Excerpts from recent editorials in the United States and abroad:
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AP Wire
Drugmaker Pfizer has agreed to lower drug costs under a deal struck with President Donald Trump's administration. Trump made the announcement Tuesday with Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla at the White House. Under the agreement, New York-based Pfizer will charge most-favored-nation pricing to Medicaid and guarantee the same pricing on newly launched drugs. That involves matching the lowest price offered in other developed nations. The agreement by Pfizfer builds on an executive order Trump signed in May setting a deadline for drugmakers to electively lower prices or face new limits on what the government will pay.
AP Wire
President Donald Trump is slapping a 100% tax on movies made outside the United States – a vague directive aimed at protecting a business that America already dominates. Claiming that movie production “has been stolen’’ from Hollywood and the U.S., Trump posted said he would be imposed the 100% tariff on “any and all movies” made outside of the U.S. The president first issued the threat back in May. It's still unclear how these tariffs would operate, since movies and TV shows can be transmitted digitally without going through ports. Also unclear is what it would mean for U.S. movies filmed on foreign locations — or what legal basis the president would claim for imposing the tariffs.
AP Wire
President Donald Trump is planning big tariffs on pharmaceuticals, kitchen counters, bathroom vanities, upholstered furniture and heavy trucks. The levies continue his campaign to build a wall of tariffs around the American economy. But the president, who announced the levies on social media, was short on details, leaving many businesses bewildered. And the tariffs are likely to raise costs for homeowners and other consumers.
American soybean farmers are worried about where they're going to sell their crops and whether they'll lose money this year because China hasn't bought any for months. Beijing traditionally has snapped up at least a quarter of all soybeans grown in the U.S. but it is in effect boycotting them. It's in retaliation for the high tariffs President Donald Trump has imposed on Chinese goods and to strengthen its hand in negotiations over a new overall trade deal. Farmers like Caleb Ragland in Kentucky hope there will be a trade deal soon, but some significant aid might be needed to help them survive. Trump says he's considering an aid package.
Just back from a congressional delegation trip to Ukraine, a senior Republican says he’s more optimistic that the country can succeed in the war with Russia. That is, if Ukraine has the right support from the U.S. and other allies. That's according to Rep. Michael Turner of Ohio, the former GOP chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. Turner is urging Speaker Mike Johnson to hold a vote as soon as possible on a widely supported proposal to impose steep tariffs on countries that buy Russia’s oil, gas, and other exports. Turner said President Donald Trump is correct that Ukraine can succeed in regaining territory from Russia.
Wall Street broke its three-day losing streak and trimmed its losses for the week. The S&P 500 rose 0.6% Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.7%, and the Nasdaq composite gained 0.4%. All three indexes pulled closer to their records set at the start of the week. Stocks got some help from a report on inflation that suggested the Federal Reserve may be able to continue cutting interest rates. Such cuts would help justify high prices for stocks after their big rally. President Donald Trump’s latest tariffs caused waves for some stocks but not for the broad market.
AP Wire
President Donald Trump is putting import taxes of 100% on pharmaceutical drugs, 50% on kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities, 30% on upholstered furniture and 25% on heavy trucks starting on Oct. 1. Trump said Thursday on his social media site that foreign manufacturers of furniture and cabinetry were flooding the United States with their products and that tariffs must be applied “for National Security and other reasons.” Trump said that foreign-made heavy trucks and parts are hurting domestic producers.
Former FBI Director James Comey has been charged with making a false statement and obstruction. The criminal case filing comes days after President Donald Trump appeared to urge his attorney general to prosecute the former FBI director and other perceived political enemies. Prosecutors have been evaluating whether Comey lied to lawmakers during testimony in 2020 related to the investigation into ties between Russia and Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. Earlier Thursday, Trump issued an executive order saying a proposed agreement on bringing TikTok under U.S. ownership meets key security concerns. He says Xi Jinping has also signed off on the deal.
AP Wire
The U.S. economy expanded at a surprising 3.8% from April through June in a dramatic upgrade of the government's previous estimate of second-quarter growth. The Commerce Department said Thursday that U.S. gross domestic product — the nation’s output of goods and services — rebounded in the spring from a 0.6% first-quarter drop caused by fallout from President Donald Trump’s trade wars. The department had previously estimated second-quarter growth at 3.3%. The first-quarter GDP drop, the first retreat of the U.S. economy in three years, was mainly caused by a surge in imports as businesses hurried to bring in foreign goods before Trump could impose sweeping taxes on them.