Latest news with #FederalRegistry
Axios
13-04-2025
- Business
- Axios
Trump's electronics tariff exemption is temporary, Commerce Secretary says
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Sunday that smartphones and other electronics will be included in future semiconductor sectoral tariffs, two days after the Trump administration said such products were exempt from China import levies. Why it matters: The announced carveout was a win for companies like Apple, which assembles most of its iPhones in China. But the relief is only temporary, officials clarified Sunday. Driving the news: Lutnick said in a Sunday interview on ABC's "This Week" that semiconductor tariffs are imminent — meaning that products exempt from Trump's broad reciprocal tariffs are not free from new levies. "All those products will come under semiconductors, and they're going to have a special focus type of tariff to make sure that those products get re-shored," Lutnick said. "We need to have semiconductors, we need to have chips, and we need to have flat panels, we need to have these things made in America," he continued. What's next: He said a notice could be expected in the Federal Registry this week and that semiconductor and pharmaceutical tariffs will arrive in "the next month or two." Lutnick explained that the products are exempt from reciprocal tariffs, but that the sector tariffs are a separate issue which "are not available to be negotiated away by countries." "These are things that are national security, that we need to be made in America," Lutnick added. Zoom out: National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett explained on CNN's "State of the Union" that items included under section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 were "always excluded" and were not covered by the new actions. The New York Times reported that the administration had previously signaled it was considering semiconductor tariffs under Section 232, which gives the president the power to adjust imports that are deemed to threaten national security. Trump has already used the statute to place 25% levies on imported steel, aluminum and automobiles. Yes, but: U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer noted on CBS News' "Face the Nation" Sunday that for "national security tariffs," an investigation is necessary as part of the process of imposing such levies. He said the administration has not determined the outcome, but he added, "we expect there will have to be some kind of tariff." Catch up quick: The clarification comes after a U.S. Customs and Border Protection bulletin was published Friday night designating electronics that would be exempt from the steep tariffs on Chinese imports and the global 10% rate Trump implemented.
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Conservationists raise alarm over Air Force plan to land SpaceX Starships on bird sanctuary atoll
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. The U.S. military is considering Johnston Atoll, a remote Pacific island chain that serves as an important refuge for dozens of seabird species, for "two commercial rocket landing pads" to test giant cargo rocket landings for the Department of the Air Force's (DAF) Rocket Cargo Vanguard program, and it's getting push-back from environmentalists. The Rocket Cargo Vanguard program aims to develop the technologies required to rapidly deliver up to 100 tons of cargo anywhere on Earth using commercial rockets. Though not explicitly named, Elon Musk's SpaceX is currently the only company —commercial or otherwise — capable of manufacturing rockets designed for landing and reuse, and its Starship megarocket is DAF's leading contender. The Air Force outlined its plans in a Federal Registry notice last month. Objections from the American Bird Conservancy (ABC), however, may hinder plans for the new landing pads on the South Pacific atoll. Johnston Atoll lies about 825 miles (1,325 kilometers) southwest of Hawaii, and is home to several different species of seabirds, including the largest known colony of Red-tailed Tropicbirds. It was designated a refuge for native bird populations in 1926, but suffered environmental degradation through 2004, due to its use by the U.S. military as a nuclear weapons testing and chemical weapons disposal site. Since the military's departure from the islands, restoration efforts have helped raise Johnston Atoll's bird population back to nearly 1.5 million. Now, critics say the planned new rocket infrastructure could undo decades of conservation work. 'Installing rocket landing pads on Johnston Atoll cannot occur without significantly disrupting wildlife," said ABC president Michael Parr in a statement. DAF has stated that environmental reviews will be conducted before any operations move forward, but ABC say it's not enough. ABC says the islands have become a crucial nesting habitat since the military's 2004 departure. Seabirds fly for thousands of miles across open water to reach Johnston Atoll, which sits alone amidst more than 570,000 square miles of ocean. Often times, the ABC says, it is the only land these birds see in their entire lives. "The proposed 10 rocket landings per year would pose serious ecological risks, including hazardous debris, contamination, noise pollution, and other impacts from potential failures and explosions," it says in the ABC statement, adding, "opening Johnston's airstrip to planes would destroy the ground-nesting seabird colonies that have reclaimed the entire runway." ABC expects the DAF to issue a Draft Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) in the near future, but believes the study will overlook the possible major impacts to the region's bird populations. Instead, they are requesting the DAF prepare a full Environmental Impact Statement "to better assess the potential hazards posed by the project." Starship is SpaceX's newest rocket under development, and currently stands as the world's largest, most powerful launch vehicle. The company began orbital flight tests of the megarocket in April 2023, with a mostly steady progression of milestones over the course of eight launches. It's last two though, which launched a taller, upgraded version of Starship's upper stage, have stinted that progress, with both flights ending in the unexpected loss of the vehicle during ascent. RELATED STORIES: — SpaceX loses Starship rocket again, but catches giant Super Heavy booster during Flight 8 launch (video) — Starship and Super Heavy explained — Will 2025 be the year of Starship? SpaceX's megarocket is growing up. SpaceX has already faced environmental scrutiny over its Starbase test site near Boca Chica Beach in South Texas, where it manufactures and launches Starship from a facility surrounded by other dedicated wildlife areas. Past launches have sparked legal action and criticisms from environmentalists there as well. SpaceX has designed Starship to be fully reusable, and capable of carrying both crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the moon, and eventually Mars. It's built for high-capacity, rapid-turnaround spaceflight, and is central to SpaceX's long-term vision to make human life interplanetary. Beyond commercial and military applications, NASA has contracted a version of Starship under its Human Landing System (HLS) program to serve as one of the lunar landers for the agency's Artemis Program, which aims to return astronauts to the moon's surface later this decade. It is slated to land the first Artemis astronauts on the moon on the Artemis 3 mission no earlier than 2027.
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
What is Trump's approval rating? Here's how he's doing nationally and in Tennessee
It has been almost two months since President Donald Trump has taken office, and he has done his best to make drastic changes via executive order. The Federal Registry has documented Trump's 89 executive orders he has signed since coming into office, they range from renaming the Gulf of Mexico to doing his best to dismantle government departments with the stroke of a pen. These changes have garnered cheers and praise from his supporters on Capitol Hill, while opponents are condemning Trump's actions and wondering what will happen next. The real question is, what do the American people think of the elected president's work so far? Well, the polls are in, and this is what they say on the different issues. In a two-day Reuters/Ipsos poll, Trump's approval ratings were below 40% on issues that ranged from the economy, foreign policy and corruption. But there was a notable exception, he scored a 49% rating on immigration policy. The poll, taken two days before Trump's speech to Congress on March 3, overall showed Trump's rating hitting at 44%, higher than former President Joe Biden's during his second half of this 2021-2025 term. Thought the Republican president may tout the 44% rating, his rating when it comes to the cost of living is at 31% approval by Americans, while only 31% of people polled agreed with a statement that tariffs would be a good idea even if prices increase. Here's a look at what other polls have found: Here are the latest approval ratings released on Trump's administration: Gallup polls show Trump's approval rating averaging at 46% since he took office for his second term. His first term overall average was a 41% approval rating. During both terms, his lowest to highest approval ratings have ranged between 34%-49%. ABC News project538 poll from March 4 shows Trump with a 47.6% approval on his presidential performance. The poll also looked at the approval for Vice President JD Vance, which sits at 40.8% approval rating. A Thursday, March 6 poll from The Economist shows that 46% of people are in favor of Trump and 50% are unfavorable, with 4% not feeling one way or the other. An Emerson College poll conducted March 8 -10 and released Tuesday has Trump with a 47% approval rating on job performance and 45% disapproval. That's a drop from the 49% approval and 41% disapproval rating from the start of his second term. A Vanderbilt Unity Poll asked Republicans in a quarterly national poll since June 16, 2023, if they consider themselves supporters of the Make America Great Again movement. The first poll showed 37% of respondents identified more with the MAGA movement than with the traditional GOP. In the latest poll done between Feb. 7-9, 2025, 52% — a majority — showed that they identified with the MAGA movement. A Vanderbilt Poll focusing on Tennesseans shows that 60% of Republicans in the Volunteer State identify with the MAGA movement. The Vanderbilt poll ― of 1,037 people across the nation — asked respondents about their approval of five high-profile political figures in the United States, including Trump and Elon Musk. Here's how it played out: Joe Biden: 29% approval, 56% disapproval Kamala Harris: 35% approval, 47% disapproval Elon Musk: 28% approval, 50% disapproval Donald Trump: 41% approval, 48% disapproval J.D. Vance: 33% approval, 37% disapproval According to data from a majority of Tennesseans look favorably on Trump's work so far as president. Trump has a 59% favorable outlook and a 38% unfavorable outlook among registered voters that responded to the latest query. USA TODAY and Iris Seaton with the Asheville Citizen-Times, and part of the USA TODAY network, contributed to this story. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: What's Trump's approval rating? Where he stands in U.S. and Tennessee
Bloomberg
19-02-2025
- Politics
- Bloomberg
US Officially Designates Drug Cartels as Terrorist Organizations
The US State Department designated eight cartels operating in Latin America as terrorist organizations, following an executive order President Donald Trump signed during his first day in office. The organizations are accused of posing a significant threat to the country's national security, foreign policy or economy, according to a notice to be posted in the Federal Registry.
