Latest news with #PresidentialExecutiveOrder
GMA Network
2 days ago
- Business
- GMA Network
NAST PHL calls for urgent action to boost export competitiveness through quality infrastructure
The National Academy of Science and Technology Philippines (NAST PHL) on Friday issued a compelling call for the government to prioritize strengthening the country's National Quality Infrastructure (NQI) system, citing its critical role in boosting Philippine exports and economic growth. The Philippines currently ranks 57th globally in quality infrastructure development, trailing behind regional neighbors Vietnam (52nd), Malaysia (33rd), Singapore (29th), Thailand (28th), and Indonesia (27th), according to the 2023 Global Quality Infrastructure Index. NQI is the system comprising public and private organizations, policies, legal frameworks, and practices that ensure the quality, safety, and environmental soundness of goods, services, and processes. It enables domestic markets to function effectively while providing the international recognition needed to access foreign markets. As a critical element for economic development and social well-being, NQI relies on five key components: metrology (measurement standards), standardization (setting product standards), accreditation (verifying competence), conformity assessment (testing and certification), and market surveillance (monitoring compliance). Together, these components help Philippine businesses prove their products meet both local and international requirements. Key recommendations for government action: Pass priority legislation - NAST PHL urges the 20th Congress to prioritize comprehensive NQI legislation to modernize and integrate the country's quality systems. Create a coordinating council - Establish a National Quality Infrastructure Coordinating Council through a Presidential Executive Order to align all quality-related government agencies. Increase budget support - Provide adequate funding to strengthen personnel and facilities of NQI agencies, addressing current shortages of staff and resources. Support businesses - Offer incentives like tax exemptions for companies pursuing quality certifications and provide better information about export requirements. Promote quality culture - Integrate quality awareness in education from primary school to university level. Studies show that countries with strong quality infrastructure systems experience higher export growth and better protect consumers. The correlation between QI development and exports stands at 88%, indicating that improving the Philippines' quality systems could significantly boost trade performance. 'Without a robust quality infrastructure, Philippine exporters cannot prove their products meet international standards, limiting access to premium markets and fair prices,' the statement emphasized. The Academy's recommendations come as the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028 identifies NQI strengthening as a strategic priority for trade promotion and economic development.
India Today
07-08-2025
- Business
- India Today
Over 90 countries affected by Trump's tariffs — See full list here
On July 31, 2025, President Trump issued an Executive Order titled 'Further Modifying the Reciprocal Tariff Rates' to adjust the existing tariff framework under his administration's trade policy. This marked the formal announcement of updated tariff rates for a wide range of countries, reflecting economic and national security LIST OF COUNTRIES WITH NEW TARIFF RATESThe table below is compiled directly from Annex I of the Presidential Executive Order, which details country-specific reciprocal tariff adjustments advertisementSource: WAS TARGETED Over 90 countries faced tariff impositions ranging from 0% to 50%. These were not just economic rivals, but also long-standing US allies. The broad sweep of these tariffs reflected the administration's aggressive stance toward redefining trade (%)Afghanistan15%Algeria30%Angola15%Bangladesh20%Bolivia15%Bosnia and Herzegovina30%Botswana15%Brazil10%Brunei25%Cambodia19%Cameroon15%Chad15%Costa Rica15%Cte d'Ivoire15%Democratic Republic of Congo15%Ecuador15%European Union0–15%Equatorial Guinea15%Falkland Islands10%Fiji15%Ghana15%Guyana15%Iceland15%India50% (Latest modified)Indonesia19%Iraq35%Israel15%Japan15%Jordan15%Kazakhstan25%Laos40%Lesotho15%Libya30%Liechtenstein15%Madagascar15%Malawi15%Malaysia19%Mauritius15%Moldova25%Mozambique15%Myanmar (Burma)40%Namibia15%Nauru15%New Zealand15%Nicaragua18%Nigeria15%North Macedonia15%Norway15%Pakistan19%Papua New Guinea15%Philippines19%Serbia35%South Africa30%South Korea15%Sri Lanka20%Switzerland39%Syria41%Taiwan20%Thailand19%Trinidad and Tobago15%Tunisia25%Turkey15%Uganda15%United Kingdom10%Vanuatu15%Venezuela15%Vietnam20%Zambia15%Zimbabwe15%(As of July 31, 2025)Source: THIS MEANS FOR TRADEThis order builds upon earlier tariffs established under Trump's "reciprocal tariff" strategy, which began in early 2025. Countries not listed in Annex I may face a default 10% tariff under the updated framework. By targeting a broad swathe of trade partners, the policy underscores an increasingly protectionist trade stance, with impacts extending to global supply chains, consumer prices, and diplomatic relations.- EndsMust Watch
Scoop
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
UN Calls For Reversal Of US Sanctions On Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese
10 July 2025 They're calling for the decision to be reversed, warning it could undermine the wider international human rights system. The sanctions were announced by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday under a Presidential Executive Order. Mr. Rubio alleged that Ms. Albanese had 'directly engaged with the International Criminal Court(ICC) in efforts to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute nationals of the United States or Israel, without the consent of those two countries,' which he called a 'gross infringement' on national sovereignty. The US and Israel are not parties to the Rome Statute, the international treaty that established the ICC. Dangerous precedent and unacceptable Reacting to the announcement, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said that the imposition of sanctions on Special Rapporteurs sets a 'dangerous precedent.' ' The use of unilateral sanctions against Special Rapporteurs or any other UN expert or official is unacceptable,' he said on Thursday at his regular news briefing in New York. He also highlighted the independent mandate and role of the Special Rapporteurs, noting that Member States 'are perfectly entitled to their views and to disagree with' the experts' reports. 'But we encourage them to engage with the UN's human rights architecture,' he added. Call for reversal In a statement issued on Thursday, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk called for the 'prompt reversal' of the sanctions against the Human Rights Council-appointed Special Rapporteur 'in response to work she has undertaken under the mandate' she is tasked with. ' Even in face of fierce disagreement, UN Member States should engage substantively and constructively, rather than resort to punitive measures,' he said. The UN rights chief also called for an end to attacks and threats against mandate holders appointed by the council, as well as key institutions like the ICC. ' The solution is not less, but more, debate and dialogue on the very real human rights concerns they address,' Mr. Türk urged. Cooperation, not reprisal Jürg Lauber, President of the UN Human Rights Council, also voiced regret over the punitive move by the US. In a statement, he highlighted that Special Rapporteurs 'are an essential instrument' in fulfilling the Council's mandate and urged all nations to 'fully cooperate' with them. ' I call on all UN Member States…to refrain from any acts of intimidation or reprisal against them,' he said. Independent Special Rapporteurs Special Rapporteurs are appointed under what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. They are independent experts appointed to monitor and report on human rights issues worldwide. These experts serve in their personal capacity, are not UN staff and receive no financial remuneration for their work. They regularly report to the Geneva-based council as well as to the UN General Assembly in New York. In addition to the mandate on the occupied Palestinian territory, mandates exist to monitor human rights in countries such as Iran, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and Afghanistan. In all there are 46thematicand 14 differentcountry-basedmandates.
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump Executive Order threatens urgently needed transmission and interconnection initiatives
This story was originally published on Utility Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Utility Dive newsletter. A White House Executive Order claiming authority over federal agencies could delay two vital Federal Energy Regulatory Commission initiatives, former commissioners from both political parties agree. FERC Orders 1920/1920A, reforming transmission planning, and 2023/2023A, reforming interconnection rules, are crucial as the U.S. power system confronts spiking demand growth and increasing extreme weather events, former Republican and Democratic commissioners said. But a February 18 Presidential Executive Order, or EO, requires White House review of independent agency rulings, and court battles over its legality are likely, they also agree. How the EO is applied will determine if the congressionally established bipartisan commission is 'working for the public interest and not the private special interests,' President Trump-appointed Chair Mark Christie acknowledged in a February 21 press conference. 'This administration seems to be putting itself in the place of laws passed by Congress and precedents set by the courts establishing FERC independence,' said President George W. Bush-appointed former Commissioner Nora Mead Brownell. 'That's unhealthy, unwarranted, and unprecedented, and will lead to a great degree of uncertainty and some bad decisions.' The orders could lead to a more robust transmission system and streamlined interconnection of new generation to address the energy emergency declared Jan. 20 by the president — if implementation is not impeded by legal debates. Planning robust transmission Order 1920, issued in May, required regional transmission providers to periodically update transmission planning in anticipation of long term needs, FERC spokesperson Celeste Miller said. Key features include a requirement to consider multiple transmission benefits, allocation of costs to customers according to those benefits, and a bigger role for state stakeholders. The seven specified economic and reliability benefits enumerated in Order 1920 increase the potential value of regional transmission, a FERC staff presentation said. The key feature of Order 1920-A, a revised version of the original order, which took effect in January, was more state stakeholder participation, a FERC staff presentation said. Instead of the seven 1920-specified benefits, it required consideration of 'economic and reliability benefits,' and it sustained 1920's provision of incumbent transmission providers' right of first refusal, or ROFR, of proposed projects, the staff added. In states that allow ROFRs, 'utilities can avoid the competitive bidding process by developing transmission outside the regional planning process,' said former FERC Chair Richard Glick, who was appointed by President Trump and named chair by President Biden. The absence of a federal ROFR is a 'perverse incentive' that can undermine more robust regional planning, he added. The changes made by 1920-A give the states 'far more effective tools,' Chair Christie's concurrence said. It allows states 'sufficient flexibility and authority to protect their consumers from paying unfair or unnecessary costs' and 'should and must inform the compliance process,' he emphasized with italics. 'Orders 1920 and 2023 are two of the most important milestones in a long incremental process,' said President Clinton-appointed former FERC Chair James Hoecker. But 'the concern now is that the compliance filing approval process, which is where the rubber meets the road in regulation, may not be effective if FERC is not allowed to work independently of the administration,' he added. That debate may 'take crucial time away from initiating transmission planning and streamlined interconnections,' Hoecker said. And it is a particularly unnecessary effort to control 'a functioning independent agency with a thousand active cases that pays for itself through fees,' he added. States can protect incumbent utilities or support regional interests, 'but only FERC can guide the compliance process toward competitive bidding for regional projects,' said former Commissioner Brownell. 'Utilities and utility regulation need to go beyond protecting the incumbent against competition to protecting consumers as well,' she added. The Trump EO may similarly take vital time away from implementing the Order 2023 interconnection reforms, stakeholders said. Streamlined interconnection Generation awaiting transmission interconnection approval grew from 2,041 MW in 2023 to to 2,598 MW in 2024, a single year increase of 27%. Order 2023, which required compliance filings by May 16, 2024, addresses those worsening delays. The burdensome 'first-come, first-served' process of studying interconnection applications must shift to a more efficient 'cluster study process,' according to Order 2023, which FERC issued in July 2023. It also imposed penalties for transmission providers that fail to complete studies on time and stricter financial readiness, cost allocation, and site control rules for interconnection applicants. Transmission providers must now consider advanced transmission technologies, enable co-location of resources at a single interconnection point, and use more granular data, FERC's Explainer said. Order 2023-A , issued in May, adjusted deadlines, definitions of readiness for study and site control, and cost-sharing for system upgrades by generators at a single interconnection point, the 2023-A Explainer said. It also detailed penalties for queue withdrawal and guidelines for projects that could impact other projects, it added. Subsequently, both the PJM Interconnection's Reliability Resource Initiative and the Midcontinent Independent System Operator's Expedited Resource Adequacy Study controversially proposed interconnection 'queue jumping' for favored resources to address the current reliability 'emergency' resulting from electricity demand spikes, several commissioners said. Commissioner Judy Chang's dissent to the PJM plan's approval called it 'the worst of both worlds' by compromising 'open access principles with no guarantee it will resolve PJM's reliability issue.' The dissent demonstrated the great value of independent FERC debate in addressing the current 'emergency,' several former commissioners said. 'One of FERC's roles as an independent agency is to define an emergency,' said former Commissioner Brownell. A data center builder and a key community manufacturer might both want to interconnect generation, but both require careful FERC scrutiny 'because both may not be emergencies,' she said. The biggest threat of the EO is its potential impact on FERC's freedom to exercise that kind of independent scrutiny, the former commissioners said. The executive order Commissioners appointed by both Republican and Democratic Presidents said the implementation of Orders 1920 and 2023 could be delayed by the debate over the Trump EO's legality. Federal agencies must 'submit draft regulations for White House review — with no carve-out for so-called independent agencies,' the Executive Order asserts. And they must 'consult with the White House on their priorities and strategic plans, and the White House will set their performance standards,' it adds. But the executive branch doesn't have 'the expertise and knowledge' of the laws guiding FERC, like the Federal Power Act and the DOE Organization Act, said George W. Bush-appointed former FERC Chair Joseph Kelliher. They 'are unlikely to understand the issues' or 'review the flood of significant regulatory actions in a timely manner.' Former Chair Hoecker agreed. 'In my recent interactions with railroad and highway regulators about co-locating transmission in existing rights of way, it is clear how complicated building transmission seems' outside the energy sector, but 'FERC is a master at complex oversight and applying the law in a very constructive way.' Executive branch interpretations of FERC orders without knowledge of relevant laws would likely lead to time-consuming judicial reviews 'and the courts would tend to reaffirm the precedents,' Kelliher said. The EO's 'stated concern with accountability extends the president's power over independent agencies, but that was limited by the precedent set by the Humphrey's Executor decision,' he added. Unless that precedent is overturned, a president cannot ignore the Supreme Court, Kelliher said. The first independent agency, the Interstate Commerce Commission, was created by Congress in 1887 to ensure 'merit-based regulatory decisions instead of politically-based decisions,' and 'FERC is probably more disposed to merit-based decisions that reflect the litigated record than any other independent agency,' he added. The Trump EO would 'politicize decisions by regulatory agencies, and politically driven decisions will not tend to be merit based,' Kelliher said. The EO's potential to impede compliance filing reviews is a concern, said former FERC Chair Jon Wellinghoff, who was nominated by President George W. Bush and designated chair by President Obama. But, more importantly, the legal debate could impede 'the diligent, continuous monitoring of the FERC orders' implementations,' he stressed. The reviews are less concerning because the White House is unlikely to get into 'the details of transmission planning, interconnection, and demand side resources,' Wellinghoff said. The EO calls for independent agencies to submit proposed regulations for review, but 'as Chair Christie pointed out, major orders undergo some review already,' he added. To those points, Hoecker and Glick agreed. The EO will likely not impact FERC significantly, Wellinghoff continued. But 'there are elements within the administration who may, from a non-independent administrative political position, attempt to impose certain actions on FERC that would be contrary to the public interest,' he said. 'It is important for FERC to have independent commissioners acting in the public interest' because, more than politicians, 'they understand the intricacies of a very technical industry,' Wellinghoff said. All the former commissioners are concerned about time lost to legal questions. The debate over FERC's independence could delay 1920 and 2023 compliance filing approvals, said former Commissioner Brownell. 'And right now the U.S. economy urgently needs the changes that will be driven by implementation of those orders,' she added. Trump-nominated former Commissioner Allison Clements agreed. 'Any time wasted in legal or political reviews will further limit this country's effort to build a more reliable, affordable power system,' Clements said. 'The executive order is flatly and plainly illegal and it will not be upheld in the courts,' she added. 'The executive branch has every opportunity to influence public policy by working with Congress to pass laws,' Brownell said. 'And it can carefully vet commissioners before they are appointed and replace them if necessary,' she added. 'Congress needs to give FERC the authority it needs to be the adult in the room on issues like cost allocation and siting,' Brownell added. Otherwise, the EO 'will have a chilling effect on markets because investors will be unlikely to risk hundreds of billions of dollars on investments regulated by politically-influenced non-transparent decisions.' Recommended Reading White House claims authority over FERC, other independent agencies
Yahoo
24-03-2025
- Yahoo
USS Spruance departs San Diego for Texas-Mexico border
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — A guided-missile destroyer departed Naval Base San Diego over the weekend to support military operations at the Texas and Mexico border, according to a news release from the U.S. Navy. After spending five months in the Middle East and returning to the West Coast in December, USS Spruance left San Diego Saturday on its new deployment. Suspect in Cal Fire captain's death arrested in Baja California: Police According to the Navy, the Spruance will be accompanied by an embedded U.S. Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment, a team that typically serves in military combat operations, counter-piracy, alien migration interdictions and more. 'USS Spruance's deployment as part of U.S. Northern Command's southern border mission brings additional capability and expands the geography of unique military capabilities working with the Department of Homeland Security,' said Gen. Gregory Guillot, Commander, U.S. Northern Command. 'With Spruance off the West Coast and USS Gravely in the Gulf of America, our maritime presence contributes to the all-domain, coordinated DOD (Department of Defense) response to the Presidential Executive Order and demonstrates our resolve to achieve operational control of the border,' he added in the Navy's statement. DOJ: 22 charged for role in drug trafficking organization linked to Beltran Leyva Cartel Previously, the Spruance served a five-month deployment to the Middle East as part of the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group. The group was sent to 'deter regional escalation, degrade Houthi capabilities, defend U.S. forces, and sailed alongside allies and partners to promote security, stability and prosperity,' the news release stated. It also helped provide security for commercial vessels to pass through international waterways like the Red Sea, Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
