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Business Standard
29-07-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Steel quality control order duplicative and hurts MSMEs, says GTRI
Hours after a Quality Control Order (QCO) was issued for steel imports in June, a major domestic stainless steel producer hiked prices sharply, as it had allegedly already secured quality clearances for its foreign suppliers before the new rule came into force, think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said in a report on Tuesday The QCO issued by the steel ministry on June 13 that mandated certification from the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) for raw materials, has locked thousands of smaller firms out of the market while giving larger players an edge, GTRI has argued. Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) that depend on imported semi-finished steel in sectors like auto components, precision engineering, and construction, are facing shipment delays, demurrage costs and cancelled contracts. While the Madras High Court granted an interim stay on the order on July 17, the Steel Import Monitoring System (SIMS) portal still requires BIS certificate details, prolonging supply chain disruptions. The Steel Ministry, which has defended the order, saying it ensures parity between domestic producers and importers and prevents dumping of sub-standard steel, has moved the Supreme Court last week against the HC stay order. The GTRI said the rule is 'duplicative, impractical and harmful to trade' as the BIS already audits overseas factories and verifies raw materials under the Foreign Manufacturer Certification Scheme (FMCS). The QCO could be interpreted as a non-tariff barrier under World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules, it noted. 'The primary value of certification lies in the final product that reaches the end user, not at every stage of the production process,' GTRI's report pointed out, adding that major economies like the United States, European Union and Japan do not require separate raw material certification if the final product meets quality standards. The report also flagged potential market distortion, citing exemptions for finished products like welded pipes, which appear to favour value-added imports over domestic manufacturing. GTRI has pitched for an immediate suspension of the QCO, stakeholder consultations, exemptions for inputs verified under FMCS, and a 90-day transition period for future regulatory changes.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Illinois AG wins court order supporting libraries, museums, minority-owned businesses
CHICAGO, Ill. (WCIA) — Attorney General Kwame Raoul, in a coalition with 20 other attorneys general, won a court order stopping the Trump administration from dismantling three federal agencies. In April, Raoul joined this coalition in suing the administration to stop the implementation of an executive order that would dismantle the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) and the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS). These three agencies provide services and funding supporting public libraries, museums, workers and minority-owned businesses across the country. Brother answers burning question: Is Pope Leo XIV a Chicago White Sox or Cubs fan? The U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island issued an order on Tuesday granting the states' request for a preliminary injunction to stop the administration from implementing the order and protecting these agencies. 'The administration's actions jeopardize critical library and museum programs across the state. These programs help residents of rural communities and underserved youth access educational opportunities and technology,' Raoul said. 'I am proud to stand with my fellow attorneys general to stop the unconstitutional attempt to dismantle agencies created by Congress.' This executive order is the administration's most recent attempt to dismantle federal agencies in defiance of Congress. Raoul and the coalition are seeking to stop the dismantling of the three agencies targeted in the administration's executive order: The IMLS, which supports libraries and museums across the nation through grantmaking, research and development The MBDA, which promotes the growth and inclusion of minority-owned businesses through federal financial assistance programs The FMCS, which promotes the resolution of labor disputes Illinois' gas tax goes up on July 1st. Here's by how much: According to Raoul, as the coalition continues to assert in the lawsuit, dismantling these agencies will hurt communities throughout Illinois and across the nation that rely on them to provide important services to the public. These include funding for libraries, promoting minority-owned businesses and protecting workers' rights. The preliminary injunction that has been granted halts the executive order as it applies to IMLS, MBDA and FMCS. The court also found that the states had established a 'strong likelihood of success' on their claims that the order violates the Administrative Procedure Act and disregards the Constitution by attempting to dismantle agencies that Congress both established and funded by law. Attorneys general from the following states joined Raoul in this coalition: Arizona California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Hawaii Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Nevada New Jersey New York New Mexico Oregon Rhode Island Vermont Washington Wisconsin Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Reuters
14-04-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Unions sue to block Trump from eliminating labor mediation agency
April 14 (Reuters) - More than a dozen major unions filed a lawsuit on Monday seeking to block the administration of President Donald Trump from shutting down a federal agency that mediates labor disputes in the public and private sectors. The unions in a complaint, opens new tab filed in Manhattan federal court said that efforts to dismantle the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service violate Congress' constitutional powers to create or dissolve federal agencies. Trump in a March executive order, opens new tab directed that the FMCS and six other agencies be reduced "to the minimum presence and function required by law.' Since then, more than 90% of the mediation service's employees have been placed on administrative leave and the agency has closed all of its field offices, leaving a skeleton staff in Washington, the unions said in the lawsuit. "Without the services of FMCS, Plaintiffs are left in the lurch, often working under expired contracts or no contracts, and strikes or lockouts are much more likely," they said. The White House and the FMCS did not immediately respond to requests for comment. In a statement, opens new tab last month, the agency said it was "still operational and performing our statutory functions of collective bargaining mediation work in the private and federal sectors." The plaintiffs include the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents more than 800,000 federal workers, the American Federation of Teachers and the AFL-CIO. The mediation service was created in 1947 and primarily works to broker settlements in collective bargaining disputes through mediation and arbitration. Private-sector employers must notify the agency if they intend to terminate or modify a union contract, and the FMCS then decides whether to intervene and offer mediation services. The agency is required to intervene in cases involving potential work stoppages in healthcare settings and the U.S. Postal Service. In the federal sector, the use of the agency's services is voluntary and labor disputes more often go to a different agency, the Federal Labor Relations Authority. Trump in March fired a Democratic member of that agency, but she was reinstated by a federal judge. The FMCS receives roughly 15,000 notices from employers each year and in 2024 supplied about 10,000 arbitrator panels and appointed more than 4,000 arbitrators to hear cases, according to the lawsuit filed on Monday. The unions claim that Trump had no power to order that the agency be effectively shuttered, and that doing so defied the power of Congress to create agencies, charge them with specific functions and provide funding to carry out their missions. The lawsuit seeks preliminary and permanent injunctions barring the FMCS from implementing Trump's executive order and requiring the agency to reinstate employees and resume mediation services. The case is American Federation of Teachers v. Goldstein, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, No. 1:25-cv-3072. For the unions: Elisabeth Oppenheimer and Cole Hanzlicek of Bredhoff & Kaiser For the government: Not yet available
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Wisconsin attorney general sues Trump to stop dismantling of funding supporting libraries and museums
Wisconsin's Attorney General Josh Kaul is joining a coalition of 20 other states in suing President Donald Trump's administration to stop the dismantling of federal funding that supports public libraries and museums. "Local libraries and small businesses are important parts of communities, no matter what the Trump administration seems to think,' Kaul said in a statement. 'These cuts should be blocked so these agencies can return to providing the services they previously offered." Last month, Trump signed an executive order dismantling three federal agencies that provide services and funding for the libraries and museums and its workers. The agencies targeted include: The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), which supports museums and libraries nationwide through grantmaking, research and policy development; The Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA), which promotes the growth and inclusion of minority-owned businesses through federal financial assistance programs; and The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS), which promotes peaceful resolution of labor disputes. As a result of the executive order, IMLS placed almost its entire staff (85%) on administrative leave and will cut hundreds of grants for state libraries and museums. In 2024, IMLS invested $180 million in libraries nationwide. The FMCS also slashed its staff from roughly 200 to fewer than 15 people and announced the end of several of its core programs affecting unionized workers. Kaul and the coalition assert in the lawsuit that dismantling these agencies will have significant effects on communities throughout Wisconsin, particularly minority-owned businesses. "President Trump and Elon Musk's reckless, illegal cuts are hurting folks across our country, including families, libraries, communities, and campuses right here in Wisconsin, gutting programs and services that folks depend on and care about," Gov. Tony Evers said in a statement. The governor said funding for the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Olson Museum of Natural History is at risk. The cuts are also expected to affect the Wisconsin Veterans Museum and over a dozen librarian positions across the state. "For decades, the Olson Museum of Natural History and others like it across the country have served as critical hubs of education, research, and innovation," Evers said. "But without a second thought, the Trump Administration wants to pull the rug out from under them by obstructing investments that were approved by Congress. "Wisconsinites want constitutional checks and balances in our systems to maintain the balance of power and ensure no one has runaway power to make decisions like this unchecked. These actions are wrongheaded, they're bad for Wisconsin, and we're suing to stop them." This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin attorney general sues Trump over library and museum funds
