Consumer spending fell 0.2% in December from the previous month, the Commerce Department said Friday.
Read MoreDecember Consumer Spending Declines; Recession Concerns Remain
Tag: Commerce Department
Chinese Solar Giants Snuck Around U.S. Trade Barriers, Investigation Finds
The Commerce Department found on Friday that four large Chinese solar panel manufacturers are avoiding longstanding U.S. tariffs by assembling their products in Southeast Asia before importing them to the country.
BYD Co., Canadian Solar International, Trina Solar Science & Technology and Vina Solar Technology violated U.S. trade laws by finishing their products in Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia and Malaysia, according to a department press release. The probe was launched in March after California-based solar company Auxin Solar alleged that some solar firms were circumventing tariffs on China by completing manufacturing in Southeast Asia.
Read MoreBiden Admin to Distribute $50 Billion Chips Fund Based on Race and Gender
The Commerce Department announced plans to prioritize “underrepresented” business owners, including women and racial minorities, when distributing $50 billion in federal funding for the semiconductor industry provided by the recent semiconductor subsidy bill.
Read MoreConsumer Spending Surged in January as Inflation Reached Near 40-Year High
Consumer spending surged in January amid soaring inflation, the Commerce Department announced Wednesday.
Retail sales grew 3.8% in January, far exceeding the 2.1% Dow Jones estimate, the Commerce Department announced Wednesday. January’s figure represents the largest monthly increase since March 2021 and a significant snapback from December 2021 when sales decreased by 2.5%.
Read MoreU.S. Trade Deficit Reached Record High in 2021 as Imports Surged
The U.S. trade deficit continued to grow in December as the import-export gap widened to record highs in 2021, the Census Bureau reported Tuesday.
The trade deficit grew by 1.8% in December 2021 to $80.7 billion, the Census Bureau announced Tuesday, $1.4 billion above the revised figure from November 2021.
Read MoreBiden’s Commerce Secretary Is Trying to Shield a $42 Billion Broadband Funding Program from Public Eyes
Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo requested the inclusion of a provision in the bipartisan infrastructure bill shielding a $42 billion broadband funding program from public scrutiny, according to several people familiar with the matter.
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, a $1.2 trillion piece of legislation that passed the Senate in August with significant bipartisan support and currently awaits a vote in the House, sets aside $42 billion in broadband deployment grants to be given to states and administered through guidelines issued by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), a division of the Commerce Department.
Read MoreJobless Claims Fall Below 400,000, Hit Economists’ Expectations
The number of Americans filing new unemployment claims decreased to 385,000 last week as the economy continues its recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Department of Labor.
The Bureau of Labor and Statistics figure released Thursday represented a slight decrease in the number of new jobless claims compared to the week ending July 24, when 399,000 new jobless claims were reported. That number was revised down from the 400,000 jobless claims initially reported last week.
Read MoreU.S. Retail Sales Jump in January in Positive Sign for Economy
The U.S. retail sales were much higher than economists projected in January, ending a multi-month streak of underperformance, according to the Commerce Department.
Retail sales increased 5.3% and totaled $568.2 billion in January, according to the Department of Commerce report released Wednesday. Economists had predicted retail sales to increase by 1.2%, The New York Times reported.
Read MoreJudge Postpones Trump’s TikTok Ban in Suit Brought by Users
A federal judge has postponed President Donald Trump’s threatened shutdown of the popular short-form video app TikTok, siding with a Pennsylvania comedian and two other TikTok creators who say Trump’s order hampers their free speech.
U.S. District Judge Wendy Beetlestone on Friday blocked an upcoming Commerce Department action that would have effectively banned TikTok in the U.S. by cutting it off from vital technical services.
Read MoreTrump Allowing Select US Firms to Supply Huawei Has Some in Congress Fuming
by Rob Garver National security hawks who normally side with U.S. President Donald Trump on foreign policy issues are up in arms over his announcement on Saturday that he would indefinitely delay the imposition of tariffs on $300 billion of Chinese goods and relax restrictions on U.S. firms doing…
Read MoreCommentary: Trump Shuts China’s ‘Backdoor’ to Cyber Spying
by Thaddeus G. McCotter President Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order in a prescient move to defend America’s national security against Chinese cyber espionage. Invoking his powers under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the president gave the Commerce Department 150 days to devise methods of implementing new…
Read MoreNine States Back Environmentalists Trying to Shutdown Search for Oil in Atlantic
by Tim Pearce Nine states are intervening in a lawsuit against the Trump administration for approving oil and gas companies to search for oil and gas deposits in the Atlantic Ocean. Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh announced Thursday the states would join environmental groups in a lawsuit to prevent the Trump…
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