REUTERS
"Smaller US manufacturers warm to Biden's big industrial plan, survey shows"
By Timothy Aeppel
April 16, 2024
April 16 (Reuters) - America’s small and mid-sized manufacturers may be warming up to the Biden administration’s push for an aggressive industrial policy.
In a survey of 150 producers, nearly 49% said they thought President Joe Biden "is more likely to bring about an American manufacturing renaissance," while just over 31% gave that accolade to Republican candidate Donald Trump.
About 15% favor an unnamed third-party candidate to revitalize the sector, according to the survey conducted by polling company John Zogby Strategies on behalf of Xometry, a Maryland-based company that provides digital sourcing services for industrial producers.
Biden’s industrial policy, headlined by legislation passed in 2022 that sparked a surge of factory construction, is aimed at boosting semiconductors, electric vehicles and green technologies, as well as other sectors.
The efforts so far have not produced many manufacturing jobs.
And so, as the presidential campaign shifts into higher gear ahead of November’s election, Biden is touring factories to tout his accomplishments, especially to voters in battleground states.
"This is the first time in a long time that we’ve had a deliberate industrial strategy being pushed by the executive branch - that’s unique," said Randy Altschuler, chief executive of Xometry.
Altschuler said federal investments have yet to filter down to smaller producers, with many of the most high-profile projects favoring giants like Intel and Samsung, which are both planning new semiconductor plants.
"You’re going to see a bigger benefit (for smaller companies) further down the road," said Altschuler, as those projects create demand for the underlying pipeline of goods and services needed to complete and supply those factories.
Altschuler, who ran for Congress in New York in 2010 and lost and remains a registered Republican, said the political divide over industrial policy - which was once opposed by many Republicans as picking winners and losers - has narrowed sharply in recent years.
Republican Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, for instance, recently penned an essay for the conservative policy journal National Affairs that argued the U.S. needs a strong industrial policy while faulting the Biden initiatives.
Still, manufacturers favor Republicans by one key measure.
The National Association of Manufacturers Political Action Committee has so far directed nearly three-quarters of its contributions to Republican candidates in this election cycle, according to the nonprofit research group OpenSecrets.
Reporting by Timothy Aeppel; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama
https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/smal ... 024-04-16/
AMERICA'S FIGHTING BULLDOG JOE BIDEN
Re: AMERICA'S FIGHTING BULLDOG JOE BIDEN
REUTERS
"US trade chief Tai says taking 'serious look' at tools to deal with China"
By David Lawder
April 16, 2024
WASHINGTON, April 16 (Reuters) - U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai will tell lawmakers on Tuesday that the Biden administration is "taking a serious look" at U.S. trade defense tools to deal with threats posed by China's trade and economic policies, including a review of Trump-era tariffs on Chinese imports.
In excerpts of testimony to the U.S. House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee released ahead of a hearing on Tuesday, Tai said that China's policies were causing "dependencies and vulnerabilities in multiple sectors, harming American workers and businesses and creating real risks for our supply chains."
"This is why we are taking a serious look at how our existing tools are addressing this problem, including through our four-year review of the China Section 301 tariffs," Tai said.
Tai's testimony on the Biden administration's 2024 trade agenda comes just a week after U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen issued a warning to Chinese leaders that their overinvestment in production capacity for electric vehicles, solar panels and other clean energy goods was threatening an unacceptable wave of exports that would hurt producers and workers in the United States and elsewhere.
Yellen on Tuesday will commence a new dialogue with Chinese officials on "balanced growth" at the Treasury, but China trade experts say her message to Beijing on excess capacity may be an initial step toward a new "Section 301" unfair trade practices investigation that could impose new tariffs on EVs, solar panels and other imports.
Former President Donald Trump used Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, to impose tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars worth of Chinese imports in 2018.
The Biden administration is now nearing completion of a lengthy review of whether to renew those duties.
Tai also will tell lawmakers that she is closely reviewing a petition from five U.S. unions to open a new Section 301 investigation into China's allegedly unfair acts, policies and practices in the maritime logistics and shipbuilding sector.
"Our economic relationship with the PRC is complex, and as the President said, we want competition with China, not conflict," Tai said in her excerpts.
A major goal of the Biden administration's work on supply chains has been aimed at reducing dependence on China and diversifying sources of supply to avoid bottlenecks like those that occurred at the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, Tai said
"Reducing dependencies and vulnerabilities and strengthening supply chains is a major priority for USTR this year, which informs our work as part of the President’s Council on Supply Chain Resilience," Tai said.
The U.S. trade chief has put workers at the center of U.S. trade policy, seeking to build higher labor standards in trade negotiations with other countries.
She said this includes prioritizing strong labor commitments in negotiations with Kenya and Taiwan.
Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Michael Perry
https://www.reuters.com/world/us-trade- ... 024-04-16/
"US trade chief Tai says taking 'serious look' at tools to deal with China"
By David Lawder
April 16, 2024
WASHINGTON, April 16 (Reuters) - U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai will tell lawmakers on Tuesday that the Biden administration is "taking a serious look" at U.S. trade defense tools to deal with threats posed by China's trade and economic policies, including a review of Trump-era tariffs on Chinese imports.
In excerpts of testimony to the U.S. House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee released ahead of a hearing on Tuesday, Tai said that China's policies were causing "dependencies and vulnerabilities in multiple sectors, harming American workers and businesses and creating real risks for our supply chains."
"This is why we are taking a serious look at how our existing tools are addressing this problem, including through our four-year review of the China Section 301 tariffs," Tai said.
Tai's testimony on the Biden administration's 2024 trade agenda comes just a week after U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen issued a warning to Chinese leaders that their overinvestment in production capacity for electric vehicles, solar panels and other clean energy goods was threatening an unacceptable wave of exports that would hurt producers and workers in the United States and elsewhere.
Yellen on Tuesday will commence a new dialogue with Chinese officials on "balanced growth" at the Treasury, but China trade experts say her message to Beijing on excess capacity may be an initial step toward a new "Section 301" unfair trade practices investigation that could impose new tariffs on EVs, solar panels and other imports.
Former President Donald Trump used Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, to impose tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars worth of Chinese imports in 2018.
The Biden administration is now nearing completion of a lengthy review of whether to renew those duties.
Tai also will tell lawmakers that she is closely reviewing a petition from five U.S. unions to open a new Section 301 investigation into China's allegedly unfair acts, policies and practices in the maritime logistics and shipbuilding sector.
"Our economic relationship with the PRC is complex, and as the President said, we want competition with China, not conflict," Tai said in her excerpts.
A major goal of the Biden administration's work on supply chains has been aimed at reducing dependence on China and diversifying sources of supply to avoid bottlenecks like those that occurred at the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, Tai said
"Reducing dependencies and vulnerabilities and strengthening supply chains is a major priority for USTR this year, which informs our work as part of the President’s Council on Supply Chain Resilience," Tai said.
The U.S. trade chief has put workers at the center of U.S. trade policy, seeking to build higher labor standards in trade negotiations with other countries.
She said this includes prioritizing strong labor commitments in negotiations with Kenya and Taiwan.
Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Michael Perry
https://www.reuters.com/world/us-trade- ... 024-04-16/
Re: AMERICA'S FIGHTING BULLDOG JOE BIDEN
REUTERS
"US trade chief calls for 'decisive' action to shield EV sector from China"
By David Lawder
April 17, 2024
WASHINGTON, April 17 (Reuters) - The U.S. must take "decisive" action to protect electric vehicles (EVs) from subsidized Chinese competition, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said on Wednesday as she completes a review of Trump-era China tariffs and considers President Joe Biden's call for higher tariffs on imports of Chinese steel.
Tai told a U.S. Senate Finance Committee hearing that the U.S. needed to create a level playing field for U.S. workers and that Biden's call for higher "Section 301" tariffs on Chinese steel imports means that "we are in very, very advanced stages of our interagency work, and I expect that we will come to conclusion very soon."
She said that China's "anti-competitive practices," including "enormous amounts of state support," had fostered overproduction of solar panels a decade ago that devastated U.S. producers.
Tai said the U.S. was now facing a similar situation with EVs and the automotive sector, and leaving Chinese competition unchecked would cause the U.S. to lose the ability to produce those products.
"So we have to take early action, decisive action and we have to be really clear about why we're taking the action," she said.
"We are looking for a level playing field because the current playing field is not level, for all the talk about free trade."
Tai added that the current dynamics in the global EV industry is a significant factor in the Biden administration's examination of its trade tools.
USTR announced on Wednesday that it had opened a new unfair trade practices investigation into China's "acts, policies and practices" to dominate the maritime, logistics and shipbuilding sectors.
The probe, which accepts a petition from five U.S. labor unions, will be conducted under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, the same statute used by former President Donald Trump to impose tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars of Chinese imports in 2018.
Some senators have urged Tai to use the Section 301 tariff review, launched in September 2022, to take actions to impose higher tariffs on Chinese-made EVs.
Tai told the panel that the completion of the review and any adjustments would be presented as a "complete package" and that she had a high degree of confidence it would be completed soon.
Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Franklin Paul and Paul Simao
https://www.reuters.com/business/autos- ... 024-04-17/
"US trade chief calls for 'decisive' action to shield EV sector from China"
By David Lawder
April 17, 2024
WASHINGTON, April 17 (Reuters) - The U.S. must take "decisive" action to protect electric vehicles (EVs) from subsidized Chinese competition, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said on Wednesday as she completes a review of Trump-era China tariffs and considers President Joe Biden's call for higher tariffs on imports of Chinese steel.
Tai told a U.S. Senate Finance Committee hearing that the U.S. needed to create a level playing field for U.S. workers and that Biden's call for higher "Section 301" tariffs on Chinese steel imports means that "we are in very, very advanced stages of our interagency work, and I expect that we will come to conclusion very soon."
She said that China's "anti-competitive practices," including "enormous amounts of state support," had fostered overproduction of solar panels a decade ago that devastated U.S. producers.
Tai said the U.S. was now facing a similar situation with EVs and the automotive sector, and leaving Chinese competition unchecked would cause the U.S. to lose the ability to produce those products.
"So we have to take early action, decisive action and we have to be really clear about why we're taking the action," she said.
"We are looking for a level playing field because the current playing field is not level, for all the talk about free trade."
Tai added that the current dynamics in the global EV industry is a significant factor in the Biden administration's examination of its trade tools.
USTR announced on Wednesday that it had opened a new unfair trade practices investigation into China's "acts, policies and practices" to dominate the maritime, logistics and shipbuilding sectors.
The probe, which accepts a petition from five U.S. labor unions, will be conducted under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, the same statute used by former President Donald Trump to impose tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars of Chinese imports in 2018.
Some senators have urged Tai to use the Section 301 tariff review, launched in September 2022, to take actions to impose higher tariffs on Chinese-made EVs.
Tai told the panel that the completion of the review and any adjustments would be presented as a "complete package" and that she had a high degree of confidence it would be completed soon.
Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Franklin Paul and Paul Simao
https://www.reuters.com/business/autos- ... 024-04-17/
Re: AMERICA'S FIGHTING BULLDOG JOE BIDEN
REUTERS
"Tesla layoffs include 14% of Buffalo workers, WARN notice shows"
By Reuters
April 17, 2024
April 17 (Reuters) - Tesla will lay off 285 employees in Buffalo, New York, as part of its plans to trim 10% of its global workforce, the electric-vehicle maker said in a legally mandated notice on Wednesday.
Under pressure from falling sales and an intensifying price war for EVs, Tesla announced its latest round of jobs cuts on Monday in an internal memo that was seen by Reuters.
The notice on Wednesday, opens new tab was issued under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act which requires employers to provide a 60-day notice before layoffs.
It said the layoffs would start on July 15 and that they were due to "economic" reasons.
Tesla has a total of 2,032 employees across the two impacted sites in Buffalo, meaning that the cuts will affect about 14% of its workers there.
The plants in upstate New York were built to produce solar roof tiles.
Tesla also makes fast-charging equipment at the location, which hosts staff that label data for its Autopilot driver-assistance technology and is set to be the home of its Dojo supercomputer project.
The EV maker had in February last year let go 4% of the employees in the Autopilot labeling team in Buffalo as part of a performance review cycle conducted every six months.
The move had come just a day after the workers launched a campaign to form a union, but Tesla had said the affected staff were identified before the union campaign was announced.
Musk last announced a big round of job cuts in 2022, after telling executives he had a "super bad feeling" about the economy.
Still, Tesla's headcount has risen from around 100,000 in late 2021 to over 140,000 in late 2023, according to filings with U.S. regulators.
The layoffs follow an exclusive Reuters report on April 5 that Tesla had canceled a long-promised inexpensive car, expected to cost $25,000, that investors have been counting on to drive mass-market growth.
Tesla has been slow to refresh its aging models as high interest rates have sapped consumer appetite for big-ticket items, while rivals in China, the world's largest auto market, are rolling out cheaper models.
Reporting by Aditya Soni in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel
https://www.reuters.com/business/autos- ... 024-04-17/
"Tesla layoffs include 14% of Buffalo workers, WARN notice shows"
By Reuters
April 17, 2024
April 17 (Reuters) - Tesla will lay off 285 employees in Buffalo, New York, as part of its plans to trim 10% of its global workforce, the electric-vehicle maker said in a legally mandated notice on Wednesday.
Under pressure from falling sales and an intensifying price war for EVs, Tesla announced its latest round of jobs cuts on Monday in an internal memo that was seen by Reuters.
The notice on Wednesday, opens new tab was issued under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act which requires employers to provide a 60-day notice before layoffs.
It said the layoffs would start on July 15 and that they were due to "economic" reasons.
Tesla has a total of 2,032 employees across the two impacted sites in Buffalo, meaning that the cuts will affect about 14% of its workers there.
The plants in upstate New York were built to produce solar roof tiles.
Tesla also makes fast-charging equipment at the location, which hosts staff that label data for its Autopilot driver-assistance technology and is set to be the home of its Dojo supercomputer project.
The EV maker had in February last year let go 4% of the employees in the Autopilot labeling team in Buffalo as part of a performance review cycle conducted every six months.
The move had come just a day after the workers launched a campaign to form a union, but Tesla had said the affected staff were identified before the union campaign was announced.
Musk last announced a big round of job cuts in 2022, after telling executives he had a "super bad feeling" about the economy.
Still, Tesla's headcount has risen from around 100,000 in late 2021 to over 140,000 in late 2023, according to filings with U.S. regulators.
The layoffs follow an exclusive Reuters report on April 5 that Tesla had canceled a long-promised inexpensive car, expected to cost $25,000, that investors have been counting on to drive mass-market growth.
Tesla has been slow to refresh its aging models as high interest rates have sapped consumer appetite for big-ticket items, while rivals in China, the world's largest auto market, are rolling out cheaper models.
Reporting by Aditya Soni in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel
https://www.reuters.com/business/autos- ... 024-04-17/
Re: AMERICA'S FIGHTING BULLDOG JOE BIDEN
REUTERS
"US regional banks seen booking more commercial property losses, loan sales"
By Saeed Azhar and Matt Tracy
April 17, 2024
April 17 (Reuters) - U.S. regional banks are expected to set aside more money to cover potential commercial real estate (CRE) losses and sell more property loans as the sector remains under pressure a year after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank.
Most multifamily loans are made by regional banks, so when New York Community Bank posted a surprise fourth-quarter loss it intensified fears about the industry's exposure to commercial real estate.
Multifamily properties with more than five units are a major concern, especially since the bank had booked losses on its real estate portfolio.
Scrutiny of regional banks has increased after Silicon Valley Bank's collapse prompted by high borrowing costs that exceeded its income from low-rate loans following the Federal Reserve's aggressive rate hikes since March 2022.
Many banks have unrealized losses on securities portfolios, including mortgage-backed paper.
A slew of regional banks report first-quarter earnings starting April 16.
"I expect to see more of a reserve buildup," said Stephen Buschbom, research director at consultancy Trepp.
Buschbom said office loans remain the "biggest pain points" for banks, but he also expects stress in the multifamily sector especially construction loans.
Office loans have been hit as many employees still work from home after the pandemic, leaving vacancies that make it tougher for building owners to repay their mortgages.
Multifamily is also under pressure in cities like New York and San Francisco that, right before the pandemic, severely limited rent hikes on regulated apartments based on record low interest rates and inflation at the time.
Non-performing CRE loans as a percentage of U.S. banks' portfolios doubled to 0.81% by the end of 2023 from 0.4% a year earlier, the International Monetary Fund said in its semi-annual Global Financial Stability report.
Banks have continued to increase provisions for bad CRE loans, the IMF noted on Tuesday.
Several analysts and investors are predicting higher reserves.
Morgan Stanley forecast a 10- to 20-basis point increase in CRE reserve ratios for regional banks this year, said Manan Gosalia, an analyst at the Wall Street bank, in a research note.
Aggregate provisions are 20% above consensus, she added.
Stephen Biggar of Argus Research agreed, saying high office vacancies have reduced cash flows, and the Fed's stance on keeping interest rates higher for longer makes financing expensive.
CRE holdings are significant across the U.S. banking industry, comprising 13% of large banks' balance sheets and 44% for regional banks, an Ares Alternative Credit report showed.
Reflecting investor sentiment, the KBW regional bank index is down 13.5% year to date versus the S&P bank index's 6.8% rise.
S&P Global Ratings downgraded the outlook for five U.S. banks in March because of stress in CRE markets, which it said may hurt their asset quality and performance.
The banks cited, including M&T Bank and Valley National Bancorp, declined to comment.
"The CRE delinquency rate for banks is more benign than the commercial mortgage-backed securities market, but deteriorating," Stuart Plesser, managing director (at rating agency S&P Global Ratings, told Reuters, saying he sees some reserve increase for banks.
The delinquency rate at regional banks is 1.2% for loans 30 days due as of the end of the fourth quarter, according to S&P Global, below the 4% for CMBS.
Buschbom, however, said the level of support from potential buyers, including private equity investors, will help reduce some downside risks for banks.
Office loans are selling at deep discounts, while multifamily properties have smaller discounts, industry sources said.
"Numerous community and regional banks are exploring their options and, as a result, we are seeing more deal flow than we have since the global financial crisis," said David Aviram, co-founder of real estate investment firm Maverick Real Estate Partners.
A senior Wall Street banker who declined to be named discussing sensitive information said banks are expected to offload existing loans to private lenders and that those lenders would originate new loans.
Among such deals, regional lender PacWest last year sold construction loans with a $200 million discount, a regulatory filing showed.
In December Signature Bridge Bank, whose predecessor Signature Bank collapsed in 2023, sold 20% of its equity stake in a venture that held a $16.8 billion real estate loan portfolio to a Blackstone-led consortium for $1.2 billion.
The discount on the portfolio was nearly 30%, based on data from the announcement by Blackstone.
"We see banks taking a more conservative approach and anticipate additional write-offs in coming quarters," said Ran Eliasaf, founder and managing partner at Northwind Group, a private equity firm over $3 billion assets under management.
"There's a much more dramatic drop in values than what the market estimated in 2023."
Analysts, however, do not expect turmoil from the banking sector's exposure to commercial real estate.
"This is a slow wreck, not a high-speed crash," said Biggar of Argus Research.
Reporting by Saeed Azhar and Matt Tracy; editing by Megan Davies and Richard Chang
https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/us-r ... 024-04-17/
"US regional banks seen booking more commercial property losses, loan sales"
By Saeed Azhar and Matt Tracy
April 17, 2024
April 17 (Reuters) - U.S. regional banks are expected to set aside more money to cover potential commercial real estate (CRE) losses and sell more property loans as the sector remains under pressure a year after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank.
Most multifamily loans are made by regional banks, so when New York Community Bank posted a surprise fourth-quarter loss it intensified fears about the industry's exposure to commercial real estate.
Multifamily properties with more than five units are a major concern, especially since the bank had booked losses on its real estate portfolio.
Scrutiny of regional banks has increased after Silicon Valley Bank's collapse prompted by high borrowing costs that exceeded its income from low-rate loans following the Federal Reserve's aggressive rate hikes since March 2022.
Many banks have unrealized losses on securities portfolios, including mortgage-backed paper.
A slew of regional banks report first-quarter earnings starting April 16.
"I expect to see more of a reserve buildup," said Stephen Buschbom, research director at consultancy Trepp.
Buschbom said office loans remain the "biggest pain points" for banks, but he also expects stress in the multifamily sector especially construction loans.
Office loans have been hit as many employees still work from home after the pandemic, leaving vacancies that make it tougher for building owners to repay their mortgages.
Multifamily is also under pressure in cities like New York and San Francisco that, right before the pandemic, severely limited rent hikes on regulated apartments based on record low interest rates and inflation at the time.
Non-performing CRE loans as a percentage of U.S. banks' portfolios doubled to 0.81% by the end of 2023 from 0.4% a year earlier, the International Monetary Fund said in its semi-annual Global Financial Stability report.
Banks have continued to increase provisions for bad CRE loans, the IMF noted on Tuesday.
Several analysts and investors are predicting higher reserves.
Morgan Stanley forecast a 10- to 20-basis point increase in CRE reserve ratios for regional banks this year, said Manan Gosalia, an analyst at the Wall Street bank, in a research note.
Aggregate provisions are 20% above consensus, she added.
Stephen Biggar of Argus Research agreed, saying high office vacancies have reduced cash flows, and the Fed's stance on keeping interest rates higher for longer makes financing expensive.
CRE holdings are significant across the U.S. banking industry, comprising 13% of large banks' balance sheets and 44% for regional banks, an Ares Alternative Credit report showed.
Reflecting investor sentiment, the KBW regional bank index is down 13.5% year to date versus the S&P bank index's 6.8% rise.
S&P Global Ratings downgraded the outlook for five U.S. banks in March because of stress in CRE markets, which it said may hurt their asset quality and performance.
The banks cited, including M&T Bank and Valley National Bancorp, declined to comment.
"The CRE delinquency rate for banks is more benign than the commercial mortgage-backed securities market, but deteriorating," Stuart Plesser, managing director (at rating agency S&P Global Ratings, told Reuters, saying he sees some reserve increase for banks.
The delinquency rate at regional banks is 1.2% for loans 30 days due as of the end of the fourth quarter, according to S&P Global, below the 4% for CMBS.
Buschbom, however, said the level of support from potential buyers, including private equity investors, will help reduce some downside risks for banks.
Office loans are selling at deep discounts, while multifamily properties have smaller discounts, industry sources said.
"Numerous community and regional banks are exploring their options and, as a result, we are seeing more deal flow than we have since the global financial crisis," said David Aviram, co-founder of real estate investment firm Maverick Real Estate Partners.
A senior Wall Street banker who declined to be named discussing sensitive information said banks are expected to offload existing loans to private lenders and that those lenders would originate new loans.
Among such deals, regional lender PacWest last year sold construction loans with a $200 million discount, a regulatory filing showed.
In December Signature Bridge Bank, whose predecessor Signature Bank collapsed in 2023, sold 20% of its equity stake in a venture that held a $16.8 billion real estate loan portfolio to a Blackstone-led consortium for $1.2 billion.
The discount on the portfolio was nearly 30%, based on data from the announcement by Blackstone.
"We see banks taking a more conservative approach and anticipate additional write-offs in coming quarters," said Ran Eliasaf, founder and managing partner at Northwind Group, a private equity firm over $3 billion assets under management.
"There's a much more dramatic drop in values than what the market estimated in 2023."
Analysts, however, do not expect turmoil from the banking sector's exposure to commercial real estate.
"This is a slow wreck, not a high-speed crash," said Biggar of Argus Research.
Reporting by Saeed Azhar and Matt Tracy; editing by Megan Davies and Richard Chang
https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/us-r ... 024-04-17/
Re: AMERICA'S FIGHTING BULLDOG JOE BIDEN
REUTERS
"Exclusive: US plans to restore tariffs on dominant solar technology, sources say"
By Nichola Groom and Jarrett Renshaw
April 17, 2024
April 17 (Reuters) - The Biden administration is expected to grant a request by South Korea’s Hanwha Qcells to reverse a two-year-old trade exemption that has allowed imports of a dominant solar panel technology from China and other countries to avoid tariffs, two sources familiar with the White House plans said on Wednesday.
The news sent shares of solar manufacturers including U.S.-based First Solar higher in afternoon trade.
The Qcells request, which has not previously been reported, comes as the company is seeking to protect a pledged $2.5 billion expansion of its U.S. solar manufacturing presence against competition from cheaper Asian-made products.
The solar division of Korean conglomerate Hanwha Corp outlined the request in a formal petition to the U.S. Trade Representative on Feb. 23.
It included letters of support from seven other companies with billions of dollars combined invested in U.S. solar factories.
No decision has been made on the timeline of the expected reversal, the sources said.
Duties on imports of bifacial panels, the main technology in utility-scale solar projects, would be a boon to the more than 40 solar equipment factories planned since U.S. President Joe Biden signed his landmark climate change law, the Inflation Reduction Act, in 2022.
Those plants are critical to Biden's plan to fight climate change, revitalize American manufacturing and create millions of union jobs.
Past trade remedies have sharply divided the U.S. solar industry, which is dominated by installers and developers who rely on cheap imports to keep their project costs low.
The top U.S. solar trade group, the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), lobbied for the bifacial exemption.
In a statement, SEIA did not address the exemption directly but advocated for an increase in the amount of solar cells that can be imported tariff-free to help companies assembling American-made panels.
"We hope the Administration is prepared to directly support increased domestic manufacturing of solar modules by raising the tariff rate quota on cells," said Stacy Ettinger, SEIA's senior vice president of supply chain and trade.
Biden administration officials, including Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, in recent weeks have said the U.S. is evaluating trade remedies to deal with threats posed by China's massive investment in factory capacity for clean energy goods.
The solar panel issue goes to the core of one of Biden’s arguments for re-election: that his economic policies have begun transforming the U.S. energy economy while combating climate change.
However, the pace of growth in the domestic solar panel manufacturing market has been cast into doubt by surging imports of cheap, Chinese panels.
A bipartisan group of U.S. senators, led by the two Democrats from the critical election battleground state of Georgia, asked Biden earlier this year to toughen up tariffs on Chinese solar panels or face a glutted market just as clean-energy tax credits hit the market.
Qcells, which has two factories in Georgia, is the largest U.S. producer of silicon-based solar products.
In its petition, a copy of which was seen by Reuters, the company asked Biden to revoke an exemption of so-called bifacial panels from duties first imposed by Republican former President Donald Trump in 2018 and extended by Biden, a Democrat, in 2022.
The tariffs on imported modules started at 30% and currently stand at 14.25%.
They are due to expire in 2026.
'A LEVEL PLAYING FIELD'
Most panel imports come from Southeast Asia but are made by Chinese companies there.
The U.S. imposed duties on some panel makers for finishing their products in Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam to avoid tariffs on Chinese-made goods.
Biden waived those tariffs nearly two years ago, a policy that the White House said it will allow to expire in June.
"We're continuing to look at all of our options to ensure that the historic investments spurred by the Inflation Reduction Act are successful," a White House official said.
"Our companies and workers can compete with anyone, but they need a level playing field."
Bifacial panels can generate electricity on both sides.
The technology was nascent when the tariffs were first imposed but now accounts for 98% of imported modules, according to the petition.
The action is needed, Qcells said in the petition, to preserve the many plans for new U.S. solar manufacturing capacity that have been unleashed by incentives contained in the IRA.
"Despite these positive trends, there is growing evidence that negative market conditions caused by surging imports of bifacial modules are causing several companies to rethink their plans to invest in the U.S.," the petition said.
Qcells' request is supported by seven other solar manufacturers with U.S. factories - First Solar, Heliene, Suniva, Silfab, Crossroads Solar, Mission Solar and Auxin Solar - according to the petition documents.
First Solar shares closed nearly 3% higher at $178.01 on the Nasdaq.
Reporting by Nichola Groom and Jarrett Renshaw; editing by Timothy Gardner and Bill Berkrot
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-pla ... 024-04-17/
"Exclusive: US plans to restore tariffs on dominant solar technology, sources say"
By Nichola Groom and Jarrett Renshaw
April 17, 2024
April 17 (Reuters) - The Biden administration is expected to grant a request by South Korea’s Hanwha Qcells to reverse a two-year-old trade exemption that has allowed imports of a dominant solar panel technology from China and other countries to avoid tariffs, two sources familiar with the White House plans said on Wednesday.
The news sent shares of solar manufacturers including U.S.-based First Solar higher in afternoon trade.
The Qcells request, which has not previously been reported, comes as the company is seeking to protect a pledged $2.5 billion expansion of its U.S. solar manufacturing presence against competition from cheaper Asian-made products.
The solar division of Korean conglomerate Hanwha Corp outlined the request in a formal petition to the U.S. Trade Representative on Feb. 23.
It included letters of support from seven other companies with billions of dollars combined invested in U.S. solar factories.
No decision has been made on the timeline of the expected reversal, the sources said.
Duties on imports of bifacial panels, the main technology in utility-scale solar projects, would be a boon to the more than 40 solar equipment factories planned since U.S. President Joe Biden signed his landmark climate change law, the Inflation Reduction Act, in 2022.
Those plants are critical to Biden's plan to fight climate change, revitalize American manufacturing and create millions of union jobs.
Past trade remedies have sharply divided the U.S. solar industry, which is dominated by installers and developers who rely on cheap imports to keep their project costs low.
The top U.S. solar trade group, the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), lobbied for the bifacial exemption.
In a statement, SEIA did not address the exemption directly but advocated for an increase in the amount of solar cells that can be imported tariff-free to help companies assembling American-made panels.
"We hope the Administration is prepared to directly support increased domestic manufacturing of solar modules by raising the tariff rate quota on cells," said Stacy Ettinger, SEIA's senior vice president of supply chain and trade.
Biden administration officials, including Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, in recent weeks have said the U.S. is evaluating trade remedies to deal with threats posed by China's massive investment in factory capacity for clean energy goods.
The solar panel issue goes to the core of one of Biden’s arguments for re-election: that his economic policies have begun transforming the U.S. energy economy while combating climate change.
However, the pace of growth in the domestic solar panel manufacturing market has been cast into doubt by surging imports of cheap, Chinese panels.
A bipartisan group of U.S. senators, led by the two Democrats from the critical election battleground state of Georgia, asked Biden earlier this year to toughen up tariffs on Chinese solar panels or face a glutted market just as clean-energy tax credits hit the market.
Qcells, which has two factories in Georgia, is the largest U.S. producer of silicon-based solar products.
In its petition, a copy of which was seen by Reuters, the company asked Biden to revoke an exemption of so-called bifacial panels from duties first imposed by Republican former President Donald Trump in 2018 and extended by Biden, a Democrat, in 2022.
The tariffs on imported modules started at 30% and currently stand at 14.25%.
They are due to expire in 2026.
'A LEVEL PLAYING FIELD'
Most panel imports come from Southeast Asia but are made by Chinese companies there.
The U.S. imposed duties on some panel makers for finishing their products in Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam to avoid tariffs on Chinese-made goods.
Biden waived those tariffs nearly two years ago, a policy that the White House said it will allow to expire in June.
"We're continuing to look at all of our options to ensure that the historic investments spurred by the Inflation Reduction Act are successful," a White House official said.
"Our companies and workers can compete with anyone, but they need a level playing field."
Bifacial panels can generate electricity on both sides.
The technology was nascent when the tariffs were first imposed but now accounts for 98% of imported modules, according to the petition.
The action is needed, Qcells said in the petition, to preserve the many plans for new U.S. solar manufacturing capacity that have been unleashed by incentives contained in the IRA.
"Despite these positive trends, there is growing evidence that negative market conditions caused by surging imports of bifacial modules are causing several companies to rethink their plans to invest in the U.S.," the petition said.
Qcells' request is supported by seven other solar manufacturers with U.S. factories - First Solar, Heliene, Suniva, Silfab, Crossroads Solar, Mission Solar and Auxin Solar - according to the petition documents.
First Solar shares closed nearly 3% higher at $178.01 on the Nasdaq.
Reporting by Nichola Groom and Jarrett Renshaw; editing by Timothy Gardner and Bill Berkrot
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-pla ... 024-04-17/
Re: AMERICA'S FIGHTING BULLDOG JOE BIDEN
REUTERS
"New tariffs on Chinese metals won't impact inflation, White House says"
By Reuters
April 17, 2024
WASHINGTON, April 17 (Reuters) - Sharply higher tariffs on Chinese metal products being considered by the Biden administration would not affect U.S. inflation and are necessary for national security, White House economic adviser Jared Bernstein said on Wednesday.
"If we don't take action, we're putting at risk about one of our most critical sectors -- what the president calls the backbone of the American economy, the bedrock of our national security -- and that's domestic steel production," the chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers told CNBC.
U.S. President Joe Biden on Wednesday will call for sharply higher tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum as part of a package of policies aimed at pleasing steelworkers in the swing state of Pennsylvania, at the risk of angering Beijing.
Bernstein said such tariffs would not have a negative effect on the U.S. economy.
"This is a targeted intervention that shouldn't have much impact at all on inflation," he said in an interview with CNBC.
Reporting by Doina Chiacu; editing by Susan Heavey
https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodi ... 024-04-17/
"New tariffs on Chinese metals won't impact inflation, White House says"
By Reuters
April 17, 2024
WASHINGTON, April 17 (Reuters) - Sharply higher tariffs on Chinese metal products being considered by the Biden administration would not affect U.S. inflation and are necessary for national security, White House economic adviser Jared Bernstein said on Wednesday.
"If we don't take action, we're putting at risk about one of our most critical sectors -- what the president calls the backbone of the American economy, the bedrock of our national security -- and that's domestic steel production," the chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers told CNBC.
U.S. President Joe Biden on Wednesday will call for sharply higher tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum as part of a package of policies aimed at pleasing steelworkers in the swing state of Pennsylvania, at the risk of angering Beijing.
Bernstein said such tariffs would not have a negative effect on the U.S. economy.
"This is a targeted intervention that shouldn't have much impact at all on inflation," he said in an interview with CNBC.
Reporting by Doina Chiacu; editing by Susan Heavey
https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodi ... 024-04-17/
Re: AMERICA'S FIGHTING BULLDOG JOE BIDEN
THE CAPE CHARLES MIRROR APRIL 17, 2024 AT 5:49 PM
Paul Plante says:
Where I have been these last several days of apparent quietude on my part in here is out there in what these days passes for the “real” world, embroiled in a controversy splitting my small community which is a direct outcome of what happens when BIDEN INFRASTRUCTURE MONEY is mindlessly made available to small towns like mine for alleged “infrastructure” improvements, which small towns, to get their hands on what they consider “free money,” a windfall of riches into their pockets courtesy of the federal government in Washington, D.C., have to promise to put their local taxpayers in hock for a certain percentage of the project cost, whether those taxpayers want or need the project, in this case a public water supply, without those taxpayers having any say in the matter, period, largely because it is all, the process of actually getting that money being political in nature, going on behind closed doors with absolutely no transparency for the affected taxpayers of whom I am one, as can be seen beginning @6:34 into this video of the April 11, 2024 Poestenkill, New York town board meeting ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tc0BOo3NIa4 ) where I go ballistic with respect to us being lied to and misled as I vent some incandescent rage at a corrupt town board for selling us into debt slavery to get their hands on some $5,277,567 of grant money of which $670,367 is coming from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law-EC grant, and $1,693,000 in a congressional community project funding grant from Kirsten Gillibrand, with us in a small community being on the hook for a minimum of $272,433, subject to cost overruns we will also be on the hook for, all based upon an imaginary crisis at local middle school as the need for the grant money.
In other words, to get their hands on this “free government money,” the Poestenkill town board simply lied, knowing they could and would get away with it, because first of all, given the secrecy, who would even know, and then, once they did find out, which always happens, other than vent some fury about it, as I am seen and heard doing in that video, and make some noise, which goes away real soon, what can they do about it?
Have the federal government, which based the grants on that lie, take the money back?
HAH, as if that is going to happen, as we see in a 31 July 2023 writing from myself to Hon. Kirsten Gillibrand, U.S. Senator, Leo W. O’Brien Federal Office Bldg,, 11A Clinton Ave, Rm 821, Albany, NY 12207, RE: Federal funding for Water District No. 2, Poestenkill (T), Rensselaer County; U.S. Constitution, Article I, Section 9, Clause 7: No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law, wherein was stated as follows with respect to the fraudulent nature of this grant application, to wit:
Dear Senator Gillibrand:
As you will recall, on 28 January 2023, I sent a letter to your office concerning this above referenced matter of Water District No. 2 in the town of Poestenkill, Rensselaer County, state of New York titled RE: Poestenkill (T), Rensselaer County; Water District No. 2; Requesting federal assistance for Water District No. 2 based on false pretenses, wherein I detailed for you the fact that the PFAS contamination in Poestenkill’s groundwater is as a result of willful gross negligence and neglect of duty by the town of Poestenkill itself, which raises the substantive question of why the federal taxpayers should be put on the hook here to pay for the intentional negligence and neglect of duty by Poestenkill, especially when the request is made based on falsehoods?
Subsequent thereto, on July 28, 2023, Poestenkill Town Councilmember Eric Wohlleber, who since 27 September 2021 has been spearheading a whitewash and cover-up in this matter to protect the polluter, Waste Management of New York, LLC, at the Poestenkill transfer station in a Planned Development District at the intersection of NYS Rts. 66 and 351 in Poestenkill regulated by the town of Poestenkill, sent out a notice to Poestenkill residents titled Subject: Poestenkill PFOA Water Update, wherein was stated as follows, to wit:
Neighbors,
I just received a message this evening from a member of Senator Gillibrand’s office with some great news.
“The appropriations committee moved your Poestenkill Water Supply Project CDS request forward!”
“This means there is a very high likelihood your project will be included in the final appropriations package and funded.”
“I will keep you updated on any movements and please let me know if you have any questions.”
This is an important step to hopefully securing additional funding for a potential Water District #2 here in Poestenkill, which would lower the cost per unit, should the district receive approval.
end quotes
So my question to your office, which I will also raise with Senator Patty Murray, Chair of the Appropriations Committee, and Senator Susan Collins, Vice Chair of the Appropriations Committee, remains the same: why are the federal government taxpayers, who get no benefit from the expenditure of these federal dollars, being put on the hook here to pay for the intentional negligence and neglect of duty by the town of Poestenkill, coupled with nuisance, negligence and trespass by Waste Management of New York, LLC at the Poestenkill transfer station?
This question is relevant because to date, there has been no demonstration whatsoever that this water district is even needed because in a New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) Report titled “Community Update – April 2023 – Poestenkill Area PFAS Contamination, it was stated as follows, to wit:
To date, RCDOH has sampled 97 private wells near the school.
PFOA and/or perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) were detected above the State’s public drinking water standards of 10 ppt in 14 private wells.
As a result, DEC provided the 14 homes served by private wells that exceed 10 ppt with point-of-entry treatment systems (POETs) to filter out PFAS and provide clean drinking water.
The remaining 83 private wells did not show PFOA or PFOS detections above the standards.
end quotes
The cost of these activated carbon point of entry treatment systems is between $300 – $1,800, and as the NYSDEC Report from April of 2023 makes incandescently clear, the 14 homes affected have already had these systems installed, which the NYSDEC states will provide them with clean drinking water, which is more than this proposed Water District No. 2 can claim, given it is based on a surface water supply which itself is susceptible to PFAS contamination.
As to the remaining 83 private wells, the cost of installing activated carbon filter point of entry systems, which is the most cost-effective solution, assuming a cost of $2000 per home, would be $166,000, which money Poestenkill already has in hand.
So what then, is your office providing federal tax dollars to Poestenkill for?
To establish a slush fund for the local politicians?
We federal taxpayers residing in Poestenkill would like to know!
Thanking you in advance for your prompt reply to this taxpayer inquiry, I remain
Respectfully.
end quotes
And I never heard a word back from any of them.
As to the MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR LIE that is bringing home the federal bacon to tiny Poestenkill, I have emulated Wayne Creed, who I consider a true unsung American hero for maintaining the Cape Charles Mirror as a bastion of sanity in otherwise totally insane world, by starting my own on-line newspaper, this is what today’s edition had to say on that score. to wit:
POESTENKILL CLARION, CHRONICLE & GAZETTE
Dedicated to the protection and preservation of intellectual liberty in Poestenkill
April 17th 2024 Edition
“THE WATER DISTRICT NO 2 FLIM-FLAM – STEALING FROM THE TAXPAYERS POESTENKILL STYLE”
Yesterday, I was asked by a fellow town resident to justify a statement I made about the town procuring these county, state and federal dollars for water district no. 2, all taxpayer dollars, which means the pockets getting looted here include ours, based on false pretenses (a deliberate misrepresentation of facts, as to obtain title to money or property), which is a form of stealing, although stealing from the taxpayers in Rensselaer County and New York state is not considered a crime, but a benefit of holding public office.
“What false pretenses,” he wanted to know, “where are the false pretenses, because I am unaware of them?”
To which I answered that he was unaware of them precisely because he was supposed to be, because if he knew his pocket was being picked, and his bank account was being looted, then he would have stood up at a town meeting and protested, and that had to be prevented at all costs for this taxpayer scam to succeed, which it has to the tune of MILLION$ in the form of a cash transfer from our pockets into those of the looters.
As to the false pretenses, they are right there staring us all in the face, in the beginning of the Laberge report accepted by the town board in August of 2022:
I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This Map, Plan and Report was commissioned by the Town of Poestenkill Town Board to evaluate the feasibility of, and to assist with, the creation of a water district in the Town.
The need for expansion of the water system stems from the joint investigation by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, New York State Department of Health, and Rensselaer County Department of Health.
The presence of multiple contaminants shows the priority of providing municipal water to the Algonquin Middle School and surrounding area.
end quotes
The false pretenses are right there for all to see right there in that last sentence, where it says there is a priority of providing municipal water to the Algonquin Middle School, which is an untrue statement.
There NEVER was a need for Poestenkill at taxpayer expense to provide water to the school.
That was a ruse that Poestenkill and Laberge used to obtain county, state and federal funds.
The Algonquin Middle School in Poestenkill is already served by Public Water Supply NY4117257, a Non-transient non-community water system serving 1000 persons at the Algonquin Middle School in Poestenkill, which water supply is owned by the taxpayers of the Averill Park School District, of whom we are all one, and that is a separate taxing district the town neither owns nor controls, so that was a patently false statement the town submitted to get those funds, which is a false pretense.
That Poestenkill would have known in August of 2022 that it was a false statement that the town needed to run water to the school, the necessary excuse to get this project going, is made clear by the following:
COMMUNITY UPDATE
NOVEMBER 2021
PROTECTING POESTENKILL’S DRINKING WATER AND INVESTIGATING PFAS CONTAMINATION
Two Public Availability Sessions Scheduled for Dec. 8, 2021
The school is currently installing a granular activated carbon (GAC) system to filter the PFOA and other PFAS and effectively treat the contaminants to provide clean water to the school community.
end quotes
So if the town knew in November of 2021 (actually earlier) that the school was getting that filter, it would have known it was telling a falsehood in September of 2022 when it applied for state funds based on a premise that it had to supply the school with water.
And it is news to ALL of us because it was all very well buried so we wouldn’t know, given we had no access to that Laberge Report in August and September of 2022 when the town made those funding requests.
As to the funding requests, recall from the Laberge Report at p.5 in the section titled PROJECT BACKGROUND AND HISTORY, under i) NYS Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA), as follows:
The Town, as required to submit for certain grant funds, has completed the required SEQRA review and has made a Determination of Significance under SEQRA (6 NYCRR Part 617). The Town Board issued a Negative Declaration on September 8th, 2022, a copy of which is included in Appendix F.
That the town would have known on September 8th, 2022 that it was a false statement about the need to provide water to the school is further reinforced by the following:
COMMUNITY UPDATE
FEBRUARY 2022
POESTENKILL PFAS INVESTIGATION
Updates: New Investigation Summary Reports
The New York State Departments of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and Health (DOH), and the Rensselaer County Department of Health (RCDOH), are working together to protect the public health and environment of the Poestenkill community.
The following is an update from the November 2021 community update.
Beginning in December 2021, the school installed a granular activated carbon (GAC) system to provide effective long-term treatment of the contaminants to ensure clean water for the school community.
System startup and flushing of the school’s distribution system continued throughout January and into February 2022.
The school district is currently working with the RCDOH to test the water and make the system operational.
end quotes
If in fact as the DEC said in February of 2022 that the granular activated carbon (GAC) system installed by the taxpayers at the school would provide effective long-term treatment of the contaminants to ensure clean water for the school community, then clearly, in August of 2022, there was no need for the town to do so, but they needed that excuse to get those funds – big emergency, school kids, poisoned water, send money!
That money doesn’t come from heaven, it comes from our pockets. so should the town be telling lies to take it from our pockets?
Call me very old-fashioned, but I don’t think so.
http://www.capecharlesmirror.com/paul-p ... ent-918798
Paul Plante says:
Where I have been these last several days of apparent quietude on my part in here is out there in what these days passes for the “real” world, embroiled in a controversy splitting my small community which is a direct outcome of what happens when BIDEN INFRASTRUCTURE MONEY is mindlessly made available to small towns like mine for alleged “infrastructure” improvements, which small towns, to get their hands on what they consider “free money,” a windfall of riches into their pockets courtesy of the federal government in Washington, D.C., have to promise to put their local taxpayers in hock for a certain percentage of the project cost, whether those taxpayers want or need the project, in this case a public water supply, without those taxpayers having any say in the matter, period, largely because it is all, the process of actually getting that money being political in nature, going on behind closed doors with absolutely no transparency for the affected taxpayers of whom I am one, as can be seen beginning @6:34 into this video of the April 11, 2024 Poestenkill, New York town board meeting ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tc0BOo3NIa4 ) where I go ballistic with respect to us being lied to and misled as I vent some incandescent rage at a corrupt town board for selling us into debt slavery to get their hands on some $5,277,567 of grant money of which $670,367 is coming from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law-EC grant, and $1,693,000 in a congressional community project funding grant from Kirsten Gillibrand, with us in a small community being on the hook for a minimum of $272,433, subject to cost overruns we will also be on the hook for, all based upon an imaginary crisis at local middle school as the need for the grant money.
In other words, to get their hands on this “free government money,” the Poestenkill town board simply lied, knowing they could and would get away with it, because first of all, given the secrecy, who would even know, and then, once they did find out, which always happens, other than vent some fury about it, as I am seen and heard doing in that video, and make some noise, which goes away real soon, what can they do about it?
Have the federal government, which based the grants on that lie, take the money back?
HAH, as if that is going to happen, as we see in a 31 July 2023 writing from myself to Hon. Kirsten Gillibrand, U.S. Senator, Leo W. O’Brien Federal Office Bldg,, 11A Clinton Ave, Rm 821, Albany, NY 12207, RE: Federal funding for Water District No. 2, Poestenkill (T), Rensselaer County; U.S. Constitution, Article I, Section 9, Clause 7: No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law, wherein was stated as follows with respect to the fraudulent nature of this grant application, to wit:
Dear Senator Gillibrand:
As you will recall, on 28 January 2023, I sent a letter to your office concerning this above referenced matter of Water District No. 2 in the town of Poestenkill, Rensselaer County, state of New York titled RE: Poestenkill (T), Rensselaer County; Water District No. 2; Requesting federal assistance for Water District No. 2 based on false pretenses, wherein I detailed for you the fact that the PFAS contamination in Poestenkill’s groundwater is as a result of willful gross negligence and neglect of duty by the town of Poestenkill itself, which raises the substantive question of why the federal taxpayers should be put on the hook here to pay for the intentional negligence and neglect of duty by Poestenkill, especially when the request is made based on falsehoods?
Subsequent thereto, on July 28, 2023, Poestenkill Town Councilmember Eric Wohlleber, who since 27 September 2021 has been spearheading a whitewash and cover-up in this matter to protect the polluter, Waste Management of New York, LLC, at the Poestenkill transfer station in a Planned Development District at the intersection of NYS Rts. 66 and 351 in Poestenkill regulated by the town of Poestenkill, sent out a notice to Poestenkill residents titled Subject: Poestenkill PFOA Water Update, wherein was stated as follows, to wit:
Neighbors,
I just received a message this evening from a member of Senator Gillibrand’s office with some great news.
“The appropriations committee moved your Poestenkill Water Supply Project CDS request forward!”
“This means there is a very high likelihood your project will be included in the final appropriations package and funded.”
“I will keep you updated on any movements and please let me know if you have any questions.”
This is an important step to hopefully securing additional funding for a potential Water District #2 here in Poestenkill, which would lower the cost per unit, should the district receive approval.
end quotes
So my question to your office, which I will also raise with Senator Patty Murray, Chair of the Appropriations Committee, and Senator Susan Collins, Vice Chair of the Appropriations Committee, remains the same: why are the federal government taxpayers, who get no benefit from the expenditure of these federal dollars, being put on the hook here to pay for the intentional negligence and neglect of duty by the town of Poestenkill, coupled with nuisance, negligence and trespass by Waste Management of New York, LLC at the Poestenkill transfer station?
This question is relevant because to date, there has been no demonstration whatsoever that this water district is even needed because in a New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) Report titled “Community Update – April 2023 – Poestenkill Area PFAS Contamination, it was stated as follows, to wit:
To date, RCDOH has sampled 97 private wells near the school.
PFOA and/or perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) were detected above the State’s public drinking water standards of 10 ppt in 14 private wells.
As a result, DEC provided the 14 homes served by private wells that exceed 10 ppt with point-of-entry treatment systems (POETs) to filter out PFAS and provide clean drinking water.
The remaining 83 private wells did not show PFOA or PFOS detections above the standards.
end quotes
The cost of these activated carbon point of entry treatment systems is between $300 – $1,800, and as the NYSDEC Report from April of 2023 makes incandescently clear, the 14 homes affected have already had these systems installed, which the NYSDEC states will provide them with clean drinking water, which is more than this proposed Water District No. 2 can claim, given it is based on a surface water supply which itself is susceptible to PFAS contamination.
As to the remaining 83 private wells, the cost of installing activated carbon filter point of entry systems, which is the most cost-effective solution, assuming a cost of $2000 per home, would be $166,000, which money Poestenkill already has in hand.
So what then, is your office providing federal tax dollars to Poestenkill for?
To establish a slush fund for the local politicians?
We federal taxpayers residing in Poestenkill would like to know!
Thanking you in advance for your prompt reply to this taxpayer inquiry, I remain
Respectfully.
end quotes
And I never heard a word back from any of them.
As to the MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR LIE that is bringing home the federal bacon to tiny Poestenkill, I have emulated Wayne Creed, who I consider a true unsung American hero for maintaining the Cape Charles Mirror as a bastion of sanity in otherwise totally insane world, by starting my own on-line newspaper, this is what today’s edition had to say on that score. to wit:
POESTENKILL CLARION, CHRONICLE & GAZETTE
Dedicated to the protection and preservation of intellectual liberty in Poestenkill
April 17th 2024 Edition
“THE WATER DISTRICT NO 2 FLIM-FLAM – STEALING FROM THE TAXPAYERS POESTENKILL STYLE”
Yesterday, I was asked by a fellow town resident to justify a statement I made about the town procuring these county, state and federal dollars for water district no. 2, all taxpayer dollars, which means the pockets getting looted here include ours, based on false pretenses (a deliberate misrepresentation of facts, as to obtain title to money or property), which is a form of stealing, although stealing from the taxpayers in Rensselaer County and New York state is not considered a crime, but a benefit of holding public office.
“What false pretenses,” he wanted to know, “where are the false pretenses, because I am unaware of them?”
To which I answered that he was unaware of them precisely because he was supposed to be, because if he knew his pocket was being picked, and his bank account was being looted, then he would have stood up at a town meeting and protested, and that had to be prevented at all costs for this taxpayer scam to succeed, which it has to the tune of MILLION$ in the form of a cash transfer from our pockets into those of the looters.
As to the false pretenses, they are right there staring us all in the face, in the beginning of the Laberge report accepted by the town board in August of 2022:
I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This Map, Plan and Report was commissioned by the Town of Poestenkill Town Board to evaluate the feasibility of, and to assist with, the creation of a water district in the Town.
The need for expansion of the water system stems from the joint investigation by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, New York State Department of Health, and Rensselaer County Department of Health.
The presence of multiple contaminants shows the priority of providing municipal water to the Algonquin Middle School and surrounding area.
end quotes
The false pretenses are right there for all to see right there in that last sentence, where it says there is a priority of providing municipal water to the Algonquin Middle School, which is an untrue statement.
There NEVER was a need for Poestenkill at taxpayer expense to provide water to the school.
That was a ruse that Poestenkill and Laberge used to obtain county, state and federal funds.
The Algonquin Middle School in Poestenkill is already served by Public Water Supply NY4117257, a Non-transient non-community water system serving 1000 persons at the Algonquin Middle School in Poestenkill, which water supply is owned by the taxpayers of the Averill Park School District, of whom we are all one, and that is a separate taxing district the town neither owns nor controls, so that was a patently false statement the town submitted to get those funds, which is a false pretense.
That Poestenkill would have known in August of 2022 that it was a false statement that the town needed to run water to the school, the necessary excuse to get this project going, is made clear by the following:
COMMUNITY UPDATE
NOVEMBER 2021
PROTECTING POESTENKILL’S DRINKING WATER AND INVESTIGATING PFAS CONTAMINATION
Two Public Availability Sessions Scheduled for Dec. 8, 2021
The school is currently installing a granular activated carbon (GAC) system to filter the PFOA and other PFAS and effectively treat the contaminants to provide clean water to the school community.
end quotes
So if the town knew in November of 2021 (actually earlier) that the school was getting that filter, it would have known it was telling a falsehood in September of 2022 when it applied for state funds based on a premise that it had to supply the school with water.
And it is news to ALL of us because it was all very well buried so we wouldn’t know, given we had no access to that Laberge Report in August and September of 2022 when the town made those funding requests.
As to the funding requests, recall from the Laberge Report at p.5 in the section titled PROJECT BACKGROUND AND HISTORY, under i) NYS Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA), as follows:
The Town, as required to submit for certain grant funds, has completed the required SEQRA review and has made a Determination of Significance under SEQRA (6 NYCRR Part 617). The Town Board issued a Negative Declaration on September 8th, 2022, a copy of which is included in Appendix F.
That the town would have known on September 8th, 2022 that it was a false statement about the need to provide water to the school is further reinforced by the following:
COMMUNITY UPDATE
FEBRUARY 2022
POESTENKILL PFAS INVESTIGATION
Updates: New Investigation Summary Reports
The New York State Departments of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and Health (DOH), and the Rensselaer County Department of Health (RCDOH), are working together to protect the public health and environment of the Poestenkill community.
The following is an update from the November 2021 community update.
Beginning in December 2021, the school installed a granular activated carbon (GAC) system to provide effective long-term treatment of the contaminants to ensure clean water for the school community.
System startup and flushing of the school’s distribution system continued throughout January and into February 2022.
The school district is currently working with the RCDOH to test the water and make the system operational.
end quotes
If in fact as the DEC said in February of 2022 that the granular activated carbon (GAC) system installed by the taxpayers at the school would provide effective long-term treatment of the contaminants to ensure clean water for the school community, then clearly, in August of 2022, there was no need for the town to do so, but they needed that excuse to get those funds – big emergency, school kids, poisoned water, send money!
That money doesn’t come from heaven, it comes from our pockets. so should the town be telling lies to take it from our pockets?
Call me very old-fashioned, but I don’t think so.
http://www.capecharlesmirror.com/paul-p ... ent-918798
Re: AMERICA'S FIGHTING BULLDOG JOE BIDEN
THE CAPE CHARLES MIRROR APRIL 18, 2024 AT 11:52 AM
Paul Plante says:
For an example of these “hidden” costs to local taxpayers associated with this STIMULATION money and CORPORATE WELFARE Joe Biden is handing out like candy to the richest corporations in the world as he pumps out enormous amounts of state support to these corporations, let’s go back to Joe’s so-called State of the Union Address on 7 March 2024, where we have the following self-congratulatory BIDEN PUFFERY and BOBAUNCE, to wit:
The great comeback story is Belvidere, Illinois.
Home to an auto plant for nearly 60 years.
Before I came to office, the plant was on its way to shutting down.
Thousands of workers feared for their livelihoods.
Hope was fading.
Then, I was elected to office, and we raised Belvidere repeatedly with auto companies, knowing unions would make all the difference.
The UAW worked like hell to keep the plant open and get these jobs back.
And together, we succeeded.
Instead of auto factories shutting down, auto factories are reopening and a new state-of-the-art battery factory is being built to power those cars there at the same.
To the folks — to the folks of Belvidere, I’d say: Instead of your town being left behind, your community is moving forward again.
Because instead of watching auto ja- — jobs of the future go overseas, 4,000 union jobs with higher wages are building a future in Belvidere right here in America.
end quotes
Now, people, seriously doesn’t that that sound just grand and glorious – there is beleaguered Belvidere, Illinois down on its knees, gasping for its last breaths before finally expiring for good when just in the nick of time along comes WHITE KNIGHT Joseph Robinette Biden, Junior on his white destrier standing 20 hands tall with Joe and his couched lance, pennants flying, firmly in the saddle, and the day is saved, and peace and prosperity will reign forever after in Belvidere, Illinois, thanks to Joe.
But is that really true?
For that answer, let’s go to the Jan 18, 2024 edition of the Rockford Register Star and a news item titled “A $32M sewer expansion needed for Belvidere battery plant” where we learn as follows, to wit:
Four Rivers Sanitation Authority Executive Director Tim Hanson said his office is preparing an estimated $32 million plan talked about for three decades to extend sanitary sewer lines to the area from Cherry Valley to service the Stellantis facility and any suppliers that will be needed.
end quote
So, to make Joe’s INSANE GREEN DREAM come true in Belvidere, Illinois, the people in that area are going to have to pony up an estimated $32 million plus cost overruns to make Joe’s INSANE GREEN DREAM actually come true, so that when Joe said to the folks of Belvidere on 7 March 2024, that “instead of your town being left behind, your community is moving forward again,” we have to ask ourselves this important question, which applies to corrupt Poestenkill as well:
ARE THEY REALLY?
Or is Joe driving those people in Belvidere, like the people of corrupt Poestenkill, NY, into eternal debt slavery to pay off the cost of that $32 million sewer expansion in their case, and in the case of Poestenkill, about a million in hidden costs to upgrade the piping system from Troy, New York through Brunswick, New York in order to actually be able to get the water Joe’s STIMULATION money appears to be paying for?
http://www.capecharlesmirror.com/paul-p ... ent-919005
Paul Plante says:
For an example of these “hidden” costs to local taxpayers associated with this STIMULATION money and CORPORATE WELFARE Joe Biden is handing out like candy to the richest corporations in the world as he pumps out enormous amounts of state support to these corporations, let’s go back to Joe’s so-called State of the Union Address on 7 March 2024, where we have the following self-congratulatory BIDEN PUFFERY and BOBAUNCE, to wit:
The great comeback story is Belvidere, Illinois.
Home to an auto plant for nearly 60 years.
Before I came to office, the plant was on its way to shutting down.
Thousands of workers feared for their livelihoods.
Hope was fading.
Then, I was elected to office, and we raised Belvidere repeatedly with auto companies, knowing unions would make all the difference.
The UAW worked like hell to keep the plant open and get these jobs back.
And together, we succeeded.
Instead of auto factories shutting down, auto factories are reopening and a new state-of-the-art battery factory is being built to power those cars there at the same.
To the folks — to the folks of Belvidere, I’d say: Instead of your town being left behind, your community is moving forward again.
Because instead of watching auto ja- — jobs of the future go overseas, 4,000 union jobs with higher wages are building a future in Belvidere right here in America.
end quotes
Now, people, seriously doesn’t that that sound just grand and glorious – there is beleaguered Belvidere, Illinois down on its knees, gasping for its last breaths before finally expiring for good when just in the nick of time along comes WHITE KNIGHT Joseph Robinette Biden, Junior on his white destrier standing 20 hands tall with Joe and his couched lance, pennants flying, firmly in the saddle, and the day is saved, and peace and prosperity will reign forever after in Belvidere, Illinois, thanks to Joe.
But is that really true?
For that answer, let’s go to the Jan 18, 2024 edition of the Rockford Register Star and a news item titled “A $32M sewer expansion needed for Belvidere battery plant” where we learn as follows, to wit:
Four Rivers Sanitation Authority Executive Director Tim Hanson said his office is preparing an estimated $32 million plan talked about for three decades to extend sanitary sewer lines to the area from Cherry Valley to service the Stellantis facility and any suppliers that will be needed.
end quote
So, to make Joe’s INSANE GREEN DREAM come true in Belvidere, Illinois, the people in that area are going to have to pony up an estimated $32 million plus cost overruns to make Joe’s INSANE GREEN DREAM actually come true, so that when Joe said to the folks of Belvidere on 7 March 2024, that “instead of your town being left behind, your community is moving forward again,” we have to ask ourselves this important question, which applies to corrupt Poestenkill as well:
ARE THEY REALLY?
Or is Joe driving those people in Belvidere, like the people of corrupt Poestenkill, NY, into eternal debt slavery to pay off the cost of that $32 million sewer expansion in their case, and in the case of Poestenkill, about a million in hidden costs to upgrade the piping system from Troy, New York through Brunswick, New York in order to actually be able to get the water Joe’s STIMULATION money appears to be paying for?
http://www.capecharlesmirror.com/paul-p ... ent-919005
Re: AMERICA'S FIGHTING BULLDOG JOE BIDEN
REUTERS
"Mortgage rates top 7% for the first time this year, Freddie Mac says"
By Amina Niasse
April 18, 2024
NEW YORK, April 18 (Reuters) - U.S. mortgage rates increased by the most since June and also crossed the 7% threshold for the first time since December, muddling home sales growth, a Thursday report said.
The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to 7.10% for the week ended April 18 from 6.88% the week prior, Freddie Mac reported.
The 22-basis point increase was the largest in about 10 months.
“As rates trend higher, potential homebuyers are deciding whether to buy before rates rise even more or hold off in hopes of decreases later in the year," said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac's chief economist.
"Last week, purchase applications rose modestly, but it remains unclear how many homebuyers can withstand increasing rates in the future.”
While buyers saw rates on home loans ease during 2023's fourth quarter, they have steadily increased since January, though rates remain below two-decade highs nearing 8% in October.
High mortgage rates last year contributed to limited housing inventory, following the Federal Reserve's rate hike campaign launched in 2022.
Reporting by Amina Niasse; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama
https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/mort ... 024-04-18/
"Mortgage rates top 7% for the first time this year, Freddie Mac says"
By Amina Niasse
April 18, 2024
NEW YORK, April 18 (Reuters) - U.S. mortgage rates increased by the most since June and also crossed the 7% threshold for the first time since December, muddling home sales growth, a Thursday report said.
The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to 7.10% for the week ended April 18 from 6.88% the week prior, Freddie Mac reported.
The 22-basis point increase was the largest in about 10 months.
“As rates trend higher, potential homebuyers are deciding whether to buy before rates rise even more or hold off in hopes of decreases later in the year," said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac's chief economist.
"Last week, purchase applications rose modestly, but it remains unclear how many homebuyers can withstand increasing rates in the future.”
While buyers saw rates on home loans ease during 2023's fourth quarter, they have steadily increased since January, though rates remain below two-decade highs nearing 8% in October.
High mortgage rates last year contributed to limited housing inventory, following the Federal Reserve's rate hike campaign launched in 2022.
Reporting by Amina Niasse; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama
https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/mort ... 024-04-18/