Department of Commerce Archives

China Pumps Tens of Billions Into Key Industry Amid Tech War with U.S.

May 28, 2024 Virginia Star Staff

The Chinese Communist Party has launched a $47.5 billion state-backed investment fund to strategically boost the semiconductor industry in competition with the U.S., Reuters reported Monday.

The 344 billion yuan investment is the biggest of three funds that have been established, with the first being created in 2014, providing 138.7 billion yuan in capital, and the second in 2019, providing 204 billion yuan, according to Reuters. China is subsidizing its semiconductor industry in a bid to compete with the U.S. in the manufacturing of the technology, with chips showing good potential in both military and consumer aspects.

‘Clear Violation of the Law’: Biden’s Multi-Billion Dollar Broadband Plan Defies Congressional Mandate, Experts Say

April 22, 2024 Virginia Star Staff

The Biden administration’s program to expand access to broadband internet may run afoul of the law that created it, experts told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), part of the Department of Commerce, is responsible for allocating $42.5 billion in funds intended to bolster the United States’ broadband internet infrastructure through the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment Program (BEAD) program. The agency, in a move to expand high-speed internet access to low-income communities, has been attempting to force states to adopt price controls for broadband services provided through the new projects, a strategy experts say could be illegal.

Commentary: Republicans Roll over on ‘Climate Change’

February 25, 2024 Virginia Star Staff

Why are Republicans supine in the fight against the Marxist takeover of our entire way of life? They are petrified, for some reason, about engaging the debate on the “science” of “climate change.”

This abandonment of the playing field has allowed climate spending to overtake the landscape like Kudzu vines on steroids.

Chinese Solar Companies Have Been Dodging Tariffs, Biden Admin Says

August 19, 2023 Virginia Star Staff

The Department of Commerce (DOC) determined Friday that five Chinese solar panel companies have been dodging U.S. tariffs by directing their operations through other Asian countries not subject to the import restrictions.

The DOC found in its probe that Trina Solar, Canadian Solar, BYD and Vina Solar have all used other countries in Southeast Asia, such as Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and Cambodia, as conduits to evade tariffs designed to protect the relatively young American solar industry from Chinese competitors that can undercut them with a cost advantage, which in some cases may be derived from the use slave labor of detained Uyghur Muslims in supply chains. The findings may complicate the Biden administration’s plans to rely on solar panels as a key pillar of its sweeping climate agenda, which aims to have the U.S. economy reach net-zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050.

Revised GDP Numbers Show the Economy Shrinking

August 26, 2022August 25, 2022 Virginia Star Staff

The Department Of Commerce revised the estimate of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Thursday morning, finding similarly to July’s estimate that real GDP contracted in the second quarter of 2022.

The revised estimate for the second quarter finds that real GDP decreased annually at a rate of 0.6%, slightly less than the July 28 estimate of a 0.9% decrease, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Another Inflation Marker Hits Nearly 40-Year High

January 30, 2022January 30, 2022 The Center Square

Yet another key inflation marker has hit its highest rate in decades, newly released federal economic data show.

The personal consumer index, a key marker of inflation, rose about half a percent in December, adding to a total 5.8% increase in the previous 12 months, according to the Department of Commerce.

Trade Deficit Hits Record as Demand for Imports Soars

January 7, 2022January 6, 2022 Virginia Star Staff

The U.S. trade deficit soared to a record high in November as consumer demand for goods and the easing of supply chain bottlenecks caused imports to surge, according to the Commerce Department.

The goods deficit increased in November to $99 billion as consumers shopped for holiday gifts earlier than in previous years, the Commerce Department announced Thursday. Imports outweighed exports, bringing the U.S. trade deficit in goods and services in November to $80.2 billion.

Department of Commerce Blacklists Tech Companies Helping Chinese Military

November 28, 2021November 27, 2021 Virginia Star Staff

The U.S. Department of Commerce added several Chinese technology companies to its trade blacklist Wednesday for providing technological support to the Chinese military.

The Commerce Department added the firms to its Entity List, which imposes severe trade restrictions on covered entities, characterizing the companies as “acting contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States.”

U.S. Government Allegedly Approves Sale of Electronic Chips to Huawei

August 27, 2021August 26, 2021 Virginia Star Staff

The United States government has allegedly approved the sale of hundreds of millions of dollars worth of electronic chips to Chinese technology giant Huawei, in a massive reversal of a Trump-era policy by the Biden Administration, as reported by the Daily Caller.

The report was first made by Reuters on Wednesday, which cited two anonymous sources who claimed to be familiar with the deal. Huawei intends to use the new supply of chips to construct more automatic components of automobiles, including video monitors and motion sensors. Huawei allegedly asked the suppliers to raise the value of chips from hundreds of millions to at least one billion for the next sale after the four-year licensing agreement expires.

Biden Administration Unveils ‘Historic’ Investment for Communities That Could Create 300,000 Jobs in the ‘Near Term’

July 26, 2021July 25, 2021 Virginia Star Staff

President Joe Biden’s administration announced that it would give $3 billion in coronavirus stimulus funds to approved local communities across the country.

The program dubbed “Investing in America’s Communities” amounts to the largest initiative of its kind in decades, according to the Department of Commerce. Local governments and organizations nationwide impacted by the coronavirus pandemic are able to apply to receive the federal funds.

Inflation Spiked While Personal Income Dropped in April, Key Economic Report Shows

May 31, 2021May 30, 2021 Virginia Star Staff

A key measurement of consumer spending and personal income showed the economy experienced higher-than-expected inflation in April, according to the Department of Commerce.

The Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index — a main inflation indicator used by the Federal Reserve that measures consumer price increases — ticked up by 0.6% while the core PCE index, which excludes food and energy, increased 0.7% in April, the Commerce Department reported Friday. The Disposable Personal Income index, which measures how much after-tax income Americans have — decreased by 14.6%, or $3.22 trillion.

Economists had expected the PCE measure to come in lower than it did, CNBC reported.

Wilbur Ross Orders NOAA To Give Firefighters All The Water They Need To Fight WildFires

August 10, 2018August 9, 2018 Admin

by Tim Pearce Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross is using resources in his department to ensure that California firefighters are armed with enough water to fight wildfires scorching the state. Ross ordered the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and other federal agencies to prioritize water use for fighting fires over previously arranged…