The government of Peru’s President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski is no longer considering cutting the value-added tax (VAT) rate due to slumping government revenues as the economy slows, the country’s prime minister said Tuesday. Trimming the VAT rate gradually to 15 percent from 18 percent had been part of Kuczynski’s economic platform as he took office…
read moreWith corruption charges delaying his unpopular proposal for the overhaul of Brazil’s costly pension system, President Michel Temer is trying to quickly push through a mini tax reform, a presidential aide told Reuters on Tuesday. The simplification of the PIS/Cofins federal social security contributions levied on gross receipts would face easier passage in Congress and…
read moreHouse Republicans are moving next week to fund President Donald Trump’s $1.6 billion request to begin construction of his oft-promised wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Aides said Tuesday evening that GOP leaders have decided to attach the money — to build 74 miles of fencing and levee wall in the Rio Grande Valley in…
read moreU.S. President Donald Trump is looking for ways to defend American-made products by certifying legitimate U.S. goods and aggressively going after imported products unfairly sporting the “Made in America” label, the White House said on Tuesday. Trump, who campaigned on reviving the U.S. manufacturing sector, vowed on Monday that his administration would crack down on…
read moreAmazon has begun selling ready-to-cook meal packages for busy households in a bid to expand its groceries business. Amazon-branded meal kits come with raw ingredients needed to prepare such meals as chicken tikka masala and falafel patties. They can help households save time; a kit for salmon with soba noodles can be prepared in…
read moreDespite opposition from Republican moderates and conservatives, House leaders are pressing ahead with a budget plan whose success is critical to the party’s hopes to deliver on one of President Donald Trump’s top priorities — a GOP-only effort to overhaul the tax code. The importance of the measure has been magnified by the cratering in…
read moreRepublicans sought to regroup Tuesday after their quest to scale back the U.S. government’s role in health care collapsed, leaving in place former President Barack Obama’s health care law, popularly known as Obamacare. “I’m certainly disappointed. For seven years, I’ve been hearing ‘repeal and replace’ from Congress,” said a visibly angry President Donald Trump. “And…
read moreAnother person has been identified who was at a June 2016 meeting President Donald Trump’s eldest son set up on the promise that a Russian government attorney would hand him incriminating material about Trump’s opponent, Democrat Hillary Clinton. Ike Kaveladze, a senior vice president at the company founded by a Russian oligarch who initiated the…
read moreIn 2016, Ilhan Omar made history when she was elected to Minnesota’s House of Representatives, becoming the first Somali-American to win a state office in the United States. Omar had humble beginnings, as her family was uprooted from her home country as a child during Somalia’s civil war in the 1990s. She came to America…
read morePresident Donald Trump took the oath of office six months ago Thursday, vowing to rescue the country from what he said was an “American carnage” of shuttered factories and too many people trapped in poverty. “The time for empty talk is over. Now arrives the hour of action,” Trump pledged in his inaugural address.…
read moreThe Trump Administration has launched “Made In America Week” to highlight the importance of U.S. manufacturing and tout its policies to bring more such jobs back home from overseas. But as VOA White House Bureau Chief Steve Herman reports, many Trump family products are made in foreign factories, leading to criticism of the president’s trade…
read morePresident Donald Trump inspected products brought to the White House on Monday from all 50 U.S. states to launch his “Made In America Week.” On display from the easternmost state of Maine was a yacht. From the distant shores of Hawaii, more than 7,500 kilometers from the nation’s capital, there was a bottle of rum.…
read moreNetflix is pulling in new viewers and award nominations in droves, but the online video service still faces a long-term problem: Its acclaimed programming line-up is costing far more money than what subscribers pay for it. That hasn’t been a big issue so far, thanks to investors’ willingness to accept scant profits in exchange…
read moreThe United States on Monday launched the first salvo in the renegotiation of the 23-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), saying its top priority for the talks was shrinking the U.S. trade deficit with Canada and Mexico. In a much-anticipated document sent to lawmakers, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said he would seek to…
read moreThe United States is applauding the European Union for imposing sanctions Monday on 16 Syrian senior military officials and scientists involved in chemical weapons attacks on civilians. “The combined efforts of the United States and European Union … are part of a continuing effort in the international community to hold the Assad regime responsible for…
read moreJohn McCain, a critical vote in the U.S. Senate’s health care overhaul, was described as upbeat and comfortable in Arizona on Monday but was still days away from traveling to Washington after surgery to remove a blood clot from his head. The Arizona senator underwent surgery on Saturday to remove a clot above his left…
read moreForeign fishing vessels, many from China, prowl the waters off West Africa every day. They capture millions of fish — catches that used to go to local boats. The fish are then shipped to China, Europe and the United States, satisfying a global demand for seafood and fueling a multibillion-dollar industry. The foreign vessels make…
read morePresident Donald Trump made seven trips to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida earlier this year, and the public might soon get a look at who else was there with him. The Department of Homeland Security has agreed to hand over records related to the property’s visitors in September. The move comes in response to a…
read moreThe United States needs more foreign workers to keep some American businesses from floundering, according to a decision announced by U.S. officials Monday. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said it will make 15,000 additional H-2B visas available for companies to hire temporary, non-agricultural foreign workers before the end of the fiscal year Sept. 30.…
read morePresident Donald Trump is continuing to defend his eldest son’s meeting last year with a Russian lawyer he expected was going to hand him incriminating material about Trump’s election challenger, Democrat Hillary Clinton. “Most politicians would have gone to a meeting like the one Don jr attended in order to get info on an opponent.…
read moreEU foreign ministers approved on Monday measures to allow Ukraine to export more industrial and agricultural products free of tariffs to the bloc in recognition of reforms undertaken by Kyiv and the country’s fragile economy. By the end of September, Ukraine will be able to export greater tonnage of farm products, including grains, honey and…
read moreOn a sweltering summer morning in the southern Indian city of Chennai, a dozen garment workers crowd into a small courtroom for the latest hearing in a protracted battle over low wages in factories supplying global fashion brands. The women are among tens of thousands of workers in Tamil Nadu state – the largest hub…
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