Trump team studies gradual tariff hikes under emergency powers

(Bloomberg) — Members of President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming economic team are discussing slowly ramping up tariffs month by month, a gradual approach aimed at boosting negotiating leverage while helping avoid a spike in inflation, according to people familiar with the matter.

One idea involves a schedule of graduated tariffs increasing by about 2% to 5% a month, and would rely on executive authorities under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the people said.

The proposal is in its early stages and has not yet been presented to Trump, the people said — a sign that a monthly stepped approach is early in the deliberation process.

Advisers working on the plan include Scott Bessent, the nominee for Treasury secretary, Kevin Hassett, set to be director of the National Economic Council, and Stephen Miran, nominated to lead the Council of Economic Advisers, said the people, who requested anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.

Hassett did not reply to a request for comment, nor did a spokesman for Bessent. Miran declined to comment.

A spokesman for Trump’s transition team referred to the president-elect’s previous public comments and social-media posts about tariffs.

China’s yuan and currencies sensitive to its economy like the Australian and New Zealand dollars strengthened after the report. The offshore yuan was up 0.1% in Asia trading on Tuesday, while the Aussie climbed 0.3%.

China has been ramping up support for the yuan as it remains close to a record low offshore. Still, investors expect Beijing to eventually allow weakness if Trump slaps higher tariffs on Chinese exports.

Universal Tariffs

During the 2024 presidential campaign, Trump floated minimum tariffs of 10% to 20% on all imported goods, and 60% or higher on shipments from China.

Since he won the election in November, multiple reports have emerged on how aggressively he will implement tariffs — with Trump himself calling one report of a measured rollout false.

The uncertainty is leaving investors and companies guessing. The S&P 500 Index (^GSPC) earlier Monday dropped below where it ended on Nov. 5, just before Trump was elected, before rebounding later in the day. Investors recently have been dumping Treasuries as fears grow that inflation will remain stubborn partly because of new tariffs, creating a headwind for stocks and the broader economy.

With just a week until Inauguration Day, economists can only guess as to how Trump’s trade wars will influence the economy. That’s left a complicated picture for the Federal Reserve, because Trump’s tariff threats are seen as a risk to the growth outlook while potentially stoking inflation if nations retaliate.

International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said that tariff threats are already driving up longer-term borrowing costs around the world.

Uncertainty about the incoming administration’s trade policies is adding to worldwide economic headwinds and “is actually expressed globally through higher long-term interest rates,” she told reporters in Washington on Friday. That’s happening even as short-term rates have gone down, a “very unusual” combination, she said.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/live/stock-market-today-dow-pops-nasdaq-slips-as-focus-turns-to-cpi-inflation-report-210216764.html

Mayorkas exempted thousands of immigrants from terror-related entry restrictions in FY 2024

EXCLUSIVE: The Biden administration gave nearly 7,000 exemptions, mostly to refugees, for foreign nationals who otherwise could be ineligible for admission into the U.S. due to terrorism-related entry restrictions – a significantly higher number than in recent years.

Fox News Digital reviewed a draft of the agency’s FY 2024 report to Congress on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) secretary’s application of his power to exempt foreign nationals from terrorism-related inadmissibility grounds (TRIG). Foreign nationals who seek entry to the U.S. can be deemed inadmissible from entry and for immigration benefits if they have associated with, supported or worked with terrorist organizations.

However, the DHS secretary can exempt certain foreign nationals from that inadmissibility, including if they have provided support under duress, if they have provided medical care, and they meet other standards for exemptions.

According to the draft report, there were 6,848 TRIG exemptions in FY 2024. The majority (6,653) were for refugees, but the report does not break down the number by country. The Biden administration has significantly increased the refugee cap to 125,000, up substantially from the 18,000 set in the last year of the Trump administration.

The 6,848 number is significantly higher than the 2,085 waivers issued in FY 2023, which in turn was higher than previous years. There were 603 waivers distributed in FY 2022, 191 in FY 2021 and 361 in FY 2020, according to DHS reports.

In 2022, DHS announced an exemption for Afghan evacuees who worked as civil servants or individuals who provided "insignificant or certain limited material support" to a designated terror group. DHS said that could apply to many occupations, including teachers, doctors and engineers, and those who used their position to mitigate Taliban repression. That exemption came amid a mass evacuation effort of nationals from Afghanistan as the Taliban took control of the country in 2021.

The FY24 report said that 29 waivers were provided for Afghan allies who supported U.S. interests in Afghanistan, and 374 were for civil servants. Meanwhile, 3,134 were for those who provided certain limited support or insignificant material support to a Tier I or Tier II terror organization, under the 2022 exemption announced by DHS. Most of the remaining exemptions (2,946) were given under a 2007 exercise of authority for support given under duress.

Of those who received exemptions who are not refugees, 155 were for asylum applicants, 22 were for green card holders and four were applicants for Temporary Protected Status,

The increase in TRIG exemptions comes ahead of a Trump administration that is expected to significantly reduce refugee admissions, while also increasing deportations of illegal immigrants and increasing security at the southern border.

Republicans and former Trump administration officials have frequently criticized the Biden administration for its expansion of immigration pathways and release of migrants into the interior, in part over concerns about the potential risk of terrorism.

"Joe Biden and his administration have viciously targeted parents at school board meetings, pro-life Americans, Catholics, and Trump supporters—designating some as 'domestic terrorists'—instead of catching actual terrorists and keeping them out of the country." Michael Bars, a former Trump DHS deputy assistant secretary and White House senior communications adviser, told Fox News Digital. "In fact they've been helping potential threats move in, waiving national security safeguards to admit individuals who've provided varying degrees of material support to Islamic terrorist organizations in extraordinary numbers.

"Islamic terrorism is not 'homegrown'—it's been imported to the U.S. through our broken immigration system and open border. The Biden administration has not only failed its duty to address this rising threat, but precipitated it," he said.

DHS did not respond to requests for comment from Fox News Digital, but the report stresses that all applicants are subject to a thorough and "rigorous" security vetting process.

"All applicants considered for exemptions were subject to a thorough and rigorous security vetting process," the report says. "[U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services] procedures require that the biographic and biometric data of all applicants be screened against a broad array of law enforcement and intelligence community databases that contain information about individuals known to be security threats, including the terrorist watchlist. In addition to rigorous background vetting, the Secretary’s discretionary authority is applied only on a case-by case basis after careful review of all factors and after all security checks have cleared."

"These exemptions will allow eligible individuals who pose no national security or public safety risk to receive asylum, refugee status, or other legal immigration status, demonstrating the United States’ continued commitment to our Afghan allies and their family members," DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in 2022.

The Biden administration has also previously noted prior usage of TRIG exemptions, including in 2019, to apply to those involved in the Lebanese civil war between 1975 and 1990. The USCIS website also says that the definition of terrorism-related activity "is relatively broad and may apply to individuals and activities not commonly thought to be associated with terrorism."

The use of TRIG exemptions has proven controversial with Republicans. In August 2022, a coalition of senators sounded the alarm on the 2022 exemptions, saying the exemption of those providing insignificant or limited support could permit was written in a way that isn’t limited to Afghans alone.

"Indeed, it is not limited to certain conflicts, terrorist organizations, geographic regions, or time periods at all," they said.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-dhs-exempted-thousands-immigrants-from-terror-related-entry-restrictions-fy-2024