eyes tripling boat fees
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor
A PROMINENT Bimini resort’s marina business plunged by 50 percent compared to normal July 4 weekends after the enactment of revised boating fees that the Government expects to triple its revenues.
Robbie Smith, Bimini Big Game Club’s veteran dockmaster of 36 years, told Tribune Business that The Bahamas needs to “go back to the drawing board right away” and revise the new cruising permit fees, as well as the new anchorage and fishing permit fees, “across the board” given the negative impact suffered by his employer and other marinas and hotels to-date.
He described the way that the fees have been implemented, with zero industry consultation or period for boaters to adjust, as “a slap in the face” for visitors and warned that if the decline in business persisted Bimini Big Game will have to “cut back on staff” even though the summer boating season is when employees “really make their money”.
Mr Smith’s disclosures about the boating fees fall-out came as research by this newspaper reveals that the Government is forecasting the reforms will more than triple
• Budget forecasts reforms to deliver $18m
• Dockmaster: ‘Go back to drawing board’
• Warns of staff cuts if July 4 fall-off holds
annual revenues generated by this earnings stream compared to the old fee structure.
The 2025-2026 Budget estimates disclose that cruising permit fees generated a combined $6.223m in the 2023-2024 fiscal year, and were forecast - under the old structure and levies - to produce $5.518m in the just-closed 2024-2025 Budget period.
That represented a year-over-over decline of 11.3 percent, although $4.064m or 73.7 percent of the 2024-2025 full-year target had been collected during the first nine months
Bahamas bank defendant in $28m unpaid US tax lawsuit
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
A BAHAMIAN financial institution is a defendant in a lawsuit demanding that a “bankrupt” client return trust assets domiciled in this nation to settle almost $28m in unpaid US federal income taxes.
Equity Bank & Trust only appears to have been named because it is trustee of the Kroner Family Trust 2004 and Kroner Family 2007 Trust Settlement Bthe two trusts settled with a combined $18m by Burt Kroner, who is now being targeted with litigation by
the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) over his alleged tax debt.
There is nothing to suggest that Equity Bank & Trust, its directors, management or employees have violated any laws, or done anything wrong, in relation to the Kroner case. However, legal documents dated from last week and seen by Tribune Business show the US government is preparing to serve the Bahamian institution with a summons and notice of the proceedings. And the action against Mr Kroner also alleges that
GB Power outage woe branded ‘pretty brutal’
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor
nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
GRAND Bahama Power Company is “definitely competing for weakest link” in the island’s economy at present with last week’s outages described by private sector executives as “brutal”. Dillon Knowles, the Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce’s president, told Tribune Business “there’s not a lot of confidence” in the island’s utility provider and “they need to do a lot
of work to get it back” after a July 9 lightning strike knocked-out generation capacity at its Peel Street plant and left it unable to fully meet power demand. “We’re very concerned about it,” he said. “Obviously commerce is only as strong as its weakest link, and right now Grand Bahama Power Company is definitely competing for weakest link at the moment. This is having a significant impact on the business community and, any time
of the last fiscal year through March 2025.
However, with the addition of the two-year frequent digital cruising card (FDCC) and new anchorage fees in particular, the Ministry of Finance is forecasting that the Public Treasury during the current 20252026 fiscal year will generate a total $17.868m from cruising permits and related levies.
This represents a 224 percent increase upon, or more than tripling of, the $5.518m cruising permit revenues projected for the 20252025 fiscal full-year. The Ministry of Finance is forecasting that the FDCC, which permits vessels “unlimited entry” for a period of two years upon payment of a fee ranging from $1,500 to $8,000, which is linked to vessel size, will generate $9m alone during 2025-2026.
And the new anchorage fees, ranging from $200 to $1,500 “for foreign pleasure vessels not mooring at a marina”, and again linked to vessel size, are projected to deliver $2.8m in new revenues. Together, the FDCC and anchorage fees are predicted to produce $11.8m for the Public Treasury, with the new “temporary” 12-month permit for boats below 50-feet forecast to produce $4.417m
Cable’s ‘bankruptcy’ fear over satellite regulation
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor
CABLE Bahamas is warning it may “be forced to exit the market and/ or file for bankruptcy” if regulators fail to ensure it can compete on equal terms with Elon Musk’s Starlink and other satellite providers. The BISX-listed communications provider, in feedback to the Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority’s (URCA) consultation on creating a
regulatory regime for satellite-based communications services in The Bahamas, argued that the likes of Starlink enjoy “a significant business advantage” because they do not have to invest in building and maintaining on-ground network infrastructure.
And, with such operators already possessing a network “built in space” above this nation, Cable Bahamas asserted that this “robs the country of
DPM HAILS ‘AWESOME’ $600M CARNIVAL PORT
MULTIPLE Cabinet
ministers, officials and residents visited Carnival’s $600m Celebration Key cruise port in a “soft opening” that acted as a second test run for several hundred Bahamian staff.
Chester Cooper, deputy prime minister and minister of tourism, investments and aviation, who was accompanied by Ginger Moxey, minister for Grand Bahama, described the preview visit - one week ahead of Celebration Key’s official opening and the arrival of the first cruise passengers, as an “awesome experience”.
Other government ministers present for Saturday’s event were Mario Bowleg, minister of youth,
sports and culture; Myles LaRoda, minister of social services, information and broadcasting; Jobeth Coleby-Davis, minister of energy and transport; and Lisa Rahming, minister of state in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Renewal.
“It’s a beauty to behold,” said Mr. Cooper, after taking a tour of the entire property and relaxing in one of its cabanas. “It’s been a long time and they’ve come a long way, but it’s opened, and it’s good to come out here and see so many Bahamians employed and excited.
“This is exciting for the island of Grand Bahama. I can’t wait for the first ship to arrive next week. But
today is really about celebrating Celebration Key.”
With more than 500 Bahamians now employed at the cruise port, and close to 80 percent of stores within the port owned by Bahamians, Celebration Key is expected to have a positive economic impact.
Mr Cooper said the first Carnival ship, which is expected to call at the port on Saturday, July 19, will bring more than 7,000 guests. In the following week, two ships will call to double the number of guests expected to visit Celebration Key.
“When they complete their second pier, I understand that this cruise port will accommodate 18,000 people at one time,” said
Mr Cooper. “That’s truly empowering for Grand Bahama. This excites me when I can see one of the investments that we raved about come out of the ground, develop and now officially be opened.
“We build foreign direct investments really for the benefit of Bahamians, and I hope that this will be a positive benefit to empowerment of Bahamians, the creation of new businesses and the return of Grand Bahamians back home.”
Mr Cooper said one of the things that impressed him most was that Carnival had gone out of its way to ensure there was an authentic Bahamian feel to the new port.
“I believe that the guests who come here will truly go back having had a Bahamian experience,” he added. “But I believe that the real story will be on the outside of these gates. This is a great entry way, and I believe that guests will feel that they have arrived in paradise once they set foot in this new cruise port.
“But truly, when they go out to places like McClean’s Town, go into the momand-pop shops and even meet locals out there, [it] will only enhance their experience.”
Mrs Moxey, who has long urged Grand Bahamians to “return home” and take advantage of new investment and job opportunities such as Celebration Key, described the project as “refreshing”.
“This is what I meant when I told Grand Bahamians that they could take advantage of some of the opportunities these kinds of investments here in Grand Bahama have to offer,” Mrs Moxey said on Saturday, following her tour of the new cruise port.
“Today is an exciting day for the people of Grand Bahama. I see that many have answered the call to return home. Touring around here today, I saw many people - who I grew up with and who I haven’t seen for a while because they had left the islandworking here at the cruise port. That’s exciting.”
Mrs Moxey said the opening of the new cruise port has created job opportunities at other businesses throughout Grand Bahama, as some employees have left previous employers to be a part of Celebration Key.
“This has created job opportunities for other people,” she added. “There has been a cry by many local businesses for the lack of people on the island to fill jobs. So, that’s why I’ve been calling for Grand Bahamians to return home and even for other Bahamians to consider coming to Grand Bahama for employment opportunities.
“While it sounds like a problem, the truth is, these are exciting times, and we look forward to what’s to come in the future.”
CHESTER COOPER, deputy prime minister and minister of tourism, investments and aviation, is welcomed to the new Celebration Key cruise port on Saturday, July 12.
GINGER MOXEY, minister for Grand Bahama, was excited to be among the delegation who had the opportunity to spend a day at Celebration Key on Saturday. The new port is expected to officially be opened on Saturday, July 19, 2025.
MYLES LARODA, minister of social services, information and broadcasting, relaxes during a tour of Carnival’s Celebration Key.
Photos:Andrew Miller/BIS
CAT ISLAND RESORTS AT ‘DEAD STOP’ DUE TO BPL’S OUTAGES
By NEIL HARTNELL
CAT Island hotels yesterday slammed four days of island-wide Bahamas Power & Light (BPL) outages as “unbearable” and disclosed that business activity has come to “a complete dead stop”.
JR Holder, general manager at Hawks Nest Resort & Marina, told Tribune Business that her property is “getting about two hours” of BPL power per day “if we’re lucky” after the state-owned utility suffered a near-total generation failure at its power station on Independence Day and again yesterday.
She added that Hawks Nest is presently running off “an old generator” that can power only one-quarter of the property, with the priority being to try and provide some relief from the heart to the sick, elderly and young. And, looking to the future, she questioned whether BPL will be able to cope with the extra load demand likely to occur once
the New Bight and Arthur’s Town airport upgrades are completed.
“Right now, they are shedding,” she told this newspaper of BPL. “We’re getting about two hours a day if we are lucky... Right now, we do have an old generator going that only generates for one-quarter of the property and we’re trying to freeze all the water so we can hand it out to the elderly. I have families in the hotel rooms so that babies can sleep. It’s almost as if we’re in hurricane mode for summer.”
Asked about the impact on resort activity and commerce, Ms Holder replied: “It’s come to a dead stop. All revenues are on a complete dead stop. When something like this happens, it takes a long time to recover and for word to get out.... We’re hanging in. We’re walking a thin line. My concern is just the elderly, the sick and the young ones.”
A 25-year Cat Island veteran, she added that BPL’s reliability and consistency on Cat Island, the heart of Prime Minister Philip Davis
KC’s constituency, seemed to have “regressed in the last two to three years”. Ms Holder then said: “I’m worried for when both those airports are finished. Are they going to have enough juice for us all? What are they doing about that? It’s really a big question.”
Carl Rolle, proprietor of Rollezz Villas Beach Resort, told Tribune Business: “It’s really unbearable. I don’t know how they allow this to happen without explanation. People would be a little more sympathetic if they knew what was going on.” He added that BPL’s supply had been restored 20 minutes ago, only to cut-off again two minutes later.
Noting that the power woes were undermining his resort’s ability to show guests “the best of The Bahamas”, as well as its favourable Trip Advisor ratings, Mr Rolle said he was being left with little choice but to give visitors discounts and rebates as a result of the less than satisfactory experience.
Other Cat Island resort operators, in comment seen by Tribune Business, said:
GOV’T SEEKS ‘BIT BETTER’ THAN 50/50 CHINESE-BAHAMIAN HOSPITAL SPLIT
By FAY SIMMONS Tribune Business Reporter jsimmons@tribunemedia.net
A CABINET minister says the Government is trying to do “a bit better” than a 50/50 split between Bahamian and Chinese labour in the construction workforce for New Providence’s new $267m hospital.
Dr Michael Darville, minister of health and wellness, said the estimated cost for the new specialty hospital at Perpall Tract has been reduced by around $22m from the initial $290m price tag due to changes in construction materials.
Speaking at the signing of the framework agreement with China International Development Corporation for the bulk of the project’s financing, which is coming from the China ExportImport Bank, Baha Mar’s funder, Dr Darville said the $22m reduction is due to the decision to use reinforced concrete instead of fire-resistant steel.
“In the first feasibility study submitted in early December 2022 to the Chinese government, my ministry proposed to borrow $290m, but after in-depth technical review of this report by Chinese structural engineers, it was recommended to use reinforced concrete instead of
fire-resistant steel in the framing of the design,” said Dr Darville.
“These structural changes, along with other cost saving measures, resulted in the overall net savings of $22m for the Government, reducing the cost of the project from $290m to $267m.” Dr Darville explained that the China Export-Import Bank will finance $195m through a loan with a 2 percent interest rate for 20 years, inclusive of a five-year payment grace period.
“After further negotiation with China International Development Corporation Agency, the final financing framework agreement verified that 73 percent or $195m of the project costs will be funded by the Chinese
Export-Import Bank, and the remaining 27 percent of the project cost, or $72mplus, will be funded locally or internationally, or both, by the Ministry of Finance,” said Dr Darville.
“The Chinese ExportImport Bank loan will carry a 2 percent interest rate over a 20-year period, inclusive of a five-year grace period.” Dr Darville said the Government will be responsible for clearing the land for construction and the contract is currently out to bid.
“In the Ministry of Health portal, you will see that we are out to tender for a contractor for land preparation for the site. If we were to look at the feasibility report, it will indicate that it is the responsibility of the Government to prepare the land to meet the requirements for the construction,” said Dr Darville.
“My ministry is finalising the tender process for site preparation and, on
“Yes, it has been a challenging few days for all on Cat Island. BPL working day and night to fix the problem. Issue is one of the generators and two days previous there was a fuel leak in one of the intake pipes; could be a combined problem. At this hour we have power, noted it will go off 3am…” Another added: “Extreme nightmare. Day four of no power. If we are lucky they give us two hours in the morning. Revenue has come to a complete stop.” A further Cat Island hotel said: “This is not every two hours. I know the last one was on for a maximum 25 minutes. If that. While I understand they are working the load shedding at my side is a lot.”
BPL, in a statement, said: “On Thursday, July 10, at approximately 9.45am, BPL’s Cat Island operations experienced an island-wide outage due to multiple issues with our generation assets. Our local team swiftly mobilised and was able to restore one of
completion, a contract would be awarded and land clearing will begin in a matter of weeks.” Dr Darville said construction will take between 31 to 36 months, and labour negotations are still underway, but the workforce split is currently at 50 percent Chinese workers and 50 percent Bahamian.
“We are still in negotiations. We are presently at 50/50 and we’re trying to see if we can do a bit better,” said Dr Darville. “The construction is expected to take anywhere from 31 to 36 months, and we have been assured that the minute as we start the groundbreaking, there are mechanisms that would be put in place to expedite the construction process.”
Dr Darville said signing the framework agreement
our stand-by generation units.” It added that this saw the restoration of electricity supply to customers on its north feeder by 9.52am and partial restoration on the south feeder up to Douds by 10.43am. “However, due to limited generation capacity, a rotating load shedding schedule was implemented every two hours between the north and south feeders to manage demand,” BPL added.
“This continued throughout Thursday and into Friday, July 11, while technicians worked around the clock to bring additional generation units online. Parts required for the repairs arrived on island on Friday, and technicians from Nassau were flown in to assist.
“Despite these interventions, Cat Island experienced a major setback at 5.25am on Sunday, July 13, when the only functioning generation unit went offline and once again we experienced island-wide outage.”
brings the Government “one step closer” to finalising the agreement with the Chinese Export-Import Bank. The 200-bed specialty hospital will feature maternity and paediatric wards, diagnostics, surgical suites and laboratory facilities. The maternal, paediatric and adolescent services at the Princess Margaret Hospital will be relocated to the new facility, and the spaces left vacant will be renovated to expand adult medical and surgical services.
“The proposed 200-bed hospital will feature specialised maternal paediatric wards, emergency intensive care services, diagnostics, lab facilities, surgical suites, a new reference model designed for mass casualties, infectious disease isolation units and lots of
BPL continued: “Restoration efforts are ongoing, and our team expects to restore supplies to the following areas in north Cat Island within the next two hours: Stevenson, Industrial Hill, Gaitors, The Bluff and Rokers. Restoration efforts will continue for the remaining parts of the island.
“To further bolster our local team, additional support will arrive on island today to assist with diagnostics, repairs and monitoring of restored units. Our teams are working around the clock to stabilise the power supply and prevent further disruption of services on the island.
“We understand the inconvenience this has caused and sincerely apologise to our customers for the prolonged disruptions. Our team is fully committed and will continue to work non-stop until all generation units are returned to full service. BPL thanks the residents of Cat Island for their continued patience and understanding during this difficult time.”
green spaces for holistic healing,” said Dr Darville.
“On completion of this new hospital, both the maternal and paediatric and adolescent services at the Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) will be relocated to this new facility, and the spaces left behind at the PMH will be renovated to expand adult medical and surgical services, including dialysis and sub-specialty care.
“With the anticipation of the construction of two new hospitals, one in Grand Bahama and the other here, now in New Providence, my ministry continues to train physicians, specialty nurses, midwives, pharmacists, X-ray and lab technicians to address the current and future gaps that we will experience in healthcare delivery services.”
DR MICHAEL DARVILLE
FOCOL: $100M FUNDING ‘REAL VOTE OF CONFIDENCE’
FOCOL Holdings says a US government institution’s backing for the $100m financing it recently secured is a “real vote of confidence” in the company’s strength and growth prospects.
The BISX-listed energy and petroleum products supplier also told shareholders at its recent annual general meeting (AGM) that the $20.1m profit generated during the first half of its current financial year leaves the company wellpositioned to bear 2024’s full-year net income of $29.6m.
The improved performance comes as FOCOL continues to invest heavily in energy infrastructure projects, including liquefied natural gas (LNG) and solar developments, aimed at expanding capacity and supporting sustainable growth. To aid these ambitions, the
company recently secured nearly $99.6m in financing that was underwritten, or guaranteed, by the US Export-Import Bank (Ex-IM).
The facility was arranged in partnership with Banco Santander. Clinton Rolle, managing director and general manager of Sun Oil, said: “The EX-IM approval is a real signal and vote of confidence - not just in the country’s energy strategy but in FOCOL’s ability to deliver worldclass infrastructure.
“This project aims to provide clean, affordable, reliable energy to Bahamians, aligning perfectly with EX-IM’s goals of sustainable power production and social upliftment.”
Dexter Adderley, FOCOL’s president and chief executive, said: “Last year, we recorded net earnings of $29.6m for the entire
fiscal year. This year, at mid-year, our net earnings were $20.1m. The second half of the fiscal year is typically stronger than the first. So, based on those assumptions, we are well on the way to having a strong performance this fiscal period.
“In 2024, FOCOL signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with the Government of The Bahamas and Bahamas Power & Light (BPL), committing to expand energy generation capacity in New Providence. Right now, the fourth 30 mega watt (MW) GE gas turbine is being installed at Clifton Pier. We are advancing steadily and building real capacity.”
As to the construction of an LNG storage and regasification facility at Clifton Pier, which began following the March 2025 signing of a terminal development and use agreement, Mr
Adderley added: “Work has already started. All major materials and equipment have been ordered, and several key contracts executed. This project is developing extremely well and is central to our long-term growth.
“The progress we’re making now is only the beginning. We’re creating the capacity for even greater growth to come.”
Mr Rolle, meanwhile, hailed FOCOL’s stock ownership programme.
“Last year, more than 250 employees seized the opportunity to purchase shares when they were trading at $5 each. Those shares are now trading at over $6.15. This programme is a tangible way to build generational wealth for our people. It’s more than salary or bonuses; it’s true ownership and participation in the company’s success.”
Barbara Pinder, FOCOL’s group financial reporting manager, added: “Securing financing from institutions like EX-IM required meticulous financial modelling and complete transparency. It was rigorous but demonstrated our discipline and commitment to high standards. We’ve designed
a financial framework that’s not only viable but scalable, positioning us well for sustainable expansion.”
Esaura Cumberbatch, FOCOL’s group human resources manager, said: “Our emerging leaders summer internship programme mentors highachieving students in science, engineering and environmental studies, giving them hands-on experience. We seek not just employees, but future leaders who embody entrepreneurship, innovation and results orientation.
“Building capacity isn’t just about numbers. It’s about developing professional growth and embedding a culture of accountability and innovation. That’s how we ensure FOCOL’s success continues.”
Sir Franklyn Wilson, FOCOL’s chairman, said: “Dexter Adderley is an exceptional business leader. The company’s investments in sustainable energy, infrastructure and people are exactly what The Bahamas needs for long-term development. Seeing a Bahamian-led enterprise execute at this level is deeply encouraging.”
Cable: Our fees ‘whopping’ 13,000x higher than satellite
SATELLITE - from page B1
maintenance costs will be spent in The Bahamas.
It sounded the alarm that, should URCA implement a flawed regulatory regime for satellite communications, it may be forced to halt network expansion and improvements and dragged “into an unsustainable pricing war” with the likes of Starlink that could undermine “Cable Bahamas’ ability to stay in the market”.
While some observers will likely view its feedback as alarmist and self-serving, and designed to encourage the imposition of restrictions on the competitive threat posed by satellite technology, Cable Bahamas did gain backing from its Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) rival over concerns about the spectrum fee URCA plans to charge for such services.
The BISX-listed provider argued that the annual 70 cents per megahertz (MHz) spectrum fee that URCA proposes to levy on satellite providers is a “whopping” 13,000 times less than what it pays for mobile services. And BTC, too, said it “strongly opposes” this fee structure on the basis that it is anti-competitive and discriminates against incumbent legacy carriers such as itself and Cable Bahamas.
Cable Bahamas, in feedback which emerged on the eve of the CANTO regional communications conference, argued that the “horse has fled the stable” because
URCA licensed Starlink to provide retail broadband services throughout The Bahamas in 2023 and is only now attempting to establish a proper regulatory regime after-the-fact.
“Cable Bahamas is operating in a soon-circulating market for electronic communications services, with individuals using the Internet at 94 percent as a percentage of the population, and with mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people) at 99,” the BUSX-listed communications provider added.
“Moreover, the category of operating licence issued to Starlink allows them to offer fixed broadband services anywhere in The Bahamas. In many respects, the licence issued to Starlink gives them as much leverage, if not more, than Cable Bahamas, but without the corresponding obligations. Whereas Cable Bahamas’ licence is 15 years, the licence for Starlink is perpetual.
“The scope of both licences allows the holder to provide any ‘carriage services’, and to establish, maintain and operate one or more networks,within, into, from and through The Bahamas,” Cable Bahamas continued.
“Giving the right to LEO (low earth orbit) satellite operators to provide any carriage service to end-users in The Bahamas, including fixed broadband Internet without any investment in network infrastructure on the ground in The Bahamas, puts them at a significant business advantage but robs the country of revenues
Trump administration sues California over egg prices and blames animal welfare laws
By STEVE KARNOWSKI Associated Press
THE Trump administration is suing the state of California to block animal welfare laws that it says unconstitutionally helped send egg prices soaring. But a group that spearheaded the requirements pushed back, blaming bird flu for the hit to consumers' pocketbooks.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in California on Wednesday, challenges voter initiatives that passed in 2018 and 2008. They require that all eggs sold in California come from cage-free hens. The Trump administration says the law imposes burdensome red tape on the production of eggs and egg products across the country because of the state's outsize role in the national economy.
"It is one thing if California passes laws that affects its own State, it is another when those laws affect other States in violation of the U.S. Constitution," U.S. Agriculture Brooke Rollins said in a statement Thursday. "Thankfully, President Trump is standing up against this overreach."
Egg prices soared last year and earlier this year due in large part to bird flu, which has forced producers to destroy nearly 175 million birds since early 2022. But prices have come down sharply recently. While the Trump administration claims credit for that, seasonal factors are also important. Avian influenza, which is spread by wild birds, tends to spike during the spring and fall migrations and drop in summer.
"Pointing fingers won't change the fact that it is the President's economic policies that have been destructive," the California Department of Justice said in a statement Friday.
"We'll see him in court."
The average national price for a dozen Grade A eggs declined to $5.12 in April and $4.55 in May after reaching a record $6.23 in March, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. But the May price was still 68.5% higher than a year earlier.
"Trump's back to his favorite hobby: blaming
(import taxes, equipment type approvals etc) and jobs that would be generated though the supply value chain when implementing network roll-out.”
Cable Bahamas then asserted that the restrictions imposed on the holders of such licences “are inconsequential in the case of Starlink, which already have their network built in the space above The Bahamas since the NGSO satellite-based broadband Internet network, by its nature, does not depend on the traditional local network interconnection envisaged in the licence.
“If the proposed [regulatory] framework is implemented in haste and Starlink encroaches on Cable Bahamas’ existing customers, Cable Bahamas may be forced to stop investing in network capacity expansion and quality improvement, and may be forced into an unsustainable pricing war which would reduce Cable Bahamas’ ability to stay in the market,” the BISX-listed provider disclosed.
“This would have far reaching consequences on the local industry, and this may lead to loss of jobs. Cable Bahamas’ contribution to the Treasury through taxes and licence fees will be reduced. Cable Bahamas may eventually be forced to exit the market and/or file for bankruptcy.”
Proponents of Starlink and satellite broadband Internet, especially Bahamas-based consumers who already use the former’s services, will likely dismiss
Cable Bahamas’ comments as ‘sour grapes’. Besides remote Family Island locations not reached by BTC or Cable Bahamas’ networks, Starlink is also making inroads in more populated areas among persons dissatisfied with the incumbents’ service quality.
However, BTC joined Cable Bahamas in opposition to the spectrum fee structure that URCA proposes to impose for satellite communications providers. Using the example of a 100 MHz bandwidth in the 2,200-6,700 MHz band, BTC said the proposed 70 cents per MHz tariff for satellite was far less than what itself and Cable Bahamas would have to pay for the same spectrum.
“Based on BTC’s understanding of the proposed change and the example provided, while BTC would be assessed fees of $42,000, $8,500 and $4,250 for 100 MHz of standard spectrum in New Providence, Grand Bahama and other islands respectively, satellite operators would be assessed a fee of only $70 for the same bandwidth in the same standard spectrum across all locations in The Bahamas,” BTC added.
Noting that it already supports “remote island communities, where the business case for subsea and terrestrial fibre buildouts are cost-prohibitive”, with wireless solutions, BTC urged URCA to go back to the drawing board over the proposed fee structure for satellite operators.
“For these reasons, BTC strongly opposes the proposed fee structure put forward by URCA and requests clarification on the proposed fee changes, as it appears that URCA is not adhering to its own principle on a non-discriminatory
fee structure and does not comport with the principle of fair competition,” the carrier, which is 49 percent owned by the Bahamian government, added. “BTC encourages URCA to re-examine its policy with a view to creating a level playing field for all providers in the sector.” Cable Bahamas said URCA had confirmed the 70 cents per MHz fee for satellite operators in response to its own inquiries.
“Based on the illustration you gave in your letter dated January 15, in response to ours of January 14, we wish to observe that the fee of $0.7 per MHz which you propose for satellite across the board would be unjustifiably low in comparison to access spectrum for cellular mobile, which is charged a whopping $13,000 per MHz - which makes access spectrum for cellular mobile 13,000 time more expensive than satellite spectrum,” Cable Bahamas argued. The BISX-listed communications provider, describing the licensing of satellite communication services to Bahamian retail customers as premature, added: “The group bemoans the fact that the ‘horse has fled the stable’, and that URCA is after the fact attempting to establish a regulatory framework after licensing Starlink in February 2023 for retail broadband services throughout the Bahamian archipelago - - and not limited to underserved areas - with a series of missteps which saw said licensing shrouded in mystery and a lack of transparency.
“And moreover, the language of URCA’s public consultation document implies that URCA is
holding this [consultation] because it wishes to licence more low-earth orbit satellite service operators who have been agitating for licences as soon as possible.” Cable Bahamas may be right there, as the consultation drew responses from Starlink and six other satellite providers.
“The Cable Bahamas group submits that URCA has a fundamental duty to ensure a fair and competitive market environment that provides a safeguard to local operators, particularly in the face of increasing competition from satellite-based electronic communication services,” Cable Bahamas added.
“While satellites offer valuable solutions for global connectivity, they can also pose challenges to local operators who are bound by national regulations, service obligations (including universal service obligations) and infrastructure investments.
“The regulator must balance the promotion of technological innovation and broader service availability with the need to safeguard the interest of local providers, ensuring that they are not unfairly disadvantaged by the potential disruptive impact of satellite services that do not face the same regulatory or cost burdens,” the company argued.
“This balance is crucial for meeting the objectives of the Communications Act, maintaining a level playing field, encouraging investment in local infrastructure and promoting long-term sustainability within the domestic telecom sector.”
California for literally everything," Gov. Gavin Newsom's office said in a social media post.
The federal complaint alleges that California contributed to the rise in egg prices with regulations that forced farmers across the country to adopt more expensive production practices. The lawsuit also asserts that it is the federal government's legal prerogative to regulate egg production. So it seeks to permanently block enforcement of the California regulations that flowed from the two ballot measures.
"Americans across the country have suffered the consequences of liberal policies causing massive inflation for everyday items like eggs," Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement. "Under President Trump's leadership, we will use the full extent of federal law to ensure that American families are free from oppressive regulatory burdens and restore American prosperity."
While 2018's Proposition 12 also banned the sale of pork and veal in California from animals raised in cages that don't meet minimum size requirements, the lawsuit only focuses on the state's egg rules.
Humane World for Animals, which was named the Humane Society of the United States when it spearheaded the passage of Proposition 12, says avian influenza and other factors drove up egg prices, not animal welfare laws. And it says much of the U.S. egg industry went cage-free anyway because of demand from consumers who don't want eggs from hens confined to tiny spaces.
"California has prohibited the sale of cruelly produced eggs for more than a decade — law that has been upheld by courts at every level, including the Supreme Court. Blaming 2025 egg prices on these established animal welfare standards shows that this case is about pure politics, not constitutional law," Sara Amundson, president of the Humane World Action Fund, said in a statement.
Boating levies were ‘pushed down throat’
MARINAS - from page B1
And the Ministry of Finance, despite all the dire predictions and warnings, is clearly anticipating that The Bahamas’ boating and yachting market will continue to expand as it is forecasting steady growth in the FDCC, anchorage fees and temporary cruising permit revenues through the next two Budget cycles to the close of the 20272028 fiscal year.
In particular, FDCC income is forecast to rise from $9m this fiscal year to $10m in 2026-2027, and then to $11.65m in 20272028, while anchorage fees are also projected to move from $2.8m to $3.08m and $3.452m over the same timeframe.
Peter Maury, the Association of Bahamas Marinas (ABM) president, branded these forecasts “wishful thinking” based on the cancellations, and reports of booking cancellations, he is both seeing and receiving from other marina members. Others were more cautious, responding only that “time will tell” and “we’ll see who’s right” - the Ministry of Finance or boaters and the private sector that serves them.
Bimini Big Game’s Mr Smith said that while mega yachts and other vessels more than 100 feet in length are unlikely to be impacted as much, particularly those that charge between $10,000 to $20,000 per day
to charter, that is not the market that his property and those on the islands closer to Florida - Bimini, West End, Abaco and the Berry Islands - serve. He explained that the core clientele for his resort, and others on Bimini, are the smaller centre consoles, sports fishing vessels and Boston Whalers that like to make frequent - and often spontaneous - trips to The Bahamas. They are now faced with having to pay higher fees, with the former three-month cruising permit having been ended, and restricted to entering only twice within 30 days on the same permit.
The ‘temporary’ 12-month cruising permit fee for a vessel below 50 feet in length has risen from $300 to $500, a two-thirds or 66.67 percent rise, with those between 50 feet and 100 feet seeing an increase of similar magnitude from $600 to $1,000.
None of those voicing concern about the revised boating fees and their impact are disputing that The Bahamas has a sovereign right to determine and set these levies at the level it deems appropriate, or that visiting boaters should pay their fair share in taxes and fees in return for commercial exploitation of this nation’s waters and environment.
Instead, the main issue has been the zero consultation with boaters and industry, coupled with the
lack of notice and time to adjust, as well as the scale and breadth of the changes and how they have been implemented in practice. This has led to significant uncertainty and confusion, with The Bahamas not providing a timely or coherent message to its visitors.
Mr Smith, telling Tribune Business the reforms appeared to have been “pushed down the throat”, acknowledged that the FDCC does appear to be generating interest and gaining traction among potential boating visitors.
However, his concerns align with those voiced by others in the marina business. For while the Customs Management (Amendment) Regulations 2025 stipulate that the anchorage fees are “for foreign pleasure vessels not mooring at a marina”, he added that this has been levied on visitors docking at Big Game’s facility.
“Since they implemented the new boating fees, we have had a drop off - quite a bit of a drop off - and that’s including on dockage and rooms,” Mr Smith, also a former Bimini chief councillor for seven-and-a-half years, revealed. “The small boats are the ones that get the hotel rooms and come every weekend; the larger ones, they live on the boats and cook on the boats.
“Bimini is only 50 miles from Florida; it’s quicker to get here than to the [Florida] Cays. July 4 was a drop
off for us, we were not full.
The small boaters are the ones that bring the money to the island.” The July 4 US independence holiday weekend is typically one of the busiest periods in the peak summer boating season for Bahamian resorts and marinas.
However, Mr Smith, disclosing that his property normally enjoys “a full house” during such holidays and the US labour day and Memorial weekends, added of July 4: “We had a big drop-off. Marina wise we were running at 50 percent. We normally run at 100 percent on the weekends; almost every weekend.
“We had these fees slapped on people right away without giving them adequate notice that it was going up. It was really a slap in the face for those guests coming from Florida. The fees, in my opinion, were not strategised and should not have been slapped on people.
“This was pushed down the throat. It was not done the right way it should have been. I feel it. What’s going to happen is we’re going to have to start cutting back on staff at Big Game as we’re not going to have full occupancy, and that’s going to hurt the employees. Summer time is really when they make their money,” Mr Smith added.
“It’s really drastic what’s been put on us, it’s really been jammed on us, and should have been strategised more before it was put on the public.” He reiterated that the authorities should have properly consulted with all Bimini-based resorts and marinas on the proposed changes before
they became law and were implemented on July 1. Asked what should happen now, Mr Smith replied: “I don’t know who made that decision, but I feel they need to go back to the drawing board and, if they’re going to revise it, revise it across the board.
It’s too much. I hope they go back to the drawing board and understand, we are so close to Florida, that when say they are going to boycott [The Bahamas] we surely saw that on July 4. “We took the hurt on that. We had a lot of cancellations. People were calling. I figure they are going to have to do something with that. They are going to have to go back to the drawing board right away. Bimini puts a lot of money into the Treasury because of how many boats come here.”
One Bimini second homeowner, speaking on condition of anonymity, said he has never suffered a summer like 2025 after enduring three rental cancellations for his property.
One blamed the revised boating fees for pulling out, and with “zero” new inquiries he is now contemplating “putting the shutters up” and not returning until November.
“I have no reservations left for this summer; not one. I’ve never had that, and no inquiries. I’ve never had that this time of year,” they said. “It could be stuff going on with the economy in the US. I don’t know. I doubt it.
“It costs $20,000 a year to maintain our place with homeowners association fees, light and water. We’re never seeking to make a profit, only break even. This year is going to be a
loss. I’ll give it a couple more weeks. If there’s nothing I will put the shutters up, turn the water off and come back in November.”
And Mr Maury, speaking to the Government’s forecast revenue increases, told Tribune Business: “I just don’t agree with that. If you look at the numbers right now in the Out Islands, talking to everyone right after the holiday, they’ve pretty much left. I don’t see how they are going to make that.
“Talking to the people I’m talking to, they’re talking about dropping rates so there will be less dockage fees and electricity usage. I think that’s [the Budget estimates] wishful thinking. The consumption all around for products and services has gone down in the last three years. I can tell you in this small sector there’s no way it’s going to be $18m. I’d be surprised if they got even half of that.
“We’ve already seen boats rebooking their 2026 season for South America,” Mr Maury said. “They’re forcing more people out of the country. I can tell you that, in the Out Islands, transportation, fuel stores and restaurants and the Bahamian people will feel a real pinch.
“In COVID, it was this industry that re-opened The Bahamas. We led everybody in the Caribbean. These guys ignored that and are trying to take advantage and, as a result, we’re losing it. It’s going down and it’s going to get steadily worse. I don’t believe they’ll get anywhere close to that $18m. Unfortunately, the rest of us won’t be eating; well be starving.”
HE CLOSED HIS STORE AFTER YEARS OF THREATS. WHY MEXICO'S EXTORTION PROBLEM IS GETTING WORSE
By FABIOLA SÁNCHEZ Associated Press
IT started with a phone call to a men's clothing store in the heart of Mexico City's historic center. "I need you to put together 10,000 pesos ($500) for me weekly, or else we'll have to do something," the voice said. The owner hung up and didn't answer the phone again for days. But when another call came the following week, in a surge of courage and indignation the owner told the caller he wouldn't pay,
that the money demanded would have been half the store's daily income. "Well, prepare to face the consequences," the voice said.
Several years of escalating threats, visits from goons and armed robberies followed until the shop owner, who requested
anonymity because he still fears retaliation, decided to close the store his grandfather had opened in 1936. Extortion is strangling businesses in Mexico. Much, but not all, of it is linked to Mexico's powerful organized crime groups. While some larger companies eat it as the cost of doing business, many smaller ones are forced to close.
The Mexican Employers' Association, Coparmex, says extortion cost businesses some $1.3 billion in 2023. And this year, while other major crimes are descending, extortion continues to rise, up 10% nationally in the first quarter compared to the same period last year.
In Mexico City, the number of reported extortion cases nearly doubled in the first five months of 2025 to 498, up from 249 for the same period last year. It's the highest total at this point in the year in the past six years, according to federal crime data.
After the first call in 2019, the store owner had his employees stop answering the phone for eight months. Things quieted, but in early 2020, two men came to the shop and demanded payment. The owner pretended to be a shopper and slipped out.
In 2021, the weekly calls demanding money in exchange for "security" resumed. Under advice of his attorneys, the owner eventually stopped going into the shop, instead managing everything remotely. In one of several robberies, his employees were held at gunpoint, tied up and locked in a bathroom, while the robbers took money from the cash register. Finally, after two years of threats and robberies, he reported it to authorities. Investigators demanded proof from him that he couldn't provide because the threats were always verbal, he said. The investigation went nowhere.
Reported extortion cases are only a small fraction of the reality. Mexico's National Institute for Statistics and Geography estimated that some 97% of extortion cases were not reported in 2023. Reporting is low because of a combination of fear and skepticism that authorities will do something.
Mexico City Police Chief Pablo Vázquez Camacho said in an interview with AP that police were receiving more reports of extortion, but recognized that they still weren't hearing about many more. "We can't solve something that we're not even seeing or
that isn't being reported," Vázquez said. The problem, said Vicente Gutiérrez Camposeco, president of the Mexico City Chamber of Commerce, "has become entrenched" in Mexico and especially the capital in recent years. Daniel Bernardi, whose family has run a popsicle shop in the historic center for 85 years, was resigned to the situation. "There isn't much to do," he said. "You pay when you have to pay."
Last month, the Mexico City prosecutor's office announced that it was creating a special prosecutor's office to investigate and prosecute extortion.
In July, President Claudia Sheinbaum said she would propose legislation giving the government greater powers to pursue extortionists.
This week, her administration also announced a national strategy to address extortion. There will be a phone number to anonymously report extortion; the power to immediately cancel phone numbers associated with extortion calls; local anti-extortion units to investigate cases and the involvement of Mexico's Financial Intelligence Unit to freeze bank accounts associated with extortion.
GB generation woes hit at sensitive time
you impact the business community, eventually you are going to impact your customer base and the economy as a whole.
“What we are finding is that the industrial companies and essential services have always been on the priority grid, so they’re operating with little to no impact, but the commercial and retail sector is experiencing far too many outages and the residential sector is in dire straits at the moment... When commerce dies so does society, so we cannot afford for that to happen.
“Obviously there’s a significant need for GB Power to figure out a quick fix for this, and then a longerterm solution that prevents this from happening in the future. It’s quite challenging for us in the public space to understand what may or may not have transpired to bring us back to this same condition,” Mr Knowles added.
“There’s not a lot of confidence right now, and they need to do a lot of work to get that back. I’ve spoken to them, and they’re going to see how they can provide more efficiently the commercial and retail sector district because if people don’t have jobs to go to they have no way of earning income and being able to pay their own bills. We all have to earn a living.”
Dave McGregor, GB Power’s top executive, could not be reached for comment before Tribune Business went to press last night, but it appeared as if the utility has made progress in restoring generation capacity and addressing the shortfall after Grand
Bahama residents yesterday afternoon disclosed that “they’ve kept it on since Friday”.
GB Power, on Friday, gave “two days” as its restoration timeline while warning that its residential and business customers may still “experience temporary outages... as a result of the current shortfall”. It had previously blamed its woes on a surge caused by a lightning strike that impacted the Peel Street plant on July 9, which resulted in “the loss of one of our primary generating units”. The utility added that Unit 33 had to be taken offline the following day due to what it described as “the absence of critical auxiliary support” from unit 31.
“This has resulted in a generation shortfall, directly affecting our ability to supply power reliably to all customers,” GB Power added. It said a generation specialist had already arrived on Grand Bahama, with a turbocharger specialist also set to arrive shortly. Both are to stay for summer to support repairs and “help strengthen systems against risk”.
“Our teams are working around the clock to troubleshoot and repair the affected units, with a restoration timeline estimated within the coming days.... As a result of the current shortfall, customers may continue to experience temporary outages until the affected units are fully restored,” GB Power said. The latest generation shortfall, and inability to keep Grand Bahama fully supplied with electricity, comes at an especially sensitive time for the Power Company and the island’s wider energy regulatory regime.
Mr McGregor, speaking to this newspaper in November 2024 following a series of power outages and load shedding that disrupted last summer, asserted then that the company had “shored up reliability with temporary generation” and had “a very robust maintenance plan going forward” to prevent any repeat. However, just such an event has now occurred.
GB Power is still seeking approval of its proposed 6.3 percent base rate increase, for which it had sought regulatory approval last year and had hoped would take effect from New Year’s Day 2025.
And, adding further pressure to the generation woes is the Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority’s (URCA) Supreme Court challenge to determine whether itself or the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) is the true regulator for GB Power and, by extension, the wider energy industry in Freeport.
The GBPA, which derives its authority from the Hawksbill Creek Agreement, and to which GB Power submitted its rate increase application, in a statement said it has demanded “a comprehensive performance update” from the utility as a result of the outages.
And, seeking to portray itself as being on the side of Grand Bahama’s residents and businesses, the GBPA said its own energy consultant - who it did not identify - has been asked to “conduct a full reassessment of GBPC’s generation assets, including a detailed review of the capacity, condition and maintenance of the system” to determine the cause of the generation failures.
“In light of the recent resurgence of widespread outages, the GBPA has since met with GB Power
leadership and requested a comprehensive performance update. This data will be provided to our independent technical consultant, who has extensive experience working with utilities across the Caribbean and here in The Bahamas,” the GBPA said in a statement.
“This consultant has been tasked with conducting a full reassessment of GB Power’s generation assets, including a detailed review of the capacity, condition and maintenance of the system. Most importantly, the consultant will help determine the root cause of the persistent generation failures and advise on the immediate and long-term actions necessary to restore reliable service to Grand Bahama.
“The GBPA stands firmly with the residents and businesses of Grand Bahama. We hear your concerns and share your frustration. We will use every regulatory tool at our disposal to demand improved performance, accelerated investment and the quality of service our island rightfully expects.”
No mention, though, was made of the current status and fate of GB Power’s three-year tariff proposal, which the utility has previously argued is crucial to facilitating increased investment in its network infrastructure to improve both reliability and capacity. “The people of this island deserve a reliable and resilient electricity supply,” the GBPA added.
Pastor Eddie Victor, president of the Coalition of Concerned Citizens (CCC) group, a long-time critic of GB Power and an advocate for energy reform on Grand Bahama, argued that last week’s outages had again both strengthened the case for URCA to take over the utility’s regulation from the GBPA and for another energy provider to replace
Musk’s latest Grok chatbot searches for billionaire mogul’s views before answering questions
By MATT O'BRIEN
AP Technology Writer
THE latest version of Elon Musk's artificial intelligence chatbot Grok is echoing the views of its billionaire creator, so much so that it will sometimes search online for Musk's stance on an issue before offering up an opinion.
The unusual behavior of Grok 4, the AI model that Musk's company xAI released late Wednesday, has surprised some experts.
Built using huge amounts of computing power at a Tennessee data center, Grok is Musk's attempt to outdo rivals such as OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Gemini in building an AI assistant that shows its
reasoning before answering a question.
Musk's deliberate efforts to mold Grok into a challenger of what he considers the tech industry's "woke" orthodoxy on race, gender and politics has repeatedly got the chatbot into trouble, most recently when it spouted antisemitic tropes, praised Adolf Hitler and made other hateful commentary to users of Musk's X social media platform just days before Grok 4's launch. But its tendency to consult with Musk's opinions appears to be a different problem.
"It's extraordinary," said Simon Willison, an independent AI researcher who's been testing the tool. "You can ask it a sort of pointed
question that is around controversial topics. And then you can watch it literally do a search on X for what Elon Musk said about this, as part of its research into how it should reply."
One example widely shared on social media — and which Willison duplicated — asked Grok to comment on the conflict in the Middle East. The prompted question made no mention of Musk, but the chatbot looked for his guidance anyway.
As a so-called reasoning model, much like those made by rivals OpenAI or Anthropic, Grok 4 shows its "thinking" as it goes through the steps of processing a question and coming up with an answer. Part of that
thinking this week involved searching X, the former Twitter that's now merged into xAI, for anything Musk said about Israel, Palestine, Gaza or Hamas.
"Elon Musk's stance could provide context, given his influence," the chatbot told Willison, according to a video of the interaction. "Currently looking at his views to see if they guide the answer."
Musk and his xAI cofounders introduced the new chatbot in a livestreamed event Wednesday night but haven't published a technical explanation of its workings — known as a system card — that companies in the AI industry typically provide when introducing a new model. The company also
its 100 percent owner, Canadian giant Emera.
However, Mr Knowles said he was opposed to URCA taking over energy regulation in the Port area for fear it would weaken and undermine the Hawksbill Creek Agreement. “It’s been pretty brutal,” he acknowledged of last week’s outages, which also posed a health and safety challenge - especially for the elderly, young and sick - amid the island’s ongoing heat wave. But he asserted: “I’m not a fan of breaking the Hawksbill Creek Agreement terms for any reason. That [URCA] wouldn’t be high on my agenda.”
Mr Knowles said as far as he was aware GB Power’s proposed tariff increase remains before the GBPA and has “not moved any further forward”.
Yet he said he was unsure how the GBPA can “keep that in abeyance” when GB Power is “contractually guaranteed a certain rate of return and, if costs go up, they have a right to apply for a rate increase”.
Pastor Victor, giving an insight into how Grand Bahama’s quality of life was impacted last Thursday and Friday, said: “I’ve never seen it as bad as what happened in those 24 hours. My personal residence is in North Bahamia. The power in 24 hours has gone off five times’. From 3pm yesterday [Thursday] to 3pm today, the power has gone off five times.
“The first time was two hours, the second time was four hours, the third time was just over two hours, the fourth time was three hours and the fifth time was two hours. Then a business... I can tell you about a business where power was off for most of the day and came on only one hour ago....
“That business could not do their payroll online and, as a result, they had to get a portable wi-fi and
a portable power unit to power a computer. Right now, that same business, they are doing their payroll still because they did not have power most of the day,” Pastor Victor added.
“If you have a retail business, can you imagine what that would cause if you had people come into your business and you have no AC? It works against businesses, and could have caused them to lose money, but you cannot claim against this power company. That’s where we are.”
Ginger Moxey, minister for Grand Bahama, in a statement said the Government had brought GB Power “to the table” and was working with the utility to provide temporary technical assistance over the coming weeks.
“The Ministry for Grand Bahama is aware of the power outages impacting residents and businesses, and has brought the Grand Bahama Power Company (GBPC) to the table to ensure a speedy resolution,” said Mrs Moxey.
“The Government has received a full briefing on the situation, and are advised that the problem relates to the damage of the GB Power Peel Street station as a result of a lightning strike. At this moment, we understand that Unit 33 that was undergoing corrective maintenance is now online, and all customers have successfully been restored.
“In addition, the Government is working with GB Power on proposed temporary technical assistance over the next several weeks. We fully acknowledge the deep frustration and inconvenience this has caused residents and businesses, and will continue to work with the relevant stakeholders on behalf of the people of Grand Bahama.”
didn't respond to an emailed request for comment Friday.
"In the past, strange behavior like this was due to system prompt changes," which is when engineers
program specific instructions to guide a chatbot's response, said Tim
Kellogg, principal AI architect at software company Icertis.
TESLA and SpaceX’s CEO Elon Musk attends the first plenary session on of the AI Safety Summit at Bletchley Park, on Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2023 in Bletchley, England. Photo:Leon Neal/AP
US fears Bahamas trust assets being ‘dissipated’
TAXES - from page B1
Equity Bank & Trust only began informing the IRS, as part of its reporting obligations, that its client was the 2007 Trust’s settlor after he lost his challenge to the tax claim against him in June 2020 in the US tax court.
The 2007 Trust had originally been settled that same year, albeit with another person named as its settlor.
The US government, in its July 10, 2025, claim against Mr Kroner alleged that the two trusts were settled using the proceeds from $25m “in cash transfers” that he received from a ‘Mr Haring’ between 2005-2007. He had been advised that these did not attract US federal income taxes, but did not fully disclose all necessary information to the attorney who made that determination.
As a result, the IRS found Mr Kroner had
“under-stated his income” and associated due taxes. US tax court hearings found some $12.675m had been placed into the 2004 Trust via a series of transactions between February 4, 2005, and December 20, 2006, while another $5m was transferred to the 2007 trust in 2007 for a combined total of $17.765m. The US courts found Mr Kroner “liable for the tax on the income he transferred to The Bahamas’ trusts” and associated penalties, but he “has refused or neglected to pay all the assessed income taxes, penalties and interest, and statutory interest, that continues to accrue since assessment”.
“As of July 7, 2025, Mr Kroner owes the United States the sum of $27.8m plus statutory penalties and interest that continues to accrue until paid,” the IRS alleged. It has initiated its
claim in the south Florida federal district court now after the same district’s bankruptcy court ruled that The Bahamas trusts and their assets are not subject to the automatic stay imposed by Mr Kroner’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
“On December 30, 2024, Mr Kroner elected to exclude the Bahamas trusts from the bankruptcy estate. The exclusion meant that the Bahamas trusts were not property of the bankruptcy estate and not subject to the automatic stay,” the US government asserted.
“On July 10, 2025, the bankruptcy court issued an agreed order granting the United States’ motion to lift the automatic stay.... The order states that the Bahamas trusts are excluded from the bankruptcy estate and that the United States was entitled to file this suit against Mr Kroner to repatriate assets held by the Bahamas trusts.”
Noting that the trusts and their assets were transferred to The Bahamas in
2014, the US said there was nothing preventing Equity Bank & Trust from “distributing the full balance of the 2004 Trust directly to Mr Kroner” even though his children are named as beneficiaries as well as himself.
As for the 2007 Trust, while this initially listed Mr Haring as the settlor, this position was later assumed by Mr Kroner who reports himself as such in IRS filings. “Each year, Equity is required to report the settlor of offshore trusts to the IRS. Before the tax court decision in 2020, Equity did not report Mr Kroner as the settlor of the 2007 Trust,” the US government alleged.
“But after the tax court held that the $5m Mr Haring transferred to the 2007 Trust was in fact Mr Kroner’s income, Equity began reporting Mr Kroner as the settlor of the 2007 Trust. Mr Kroner now files annual returns for the 2007 Trust as the settlor. The 2007 Trust was settled in The Bahamas, and the 2007 Trust documents say that the 2007 Trust is governed
TRUMP PLANS TO HIKE TARIFFS ON CANADIAN GOODS TO 35%
By JOSH BOAK Associated Press
PRESIDENT Donald Trump said in a letter that he will raise taxes on many imported goods from Canada to 35%, deepening a rift between two North American countries that have suffered a debilitating blow to their decades-old alliance.
The Thursday letter to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is an aggressive increase to the top 25% tariff rates that Trump first imposed in March after months of threats. Trump's tariffs were allegedly in an effort to get Canada to crack down on fentanyl smuggling despite the relatively modest trafficking in the drug from that country. Trump has also expressed frustration with a trade deficit with Canada that largely reflects oil purchases by America.
"I must mention that the flow of Fentanyl is hardly the only challenge we have with Canada, which has many Tariff, and NonTariff, Policies and Trade Barriers," Trump wrote in the letter.
The higher rates would go into effect Aug. 1,
creating a tense series of weeks ahead for the global economy as recent gains in the S&P 500 stock index suggest many investors think Trump will ultimately back down on the increases. But stock market futures were down early Friday in a sign that Trump's wave of tariff letters may be starting to generate concern among investors.
In a social media post, Carney said Canada would continue to work toward a new trade framework with the U.S. and has made "vital progress to stop the scourge of fentanyl."
"Through the current trade negotiations with the United States, the Canadian government has steadfastly defended our workers and business," Carney said. While multiple countries have received tariff letters this week, Canada — America's second largest trading partner after Mexico — has become something of a foil to Trump. It has imposed retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods and pushed back on the president's taunts of making Canada the 51st state. Mexico has also faced 25% tariffs because of fentanyl, yet it has not faced the same public pressure
from the Republican U.S. president.
Carney was elected prime minister in April on the argument that Canadians should keep their "elbows up." He has responded by distancing Canada from its intertwined relationship with the U.S., seeking to strengthen its links with the European Union and the United Kingdom.
Hours before Trump's letter, Carney posted on X a picture of himself with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, saying, "In the face of global trade challenges, the world is turning to reliable economic partners like Canada." Implied in his statement was that the U.S. has become unreliable because of Trump's haphazard tariff regime, which has gone through aggressive threats and reversals.
When Carney went to the White House in May, the public portion of their meeting was cordial. But Trump said there was nothing the Canadian leader could tell him to remove the tariffs, saying, "Just the way it is."
Daniel Beland, a political science professor at McGill University in Montreal, said Trump's latest move
will make it more difficult for Canada and the U.S. to reach a trade deal, Beland said.
"It doesn't mean a new trade deal between Canada and the United States is impossible, but it shows how hard it is for the Canadian government to negotiate with a U.S. president who regularly utters threats and doesn't appear to be a reliable and truthful interlocutor," he said.
Trump has sent a series of tariff letters to 23 countries. Those form letters became increasingly personal with Canada as well as a Wednesday note that put a 50% tariff on Brazil for the ongoing trial of its former President Jair Bolsonaro for trying to stay in office after his 2022 election loss. Trump was similarly indicted for his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden.
Trump administration officials have said that Trump was seeking to isolate its geopolitical rival China with the tariffs, but the latest tariffs have undermined that message. Brazil's largest trading partner is China, not the U.S., and Chinese government
by Bahamas law. But Florida law applies to the 2007 Trust.”
The IRS has had repatriation of the Bahamian trust assets, as a means to settle the unpaid US federal income tax debt, in its sights for some months. It argued in June 9, 2025, filings with the south Florida federal bankruptcy court that Mr Kroner was drawing on the trust assets to fund his “lavish lifestyle” and that this means of recovery was becoming seriously depleted.
“During this bankruptcy, Mr Kroner has failed to provide adequate protection,” the US government alleged.
“Instead, he receives large monthly distributions from the Bahamas Trusts to fund his lavish lifestyle and, in the meantime, the IRS is paid nothing.
“Because Mr. Kroner excluded the Bahamas Trusts from the estate, and he has failed to provide adequate protection to the IRS, the court should grant the United States’ relief from the automatic stay....
officials have framed his import taxes as a form of bullying.
"Sovereign equality and non-interference in internal affairs are important principles of the U.N. Charter and basic norms governing international relations," said Mao Ning, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman. "Tariffs should not be used as a tool for coercion, bullying and interference in the internal affairs of other countries."
The letters reflect the inability of Trump to finalize the dozens of trade frameworks that he claimed would be easy to negotiate.
Shortly after unveiling his April 2 "Liberation Day" tariffs, a financial market selloff caused Trump to announce a 90-day negotiating period during which a 10% baseline tariff would be charged on most imported goods.
Mr Kroner’s tax documents show that he is rapidly depleting the value of the Bahamas Trusts.
“Before Mr Kroner filed for Chapter 11 protection in 2023, the 2022 year-end cash value of the Bahamas Trusts was $11.7m. And that was after receiving nearly $1m in cash distributions in 2022. The year-end cash value decreased to $10.9m by the end of 2023,” the US government continued.
“While Mr. Kroner has not filed tax returns for the Bahamas Trusts for the 2024 tax year, he has disclosed his monthly distributions through his monthly operating reports. Since the end of 2023, Mr Kroner has disclosed an additional $1.3m in distributions.
“So, Mr Kroner has depleted the value of the Bahamas Trusts by at least $2m since filing for bankruptcy while shielding those distributions from collection by the IRS. That rapid depletion of the Bahamas Trusts demands immediate action by the United States to preserve our interests.”
But Trump has indicated that the 10% tariff rates are largely disappearing as he resets the rates with his letters.
"We're just going to say all of the remaining countries are going to pay, whether it's 20% or 15%," Trump said in a phone interview with NBC News.
Trump has announced trade frameworks with the U.K. and Vietnam, as well as a separate deal with China to enable continued trade talks. Trump jacked up import taxes on Chinese goods to as much as 145%, but after talks he has said China faces total tariffs of 55%.
In June, Trump said he was suspending trade talks with Canada over its plans to continue its digital services tax, which would hit U.S. technology companies.
S&P 500 AND NASDAQ COMPOSITE PULL BACK FROM THEIR ALL-TIME HIGHS
By ALEX VEIGA AP Business Writer
A MODEST pullback for U.S. stocks Friday eased the market from all-time highs and left major stock indexes on Wall Street in the red for the week.
The S&P 500 closed 0.3% lower a day after setting a record high. The benchmark index's loss for the week followed two straight weekly gains.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.6%, and the Nasdaq composite gave up 0.2% after drifting between small gains and losses much of the day. The tech-heavy index was coming off its own all-time high on Thursday.
The selling capped an uneven week in the market as Wall Street kept an eye on the Trump administration's rollout of new tariff threats against trading partners like Canada and looked ahead to the upcoming corporate earnings reporting season.
President Donald Trump said in a letter Thursday that he will raise taxes on many imported goods from Canada to 35%, deepening the rift between the longtime North American allies. The letter to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is an aggressive increase to the top 25% tariff rates that Trump first imposed in March.
The move was the latest bid by the White House to
use threats of higher tariffs on goods imported into the U.S. in hopes of securing new trade agreements with countries around the globe, even historically close trading partners like Canada.
The administration had initially set Wednesday as a deadline for countries to make deals with the U.S. or face heavy increases in tariffs. But with just two trade deals announced since April, one with the United Kingdom and one with Vietnam, the window for negotiations has been been extended to Aug. 1.
Trump also floated this week that he would impose tariffs of as much as 200% on pharmaceutical drugs and place a 50% tariff on copper imports, matching the rates charged on steel and aluminum.
The initial rollout of Trump's tariff policies in the spring roiled financial markets. But Wall Street has been relatively stable in recent weeks, with stocks steadily rising to record levels That suggests the market has mostly adjusted to the unpredictability of Trump's rapidly shifting tariffs. Some market watchers, however, aren't so sure.
The market's response to Trump's tariff escalation this week "has been surprisingly muted. Markets appear to believe that Trump will again back down," Paul Ashworth, chief North America economist at Capital Economics,
NOTICE
Grupo Torres Ltd.
Incorporated under the International Business Companies Act, 2000 of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas. Registration number 211394 B (In Voluntary Liquidation)
Notice is hereby given that the above-named Company is in dissolution, commencing on the 9th day of July A.D. 2025.
Articles of Dissolution have been duly registered by the Registrar. The Liquidator is MARILENE PALMA TORRES, whose address is Av Adhemar Pereira de Barros, 1400 – AP 0301, AND04 - Bela Suica, Londrina, Paraná, CEP: 86047-250, Brazil. Any Persons having a Claim against the above-named Company are required on or before the 8th day of August A.D. 2025 to send their names, addresses and particulars of their debts or claims to the Liquidator of the Company, or in default thereof they may be excluded from the benefit of any distribution made before such claim is proved.
Dated this 9th day of July A.D. 2025.
MARILENE PALMA TORRES LIQUIDATOR
wrote Friday. "We are not so sure."
Despite the uncertainty around tariffs, Wall Street has already come to accept a "base case" of 10% tariffs across the board, said Eric Teal, chief investment officer at Comerica Wealth Management.
"To the extent that this gets extended, I think the market has priced a lot of that in," he said.
Trade policy aside, the market is now set to shift at least some of its focus on companies due to report quarterly earnings over the next few weeks.
On Friday, Levi Strauss jumped 11.3% after the
jeans maker easily beat Wall Street's sales and profit targets and raised its full-year forecast, despite expecting higher costs from tariffs.
PriceSmart climbed 5.3% a day after the warehouse club operator delivered solid third-quarter results and said it's looking into expanding into Chile.
Earnings season shifts into high gear next week with JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Citigroup among the big banks due to report their results on Tuesday.
Shares in financial and health care sector companies were the
NOTICE
BLUEGROUND CAPITAL LTD.
Incorporated under the International Business Companies Act, 2000 of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas. Registration number 210149 B (In Voluntary Liquidation)
Notice is hereby given that the above-named Company is in dissolution, commencing on the 11th day of July A.D. 2025. Articles of Dissolution have been duly registered by the Registrar. The Liquidator is MR. RICARDO ABRAHIM COSTA MORRISON, whose address is R CAP Rebelinho, 00534 ED Monte Sinai, APT 1302, Pina, CEP: 51011-010, Recife, PE, Brazil. Any Persons having a Claim against the above-named Company are required on or before the 10th day of August A.D. 2025 to send their names, addresses and particulars of their debts or claims to the Liquidator of the Company, or in default thereof they may be excluded from the benefit of any distribution made before such claim is proved.
Dated this 11th day of July A.D. 2025.
RICARDO ABRAHIM COSTA MORRISON LIQUIDATOR
year ago, had come under antitrust scrutiny from the Justice Department under President Joe Biden's administration.
U.S. Cellular shares rose 3.6%.
Shares in aviation company Red Cat Holdings jumped 26.4% after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued orders aimed at ramping up production and deployment of drones.
All told, the S&P 500 fell 20.71 points to 6,259.75. The Dow dropped 279.13 points to 44,371.51, and the Nasdaq slipped 45.14 points to 20,585.53.
in
biggest weights on the market Friday. Visa fell 2.2% and Gilead Sciences dropped 4.3%.
Several airline stocks lost ground a day after encouraging quarterly results from Delta Air Lines set off a rally in the sector. Delta slipped 0.2%, United fell 4.3% and American gave up 5.6%.
Elsewhere in the market, shares of T-Mobile closed 0.2% lower after the Justice Department announced Thursday that it would not prevent the company from closing on its proposed $4.4 billion acquisition of U.S. Cellular. That deal, announced more than a
Bond yields rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.42%, from 4.34% late Thursday. European stock indexes closed broadly lower following a mostly lower finish in Asian markets. Meanwhile, bitcoin climbed to another all-time high Friday, briefly eclipsing $118,000 before easing back to around $117,901, according to Coindesk. Bitcoin's price jump came amid bullish momentum across risk assets and coincides with Nvidia's surge to a $4 trillion valuation. It also comes days before the U.S. Congress' Crypto Week on July 14, where lawmakers will debate a series of bills that could define the regulatory framework for the industry.
NOTICE
Velocidade Investimentos 1000 Ltd.
Incorporated under the International Business Companies Act, 2000 of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas. Registration number 211535 B (In Voluntary Liquidation)
Notice is hereby given that the above-named Company is in dissolution, commencing on the 11th day of July A.D. 2025. Articles of Dissolution have been duly registered by the Registrar. The Liquidator is MR. ALLAM KHODAIR, whose address is R Arizona 1281 AP 262, CEP: 04567-003, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil. Any Persons having a Claim against the above-named Company are required on or before the 10th day of August A.D. 2025 to send their names, addresses and particulars of their debts or claims to the Liquidator of the Company, or in default thereof they may be excluded from the benefit of any distribution made before such claim is proved.
Dated this 11th day of July A.D. 2025.
ALLAM KHODAIR LIQUIDATOR
A REFLECTION of a window shows the New York Stock Exchange on
New York.
Photo:Yuki Iwamura/AP
JUDGE ORDERS TRUMP ADMINISTRATION TO HALT INDISCRIMINATE IMMIGRATION STOPS, ARRESTS IN CALIFORNIA
By JAIMIE DING Associated Press
A FEDERAL judge on Friday ordered the Trump administration to halt indiscriminate immigration stops and arrests in seven California counties, including Los Angeles.
Immigrant advocacy groups filed the lawsuit last week accusing President Donald Trump's administration of systematically targeting brown-skinned people in Southern California during its ongoing immigration crackdown.
The plaintiffs include three detained immigrants and two U.S. citizens, one of whom was held despite showing agents his identification.
The filing in U.S. District Court asked a judge to block the administration from using what they call unconstitutional tactics in immigration raids. Immigrant advocates accuse immigration officials of detaining someone based on their race, carrying out warrantless arrests, and denying detainees access to legal counsel at a holding facility in downtown LA.
Judge Maame E. Frimpong also issued a separate order barring the federal government from restricting attorney access at a Los Angeles immigration detention facility in response to a request from nonprofit law firm Public Counsel.
Frimpong issued the emergency orders, which are a temporary measure while the lawsuit proceeds, the day after a hearing during which advocacy groups argued that the government was violating the Fourth and Fifth amendments of the Constitution.
She wrote in the order there was a "mountain of evidence" presented in the case that the federal government was committing the violations they were being accused of.
The White House responded quickly to the ruling late Friday.
"No federal judge has the authority to dictate immigration policy — that authority rests with Congress and the President," spokesperson Abigail Jackson said. "Enforcement operations require careful planning and execution; skills far beyond the purview (or) jurisdiction of any judge. We expect this gross overstep of judicial authority to be corrected on appeal."
Communities on edge as administration steps up arrests
Immigrants and Latino communities across Southern California have been on edge for weeks since
the Trump administration stepped up arrests at car washes, Home Depot parking lots, immigration courts and a range of businesses. Tens of thousands of people have participated in rallies in the region over the raids and the subsequent deployment of the National Guard and Marines.
The order also applies to Ventura County, where busloads of workers were detained Thursday while the court hearing was underway after federal agents descended on a cannabis farm, leading to clashes with protesters and multiple injuries.
According to the American Civil Liberties Union, the recent wave of immigration enforcement has been driven by an "arbitrary arrest quota" and based on "broad stereotypes based on race or ethnicity."
When detaining the three day laborers who are plaintiffs in the lawsuit, all immigration agents knew about them is that they were Latino and were dressed in construction work clothes, the filing in the lawsuit said. It goes on to describe raids at swap meets and Home Depots where witnesses say federal agents grabbed anyone who "looked Hispanic."
Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, said in an email that "any claims that individuals have been 'targeted' by law enforcement because of their skin color are disgusting and categorically FALSE."
McLaughlin said "enforcement operations are highly targeted, and officers do their due diligence" before making arrests.
After the ruling, she said "a district judge is undermining the will of the American people."
ACLU attorney Mohammad Tajsar said Brian Gavidia, one of the U.S. citizens who was detained, was "physically assaulted ... for no other reason than he was Latino and working at a tow yard in a predominantly Latin American neighborhood."
Tajsar asked why immigration agents detained everyone at a car wash except two white workers, according to a declaration by a car wash worker, if race wasn't involved.
Representing the government, attorney Sean Skedzielewski said there was no evidence that federal immigration agents considered race in their arrests, and that they only considered appearance as part of the "totality of the circumstances", including
prior surveillance and interactions with people in the field.
In some cases, they also operated off "targeted, individualized packages," he said.
"The Department of Homeland Security has policy and training to ensure compliance with the Fourth Amendment," Skedzielewski said.
Order opens facility to lawyer visits
Lawyers from Immigrant Defenders Law Center and other groups say they also have been denied access to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in downtown LA known as "B-18" on several occasions since June, according to court documents.
Public Counsel lawyer Mark Rosenbaum said in one incident on June 7 attorneys "attempted to shout out basic rights" at a bus of people detained by immigration agents in downtown LA when the government drivers honked their horns to drown them out and chemical munitions akin to tear gas were deployed.
Skedzielewski said access was only restricted to "protect the employees and the detainees" during violent protests and it has since been restored.
Rosenbaum said lawyers were denied access even on days without any demonstrations nearby, and that the people detained are also not given sufficient access to phones or informed that lawyers were available to them.
He said the facility lacks adequate food and beds, which he called "coercive" to getting people to sign papers to agree to leave the country before consulting an attorney. Friday's order will temporarily prevent the government from solely using apparent race or ethnicity, speaking Spanish or English with an accent, presence at a location such as a tow yard or car wash, or someone's occupation as the basis for reasonable suspicion to stop someone. It will also require officials to open B-18 to visitation by attorneys seven days a week and provide detainees access to confidential phone calls with attorneys.
Attorneys general for 18 Democratic states also filed briefs in support of the orders.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents were already barred from making warrantless arrests in a large swath of eastern California after a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction in April.
Trump announces 30% tariffs against EU, Mexico to begin Aug. 1, rattling major US trading partners
By AAMER MADHANI Associated Press
PRESIDENT Donald Trump on Saturday announced he's levying tariffs of 30% against the European Union and Mexico starting Aug. 1, a move that could cause massive upheaval between the United States and two of its biggest trade partners.
Trump detailed the planned tariffs in letters posted to his social media account. They are part of an announcement blitz by Trump of new tariffs aimed at allies and foes alike, a bedrock of his 2024 campaign that he said would set the foundation for reviving a U.S. economy that he claims has been ripped off by other nations for decades.
In his letter to Mexico's leader, President Claudia Sheinbaum, Trump acknowledged that the country has been helpful in stemming the flow of undocumented migrants and fentanyl into the United States. But he said the country has not done enough to stop North America from turning into a "Narco-Trafficking Playground."
"Mexico has been helping me secure the border, BUT, what Mexico has done, is not enough," Trump added.
Trump in his letter to the European Union said the U.S. trade deficit was a national security threat.
"We have had years to discuss our Trading Relationship with The European Union, and we have concluded we must move away from these long-term, large, and persistent, Trade Deficits, engendered by your Tariff, and Non-Tariff, Policies, and Trade Barriers," Trump wrote in the letter to the EU. "Our relationship has been, unfortunately, far from Reciprocal."
The letters come in the midst of an on-and-off Trump threat to impose tariffs on countries and right an imbalance in trade. Trump in April imposed tariffs on dozens of countries, before pausing them for 90 days to negotiate individual deals.
As the three-month grace period ended this week, Trump began sending his tariff letters to leaders but again has pushed back the implementation day for what he says will be just a few more weeks.
If he moves forward with the tariffs, it could have ramifications for nearly every aspect of the global economy.
European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen responded by noting the bloc's "commitment to dialogue, stability, and a constructive transatlantic partnership."
"At the same time, we will take all necessary steps to safeguard EU interests, including the adoption of proportionate countermeasures if required," von der Leyen said in a statement.
Von der Leyen added that the EU remains committed to continuing negotiations with the U.S. and coming to an agreement before Aug. 1. Trade ministers from EU countries are scheduled to meet Monday to discuss trade relations with the U.S., as well as with China.
European leaders joined von der Leyen in urging Trump to give negotiations more time and warnings of possible new tariffs on Washington.
"With European unity, it is more than ever up to the Commission to assert the Union's determination to resolutely defend European interests," French President Emmanuel Macron said in a statement posted on X. Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni's office said "it would make no sense to trigger a trade war between the two sides of the Atlantic."
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen
told broadcaster DR that Trump was taking a "pointless and a very shortsighted approach." Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson warned in an interview with SVT that "everyone loses out from an escalated trade conflict, and it will be U.S. consumers who pay the highest price."
Trump, as he has in previous letters, warned that his administration would further raise tariffs if the EU attempts to hike its own tariffs on the United States.
The Mexican government said it was informed during high-level talks with U.S. State Department officials Friday that the Trump letter was coming. The delegation told Trump officials at the meeting it disagreed with the decision and considered it "unfair treatment," according to a Mexican government statement.
Sheinbaum, who has sought to avoid directly criticizing Trump in the early going of her presidency, expressed a measure of confidence during a public appearance on Saturday that the U.S. and Mexico will reach "better terms."
"I've always said that in these cases, you need a cool head to face any problem," Sheinbaum said. With the reciprocal tariffs, Trump is effectively blowing up the rules governing world trade. For decades, the United States and most other countries abided by tariff rates set through a series of complex negotiations known as the Uruguay round. Countries could set their own tariffs, but under the "most favored nation'' approach, they couldn't charge one country more than they charged another.
PEOPLE wait outside of Glass House Farms, a day after an immigration raid on the facility, Friday, July 11, 2025, in Camarillo, Calif.
Photo:Jae C. Hong/AP
CONTAINERS are piled up at a cargo terminal in Frankfurt, Germany, April 1, 2025.
Photo:Michael Probst/AP
30% US tariff on European goods threatens to shake up a key trade relationship
By DAVID McHUGH AP Business Writer
PRESIDENT Donald Trump announced 30% tariffs Saturday on the European Union, a move that will have repercussions for companies and consumers on both sides of the Atlantic.
The tariffs could make everything from French cheese and Italian leather goods to German electronics and Spanish pharmaceuticals more expensive in the U.S.
In April, had Trump proposed a 20% tariff for EU goods as part of a set of tariffs targeting countries with which the United States has a trade imbalance. He later threatened to raise that to 50% after negotiations did not move as fast as he would have liked.
As of earlier this week, the EU's executive commission, which handles trade issues for the bloc's 27-member nations, said its leaders were still hoping to strike a deal with the Trump administration. Without one, the EU said it was prepared to retaliate with tariffs on hundreds of American products, ranging from beef and auto parts to beer and Boeing airplanes. Here's what to know about trade between the United States and the European Union: US-EU trade is enormous
The European Commission describes the trade between the U.S. and the EU as "the most important commercial relationship in the world."
The value of EU-U.S. trade in goods and services amounted to 1.7 trillion euros ($2 trillion) in 2024, or an average of 4.6 billion euros a day, according to EU statistics agency Eurostat.
The biggest U.S. export to Europe was crude oil, followed by pharmaceuticals, aircraft, automobiles, and medical and diagnostic equipment.
Europe's biggest exports to the U.S. were pharmaceuticals, cars, aircraft, chemicals, medical instruments, and wine and spirits.
EU sells more to the US than vice versa
Trump has complained about the EU's 198 billioneuro trade surplus in goods, which shows Americans buy more from European businesses than the other way around. However, American companies fill some of the gap by outselling the EU when it comes to services such as cloud computing, travel bookings, and legal and financial services.
The U.S. services surplus took the nation's trade deficit with the EU down to 50 billion euros ($59 billion), which represents less than 3% of overall U.S.-EU trade.
What are the issues dividing the two sides?
Before Trump returned to office, the U.S. and the EU maintained a generally cooperative trade relationship and low tariff levels on both sides. The U.S. rate averaged 1.47% for European goods, while the EU's averaged 1.35% for American products.
But the White House has taken a much less friendly posture toward the longstanding U.S. ally since February. Along with the fluctuating tariff rate on European goods Trump has floated, the EU has been subject to his administration's 50% tariff on steel and aluminum, and a 25% tax on imported automobiles and parts.
Trump administration officials have raised a slew of issues they want to see addressed, including agricultural barriers such as EU health regulations that include bans on chlorine-washed chicken and hormone-treated beef.
Trump has also criticized Europe's value-added taxes, which EU countries levy at the point of sale at rates of 17% to 27%. But many economists see VAT as trade-neutral since they apply to domestic goods and services as well as imported ones. Because national governments set the taxes through legislation, the EU has said they
aren't on the table during trade negotiations.
"On the thorny issues of regulations, consumer standards and taxes, the EU and its member states cannot give much ground," said Holger Schmieding, chief economist at Germany's Berenberg bank. "They cannot change the way they run the EU's vast internal market according to U.S. demands, which are often rooted in a faulty understanding of how the EU works."
'Consequence for many companies'
Economists and companies say higher tariffs will mean higher prices for U.S. consumers on imported goods. Importers must decide how much of the extra tax costs to absorb through lower profits and how much to pass on to customers.
Mercedes-Benz dealers in the U.S. have said they are holding the line on 2025 model year prices "until further notice." The German automaker has a partial tariff shield because it makes 35% of the Mercedes-Benz vehicles sold in the U.S. in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, but the company said it expects prices to undergo "significant increases" in coming years.
Simon Hunt, CEO of Italian wine and spirits producer Campari Group, told investment analysts that prices could increase for some products or stay the same depending what rival companies do. If competitors raise prices, the company might decide to hold its prices on Skyy vodka or Aperol aperitif to gain market share, Hunt said.
Trump has argued that making it more difficult for foreign companies to sell in the U.S. is a way to stimulate a revival of American manufacturing. Many companies have dismissed the idea or said it would take years to yield positive economic benefits. However, some corporations have proved willing to shift some production stateside.
France-based luxury group LVMH, whose
brands include Tiffany & Co., Luis Vuitton, Christian Dior and Moet & Chandon, could move some production to the United States, billionaire CEO Bernaud Arnault said at the company's annual meeting in April.
Arnault, who attended Trump's inauguration, has urged Europe to reach a deal based on reciprocal concessions.
"If we end up with high tariffs, ... we will be forced to increase our U.S.-based
production to avoid tariffs," Arnault said. "And if Europe fails to negotiate intelligently, that will be the consequence for many companies. ... It will be the fault of Brussels, if it comes to that."
'Road could be rocky'
Some forecasts indicate the U.S. economy would be more at risk if the negotiations fail. Without a deal, the EU would lose 0.3% of its gross domestic product and
U.S. GDP would fall 0.7%, if Trump slaps imported goods from Europe with tariffs of 10% to 25%, according to a research review by Bruegel, a think tank in Brussels.
The most likely outcome of the trade talks is that "the U.S. will agree to deals in which it takes back its worst threats of 'retaliatory' tariffs well beyond 10%," Schmieding said. "However, the road to get there could be rocky."
BOTTLES of spirits are labeled with a star in Bilka in Randers, Denmark, making it easier for customers to buy European goods, Monday, March 17, 2025.
Photo:Bo Amstrup/AP
NEW TAX BREAK FOR AUTO LOANS COULD
SAVE SOME BUYERS
THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS.
BUT WILL IT BOOST SALES?
By DAVID A. LIEB Associated Press
MILLIONS of people receive a federal tax deduction for the interest they pay on home loans. Under President Donald Trump's new tax-cut law, many people for the first time also could claim a tax deduction for interest on their vehicle loans.
The new tax break will be available even to people who don't itemize deductions. But there are some caveats that could limit its reach. The vehicles must be new, not used. They must be assembled in the U.S. And the loans must be issued no sooner than this year, to list just a few qualifications.
Here are some things to know about the new auto loan interest tax deduction:
Candidate Trump promised an auto loan interest tax break
Trump pledged while campaigning last year to make interest on car loans tax-deductible. He said it would make car ownership more affordable and "stimulate massive domestic auto production."
The idea made it into the big tax-cut bill passed by Congress, which Trump signed into law July 4.
The law allows taxpayers to deduct up to $10,000 of interest payments annually on loans for new
American-made vehicles from 2025 through 2028. It applies to cars, motorcycles, sport utility vehicles, minivans, vans and pickup trucks weighing less than 14,000 pounds, a threshold referred to as light vehicles. But it only applies to vehicles purchased for personal use, not for fleets or commercial purposes.
The tax break can be claimed starting on 2025 income tax returns. But the deduction phases out for individuals with incomes between $100,000 and $150,000 or joint taxpayers with incomes between $200,000 and $250,000. Those earning more cannot claim the tax break.
Millions of buyers could benefit, but millions of others will not
U.S. automobile dealers sold 15.9 million new light vehicles last year, a little over half of which were assembled in the U.S, according to Cox Automotive. It says around 60% of retail sales are financed with loans.
After excluding fleet and commercial vehicles and customers above the income cutoff, an estimated 3.5 million new vehicle loans could be eligible for the tax break this year, if purchasing patterns stay the same, said Jonathan Smoke, chief economist at Cox Automotive.
It's the assembly plant, not the automaker's headquarters that matters
The tax break applies to vehicles assembled in the U.S., no matter where the company making them is headquartered. All Tesla vehicles sold in the U.S. are assembled in this country. But so are all Acura brands, the luxury model of Japanese automaker Honda.
Last year, 78% of Ford vehicles sold in the U.S. were assembled in this country, according to Cox Automotive. But customers wanting the tax break will need to pay attention to specific models. While the Ford Mustang is assembled in Michigan, the Mustang Mach-E is built in Mexico.
General Motors assembles all of its Cadillacs in the U.S. But just 44% of its Chevrolets sold last year were assembled in the U.S., and just 14% of Buicks, according to Cox Automotive. That's a lower U.S-assembled rate than Honda (60%), Toyota (52%) and Nissan (48%), which all are headquartered in Japan.
Taxpayers could save hundreds of dollars a year
The average new vehicle loan is about $44,000 financed over six years. Interest rates vary by customer, so the savings will, too. In general, the tax deduction will decline after
the initial year, because interest payments on loans are frontloaded while principal payments grow on the back end.
At a 9.3% interest rate, an average new vehicle buyer could save about $2,200 on taxes over four years, Smoke said. The tax savings would be less on a loan at 6.5%, which is the rate figured into calculations by the American Financial Services Association, a consumer credit industry trade group.
Some people also could see a reduction in state income taxes
Whereas the tax deduction for home loan interest can be claimed only by people itemizing on their tax returns, Congress wrote the deduction for auto loan interest so that it can apply to all taxpayers, including those claiming the standard deduction.
On a tax form, the auto loan deduction will come before the calculation of a taxpayer's adjusted gross income. That's an important distinction, because many states use a taxpayer's federal adjusted gross income as the starting point for figuring their state income taxes. If that income figure is lower, it could reduce the state taxes owed.
The verdict is out on whether the tax break will boost sales
At Bowen Scarff Ford in Kent, Washington, customers started asking about the auto loan tax deduction before Congress had even taken a final vote on the tax-cut bill, said General Manager Paul Ray. So he decided to promote it on the dealer's website.
A website ribbon exclaims: "CAR LOAN TAX DEDUCTION NOW AVAILABLE" while also
WYOMING'S FIRST NEW COAL MINE IN DECADES TO EXTRACT RARE EARTHS
PUBLIC NOTICE
INTENT TO CHANGE NAME BY DEED POLL
The Public is hereby advised that I, GIAVANO FABIAN BOWE of #338 Batabano Road, West Bay, Grand Cayman, Cayman Island, Western District of the Island of Grand Caymanintend to change my name to GIAVANO FABIAN BOWE-JOHNSON If there are any objections to this change of name by Deed Poll, you may write such objections to the Chief Passport Officer, P.O.Box N-742, Nassau, Bahamas no later than thirty (30) days after the date of publication of this notice.
NOTICE
NOTICE is hereby given that JEAN RONALD YDORE of Marsh Harbour, Abaco, The Bahamas, is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 14th day of July 2025 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.
By MEAD GRUVER Associated Press
THE developer of what would be the first new coal mine in Wyoming in decades is launching a potentially half-billiondollar effort to extract rare earth metals from the fossil fuel that are crucial for tech products and military hardware.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon, and Wyoming's congressional delegation took part in a ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday for Ramaco Resources, Inc.'s Brook Mine outside Ranchester in northeastern Wyoming.
"Not only do we get coal here, we are going to get those rare earth elements that are going to break our dependence on China," Wright told Fox News from the mine site Friday.
Wright's involvement underscores President Donald Trump's determination to advance fossil fuel projects and mining and reverse former President
Joe Biden's moves to support for renewable energy. Administration officials on Monday moved toward selling federal coal leases in the top U.S. coal-producing region in northeastern Wyoming and southeastern Montana. On Thursday, officials announced a proposal in Utah that they said would be the first coal exploration project on U.S. Bureau of Land Management property since 2019. Those moves came on the heels of legislation signed last week that lowered royalty payments for companies mining coal on public lands and mandated officials make available for potential mining an area greater in size than Connecticut.
Meanwhile, local officials in Utah hope the administration will support plans to build a railroad spur to boost oil drilling. A coalition of eastern Utah counties wants Trump's Transportation Department to approve $2.4 billion in bonds for the 88-mile (140-kilometer) spur to export oil from the
NOTICE
NOTICE is hereby given that HERNEZY RENE of Marsh Harbour, Abaco, The Bahamas, is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 14th day of July 2025 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.
Uinta Basin, a project that may proceed after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling.
On Friday, the minerals capturing the administration's attention were not just coal but rare earths — a family of 17 metallic elements with unusual properties that make them useful in modern technology, from electric car batteries and wind turbines to military targeting devices.
The only operating U.S. rare earths mine is at Mountain Pass in California.
Nearly all of the nation's supply comes from China, the source of nearly 90% of the world's supply.
Rare earths aren't especially rare but so scattered they are difficult to bring together in useful quantities.
Concern about continued access to them has been a focus of recent negotiations between China and the U.S., and led the Trump administration to try to encourage more production domestically.
"We would intend to mine it here in Wyoming, process
promoting an electric vehicle tax credit that is ending soon as a result of Trump's tax-cut law.
"I think it's going to help incentivize vehicle purchases through this year," Ray said.
Celia Winslow, president and CEO of the American Financial Services Association, concurred: "For some people deciding — should I buy it, should I not — this could be something that tips the scale."
Others remain skeptical. According to Smoke's math, the average annual tax savings is smaller than a single month's loan payment for a new vehicle.
"I don't think it moves the needle on somebody on the fence of buying a new vehicle or not," Smoke said. "But I think it could influence their decision to finance that vehicle instead of paying cash or instead of leasing a vehicle."
it here in Wyoming and sell it to domestic customers including the government," Ramaco CEO Randall Atkins said Thursday.
Former West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, an independent who left office in January after not seeking reelection, joined the Ramaco board in April.
The new Brook Mine, though relatively small, offers a glimmer of optimism for Wyoming's coal industry as potentially the state's first new coal mine in 50 years. Massive, openpit mines east of the Brook Mine supply around 40% of the nation's coal but Wyoming coal mining has shrunk substantially since its peak over a decade ago, as utilities switch to renewable energy and power plants fueled by cheaper natural gas.
"Wyoming is moving to meet growing energy demands here at home and internationally — with the recognition that coal — Wyoming coal — is essential to healthy energy portfolios," Gordon, a Republican, said in a statement after the Brook Mine event.
NOTICE
NOTICE is hereby given that LENER PIERRE DESILUS of P.O.Box N-3331, Stapledon Gardens, Nassau, The Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/ naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 14th day of July 2025 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.
NOTICE
New Providence, The Bahamas.
AN AMERICAN Flag at the Ford Motor Company Kentucky Truck Plant is seen during a media tour for the launch of the 2025 Ford Expedition in Louisville, Ky., April 30, 2025.
Photo:Carolyn Kaster/AP
ENERGY Secretary Chris Wright listens during a hearing of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on Capitol Hill, June 18, 2025, in Washington.
Photo:Mark Schiefelbein/AP
From tariffs to universities, Trump’s negotiating style is often less dealmaking and more coercion
By CHRIS MEGERIAN, JOSH BOAK and COLLIN BINKLEY Associated Press
PRESIDENT Donald Trump prides himself on being a dealmaker, but his negotiating style is more ultimatum than compromise.
In the last week, Trump has slapped trading partners with tariffs rather than slog through prolonged talks to reach agreements. He ratcheted up the pressure on the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates. And his administration launched a new investigation into higher education as he tries to reshape universities.
For Trump, a deal isn't necessarily agreement in which two sides compromise — it's an opportunity to bend others to his will.
While Trump occasionally backs down from his threats, the past week is a reminder that they are a permanent feature of his presidency.
As Trump tightens his grip on independent institutions, there are fewer checks on his power. Republicans in Congress fear primary challenges backed by the president, and the Supreme Court is stocked with appointees from his first term.
Trump recently summed up his approach when talking to reporters about trade talks with other countries. "They don't set the deal," he said. "I set the deal."
Trump's allies believe his aggression is required in a political ecosystem where he's under siege from Democrats, the court system and the media. In their view, the president is simply trying to fulfill the agenda that he was elected to achieve.
But critics fear he's eroding the country's democratic foundations with an authoritarian style. They say the president's focus on negotiations is a facade for
attempts to dominate his opponents and expand his power.
"Pluralism and a diversity of institutions operating with autonomy — companies, the judiciary, nonprofit institutions that are important elements of society — are much of what defines real democracy," said Larry Summers, a former Treasury secretary and former president of Harvard University. "That is threatened by heavy handed, extortionist approaches."
Seeking control of higher education
Harvard has been a top target for Trump, starting in April when he demanded changes to the university's governance and new faculty members to counteract liberal bias.
As Harvard resisted, administration officials terminated $2.2 billion in federal grants. The money is the lifeblood of the university's sprawling research operation, which includes studies on cancer, Parkinson's disease, space travel and pandemic preparedness.
Trump has also attempted to block Harvard from hosting roughly 7,000 foreign students, and he's threatened to revoke its tax-exempt status. His administration recently sent subpoenas asking for student data.
"They'll absolutely reach a deal," Trump said Wednesday.
Administration officials also pulled $175 million from the University of Pennsylvania in March over a dispute around women's sports. They restored it when school officials agreed to update records set by transgender swimmer Lia Thomas and change their policies.
Columbia University bent to Trump by putting its Middle East studies department under new supervision, among other changes, after the administration pulled $400 million in federal funding. At the University of Virginia, President James Ryan resigned under pressure following a Justice Department investigation into diversity, equity and inclusion practices. A similar investigation was
opened Thursday at George Mason University.
"Federal funding is a privilege, not a right, for colleges and universities," said Kush Desai, a White House spokesman.
Such steps were unheard of before Trump took office. Ted Mitchell, president of the American Council on Education and an Education Department official under President Barack Obama, said Trump isn't seeking deals but is "demanding more and more and more."
"Institutional autonomy is an important part of what makes higher education work," he said. "It's what enables universities to pursue the truth without political considerations."
Going after the Federal Reserve's independence
The Fed has also faced Trump's wrath. He blames Fed Chair Jerome Powell for moving too slowly to cut interest rates, which could make consumer debt like mortgages and auto loans more affordable. It could also help the U.S. government finance the federal debt that's expected to
departs the
climb from the tax cuts that Trump recently signed into law.
Powell has held off on cutting the central bank's benchmark rate, as Trump's tariffs could possibly worsen inflation and lower rates could intensify that problem. Desai said the White House believes the Fed should act based on what the data currently shows, which is that "President Trump's policies have swiftly tamed inflation."
Although Trump has said he won't try to fire Powell — a step that might be impossible under the law anyway — he's called on him to resign. In addition, Trump's allies have increased their scrutiny of Powell's management, particularly an expensive renovation of the central bank's headquarters.
David Wessel, a senior fellow in economic studies at the Brookings Institution, said Trump's approach could undermine the Fed's credibility by casting a political shadow over its decisions.
"There will be real costs if markets and global investors think the Fed has been beaten into submission by Trump," he said.
Tariff threats instead of trade deals
Trump originally wanted to enact sweeping tariffs in April. In his view, import taxes would fix the challenge of the U.S. buying too much from other countries and not selling enough overseas.
After a backlash in financial markets, Trump instituted a three-month negotiating period on tariffs. Peter Navarro, one of his advisers, said the goal was "90 deals in 90 days."
The administration announced a few trade frameworks with the United
Kingdom and Vietnam, but Trump ran out of patience. He's sent letters to two dozen nations and the European Union informing them of their tariff rates, such as 30% against the EU and Mexico, potentially undercutting the work of his own negotiators.
Desai said Trump's approach has generated "overwhelming interest" from other countries in reaching trade deals and gives the U.S. leverage in negotiations.
John C. Brown, a professor emeritus of economics at Clark University in Massachusetts, said the "willy-nilly setting of tariffs according to one person's whims has no precedence in the history of trade policy since the 17th century."
"It's just bizarre," Brown said of Trump's moves. "No one has done this in history."
The president has also used the threat of tariffs in an attempt to help political allies and influence other countries' court systems. He told Brazil that he would implement a 50% tariff if the country didn't drop its prosecution of former President Jair Bolsonaro, who like Trump was charged with trying to overturn an election.
Inu Manak, a fellow on trade policy at the Council on Foreign Relations, said Trump's inconsistent approach will foster distrust of U.S. motives.
She noted that two of the letters went to Canada and South Korea, allies who have existing trade agreements with the U.S. approved by Congress.
By imposing new tariffs, she said, Trump is raising "serious questions about the meaning of signing any deal with the United States at all."
AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER ANTHONY ALBANESE VISITS CHINA TO STRENGTHEN TRADE RELATIONS
BEIJING Associated Press
AUSTRALIAN Prime Minister Anthony Albanese kicked off a visit this weekend to China meant to shore up trade relations between the two countries.
Albanese met with Shanghai Party Secretary Chen Jining on Sunday, the first in a series of high-level exchanges that will include meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Qiang and Chairman Zhao Leji of the National People's Congress.
The prime minister is leading "a very large business delegation" to China, which speaks to the importance of the economic relations between Australia and China, he told Chinese state broadcaster CGTN upon his arrival in Shanghai on Saturday.
During a weeklong trip, Albanese was set to meet business, tourism and sport representatives in Shanghai and Chengdu, including a CEO roundtable on Tuesday in Beijing, his office said.
He oversaw the signing of an agreement between Chinese online travel giant Trip.com and the government agency Tourism Australia aimed at attracting more Chinese tourists to the continent.
It is Albanese's second visit to China since his center-left Labor Party government was first elected in 2022. The party was
reelected in May with an increased majority.
Albanese has managed to persuade Beijing to remove a series of official and unofficial trade barriers introduced under the previous conservative government that cost Australian exporters more than 20 billion Australian dollars ($13 billion) a year.
Beijing severed communications with the previous administration over issues including Australia's calls for an independent inquiry into the origins of and responses to COVID-19. But Albanese wants to reduce Australia's economic dependence on China, a free trade partner.
"My government very much values our relationship with China," Albanese said during his meeting with Chen. "We deal with each other in a calm and consistent manner, and we want to continue to pursue our national interests, and it is in our interest to have good relations with China."
Chinese state-run Xinhua News Agency, in an editorial Saturday, described China's relationship with Australia as "steadily improving" and undergoing "fresh momentum."
"There are no fundamental conflicts of interest between China and Australia," the editorial stated. "By managing differences through mutual respect and focusing on shared interests, the two sides can achieve common prosperity and benefit."
PRESIDENT Donald Trump
White House, Friday, July 11, 2025, in Washington. Photo:Evan Vucci/AP
AUSTRALIAN Prime Minister Anthony Albanese gestures during a media event in Sydney, Friday, July 11, 2025. Photo:Steven Markham/AP
THE EU IS DELAYING RETALIATORY
TARIFFS
ON US GOODS IN HOPES
OF REACHING A DEAL BY AUG. 1
By ANGELA CHARLTON Associated Press
THE European Union will suspend retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods scheduled to take effect Monday in hopes of reaching a trade deal with the Trump administration by the end of the month.
"This is now the time for negotiations," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters in Brussels on Sunday, after President Donald Trump sent a letter announcing new tariffs of 30% on goods from the EU and Mexico starting Aug. 1.
The EU — America's biggest trading partner and the world's largest trading bloc — had been scheduled to impose "countermeasures" starting Monday at midnight Brussels time (6 p.m. EDT; 22:00 GMT). The EU negotiates trade deals on behalf of its 27 member countries.
Von der Leyen said those countermeasures would be delayed until Aug. 1, and that Trump's letter shows "that we have until the first of August" to negotiate.
Europe's biggest exports to the U.S. are pharmaceuticals, cars, aircraft, chemicals, medical instruments and wine and spirits.
"We have always been clear that we prefer a negotiated solution," she said. If they can't reach a deal, she said that "we will continue to prepare countermeasures so we are fully prepared."
Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni warned Sunday that a trade war "would make us all weaker in the face of the global challenges we face together" and said Italy would actively work for a fair deal. "Europe has the economic and financial strength to make the case for a fair and common-sense agreement," her office said in a statement.
EUROPEAN Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maros Sefcovic, right, speaks with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, during the weekly meeting of the College of Commissioners at EU headquarters in Brussels, April 9, 2025.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani was heading to Washington for talks Monday with the U.S. administration and Congress. The right-wing government of Meloni, the only EU leader to attend Trump's inauguration, has sought to position itself as a " bridge" between Brussels and Washington.
Trump has said his global tariffs would set the foundation for reviving a U.S. economy that he claims has been ripped off by other nations for decades. Trump in his letter to the EU said the U.S. trade deficit was a national security threat.
Trump isn't satisfied with some of the draft agreements on trade, White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said on ABC News Sunday.
"The bottom line is that he's seen some sketches of deals that had been negotiated with Howard Lutnick and the rest of the trade team, and the president thinks that the deals need to be better, and to basically put a line in the sand, he sent these letters out to
Photo:Omar Havana/AP
folks. And we'll see how it works out," he said.
U.S. trade partners — and companies around the world including French winemakers to German carmakers — have faced months of uncertainty and on-andoff threats from Trump to impose tariffs, with deadlines sometimes extended or changed. The tariffs could have ramifications for nearly every aspect of the global economy.
The value of EU-U.S. trade in goods and services amounted to 1.7 trillion euros ($2 trillion) in 2024, or an average of 4.6 billion euros a day, according to EU statistics agency Eurostat.
Trade ministers from EU countries are scheduled to meet Monday to discuss trade relations with the U.S., as well as with China. The EU is weighing closer ties with China as a result of Trump's threatened tariffs.
Speaking alongside Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, von der Leyen said the trade tensions with the U.S. show the importance of ''diversifying our trade relationships."
Breakfast cereal sales declined for decades before Kellogg’s sale to Italian company
By DEE-ANN DURBIN AP Business Writer
BREAKFAST cereal
could use a lucky charm.
U.S. sales of the colorfully packaged morning staple have been in a decades-long decline, a trend back in the spotlight with news that Italian confectioner Ferrero Group plans to purchase WK Kellogg, maker of Corn Flakes, Froot Loops, Rice Krispies and other familiar brands.
Except for a brief period during the coronavirus pandemic, when many workers were home and had time to sit down with a bowl of cereal and milk, sales of cold cereal have steadily fallen for at least 25 years, experts say.
In the 52 weeks ending July 3, 2021, Americans bought nearly 2.5 billion boxes of cereal, according to market research company Nielsen IQ. In the same period this year, the number was down more than 13% to 2.1 billion.
Cereal has been struggling for multiple reasons.
The rise of more portable options like Nutri-Grain bars and Clif Bars – which both went on sale in the early 1990s – made it easier for consumers to grab breakfast on the go.
Concerns about food processing and sugar intake have also dimmed some consumers' enthusiasm for cereals. One cup of Lucky Charms contains 24% of a consumer's daily recommended intake of sugar, for example.
"Cereal finds it really hard to get out from underneath that," said Tom Rees, global insight manager for staple foods at the consulting company Euromonitor. "It can't escape the fact that it doesn't look like a natural food. You have to create it and form it."
Rees noted that for decades, cereal manufacturers
focused on adding vitamins and minerals to build cereal's health credentials. But consumers now are looking for simplified ingredient lists.
Artificial dyes — like the petroleum-based colors that brighten Froot Loops — have also come under fire. Last fall, dozens of people rallied outside WK Kellogg's Battle Creek, Michigan, headquarters demanding that it remove artificial dyes from its cereals. Kellogg and General Mills — another major U.S. cereal maker — have since pledged to phase out artificial dyes.
Add to that, consumers are expanding their idea of what breakfast can be. Yogurt and shakes have replaced the traditional bacon and eggs. Kenton Barello, a vice president at the market research firm YouGov, said his polling shows that Generation Z consumers, who were born between 1997 and 2007, eat more vegetables for breakfast than other generations. Barello said YouGov's polling also shows that members of Gen Z are less likely to eat breakfast but still buy ready-to-eat cereal, suggesting they're eating it as a snack or for other meals.
"With younger generations, there are differences in their relationship with food and these eating moments," Barello said. "They are going about breakfast in a different way than Millennials, Gen X and Baby Boomers."
Cereal's struggles are part of what led to the breakup of the Kellogg Company. In 2023, the century-old company that put Battle Creek, Michigan, on the map split into two companies. Kellanova took popular snack brands like Cheez-Its, Pringles and Pop-Tarts as well as international cereals, and WK Kellogg made
cereals for the U.S., Canada and the Caribbean.
In 2024, M&M's maker Mars Inc. announced a plan to buy Kellanova for more than $30 billion. That plan has cleared U.S. regulators but is still awaiting regulatory approval in Europe. WK Kellogg was left to try to rejuvenate the cereal business.
The sale of WK Kellogg to Ferrero doesn't mean supermarket cereal aisles are at risk of extinction.
Packaged food companies have options for turning around their soggy cereal sales, Rees said. He thinks Kellogg's Mashups line, which mixed brands like Frosted Flakes and Froot Loops into one box, appeal to younger consumers, who tend to like interesting flavor combinations.
The market may also have a fragmented future, according to Rees. Companies may have to accept that younger buyers want
a sweet-and-spicy cereal while older buyers might want a Keto-friendly option.
"The future might be realizing that the era of 'This brand will serve everybody' isn't going to happen," Rees said.
Julia Mills, a food analyst with the consulting company Mintel, thinks the shrinking population of children in the U.S. gives cereal makers the opportunity to shift to more
sophisticated flavors and packaging. Cereal could be positioned as a fancy topping for yogurt, for example, or a fiber-rich food that can improve gut health.
Some niche cereal brands, like high-fiber Poop Like a Champion cereal and highprotein, zero-sugar Magic Spoon, are already doing that. But legacy brands say they shouldn't be counted out.
BOXES of Kellogg’s breakfast cereal are seen at a super market, Friday, July 11, 2025, in Springfield, Pa.
Photos:Matt Slocum/AP