2024-09-05 20:27

RALEIGH, North Carolina, Sept 5 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Thursday warned that any attempts to roll back the Biden administration's clean energy tax credits would raise costs for families and jeopardize new investments in U.S. manufacturing that are creating jobs. Yellen told an audience at North Carolina's Wake Tech Community College that families across the country had claimed $8.4 billion in energy tax credits that would help them lower their energy bills long-term. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has pledged to rescind many of President Joe Biden's clean energy rules for power plants and electric vehicles. Trump has also said he would end hundreds of billions of dollars in tax subsidies enacted in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), saying he would halt the "green new scam" and redirect funds toward building roads and bridges. Without mentioning Trump, Yellen said that eliminating the IRA's clean energy tax credits "would be a historic mistake." "Rolling them back could raise costs for working families at a moment when it’s imperative that we continue to take action to lower prices," Yellen said in excerpted remarks. "It could jeopardize the significant investments in manufacturing we’re seeing here and across the country, along with the jobs that come with them, many of which don’t require a college degree." She also said a roll-back could "give a leg up to China" which is investing heavily in clean energy industries. The Biden administration is expected to soon announce its final implementation plans for steeply increased tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, batteries, solar cells and other goods to protect the development of a domestic clean energy supply chain. Recent polling , opens new tab ahead of the Nov. 5 presidential election shows that Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, has gained ground and is now virtually tied with Trump in North Carolina, giving Democrats the chance to flip a state that Trump narrowly won in 2020 in his defeat against Biden. Yellen's remarks emphasized the consumer savings from IRA tax credits, in line with Harris' economic proposals aimed at stemming rising living costs for Americans, which Harris also unveiled in Raleigh. Previous Yellen remarks have emphasized the economic growth and job creation benefits of such investments. Yellen said a historic U.S. recovery was still underway with second-quarter U.S. growth at 3%, inflation declining and unemployment still near historic lows. "But our administration knows that prices for key household expenses like healthcare, housing, and energy are still too high. Bringing down the costs of these essentials is our administration’s top economic priority," she said. Yellen said Treasury data shows that 90,000 families in North Carolina have claimed over $100 million in residential clean energy tax credits for installations like solar panels and energy storage batteries, with an average claim of $5,000. North Carolina families claimed $60 million in energy efficiency tax credits for heat pumps, efficient air conditioning and insulation for an average of $880. At the Wake Tech campus, which trains workers for the electric vehicle and efficient building technologies industries, Yellen took a drive in a Mustang Mach E, an EV that no longer qualifies for a $7,500 U.S. tax credit under the IRA because of Chinese content in its battery. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/yellen-warns-that-ending-us-clean-energy-tax-credits-would-raise-consumer-costs-2024-09-05/

2024-09-05 20:19

CAIRO, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Iraq cut its oil exports to 3.3 million barrels per day (bpd) as of Aug. 27 and will keep this reduction during the upcoming months in line with the country's commitment to the OPEC+ agreement, the Iraqi oil ministry said on Thursday. OPEC's second-largest producer said it is reducing crude exports to ensure output is within its OPEC+ specified quota and compensate for additional quantities produced during previous months. The reduction also includes cutting domestic consumption, the ministry added in a statement. Iraq's crude exports had averaged 3.48 million bpd in July and 3.41 million bpd in June. In August, a source told Reuters that Iraq has planned to reduce its oil output to between 3.85 million and 3.9 million bpd in September. Earlier on Thursday, OPEC+ agreed to delay a planned oil output increase for October and November after crude prices hit their lowest in nine months, adding it could further pause or reverse the hikes if needed. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/iraq-cuts-oil-exports-33-million-bpd-aug-27-2024-09-05/

2024-09-05 20:18

Sept 5 (Reuters) - The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) on Thursday urged the country's Competition Bureau to make changes to anti-greenwashing legislation passed earlier this year, and repeated calls for recent amendments to the law to be scrapped entirely. CONTEXT The Competition Bureau is developing guidance on how companies should interpret recent changes to Canada's Competition Act after backlash from the oil and gas sector. In June the Pathways Alliance, representing Canada's biggest oil sands producers, and a number of oil and gas companies removed online content about environmental goals, citing "significant uncertainty" over Ottawa's new anti-greenwashing legislation. The amendments to the Competition Act require companies to show proof of their environmental claims, but the fossil fuel industry says it carries the threat of significant penalties while not offering clarity on how to comply. WHY IT'S IMPORTANT Canada is the world's fourth-largest crude producer. The federal government is pushing the oil and gas sector, the country's highest-polluting industry, to cut emissions that have climbed in recent years. The industry has proposed solutions including carbon capture and storage to reduce its environmental impact, but most companies are yet to reach final investment decisions. Some environmental advocates have said the industry is not fully committed to climate action. QUOTES "The federal government's approach to these amendments have introduced a new level of complexity and risk for those looking to invest in Canada," said CAPP President Lisa Baiton in a statement. "We are unconvinced that any guidance brought forward by the Competition Bureau can provide Canadian businesses with the confidence to openly discuss their environmental goals and progress." WHAT'S NEXT In its submission to the Competition Bureau CAPP offered recommendations on how to improve the legislation, such as ensuring the new rules applied equally across all industries and a better definition of how companies' environmental claims will be assessed. Pathways Alliance said in a statement it also intends to participate in the consultations and is developing a submission. The deadline for submissions is the end of September. ($1 = 1.3509 Canadian dollars) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/canada-oil-industry-group-calls-changes-anti-greenwashing-laws-2024-09-05/

2024-09-05 20:09

BOGOTA, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Colombia's decision to reverse a diesel price hike that sparked a strike by truckers could adversely affect public finances, analysts said on Thursday, as majority state-owned energy company Ecopetrol said it would begin shutting off some operations amid the unrest. Finance Minister Ricardo Bonilla said the government reversed its decision to increase the price of diesel by 1,904 pesos (45 cents) per gallon, starting this month. The government is now proposing increases of 200 pesos per month from September to December, while strike leaders are pushing for increases of 100 pesos per month. As protests - characterized by roadblocks - continued into their fourth day, police in capital Bogota cleared some roads using tear gas and tow trucks. Diesel prices had been held at an average 9,065 pesos ($2.16) per gallon for almost five years, amid government subsidies that Bonilla said cost some 12 trillion pesos ($2.87 billion) per year. "This is probably a sign that the government will end up conceding relatively quickly and the strike may not last for a very long time, but there will be additional negative consequences for the fiscal outlook," said Andres Pardo, head of Latam macro strategy at XP Investments. Ecopetrol (ECO.CN) , opens new tab on Thursday said it had begun shutting production at a number of its fields due to the strike, as well as bombings on oil pipelines. A shutdown in operations at Cano Sur will lead to its oil output falling by some 45,000 barrels per day, and it will also shut off operations at four other fields. "With the increase in blockades, the recent terrorist attacks against the Cano Limon-Covenas and Bicentenario pipelines ... and the takeover of the Gibraltar gas plant conditions for the production chain become more complex," the company said in a statement, adding fuel supply could be disrupted. Authorities and analysts warned the strike threatens shortages of food and other goods, causing an increase in prices, which would lead to higher-than-expected inflation. Food inflation could accelerate around 0.6%, said Camilo Pérez, director of economic studies at bank Banco de Bogota, and could lead to a nine-basis point increase to total inflation this month. Analysts said a rise in inflation could push the central bank to avoid speeding up the pace of further cuts to its benchmark interest rate. The Central Bank's board of directors has cut its interest rate by 50 basis points in its last four meetings to a current level of 10.75%. "We would be inclined to think that the central bank might not accelerate the pace of easing, although we still see the board applying another 50 basis point rate cut," Pardo said. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/colombia-diesel-strike-could-put-brakes-interest-rate-cut-stoke-inflation-2024-09-05/

2024-09-05 19:26

SAO PAULO, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Brazil posted a trade surplus of $4.828 billion in August, government data showed on Thursday, down nearly 50% from a year earlier and below market estimates of a $6.1 billion surplus in a Reuters poll of economists. Exports totaled $29.1 billion last month, down 6.5% year-on-year, driven by a drop in soybean, corn, iron ore and oil shipments, according to the Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade, and Services. Imports were up 13% in August to $24.3 billion, boosted by growth in imports of chemical fertilizers, medicines and non-electric engines and machines. Latin America's largest economy reported a trade surplus of $54.1 billion in the first eight months of the year, down 13.4% from the same period in 2023. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/brazil-posts-lower-than-expected-trade-surplus-august-2024-09-05/

2024-09-05 19:02

RALEIGH, North Carolina Sept 5 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Thursday that the U.S. welcomes foreign direct investment and rigorously reviews deals for national security concerns, but declined to comment on reports that President Joe Biden's administration is poised to block the U.S. Steel-Nippon Steel merger. Speaking to reporters in North Carolina, Yellen said the ultimate decision on national security decisions on foreign acquisitions rests with Biden. On Wednesday, Reuters and other news outlets reported that the Biden administration was poised to block Nippon Steel's $14.9 billion acquisition of U.S. Steel on national security grounds. Reuters reported that the administration told Nippon Steel (5401.T) , opens new tab in a letter on Saturday that the merger would pose a national security risk by harming the American steel industry, citing three people familiar with the notice. The deal faces opposition from numerous Democrats and Republicans, with Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris saying on Monday she wants U.S. Steel to remain "American owned and operated." Her Republican rival Donald Trump has pledged to block the deal if elected. Asked about the matter, Yellen said: "The United States has the environment in which we very much welcome foreign direct investment. We're seeing a huge amount of it in firms in North Carolina that have been here for a long time and coming in response to the Inflation Reduction Act." She also said the U.S. has a "rigorous" review process for national security implications of deals. "That's a process that is intended to advise the president, who makes the ultimate decisions on this," she said. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/us-treasury-chief-yellen-has-no-comment-us-steel-nippon-review-2024-09-05/