shipped internationally will be subject to the tariffs of the country of origin. Those duties will be about $80 per item for a country with a tariff rate less than 16%, $160 per item for a country of a tariff rate between 16% and 25%, $200 per item for a country with a tariff rate above 25%. Some of that cost could be passed down to consumers. Lower-income households will suffer the most from higher prices on Chinese e-commerce sites. About 48% of de minimis packages were shipped to America's poorest zip codes, while 22% were delivered to the richest ones, according to research in February from UCLA and Yale economists. The Trump administration had first slashed the de minimis exemption on China in May, but then cut the tariff on those cheap packages from 120% to 54%. There is also a $100 flat-fee option for those goods. A federal trade court this week declined to block Trump's elimination of the de minimis exemption on goods from China because the issue is already covered in a broader case challenging Trump's tariff policies. As part of Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill,' the de minimis rule was slated for repeal on all countries in July 2027. It even established a civil penalty up to $10,000 for more than one violation of the rule. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Labour does not deserve to win next election if it does not deliver change, says Reeves
Labour does not deserve to win the next election if it does not succeed in changing the country, Rachel Reeves has said, acknowledging that some voters were disappointed with the party's time in office. Speaking at the Edinburgh Fringe festival, the chancellor said she is 'impatient for change' but said ministers 'can't do everything straight away, all at once.' It comes amid growing concern over the direction of Sir Keir Starmer's government from voters on both the left and the right, with the prime minister's approval rating hitting an all time low last month. Speaking to Iain Dale, Ms Reeves said: 'The reason people voted Labour at the last election is they want to change and they were unhappy with the way that the country was being governed. 'They know that we inherited a mess. They know it's not easy to put it right, but people are impatient for change. 'I'm impatient for change as well, but I've also got the job of making sure the sums always add up – and it doesn't always make you popular because you can't do anything you might want to do.' 'You certainly can't do everything straight away, all at once', she said, adding that Labour did not 'deserve' to win the next election if it fails to deliver the change it promised. The chancellor also claimed the government has got the balance 'about right' when it comes to taxation, amid mounting questions over how the government will raise the money to fill the black hole in the public finances left by a series of major U-turns and spending commitments. 'Of course you're going to disappoint people. No one wants to pay more taxes', she said. 'Everyone wants more money than public spending – and borrowing is not a free option, because you've got to pay for it. 'I think people know those sort of constraints but no one really likes them and I'm the one that has to sort the sums up.' It comes just days after former Labour shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds urged the government to consider a wealth tax at the next Budget in order to plug holes in the public finances. Ms Dodds - who quit Sir Keir Starmer's government in February over the PM's decision to cut the foreign aid budget to fund a boost in defence spending – warned that spending cuts will not 'deliver the kind of fiscal room that is necessary'. Last month, Sir Keir's support among the public reached new depths of minus 43 after a U-turn on cuts to welfare worth £5 billion, polling showed. The survey, first reported by The Sunday Times, also found that just a year after coming to power, seven in 10 voters think Sir Keir's government is at least as chaotic as the Tories' previous term. That includes one in three voters, who believe it is more so.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
3 Social Security Changes Coming in January 2026: What You Need to Know.
Key Points Social Security beneficiaries will likely receive a "raise" in 2026. The Social Security full retirement age will officially be higher beginning next year. Workers could have to pay more Social Security taxes on their earnings in 2026, too. The $23,760 Social Security bonus most retirees completely overlook › Bob Dylan was 23 years old when he wrote "The Times They Are a-Changin'." Social Security was probably the last thing on his mind. Today, though, Dylan is 84. He has been eligible to receive Social Security benefits for years, and the title of his song from the 1960s applies to the popular federal program. Three Social Security changes are coming in January 2026. Here's what you (and perhaps Dylan) need to know. 1. A cost-of-living adjustment Probably the one change that every Social Security beneficiary looks forward to each year is the annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). The Social Security Administration will announce the 2026 COLA in mid-October of this year. It's theoretically possible that there won't be a COLA. That can happen if the average Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) for the third quarter of the current year is equal to or lower than the average CPI-W for the third quarter of the previous year. This has occurred three times since 2009. However, I think the chances of no COLA in 2026 are very low. The Senior Citizens League, a nonprofit organization that advocates for seniors, projects that next year's benefit increase will be 2.6% based on the latest data. This would be slightly above the 2.5% COLA received in 2025. 2. The full retirement age will officially be 67 One Social Security change next year that has been a while in the making is that the full retirement age (FRA) will officially be set at 67. For a long time, the FRA was 65. However, legislation passed in 1983 gradually increased the retirement age to 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later. As of the beginning of 2026, the period of gradual increases will be complete. Note, though, that the early retirement age will remain 62 for everyone. Also, the age for obtaining the maximum Social Security retirement benefit will still be 70. 3. Higher maximum taxable earnings Another likely Social Security change that could take effect in January is a higher limit on maximum taxable earnings. This change applies to working Americans rather than retirees. The maximum taxable earnings (also called the contribution and benefit base) is the maximum amount of annual earnings subject to FICA taxes used to fund Social Security. By the way, there is no maximum taxable earnings for the portion of FICA taxes that fund Medicare. Note that I used the word "likely" to describe this change. The maximum taxable earnings limit is set based on the national average wage index. It's possible that this index won't change from year to year. For example, the average wage index -- and therefore the maximum taxable earnings -- remained the same in 2009, 2010, and 2011, and in 2015 and 2016. However, I suspect the chances are greater than not that we'll see higher maximum taxable earnings next year. The limit is $176,100 for 2025. The latest projection is that the threshold will increase to $183,600 next year. One other key change that will affect many retirees One change that will be felt by many retirees isn't a Social Security change per se. The One, Big, Beautiful Bill narrowly passed by Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump included a new additional standard deduction for Americans 65 and up. This deduction can be up to $6,000 for an individual taxpayer and up to $12,000 for married senior couples filing jointly. The White House said that 88% of seniors receiving Social Security retirement benefits won't have to pay taxes on their benefits as a result of this so-called "senior bonus." There are two caveats with this change, though. First, it's temporary. The senior bonus will only be available through 2028. Second, not everyone will receive the higher standard deduction. It begins to phase out for single filers with modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) of $75,000, and $150,000 for married couples filing jointly. Specifically, the $6,000 per-person tax deduction is reduced by 6 percent of the amount of MAGI that exceeds the income limits. Single filers with MAGI above $175,000 and married couples filing jointly with MAGI above $250,000 won't receive the senior bonus at all. The $23,760 Social Security bonus most retirees completely overlook If you're like most Americans, you're a few years (or more) behind on your retirement savings. But a handful of little-known could help ensure a boost in your retirement income. One easy trick could pay you as much as $23,760 more... each year! Once you learn how to maximize your Social Security benefits, we think you could retire confidently with the peace of mind we're all after. Join Stock Advisor to learn more about these Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. 3 Social Security Changes Coming in January 2026: What You Need to Know. was originally published by The Motley Fool
