Semiconductor chips are seen on a printed circuit board in this illustration picture taken Feb. 17, 2023. — REUTERS
BEIJING — China said on Wednesday that Taiwan was seeking to give away the island’s semiconductor industry to the United States as a “souvenir” and leverage it to seek political support from Washington.
US media have said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker and a major supplier to companies such as Apple and Nvidia, has been in talks for a stake in Intel.
Neither TSMC nor Intel has confirmed the reports and Taiwan’s government says it has not received information about any overseas investment application from TSMC.
US President Donald J. Trump has criticized Taiwan for taking away American semiconductor business, saying he wants the industry to manufacture more in the United States.
Speaking at a regular news conference in Beijing, Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, said, without offering evidence, that people in Taiwan were concerned TSMC could become “United States Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.”
“In order to seek selfish gain, the Democratic Progressive Party authorities have freely made demands from external forces, using Taiwan’s semiconductor industry and powerful companies to get a foot in the door to relying on foreign countries to seek independence, and even give them away as souvenirs,” Ms. Zhu said, referring to Taiwan’s ruling party.
While China claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, despite the strong objections of the government in Taipei, Beijing has no say in foreign investment approval decisions by Taipei.
Ms. Zhu said Taiwan was trying to “sell out” Taiwanese companies.
“This sort of shameless selling out of Taiwan is in actuality pandering to the United States,” she said.
Neither Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council nor TSMC immediately responded to requests for comment.
The United States is Taiwan’s most important international backer and arms supplier, though it does not formally recognize the island’s government. — Reuters
JOHANNESBURG – Finance ministers and central bankers from the G20 top economies gather in South Africa on Wednesday and Thursday, for a meeting marred by the absence or curtailed attendance of key members and disputes over the main issues of climate, debt and inequality.
Agreeing on a declaration has always been tough for a gathering that includes rivals China, Russia, the European Union and the United States, but differences are starker than ever, and some finance ministers were too consumed with domestic politics to show up.
Japan’s Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato will not attend, as he focuses on a parliamentary debate. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is also skipping it, as is EU economy commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis.
There seemed little hope of agreement on issues host President Cyril Ramaphosa sees as core: inadequate climate finance from rich nations, reform of a financial system that penalizes poor countries and widening inequalities.
“Those global priorities are at risk,” said Alex van den Heever, political scientist at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, adding that issues like poor country debt were not priorities for the U.S. or the developed world in general.
“With the United States in the position that it’s in, it makes it very difficult to see how people will move forward.”
CLIMATE WOES
South Africa had hoped to make the G20 a platform for pressuring rich countries to do more to tackle climate change, and to give more towards poorer countries’ transitions to green energy and adaptation to worsening weather.
“Those most responsible for climate change have a duty … to support those least responsible,” Mr. Ramaphosa said last week.
“What the American presidency does, effectively, is reconfigure the conversation (by) … reintroducing elements we thought were resolved,” Energy Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa told Reuters on the sidelines of a G20 briefing on Tuesday.
“Where it leads is anyone’s guess,” he said, adding that some countries might reconsider the scale and pace of their transition from fossil fuels to green energy as a result.
Some analysts said the retreat of the G20’s biggest economy from the discussions raised questions about its relevance. Others saw an opportunity for moving ahead without the U.S.
“There could very well be synergies between large portions of what’s left by excluding the U.S. on particular issues,” said Daniel Silke, director of the Political Futures Consultancy.
“It’s an opportunity for South Africa to take its leadership role.” – Reuters
WASHINGTON – The Republican and Democratic leaders of the U.S. House of Representatives’ select committee on China warned on Tuesday that Beijing may try to exert leverage with Elon Musk in a bid to win more favorable U.S. policies, and Washington must counter any such effort.
Republican committee chair John Moolenaar and Democratic ranking member Raja Krishnamoorthi said they believed the Communist Party of China wants to use U.S. business leaders including Musk, who have commercial interests in China, to advance its goals in talks with Washington.
“To the question of Elon Musk, I do believe that the CCP will try and leverage any opportunity,” Mr. Moolenaar told an event hosted by the Brookings Institution thinktank in Washington.
“Are people going to be looking for that and make sure that his lane is one that is not influencing China policy? I believe that is the case,” Mr. Moolenaar said, when asked if Congress has a role in preventing Beijing from negotiating with the White House through Musk.
Mr. Musk, the White House and China’s embassy in Washington did not respond immediately to requests for comment.
China has some pressing priorities. Just over a month into his second term, President Donald Trump has announced additional 10% tariffs on Chinese goods, called for greater restrictions on Chinese investment in the U.S., and named China hardliners to key posts.
Mr. Musk, the world’s richest man and among Mr. Trump’s biggest donors in the 2024 election, could be attractive to Beijing as a potential conduit to Trump because he has become one of the president’s closest White House advisers.
The billionaire also for years has had contact with senior Chinese officials, including President Xi Jinping.
China may also be able to grant Mr. Musk things that he wants. His biggest business interest in China is electric car company Tesla, which he co-founded and leads as CEO. Tesla delivered 36.7% of its cars to customers in China last year, its second-largest market worldwide based on sales.
But Tesla’s market share has declined in China as domestic electric vehicle makers have grown, and it has faced regulatory roadblocks to the rollout of its self-driving features there that could boost sales while regulators have allowed Chinese firms to move ahead.
Apart from Tesla, some of Mr. Musk’s other ventures including commercial rocket and satellite firm SpaceX and social media platform X – the latter is banned in China – are viewed by Beijing as security risks.
CIRCUMVENTING CHINA HAWKS
Mr. Krishnamoorthi told the Brookings event that Beijing viewed Musk as way to circumvent China hawks on Trump’s national security team, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and national security adviser Mike Waltz.
“They absolutely see him as an asset to them in any kind of negotiations, a way to bypass Rubio, a way to bypass Waltz, a way to bypass those whom they see to be less friendly to them on their issues,” Mr. Krishnamoorthi said.
“My hope is that the president is going to be listening to everybody very carefully,” he said.
The lawmakers did not detail the evidence supporting their views.
The White House has said Mr. Musk has no decision-making authority in the Trump administration and his efficiency initiative has no direct involvement in U.S. foreign policy.
Mr. Trump’s praise for Mr. Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin have stoked concerns that he might pursue a grand bargain with Beijing that sidelines Taiwan. China claims the island as its territory, and Taipei has historically counted on Washington as its most important backer, a major irritant to China.
Mr. Krishnamoorthi said he worried Mr. Trump could put core U.S. interests, such as support for Taiwan or freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, up for negotiation in any direct talks with Xi to achieve wins on trade.
Mr. Moolenaar said he had confidence in Mr. Trump’s national security team, but also “limited hopes” for what talks with China might achieve given Beijing’s failure to live up to past promises.
But he urged Taiwan not to pursue defense spending cuts proposed by its parliament, saying this would send “the wrong signal.”
“You can’t have a division within Taiwan about the importance of their own national security,” he said. – Reuters
LONDON/WASHINGTON — The US and Ukraine have agreed on the terms of a draft minerals deal central to Kyiv’s push to win Washington’s support as President Donald J. Trump seeks to rapidly end the war with Russia, two sources with knowledge of the matter said on Tuesday.
A source familiar with the contents of the draft agreement said that it does not specify any US security guarantees or continued flow of weapons but says that the United States wants Ukraine to be “free, sovereign and secure.”
One of the sources familiar with the deal said future weapons shipments are still being discussed between Washington and Kyiv.
Mr. Trump told reporters that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wants to come to Washington on Friday to sign a “very big deal.” This came after the two leaders exchanged hostile words last week.
The US president, who has cast the deal as a repayment for billions of dollars in aid to Kyiv, also said some form of peacekeeping troops are needed in Ukraine if an agreement to end the conflict is struck. Moscow, which launched an invasion of Ukraine three years ago, has refused to accept any deployment of NATO forces.
Some European countries have said they would be willing to send peacekeeping forces to Ukraine. Mr. Trump said on Monday that Moscow would accept such peacekeepers, but the Kremlin denied that on Tuesday.
Mr. Trump’s rush to impose an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine and his lurch toward Moscow has stoked fears of far-reaching US concessions to Russian President Vladimir Putin that could undermine security in Ukraine and Europe and alter the geopolitical landscape.
Mr. Trump last week falsely called Mr. Zelensky an unpopular “dictator” who needed to cut a quick peace deal or lose his country. The Ukrainian leader said the US president was living in a “disinformation bubble.”
Officials on both sides have agreed to the draft and advised it should be signed, the sources said.
MONEY BACK FOR ‘THE AMERICAN TAXPAYER’ The deal could open up Ukraine’s vast mineral wealth to the US.
“What we’re doing is now we’re saying, look, we want to be secured,” Mr. Trump said. “The American taxpayer now is going to get their money back, plus.”
Mr. Zelensky refused to sign an earlier draft of a minerals agreement as Washington sought rights to $500 billion in Ukraine’s natural wealth. Kyiv protested it had received far less than that in US aid and the deal lacked the security guarantees Ukraine needs.
Under the terms of a draft minerals agreement, according to sources familiar with its contents, the United States and Ukraine would establish a Reconstruction Investment Fund to collect and reinvest revenues from Ukrainian sources including minerals, hydrocarbons and other extractable materials.
Ukraine would contribute to the fund 50% of the revenue minus operating expenses and continue until the contributions reach the sum of $500 billion. The United States would provide a long-term financial commitment to the development of a “stable and economically prosperous Ukraine.”
Asked what Ukraine would get in return for the minerals deal, Mr. Trump cited what he said was $350 billion already provided by the US “and lots of … military equipment and the right to fight on.”
Scott Anderson, a fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution, said that while the minerals deal would look like “a kind of piracy,” to much of the world it is necessary to get buy-in from Mr. Trump and Republican lawmakers.
“They say this gives him (Trump) real skin in the game. I think there is real logic to that,” Mr. Anderson said.
EUROPEAN ALLIES SCRAMBLE “I hear that he’s coming on Friday,” Mr. Trump told reporters. “Certainly it’s okay with me if he’d like to. And he would like to sign it together with me.”
European officials have been left flat-footed by Mr. Trump’s decisions to hold talks on ending the war in Ukraine with Russia, spurning both Kyiv and Europe, and by his administration’s warning that the US was no longer primarily focused on Europe’s security.
A White House meeting could give Mr. Zelensky a chance to make his case for continued US support directly to Mr. Trump, who last week falsely accused Kyiv of starting the war.
Ukraine has deposits of 22 of the 34 minerals identified by the European Union as critical, according to Ukrainian data. They include industrial and construction materials, ferroalloy, precious and non-ferrous metals, and some rare earth elements.
Ukraine’s reserves of graphite, a key component in electric vehicle batteries and nuclear reactors, represent 20% of global resources. — Reuters
The phrase ‘staring at a blank wall’ often signifies idleness, boredom, or being deep in thought. This association might be why people adorn the actual blank walls of their homes with various decorative and functional fixtures.
From a homeowner’s point of view, a blank wall might just be blank space, but Epson has a way to give it glorious purpose.
Source: www.epson.com.ph
The Epson EpiqVision Ultra EH-LS800B 4K PRO-UHD Laser Projection TV is a short-throw projector that promises up to a 150-inch screen size with clear and crisp images.
Right out the box, the EH-LS800B is quite easy to setup, so long as you have the space for its projection. Just place it around 4 inches from the wall and it can already project a screen size of 100 inches. The Ultra-Short Throw (UST) Capability makes the EH-LS800B quite versatile even in small spaces.
A 4K movie being played with the Epson EpiqVision Ultra EH-LS800B 4K PRO-UHD Laser Projection TV | photo by Jino Nicolas
For this test, the projector was placed about 8 inches from the wall, and it was able to fill up a 4-meter width. Doing a bit of math, at 16:9 ratio, the screen size is around 180 inches.
Though the specifications from Epson says it is best up to 150 inches of screen size, pushing it a bit more seemed to have minimal effect on the quality. Still quite crisp, vibrant, and highly enjoyable.
Epson EpiqVision Ultra EH-LS800B 4K PRO-UHD Laser Projection TV AndroidTV UI | Photo by Jino Nicolas
The EH-LS800B already comes with Android TV and, as such, it can operate on its own without an external video source. Streaming applications such as Netflix, Disney+, and Amazon Prime Video (among others) are readily available for use.
Sound quality is great with the projector’s built-in YAMAHA speakers and is quite suitable for casual viewing. For those in need of a more immersive audio experience, external sound systems can easily be connected.
source: www.epson.com.ph
The Epson EpiqVision Ultra EH-LS800B comes with several ports so that a user can connected multiple devices:
HDMI ports: 3 (HDMI 2.3)
USB 2.0 Type-A ports: 3
USB 2.0 Type-B port: 1
Audio out: 1 (3.5mm headphone jack)
ARC (Audio Return Channel): 1 (via HDMI)
Ethernet port: 1
Laser and Light
The Epson EpiqVision Ultra EH-LS800B uses advanced laser-array technology to provide high levels of brightness and color accuracy.
The laser light source is said to have a lifespan of 30,000 hours. If the projector experiences no faults or errors during that lifespan, it could potentially last around 20 years with a 4-hour usage everyday.
The EH-LS800B supports HDR10 (High Dynamic Range), which significantly enhances the dynamic range of the image, providing deeper blacks, brighter whites, and a wider color gamut. This results in more vivid and lifelike colors, making movies, games, and other content look exceptionally realistic and engaging.
Source: www.epson.com.ph
The EH-LS800B offer 4,000 lumens of brightness, making it one of the brightest UST projectors available.
The projector also comes with a lens system that includes multi-element precision glass, helping enhance image clarity and sharpness. Paired with advanced pixel-shifting technology, a sharp and detailed 4k experience is delivered without sacrificing brightness.
The EH-LS800B is designed to be energy efficient, thanks to its advanced laser light source. Here are some details of its power consumption:
Normal mode: The projector consumes approximately 350 watts of power
Economy mode: Power consumption is reduced to around 217 watts, which also helps extend the lifespan of the projector
Standby mode: about 2 watts of power is consumed
The laser technology generates less heat, which not only contributes to energy savings but also reduces the need for extensive cooling systems
In this test, 4K videos from Youtube are being played on the Epson EpiqVision Ultra EH-LS800B. Colors are vibrant and image quality is crisp.
Movies and Gaming
Using the Epson EpiqVision Ultra EH-LS800B can be described as simply “epic”.
Watching movies using the projector provides the same experience as you would in a cinema, sans the other people.
One cannot help but be in awe of the vibrance and clarity of the EH-LS800B. This surely would be the main attraction for any occasion.
The Epson EpiqVision Ultra EH-LS800B is perfect for gaming enthusiasts. It provides a responsive and engaging gaming experience on a large screen, enhancing the overall gameplay.
The projector boasts of low input lag and high refresh rates, attributes that gamers often search for.
There is, however, some difficulty with the screen being too large.
Given the fast camera movement and flashing light in some games like first-person shooters, a 150-inch screen up close is a dizzying experience.
If anything, much more thought must come into the physical setup of the EH-LS800B for purposes of gaming.
At 150 inches of screen size, it is best for the gamer to be sitting at least 6 meters away. Preferably 8 meters. This would ensure that the whole screen is in view, lessening the need for extensive eye movement in order to scan through the entirety of the game.
In this test, an Xbox Series X is hooked up to the Epson EpiqVision Ultra EH-LS800B, and the game Midnight Suns is being played.
Recommendation
The Epson EpiqVision Ultra EH-LS800B 4K PRO-UHD Laser Projection TV truly is a wonder of technology. The vibrant colors, the crisp imagery makes any viewing experience elevated to a cinema level.
The ultra-short throw technology also makes it versatile for even small spaces. However, to be able to maximize this projector, some planning must go into it.
source: www.epson.com.ph
It’s ideal for the EH-LS800B be setup in a blank space, maybe for families or individuals who are still just about to furnish their house. For an absolute cinematic experience, whether for gaming or just watching videos, it is recommended to place it in a room measuring 4 meters x 6-8 meters.
Of course, such a room might be quite big for the typical Filipino household, but a home with an open ground floor layout would also have an easy time maximizing this projector.
Be that as it may, the Epson EpiqVision Ultra EH-LS800B 4K PRO-UHD Laser Projection TV in this instance was tested in a furnished living room sized at 5×5 meters with a blank wall, and saying that the EH-LS800B is impressive is still an understatement.
SANTIAGO – A massive power outage across Chile plunged the country’s capital Santiago into darkness on Tuesday and knocked out electricity to major copper mines in the country’s north, buffeting global metal markets.
Hours after the outage began and as darkness fell, Chile’s government announced a state of emergency and established a curfew from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. (0100 to 0900 GMT) from the northern region of Arica to the southern region of Los Lagos.
The widespread blackout was caused by a transmission line failure in the country’s north, Interior Minister Carolina Toha said, ruling out a cyber attack as a cause.
Chile’s largest power cut in years saw streetlights in the capital go dark, while sirens from emergency vehicles blared across the city, according to Reuters witnesses. The Santiago metro, which transports millions of passengers, was closed and passengers were evacuated from stalled trains.
“There’s nothing. There’s no cash. No money. Nothing,” said Jose Luis Orlandini, who was eating in downtown Santiago when the outage hit.
The interior ministry said it was deploying the armed forces across the country to help maintain order.
As of 10 p.m. about a quarter of the electrical grid’s demand was back on line, and power could be fully restored by morning, said Juan Carlos Olmedo, the board president of Chile’s National Electricity Coordinator (CEN).
In a late night television address to the nation, Chilean President Gabriel Boric said 8 million homes had been affected but power had been restored to about half of them.
“What happened today is outrageous because it’s not tolerable that one or several companies impact the everyday life of millions of Chileans, and that’s why it’s the state’s duty to hold them responsible,” Boric said.
Residents in the neighborhood of Providencia in the capital erupted in cheers as lights flickered back on.
CEN said it was still investigating the cause of the outage. “We’ve activated several power stations, mainly hydroelectric stations,” said CEN executive director Ernesto Huber.
COPPER MINES HIT
The outage hit areas from the mining-intensive north to the central and southern regions home to most of the Andean country’s population, and operations at key copper mines were affected. Chile is the world’s top copper producer.
Escondida, the world’s largest copper mine, was without electricity, a source close to the matter told Reuters, while state-owned copper miner Codelco said all its mines had been affected.
The Chuquicamata, Andina, Salvador and El Teniente mines were without power and its other mines were using backup power generation to operate on a partial basis, Codelco said.
Antofagasta ANTO.L and Anglo American AAL.L both said that their mines were operating with generators.
The power outage affected the country from the northern Arica and Parinacota region to the southern Los Lagos region, according to Chile’s national disaster prevention and response service SENAPRED. No emergency situations have been reported.
Chile’s DGAC Civil Aviation Authority said that Santiago’s Arturo Merino International Airport was operating normally but LATAM Airlines LTM.SN said some flights could be affected by the outage. – Reuters
WASHINGTON – Federal workers faced fresh uncertainty about their futures on Tuesday after Elon Musk gave them “another chance” to respond to his ultimatum that they justify their jobs or risk termination, contradicting guidance from some Trump administration officials that the request was voluntary.
The confusing back-and-forth has rippled through the federal bureaucracy, with some agencies instructing workers to comply and others not. It has become a test of how much power Mr. Musk wields over the government’s operations as he pursues an unprecedented cost-cutting campaign with President Donald Trump‘s backing.
Twenty-one workers resigned from his so-called Department of Government Efficiency in protest on Tuesday, saying they refused to aid the downsizing effort.
“We will not use our skills as technologists to compromise core government systems, jeopardize Americans’ sensitive data, or dismantle critical public services,” the employees wrote in a resignation posted online.
DOGE did not respond to a request for comment on the resignations.
The workers, who include data scientists, product managers and the division head of IT, were employed in an office known as the United States Digital Service before Mr. Musk took it over and renamed it DOGE after a favorite cryptocurrency.
The resignations added to the drama surrounding Mr. Musk’s email demand, which was sent to employees across the government asking them to summarize their accomplishments of the past week by Monday. In a post on X, the social media site Mr. Musk owns, he asserted that failure to respond would constitute resignation.
With the deadline approaching on Monday, the Office of Personnel Management, the government’s human resources arm, told workers they could ignore the email.
Mr. Musk, the billionaire CEO of electric vehicle maker Teslaand rocket company SpaceX, was undeterred.
“Subject to the discretion of the president, they will be given another chance. Failure to respond a second time will result in termination,” he wrote on X late on Monday without setting a new deadline.
Prior to the new OPM guidance, Mr. Trump said workers who did not respond would be “sort of semi-fired,” adding to the uncertainty.
Asked on Tuesday whether the renewed threat would be carried out against non-compliant employees, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump would defer to cabinet secretaries’ guidance for their individual workforces.
‘WORKING AS ONE TEAM’
The head-spinning developments exposed new fissures within Trump’s administration over Mr. Musk’s blunt-force approach. Even some Trump loyalists, such as Kash Patel, the newly installed FBI chief, told employees to hold off on replying.
Leavitt rejected any suggestion of rifts within the administration, saying everyone was “working as one team.”
Mr. Musk will attend Mr. Trump’s cabinet meeting on Wednesday, she said.
Employees at several agencies said they received conflicting guidance from leadership, leaving them unsure how to proceed.
The Department of Health and Human Services advised employees that if they chose to reply, they should refrain from mentioning specific drugs or contracts, according to an email reviewed by Reuters.
“Assume that what you write will be read by malign foreign actors and tailor your response accordingly,” the email said.
The acting director of OPM itself sent an email to the agency’s staff that said responding was voluntary “but strongly encouraged.”
The Trump administration plans this week to gut a unit within OPM charged with keeping track of all federal government human resource transactions including hiring, promotions, retirements and separations, two people familiar with the matter said. The unit will be slashed from 64 people to just under a dozen, the people said.
OPM did not respond to a request for comment.
Mr. Musk’s downsizing initiative has laid off more than 20,000 workers, with another 75,000 accepting buyouts, and the effort continued to accelerate on Tuesday.
There are about 2.3 million civilian federal employees.
The vast majority of fired workers were in their jobs for less than a year, making them easier to lay off under civil service rules. But OPM has begun firing career workers within its own agency in what sources told Reuters is intended to serve as a template for a second round of mass layoffs across the government.
To that end, IRS executives have been told to brace for another round of job cuts beyond the nearly 12,000 IRS employees already slated to be terminated, two people familiar with the matter said, referring to the roughly 7,000 probationary employees set to be fired and 5,000 employees taking a buyout. The cuts so far amount to more than 10% of the IRS workforce.
Gavin Kliger, the 25-year-old software engineer dispatched by Mr. Musk to scrutinize IRS operations, has told executives he believes the agency can meet its mission with far fewer employees, the sources said.
The Interior Department on Tuesday received a directive from OPM saying that bureaus such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Bureau of Indian Affairs should prepare plans for reductions in their workforce ranging from 10% to 40%, an Interior source told Reuters. – Reuters
BEIJING – Chinese state media on Wednesday called on the Philippines to withdraw the United States’ “Typhon” intermediate range missile from the South China Sea, saying the Philippines had repeatedly broken its promises by introducing the missile system.
“The region needs peace and prosperity, not intermediate range missiles and confrontation,” the newspaper of the governing Communist Party, People’s Daily, said in a commentary. “The Philippines has repeatedly gone back on its word and acted in bad faith … initially promising that it was only a temporary deployment and that the system would be withdrawn,” it added.
The Philippine embassy in Beijing did not immediately respond to a request for comment. – Reuters
LONDON – British Finance Minister Rachel Reeves said on Tuesday that other European nations must follow in her country’s footsteps and increase their defense spending.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced earlier he would increase annual defense spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 and target a 3% level last seen just after the Cold War, a signal to U.S. President Donald Trump that Britain can boost Europe’s security.
“This is a generational moment for our continent,” Reeves wrote in the Telegraph newspaper. “All of us must step up and do more on defense.”
Reeves said she would speak to her European counterparts over the coming days at a G20 meeting in South Africa about the “importance of security and defense for our economies, and how we can work together to bolster them”.
The increase would see Britain spending 13.4 billion pounds ($17 billion) a year more on defense in 2027 than it does now, Mr. Starmer said, adding the extra money would help rebuild the country’s industrial base, create jobs and boost growth.
“If we are to protect our borders, then we need to ensure our defense industry is building the equipment and capabilities we need,” Ms. Reeves said. “We need modern capabilities here at home that can also be sold to the world.”
The increase in defense spending from its current 2.3% will be fully paid for by a 40% cut to international aid, a decision humanitarian charities have criticized. – Reuters
WASHINGTON – U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday floated the idea of replacing a visa program for foreign investors with a so-called “gold card” that could be bought for $5 million as a route to American citizenship.
Mr. Trump told reporters he will replace the “EB-5” immigrant investor visa program, which allows foreign investors of large sums of money that create or preserve U.S. jobs to become permanent residents, with a so-called “gold card.”
The EB-5 program grants “green cards” to foreigners promising to invest in U.S. businesses.
“We are going to be selling a gold card,” Mr. Trump said. “We are going to be putting a price on that card of about $5 million,” he added.
“It’s going to give you green card privileges plus its going to be a route to (American) citizenship, and wealthy people would be coming into our country by buying this card,” Trump said, adding that details about the scheme will come out in two weeks.
Mr. Trump added it is possible Russian oligarchs could qualify for the gold cards, when asked by a journalist if those people would be eligible. “Yeah, possibly. Hey. I know some Russian oligarchs that are very nice people,” he said.
The EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program, administered by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, was created by Congress in 1990 to “stimulate the U.S. economy through job creation and capital investment by foreign investors,” according to the USCIS website.
“The EB-5 program … it was full of nonsense, make believe and fraud, and it was a way to get a green card that was low price. So the president said, rather than having this sort of ridiculous EB-5 program, we’re going to end the EB-5 program. We’re going to replace it with the Trump gold card,” Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told reporters on Tuesday. – Reuters
Workers are seen at an electronics manufacturing assembly plant in Biñan, Laguna, April 20, 2016. — REUTERS/ERIK DE CASTRO
THE PHILIPPINE Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) approved P22.78 billion in investment pledges in February, an increase of 130.5% from P9.89 billion worth of pledges approved a year ago.
At a meeting on Feb. 20, the PEZA Board approved 26 new and expansion projects that are expected to generate $241.79 million in exports and create 7,793 jobs.
Nine of the projects are in export manufacturing, while eight are information technology and business process management projects.
Four of the projects are economic zone (ecozone) developments, while three are domestic market projects and two are involved in developing facilities.
The projects are in Metro Manila, Calabarzon, Central Luzon, Central Visayas, Western Visayas, Ilocos Region and Davao Region.
The recent approvals include a P10.45-billion investment to develop an ecozone where South Korean companies can establish their operations.
“With the Philippines-South Korea free trade agreement now in effect, PEZA is collaborating with the Bases Conversion and Development Authority for the creation of this multifaceted ecozone,” PEZA said.
“[It] will accommodate multiple sectors, including manufacturing, agro-industrial, tourism and information technology, further enhancing economic opportunities and sectoral development,” it added.
In the first two months, PEZA approved 39 new and expansion projects worth P52.93 billion. The amount is more than four times the P12.1 billion worth of investment pledges approved a year earlier.
“PEZA’s rising investments reflect its dedication to supporting various sectors and propelling the country’s economic progress,” said PEZA Director-General Tereso O. Panga.
“By attracting projects from priority industries such as emerging technologies in the EMS-SMS (electronics manufacturing services-semiconductor manufacturing services) sector and fostering strategic collaboration with the pharmaceutical industry, among others, PEZA continues to draw investments that stimulate regional economic growth and advance the nation’s industrial landscape,” he added.
PEZA said it is on track to hit its target to approve about P235 billion in investment pledges this year, which is 9-10% higher than the P214.18-billion pledges approved in 2024.
PEZA said investments from domestic market enterprises (DME) have been increasing, accounting for P37.97 billion or 71% of the investment pledges approved in the January-to-February period.
Since 2024, the agency has approved 15 DME projects worth over P130 billion, three of which are expected to enjoy a longer set of incentives after investing over P15 billion.
Meanwhile, Trade Secretary and PEZA Board Chairman Ma. Cristina A. Roque said the higher investment approvals could also be attributed to the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises to Maximize Opportunities for Reinvigorating the Economy (CREATE MORE) Act.
“The CREATE MORE Act is a game changer in the entry of foreign direct investments into the country, which encourages more international investors to come given the longer set incentives being offered,” she said.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. in November signed the CREATE MORE Act, which seeks to make the country more competitive and attractive to investors.
PEZA said it anticipates the entry of more investments after the CREATE MORE Act’s implementingrules and regulations (IRR) were signed last week.
“The IRR supports PEZA’s core mandate to drive investment growth, create jobs and promote sustainable development, especially in the countryside. We now provide even more benefits to investors who wish to locate in the Philippines,” Mr. Panga said.
The IRR provides clearer guidelines on the transitory rules for pre-CREATE registered business enterprises (RBE) to continue receiving their previously granted tax incentives. The RBEs may also avail themselves of additional incentives or measures under CREATE MORE. — Justine Irish D. Tabile
