2025-06-29 07:44
Koo Yun-cheol named finance minister amid US tariff talks Koo emphasizes proactive response to economic challenges Trade envoy returns from first high-level talks in Washington since Lee took office SEOUL, June 29 (Reuters) - South Korea needs to take measures to support its economy in the short term as it continues tariff talks with the U.S., its likely new finance minister Koo Yun-cheol said on Sunday after being nominated for the role by President Lee Jae Myung. Koo, a former vice finance minister, still needs to go through parliament hearings before being confirmed as finance minister. Other ministerial appointments were also announced by the president's office on Sunday. Sign up here. "We need to take pre-emptive measures and prepare for situations such as the current tariff negotiations with the United States," Koo told a press conference. "Through this process, we plan to actively and proactively respond to the difficulties that the South Korean economy faces in the short term," he said. Trade envoy Yeo Han-koo returned home on Sunday after holding the first high-level tariff talks with his U.S. counterparts since President Lee took office on June 4. South Korea has sought exemptions from U.S. President Donald Trump's high tariffs on imports of automobiles and steel products, as well as a 25% "reciprocal" levy on the U.S. ally that is currently paused for negotiations. Yeo said his trip helped build mutual trust to expedite the negotiations and make friends in Washington. Asked if the July 8 deadline for negotiations over tariffs was still valid, Yeo said every possibility was left open. "In fact, the situation in the United States is very fluid. So, for now, I can say that all possibilities are open," he told reporters. The U.S. has demanded that South Korea improve non-tariff barriers particularly in the agricultural and digital services sectors, according to South Korean officials. MINISTERIAL APPOINTMENTS New finance minister Koo is widely known as a policy expert, having served in different positions across government and has authored books on South Korea's innovation and growth, most recently on artificial intelligence, Lee's chief of staff, Kang Hoon-sik, told a briefing. Among other ministerial positions, Kim Jung-kwan, president of power plant builder Doosan Enerbility and a veteran bureaucrat in economics, energy and public policy, was nominated to be industry minister. Kim fits the role to realise President Lee's "energy mix philosophy", Kang said, referring to the new president's aim to balance nuclear power and renewable energy. The former head of South Korea's disease control agency, Jeong Eun-kyeong, was nominated for health minister. She was highly praised for her response to the COVID-19 pandemic, becoming one of Time Magazine's 100 most influential people of 2020. Cabinet nominations in South Korea must be vetted by hearings in parliament. But presidents may appoint their nominees without parliament's approval, and Lee's Democratic Party has a majority in parliament. https://www.reuters.com/en/south-koreas-lee-nominates-new-finance-industry-ministers-2025-06-29/
2025-06-29 02:25
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina, June 28 (Reuters) - Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca lashed out after a two-hour weather delay disrupted his team's last-16 Club World Cup victory over Benfica on Saturday, suggesting the United States was not a suitable country for the competition - a year before it is due to host the men's World Cup. Chelsea beat Benfica 4-1 in extra-time to qualify for the quarter-finals after a game that ended four hours and 39 minutes after kicking off, following a two-hour interruption due to a storm warning. Sign up here. It was the sixth time that a game was stopped at the 32-club tournament because of the risk of lightning. "For me personally, it's not football," Maresca told a press conference. "I think it's a joke. It's not football. "I can understand that for security reasons, you have to suspend the game. But if you suspend seven or eight games, that means that probably this is not the right place to do this competition. "It's a fantastic competition. It's the Club World Cup, all the best clubs are here," he added. "But six, seven games suspended? It's not normal. In a World Cup how many have they suspended? Probably zero. In a European (championship), how many games? Zero. There is some problem." FIFA, which organised the tournament, was not immediately available for comment. Chelsea were 1-0 up when the players were asked to leave the pitch and play only resumed almost two hours later. "The game was very good for 85 minutes, then we stopped for two hours, and when we started it was a completely different game. It's not the same game because you break the tempo," Maresca said. https://www.reuters.com/sports/soccer/chelsea-boss-lashes-out-club-world-cup-organisers-after-yet-another-weather-2025-06-29/
2025-06-29 00:07
June 28 (Reuters) - Tropical Depression Two in Mexico's Bay of Campeche is expected to strengthen into a tropical storm before making landfall along Mexico's Gulf coast on Sunday night, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said. "On the following track the depression is expected to make landfall along the Mexico coast on Sunday night and move further inland on Monday," the NHC said in its Saturday evening advisory. Sign up here. The depression, located about 100 miles (160 km) northeast of Veracruz, was moving northwest across the Bay of Campeche and a tropical storm warning was in effect for the Gulf coast of Mexico from Boca de Catan southward to Tecolutla. The storm is expected to produce 3-6 inches (76.2-152.4 mm), with maximum totals of 10 inches (254 mm) possible across the states of Veracruz, San Luis Potosi and Tamaulipas, the NHC said. "This rainfall may produce isolated flash and urban flooding," the advisory added. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/nhc-issues-tropical-storm-warning-issued-mexicos-gulf-coast-2025-06-29/
2025-06-28 23:34
WASHINGTON, June 28 (Reuters) - The latest version of the Senate's massive budget bill that the Senate is racing through for a vote as soon as Saturday deals a fatal blow to the use of tax credits in place since 2005 to spur more wind and solar energy and would set a new tax on those projects for the first time, renewable energy proponents said on Saturday. Despite hopes earlier in the week that the Senate would rework the budget megabill's language about the future use of Inflation Reduction Act tax credits to extend their use and make them more usable, the new version of the bill introduced by Senate leadership overnight will effectively repeal the incentives for solar and wind immediately. Sign up here. Instead, it imposes a new tax on wind and solar projects completed after Dec. 31, 2027 if they cannot prove they have not used any Chinese components, while offering a new tax break for coal production. It also accelerates the phase-out of clean energy manufacturing tax credits that have attracted billions in investments throughout the US, especially in Republican states. The clean energy industry and environmental groups decried the last-minute changes to the bill, saying that it will raise household energy costs and deprive the US of new, necessary and fast electricity capacity at a time of massive power demand amid a rush of construction of power-hungry data centers to power AI development. Trump's former advisor and head of DOGE Elon Musk blasted the bill on his social media platform X on Saturday, warning that the bill will "destroy millions of jobs in America" and cause "strategic harm." "It is utterly insane and destructive. It gives handouts to industries of the past while severely damaging industries of the future," he said. Energy security organization SAFE said in a statement that the bill, as written, would give an advantage to China, which dominates the clean energy and electric vehicle industries and is racing to outpace the US in AI development by taking away financing for energy storage, mineral processing and power projects. "Where the original Senate version was a recipe for energy stagnation, this is outright energy surrender—all but guaranteeing Chinese dominance of critical minerals, industrial supply chains, and AI development," said Avery Ash, head of government affairs for SAFE. Green energy opponents praised the bill for ending support for renewable energy. Trump on Friday evening called for the end of the credits and said they no longer need support. “If, as supporters of the IRA are complaining, repealing these subsidies will ‘kill’ their industry, then maybe it shouldn’t exist in the first place," said Tom Pyle, president of the American Energy Alliance. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/senate-bill-hastens-end-wind-solar-tax-credits-imposes-new-tax-2025-06-28/
2025-06-28 20:33
June 28 (Reuters) - Billionaire Elon Musk on Saturday criticized the latest version of President Donald Trump's tax and spending bill released by the U.S. Senate, calling it "utterly insane and destructive," weeks after the world's richest person and its most powerful ended a feud sparked by Musk's opposition to the bill. "The latest Senate draft bill will destroy millions of jobs in America and cause immense strategic harm to our country!" Musk wrote in a post on X. Sign up here. "It gives handouts to industries of the past while severely damaging industries of the future." (This story has been refiled to fix the spelling of Musk in paragraph 1) https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/elon-musk-says-senate-bill-would-destroy-jobs-harm-us-2025-06-28/
2025-06-28 14:34
EU to propose 2040 climate target Draft includes limited share of carbon credits Some countries opposed to steep emissions-cutting goal BRUSSELS, June 28 (Reuters) - The European Commission is set to propose counting carbon credits bought from other countries towards the European Union's 2040 climate target, a Commission document seen by Reuters showed. The Commission is due to propose a legally binding EU climate target for 2040 on July 2. Sign up here. The EU executive had initially planned a 90% net emissions cut, against 1990 levels, but in recent months has sought to make this goal more flexible, in response to pushback from governments including Italy, Poland and the Czech Republic, concerned about the cost. An internal Commission summary of the upcoming proposal, seen by Reuters, said the EU would be able to use "high-quality international credits" from a U.N.-backed carbon credits market to meet 3% of the emissions cuts towards the 2040 goal. The document said the credits would be phased in from 2036, and that additional EU legislation would later set out the origin and quality criteria that the credits must meet, and details of how they would be purchased. The move would in effect ease the emissions cuts - and the investments required - from European industries needed to hit the 90% emissions-cutting target. For the share of the target met by credits, the EU would buy "credits" from projects that reduce CO2 emissions abroad - for example, forest restoration in Brazil - rather than reducing emissions in Europe. Proponents say these credits are a crucial way to raise funds for CO2-cutting projects in developing nations. But recent scandals have shown some credit-generating projects did not deliver the climate benefits they claimed. The document said the Commission will add other flexibilities to the 90% target, as Brussels attempts to contain resistance from governments struggling to fund the green transition alongside priorities including defence, and industries who say ambitious environmental regulations hurt their competitiveness. These include integrating credits from projects that remove CO2 from the atmosphere into the EU’s carbon market so that European industries can buy these credits to offset some of their own emissions, the document said. The draft would also give countries more flexibility on which sectors in their economy do the heavy lifting to meet the 2040 goal, "to support the achievement of targets in a cost-effective way". A Commission spokesperson declined to comment on the upcoming proposal, which could still change before it is published next week. EU countries and the European Parliament must negotiate the final target and could amend what the Commission proposes. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/cop/eu-plans-add-carbon-credits-new-climate-goal-document-shows-2025-06-28/
