Latest news with #Fentanyl
CNA
21 hours ago
- Business
- CNA
Commentary: Trump's unpredictable tariffs leave US trade partners in limbo
SINGAPORE: The past few days have provided another reminder of the unusual and rapidly changing nature of US President Donald Trump's signature trade agenda. Two courts have struck down the use of tariffs as a policy tool. A quick appeal has, in turn, temporarily allowed the administration to continue to collect tariffs on imports. Fentanyl-related tariffs and the universal application of 10 per cent reciprocal tariffs are still in effect. The sudden legal uncertainty has thrown foreign trade partners into disarray. On Apr 2, Mr Trump imposed reciprocal tariffs on all US trade partners at levels between 10 to 50 per cent. One week later, the White House paused tariff collection above 10 per cent for 90 days to allow time for negotiations. This window is expiring in early July, leaving governments scrambling to find a deal to keep higher assessments from taking effect. TRUMP LOVES TARIFFS The only constant in this volatile situation is Mr Trump's love for tariffs. His justification for using tariffs has varied. He likes that tariffs result in revenue flowing into the US federal budget. He thinks tariffs will encourage foreign firms to invest in the United States and return domestic manufacturing jobs back to a heyday of the 1950s. He believes that tariffs provide leverage to get foreign governments to negotiate over a range of trade and economic irritants. On his first day in office, Mr Trump used a specific domestic tool, called the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), to impose tariffs against China, Canada and Mexico for failure to effectively manage fentanyl. He used the same statute on Apr 2 to introduce reciprocal tariffs. But on May 28, the Court of International Trade (CIT), a specialised court system in the United States to manage economic cases, ruled against the president for his use of IEEPA. In the eyes of the court, IEEPA was incorrectly used because neither fentanyl nor bilateral trade deficits in goods constitute an emergency, and IEEPA does not allow the president to impose tariffs as a remedy. Another court in the District of Columbia reached similar conclusions. Both courts asked that tariffs be removed within 10 to 14 days and that presidents refrain from use of IEEPA in such a manner in the future. Both legal cases have been unfolding largely behind the scenes for months. Observers were caught off guard, however, by the speed with which both delivered verdicts. The unanimous verdict of the CIT panel, which included judges appointed by three different US presidents, strengthened the impact of the court's assessment. While some of Mr Trump's inner circle have argued that the decisions should be seen as a minor bump in the road, the willingness of the legal establishment to take on the executive branch and deliver a sweeping verdict suggests that checks and balances against the president's power on trade and economic policy still exist. The Trump administration quickly filed an appeal and asked for a stay of the lower court decision pending legal outcomes in the case. This stay has been granted and the examination of IEEPA authority is likely to end up before the Supreme Court. UNCERTAINTY OVER US TRADE POLICY Given that these IEEPA-imposed tariffs may be overturned in a few weeks or months, it is not clear whether governments should continue to negotiate, slow the process of talks, or simply wait until there is greater clarity on the future application of reciprocal tariffs. Regardless, tariffs will continue to be applied by Mr Trump. The courts have ruled on IEEPA, but have left in place Section 232 tariffs for national security and Section 301 tariffs for unfair trade practices. Section 232 tariffs are already in place for products with metals, autos and auto parts. Seven more categories of goods, including pharmaceuticals and semiconductors, are waiting to be rolled out. Section 232 cases are global in nature, affecting all US trade partners. Section 301 is in effect with China from Mr Trump's first term in office, with a new use of the legal provision recently for shipbuilding. The administration also has a range of other domestic trade tools that could be tried, such as Section 122, which allows the use of 15 per cent tariffs for a limited time period. Even the withdrawal of all IEEPA tariffs would leave the US with significantly elevated tariffs in place. Prior to Mr Trump's return to the White House, average tariffs were approximately 2 per cent. They have now soared to 18 per cent largely because of Section 232 tariffs. The past few days have highlighted the highly unusual and uncertain nature of trade, with US tariff policies that can be applied, suspended or postponed in a matter of hours. The uncertainty surrounding trade and tariffs is, unfortunately, set to continue.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Kyle Enos: Man who made and sold poisonous diet pills is jailed
A man who made and sold poisonous diet pills has been jailed. DNP is poisonous to humans and has been banned for human consumption in the UK. The industrial chemical, which is officially known as 2,4-Dinitrophenol, has been illegally sold as a pill for weight loss, according to police. Kyle Enos, 33, from Maesteg, Bridgend, was jailed for three years on Thursday after a multi-agency investigation. DNP can cause serious physical side effects or death, according to the Food Standards Agency. Enos was found to have purchased the pure form sodium salt of the powder from China via the dark web. He made the pills using cutting agents and a pill press in his bedroom and advertised them on a website he had made. After receiving orders via email, he would ship the products within the UK and beyond, disguising them as vitamins and minerals. Following the investigation, he was charged with multiple drug offences and pleaded guilty at Cardiff Magistrates' Court on 1 May. 'Extremely ill or even dying' He was sentenced at Cardiff Crown Court for one count of member of public import/acquire/possess/use of a regulated substance without licence, one count of supply regulated substance to member of public without verifying licence and one count of supply of regulated poison by person other than a pharmacist. He was also found to have failed to comply with a serious crime prevention order (SCPO) after a previous conviction for the supply of the Class A drug Fentanyl. Detective Constable Kieran Morris, of South Wales Police's regional organised crime unit (ROCU) Tarian, said Enos was supplying the pills "with no safety precautions in place", which could have led to buyers "becoming extremely ill or even dying". "Tarian ROCU are committed to safeguarding members of the public not only within our region, but across the United Kingdom and beyond," he added. Read more from Sky News: Alison Abbott, head of the National Crime Agency's prisons and lifetime management unit, said SCPOs were "a powerful tool" to help prevent those convicted of "serious offences" from reoffending after their release from prison. "This case should serve as a warning to others," she added. "As we did with Enos, we will actively monitor all those who are subject to such orders, and they will stay on our radar even after they are released from jail."
Zawya
2 days ago
- Business
- Zawya
Trump's tariffs to remain in effect after appeals court grants stay
A federal appeals court temporarily reinstated the most sweeping of President Donald Trump's tariffs on Thursday, a day after a U.S. trade court ruled that Trump had exceeded his authority in imposing the duties and ordered an immediate block on them. The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington said it was pausing the lower court's ruling to consider the government's appeal, and ordered the plaintiffs in the cases to respond by June 5 and the administration by June 9. Wednesday's surprise ruling by the U.S. Court of International Trade had threatened to kill or at least delay the imposition of Trump's so-called Liberation Day tariffs on imports from most U.S. trading partners and additional tariffs on goods from Canada, Mexico and China. The latter was related to his accusation that the three countries were facilitating the flow of fentanyl into the U.S. The trade court's three-judge panel ruled that the Constitution gave Congress, not the president, the power to levy taxes and tariffs, and that the president had exceeded his authority by invoking the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, a law intended to address threats during national emergencies. Senior Trump administration officials had said they were undeterred by the trade court's ruling, saying they expected either to prevail on appeal or employ other presidential powers to ensure the tariffs go into effect. Trump has used the threat of charging U.S. importers costly tariffs for goods from almost every other country in the world as leverage in international trade talks, a strategy the trade court's ruling would upend. The trade court ruling had not interfered with any negotiations with top trading partners that are scheduled in the days ahead, Trump's administration said. Trump himself wrote in a statement shared on social media that he hoped the U.S. Supreme Court would "reverse this horrible, Country threatening decision" of the trade court, while lambasting the judicial branch of government as anti-American. "The horrific decision stated that I would have to get the approval of Congress for these Tariffs," Trump wrote on Thursday evening. "If allowed to stand, this would completely destroy Presidential Power — The Presidency would never be the same! This decision is being hailed all over the World by every Country, other than the United States of America." Many U.S. trading partners offered careful responses. The British government said the trade court's ruling was a domestic matter for the U.S. administration and noted it was "only the first stage of legal proceedings." Both Germany and the European Commission, the European Union's executive arm, said they could not comment on the decision. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said the trade court's finding was "consistent with Canada's longstanding position" that Trump's tariffs were unlawful. Financial markets, which have whipsawed in response to the twists and turns in Trump's chaotic trade war, reacted with cautious optimism to the trade court ruling, though gains in stocks on Thursday were largely limited by expectations that the court's ruling faced a potentially lengthy appeals process. Indeed, analysts said broad uncertainty remained regarding the future of Trump's tariffs, which have cost companies more than $34 billion in lost sales and higher costs, according to a Reuters analysis. Some sector-specific tariffs, such as on imports of steel, aluminum and automobiles, were imposed by Trump under separate authorities on national security grounds and were unaffected by the ruling. The Liberty Justice Center, the nonprofit group representing five small businesses that sued over the tariffs, said the appeals court's temporary stay was a procedural step. Jeffrey Schwab, senior counsel for the center, said the appeals court would ultimately agree with the small businesses that faced irreparable harm of "the loss of critical suppliers and customers, forced and costly changes to established supply chains, and, most seriously, a direct threat to the very survival of these businesses." A separate federal court earlier on Thursday also found that Trump overstepped his authority in using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act for what he called reciprocal tariffs of at least 10% on goods from most U.S. trading partners and for the separate 25% levies on goods from Canada, Mexico and China related to fentanyl. That ruling was much narrower, however, and the relief order stopping the tariffs applied only to the toy company that brought the case. The administration has appealed that ruling as well. UNCERTAINTY PERSISTS Following a market revolt after his major tariff announcement on April 2, Trump paused most import duties for 90 days and said he would hammer out bilateral deals with trade partners. But apart from a pact with Britain this month, agreements remain elusive, and the trade court's ruling on the tariffs and the uncertainty of the appeals process may dissuade countries like Japan from rushing into deals, analysts said. "Assuming that an appeal does not succeed in the next few days, the main win is time to prepare, and also a cap on the breadth of tariffs - which can't exceed 15% for the time being," said George Lagarias, chief economist at Forvis Mazars international advisers. The trade court ruling would have lowered the overall effective U.S. tariff rate to about 6%, but the appellate court's emergency stay means it will remain at about 15%, according to estimates from Oxford Research. That is the level it has been since Trump earlier this month struck a temporary truce that reduced punishing levies on Chinese goods until late summer. By contrast, the effective tariff rate had been between 2% and 3% before Trump returned to office in January. Trump's trade war has shaken makers of everything from luxury handbags and sneakers to household appliances and cars as the price of raw materials has risen. Drinks company Diageo and automakers General Motors and Ford are among those that have abandoned forecasts for the year ahead. Non-U.S. companies including Honda, Campari , Roche and Novartis have said they are considering moving operations or expanding their U.S. presence to mitigate the impact of tariffs. (Reporting by Summer Zhen, Samuel Indyk and Sarah Marsh; Additional reporting by Luc Cohen, Doina Chiacu, Nicholas P. Brown and David Ljunggren; Writing by Joseph Ax, Jonathan Allen, Dan Burns and Barbara Lewis; Editing by Catherine Evans, Giles Elgood, Nick Zieminski, Matthew Lewis and Leslie Adler)
Japan Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Japan Times
Trump's tariffs to remain in effect after appeals court grants stay
A federal appeals court temporarily reinstated the most sweeping of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs on Thursday, a day after a trade court had ruled Trump had exceeded his authority in imposing the duties and ordered an immediate block on them. The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington said it was pausing the lower court's ruling to consider the government's appeal, and ordered the plaintiffs in the cases to respond by June 5 and the administration by June 9. Wednesday's surprise ruling by the U.S. Court of International Trade had threatened to kill or at least delay the imposition of Trump's so-called Liberation Day tariffs on imports from most U.S. trading partners and additional tariffs on goods from Canada, Mexico and China. The latter was related to his accusation that the three countries were facilitating the flow of fentanyl into the U.S. The trade court's three-judge panel ruled that the Constitution gave Congress, not the president, the power to levy taxes and tariffs, and that the president had exceeded his authority by invoking the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, a law intended to address threats during national emergencies. Senior Trump administration officials had said they were undeterred by the trade court's ruling, saying they expected either to prevail on appeal or employ other presidential powers to ensure they go into effect. Trump has used the threat of charging U.S. importers costly tariffs for goods from almost every other country in the world as leverage in international trade talks, a strategy the trade court's ruling would upend. The trade court ruling had not interfered with any negotiations with top trading partners that are scheduled in the days ahead, Trump's administration said. U.S. trading partners "are coming to us in good faith and trying to complete the deals before the 90-day pause ends," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a Fox News interview. "So we've seen no change in their attitude in the past 48 hours. In fact I have a very large Japanese delegation coming to my office first thing tomorrow morning." Many U.S. trading partners offered careful responses. The British government said the trade court's ruling was a domestic matter for the U.S. administration and noted it was "only the first stage of legal proceedings." Both Germany and the European Commission said they could not comment on the decision. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney welcomed the trade court's finding, saying it was "consistent with Canada's longstanding position" that Trump's tariffs were unlawful. Financial markets, which have whipsawed wildly in response to every twist and turn in Trump's chaotic trade war, had reacted with cautious optimism to the trade court ruling, though gains in stocks on Thursday were largely limited by expectations that the court's ruling faced a potentially lengthy appeals process. Indeed, analysts said broad uncertainty remained regarding the future of Trump's tariffs, which have cost companies more than $34 billion in lost sales and higher costs, according to a Reuters analysis. Some sector-specific tariffs, such as those on imports of steel, aluminum and automobiles, were imposed by Trump under separate authorities on national security grounds and were unaffected by the ruling. The Liberty Justice Center, the nonprofit group representing five small businesses that sued over the tariffs, said the appeals court's temporary stay was a procedural step. Jeffrey Schwab, senior counsel for the center, said the appeals court would ultimately agree with the small businesses that faced irreparable harm of "the loss of critical suppliers and customers, forced and costly changes to established supply chains, and, most seriously, a direct threat to the very survival of these businesses." A separate federal court earlier on Thursday had also found Trump overstepped his authority in using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act for what he called reciprocal tariffs of at least 10% on goods from most U.S. trading partners and for the separate 25% levies on goods from Canada, Mexico and China related to fentanyl. That ruling was much narrower, however, and the relief order stopping the tariffs applied only to the toy company that brought the case. The administration has appealed that ruling as well. Following a market revolt after his major tariff announcement on April 2, Trump paused most import duties for 90 days and said he would hammer out bilateral deals with trade partners. But apart from a pact with Britain this month, agreements remain elusive, and the trade court's ruling on the tariffs and the uncertainty of the appeals process may dissuade countries like Japan from rushing in to deals, analysts said. "Assuming that an appeal does not succeed in the next few days, the main win is time to prepare, and also a cap on the breadth of tariffs — which can't exceed 15% for the time being," said George Lagarias, chief economist at Forvis Mazars international advisers. The trade court ruling would have lowered the overall effective U.S. tariff rate to about 6%, but the appellate court's emergency stay means it will remain at about 15%, according to estimates from Oxford Research. That is the level it has been since Trump earlier this month struck a temporary truce that reduced punishing levies on Chinese goods until late summer. By contrast, the effective tariff rate had been between 2% and 3% before Trump returned to office in January. Trump's trade war has shaken makers of everything from luxury handbags and sneakers to household appliances and cars as the price of raw materials has risen. Drinks company Diageo and automakers General Motors and Ford are among those that have abandoned forecasts for the year ahead. Non-U.S. companies including Honda, Campari, Roche and Novartis have said they are considering moving operations or expanding their U.S. presence to mitigate the impact of tariffs.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
DEA Houston warns of synthetic opioid hitting Houston and surrounding areas
The Brief DEA Houston warns of the synthetic opioid Nitazene, saying it's 25% more potent than fentanyl. DEA Houston says they have seen a major increase in overdoses and seizures in the last year. A mother who lost her son to fentanyl is advocating for change and shares her message for families. HOUSTON - The Houston field office for the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) is putting out a serious and stern warning about a synthetic drug called Nitazene that's leading to seizures and overdoses in teens and adults. What they're saying The DEA says Harris, Fort Bend, Montgomery and Brazoria County have all been impacted by Nitazene, which is 25% more potent than fentanyl. Special Agent William Kimbell with the DEA says Nitazene, a killer synthetic drug, has been in our area since 2022. "In the last year, we've become more and more concerned because our number of seizures have gone up in between November and February of this year. We have had a 15% increase of overdoses from Nitazene in Houston," said Special Agent Kimbell. "Nitazene is a typical opioid. It suppresses your breathing, it suppresses your blood pressure, and your body is so suppressed, you can't breathe anymore." Special Agent Kimbell says the drug is impacting people in a wide age range. "We've seen overdoses now from the ages of 17 to 59, so really. If you are buying a pill from someone you don't know, or you are using a pill that you don't know where it came from, it could have Ntazene in it and it's extremely dangerous," said Special Agent Kimbell, "Its synthetic route is very hard to make, and you need lab experience, but we are seeing Nitazene that are made in China, and they are purchased online and smuggled into the US in parcels, and locally, we are seeing drug gangs take fentanyl and Nitazene and pressing it into a what looks like a prescription drug." Why you should care Special Agent Kimbell says Nitazene can be purchased online, using a smartphone. He says, sadly, that's how many kids are getting their hands on it. "We are seeing kids carry that – they can reach a drug dealer that is carrying this type of drug instantly," he said. "Within minutes you can tuck your kids in bed, and they can get on social media, and they can have that stuff delivered to their house." Local perspective Stephanie Roe, who lost her son Tucker at 19 to fentanyl in 2021, has a warning to families and raising awareness through Texas Against Fentanyl. "I watched this come into his life and be introduced as an adolescent, and he couldn't beat it. Ultimately, he used again after his treatment and that resulted in his death," said Roe," Nitazene are incredibly lethal. They have been found to be 20 times stronger than Fentanyl. Roe says it's important for families to talk to their kids and learn more about drug addiction, adding there is a real stigma that needs to be talked about. "The drug demographic is unlike anything we have seen before and these are highly addictive chemicals," Roe said," "You don't think it will happen to our child if you asked me if I would be someone who would lose a child" I would say no way, but the reality is there is no demographic here, its impacting so many people because there is a lack of education and awareness." The Source FOX 26 reporter Leslie DelasBour spoke with Special Agent William Kimbell of the Houston Drug Enforcement Agency and Stephanie Roe, who lost her son to a fentanyl overdose.
