Business briefs - April 9, 2025
Trump's top trade rep under fire before Senate committee
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's top trade negotiator came under fire Tuesday from senators unnerved by the president's sweeping global tariffs, a market meltdown and the heightened risk of recession from an upended global trading order. Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina said it appears the US has instigated a "trade war on all fronts." US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer addressed the Senate Finance Committee a day after global markets swung wildly and some business leaders lambasted the president's aggressive bid to raise tariffs on almost every nation on earth.
Trump is expected to sign executive orders to boost coal
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is expected to sign executive orders aimed at boosting coal, a reliable but polluting energy source that's long been in decline. Two senior White House officials say Trump will use his emergency authority to allow some older coal-fired power plants set for retirement to keep producing electricity to meet rising U.S. power demand amid growth in data centers, artificial intelligence and electric cars. The officials spoke Tuesday on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the issue before the Republican president's announcement. Trump has long promised to boost what he calls "beautiful" coal to fire power plants and for other uses, but the industry has been declining for decades.
US expected a big travel year, but overseas visitors heading elsewhere
Visits to the U.S. from overseas fell 11.6% in March compared to the same month last year, according to preliminary government data released Tuesday. Those numbers don't include Canada — which is scheduled to report tourism data later this week — or land crossings from Mexico. But air travel from Mexico dropped 23%. The U.S. tourism industry had expected 2025 to be another good year. But many travelers appear to be choosing other destinations. Tourism officials say potential visitors have been angered by President Donald Trumps' tariffs and rhetoric, and alarmed by reports of tourists getting arrested at the border.
Countries brainstorm over how to cope with the trade war
BANGKOK (AP) — As President Donald Trump and China spar over tariff hikes and other retaliatory moves, governments elsewhere are brainstorming over strategies for coping with the trade war between the world's top two economies. Japan's prime minister spoke with Trump and then convened a task force to mitigate damage from the 24% U.S. tariffs imposed on Washington's biggest ally in Asia. India's foreign minister appealed to Secretary of State Marco Rubio for a rapid signing of a trade deal. Malaysia's prime minister was meeting with fellow leaders of other Southeast Asian countries to craft a "soft diplomacy" response to tariffs of nearly 50% on some countries in the region.
Trump meets with the House GOP as his 'big' bill of tax breaks and spending cuts teeters
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Mike Johnson finds himself in a familiar jam, with conservative Republican holdouts stalling action on President Donald Trump's "big" bill of tax breaks and spending reductions. Those House Republicans are refusing to accept a Senate GOP budget framework approved over the weekend because it doesn't cut enough. Trump summoned House Republicans to the White House for a Tuesday meeting. Trump's tariffs, mass layoffs and government cuts are upending the debate. The beleaguered speaker wants to nudge the process forward before lawmakers leave for a two-week spring recess. But voting this week is uncertain.