(COVER PHOTO: Union Station, photo via Google Maps)
New tariffs imposed on products from India
President Trump has followed through on his threat to double tariffs on imports from India to 50%. The higher tariffs could also endanger relations with one of America’s most important trading partners and cause consumer prices to soar. Earlier this month, when Trump vowed to impose what he called “secondary sanctions,” India signaled it would respond. Since chemicals, oils/gases and aerospace products and parts are the top American exports to India, these industries could be among the most vulnerable if New Delhi decides to slap retaliatory tariffs on US goods.
Package deliveries suspended
Package shipments to the U.S. are already being affected as a result of a tariff change Donald Trump has ordered to go into effect on Friday. Previously, goods worth $800 or less were allowed to enter the U.S. duty free under what’s called the “de minimis” exemption. Trump eliminates that tariff exemption effective Friday. In response, many countries including Austria, Australia, Belgium, Germany, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand have suspended some parcels shipments by mail to the U.S. until further notice. According to US Customs and Border Protection, more than 1.36 billion de minimis shipments entered the country last fiscal year.
Trump won’t commit to tariff rebate checks
During a cabinet meeting yesterday, Donald Trump refused to commit to moving ahead with giving U.S. taxpayers refunds for money the U.S. government is collecting from them in the form of increased tariffs on imports. Trump, while admitting that his tariffs amount to a tax on U.S. consumers, said that his administration primarily wants to use the money to pay down debt and using some of the money as a rebate to consumers is only a possibility. As of late last month, the U.S. Treasury had collected more than $150 billion this year in tariff taxes on imports, 95% more than last year.
Whistleblower says DOGE may have put Social Security data at risk
The so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) that was run by Elon Musk until Musk quit government copied and sent to a non-government storage space Americans’ personal Social Security information, according to a whistleblower complaint filed by the chief data officer at the Social Security Administration (SSA). The whistleblower says that Musk’s DOGE people created a live copy of Social Security records for more than 300 million Americans and uploaded the data to a vulnerable computer sever. The Social Security information that was copied contained people’s names, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, addresses, citizenship status, parents’ names and other personal information. Whistleblower Charles Borges said Trump’s Social Security Administration has no idea who may have already accessed the information. SSA spokesperson Nick Perrine said the data has been walled off from the internet and is monitored by staff.
Action against FEMA employees who spoke out
The Trump Administration’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has placed several employees on administrative leave just one day after they signed a letter to Congress warning that the Trump administration’s overhaul of the agency could lead to catastrophic failures in disaster response. While more than 180 current and former FEMA employees signed the letter, titled “Katrina Declaration,” most did so anonymously. Only 36 signed publicly, including Virginia Case, a supervisory management and program analyst, who said she was “disappointed but not surprised” to be placed on leave. FEMA’s move echoes the actions taken earlier this summer at the EPA, where roughly 140 employees were suspended days after they signed a public letter raising concerns about the treatment of federal workers and the administration’s regulations on climate and public health.
Trump taking control of Union Station
The Trump Administration is taking control of Union Station in Washington, D.C., away from the railroad company Amtrak as President Trump expands his control over the nation’s capital city. Trump’s Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy released a formal announcement of the takeover this morning shortly before he was due to join Amtrak President Roger Harris for a ceremony at Union Station to welcome the start of NextGen Acela service on the Northeast Corridor between Washington and Boston. The new high-speed Acela can reach 162 miles per hour, ten miles per hour faster than the original Acela high-speed trains. The Trump Administration already has National Guard troops on patrol both inside and outside of Union station.
