(NEW YORK) –U.S. stocks were mixed at the open of trading on Wednesday, extending days-long turmoil in markets as tit-for-tat tariffs between the U.S. and China heightened the risk of a global trade war and worsened fears of a recession.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened down 315 points, or 0.8%, while the S&P 500 fell 0.4%.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq ticked up 0.03%.
Meanwhile, a selloff hit U.S. Treasury markets on Wednesday, sending bond yields higher and raising concern about a typical safe-haven asset during moments of instability for stocks.
President Donald Trump’s latest batch of levies on China increased the cumulative rate of tariffs on Chinese goods to 104% — a move met with retaliatory tariffs in Beijing that raised tariffs on U.S. goods to 84%.
The latest U.S. tariffs came into force with key Asian markets already open. In Japan, the Nikkei index dropped more than 5% in response, while the broader TOPIX index slipped 4.6%. The Nikkei closed down 3.93% and the TOPIX down 3.4%.
Stocks in Taiwan fell more than 5.7%, Singapore’s STI index slipped 2.4%, South Korea’s KOSPI index lost 1.8%, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost 1.8% and India’s NIFTY 50 dropped 0.4%.
In China, Hong Kong’s Hang Sen index slipped 0.4%. Shanghai’s SSE Shanghai Composite Index — which has fewer international investors and is buoyed by the state-owned investors known as the “National Team” — posted gains of 1.1% despite the new tariffs. Shenzhen’s SE Composite rose 2.2%.
In Europe, key indices dropped on opening.
The British FTSE 100 dropped by 2.2%, Germany’s Dax index dropped 2.3%, France’s CAC 40 fell by 2.4% and Spain’s Ibex index was down 2%. The pan-European STOXX index was down 2.6%.
United States stocks closed lower on Tuesday, marking a major reversal from a rally that sent the S&P 500 and Nasdaq up more than 4% earlier in the day.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 320 points, or 0.8%, while the Nasdaq dropped 2.1%.
The S&P 500 fell 1.5%, putting the index on the brink of a bear market, a term that indicates a 20% drop from a previous peak.
The move lower on Tuesday resumed a selloff that stretches back to Trump’s tariff announcement last week. Since then, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq have each fallen more than 12%.
(WASHIGTON) — The acting commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service is planning to resign following the agency’s data sharing agreement with the Department of Homeland Security to support the Trump administration’s efforts to deport undocumented immigrants, three sources familiar with her plans told ABC News.
Melanie Krause is the third leader of the agency to resign this year; Senate-confirmed Commissioner Danny Werfel resigned from his role on Inauguration Day, less than two years into his five-year term.
One month later, acting commissioner Doug O’Donnell, who spent nearly four decades at the IRS, retired amid concerns about the Trump administration’s management of the agency.
A Treasury Department spokesperson also confirmed Krause’s plans to leave the agency in a statement to ABC News.
“Melanie Krause has been leading the IRS through a time of extraordinary change. As we focus on IT modernization and re-organize the agency to better serve the taxpayer, we are also in the midst of breaking down data silos that for too long have stood in the way of identifying waste, fraud, and abuse and bringing criminals to justice. We believe these goals are critical to a more efficient government and safer country. We wish Melanie well on her next endeavor,” the spokesperson said.
Krause did not respond to a request to comment from ABC News.
Other senior agency officials are considering leaving the agency following the new data sharing agreement and are concerned about its legality.
Some found out about its finalization, after weeks of negotiations, only after it was reported by Fox News Tuesday morning, sources told ABC News.
“People at the IRS have a strong sense of pride in tax administration and protecting taxpayer rights, and everything happening isn’t aligned [with that],” one source told ABC News.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent signed the agreement with DHS on behalf of the IRS, according to the redacted copy of the deal included in a court filing.
Section 6103 of the federal tax code requires the IRS keep individual taxpayer information confidential with certain limited exceptions, including with law enforcement agencies “for investigation and prosecution of non-tax criminal laws” with approval from a court, according to the agency’s website.
Current and former agency officials also worry the new policy could impact tax collections and discourage undocumented immigrant workers who do pay taxes for a variety of reasons.
The agency has said it will continue to protect the privacy of taxpayer data under the new agreement.
(TAIWAN) — Asian stocks plunged during Wednesday’s trading session after President Donald Trump’s latest batch of sanctions on China came into force, helping wipe off Tuesday’s limited gains and compounding a turbulent week for the world’s key indexes.
Trump’s new measures increased the cumulative rate of tariffs on Chinese goods to 104% — a move met with more condemnation in Beijing, where officials warned that China is ready to fight an extended trade war if forced to do so.
The latest tariffs came into force with key Asian markets already open. In Japan, the Nikkei index dropped more than 5% in response, while the broader TOPIX index slipped 4.6%. The Nikkei closed down 3.93% and the TOPIX down 3.4%.
Stocks in Taiwan fell more than 5.7%, Singapore’s STI index slipped 2.4%, South Korea’s KOSPI index lost 1.8%, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost 1.8% and India’s NIFTY 50 dropped 0.4%.
In China, Hong Kong’s Hang Sen index slipped 0.4%. Shanghai’s SSE Shanghai Composite Index — which has fewer international investors and is buoyed by the state-owned investors known as the “National Team” — posted gains of 1.1% despite the new tariffs. Shenzhen’s SE Composite rose 2.2%.
In Europe, key indices dropped on opening.
The British FTSE 100 dropped by 2.2%, Germany’s Dax index dropped 2.3%, France’s CAC 40 fell by 2.4% and Spain’s Ibex index was down 2%. The pan-European STOXX index was down 2.6%.
U.S. stock market futures indicated continued uncertainty, despite the White House touting possible deals with as many as 70 nations seeking to avoid the impact of Trump’s tariff campaign.
Dow Jones futures were up 0.01% as of Wednesday morning, with S&P 500 futures down 0.02% and Nasdaq futures up 0.26%.
United States stocks closed lower on Tuesday, marking a major reversal from a rally that sent the S&P 500 and Nasdaq up more than 4% earlier in the day.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 320 points, or 0.8%, while the Nasdaq dropped 2.1%.
The S&P 500 fell 1.5%, putting the index on the brink of a bear market, a term that indicates a 20% drop from a previous peak.
The move lower on Tuesday resumed a selloff that stretches back to Trump’s tariff announcement last week. Since then, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq have each fallen more than 12%.
(WASHINGTON) — The U.S. Army says it’s looking at options to make its 250th birthday celebration in June “bigger,” with possible demonstrations and vehicle displays on the National Mall in a multi-day event that could also include a military parade, although officials say no decisions have been made.
The Army celebration, which has been in the works for several months, has fueled speculation that President Donald Trump will try to turn the event into the kind of grand military parade he wanted in his first administration. Trump shares a birthday with the Army on June 14.
ABC News has reached out to the White House for comment.
D.C. city officials told reporters this week they had been approached about a parade route from the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, into Washington. Two other U.S. officials confirmed a military parade was under discussion, although it was unclear how big the parade would be.
“Military tanks on our streets would not be good. If military tanks were used, they should be accompanied with many millions of dollars to repair the roads,” said D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser.
Heather Hagan, a U.S. Army spokeswoman, said Tuesday that a decision on the parade was “pre-decisional.” She noted that the Army is planning to celebrate its milestone birthday with “multiple events” leading up to June 14, including a festival on the National Mall.
“We intend to have a national level celebration to increase pride in America and America’s Army,” she wrote in a statement. “Given the significant milestone of 250 years, the Army is exploring options to make the celebration bigger, with more capability demonstrations, static displays of equipment, and more engagement with the community.”
Trump’s 2018 vision for a parade included vintage aircraft and fighter jets swooping over the streets of Washington with heavy tanks below. But the event never materialized as city officials pushed back and cost estimates topped tens of millions of dollars.
If a parade were to take place, it would significantly impact the city’s infrastructure, according to city officials. Bowser said the 14th Street Bridge would need to be tested before the event.
The iconic bridge has undergone several significant repairs and maintenance in recent decades, most notably after the 1982 Air Florida Flight 90 crash.
(AUSTIN, TX) — Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. seemed to imply in recent days that the measles outbreak in western Texas was slowing down.
In a post on X on Sunday, Kennedy remarked on the second death linked to the outbreak, which occurred in an unvaccinated school-aged child.
About 10 minutes later, Kennedy edited the post to add that the curve has been flattening since early March, when he started sending in reinforcements from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — supplying clinics with vaccines and other medications.
“Since that time, the growth rates for new cases and hospitalizations have flattened,” he wrote.
However, data from the Texas Department of State Health Services showed that cases are increasing, with more counties in western Texas reporting infections.
Katherine Wells, director of public health for Lubbock, Texas, said last week that public health officials were projecting “a year-long timeline for control of the outbreak.”
“This is going to be a large outbreak, and we are still on the side of increasing number of cases, both due to spread and increased testing capacity,” she said.
Public health specialists told ABC News they are skeptical that the curve is flattening and believe that cases linked to the outbreak are not only increasing, but likely much higher than the official case count.
“This outbreak is far from under control — even if the curve begins to flatten, we still face major risks in under-vaccinated communities across the country,” said Dr. John Brownstein, an epidemiologist and chief innovation officer, as well as an ABC News contributor. “With so many pockets of low vaccination, we’re still on the brink of widespread, sustained transmission unless urgent action is taken.”
Likely more cases in Texas
As of Tuesday, there have been 505 confirmed measles cases in Texas, according to DSHS data.
Between March 28 and April 4, DSHS confirmed 81 cases — one of the highest totals confirmed in a single week since the first cases were identified in late January. The Texas Department of State Health Services does not make hospitalization rates available to the public.
“We know that there have been more cases, at least sustained cases, over the past couple months. We know that the size of the outbreak has jumped pretty substantially over the past month,” Dr. Craig Spencer, an associate professor of the practice of health services, policy and practice at the Brown University School of Public Health, told ABC News.
ABC News has requested a copy of the data that Kennedy is referring to when making claims about the curve flattening, but has not yet heard back from the HHS.
“We don’t have a full picture of what’s happening on the ground because of our inability to reach some communities. And so, I certainly would not feel confident saying that we have plateaued,” he added.
Spencer said one reason he is not comfortable saying the outbreak has plateaued in Texas is that he believes the number of cases is likely an undercount.
Texas DSHS said any cases reported after March 16 are incomplete, and additional cases may be reported.
There have been two confirmed deaths linked to the Texas outbreak and a third death is being investigated in New Mexico in an unvaccinated adult who tested positive after dying.
“We know that there’s really, on average, about one death for every around 1,000 cases,” Spencer said. “We’ve already seen three deaths, which would make you suspect it’s probably more like 3,000 cases.”
“It feels very, very likely that the count is higher than 500,” he said, adding, “It’s not impossible for there to be three deaths among 500 cases, but statistically, one would expect more cases for that number of deaths.”
Dr. Megan Ranney, dean of the Yale School of Public Health, told ABC News there is risk in saying the cases have flattened when the data may suggest otherwise. Namely, she said is worried that people may be dissuaded from getting tested or treated.
“We know that many people are avoiding formal medical care and therefore testing. There is always a delay in reporting even when people are tested,” Ranney said. “I worry that people are afraid to get measles tested or to bring their kid in for care.”
“My other worry is we still want people to take prevention measures and, of course, we know the vaccine is not only the safest way, but also the most effective way to prevent infection with measles,” she continued.
Kennedy promotes catch-all treatments not intended for all measles cases
In a second social media post on Sunday evening, Kennedy shared that he had met the families of the two school-aged children who died of measles in Texas, as well as a third family who reportedly had a daughter in the ICU for three weeks with measles.
Kennedy said he also met with two physicians who have “treated and healed” about 300 children infected with measles in the Mennonite community with aerosolized budesonide and clarithromycin.
Aerosolized budesonide is a steroid used to reduce inflammation in the lungs, making it easier to breathe. Clarithromycin is an antibiotic used to treat bacterial infections.
“If you were to go to any evidence-based treatment guidelines, there is nothing that says you should treat patients with budesonide or clarithromycin,” Spencer said. “Now those are medications that have a broad suite of uses, and so I’m not going to say that they have absolutely no indication for measles, or really anything else.”
He said there are scenarios in which either medication may be used in a measles patient, but it is on a case-by-case basis.
“I don’t think that they’re hurting anyone, but they’re probably not helping anyone,” he added. “They are not at all tools that I would reach to as my first, or really even second, line of tools that I would use in someone presenting with symptoms consistent with measles.”
In an interview with ABC News Live on Monday, Dr. Peter Marks, the former director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research within the Food and Drug Administration — who is reported to have been forced out — said budesonide, clarithromycin and vitamin A — another treatment endorsed by Kennedy — are neither preventatives nor “real treatment” for all cases of measles.
He highlighted the importance of receiving the measles, mumps and rubella, or MMR, vaccine. The CDC currently recommends that people receive two doses of the MMR vaccine, the first at ages 12 to 15 months and the second between 4 and 6 years old. One dose is 93% effective, and two doses are 97% effective against measles or nearly 100% effective against dying of measles after contracting it.
Some people may be at risk for an adverse reaction with any vaccine, so experts say it’s important to discuss the risks and benefits with a health care provider.
“It should be an easy decision, as easy as buying a car seat and strapping your kid in,” Marks said about getting a vaccine if eligible. “You would never drive without your kid strapped into their car seat. You know, if you had an 18-month-old, why wouldn’t you give that child something that could prevent your child from dying of an infection when there’s a one in 1,000 chance if they get measles, they would die from it?”
ABC News’ Dr. Mark Abdelmalek contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — Ahead of expected talks between the United States and Iran over the weekend, the State Department pushed back on the idea that the discussion would be a negotiation over Tehran’s nuclear program.
“This is a meeting that’s happening, right? On Saturday, there’s a meeting. There’s no negotiations,” State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce told reporters on Tuesday.
“This is a dynamic where the president has made very clear and certainly the secretary has made very clear that Iran will never have a nuclear weapon,” she said. “It’s touching base, yes. Again, it’s not a negotiation. It’s a meeting.”
However, Bruce and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt both emphasized that President Donald Trump is seeking to cut a deal with Tehran.
“When it comes to Iran, the president has reimposed crippling sanctions on the Iranian regime, and he’s made it very clear to Iran they have a choice to make: You can strike a deal with the president, you can negotiate, or there will be hell to pay,” Leavitt said.
Bruce confirmed that Steve Witkoff, the special envoy to the Middle East, will represent the Trump administration during the session. But beyond that, both the White House and the State Department have been tight-lipped concerning details about the planned talks, which Trump announced during an Oval Office meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday.
Trump also asserted that the U.S. was already conducting direct diplomacy with Iran for the first time since 2018, when he exited an Obama-era nuclear deal with the country.
“We’re having direct talks with Iran, and they’ve started. It’ll go on Saturday. We have a very big meeting, and we’ll see what can happen,” Trump said.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi later posted on X that the meeting Trump referenced would take place in Oman and that talks would be “indirect high-level talks.”
“It is as much an opportunity as it is a test,” Araghchi said.
On Tuesday, the White House and the State Department stood by the president’s initial description of the forthcoming conversations and rejected Iran’s characterization of the talks as indirect.
“That’s nice for the Iranians,” Bruce said of Araghchi’s comments. “I would refer back to the president of the United States, President Donald John Trump.”
(WASHINGTON) — After days of market tumult, President Donald Trump on Wednesday makes good on his long-sought goal of imposing aggressive tariffs against dozens of U.S. trading partners.
But his gamble comes with major political risks for his legacy amid mounting concerns from Republicans and business leaders that’s he’s making a mistake by going too far in exacting economic retaliation.
Chief among his new trade moves is a hefty 104% tariff rate on China, which was set to go into effect with the rest at 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday.
Trump has painted what he calls “reciprocal” tariffs as retribution for a grievance he’s held for “35 years” — that the U.S. is being “ripped off” by trade imbalances.
“Nobody but me would do this,” he said in the Oval Office on Monday. “You know it would be nice to serve a nice, easy term. But we have an opportunity to change the fabric of our country. We have an opportunity to reset the table on trade.”
On Tuesday night, on the eve of realizing what he’s said he considers one of his crowning political achievements, he boasted in freewheeling remarks to congressional Republicans, “I know what the hell I’m doing. I’m telling you, these countries are calling us up kissing my ass. They are. They are dying to make a deal.”
“Many countries have ripped us off left and right. But now it’s our turn to do the ripping,” he continued.
By doing so, he’s moving full steam ahead on a campaign promise that turned real on April 2 in a flashy event in the White House Rose Garden — a move prompting economic and political backlash.
U.S. markets experienced their worst week since the coronavirus pandemic, with trillions lost in retirement and college savings accounts in just 48 hours after Trump’s tariff announcement. Looking ahead at potential future fallout, economists increased their odds of a recession this year.
Stocks rallied early Tuesday amid optimism on the administration beginning negotiations with various countries, but turned back into red territory before day’s end as the world braced for the additional Trump tariffs soon being put in place.
China — the world’s second-largest economy behind the U.S. — says it’s ready to “fight to the end” on Trump’s tariffs.
Up on Capitol Hill, some Republicans started to express increasing anxiety about the president’s approach.
“Whose throat do I get to choke if this proves to be wrong?” Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican, pointedly asked U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer as he testified before the Senate Finance Committee on Trump’s agenda.
Tillis and other GOP members of the panel joined Democrats in questioning why the administration’s refused to consider exemptions on certain goods critical to American industries, such as farming and garment manufacturing.
“I’m somewhat disappointed to hear that exclusions of some of these things are being ruled out at this point in time,” Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., told Greer.
Greer defended Trump’s policies as he noticeably sidestepped questions from Democrats on how much “short-term pain” American consumers can expect to face from higher prices and inflation.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll published Tuesday found that a majority (57%) of American adults oppose Trump’s new tariffs.
“These measures are aimed squarely at achieving reciprocity and reducing our massive trade deficit to restore production in the United States,” Greer told lawmakers. Greer said Trump was “fixed in his purpose” on the issue when asked if he’d reverse course if inflation rose as a result.
The White House has said nearly 70 countries have reached out to Trump officials to talk about tariffs.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Mary Bruce on Tuesday morning that agreements with some big trading partners could happen “very quickly.”
But at the podium later that afternoon, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt declined to provide any timeline for when Trump would like to see deals completed, only that he is moving at “Trump speed.”
“The president likes to get things done, but he’s very much focused on ensuring that these deals are good for the American worker, they are good for American manufacturing, and again, that they tackle these crippling deficits with these countries,” Leavitt said, adding that these will be “tailor-made” agreements for each nation rather than wholesale changes.
(AUSTIN, TX) — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced in a proclamation Monday afternoon that the special election to fill the seat vacated following the death of Rep. Sylvester Turner, D-Texas, for the rest of his term will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 4, concurrent with Election Day.
But Democrats are arguing he is trying to keep the seat open as long as possible because of Republicans’ slim majority in the House.
Republicans have 220 seats to Democrats’ 213, and the special election would most likely install a new Democrat in the seat, given the district’s Democratic lean, cutting back on the GOP majority.
In a statement, Abbott blamed Harris County, where the district is located, for election administration issues, saying that is why he had to schedule the election for November.
“Forcing Harris County to rush this special election on weeks’ notice would harm the interests of voters. The appropriate time to hold this election is November, which will give Harris County sufficient time to prepare for such an important election,” Abbott wrote.
Abbott gave that reasoning in a recent local interview as well, telling local station KXAN on Thursday that the county will “need to have adequate time to operate a fair and accurate election, not a crazy election like what they conducted in the past.”
State audits found that Harris County had issues with administering elections in 2021 and 2022, according to Votebeat. Those issues included not properly training election workers and not issuing enough ballot paper at various places. But the county has also been a target for unfounded theories or allegations about elections.
However, Harris County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth noted in a statement on Friday that the county has successfully run eight elections since election administration duties were given to the Harris County Clerk’s Office in September 2023 and said the county is prepared to run the special election.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said on Monday afternoon that an announcement is “forthcoming” on litigation over filling the seat.
“The Republicans are on the run on the economy … and they’re on the run legislatively, which is why Gov. Abbott is conspiring with House Republicans to rig the system and not call a special election,” Jeffries said at a news conference in the U.S. Capitol.
In a later statement on Monday after Abbott announced the date, Jeffries said House Democrats are still considering legal action. The Texas Democratic Party has also threatened to file a lawsuit.
A spokesperson for Abbott’s office, when asked on Monday by ABC News about the governor’s response to Democratic allegations about margins in the House and the allegation that Abbott is following President Donald Trump’s or Republicans’ direction, pointed to Abbott’s comments from the local news interview, without elaborating.
The spokesperson did not address how Abbott might respond to any litigation.
Abbott’s announcement means the congressional seat will be vacant for about eight months since Turner’s passing in March, if the new date holds.
Sawyer Hackett, a Democratic strategist who works for various Texas Democratic clients, told ABC News on Monday that the seat vacancy comes “at a time when people absolutely need their congressional representation” as the Trump administration implements sweeping tariffs and cuts to the federal government.
From a legal standpoint, however, Texas state law appears to give the governor wide latitude to choose when to set special elections.
Joshua Blank, the research director of the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas, Austin, told ABC News on Tuesday that the amount of time the seat will remain vacant in this case is much longer than previous occurrences in 2018 and 2021, when Abbott also called special elections to fill vacancies.
But Blank pointed out that Abbott, a former state attorney general and state Supreme Court justice, is likely sure he is on solid legal ground: “Gov. Abbott doesn’t seek out lawsuits against him. He was a sophisticated legal operator before he became a sophisticated politician and a sophisticated governor, and that really suffuses his politics and his approach.”
Chad Wilbanks, a Republican strategist and former Texas GOP executive director, told ABC News on Friday, “The governor is the sole authority of calling the special election for when he wants.”
“Democrats at the state and federal level support boys playing in girls sports, they support open borders and drags shows in public libraries,” he added, referring to LGBT and immigration issues. “There is no urgency because of their policies that Texans oppose.”
(LOS ANGELES) — California importers could be hit hardest by the new import tariffs — potentially paying over $170 billion more for imports than they did last year, according to newly released data by trade economists.
Texas importers rank second, with an estimated $82 billion increase. Altogether, the United States could pay over $712 billion more in import tariffs this year compared to 2024.
At 12:01 a.m. ET on Wednesday, President Donald Trump is set to impose individualized reciprocal higher tariffs on the countries with which the United States has the largest trade deficits.
All other countries will continue to be subject to the original 10% tariff baseline.
During remarks Tuesday, Trump claimed his newly announced tariffs would bring in billions per day. “We’re taking in almost $2 billion a day in tariffs,” said Trump. “These are tailored — highly tailored deals.”
While the lasting economic impact of Trump’s sweeping tariffs stands to be seen, Trade Partnership Worldwide, a group of economists and trade policy consultants, has released data on how much importers could pay in each state for 2025.
These payment increase predictions are based on 2024 import data for each state, according to Trade Partnership Worldwide.
The predictions reflect how much more importers would pay in tariffs by state this year if demand remained identical to 2024 — indicating which states could end up paying the most under the new tariff policy.
“As a disclaimer, we do not foresee demand for imports remaining the same as 2024 due to the tariffs,” said Daniel Anthony, president of Trade Partnership Worldwide. “But this gives us a good indicator of the size, scope and impact these tariffs could have on each state.”
Michigan importers could see over $27 billion in tariff payments for 2025, according to the data. About 20% of all U.S. auto production occurred in Michigan in 2023, according to the Detroit Regional Chamber.
The group’s predictive analysis applies all of the new tariffs Trump announced last week to the number of goods Americans imported last year.
Those tariffs include the president’s International Emergency Economic Powers Act actions on Canada, Mexico, China and Hong Kong and additional tariffs on steel, aluminum, derivative products and auto parts.
For the moment, their prediction does not include the additional tariff on Chinese imports the president may implement on Wednesday.
This prediction excluded products covered by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, in accordance with the new tariffs.
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday to expand the mining and use of coal in the U.S., calling it “beautiful, clean coal.”
During a ceremony at the White House, surrounded by hard-hat-clad coal miners, Trump signed the “Unleashing American Energy” executive order that follows the president’s recent promises to oversee a boost of coal production in the U.S.
The action directs the Interior Department to facilitate coal leases for millions of acres of public lands. Trump’s order also directs the Energy Department and other agencies to research if coal can be used to supply electricity for artificial intelligence data centers.
The comments Tuesday follow plans announced last month for a sweeping rollback of longstanding regulations from the Environmental Protection Agency — which the Trump administration has called the “biggest deregulatory action in U.S. history.”
Several of the 31 actions announced by the agency in March targeted prior regulations meant to restrict emissions and pollution related to the use of coal. Chief among these was the announcement to “reconsider” President Joe Biden’s “Clean Power Plan 2.0,” which was a group of regulations targeting coal and natural gas power plants announced last year.
The “Clean Power Plan 2.0” tightened the emissions standards for coal-fired power plants for toxic metals like mercury and forced plants to control and clean coal ash released during their operations. But during his campaign, Trump spoke favorably about using more coal to power America’s energy needs.
Coal is an abundant, energy-dense resource with a higher concentration in the U.S. than any other country in the world, but it is also a fossil fuel and creates carbon dioxide (a greenhouse gas) when burned, which contributes to global warming and human-amplified climate change. Coal emissions can also lead to health issues, including respiratory illness, lung disease, acid rain, smog, and neurological and developmental damage.
While coal-fired electricity has become “cleaner than ever,” according to the U.S. Department of Energy, the fossil fuel is still responsible for significant greenhouse gas emissions and environment-polluting coal ash. So “clean coal” is a bit of a misnomer, sometimes referring to types of technology used to physically clean coal before it is burned or capture carbon related to its burning, according to Michelle Solomon, senior policy analyst at Energy Innovation.
“Burning coal could never be technically considered clean regardless of the treatment applied to it before combustion – it will always emit the largest concentration of greenhouse gases of any fossil fuel, and soil and water pollution from coal and coal ash (what’s left after it’s burned) will never go away,” Solomon said. “Even the best technologies that reduce air pollutants like sulfur and nitrogen oxides still allow many of these to get through.”
These technologies are also not widely used in the U.S. According to a December 2023 report from the Congressional Budget Office, 15 carbon capture and storage facilities are operating in the United States. And none of them are being used at coal-burning power plants. The CBO also found that the 15 facilities can capture “0.4% of percent of the United States’ total annual emissions of CO2.”
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the most significant factor in recent reductions of energy-related carbon dioxide emissions in the U.S. has been the decline in coal usage. In 2022, coal-fired electricity generation was largely replaced by other sources, primarily natural gas and renewables. As the production of cleaner alternatives continues to grow, the reliance on coal to meet the country’s energy needs continues to diminish.
ABC News’ Climate Unit contributed to this report.
