By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
THE Bahamas’ annual $60m lobster exports to the US can only withstand a further 2-3 percentage point Trump tariff increase before they become “too expensive to consume”, it was revealed yesterday.
Adrian LaRoda, the Bahamas Commercial Fishers Alliance’s president, told Tribune Business it was “disturbing” to learn that the tariff rate on this nation’s lobster and other seafood exports to the US may be raised to “a little over” the existing 10 percent come early August.
• Can only withstand 2-3% pt hit before priced out
• Possible increase to existing 10% is ‘disturbing’
• Bahamas targeting Asia, Europe ‘to stay ahead’
Responding to this disclosure by the US president and his senior officials, during an interview with US television networks and other media, he added that Bahamian fisheries exporters are “not feeling the effects yet” of the 10 percent tariff imposed earlier this year by the Trump administration. However, Mr LaRoda warned US consumers may reach a tipping point if Bahamian lobster exports are hit with anything other than a “negligible” tax increase at the border because this
seafood is already treated as a high-priced “luxury” products.
And, while Bahamian seafood exports have not been placed at a competitive disadvantage because foreign rivals, such as Belize and Mexico, have been hit with the same or even higher US tariffs, he told this newspaper that this country’s fisheries industry needs to “be a little
THURSDAY, JULY 17, 2025
Customs apologises for incorrect private aviation fee mix-up
more creative” to make sure it stays “ahead of the game”.
The Bahamas Commercial Fishers Alliance’s president added that, given fisheries processors and wholesalers “generate most of our revenue from exports” as opposed
MP: ‘50-year wait’ until land reform’s full effect
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
AN Opposition MP yesterday charged that existing land law will “be the predominant system for the next 50 years” despite reforms billed by the Government as key to ending “economic stagnation”.
Adrian White, the St Anne’s MP and a real estate conveyancing attorney by profession, told Tribune Business that while he supported the two Bills debated in the House of Assembly it will “take decades” to adjudicate
title ownership for every land parcel in The Bahamas and accurately record this in the planned Land Registry. As a result, he argued that Bahamian companies and
citizens will have to contend with “duplicate land systems working in tandem” for many years until the transition to a system of registered land is completed.
This, Mr White added, will require attorneys to continue with paper-based title searches under the present deeds-based system for the foreseeable future while, at the same time, the Land Adjudication Tribunals set up under the new regime are also determining who owns real estate parcels in a specific area. As a result, costs and the amount of work performed by attorneys will increase rather than reduce.
Polymers chief: ‘We’ll work way around’ Trump’s tariffs
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor
POLYMERS International’s top executive yesterday voiced optimism that “we’ll work our way around” whatever tariff increase Donald Trump decides to impose on Bahamian exports to the US.
Greg Ebelhar, the Freeport-based manufacturer’s chief operating officer, told Tribune Business the US is already levying a 10 percent tariff on its expanded polystyrene (EPS) products following the first round of the US president’s trade reset and pledged the company will adapt to any further changes.
Speaking after Mr Trump signalled that he plans to
impose tariffs “a little over” 10 percent on imports from small Caribbean and African nations with effect from August 1, he added that Polymers - which has been present in Freeport for more than 30 years - will “figure out a way to make solutions” for whatever the US imposes. “At this point it’s not going to give us any problems that I see,” Mr Ebelhar told this newspaper. “We’re owned by Dart. We’re a composite industry. They use our product... We’re also working on other products, different products we can put our material in and
BY ANNELIA NIXON Tribune Business
anixon@tribunemedia.net
90 jobs and at a cost of more than $25m. During the announcement of the successful completion of Doctors Hospital’s sixth Joint Commission International Accreditation (JCI) yesterday, chief financial officer Dennis Deveaux revealed that operations of the new Grand Bahama location is expected to have
an opening as of the first quarter of 2026. He said staffing will be deployed from New Providence “but we expect certainly to have significant representation from physicians on the ground”. “So the Grand Bahama hospital, we expect to conclude substantial construction toward the end of the year and to have an opening in the early part of next year, within the first quarter,” Mr Deveaux said. “Clearly this significant investment, north of $25m from Doctors Hospital will have meaningful impacts on
• Aviation organiser says show attendees wrongly informed
• Told $300 total for all when ‘recreational’ only charged $150
• Feared ‘huge blow back’ for Bahamas at world’s top event
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor
BAHAMAS Customs’ top official has apologised for “any mistake” after a private aviation organiser revealed attendees at one of the world’s top air shows were given incorrect fee information by an officer.
Jim Parker, of Caribbean Flying Adventures, told Tribune Business in an e-mail that the Customs officer stationed at The Bahamas’ booth during the Sun N’ Fun aviation show, held this past April in Lakeland, Florida, had informed private pilots and their passengers that the agency was charging a combined $300 for inbound and outbound processing fees. This, according to Mr Parker, was inaccurate because Customs’ own flyer unveiling the adjusted fees brought in by the Customs Management (Amendment) Regulations 2024 showed that private aircraft visiting The Bahamas for “recreational purposes only” were to be charged $150 upon entering this nation only. No fee was supposed to be imposed upon their exit, meaning private planes and their pilots deemed to have visited The Bahamas “solely for pleasure”, and “not flying for reward, remuneration or business purposes”, pay a total of $150 in Customs processing fees - not the $300 that Mr Parker asserted was suggested by the Customs officer. Mr Parker approached Tribune Business in a bid to obtain clarity on the correct processing fees to be levied on private “recreational” pilots and their aircraft. He explained that this was urgently required because the world’s
DONALD TRUMP
LOBSTER - See Page B4
ADRIAN WHITE PHILIP DAVIS CHESTER COOPER
Land reform to begin with phased approach
BY ANNELIA NIXON Tribune Business Reporter anixon@tribunemedia.net
THE Government is to use a phased approach to land reform - starting with pilot adjudication zones.
South and Central Andros MP Leon Lundy yesterday said pilot projects will commence on select islands including Andros, Grand Bahama and Abaco. He said they will test “processes, technology and community outreach strategies”.
“Madam Speaker, implementing a land reform initiative of this magnitude requires a phased approach, one that allows us to learn, adapt, and refine as we progress,” Mr Lundy said. “This journey will begin with pilot projects on select islands, chosen for their diverse land tenure challenges and strategic importance.
“Starting with islands like Andros, Grand Bahama, and Abaco, we will create a blueprint for the rest of the country, testing our
processes, technology, and community outreach strategies. These islands present a mix of agricultural land, family settlements, commercial zones, and sensitive environmental areas—an ideal proving ground for our new land adjudication and registration systems. From these early efforts, we will develop best practices, identify potential challenges, and build the confidence needed for a national rollout.” He added: “Madam Speaker, while the law is national, its application will be local. The challenges in Long Island are not the same as those in Andros. The disputes in Exuma differ from those in Grand Bahama. We are designing a process that respects local history, local knowledge, and local voices.
“That’s why we will begin with pilot adjudication zones, allowing us to learn, adjust, and improve as we expand nationwide. We are also committed to mobile adjudication clinics—bringing the process to the people. On docks, in community centres, and in churches—we will meet Bahamians where they are. No one will be required to navigate a bureaucratic maze in Nassau to claim what is theirs in Cat Island or Crooked Island.”
Training programmes will also be put in place to aid in “building a new generation of land professionals—surveyors, registrars, adjudicators, and IT specialists—who understand the significance of their work and are equipped to carry it out with integrity and precision”. To operate the new digital land registry and adjudication systems, training programmes will include technical training, legal and procedural education and community engagement skills. Persons will be equipped with the knowledge of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), digital mapping, and database management. They’ll ensure those in the field understand the legislation. Trust will be fostered in the system.
“We will launch a comprehensive public engagement campaign, including: national outreach, using radio, television, social media, and town hall meetings to educate the public on their rights and responsibilities,”
Mr Lundy said. “Mobile land clinics – bringing the process directly to the people, ensuring that even the most remote communities can access adjudication and registration services. Transparency and accountability – providing clear, accessible information about the process, including regular updates on progress and success stories.”
Mr Lundy said adjudication areas will be “selected based on need”.
“Under this Bill, madam speaker the minister responsible for lands may declare certain parts of the country as ‘adjudication areas’. These areas will be carefully selected based on need—places where informal land use is common and ownership is unclear.
“This will not be done arbitrarily. It will be done transparently, with public notice and ample consultation. Every declaration will be published in the Gazette, in newspapers, and posted prominently within the
affected community. It will also be available online. No community will be taken by surprise. And more importantly—no one will be left out.
“Madam Speaker, once an area is declared, an adjudication team—comprising trained officers, legal experts, and land surveyors—will begin the work of identifying landowners and recording claims. Every person in the community will have the opportunity to submit their claim, with supporting evidence, whether written or oral. Documents, photographs, family histories, even testimony from neighbours and elders— these will all be considered.
“This process will not require a lawyer. It will not demand thousands of dollars in fees. It is designed to be accessible to all Bahamians, regardless of status or income. This is critical madam speaker: we are not placing a burden on the people. We are offering them a path to what they already believe is theirs. And where disputes arise, they will be addressed through an adjudication committee — an impartial tribunal with the power to hear and resolve claims fairly and efficiently.”
Mr Lundy said Land Registration Bill will introduce centralisation, with land titles stored in a single database to ensure “uniform standards”, less confusion and more transparency. He said it will be digital and secure to lessen the risk of fraud, forgery, and loss as well create for more accessibility to the public “while maintaining robust privacy protections”. He added: “Under this system, once a title is registered, it becomes conclusive evidence of ownership, making it nearly impossible for someone else to lay claim to the same property. This is a game-changer for land security in The Bahamas.”
Mr Lundy said: “Properties that are adjudicated and confirmed through the Land Adjudication Bill will be automatically registered under this system, ensuring a seamless transition from informal to formal ownership.”
He said the registry will be overseen by a specialised, independent office, led by a Registrar of Lands. He said transfers will be simplified which “means more economic activity, more homeownership, and more investment”. He said the bill will clearly address disputes “including mechanisms for correction, amendment, and appeal, ensuring fairness and accuracy”. He noted that the bill in the long run will create economic growth, social stability, greater government efficiency and national resilience.
Mr Lundy pointed to regional neighbours who have implemented similar land reforms, adding: “Countries like Jamaica, St Lucia, and Barbados have seen remarkable improvements in investment and economic growth following their transitions to title-based systems. Globally, organisations like the World Bank and the United Nations have long recognised that secure land tenure is a cornerstone of poverty reduction, economic growth, and social stability.”
LEON LUNDY
PM: LAND REFORM WILL SETTLE LONG-STANDING DISPUTES
By FAY SIMMONS
PRIME Minister Philip Davis said land reform bills passed yesterday will restore confidence in the country’s land registration system, expedite property sales and settle long-standing property disputes.
Speaking in Parliament yesterday, Mr Davis said land reform is the “next frontier” of reform that the country “desperately needs” to fix the outdated and broken system.
“We have developed and introduced two comprehensive land reform Bills, instilling much-needed confidence in our land registration system for the many Bahamians who need security in knowing the official
records grant them undeniable rights of ownership. At the end of this reform process, due to the clarity provided, mortgages and property sales will be processed faster. Developments can move forward with certainty instead of confusion,” said Mr Davis.
“Parents and grandparents can confidently pass land on to their progeny without worry that it will slip away or be snatched away. And inheritance disputes can finally be resolved in a way that honours the facts, the historical records, and the rights of all parties. For the many Bahamians who have struggled for years with ongoing, seemingly neverending land disputes, this is a big deal. These Bills represent light at the end of the tunnel and a possible solution to years of headaches and heartaches.”
Cable Bahamas scoops five awards from Ookla
By FAY SIMMONS Tribune Business Reporter jsimmons@tribunemedia.net
THE Cable Bahamas Group of Companies has been named the fastest fixed network in the Caribbeanone of five awards it picked up at the Ookla awards.
Through its brands Aliv and AlivFibr, the company was awarded as the fastest mobile network in The Bahamas, best mobile gaming experience in The Bahamas, best fixed gaming experience in The Bahamas and best fixed network in the Caribbean for the first and second quarters of the year.
CEO Franklyn Butler said losing to BTC, which was awarded the Ookla Speedtest Award for best mobile coverage in The Bahamas during the 2024 first half, caused the company to do some “deep diving” into their network settings and seek assistance from Huawei to correct technical issues.
“Quite frankly, losing the last year caused us to do some dig deep in, some deep diving into our network settings, etc, which really want to thank Huawei and our technical teams, because losing really bruised our egos quite a bit. Now there’s no competition between us and our competitor, from that perspective,” said Mr Butler.
He said Aliv Fibr now has up to 27,000 consumers connected which also helped the company to secure the fixed network awards as only 10,000 consumers were connected in 2024.
“On the fixed side, which is home connections the challenge that we had a year ago was we were really new into our Aliv fiber role, so we would not have had as
many customers on the platform,” said Mr Butler. “The more customers we get onto the Aliv fiber network, the more strong our results are and consistent our results are. And I think that is really where the biggest difference is. A year ago, we probably had 10,000 customers on now we had 26,000 to 27,000 customers on our Aliv fiber network. So that’s really the big difference, in terms of why you would see us when the fixed awards.”
Wayde Watson, parliamentary secretary in the Ministry of Economic Affairs, said Aliv securing regional awards demonstrates that The Bahamas is “emerging as a digital leader” in the Caribbean at a time when connectivity impacts national development and economic success.
“This level of achievement highlights the strategic vision and relentless innovation that defines this company. It reflects a deep commitment to quality and an unwavering focus on enhancing customer experience, which is vital in today’s fast paced digital ecosystem,” said Mr Watson.
“Moreover, this achievement signals something bigger, much bigger. The Bahamas is emerging as a digital leader within the Caribbean, and that’s due in no small part to the pioneering companies like Aliv and a AlivFibr.
“In a world where digital connectivity powers everything from education and business to healthcare and public safety, having a high-performance future ready network is critical not only to national development, but also to our collective economic and social progress.”
He said the “outdated system has impeded progress” for far too long and explained that with the passage of the Land Adjudication Bill the minister responsible would be able to declare adjudication areas to officially settle any issues with land ownership in their area.
“After an adjudication area is designated, a land adjudicator, who will be a senior lawyer with a minimum of ten years of experience in land law, arrives with a team of local assessors, demarcators, surveyors, and records officers to delineate boundaries, survey the area, and develop a comprehensive understanding of the history of ownership in the area, including all parties who claim to have a right to land ownership,” said Mr Davis.
“All involved parties are then required to file a claim with evidence to support their claim. As a part of this process, the rights of those who are overseas, missing, not yet of age, or otherwise deemed unfit to participate are safeguarded. Additionally, any ongoing court cases are stayed to prevent potential conflict with the adjudication process.”
He said land disputes will be heard by a Land Tribunal, comprised of the adjudicator and two local assessors, who will make a decision.
For property acquisitions, Mr Davis said if an individual or group has maintained and paid taxes on personal property for 12 years they can obtain ownership. Possession must be proved for 30 years to acquire Crown Land and 660 years for beachfront or foreshore property.
SBDC EXECUTIVE TO TAKE ON CHAMBER BOARD ROLE
BY ANNELIA NIXON Tribune Business Reporter anixon@tribunemedia.net
THE Small Business Development Centre’s (SBDC) executive director, Samantha Rolle, now also has a new post with the aim of boosting the centre’s goals.
Ms Rolle now holds a seat on the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers’ Confederation’s (BCCEC) board of directors, effective July 1.
Noting the relationship between BCCEC and SBDC, BCCEC’s chief executive Dr Leo Rolle added they “thought it fitting, given that the Chamber of Commerce is one of the founding partners of the SBDC” to offer a seat on the board.
“The Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and the Small Business Development Centre have enjoyed an excellent working relationship over the years,” Dr Rolle said. “And as we continue to refine, evolve, and, you know, grow, this relationship, we thought it fitting, given that the Chamber of Commerce is one of the founding partners of the SBDC, in conjunction with the government and the University of The Bahamas, we thought it fitting to craft or strengthen our MOU and a part of that consideration is ensuring that the SBDC can further its mandate, its mission, and its help to the small business community through a spot on our board.”
With Ms Rolle having stepped into the seat as of earlier this month, Dr
“In instances where an individual or group has treated the land as their own, for example, they may have been paying taxes and maintaining it: in most cases, if they have possessed that land for 12 years, they will become owners of the land,” said Mr Davis.
“If it is Crown Land, the period required for ownership is 30 years, and for beachfront or foreshore property, the period increases to 60 years.”
An adjudication record will be issued once ownership of property has been proven or resolved and individuals that disagree with the adjudicator’s decision can appeal to the court.
“At the end of all the reviewing of records, surveying and demarcating, hearing disputes, and determining ownership rights, an adjudication record will be created
outlining the owners of the land, the exact specifications of the land they own, what rights they have, the type of title they have – whether it is absolute or provisional –and whether there are any easements or other rights affecting the land,” said Mr Davis.
“Once this process is finalised, it will stand as the official record clarifying all ownership rights within the adjudication area. Anyone who disagrees with the decision is free to make their objection known and notify the adjudicator of their intent to appeal the decision in court. So, the adjudication process does not, in any way, take away a person’s ability to have the courts rule on the matter.”
Rolle said she will more than likely maintain it into the next board term. He added that the board seat isn’t exclusive to the executive director, however, “any appointed executive member or member of the SBDC can serve on the chamber board”.
“Now this initial or inaugural board seat is, as you see, going to be filled by the executive director, Samantha Rolle, and more than likely into the next term, because we’re ending a current term and beginning a new two-year term as of November,” Dr Rolle added. “And so more than likely, Samantha will continue to retain that spot into next board term. And then the way it’s structured, it can be any appointed member, not necessarily the ED, but any appointed executive member or member of the SBDC can serve on the chamber board.
“So the Chamber has two seats on the SBDC board that we select from among our board members to serve. The process is similar at the SBDC. We provide the seat and they select the officer that will serve during that period and submit the name to us for the official appointment letter. So board members can either be elected during our voting AGM which happens every two years or they can be appointed by the chairman to serve.
“So the SBDC has been doing a tremendous job in furthering the training, capacity building, connectivity and export potential of businesses. Now, by serving on our board, we hope to provide greater access to these and other benefits for our members, even the ones who may not have matriculated through the SBDC programme. It allows for smoother flow and
SAMANTHA ROLLE
Fisheries diversification still a ‘work in progress’
LOBSTER - from page B1
probably set one tariff for all of them - probably a little over 10 percent.” No further details were provided, and it is unclear whether The Bahamas will be included in this large grouping.
Mr LaRoda, though, confirmed to Tribune Business that Bahamian lobster and other seafood exports are incurring the 10 percent US tariff that Mr Trump unveiled during his first trade policy reset at the beginning of April.
“When I read that this morning it was disturbing,” he added of the US president’s latest disclosures.
“Our seafood exports to the US, we are just now trying to deal with the first tranche
of tariff increases with our export partners. This came as a surprise where we now have to do more.
“Realistically, in the longterm it is going to hurt us. It will put our lobsters - we’re talking about a luxury product, and the more expensive it is for consumers the less likely they are to purchase the product. We’re hoping that, if there is going to be an increase, it will be a negligible increase of one to two percentage points.
“I think the US market can absorb an additional two to three percentage points, but anything more than that it’s going to put our exports at the brink of being too expensive to consume. That’s a worry.”
Mr LaRoda said between $50m-$60m worth of spiny
lobster exports per annum stand to be impacted by any changes in US tariff rates or policy.
Bahamian lobster was being sold in some US supermarkets at between $45 and $48 a pound last year, and Mr LaRoda and the fisheries industry fear is any further significant increase in US tariffswhich are a tax that has to be paid on imported goods at the border - will make this nation’s product uncompetitive on price versus domestic US catches.
“The further north you go, the more expensive our lobster becomes,” the Bahamas Commercial Fishers Alliance chief said.
“What we’re concerned about is, with the product more expensive, people in
Doctors gains leading global ‘accreditation’
CONSTRUCTION - from page B1
the employment landscape, certainly of that island, not only directly for associates that we move to that island, but also for vendors who we expect to support the operation of the hospital.
“We estimate at full maturity that the hospital will employ directly 90 people. Of course, healthcare is fundamentally physician-led, and so physicians will drive and lead all of what we do in Grand
Bahama, some of whom will invariably come from New Providence, based on our footprint here. But we expect certainly to have significant representation from physicians on the ground. We do employ physicians in Grand Bahama today, and so the hospital will certainly deepen our commitment to physician leadership in Grand Bahama.”
Sheena Antonio-Collie, chief medical officer, added: “Our census fluctuates, but in general, the capacity of our hospitals, we have a
75-bed capability, which, as you know, we can extend even further, as we did during the COVID pandemic. And usually we have a capacity that can go up to about 40 to 45 patients in a day. Our staffing, which is the staffing of the health system, is about 955 persons that we employ. So it’s a robust staff to really engineer and run a health system that expands not just at Doctors Hospital, the main hospital, but also goes into the Family Islands. As you know, we have a centre
the US tend not to purchase Caribbean spiny lobster and go for US cold water lobster.
“Other countries in the Caribbean want to get into this market, but we believe that our product is always superior and we have proximity. But, again, when talking about North Americans and Canadians, they tend to not purchase Caribbean spiny lobster and go for the Maine cold lobster because of cost.”
Mr LaRoda said the Bahamian fisheries industry is already pivoting to strategies that can mitigate any Trump tariff fall-out.
He told Tribune Business: “We’re now trying to export more lobster into Asia and Europe to make up for and replace what we lose in the US, but that’s a work in progress.
“Exporting is a major component for us, and where we generate most of our revenue. We have to become, I wouldn’t
in Exuma. We have two clinics in Grand Bahama, the hospital that’s coming up in Grand Bahama, and we have about 15 other centres around providence that we man as well too.”
Kimdashé Sherman, vice president of quality and standards, said Doctors Hospital experienced a four-day examination process for JCI which Ms Sherman referred to as “tedious”, including the observation of their processes as well as interviewing associates and patients.
“Speaking to how we prepared for such an amazing feat, the staff, the associates, the physicians and all of our team members working in tandem to make sure
say more innovative, but we have to be creative in accessing markets and entering the markets we do have. Maybe we need to diversify the seafood products we do export rather than strictly relying on lobster to be the export.
“We have to be a little more creative and put effort into staying ahead of the game rather than being reactive. So far he’s been doing what he [Mr Trump] said. Whatever he’s said, he’s doing it, so we have t brace ourselves for what he does, and be creative and stay ahead of the game.”
Mr LaRoda said Bahamian fisheries exporters have yet to feel any negative fall-out from the 10 percent US tariff’s imposition, while Mr Trump has effectively created a ‘level playing field’ with rival countries by levying the same or higher rates on their competing exports.
“A lot of our products from the 2024 season were
that we can display how we are meeting the standards for joint commission,” Ms Sherman said. “There are many chapters and documents, standards and measurable elements for which we are measured against when the survey team comes over to our facility.
“We underwent a four-day examination process where three very well-versed experts in the healthcare field were able to come to our facility and look at our processes, speak to our associates, interview our patients, to confirm and affirm that we are meeting the standards that they set out. This was a long and very, very tedious process, but kudos to all team members who really stood up and stood out and demonstrated how we are delivering excellent care every day.
“And so this title of receiving another joint commission accreditation is, without mention, to be one of the most valuable things that we can share with you as Bahamians and as tourists who are coming to our facility to show that we’re in line with, if not meeting and exceeding the standards of other organisations who also hold this title. So we’re very proud and very excited to share this news with you today.”
The experts enjoyed the “autonomy” of choosing patients and available staff to speak with, according to president and CEO Charles Diggiss. He said “the questions range from your attitudes or feelings about your employment, your attitudes about quality and safety, and whether you believe, and not worded in a convincing way, but whether you believe the care that you’re receiving is of a high standard, a high quality”. Mr Diggiss added that there are plans to extend the examination.
“So there’s a whole lot of work that one has to do to get the facility prepared, to get the staff prepared and regularised, and to get all of the, more than 1,000 policies associated with the healthcare space, to get them completed and to maintain that so that in the future, when Joint Commission comes, they would do spot checks, etcetera, to make sure that we actually holding the standard,” the chief executive added. “But the preparation, there’ll be a whole other lecture on the preparation for the exam, but you can imagine that we spent a lot of time and applied a lot of resources in trying to get the place ready, get the people, our associates, ready, and then get our systems and processes ready.
“So there is another exercise that over the next few years, we will go into. We call it an enterprise wide, or health system wide, evaluation of our services
already exported prior to the tariff imposition and tax increase,” the Bahamas Commercial Fishers Alliance chief added.
“We’re still going to have to wait and see what happens during the 2025-2026 season when it starts up in a couple of weeks.
“So far we’re optimistic that there will not be a catastrophic effect but there sure could be one” depending on how Mr Trump revises tariff policy and rates. “The information I have is that we’ve not been feeling the effects of it yet,” Mr LaRoda said of the current 10 percent levy.
“Other countries that export to the US, Belize and Mexico, are subject to the same tariff. Belize, our major competitor, is at 10 percent and Mexico is even higher. It’s still a bit too early to say what the longterm effects of these tariffs are going to be compared to us and our competitors.”
with Joint Commission. So we’re going to take the success of the main hospital, which is our signature, and then extend that into wherever a Doctors Hospital locates to provide patient care, extend the examination. We’ve extended the culture, we’ve extended the training and the requirements. Now we’ll extend the examination.”
Mr Deveaux noted that the accreditation will add to a reputation that creates a sense of trust and confidence in both Bahamians and tourists that “a very high standard of healthcare excellence has been met for six consecutive times here at Doctors Hospital”.
“Doctors Hospital clearly maintains strong partnerships with key providers in the hospitality space, whether that’s large resorts like Baha Mar, we clearly have a clinic domiciled on Paradise Island to serve the needs of that community, and we continue to extend our footprint into the cruise tourism space, working closely with partners like Royal Caribbean, who we’ve had a relationship with for quite a while,” Mr Deveaux said.
“In a given year, across the 3,000 discharges that we have from our main hospital and the roughly 40,000 patient encounters that we would have in the outpatient space, so in a clinic setting outside of the main hospital, tourists would represent anywhere from eight to ten percent of that. Clearly with the significant investments, in particular with cruise tourism in New Providence, and more recently, in Grand Bahama, we would expect to be deepening our support for guests coming to the shore having a medical emergency, and clearly, Doctors Hospital being in a position to respond we have a dedicated team committed to what we refer to as utilisation management for folks that might be having complications that are here on a short stay or an overnight visit.
Mr Diggiss stressed the importance of the accreditation adding “it’s because we have the JCI that you can understand the confidence of patients, especially those who travel and those who come from out of The Bahamas and Bahamians who travel for care, would recognise that it is hugely significant that Doctors Hospital maintains this level of quality so that in the event of any argument, we can simply reply, we are JCI accredited.” He noted that no other hospital in the English-speaking Caribbean can boast that they’ve been successful six successive times regarding re-accreditation through JCI.
Clarity urgent ahead of world’s top aviation show
biggest aviation show, EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, will start next Monday and he feared The Bahamas would suffer “huge blow back” if persons were informed this fee total is $300.
Ralph Munroe, Customs comptroller, in response to this newspaper’s inquiries, confirmed: “Recreational flyers are just $150 inbound, and other paying private flights - charters - they are $150 in and $150 out. That’s only if they have more than four seats. If it’s four seats or less it’s $75 in and $75 out.”
Responding directly to Mr Parker’s concerns, he pledged that the Customs officers who will be dispatched to EAA AirVenture Oshkosh will possess the correct information. “That is a mistake,”
Mr Munroe added of the fee information purportedly given out at Sun N’ Fun. “That’s very unfortunate. I hope Mr Parker will assist in getting the right information out.
“I apologise if there was any mistake. We’re terribly sorry about that. Our most humble apology for that one. We’ll make sure whoever goes up there has the right information. Most definitely. I’m glad you brought that to our attention so we can clarify that.”
The Bahamas needs every high-spending stopover visitor it can get given the prevailing global economic uncertainties, and Mr Parker told Tribune Business he was worried that the incorrect fee information may further aggravate a private aviation industry that was unsettled by the increases and changes unveiled in the 2024-2025 Budget.
“The world’s biggest aviation event in Oshkosh, Wisconsin begins July 21. The Bahamas tourism department will be there the entire week promoting private aviation tourism. Unfortunately,
the Bahamas Customs Department at the same is discouraging private pilots from coming to The Bahamas,” he wrote.
“You may recall the very negative backlash from private pilots when the fees increased from $50 to $150. And you will also recall that Ministry of Finance officials incorrectly claimed the additional fees were for ‘airport improvement’ when’ in fact, they were simply going into the general (consolidated) fund, paying for salaries and office supplies.
“Despite the crystal clear official Customs announcement that ‘private aircraft flying for recreational purpose only will only pay $150 inbound’, Customs officials who attended the world’s second largest aviation event, Sun n’ Fun, at Lakeland, Florida, this past April were insistent that private recreational aircraft with six seats are subject to the $300 fee,” Mr Parker added.
“I spoke with the Customs official at Sun n’ Fun, and shared a copy of the official announcement. They said it was a ‘typo’. I then implored Ahmad Williams of Bahamas Tourism to communicate with senior officials in the Bahamas Customs Department to confirm that private recreational aircraft with six seats only pay $150, not $300, to land in The Bahamas. As of today, Ahmad informs me he has had no success.”
Mr Parker, speaking subsequently to Tribune
Business, said the resulting fee uncertainty has lingered “for months’. He described EAA Ventures Oshkosh and Sun N’ Fun as the two world’s two largest aviation shows, and added: “The Bahamas is always there promoting private aviation tourism with a big booth, and a lot of people visited this year at Sun N’ Fun.
“Someone from Customs was there and he was telling people that if it was six seats or more it was $300, and he was turning people off like crazy. I brought him to my booth and showed him the official announcement that it does not apply to recreational flyers. He said it did and that it was a ‘typo’.
“I’ve been on to Ahmad, who looks after the aviation sector for Bahamian tourism, and he said he’d tried, tried and tried and can’t get them to walk back from that. It’s going to have a huge impact. The increase from $50 to $150 has already impacted a lot of pilots.”
And, with Oshkosh set to attract 600,000-800,000 attendees and 18,000 planes, and “anyone and everything to do with aviation going to be there”, Mr Parker said he urgently needed “some clarification on this” before July 21.
“People don’t know what to expect,” he added.
“I’m going to have to put out a notice to the members of my pilots’ guide. I have a group going down in February 2026 who are all six-seaters. It’s a real concern. The private pilots
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IN THE COMMONWEALTH OF THE BAHAMAS IN THE SUPREME COURT Common Law and Equity Division Claim No. 2025/CLE/gen/00406.
IN THE MATTER of the property comprised in an Indenture of Mortgage dated the 11th day of September 2017 and made between Judy Ann Whyms and Deondre Farquharson as Borrowers and Commonwealth Bank Limited as Lender AND IN THE MATTER of the Conveyancing and Law of Property Act, Chapter 138 of the Revised Statute Laws of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.
AND IN THE MATTER of Homeowners Protection Act, 2017 Section 4(1) BETWEEN: COMMONWEALTH BANK LIMITED
Claimant AND JUDY ANN WHYMS
First Defendant AND DEONDRE FARQUHARSON
Second Defendant
ADVERTISEMENT OF SERVICE OF FIXED DATE CLAIM
TO: Judy Ann Whyms
Last known address of #603 Melvern Road Yellow Elder Gardens
TAKE NOTICE that on the 21st May, 2025 an action was commenced against you in the Supreme Court by the Claimant, COMMONWEALTH BANK LIMITED, by way of a Fixed Date Claim with a supporting Affidavit seeking an Order for (i) delivery up of vacant possession of Lot 24 Block 14 in “Coconut Grove” Subdivision of the Island of New Providence; (iii) judgment in the sum of $80,129.19 plus contractual interest accruing thereon.
TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that the Claimant is effecting service upon you of the Fixed Date Claim by way of this advertisement pursuant to Part 5.13, Civil Procedure Rules, 2022 as an alternative method of service.
Copies of the Fixed Date Claim with the supporting Affidavit may be collected from the Supreme Court Civil Registry, BAF Building, George Street or Ansbacher House, 2nd Floor, Bank Lane and East Street North, Nassau, The Bahamas or from the Chambers of the Claimant’s Attorneys (address noted below).
If you wish to defend the action you must within 14 days from publication of this Notice file an Acknowledgment of Service and subsequently a Defence at the Supreme Court Civil Registry on the 2nd Floor, Ansbacher Building, Bank Lane, otherwise Judgment may be entered against you as the Court may think just.
DATED this 30th day of June, A.D., 2025.
BAYCOURT CHAMBERS
Cumberland House 15 Cumberland & Duke Streets Nassau, The Bahamas
Telephone: (242) 302-9200
Email: rrigby@baycourtlaw.com
tjohnson@baycourtlaw.com
Attorneys for the Claimant
come in and spend money on their own nickel and are charged the same as a commercial airline and that’s just not right. “We need to get this straightened out before next week otherwise there will be a huge blow back.”
The Customs Management (Amendment) Regulations 2024 changed the aircraft inbound and outbound fee structure such that a private plane with more than four seats will pay three times’ what a regularly scheduled commercial jet does.
Under the new fee structure, commercial jets pay a $50 “inbound” and $50 “outbound” fee for a total of $100. However, a private plane with four seats or less “including all seats in the cabin” pays $75 each way for a total of $150.
That is slightly more than the $100 fee for a commercial jet, but private aircraft with more than four seats “including all seats in the cabin” now face pay $150 “inbound” and “outbound” fees to Customs for a total $300. Cargo flights have a $150 fee levied on both “inbound” and “outbound” trips involving The Bahamas.
Mr Parker added:
“Approximately 22 percent of the US general aviation fleet has six seats. That’s over 46,000 aircraft. There was a huge outcry over the $300 fee at Sun n’ Fun in April. The majority of private owners of six seat aircraft told Caribbean Flying Adventures they would no longer fly their planes to The Bahamas.
If Customs representatives at The Bahamas booth
at Oshkosh continue to tell the thousands of pilots with six seats that they must pay $300 plus $31 per person departure tax for everyone on board, the downturn in private aviation tourism that has already resulted from the $100 increase last year will be magnified exponentially.
“These private aircraft bring thousands upon thousands of tourism dollars to the economy,” Mr Parker added. “Bahamas Customs is now charging six-seat private aircraft with six
persons on board $486 just to show up, and in addition, pay the highest aviation fuel prices in the islands.
“This is a money-losing proposition for many reasons that defies common sense - charging private tourism flights the same as revenue-generating charter flights - collecting an additional $100-$250 in Customs fees but losing thousands in hotel, restaurant, fishing, diving revenues for the one plane that cancels flights to The Bahamas.”
JOB OPPORTUNITY
Busy Optometry office in New Providence looking for full time
Must have Doctorate of Optometry degree from an accredited college of Optometry or trained at a college of Optometry from the UK. Must be licensed to practice in country of training. Must be proficient in OCT and Humphrey’s Visual Field.
IN THE COMMONWEALTH OF THE BAHAMAS IN THE SUPREME COURT COMMON LAW AND EQUITY DIVISION
2025/CLE/QUI/00115.
IN THE MATTER OF all that piece parcel or lot of land comprising Twenty three thousand One hundred and fifty four square
which said
District of the Island of
in the
parcel of land is bounded Northwardly by a road called and known as “Crescent Place” and running thereon One Hundred and Forty (140.00) feet Westwardly by Lot Number 7 in the said Subdivision and running thereon One Hundred and Fifty (150.00) feet Southwardly by another road called and known as “Greenway Drive” and running thereon One Hundred and Sixty eight and seventy three hundredths (168.73) feet and Eastwardly by Lot Number 5 in the said Subdivision and running thereon One Hundred and Fifty (150.00) feet and which said piece parcel or lot of land has such position shape marks boundaries and dimensions as are shown on the Plan filed in this matter and is delineated on that part of the said Plan coloured Pink. AND
IN THE MATTER OF the Quieting Titles Act, 1959 AND
IN THE MATTER OF the Petition of JAMES SCOTT VIRGILL and GEOFFREY TOMLINSON
PETITION
The Petition of JAMES VIRGILL and GEOFFREY TOMLINSON of the Island of New Providence, one of the Islands of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas in respect of:
IN THE MATTER OF IN THE MATTER OF all that piece parcel or lot of land comprising Twenty three thousand One hundred and fifty four square feet (23154 sq. ft.) being Lot Number 6, Block 24, situate on the northern side of Greenway Drive and on the southern side of Crescent Place in the Subdivision known as Lyford Cay in the Western District of the Island of New Providence which said piece parcel of land is bounded Northwardly by a road called and known as “Crescent Place” and running thereon One Hundred and Forty (140.00) feet Westwardly by Lot Number 7 in the said Subdivision and running thereon One Hundred and Fifty (150.00) feet Southwardly by another road called and known as “Greenway Drive” and running thereon One Hundred and Sixty eight and seventy three hundredths (168.73) feet and Eastwardly by Lot Number 5 in the said Subdivision and running thereon One Hundred and Fifty (150.00) feet and which said piece parcel or lot of land has such position shape marks boundaries and dimensions as are shown on the Plan filed in this matter and is delineated on that part of the said Plan coloured Pink.
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that JAMES VIRGILL and GEOFFREY TOMLINSON claim to be the owners in fee simple in possession of the said land and have made application to the Supreme Court of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas pursuant to the Quieting Titles Act, 1959 (Chapter 393) to have their title to the said land investigated and the nature and extent thereof determined and declared in a Certificate of Title to be granted by the Court in accordance with the provisions of the said Act.
AND TAKE NOTICE that copies of the Petition and a plan of the said land may be inspected during normal office hours at the following places:
(i) The Registry of the Supreme Court of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas on the first floor of the British American Building situate Marlborough Street on the Island of New Providence, one of the Islands of the said Commonwealth of The Bahamas; or
(ii) The Chambers of BAYCOURT CHAMBERS, Cumberland House, 15 Cumberland & Duke Streets, in the City of Nassau, New Providence aforesaid.
AND TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that any person having dower or right to dower, an adverse or a claim not recognized in the Petition shall file in the Supreme Court and serve on the Petitioner or its Attorneys an Adverse Claim in the prescribed form supported by an Affidavit on or before 30 days from today.
FAILURE OF ANY PERSON to file and serve an Adverse Claim within 30 days from today will operate as a bar to such claim.
DATED the 12 day of FEBRUARY, A. D., 2025
BAYCOURT CHAMBERS
Cumberland House
15 Cumberland & Duke Streets Nassau, The Bahamas
Attorneys for the Petitioners
PM: Changes to end ‘economic stagnation’
And the St Anne’s MP also told this newspaper that, during the transition to registered land, businesses and homeowners may have to “prove their ownership twice”. Despite possessing a certificate of title, pronounced as clear and marketable by an attorney, and a bank having lent mortgage financing secured on the same property, he said this will now have to be confirmed again by a Tribunal.
Both Prime Minister Philip Davis KC and Chester Cooper, deputy prime minister and minister of tourism, investments and aviation, yesterday acknowledged that the Land Adjudication Bill and Registered Land Bill will not reform what they described as a broken system “overnight”.
But they argued that “the fog of land uncertainty will be lifted” through initiating a regime that will uphold property owners rights; give developers, businesses and homeowners assurance that they have good title and secure ownership; eliminate frivolous rival property claims; and help end multiple ownership disputes that the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) estimates affect 50 percent of private land. The Land Adjudication Bill, if passed into law by Parliament in its current form, provides an adjudicator - who must be an attorney with at least seven years’ conveyancing experience - and two other persons with the authority to form an adjudication tribunal. This tribunal will then assess and determine claims to land ownership in a particular area designated by the responsible minister.
Once these claims are adjudicated, they will be entered into a Land Registry whose creation is backed by statute law as opposed to the present system of lodging and recording conveyancing deeds in the registry of records at the Registrar General’s Department.
The two Bills tabled by the Davis administration will thus work hand-inhand, complementing each other to bring Bahamian land administration into the 21st century. Mr Davis, in leading-off debate on the two Bills, reiterated his belief that the present land law system has contributed to The Bahamas’ economic “stagnation” through unresolved title uncertainties that impede wealth creation and development.
“We all agree that there is much land to be possessed,” the Prime Minister said. “Unfortunately, in our present system of land law
mere possession of land doesn’t necessarily translate into marketability of that land, which has been a challenge for decades in the system that we have.”
Describing The Bahamas’ present land law as a “pre-1925 regime”, which marks the date when the UK enacted reforms to move towards a registered land system. Mr Davis, noting that land ownership is accepted worldwide as “the cornerstone of wealth creation and economic stability, added that real estate “continues to represent the largest component of household wealth” for most Bahamian families.
“Property ownership provides essential benefits; collateral for business loans, generational wealth transfer and protection against inflation,” Mr Davis said.”Communities with higher levels of home ownership demonstrate greater economic resilience and social cohesion.
“Here in The Bahamas, there are a lot of persons in possession of land today but that possession doesn’t truly translate into marketability of title. Persons go to the bank to borrow funds to
develop that land, but the title is such that possession alone is not sufficient.”
And, pointing out that there is no “absolute title” to land and property under The Bahamas’ current system, Mr Davis said the current system - which determines ownership based on who has the stronger of competing title claims - is “very, very unsatisfactory. Very unsatisfactory.
“I have opined that part of the stagnation of our growth as a country, and part of the stagnation of our economic growth, is because of these very challenges that we have when it comes to land ownership,” Mr Davis argued.
“We currently have a system rife with loopholes that allows land, as the main building block of generational wealth, to slip away from the grasp of everyday Bahamians. This is unjust and unacceptable.”
However, while he and the Opposition supported the Bills and their reform intent, Mr White told Tribune Business that they will not be a quickfix panacea for all that ails The Bahamas with its and law practices. He also challenged why the Government is selecting Andros, Grand Bahama and Abaco for “pilot” or test land adjudication determinations.
“It’s going to take decades for it to have any real effect,” Mr White said of the two Bills, adding that the generation most likely to feel the impact would be his as-yet unborn grandchildren. “The implementation of it, in terms of the time, does not seem to be that urgent.
“The minister of state responsible for land, Leon Lundy, said when I was on my feet that they had identified areas to begin with. When he spoke he said they would look at Andros, Grand Bahama and Abaco to begin with, and they would pilot the adjudication process, which means test. They want to do a pilot, which gives an indication that they don’t know how this is going to work.
“At the planning level you can say this is an acceptable level of circumspection, but not once you have passed the legislation. You should have the mechanisms and machinery in place to implement the law in areas identified by the minister in the Gazette for adjudication.”
The absence of a schedule detailing which parts of The Bahamas will undergo the adjudication process when was also criticised by Kwasi Thompson, the east Grand Bahama MP and another attorney. Mr White challenged whether the Government will prioritise, and target first, major investment projects being held up by title uncertainties or areas with significant generational land also afflicted by disputes.
He suggested that the focus may be placed on high-end, gated communities such as Lyford Cay and Old Fort Bay, where there are far fewer ownership disputes compared to lower income areas, as this would help the Government to “populate the Land Registry in a short period of time”.
“If they do that, then that will not help the average Bahamian,” Mr White said. “If it’s gated communities it will not be populated with Bain and Grant’s Town, it will not be populated with Johnson Road and Step Street in Fox Hill, it will not be populated with Exuma and South Andros.”
The St Anne’s MP also pointed out that the existing deeds-based, title search system will have to remain operating in parallel to the registered land adjudication process for years to come until the latter is completed. “In the meantime you’re going to have duplicate land systems working in tandem,” he told Tribune Business. “I would say the pre-1925 system will be the predominant system for the next 50 years.”
Mr White said the Land Adjudication Bill’s timelines to prove uninterrupted possessory title - 12 years in possession of private land; 30 years for Crown Land; and 60 years for waterfront/ beachfront land - are the same as those set out in the Quieting Titles Act 1959. And the requirements for proving documentary title are also the same as the present system.
“It’s another layer of land legislation; they’re not replacing any aspect of land title in The Bahamas, so attorneys are going to have more work to do,” Mr White said. “And persons are going to have to prove their title twice.
“If they have bought the property and own the property, they have already proven their title once. They’ve proven it in the opinion of an attorney, and they have proven it to the bank that has financed the purchase with a mortgage, and now they have to go back and prove it before an adjudication tribunal.”
Mr White also voiced concerns that the Adjudication Tribunals will be “under-resourced, understaffed and not prove to be overly productive” in speeding up land transactions, which will likely result in “the ease of doing business being further diminished”.
However, Mr Cooper, in his House of Assembly contribution, asserted: “This moves us from a a paperbased, lawyer controlled deed-reliant quagmire to a clear, digitised and equitable title system.” He added that resolving land title disputes would empower Bahamians and provide them with greater economic opportunity and possibilities for wealth creation.
Board seat to boost Synergies with SBDC
CHAMBER - from page B3
access to opportunities to start or expand their small business.
“Now this is important, because our mandate is similar in nature. We want to enhance the landscape of MSMEs and in the country and the work that the SBDC is doing through its grant program, its training programs, its network, its reach, not only enhances or encourages access to capital for existing entrepreneurs, but they breed and develop and nurture a new set of entrepreneurs.
“And so those fledgling entrepreneurs now have sort of a matriculation centre where they come through the SBDC, they get the initial vetting, they get the initial training, they get the initial funding, and then they can then come to the Chamber of Commerce, where we continue to grow, mold and nurture the development in partnership with the SBDC. So we saw it as
only a natural extension to our current mission and mandate, and we see nothing but the potential of continued growth, continued support and continued advocacy for the MSME community through this new partnership with a board seat that has been allocated to the SBDC and being served by the current executive director, Samantha L Rolle.” Ms Rolle added: “I’m truly honoured to join the board of directors of the BCCEC at such a pivotal time in its evolution. With my background in strategic consulting and economic planning, I look forward to contributing to this next chapter of growth and impact.”
DR LEO ROLLE
‘Finding solutions is what business does’
SOLUTIONS - from page B1
market to other countries, which will give us more long-term viability.
“This is what business does. Business reacts to whatever governments do. We figure out ways to make solutions. There’s very little expandable polystyrene in the US other than what we make, and the tariff on The Bahamas might be less than that on Chinese expandable polystyrene. That’s where we stand right now. We are still able to take it in” to the US.
Explaining that Polymers has to compete with Dart’s
other US-based facilities, Mr Ebelhar added: “The bottom line is that Polymers broke ground here [Freeport] in 1995. We started up in 1997. We’ve been here almost 30 years, and I think we have outlasted anybody on the island and we are still finding ways to survive. “We’re trying to work our way around that [Trump’s tariffs]. We’ll work our way around this one, one way or another. We’re doing what businessmen do every day; react to the environment. Same thing after Hurricane Dorian. They needed drinking water on Grand Bahama. We had the ability to provide it and give it away for two years. We find
solutions. You will never become a businessman by not finding solutions to problems.”
Besides Polymers International, other Bahamian exports to the US include crawfish and other fisheries products; Morton Salt’s approximately one million tonnes of salt per annum from Inagua; Kalik, Sands and other local brands brewed by Commonwealth Brewery and Bahamian Brewery and Beverage Company, and other niche products and producers.
The 10 percent US tariff was imposed back in April/ May despite it appearing to cut across and violate the Caribbean Basin Initiative
US producer prices unchanged with wholesale inflation remaining under control
By PAUL WISEMAN AP Economics Writer
U.S. wholesale inflation cooled last month, despite worries that President Donald Trump’s tariffs would push prices higher for goods before they reach consumers.
The Labor Department reported Wednesday that its producer price index was unchanged last month from May after rising 0.3% the previous month. June wholesale prices rose 2.3% from a year earlier, the smallest year-over-year gain since September. Both measures came in below what economists had expected.
Excluding volatile food and energy prices, so called core producer prices were also unchanged from May and up 2.6% from June 2024.
The report on wholesale inflation arrived a day after
the Labor Department reported that consumer prices last month rose 2.7% from June 2024, the biggest year-over-year gain since February, as Trump’s sweeping tariffs pushed up the cost of everything from groceries to appliances. Consumer prices and producers prices do not always move in tandem, however.
Bradley Saunders, North America economist at Capital Economics, saw some signs of the impact of Trump’s tariffs in a 0.3% increase in core wholesale goods prices. Furniture prices rose 1% from May and home electronics 0.8%, he noted. Both of those types of goods are heavily imported.
But producer prices at steel mills fell 5.5% despite Trump’s hefty 50% tax on imported steel.
Some companies bought products before Trump rolled out his tariffs and
have relied on those inventories to keep a lid on prices. But Saunders warned that those inventories are running low and that Trump plans to impose stiff tariffs (such as 25% levies on Japanese and South Korean imports) starting Aug. 1.
“We are not out of the woods yet,’’ Saunders wrote in a commentary.
The producer price report showed that auto retailers’ profit margins dropped 5.4%, suggesting that car dealers were eating the cost of Trump’s 25% tariff on some imported cars and auto parts. That might explain why new vehicle prices fell last month in the consumer price report Tuesday.
“We doubt that auto retailers will continue to absorb the tariffs indefinitely,’’ wrote Samuel Tombs, chief U.S. economist at Pantheon
(CBI). That is the one-way trade preferences regime, offering duty-free and other concessions, under which Polymers and other Bahamas exports enter the US.
The 10 percent “reciprocal tariff” rate imposed on Bahamian exports to the US appears to be based on, and designed to match, the 10 percent VAT placed at the border on all goods that enter The Bahamas. This nation received the “baseline”, or lowest, of the multiple tariff rates that Mr Trump imposed on numerous countries’ US exports, although its own higher duty rates were seemingly ignored.
Still, given that The Bahamas racked up a $2.896bn trade deficit with the US in 2024, and this nation - plus the wider Caribbean - are one of the few locations where Washington D.C. enjoys a trade surplus, any
revised tariff rates imposed by Mr Trump are thought unlikely to be punitive or much higher than the present 10 percent.
Data from the Bahamas National Statistical Institute (BNSI) also showed The Bahamas exported some $608.176m worth of physical goods to the US in 2024, a large portion of which would have been Polymers’ polystyrene products and seafood.
“The United States maintained its position as The Bahamas’ number one trading partner,” the Institute said. “While The Bahamas did a significant amount of trade with China, the US Virgin Islands, Japan and Panama, the US still represented 83 percent of total imports and about 65 percent of total exports.
The Bahamas’ total trade deficit broke through the $4bn mark for the first time
last year to hit $4.2bn This represents a 22.6 percent, or close to $750m year-overyear increase, on 2023’s trade deficit of around $3.487bn, which means this nation imports far more than it exports. And the US is The Bahamas’ largest trading partner and export market, accounting for 88 percent of total exports, and 74 percent of domestic exports.
The $4.274bn trade deficit for last year sets a new annual record, exceeding the six-year high of around $3.487bn in 2023 which was itself a 7 percent or $233m jump on the figures for 2022. The Bahamas in 2024 imported close to $5bn worth of goods, the actual number standing at $4.944bn, while exports in comparison stood at a relatively meagre $669.949m.
lockdowns.
COVID-19
Macroeconomics, “but they have room to fall a good deal further after they surged during the spike in sales as people sought to get ahead of tariffs on imported vehicles.’’
Wholesale prices can offer an early look at where consumer inflation might be headed. Economists also monitor the report closely because some of its components, notably measures of health care and financial services, flow into the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge — the personal consumption expenditures, or PCE, index.
Inflation began to flare up for the first time in decades in 2021, as the economy roared back with unexpected strength from
That prompted the Fed to raise its benchmark interest rate 11 times in 2022 and 2023. The higher borrowing costs helped bring inflation down from the peaks it reached in 2022, and last year the Fed felt comfortable enough with the progress to cut rates three times.
IN this Jan. 28, 2019, file photo a container ship is unloaded at the Port of Oakland in Oakland, Calif.
Photo:Ben Margot/AP
FACED WITH GEOPOLITICS AND TRADE WAR, US COMPANIES
By FU TING Associated Press
AMERICAN companies in China are reporting record-low new investment plans for this year and declining confidence in profits, while uncertainty in U.S.-China relations and President Donald Trump's tariffs have become their top concerns, according to a business survey released Wednesday.
The companies are also challenged by China's slowing economy, where weak domestic demand and overcapacity in local industries are eroding profitability for the Americans.
"Businesses in China are less profitable now than they were years ago, but risks, including reputational risk, regulatory risk, and political risk, are
increasing," said Sean Stein, the president of the U.S.China Business Council, a Washington-based group that represents American companies doing business in China, including major multinationals.
The survey, conducted between March and May and drawing from 130 member companies, came after the two countries clashed over tariffs and nontariff measures, including export controls on critical products such as rare-earth magnets and advanced computer chips. Following high-level talks in Geneva and London, U.S. and Chinese officials agreed to pull back from sky-high tariffs and restrictions on exports, but uncertainty persists as the two sides are yet to hammer out a more permanent trade deal.
Kyle Sullivan, vice president of business advisory services at the USCBC, said more than half of the companies in the survey indicated they do not have new investment plans in China "at all" this year.
"That's a record high," Sullivan said, noting that it is "a new development that we have not observed in previous surveys."
Around 40% of companies reported negative effects from U.S. export control measures, with many experiencing lost sales, severed customer relationships, and reputational damage from being unreliable suppliers, according to the survey. Citing national security, the U.S. government has banned exports to China of
high-tech products, such as the most advanced chips, which could help boost China's military capabilities.
Stein argued that export controls must be very carefully targeted, because businesses from Europe or Japan, or local businesses in China would immediately fill the void left by American companies.
Silicon Valley chipmaker Nvidia won approval from the Trump administration to resume sales to China of its advanced H20 chips used to develop artificial intelligence, its CEO Jensen Huang announced on Monday, though the company's most powerful chips remain under U.S. export control rules.
IN this photo released by Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service on Tuesday, July 15, 2025, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, center left, and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, center right, pose for a photo with other officials during the meeting on the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), in Tianjin, China. Photo:Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service/AP
TRUMP SAYS COCA-COLA WILL USE REAL SUGAR IN ITS US FLAGSHIP DRINK. THE COMPANY ISN'T CONFIRMING THAT
By WILL WEISSERT Associated Press
MAKE American Coke Great Again?
President Donald Trump said Wednesday that CocaCola has agreed to use real cane sugar in its flagship soft drink in the U.S. at his suggestion — though the company didn't confirm such a move.
Any switch from highfructose corn syrup in Coke sold in the United States would put Coca-Cola more in line with its practice in
other countries, including Mexico and Australia. But it wouldn't affect Trump's drink of choice, Diet Coke, which uses aspartame as a calorie-free beverage.
"I have been speaking to Coca-Cola about using REAL Cane Sugar in Coke in the United States, and they have agreed to do so," Trump wrote on his social media site. "I'd like to thank all of those in authority at Coca-Cola. This will be a very good move by
them — You'll see. It's just better!"
A spokesperson for Atlanta-based Coca-Cola Co. said in a statement that the company appreciated Trump's enthusiasm and promised that more details on new offerings within its products would be shared soon.
Coca-Cola didn't elaborate. But the company has long indulged U.S. fans of cane sugar by importing glass bottles of Mexican Coke to the U.S. since 2005.
Republicans declared it ‘crypto’ week in the House. It’s not going as planned
By JOEY CAPPELLETTI Associated Press
A TRIO of cryptocurrency bills that had been expected to pass the House this week stalled Tuesday after a bloc of Republicans unexpectedly joined with Democrats to prevent the legislation from coming up for debate and votes.
The procedural snafu brought the House's socalled "crypto week" to a standstill — and dealt a blow to President Donald Trump, who had strongly urged Republicans to pass the bills as part of his push to make the U.S. the " crypto capital of the world." Trump intervened during a late evening meeting with Republicans at the White House, and appeared to put the bills back on track. He posted on social media that he expected votes as soon as Wednesday.
A group of 13 Republicans had joined all Democrats in opposition to
a procedural vote needed to bring the crypto bills to the floor. Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters it was just part of the "legislative process" and that negotiations were underway between the House, Senate and White House. He suggested they could try again Tuesday evening.
"We expected there might be some 'no' votes, but we thought it was important to put it on the floor to advance it because time's of the essence on this," Johnson said. "So stay tuned. We'll have lots of discussions over the next few hours."
But just hours later, House leadership canceled votes for the remainder of the day, potentially throwing the crypto bills into limbo.
Then, late in the evening, Trump posted that he was having a White House meeting with lawmakers and had won their support
to vote for the procedural step.
"I am in the Oval Office with 11 of the 12 Congressmen/women necessary to pass the GENIUS Act and, after a short discussion, they have all agreed to vote tomorrow morning in favor of the Rule," Trump said on social media, referring to the step.
The president said that Johnson attended via telephone "and looks forward to taking the Vote as early as possible."
The stalled legislation includes a Senate-passed bill to regulate a form of cryptocurrency known as stablecoins, along with far more sweeping measures aiming to address cryptocurrency market structure. Another bill would prohibit the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency.
The disagreement blocking the bills from advancing centers on how the three bills would be passed.
Returning to sugar in
U.S. production, meanwhile, might affect the nation's corn farmers, whose yields are used in artificial sweeteners.
"Replacing high fructose corn syrup with cane sugar doesn't make sense,"
Corn Refiners Association President and CEO John Bode said in a statement.
"President Trump stands for American manufacturing jobs, American farmers, and reducing the trade deficit. Replacing high fructose corn syrup with cane sugar
would cost thousands of American food manufacturing jobs, depress farm income, and boost imports of foreign sugar, all with no nutritional benefit."
Trump himself is such a fan of Diet Coke that that he had a red button installed on the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office that he can press to have a White House butler bring one in for him. Despite his fondness for Diet Coke, his relationship with the company hasn't always been sweet.
In a series of posts in 2012, Trump suggested diet soda might be connected to weight gain before eventually writing, "The Coca Cola company is not happy with me — that's okay, I'll still keep drinking that garbage."
A bottle of Diet Coke could be seen sitting next to his chair years later, at a G20 summit in 2017. And The New York Times reported in 2018 that he was drinking a dozen Diet Cokes daily.
Johnson explained that "some of these guys insist that it needs to be all in one package." Packaging the bills would require them to be sent back to the Senate, since the chamber has only taken up one of the three bills so far.
Rep. Glenn Thompson of Pennsylvania, a Republican co-sponsor of one of the cryptocurrency bills, told reporters that some of the Republicans wanted to package the bills together due to them "not having a lot of faith in the Senate moving our legislation."
Trump and Republican leaders have called on the House to pass the bills individually, so that the stablecoin legislation can get to Trump's desk for his signature before an August recess. The stablecoin legislation took the Senate nearly a month and half to pass, and the more sweeping market structure legislation is expected to take even longer.
In a post Tuesday morning on social media, Trump had called on Republicans to advance the crypto bills that afternoon, saying that "all Republicans should
vote 'yes.'" Asked Tuesday evening about the stalled legislation, Trump told reporters that Republicans who voted against it wanted it to be "stronger."
Trump has pushed hard for the passage of the stablecoin legislation, with him and his family standing to profit from a boost to stablecoins. They hold a significant stake in World Liberty Financial, a crypto project that recently launched its own stablecoin, USD1.
The stablecoin legislation passed by the Senate includes a provision that bars members of Congress and their families from profiting off stablecoins. But notably, that prohibition does not apply to the president or his family, even as Trump builds what some are calling a crypto empire from the White House.
The cryptocurrency industry hopes the bills as a whole will aid in their push for legitimacy and increasing consumer trust. And road bumps like those seen Tuesday may not have been expected after spending heavily in the 2024 election
to elect a large number of crypto-friendly lawmakers.
Faryar Shirzad, chief policy officer of Coinbase, the nation's largest cryptocurrency exchange, said in a statement after the failed procedural vote that "every few steps forward there's inevitably a step back."
"It's in these moments we'll see who is trying to get pro-crypto legislation done and who is not," Shirzad said on social media. Passage of the bills could have implications on the 2026 midterm races. Fairshake, a crypto super political action committee, said that it and its affiliated organizations already have more than $140 million in the bank ready to spend on midterm races.
"The voters last year were clear — Congress needs to stop playing politics with crypto and finally pass responsible regulation," said Josh Vlasto, spokesperson for Fairshake. "We are building an aggressive, targeted strategy for next year to ensure that pro-crypto voices are heard in key races across the country."
HOUSE Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., left, a longtime supporter of cryptocurrency, joined at right by Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., discusses legislation in the week ahead that could impact the industry, during a news conference at the Republican National Committee headquarters in Washington, Tuesday, July 15, 2025.
Photo:J. Scott Applewhite/AP
A LOOK INSIDE A LAB
MAKING THE ADVANCED FUEL TO POWER GROWING US NUCLEAR ENERGY AMBITIONS
By JONATHAN MATTISE and JENNIFER McDERMOTT Associated Press
NEAR signs that warn of radioactive risk at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, a half-dozen workers from the nuclear power company X-energy are making what appear to be gray billiard balls. Inside, they're packed with thousands of tiny black spheres that each contain a speck of uranium enriched beyond what today's power plants use.
The United States is chasing a new age of nuclear power that banks on domestic production of reactor fuel like X-energy is making, and though the work at Oak Ridge is unfolding across just 3,000 square feet, X-energy and others are already revving up for big production.
President Donald Trump set a goal of quadrupling domestic production of nuclear power within the next 25 years, signing executive orders in May to speed up development. A new wave of advanced nuclear reactors could be operational around 2030.
But just like cars won't run without gas, those plants won't run without fuel. To expand nuclear energy long-term, the nation must maximize its nuclear fuel production, according to Trump.
In Oak Ridge, X-energy has broken ground on a massive, nearly $2 billion campus for a new fuel fabrication facility, the first in the United States in over half a century. The nuclear fuel company Standard Nuclear, also in Oak Ridge, aims to produce metric tons
of fuel for advanced reactors. A supplier named Orano is likewise looking to build a multibillion-dollar uranium enrichment facility nearby.
"This is a unique time," said Tyler Gerczak, Oak Ridge National Laboratory's principal investigator for the cooperative with X-energy's subsidiary TRISO-X. "The momentum is incredible."
Making the 'most robust nuclear fuel'
The Associated Press toured the lab where X-energy is making small amounts of fuel for testing. Anyone beyond a magentaand-yellow chain that warns of radioactivity must wear gowns, two layers of gloves and radiation monitors. When they leave, they're tested for radioactivity.
X-energy, a Marylandbased company, uses uranium to make so-called TRISO fuel — inside what's known as "pebbles." Those are the billiard balls. The Energy Department says it's the most robust nuclear fuel on Earth because the particles cannot melt in a reactor.
At the lab, the first step is making a uranium cocktail that resembles dark yellow lemonade.
Uranium powder, in the form of triuranium octoxide, gets added to nitric acid, said Dan Brown, vice president of fuel development for TRISO-X. Then carbon and an organic solution are added. They have two glass containers set up — one wears a heated jacket, looking almost like a little sweater, that helps the uranium dissolve into the acid solution. The second
cools the acid solution while the carbon source is added, which turns the mix near-black, he said.
At another station, in a long clear tube, the cocktail solidifies into small black spheres with a jellybeanlike consistency. Those black balls, about the size of poppyseeds, then travel through machines under temperatures as high as 1,800 degrees Celsius to get protective carbon coatings — like candy dipping — that make them look like very tiny BBs.
X-energy uses graphite and other cohesive materials to bind 18,000 kernels together into a larger sphere. That gets coated in a final layer of graphite to seal the final pebble. In the end, it's strong enough to withstand the weight of an SUV.
The pebbles will eventually give up their energy in the high-temperature gas-cooled nuclear reactor X-energy is developing, with about 220,000 pebbles per reactor, like gumballs in a gumball machine. When they exit the bottom, if energy remains, the pebbles will return to the top for another pass. Each one could be used about six times. X-energy also plans to make fuel products for other advanced reactor designs.
The national laboratory lends X-energy its expertise, research and high-tech equipment for analysis and will evaluate samples, as will some universities. Other samples are archived. Idaho National Laboratory received a batch for its advanced test reactor, Brown said.
Trial opens against Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and other leaders over Facebook privacy violations
By MARYCLAIRE DALE and BARBARA ORTUTAY
Associated Press
AN $8 billion class action
investors' lawsuit against Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and company leaders — current and former — began Wednesday, with claims stemming from the 2018 privacy scandal involving the Cambridge Analytica political consulting firm. Investors allege in their lawsuit that Meta did not fully disclose the risks that Facebook users' personal information would be misused by Cambridge Analytica, a firm that supported Donald Trump's successful Republican presidential campaign in 2016. Shareholders say Facebook officials repeatedly and continually violated a 2012 consent order with
the Federal Trade Commission under which Facebook agreed to stop collecting and sharing personal data on platform users and friends without their consent.
Facebook later sold user data to commercial partners in direct violation of the consent order and removed disclosures from privacy settings that were required under consent order, the lawsuit alleges. The fallout led to Facebook agreeing to pay a $5.1 billion penalty to settle FTC charges. The social media giant also faced significant fines in Europe and reached a $725 million privacy settlement with users. Now shareholders want Zuckerberg and others to reimburse Meta for the FTC fine and other legal costs, which the plaintiffs
estimate total more than $8 billion.
The first trial witness, privacy expert Neil Richards, testified Monday morning for the shareholders.
"Facebook's privacy disclosures were misleading," said Richards, a professor at Washington University Law School.
In later testimony, Jeffrey Zients, who served on Facebook's board from 2018 to 2020, testified that consumer privacy and user data were priorities for both management and the board.
Nonetheless, he supported settling with the FTC as it investigated potential violations of the 2012 consent order, so the company could move forward.
"It was difficult because this was a lot of money, but I think it was better than the alternative," Zients said.
Critics of building more nuclear reactors say they're too expensive and riskier than other low-carbon energy sources.
"Without a substantial decrease in construction costs, it's not worth the avoided greenhouse gas emissions," said David Kemp, a Cato Institute policy analyst.
Kemp said Trump's 25-year quadrupling goal is unrealistic because it would mean building nuclear reactors faster than ever. The United States lacks any next-generation reactors operating commercially and only two new large reactors have been built from scratch in nearly 50 years. Those two, at a Georgia nuclear plant, were completed years late and at least $17 billion over budget.
Working to 'amp up' domestic nuclear fuel production
Many next-generation reactors will use high-assay low-enriched uranium. It's fuel that's enriched to a higher level than traditional large nuclear reactors use, allowing the newer reactors to run longer and more efficiently, sit on smaller footprints and produce less waste, according to the Department of Energy.
There's little of it made in the United States right now.
Only Russia and China currently have the infrastructure to make large amounts of high-assay low-enriched uranium. In the United States, Centrus Energy produced the nation's first 20 kilograms of high-assay low-enriched uranium in more than 70 years in late 2023, to show it can produce limited quantities for commercial reactors.
A big takeaway from Trump's executive orders is the need to "amp up" domestic production of nuclear fuel to reduce dependence on foreign sources and enable in the long term expansion of American nuclear energy, according to the Energy Department.
At the Nuclear Energy Institute trade association, Benjamin Holtzman, director of new nuclear, said he thinks the fuel will be ready for a new generation of U.S. nuclear reactors needed to meet the growing demand for electricity — if the right actions are taken now.
X-energy CEO J. Clay Sell said he hopes to help solve the fuel problem so it doesn't hold back new reactor development. The Energy Department has awarded funding to X-energy. Amazon invested in X-energy too, and they're
collaborating to bring more than 5 gigawatts of new U.S. power projects online by 2039.
X-energy is the only one with an application before the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to license a new fabrication facility to transform enriched uranium into fuel products for nuclear reactors. Another applicant has asked to amend an existing license to make fuel for advanced reactors, according to the NRC. About five additional companies have told the NRC they are interested in making fuel for advanced reactors.
X-energy's pilot lab at the National Laboratory started in 2016. The company now has 100 acres in Oak Ridge and growing for its nuclear fuel production complex.
The first factory could be operational by late 2027 or early 2028, capable at full operation of assembling enough fuel orbs to power 11 of its new-age reactors; a second by late 2029, with a capacity four times greater, said TRISO-X President Joel Duling.
"I've been through two or three 'nuclear renaissances,'" Duling said. "This isn't a renaissance. This is a game-changer."
TAYLOR DUFFIN, of TRISO-X, a subsidiary of X-Energy, looks at a sample of TRISO fuel through a microscope Friday, June 27, 2025, in Oak Ridge, Tenn.
Photo:George Walker IV/AP
META Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg speaks at LlamaCon 2025, an AI developer conference, in Menlo Park, Calif., Tuesday, April 29, 2025.
Photo:Jeff Chiu/AP
How Trump could use a building renovation to oust Fed Chair Powell
By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER and JOSH BOAK Associated Press
PRESIDENT Donald Trump says he has finally found a way to achieve his goal of removing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, accusing him of mismanaging the U.S. central bank's $2.5 billion renovation project. It's unclear if Trump will follow through, but he has been outspoken about wanting Powell gone.
The push comes after a monthslong campaign by Trump to try to rid himself of the politically independent central banker, who has resisted the Republican president's calls to slash interest rates out of concerns about the administration's tariffs sparking higher levels of inflation.
Trump indicated Tuesday that Powell's handling of an extensive renovation project on two Fed buildings in Washington could be grounds to take the unprecedented and possibly legally dubious step of firing him. "I think it sort of is," Trump said.
"When you spend $2.5 billion on, really, a renovation, I think it's really disgraceful," Trump said, adding that he never saw the Fed chair as someone who needed a "palace."
The project has been underway for years, going back to Trump's first term. But it only recently caught the White House's attention. Trump maintains Fed rate cuts would lower the
costs of government borrowing, while Powell has warned a premature rate cut could worsen inflation and ultimately raise those borrowing costs.
The risk of the Fed losing its political independence could undermine America's financial markets, possibly leading to a meltdown in stocks and investors charging a premium to lend to the U.S. economy. Here's what to know:
Ousting Powell risks setting off market panic
The Fed chair has been an obstacle in Trump's efforts to gain total control over the executive branch. Powell and his board have the dual mandate of maximizing employment and keeping prices stable, a task that can require them to make politically unpopular moves such as raising interest rates to hold inflation in check. The general theory is that keeping the Fed free from the influence of the White House — other
than for nominations of Fed officials — allows it to fulfill its mission based on what the economy needs, instead of what a politician wants.
An attempt to remove Powell from his job before his term ends in May 2026 would undercut the Fed's long-standing independence from day-to-day politics and could lead to higher inflation, higher interest rates and a weaker economy.
The Supreme Court recently signaled that Trump can't fire Powell simply because the president disagrees with him on interest rates. But legally he could do so "for cause," such as misconduct or dereliction of duty.
Trump's workaround appears to be that Powell misrepresented the renovation project in congressional testimony and that the cost is excessive, thus meriting his dismissal.
The Fed's main headquarters is over 90 years old
FEDERAL Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell listens during a Senate Committee on Banking hearing, June 25, 2025, on Capitol Hill in Washington.
The Fed says its main headquarters, known as the Marriner S. Eccles building, was in dire need of an upgrade because its electrical, plumbing and HVAC systems, among others, are nearly obsolete and some date back to the building's construction in the 1930s.
The renovation will also remove asbestos, lead and other hazardous elements and update the building with modern electrical and communications systems.
The H-shaped building, named after a former Fed chair in the 1930s and '40s, is located near some of Washington's highestprofile monuments and has references to classical architecture and marble in the facades and stonework. The central bank is also renovating a building next door that it acquired in 2018.
The Fed says there has been periodic maintenance to the structures but adds this is the first "comprehensive renovation."
The renovation costs have ballooned over the years
Trump administration officials have criticized the Fed over the project's expense, which has reached $2.5 billion, about $600 million more than was originally budgeted.
Like a beleaguered homeowner facing spiraling costs for a remodeling
WHITMER SAYS ‘MASSIVE ECONOMIC UNCERTAINTY’ IS TO BLAME ON SEMICONDUCTOR PROJECT FAILURE IN MICHIGAN
By ISABELLA VOLMERT
Associated Press
PLANS to build a semiconductor manufacturing plant in Michigan have fallen through and Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said Wednesday that "massive economic uncertainty" is to blame. Bringing the company to Michigan was a key goal for
Whitmer, a Democrat and potential 2028 presidential candidate who is in her final years as governor of the battleground state. Domestic manufacturing is a priority of President Donald Trump's second administration and the president has leveraged tariffs as a way to incentivize companies to build and stay in America. While Whitmer
did not mention Trump by name in her remarks, she pointed the finger at his tariffs that have shaken up the economy periodically this year. "Their board came to this decision amid national economic turmoil, which is at risk of worsening amid threats of even higher tariffs," Whitmer said in a statement.
Whitmer did not name the company but state records show Californiabased technology firm Sandisk Corp. was considering the sprawling 1,300-acre site near the city of Flint and forecasted 9,400 jobs and 5,000 construction jobs as a result.
Sandisk declined to comment on Wednesday.
project, the Fed cites many reasons for the greater expense. Construction costs, including for materials and labor, rose sharply during the inflation spike in 2021 and 2022. More asbestos needed to be removed than expected. Washington's local restrictions on building heights forced it to build underground, which is pricier.
In 2024, the Fed's board canceled its planned renovations of a third building because of rising costs.
The Fed says the renovations will reduce costs "over time" because it will be able to consolidate its roughly 3,000 Washington-based employees into fewer buildings and will no longer need to rent as much extra space as it does now.
White House budget director calls renovations 'ostentatious'
Russ Vought, the administration's top budget adviser, wrote Powell a letter that said Trump is "extremely troubled" about the Fed's "ostentatious overhaul" of its facilities.
The Fed's renovation plans call for "rooftop terrace gardens, VIP private dining rooms and elevators, water features, premium marble, and much more," Vought said in last week's letter.
The news quickly set off dueling political statements from Republicans and Democrats in the state.
The Trump administration is using tariffs and other tactics to bring manufacturing in critical areas like semiconductors back to the U.S., White House spokesperson Kush Desai said in a statement in response to Whitmer's remarks.
Desai pointed to new semiconductor development in Texas and Arizona this year as wins garnered by the Trump administration in the chips and technology industry.
Other Democrats were quick to attribute the loss in Michigan to Trump's economic policies Wednesday.
"Trump's abandonment of long-term investments and chaotic tariff practices are not only raising costs, they just killed 10,000 goodpaying jobs," U.S. Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet, a Democrat who represents the area, said in a statement. "This could have been a game-changer for mid-Michigan's economy."
Michigan House of Representatives Speaker Matt Hall, a Republican, said he supports Trump's strategy of relying on tariffs and incentives in the tax and spending bill to bring manufacturing development to America, not overseas.
"We simply need state leaders who are focused on
Powell has disputed the claims, which were given wide circulation in a paper issued by the Mercatus Center, a think tank at George Mason University, in March 2025. The paper was written by Andrew Levin, an economist at Dartmouth College and former Fed staffer.
"There's no VIP dining room," Powell said last month during a Senate Banking Committee hearing. "There's no new marble. ... There are no special elevators. There are no new water features. ... And there's no roof terrace gardens."
Some of those elements were removed from initial building plans submitted in 2021, the Fed says.
But the White House also takes issue with the Fed reducing its renovation costs
The Fed's changes to its building plans have opened it up to another line of attack: White House officials suggest the Fed violated the terms of the approval it received from a local planning commission by changing its plans. In its September 2021 approval of the project, the National Capital Planning Commission said it "Commends" the Fed for "fully engaging partner federal agencies." But because the Fed changed its plans, the administration is indicating it needed to go back to the commission for a separate approval.
making sure Michigan is the best possible place to build and grow," he said.
Sandisk, known for making flash drives and memory cards, was looking to break ground on the project in 2025, according to documents provided by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.
Michigan offered Sandisk $1.925 billion in cash grants, $250 million in workforce development funding and about $3.76 billion in tax breaks, according to documents dated to August 2024.
Congress passed the CHIPS and Science Act incentivizing technology development about halfway through former President Joe Biden's term. Even as Trump and Republican lawmakers have since threatened to put an end to the act, the Department of Commerce was collaborating with Sandisk on securing federal incentives through the package.
Whitmer in her statement said that the company is no longer looking to build a semiconductor facility anywhere in the U.S. In a speech in May, Whitmer said she had been advocating with the Trump administration directly to help bring a chip plant to the state.
Photo:Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP
BIPARTISAN SUPPORT HELPS FOUNDATIONS
AVOID TAX INCREASE IN NEW TRUMP LEGISLATION
By THALIA BEATY Associated Press
TWO Republican senators and a broad bipartisan coalition of funders and nonprofits prevented a 600% increase in taxes levied on the endowments of the largest private foundations as part of President Donald Trump's the tax and spending legislation.
Thanks to their support, when Trump signed the bill into law on July 4, taxes went up on the endowments of the largest universities, but not on the endowments of philanthropic foundations.
"I do have to say that this took some persuasion," said Sen. Todd Young of Indiana in an interview with The Associated Press. The other champion was Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma, who did not respond to an interview request.
Together, they advocated to remove the provision which, at the high end, would levy a tax of 10% on the investment earnings of foundations with more than $5 billion in assets, up from the current rate of 1.39%.
The move reveals both the power of philanthropic groups, especially conservative ones, to sway legislators and a split in the administration's coalition between those who want to protect the independence of private philanthropy and those who think the sector supports resistance to the president's agenda.
Backing of Republican senators and conservative groups was key Young said he spoke with leaders or representatives of a dozen foundations in his state to understand what it would mean to increase these taxes on foundation endowments.
Though Young didn't name any specific leaders,
Indiana is home to numerous major foundations — including one of America's largest foundations, the Lilly Endowment, which holds shares in the pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and reported assets of almost $80 billion at the end of last year. The Associated Press receives funding from the Lilly Endowment for its coverage of philanthropy and religion.
Young said many in the Republican caucus appreciate the value of the investments private foundations make in their communities.
"Let's be honest here. The target of this excise tax increase was not the vast majority of private foundations. It was a handful of large foundations that are nationally known that have been accused of embracing and perpetuating certain woke policies and agendas," Young said.
While he didn't specify the specific foundations, Young was tapping into a critique of large progressive foundations brought by politicians like Vice President JD Vance. In a 2021 speech at the conservative think tank The Claremont Institute, Vance attacked foundations who fund movements for social justice and characterized their support for Black Lives Matter groups as "investing in racial division."
"We should eliminate all of the special privileges that exist for our nonprofit foundation class," Vance said at the time. "If you're spending all your money to teach racism to our children in their schools, why do we give you special tax breaks instead of taxing you more?"
The White House has generally expressed support for that policy view. In an early executive order, Trump asked the attorney
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general to identify large foundations to investigate for civil rights violations, along with large corporations and universities. So far, the administration has not announced any investigations into foundations, even as the deadline included in the executive order has passed.
Conservative philanthropic groups added their voice to oppose the proposed increase in taxes on foundations' endowment earnings. The Philanthropy Roundtable, which said it supports conservative and free market ideas, led a coalition to send a letter to Senate majority leader Sen. John Thune of Montana and Sen. Mike Crapo of Idaho, who leads the Senate Finance Committee.
"We know policies that siphon private dollars away from charities to line the government's coffers are antithetical to conservative values," the signatories wrote of the proposed tax on foundation assets.
Other provisions include a charitable deduction but also new limits on company giving
The legislation also contains a mix of provisions that impact funders,
nonprofits and communities. It allows the vast majority of tax filers to take a charitable deduction of up to $1,000 for individuals and $2,000 for married couples, which advocates believe will increase the amount everyday donors give.
The law also moved forward with a new cap on itemized deductions for the wealthiest tax filers, which advocates think will deter charitable giving. It also creates a new requirement for corporations to donate a minimum of 1% of their taxable income before receiving a tax benefit. Many corporations do not meet that threshold, meaning they may be discouraged from giving at all.
United Philanthropy Forum is a membership organization of philanthropy associations, which represent foundations, and has long advocated around issues important to the sector. Besides the recent
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spending bill, they've followed executive orders, provisions that would have threatened the tax-exempt status of organizations and cuts to social safety net programs.
Matthew L. Evans, the forum's vice president of advocacy and external relations, said the forum shifted their strategy several years ago away from solely defending the interests of the sector to advocating for the communities which private philanthropy serves.
"It really is an all hands on deck moment because again this is such an unprecedented time for us," Evans said.
The forum was part of a coalition of nonprofit associations that helped organize a letter pushing back on multiple provisions in the spending bill, which almost 3,000 nonprofits signed on to support.
But one of the most important messages nonprofit advocates were
delivering to lawmakers was around the impacts of cuts to social safety net programs, said Kyle Caldwell, who leads the Council of Michigan Foundations. He said his organization has advocated for foundations and the communities they serve in Michigan for decades.
"If you think about all of the systems that were in place: access to health care, access to education, access to food. All of those really were targeted services to the most vulnerable in our community. That's where philanthropy invests most. That's where nonprofits act most," he said, adding that the cuts will "put higher demands on the nonprofit sector, which was already overburdened."
When asked about concerns over the impact of the cuts, Senator Young from Indiana said he thinks the bill strikes the right balance.
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SEN. TODD YOUNG, R-Ind., asks questions during a confirmation hearing at the Capitol in Washington on Jan. 29, 2025.
Photo:Ben Curtis/AP
WALL STREET IS RATTLED AS TRUMP SAYS HE DISCUSSED FIRING POWELL BUT IS ‘UNLIKELY’ TO DO IT
By STAN CHOE AP Business Writer
PRESIDENT Donald Trump sent the U.S. stock market on a jagged round trip Wednesday after saying he had "talked about the concept of firing" the head of the Federal Reserve.
Such a move could help Wall Street get the lower interest rates it loves but would also risk a weakened Fed unable to make the unpopular moves needed to keep inflation under control.
The S&P 500 rose 0.3% after whipping through an earlier drop and subsequent recovery. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 231 points, or 0.5%, and the Nasdaq composite added 0.3% to its record set the day before.
Stocks had been rising modestly in the morning, before news reports saying that Trump was likely to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell quickly sent the S&P 500 down by 0.7%.
When later asked directly if he was planning to fire Powell, Trump said, "I don't rule out anything, but I think it's highly unlikely."
That helped calm the market, and stocks erased their losses, though Trump added that he could still fire Powell if "he has to leave for fraud." Trump has been criticizing a $2.5 billion renovation project underway of the Fed's headquarters.
Trump's main problem with Powell has been how the Fed has not cut interest rates this year, a move that would have made it easier for U.S. households and businesses to get loans to buy houses, build factories and otherwise boost the economy. Lower interest rates could also help the U.S. government, which is set to borrow and add a lot more to its debt after approving a wide range of tax cuts.
Powell, meanwhile, has been insisting that he wants to wait for more data about how Trump's stiff proposed tariffs will affect the economy and inflation before the Fed makes its next move.
The Fed has two main jobs: keeping the job market strong while keeping inflation under control. Lowering interest rates would help boost the economy but would also give inflation more fuel when tariffs may be set to push prices for U.S. households higher. A report on Wednesday said inflation at the wholesale level slowed to 2.3% last month, which was better than economists expected. It's an encouraging signal, but it came a day after another report suggested that Trump's tariffs are pushing up the prices U.S. shoppers are paying for toys, apparel and other imported products.
Trump's tariffs are making their weight felt across financial markets.
ASML, the world's leading supplier of chipmaking gear, warned that it can't guarantee growth next year, after delivering an expected 15% growth in sales for 2025.
Conditions still look strong for ASML's customers in the artificialintelligence business, but CEO Christophe Fouquet said in a video that "the level of uncertainty is increasing, mostly due to macroeconomic and geopolitical consideration. And that includes, of course, tariffs."
Shares that trade in the United States of ASML, which is based in the Netherlands, fell 8.3%.
Stocks of several U.S. companies reporting stronger profits for the latest quarter than analysts expected helped offset that.
Johnson & Johnson jumped 6.2% after the drug and medical device giant beat analysts' sales and profit targets and raised its full-year forecasts for both. CEO Joaquin Duato said it expects "game-changing approvals and submissions" in the second half of 2025 on an array of products, including for lung and bladder cancer.
PNC Financial Services Group added 0.9% following its better-than-expected quarterly report, thanks in part to loan growth despite what CEO Bill Demchak
called "an uncertain macro environment."
GrabAGun, an online retailer of firearms and ammunition, swung sharply after combining with Colombier Acquisition Corp. II and taking its spot on the stock market under the ticker symbol "PEW."
Donald Trump Jr., the son of President Trump, is joining the company's board.
The stock quickly went from an early gain of 19% to a drop of 31% before finishing with a loss of 23.9%, with several halts in trading along the way.
All told, the S&P 500 rose 19.94 points to 6,263.70. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 231.49 to 44,254.78, and the Nasdaq composite gained 52.69 to 20,730.49. In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury fell to 4.45% from 4.50% late Tuesday. It had been as low as 4.44% earlier in the day, but it climbed following the reports that Trump was likely to fire Powell.
A new Fed chair friendlier to Trump could mean lower short-term interest rates but also the opposite effect on longer-term yields. That's because a less independent Fed would raise worries that it may also let inflation run higher in the future by being slow to raise interest rates.
Stocks rose 0.7% in Jakarta after Trump said Tuesday that he plans to charge imports from Indonesia a tariff of 19%, instead of the 32% that he had threatened earlier, after reaching a trade deal.
Indonesia's central bank also cut its key interest rate by 0.25 percentage points on Wednesday, to 5.25%.
"We have calculated everything and discussed everything. The most important thing for me is my people, as I must protect the interests of our workers," Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto told reporters, adding that "this is our offer, and we are not able to give more (to the United States)."
Disney sues Hong Kong company it says is selling illegal Mickey Mouse jewelry
By ANDREW DALTON AP Entertainment Writer
THE Walt Disney Co. on Wednesday sued a Hong Kong jewelry company it accuses of selling illegal Mickey Mouse jewelry.
The international media and entertainment conglomerate filed a lawsuit in federal court in Los Angeles against the Red Earth Group, which sells jewelry online under the name Satéur.
Disney says the marketing and branding of the rings, necklaces and earrings in Satéur's "Mickey 1928 Collection" violate its trademark rights and that the Hong Kong company is deliberately trying to fool customers into thinking the pieces are official Disney merchandise.
Satéur, the suit alleges, "intends to present Mickey Mouse as its own brand identifier for its jewelry merchandise and "seeks to trade on the recognizability of the Mickey Mouse trademarks and consumers' affinity for Disney and its iconic ambassador Mickey Mouse."
A message seeking comment from representatives of the Red Earth Group was not immediately answered.
The lawsuit is indicative of Disney's dogged efforts to protect its intellectual property from unauthorized appropriation. Although the earliest version of Mickey Mouse entered the public domain last year after Disney's copyright expired, the company still holds trademark rights to the character.
Lawyers for Disney argue in the suit that Red
Earth's online marketing efforts "extensively trade on the Mickey Mouse trademarks and the Disney brand" with language that includes describing the jewelry as great for "Disney enthusiasts."
Such tactics indicate Red Earth was "intentionally trying to confuse consumers," the lawsuit says. The impression created, it says, "suggests, at a minimum, a partnership or collaboration with Disney."
The earliest depiction of Mickey Mouse, who first appeared publicly in the film short "Steamboat Willie" in 1928, are now in the U.S. public domain. The widely publicized moment was considered a landmark in iconography going public.
The lawsuit alleges that Red Earth and Satéur are trying to use that status as a "ruse" to suggest the jewelry is legal, by dubbing it the "Mickey 1928 Collection" and saying it is being sold in tribute to the mouse's first appearance.
The centerpiece of the collection, the suit says, is a piece of jewelry marketed as the "Satéur Mickey 1928 Classique Ring," which has a Steamboat Willie charm sitting on the band holding a synthetic stone. But there is an essential difference between copyright — which protects works of art — and trademark — which protects a company's brand.
Even if a character is in the public domain, it cannot be used on merchandise in a way that suggests it is from the company with the trademark, as Disney alleges Red Earth is doing.
ANTHONY Matesic works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Wednesday, July 16, 2025.
