States sue Trump over mileage rules
A coalition of states sued the Trump administration Friday for the second time to block a planned reduction in the penalties automakers pay when they fail to meet fuel economy standards.
Twelve states and the District of Columbia sued the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for replacing an Obama-era regulation that imposed a penalty of $14 for every tenth of a mile-per-gallon that an automaker falls below the standards.
The lawsuit came a week after four major automakers announced a deal with California to toughen standards for gas mileage and greenhouse gas emissions. The agreement involving Ford, BMW, Honda and Volkswagen bypasses the Trump administration’s push to relax mileage standards nationwide.
The new federal rule would keep the penalty at $5.50, where it has been since the mid-1970s. The legal challenge led by the attorneys general in California and New York argues the new rule would keep the penalty far below the inflation-adjusted rate required by a 2015 law.
China tariffs to cost average US household $200 a year
The latest tariffs President Donald Trump plans to impose on Chinese goods would cost U.S. households an average of $200 a year, some economists estimate, and would start to bite consumers and retailers just as the holiday shopping season begins.
That cost would come on top of the roughly $830 cost imposed per household from Trump’s existing tariffs, according to a New York Federal Reserve analysis.
Trump plans to tax $300 billion of Chinese imports at 10% starting in September with the goal of accelerating trade talks with Beijing to favor the United States. The new tariffs would be in addition to 25% tariffs Trump has imposed on $250 billion in Chinese products. Those are mostly industrial goods. By contrast, the new tariffs would target products used by American consumers, like shoes, clothing and cellphones.
Some companies are considering moving up their delivery of goods before the new tariffs take effect.
Little Bites cookies recalled due to plastic
One flavor of Entenmann’s Little Bites Soft Baked Cookies is being recalled due to the potential presence of blue plastic pieces in individual packaging pouches.
Bimbo Bakeries USA, the Horsham, Pennsylvania-based owner of Entenmann’s, says all of the five-pack, mini chocolate chip cookie packages are being removed from stores.
No injuries have been reported, but the plastic, which was not been baked into the cookies, poses a choking hazard,
Recalled cookies contain a single UPC code, found in the lower right hand corner on the back of the box that reads 7203002378. The tainted cookies have been sold in most states and Washington, D.C.
No other Entenmann’s products are affected.
Trump delays funds for Puerto Rico aid
The Trump administration is delaying the release of more than $8 billion in funds designed to help Puerto Rico prepare for the next natural disaster, citing political unrest and financial irregularities in the U.S. territory.
The funds are part of the $16 billion approved by Congress for mitigation projects, such as hardening electrical grids, in states and territories receiving presidential disaster declarations from 2015 to 2017.
Stocks post worst week so far in 2019
Investors rattled by President Donald Trump’s latest escalation in his trade war with China drove another round of selling on Wall Street Friday.
The latest losses marked the fifth straight drop for the S&P 500 and the worst week of the year for the market just seven days after it hit an all-time high. The re-escalation in tensions between the world’s largest economies has raised worries about a global recession. Investors have responded by selling stocks and buying gold and government bonds.