2025-07-15 00:00
Independent agency posting asks about upholding Executive Orders Critics say questions amount to litmus test Trump seeks to speed nuclear power plant approvals WASHINGTON, July 14 (Reuters) - A job notice posted by the U.S. nuclear power regulator asks applicants political questions as the administration of President Donald Trump seeks to increase influence over an independent agency. The posting, seen by Reuters on Monday, asks applicants how their commitment to the U.S. Constitution and founding U.S. principles inspired them to pursue the job. The specific opening is for a senior operations engineer serving as an inspector in the division of operating reactor safety at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Sign up here. Also among the questions asked are how applicants would use their experience to improve government efficiency and effectiveness, and, "How would you advance the President's Executive Orders and policy priorities in this role?" Trump has been trying to speed NRC approvals of nuclear power plants as the United States faces the first hike in power demand in 20 years, driven by the boom in artificial intelligence and data centers. The Republican president signed executive orders in May seeking to overhaul the NRC and directing the agency, which was founded as a regulator independent of the executive branch, to rule on new licenses within 18 months. Scott Burnell, an NRC spokesperson, said on Monday that the agency was "following Office of Personnel Management requirements regarding job postings," referring to the U.S. government's human resources agency. Under previous U.S. administrations, questions in NRC job postings typically emphasized the applicant's work experience pertaining to operating a nuclear reactor, not an applicant's political opinions, said a person who works at the agency who requested anonymity. In addition, a former chairman of the NRC told Reuters on Monday that the questions on the posting amount to a political litmus test. "If I saw something like this as Chairman, I would tell the staff to replace them immediately with relevant professional questions, not something that reads like a lost chapter from 'Animal Farm' on how to destroy professional expertise in government," said Greg Jaczko, who served as NRC chairman from 2009 to 2012 under former President Barack Obama. Jaczko was referring to George Orwell's 1945 satirical novel. In the current job posting at issue, not all of the six questions were related to politics. One, for example, asks how work ethics have contributed to the applicant's achievements, another asks them to confirm that they did not use AI in their responses. Trump last month fired Chris Hanson, a Democratic NRC commissioner, a move that was criticized by nearly 30 former NRC officials and employees. David Wright, the current NRC chair, told a Senate committee last week that a representative from Trump's Department of Government Efficiency is working within the NRC on reforming the agency. https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/us-nuclear-regulator-asks-job-seekers-political-questions-2025-07-14/
2025-07-14 22:46
WASHINGTON, July 14 (Reuters) - U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has asked the Fed board's inspector general to take a fresh look at the project aimed at overhauling Fed buildings, Politico reported on Monday, citing a letter to lawmakers by Powell. Powell called on the Fed's inspector general, Michael Horowitz, to examine the project's cost, which has ballooned to $2.5 billion, leading to allies of President Donald Trump to call for Powell to be held accountable. Sign up here. Trump has repeatedly criticized Powell over interest rates and said the Fed chair should resign, but the president does not have the power to fire him over a monetary policy dispute. Recent comments from White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett on criticism of the Fed's renovation costs have confirmed the view that the Trump administration is actively exploring those costs and Powell's testimony about the project as a possible avenue to try to fire the Fed chief well before his term as chair ends in May 2026. The lawmakers addressed in the reported Powell letter were Republican Senate Banking Chair Tim Scott and Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren, the top Democrat on the committee. "The Chairman looks forward to receiving additional information about the costly renovations at the Fed's headquarters," a spokesperson for Scott said in response to the reported letter, adding the letter was consistent with improving transparency. The Fed had no immediate comment. Powell wrote in the letter cited by Politico that the watchdog has had "full access to project information on costs, contracts, schedules, and expenditures and receives monthly reports on the construction program." Powell, who was nominated by Trump in late 2017 to lead the Fed and then nominated for a second term by then-President Joe Biden four years later, has said he intends to serve out his term as Fed chief, which ends on May 15. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/feds-powell-asks-watchdog-take-fresh-look-renovation-project-politico-reports-2025-07-14/
2025-07-14 22:41
Legal agreement delays Rice's whale critical habitat designation until 2027 Delay follows legal disputes over oil and gas drilling impacts on endangered whale Fewer than 100 Rice's whales remain in Gulf of Mexico July 14 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's administration will delay by two years a final rule designating protections for the endangered Rice's whale in the oil and gas drilling region of the Gulf of Mexico, according to an agreement with environmental groups filed in a federal court. The U.S. Commerce Department's National Marine Fisheries Service agreed with green group Natural Resources Defense Council to finalize by July 15, 2027 the geographic area deemed critical for the Rice's whale survival. The previous deadline had been Tuesday, July 15, of this year. Sign up here. The agreement filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on July 3 was seen by Reuters on Monday. "NMFS continues to make diligent progress on this complex Final Rule," the agreement said. "NMFS, however, requires additional time to analyze the impact of the Rule and evaluate the science underlying it. As part of that process, NMFS plans to coordinate its efforts with the scientific and academic communities." The delay is the latest turn in a legal battle among conservationists, the oil and gas industry and the federal government over protecting a whale that was only recognized as a unique species in 2021. The Rice's whale was previously considered a Gulf of Mexico subspecies of the Bryde's whale. Probably fewer than 100 Rice's whales remain in the Gulf of Mexico, according to NMFS. The mammals, which measure up to 41 feet and weigh up to 60,000 lbs, have primarily been seen in the Eastern Gulf, off the coast of Florida, but have also been spotted in western areas off the Louisiana and Texas coasts. The central and western Gulf is where most U.S. offshore oil and gas production occurs. NMFS officials were not immediately available for additional comment. NRDC, representing the environmental group Healthy Gulf in a 2020 lawsuit over designation of the so-called critical habitat, was also not immediately available for comment. Oil and gas companies in the region welcomed the delay. Drillers had faced restrictions on how they could operate in key parts of the northern Gulf under a proposal published by former U.S. President Joe Biden's administration in 2023. That proposal had expanded the whale's critical habitat to the central and western Gulf, potentially putting productive areas off-limits to oil and gas exploration and development. Green groups and government scientists have said that oil and gas operations threaten the Rice's whale's continued existence. "We strongly support the decision to extend the timeline for finalizing the Rice's whale critical habitat. Given how much work is needed to get this rule right, extending the deadline is both responsible and necessary," Erik Milito, president of the National Ocean Industries Association, an oil and gas trade group, said in a statement. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/us-delays-rule-gulf-mexico-whale-protections-by-two-years-2025-07-14/
2025-07-14 22:03
July 15 (Reuters) - Most European ports are lagging in installing the shore-side electrical infrastructure needed for ships to switch from highly polluting marine fuel to cleaner electricity while docked, a new study showed on Tuesday. European Union environmental rules have set a 2030 deadline for maritime ports to install the infrastructure to provide what is known as onshore power supply (OPS). Sign up here. To assess their roll-out, Brussels-based NGO Transport & Environment (T&E) commissioned a study covering 31 European ports. Findings show that just one in five of the required power supply connections have been installed or contracted so far, with slow uptake across most ports. Of the ports analysed, only four have installed or contracted more than half of the connections needed ahead of the 2030 deadline. Residents living near ports hope the plug-in infrastructure can take some of the pain out of sharing their cities with cruise ships, which often leave their engines running in ports to power onboard amenities including lighting and air conditioning. Pollution from marine fuels includes sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and harmful particulate matter as well as carbon emissions. The study also highlights significant disparities between ship types. While 38% of the required OPS connections for cruise and passenger ships are in place, container vessels are notably underserved, with only 11% of the needed 294 connections installed or contracted. "Given their regular and predictable routes and the proximity of cruise passenger terminals to busy city centres, cruise ships should be prioritised for earlier OPS deployment and uptake," the study said. The ports of Antwerp, Dublin, Gdansk, and Lisbon are among those that have yet to make an investment in electric plug-in infrastructure, according to T&E. In Lisbon, one of Europe's busiest cruise ports, a multi-million-euro project to lay cables to connect the port to a power station is set to be ready by 2029, according to the Portuguese government. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/european-ports-slow-install-shore-power-ahead-2030-deadline-study-shows-2025-07-14/
2025-07-14 21:38
BRASILIA, July 14 (Reuters) - Brazil has yet to hear a response from Washington about an offer it made in trade talks two months ago, Vice President Geraldo Alckmin said on Monday, after U.S. President Donald Trump slapped much higher tariffs on Brazil last week. Speaking to reporters at the presidential palace, Alckmin said President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva had set up a task force to start discussing a response with business leaders on Tuesday. Sign up here. Last week, Trump imposed what he called a reciprocal tariff targeting Latin America's largest economy, rising to 50% from 10% starting in August, and demanded an end to the trial of former President Jair Bolsonaro for allegedly plotting a coup. Alckmin added on Monday that the Brazilian government would also seek talks with U.S. companies affected by the measure. He said the government had not yet asked for a delay or reduction in the new tariffs after Trump's announcement, but was instead engaging with the most-affected industries to ensure the private sector mobilizes and coordinates with U.S. counterparts to help reverse Trump's measure. Lula will sign on Monday a decree setting criteria for his government's response to foreign trade measures hurting the Brazilian economy, his chief of staff Rui Costa told journalists earlier in the day. His decree regulating the trade reciprocity law, which Brazil's Congress passed in April, should be published in the official gazette on Tuesday, Costa added. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/lula-sign-brazil-law-reciprocal-tariffs-monday-2025-07-14/
2025-07-14 21:32
US had announced plans to withdraw from long-term tomato trade agreement Mexican producers say their produce cannot be replaced, seeking solutions, Experts and opponents warn of rising prices due to duties WASHINGTON, July 14 (Reuters) - The U.S. Commerce Department said on Monday it will impose duties of 17.09% on fresh tomatoes from top supplier Mexico, after withdrawing from a 2019 deal suspending an antidumping duty investigation. The U.S. and Mexico first struck an agreement in 1996 to regulate Mexican tomato exports and allow U.S. producers to compete fairly. The agreement was last renewed six years ago to avert an antidumping investigation and end a tariff dispute on the trade, which is worth more than $3 billion a year, according to official figures. Sign up here. Mexico said in April it was confident that it could renew the tomato agreement after Washington said it intended to withdraw from the deal. Antidumping duties are calculated to measure the percentage by which Mexican tomatoes have been sold in the United States at "unfair prices," the Commerce Department said in its statement. U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on Monday that "for far too long our farmers have been crushed by unfair trade practices that undercut pricing on produce like tomatoes." Mexico's agriculture ministry and economy ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A group of five Mexican agriculture associations, including from Baja California and Sinaloa states, said they were committed to working with the Mexican government to find solutions. Of the 6.5 billion pounds of fresh tomatoes consumed in the United States, about 4.3 billion are supplied by Mexico, the associations said. "In the short or medium term, there are no countries in the world that can replace Mexican tomatoes in a market we have built through innovation and effort over the past 120 years," they said in a statement. HIGHER PRICES EXPECTED In the build-up to Monday's expected announcement, some experts, as well as Trump's opponents from the Democratic Party, had warned that prices of products will rise as a result of the duties. "Salsa will be pricier, shelves emptier, and groceries more expensive," U.S. Representative Sylvia Garcia said on X on Friday. President Donald Trump on Saturday had separately threatened to impose a 30% tariff on imports from Mexico starting on August 1, after weeks of negotiations with the major U.S. trading partner failed to reach a comprehensive trade deal. U.S. growers have long sought protections from Mexican competitors who can often grow the fruits year round. The 2019 agreement was supposed to set a floor on pricing and provided for U.S. border inspections of crops but U.S. growers have long argued that the arrangement had too many loopholes that allowed for dumping of Mexican fruits. The Florida Tomato Exchange, which represents growers in the major tomato-producing state, applauded the action to end what it called a "failed" tomato trade agreement. "This decision will protect hardworking American tomato growers from unfair Mexican trading practices and send a strong signal that the Trump Administration is committed to ensuring fair markets for American agriculture," Robert Guenther, the group's executive vice president, said in a statement. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/us-withdraws-tomatoes-agreement-with-mexico-2025-07-14/
