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/
2025-07-14 21:25
Pledge accounts for 90% of ice cream sold in US, dairy group says Several major food companies already plan to remove artificial colors IDFA cites state efforts to phase out dyes as a reason for removal WASHINGTON, July 14 - Dozens of U.S. ice cream producers are planning to remove artificial colors from their products by 2028, a dairy industry group and government officials said on Monday. The producers, which together represent more than 90% of ice cream sold in the U.S., are the latest food companies to take voluntary steps to remove dyes since Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in April said the U.S. aimed to phase out many synthetic dyes from the country's food supply. Sign up here. Several major food manufacturers - including General Mills (GIS.N), Kraft Heinz, J.M. Smucker (SJM.N), Hershey (HSY.N) and Nestle USA (NESN.S) - have previously announced their plans to phase out synthetic food coloring. The 40 ice cream companies will remove Red 3, Red 40, Green 3, Blue 1, Blue 2, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6 from their retail products, excluding non-dairy products, according to the International Dairy Foods Association. The IDFA announced the plan at an event at the U.S. Department of Agriculture headquarters on Monday with Kennedy, FDA Commissioner Marty Makary and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins. "We know that our current health outcomes, especially for our children, are unsustainable and that American agriculture is at the heart of the solution to make America healthy again," Rollins said at the event, referencing a slogan aligned with Kennedy. Rollins and Kennedy have worked closely together on food sector efforts like encouraging states to ban soda from the nation's largest food aid program. Kennedy has blamed food dyes for rising rates of ADHD and cancer, an area many scientists say requires more research. The IDFA said artificial dyes are safe, but that ice cream makers are taking the step in part to avoid disruption to sales from state efforts to phase out dyes from school foods and West Virginia's recent food dye ban. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/many-us-ice-cream-producers-phase-out-artificial-food-dyes-by-2028-2025-07-14/
2025-07-14 21:04
ORLANDO, Florida, July 14 (Reuters) - TRADING DAY Making sense of the forces driving global markets Sign up here. By Jamie McGeever, Markets Columnist World markets were, on the whole, pretty buoyant on Monday as investors shrugged off U.S. President Donald Trump's latest tariff threats over the weekend and braced for a deluge of top-tier economic data from the U.S. and China on Tuesday. While European and Mexican stocks did wobble on Trump's latest trade salvo, the hits were minor. Risk appetite held firm - world equity benchmarks inched up, the Nasdaq and bitcoin hit new highs, and silver reached a fresh 14-year peak. If you have more time to read, here are a few articles I recommend to help you make sense of what happened in markets today. Today's Key Market Moves Resisting renewed tariff tensions Markets started a busy week on a solid footing on Monday, as investors withstood the latest escalation in Trump's tariff war with two of America's largest trading partners, and dug in ahead of key market-sensitive economic and corporate events in the coming days. After Trump on Saturday said he would impose a 30% tariff on most imports from the EU and Mexico from August 1, the EU on Sunday said it would extend its suspension of countermeasures until early August and continue to press for a negotiated settlement. The euro and European stocks fell - the single currency hitting a three-week low - but the declines were small. Investors still appear to be optimistic that talks will ultimately be fruitful and a palatable deal will be reached. Trade figures from China earlier in the day were certainly better than expected, although they were boosted by exporters rushing to beat a fragile tariff truce between Beijing and Washington ahead of a looming August deadline. Exports rose 5.8% year-on-year and imports rebounded 1.1%. The next couple of weeks will see bilateral U.S.-EU and U.S.-China trade talks intensify as the early August deadlines approach, and investors can expect a blizzard of headlines to hit their screens. If Monday is any guide, investors are well poised to weather the incoming storm. Trade may have been the main narrative for stock markets on Monday, but less so bonds, which also had the shadows of Federal Reserve independence, Chair Jerome Powell's future, and renewed weakness in Japanese government bonds hanging over them. The U.S. Treasury market was mostly stable although the 30-year yield did flirt with 5.00% and hit a one-month high. Government bond prices elsewhere came under heavier pressure, particularly at the long end of the German and Japanese curves. The 10-year Bund yield rose to its highest since early April and the 30-year Bund yield climbed to highs not seen in almost two years. Yields on Japanese government bonds surged back toward the historic highs from May, on concern that an upcoming election could pave the way for increased fiscal spending. Investors' attention on Tuesday will turn to the monthly economic 'data dump' from China, which also includes second quarter GDP figures. Economists polled by Reuters expect the annual growth rate to have slowed slightly to 5.1% from 5.4% in the January-March period. After that, U.S. CPI inflation figures for June will set the tone for the U.S. trading day. Economists expect inflation to rise moderately across all measures - core, headline, monthly and annual - with the annual core rate regaining a 3% handle. What could move markets tomorrow? Want to receive Trading Day in your inbox every weekday morning? Sign up for my newsletter here. Opinions expressed are those of the author. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles , opens new tab, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/global-markets-trading-day-graphics-2025-07-14/
