US President George W. Bush said he is committed to making sure the US economy grows next year, and pledged to work with Congress to see that it happens.
"My resolution for the new year is this: to work with Congress to keep the economy growing, to keep your tax burden low and to ensure that the money you send to Washington is spent wisely -- or not at all," Bush said yesterday in his final weekly radio address of the year.
Bush has been seeking to reassure Americans that the economy remains sound, even as household costs and home foreclosures rise. The deepest housing recession in 16 years, the higher cost of obtaining credit and a drop in consumer spending likely pushed gross domestic product down to an annual growth rate of 1 percent for the fourth quarter from 4.9 percent in the third, according to the median estimate of 63 economists surveyed by Bloomberg.
The Bush administration is considering options to prevent a recession in the new year, Bush said in a Dec. 20 news conference, without offering details.
In his radio address yesterday, Bush said Congress can help by passing legislation to make health care coverage more affordable, and by acting on his proposals to assist families with rising mortgage payments in keeping their homes.
Federal Reserve officials in a Nov. 20 addendum to the minutes of their Oct. 30 rate policy meeting lowered their expectations for economic growth in the new year to 1.8 percent, the middle range of forecasts. The median estimate of 63 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News is for 2.3 percent growth.
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
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