The Trump Administration appears divided on the question of what President Donald Trump’s priorities will be for the next significant federal COVID-19 response package. The Washington Post reports the president supports providing another round of “stimulus” payments to a broad range of US households to support growth by putting money directly into the hands of … Continue Reading
Five weeks after passing the US$3 trillion HEROES Act, House Democrats are moving to pass a companion measure, the Moving Forward Act, that would add another US$1.5 trillion by funding an array of national infrastructure projects and related Democratic priorities. The bill is expected to be taken up on the House floor prior to Independence … Continue Reading
America and European countries remain focused on securing a COVID-19 vaccine to prevent resurgences of the virus, with the European Commission unveiling a strategy this week to accelerate its coordinated efforts. At a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Defense Ministerial this week, partners focused on COVID-19 and other topics, including the US’ announcement to lower … Continue Reading
America’s top monetary policy official, Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell, is urging the US Congress to extend the enhanced unemployment benefits approved this spring that are set to expire at the end of July, intensifying a policy debate that will be pivotal to the negotiations next month that will determine the next phase in … Continue Reading
President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans are being pressured by anti-establishment organizations to provide no further federal spending in response to the coronavirus. But the president and his team appear poised to move in the opposite direction, having recently revealed plans to put forth a US$1 trillion national infrastructure spending blueprint in the coming days … Continue Reading
With a month having passed since the Democratic-controlled US House of Representatives passed the US$3 trillion HEROES Act as a sequel to the bipartisan US$2.7 trillion CARES Act, calls are being renewed for Republicans in the US Senate to begin negotiations for the purpose of forging the next major federal coronavirus response deal. The White … Continue Reading
White House officials have begun moving publicly to set the table for bipartisan negotiations that will determine the contents of the next major federal COVID-19 response bill. Larry Kudlow, the director of President Donald Trump’s National Economic Council (NEC), says the talks will formally begin after the US Congress’ Independence Day state/district work period. Senior … Continue Reading
A potential area of increased transatlantic collaboration could center on ongoing efforts to reform the World Trade Organization (WTO). China’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic may provide an avenue for the United States (US) and European Union (EU), along with the United Kingdom (UK) and other like-minded trading partners, to bridge divides on WTO reform … Continue Reading
A high-stakes summer is underway in America, where President Donald Trump and the nation’s governors are pushing forward with plans for reopening the nation’s economy even as many nervously eye health indicators that suggest the coronavirus may not be satisfactorily contained. In a vivid illustration of this tension, the Republican National Committee announced Thursday that … Continue Reading
US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who has been the lead domestic policy negotiator for President Donald Trump and his administration during the COVID-19 crisis, made clear in testimony Wednesday to congressional lawmakers that the White House believes passage of another major coronavirus response package will be necessary soon, notwithstanding a generally positive national jobs report … Continue Reading
The United States has experienced a sharp increase in the number of new reported cases of coronavirus over the past week, but Beltway media coverage and the policy debate in Washington this week are largely centered on the potential for action in both chambers of the US Congress on police reform legislation. Republicans, emboldened by … Continue Reading
The US Congress is moving urgently to formulate new legislation that goes to the heart of the current policy debate in America, and it has nothing to do with coronavirus. Instead, the focus of Congress’ current short-term agenda is police reform, calls for which have surged across the nation in the wake of the universally … Continue Reading
Fueled by a stronger-than-expected monthly national employment report, President Donald Trump is vowing to press the US Congress to craft a bipartisan COVID-19 response package this summer that places a heavy emphasis on policies that would accelerate the return of the American economy as it emerges from the pandemic-driven shutdown. The White House drive comes … Continue Reading
The United States has been experiencing large-scale protests in urban centers in response to the death of George Floyd, a black American citizen, in police custody in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on 25 May. This is not the first time the country has seen protests related to racism against black Americans, but it comes amid a global … Continue Reading
President Donald Trump issued an executive order (EO) Thursday directing federal agencies to streamline their permitting processes to allow for expedited movement on infrastructure projects as a means of contributing to a swift recovery of the American economy as states and US territories emerge from their coronavirus-driven lockdowns. The president’s order came as policymakers prepared … Continue Reading
As public protests against police brutality and racial disparity continued to dominate the national policy debate, pushing coronavirus-related news from the front pages, the US Senate has given its approval to legislation passed last week by the US House of Representatives making changes to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) created by the March 27 Coronavirus … Continue Reading
The Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) is requesting comments for newly initiated Section 301 investigations on digital services tax (DST) adopted or under consideration by Austria, Brazil, the Czech Republic, the European Union, India, Indonesia, Italy, Spain, Turkey and the United Kingdom. Comments are due by July 15. On June 2, USTR announced … Continue Reading
Turmoil on America’s streets has become the primary focus of attention for the White House in recent days, marking a pivot away from the around-the-clock pandemic response posture that characterized the Trump Administration’s activity this spring. President Donald Trump and his top advisors are reportedly set to meet in the coming days to begin the … Continue Reading
For the first time since early 2020, the dominant topic in the American policy debate is not the COVID-19 pandemic. With national attention consumed by protests, riots and the state of race relations in the United States, efforts continue in Washington to stabilize and stimulate an American economy that was brought to a screeching halt … Continue Reading
The Federal Reserve is set to begin providing emergency loans to midsize businesses as soon as this week through the US$600 billion Main Street Lending Program (MSLP) established by the March 27 Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The US Senate is preparing to return to Washington, DC to resume legislative activity, including … Continue Reading
Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, as amended, gives the president – acting on the recommendation of the Secretary of Commerce – the authority to take actions to adjust imports of goods found to be imported into the United States in such quantities or under such circumstances as to threaten to impair … Continue Reading
The stay-at-home order in the nation’s capital has been lifted, while the debate continues in the United States Congress about the scope, timing and focus of the next major bipartisan federal COVID-19 response legislation. Stymied in their efforts to force quick congressional approval of another massive package, Washington Democrats are keeping busy by passing targeted … Continue Reading
The European Commission unveiled a revamped budget and recovery plan for the European Union (EU) this week, as the continent looks toward re-opening and beginning its recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The United Kingdom (UK) also announced some lifting of restrictions this week. The United States (US) Congress, meanwhile, has temporarily paused efforts on another … Continue Reading
With the country having passed a grim milestone Wednesday with the 100,000th death from coronavirus, the US House of Representatives will vote today on bipartisan legislation to provide additional flexibility under the March 27 CARES Act’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) for businesses reeling from the economic shutdown. For perhaps the first time since the pandemic … Continue Reading
