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☆ Giant Pandas Are Returning to San Diego, China Announces
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( Alan Rappeport | More About Alan Rappeport | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The United States and China may be at odds these days over Russia’s war in Ukraine, cheap Chinese exports, tensions with Taiwan and matters of human rights. But when it comes to giant pandas, diplomacy is back. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in China confirmed this week that two giant pandas — Yun Chuan and Xin Bao — would be sent from the China Conservation and Research Center to the San Diego Zoo. The zoo has a longstanding partnership with China on panda conservation research, and a ministry spokesman said the upcoming exchange would focus on prevention and treatment of major diseases and habitat protection. It is not clear when the new pandas will arrive, but the agreement should allay concerns that the recent tensions between the United States and China would threaten the beloved tradition of panda diplomacy.

Persons: Yun Chuan, Xin Bao —, Lin Jian Organizations: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, China Conservation and Research Center, San Diego Zoo Locations: States, China, Ukraine, Taiwan, U.S, United States

☆ U.S. Imposes Sanctions on Chinese Companies for Aiding Russia’s War Effort
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( Alan Rappeport | More About Alan Rappeport | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The sanctions represent a broadening of U.S. efforts to disrupt Russia’s military industrial complex supply chain. The Biden administration has expressed growing alarm about the weapons technology alliance between China and Russia. The sanctions follow Ms. Yellen’s trip last month to China, where she confronted Chinese officials over support for Russia. She warned them that Chinese companies and financial institutions that facilitate support for the Kremlin’s war effort would face penalties. The Treasury secretary said her counterparts told her that China had a policy of not providing Russia with military aid.

Persons: Biden, “, Janet L, Yellen, Yellen’s Organizations: Wednesday, Top U.S, Russia Locations: Russia, Ukraine, China, United States

☆ U.S. to Impose Sanctions on More Than 500 Russian Targets
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-22 | by ( Alan Rappeport | More About Alan Rappeport | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The United States plans to impose sanctions on more than 500 targets on Friday in its response to Russia over the death of the opposition leader Aleksei A. Navalny, the largest single package in a flurry of economic restrictions since the country’s invasion of Ukraine two years ago, according to a Treasury Department spokeswoman. It is not clear which sectors or individuals the Biden administration plans to target, a crucial variable in the sanctions’ ultimate expansiveness and effectiveness. The United States has been closely coordinating with Europe in its efforts to cut Russia off from the global economy. This week, the European Union unveiled its 13th tranche of sanctions on Russia, banning nearly 200 people and entities that have been helping Russia procure weapons from traveling or doing business within the bloc. Britain also announced sanctions this week on companies linked to Russia’s ammunition supply chain, as well as on six Russians accused of running the Arctic prison where Mr. Navalny died.

Persons: Aleksei A, Navalny, Biden Organizations: United, Treasury Department, Treasury, State, Biden, Europe, European Union Locations: United States, Russia, Ukraine, Russian, Britain

☆ Inflation Is Moderating, but Pressure Remains on Biden
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-11 | by ( Alan Rappeport | More About Alan Rappeport | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

President Biden has yet to benefit from moderating inflation, and data set for release on Thursday could complicate the White House’s attempts to show progress on rising prices. The Consumer Price Index is expected to show that overall inflation climbed slightly more quickly in December than in November on a yearly basis. Yet “core” inflation — a key measure that strips out volatile food and energy prices — is expected to have climbed 3.8 percent over the year through December, down from 4 percent in November. If that happened, it would be the first time that the core index had dropped below 4 percent since May 2021. But that moderation has not stopped Mr. Biden’s rivals from using high prices as a cudgel to criticize his economic stewardship.

Persons: Biden

The Biden administration proposed new rules on Friday aimed at shifting more production of electric vehicle batteries and the materials that power them to the United States, in an attempt to build up a strategic industry now dominated by China. The rules are meant to limit the role that Chinese firms can play in supplying materials for electric vehicles that qualify for federal tax credits. They will also discourage companies that seek federal funding to build battery factories in the United States from sourcing materials from Chinese partners. The rules could cause some consternation among automakers, who continue to rely heavily on China for materials and components of electric vehicles. The Biden administration is attempting to use billions of dollars in new federal funding to change that dynamic and create a U.S. supply chain for electric vehicles, through both carrots and sticks.

Persons: Biden Locations: United States, China, U.S

☆ Electric Vehicle Push Returns North Carolina to Its Lithium Mining Roots
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Alan Rappeport | More About Alan Rappeport | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

It is one of several companies in North Carolina that are rapidly accelerating operations for extracting and processing lithium, which is essential to the flow of electricity within a battery, that can be sold to carmakers. Although there has been progress in expanding North Carolina’s lithium industry, obstacles abound when it comes to permits and the pace of approvals that producers need to move forward with their plans. Political backlash against electric vehicles, often fueled by Republicans including former President Donald J. Trump, also presents headwinds. And the prices for lithium hydroxide have fallen sharply this year amid waning global demand, adding to the financial pressure the companies are facing to make their investments pay off. Even if the permit process goes smoothly, however, the company does not expect the mine to be able to operate until 2027 or 2028.

Persons: Mr, Norris, “, ” Albemarle, Donald J, Trump Organizations: of Defense, Department of Energy, Republicans Locations: China, North Carolina, Albemarle

☆ Yellen Says U.S. Wants ‘Healthy’ Economic Ties With China
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( Alan Rappeport | More About Alan Rappeport | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen said after two days of meetings with Vice Premier He Lifeng in San Francisco that they had concluded they should strive for a “healthy economic relationship” and try to work more constructively together. “We do not seek to decouple our economy from China’s,” Ms. Yellen said. “This would be damaging to both the U.S. and China and destabilizing for the world.”She and Mr. While economic strength in the United States has been a bright spot, China’s economy continues to sputter. Official statistics this week showed that prices in China are falling as households and businesses remain wary of spending even as state-controlled banks invest in the construction of more factories.

Persons: Janet L, Yellen, ”, Ms Organizations: U.S Locations: States, China, San Francisco, China’s, Ukraine, United States

☆ Moody’s Changes U.S. Credit Outlook to ‘Negative’
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( Alan Rappeport | More About Alan Rappeport | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The outlook on the credit rating of the United States was changed to “negative” from “stable” on Friday by the ratings firm Moody’s, which pointed to the nation’s worsening fiscal position and political polarization as long-term concerns for America’s economy. The change falls short of a downgrade to America’s credit rating, which Moody’s maintained at the highest AAA level. That downgrade, two months after the United States narrowly avoided defaulting on its debt, was the second in America’s history. Republicans have been pushing for severe spending cuts to reduce the gap between what America spends and what it earns in tax revenue. Mr. Biden has proposed reducing future deficits by expanding the economy and raising taxes on high earners and corporations.

Persons: Moody’s, Fitch, Biden Organizations: AAA, Republicans, America Locations: United States

☆ Who Won the Third Republican Debate?
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Alan Rappeport | More About Alan Rappeport | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The third Republican presidential debate this year, held on Wednesday in Miami, was packed with heated exchanges over abortion policy, immigration and China as the candidates tried to shine as the front-runner, former President Donald J. Trump, once again declined to join them onstage. This time around, the hopefuls dialed up the battle for second place and delivered digs at President Biden, but directed only glancing criticism at Mr. Trump. At times, they moved beyond policy and became personal, such as when Nikki Haley called Vivek Ramaswamy “scum” after he referred to her daughter. “That debate pretty much seals it for Trump,” Michael McDonald, a professor at the University of Florida who specializes in American elections, said on the social media platform X. “The Munchkins on the stage were too afraid to take him head on.”

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Biden, Nikki Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy, Ron DeSantis, ” Michael McDonald, ” Organizations: Trump, University of Florida Locations: Miami, China, Florida

☆ Treasury Secretary Yellen to Hold Economic Talks With Chinese Counterpart
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Alan Rappeport | More About Alan Rappeport | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen will hold two days of high-level meetings with her Chinese counterpart, Vice Premier He Lifeng, this week, as the United States and China look to build upon an effort that started earlier this year to improve communication between the world’s two largest economies. The meetings will take place on Thursday and Friday in San Francisco ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, which begins on Saturday. The meetings will help lay the groundwork for expected talks at the summit between President Biden and China’s top leader, Xi Jinping. The Treasury Department said that the United States hoped Ms. Yellen’s meetings would “further stabilize the bilateral economic relationship” and make progress on key economic issues. The revival of economic diplomacy between the two countries comes at a fraught moment for the global economy, which is grappling with sluggish output and wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.

Persons: Janet L, Biden, China’s, Xi, ” Organizations: Economic Cooperation, Treasury Department Locations: United States, China, San Francisco, Asia, United, Ukraine

☆ U.S. Looks to Allay European Fears of a Subsidy War
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( Alan Rappeport | More About Alan Rappeport | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Biden administration is trying to ease European concerns about America’s new climate and tax law, which some allies view as a protectionist industrial policy that threatens their economies. More than a year after passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, European officials are still frustrated by the legislation, which included more than $300 billion in spending and tax credits aimed at bolstering America’s clean energy industry. U.S. allies have complained that the legislation puts them at a disadvantage by making their economies a less attractive place to invest given the scale of the American incentives. With wars intensifying in Ukraine and the Middle East, the Biden administration is looking to assuage those concerns and send a clear message to its closest allies that America is not trying to start a subsidy war. “I want to be clear: It does neither.”

Persons: Biden, Wally Adeyemo, “, ” Locations: U.S, Ukraine, America, Germany

☆ Middle East War Could Cause Oil Price Shock, World Bank Warns
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( Alan Rappeport | More About Alan Rappeport | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

A major escalation of the war between Israel and Hamas — one that spilled over into a broader Middle East conflict — could send oil prices surging as much as 75 percent, the World Bank warned on Monday. Energy prices have remained largely contained since Hamas invaded Israel on Oct. 7. They said that if higher oil prices are sustained, however, that would lead to higher prices for food, industrial metals and gold. The United States and Europe have been trying to keep global oil prices from spiking in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Western nations introduced a price cap on Russia’s energy exports, a move aimed at limiting Moscow’s oil revenues while ensuring oil supply continued to flow.

Persons: ” Indermit Gill, Biden, Janet L, Yellen, ” Organizations: Hamas, World Bank, Bank, Strategic Petroleum Reserve, New York Times, nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve, Bloomberg Locations: Israel, Ukraine, Iraq, Libya, United States, Europe, Gulf of Mexico

The United States and China have created a new structure for economic dialogue in an effort to improve communication between the world’s largest economies and stabilize a relationship that has become increasingly strained in recent years. The Treasury Department said on Friday that the United States and China had agreed to create economic and financial working groups that will hold regular meetings to discuss policy and exchange information. The Treasury Department said that the new working groups would create “ongoing structured channels for frank and substantive discussions.” Treasury officials will report to Ms. Yellen, who traveled to Beijing in July. China’s representatives, from its ministry of finance and the People’s Bank of China, will report to Vice Premier He Lifeng. “These working groups will serve as important forums to communicate America’s interests and concerns, promote a healthy economic competition between our two countries with a level playing field for American workers and businesses, and advance cooperation on global challenges,” Ms. Yellen said in a statement.

Persons: Biden’s, Yellen, ” Ms Organizations: Treasury, Treasury Department, People’s Bank of China Locations: States, China, United States, Beijing

☆ U.S. National Debt Tops $33 Trillion for First Time
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( Alan Rappeport | More About Alan Rappeport | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

But the debt is on track to top $50 trillion by the end of the decade, even after newly passed spending cuts are taken into account, as interest on the debt mounts and the cost of the nation’s social safety net programs keeps growing. But slowing the growth of the national debt continues to be daunting. Some federal spending programs that passed during the Biden administration are expected to be more costly than previously projected. At the same time, several of President Biden’s attempts to raise more revenue through tax changes have been met with resistance. The policy was projected to raise about $8 billion in additional tax revenue over a decade.

Persons: Biden, University of Pennsylvania’s Penn, Biden’s Organizations: University of Pennsylvania’s, Budget, Internal Revenue Service

☆ I.R.S. Changes Audit Practice That Discriminated Against Black Taxpayers
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( Alan Rappeport | More About Alan Rappeport | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Internal Revenue Service is overhauling how it scrutinizes the tax returns of lower-income Americans as part of an effort to reduce enforcement disparities that have made Black taxpayers far more likely than anyone else to be audited. At the center of this effort is a major change to how the I.R.S. conducts audits of recipients of the earned-income tax credit, a special tax refund that was created to help low-income workers. Tax returns that claim the E.I.T.C. Research has shown that audit rates for Black Americans are three to five times higher than for other taxpayers, with audits focused on the tax credit being a major driver of the disparity.

Organizations: Internal Revenue Service, Research, Black

☆ I.R.S. Freezes Pandemic-Era Tax Credit Amid Fraud Fears
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-14 | by ( Alan Rappeport | More About Alan Rappeport | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

“We are deeply concerned that this program is not operating in the way it was intended,” Daniel Werfel, the I.R.S. “We believe you should see only a trickle of employee retention claims coming in. Among them was the Employee Retention Credit, a tax benefit that was created as part of the initial $2 trillion pandemic relief legislation. said on Thursday that it had already paid out about $230 billion in refunds associated with the tax credit and that it had a backlog of 600,000 claims. Mr. Werfel said that 15 percent of the 3.6 million claims for the credit that the I.R.S.

Persons: ” Daniel Werfel, “, Werfel Organizations: Congressional, Office Locations: Washington

☆ Senate Committee Backs Bill to Deepen U.S. Economic Ties With Taiwan
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-14 | by ( Alan Rappeport | More About Alan Rappeport | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The United States established diplomatic ties with China in 1979 and broke off formal relations with Taiwan. Since then, every U.S. administration has tried to maintain an ambiguous position on Taiwan based on the “One China” policy. Usually, U.S. administrations strike tax treaty agreements with other countries that are ratified by the Senate. The Biden administration has expressed support for ending double taxation with Taiwan. Senator Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon, who chairs the Senate Finance Committee, said on Thursday that the legislation would help make those plans possible.

Persons: Biden, Ron Wyden Organizations: United, Senate, House, Lawmakers, Democrat, Finance Locations: States, Taiwan, United States, China, U.S, Oregon

☆ Deputy Treasury Secretary to Visit Nigeria to Bolster Economic Ties
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( Alan Rappeport | More About Alan Rappeport | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Biden administration is dispatching Wally Adeyemo, the deputy Treasury secretary, to Nigeria next week as it seeks to deepen economic ties with Africa and counter China’s influence on the continent. The United States has been trying to make up lost ground in the geopolitical contest with China and Russia to cultivate relations in Africa. The Biden administration believes Nigeria, a democracy that is rich with natural resources, has the potential to be an economic anchor for the United States on the continent. Several Biden administration officials, including Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, have visited Nigeria during Mr. Biden’s first term. However, Mr. Adeyemo is a unique emissary: He was born in Ibadan, one of Nigeria’s largest cities, and emigrated with his family to California when he was 2 years old.

Persons: Biden, Wally Adeyemo, Bola Tinubu, Antony J, Biden’s, Adeyemo Organizations: United Locations: Nigeria, Africa, United States, China, Russia, Ibadan, California

☆ I.R.S. Deploys Artificial Intelligence to Target Rich Partnerships
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( Alan Rappeport | More About Alan Rappeport | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

has simply not had enough resources or staffing to address partnerships; in a real sense, we’ve been overwhelmed in this area for years.”Mr. Werfel explained that artificial intelligence is helping the I.R.S. identify patterns and trends, giving the agency greater confidence that it can find where larger partnerships are shielding income. The agency said it would open examinations of 75 of the nation’s largest partnerships, which were identified with the help of artificial intelligence, by the end of the month. The focus on partnerships is part of a broader push by the I.R.S. Mr. Werfel said that the agency is dedicating dozens of revenue officers to pursue 1,600 millionaires who the I.R.S.

Persons: ” Daniel Werfel, we’ve, ” Mr, Werfel

☆ New Corporate Minimum Tax Ushers In Confusion and a Lobbying Blitz
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( Alan Rappeport | More About Alan Rappeport | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

At his State of the Union address this year, President Biden celebrated the fact that his new climate and tax law would no longer allow some of America’s largest corporations to pay zero in federal taxes. “Because of the law I signed, billion-dollar companies have to pay a minimum of 15 percent,” Mr. Biden said, referring to the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. “God love them.”The new corporate minimum tax was one of the most significant changes to the U.S. tax code in decades. Its logic rested on the idea that rich companies should not be able to find loopholes and other accounting maneuvers in order to pay lower tax rates than their workers. Those groups have been flooding the Treasury Department with letters asking for lenient interpretations of the law and trying to create new loopholes before their tax bills come due next year.

Persons: Biden, Mr, Elizabeth Warren of, Janet L, Yellen Organizations: Treasury Locations: Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts

Gina Raimondo, the secretary of commerce, who arrived in Beijing on Sunday, is the latest Biden administration emissary seeking to stabilize ties between the world’s two largest economies. The fourth senior U.S. official to travel to China in less than three months, Ms. Raimondo is taking her trip at a critical juncture. Relations between the countries are strained, partly because the United States has clamped down on China’s access to technology that could aid its military. Ms. Raimondo’s agenda is varied, including economic diplomacy, getting to know China’s new economic team and defending the interests of American companies and their employees. Ms. Raimondo’s department oversees the export controls and other restrictions that the Biden administration has put in place, many of which have angered Chinese officials and prompted retaliation.

Persons: Gina Raimondo, Biden, Raimondo Organizations: U.S Locations: Beijing, China, United States, U.S

☆ Spreading State Restrictions on China Show Depths of Distrust in the U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-21 | by ( Alan Rappeport | More About Alan Rappeport | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

They are likely to pose another challenge for the administration, which has dispatched several top officials to China in recent weeks to try to stabilize economic ties. But while Washington may see a relationship with China as a necessary evil, officials at the state and local levels appear determined to try to sever their economic relationship with America’s third-largest trading partner. “The shift that we have seen to the states is relatively recent, but it’s gaining strength.”One of the biggest targets has been Chinese landownership, despite the fact that China owns less than 400,000 acres in the United States, according to the Agriculture Department. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, a powerful interagency group known as CFIUS that can halt international business transactions, reviewed the proposal but ultimately decided that it did not have the jurisdiction to block the plan. However, the Air Force, citing the mill’s proximity to a U.S. military base, said this year that China’s involvement was a national security risk, and local officials scuttled the project.

Persons: ”, Mario Mancuso, Kirkland & Ellis Organizations: Kirkland &, Agriculture Department, Fufeng USA, Foreign Investment, Air Force Locations: China, United States, Washington, American, Grand Forks, N.D, U.S

☆ I.R.S. Says Cash Influx Has Made Agency Bigger and More Digital
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Alan Rappeport | More About Alan Rappeport | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

agents who are out to shake down average taxpayers,” Mr. Werfel said. funding is intended to help the agency recover from debilitating budget cuts over the past several years. The agency has been racing to digitize tax forms and reduce hold times that have frustrated taxpayers who try to call the I.R.S. To underscore the idea of a friendlier I.R.S., Mr. Werfel noted that the agency announced last month it would dramatically curb unannounced visits by agents to homes and businesses. agents and taxpayers and help eliminate scams by people who impersonate I.R.S.

Persons: Werfel, Mr, Biden, I.R.S

☆ Trucking Firm That Got $700 Million U.S. Bailout Declares Bankruptcy
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-07 | by ( Alan Rappeport | More About Alan Rappeport | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Yellow, which formerly went by the name YRC Worldwide, received the $700 million loan during the summer of 2020 as the pandemic was paralyzing the U.S. economy. As of the end of March, Yellow’s outstanding debt was $1.5 billion, including about $730 million that it owes to the federal government. Yellow has paid approximately $66 million in interest on the loan, but it has repaid just $230 of the principal owed on the loan, which comes due next year. The White House did not respond to a request for comment ahead of the bankruptcy filing, and the Treasury Department declined to comment. Yellow is the third-largest small-freight-trucking company in a part of the industry known as “less than truckload” shipping.

Organizations: Treasury Department

The downgrade of the United States’ debt by a major ratings firm is a damning indictment of the country’s fractious politics and a blot on its financial record that is unlikely to be quickly erased. But many investors and analysts say it won’t affect the government’s ability to keep borrowing money. On Tuesday, Fitch Ratings lowered the credit rating of the United States one notch to AA+ from a pristine AAA. The firm, citing a “deterioration in governance” along with America’s mounting debt load, suggested that it could be a long time before that decision was reversed. The United States came within days of defaulting on its debt this spring as Republican lawmakers refused to lift the cap unless President Biden made concessions on spending.

Persons: ”, Richard Francis, “, Biden Organizations: United, Fitch, AAA, P, Treasury Department Locations: United States, Americas

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