CBO Director Discusses Inflation, Interest Costs, New Reconciliation Proposal, and America’s Unsustainable Debt (pgpf.org)

CBO is scoring the recent legislative proposals and the current economic environment .  Thanks to the Peterson Foundation for this article and information

Senate passes Chips and Science Act, a 'historic' investment in U.S. innovation and tech – GeekWire

This 1,000 page bill authorizes $250Billion of spending of which $50Billion is for chip production.  Another significant portion is for STEM research and education.  Note that it authorizes a supply chain database.  EMTC members will be receiving more information and analysis on the contents of this bill. 

The next chapter of Ghana’s e-commerce revolution | LinkedIn

Small businesses are hit hardest by economic events such as recession and inflation.  Some experts forecast inflation to drop by 1-2 points from 9.1% to 7.5-8%.  The potential for recession is also under discussion as news outlets report that companies are canceling job offers and/or cutting jobs.  GDP data is due out this week.

The top economist who knew inflation would be a disaster says get ready for a bumpy recession ride: ‘Soft landings represent a kind of triumph of hope over experience.’ (msn.com) 

Chips Plus passed the first Senate hurdle last week.  A second Senate vote is needed. The House must also pass it. The House goes to August recess on July 27.   The bill as written includes $52Billion of unfunded chips factory funding (ie to Intel, Samsung, Taiwan Semiconductor), tax credits and authorization of "science agencies" among other not defined areas.  Sen Schumer (D-NY) has stated that Chips will benefit upstate New York. The question is increasing debt versus re-shoring chips production.

US Senate Passes CHIPS Act Temperature Check, but Challenges Linger (hpcwire.com)

Shipping line Maersk outsources new cargo jets to Amerijet - FreightWaves

Maersk will add air cargo capacity to its ocean cargo offerings later this year

Small business owners blitz Capitol Hill over inflation, recession fears | The Hill

Small business owners flew to Washington to raise awareness of the impact of the recession on them.  Add to this other bills under consideration such as Pass through Tax adding 3.8% federal tax ; potential loss of de minimis (calculated at $499Billion cost) and the American Rescue Act 1099K for on line small businesses.   

Large trucker protests over California's gig worker law AB5 shut down Port of Oakland terminals (msn.com)

Port of Oakland officials tell CNBC that as a result of the lack of longshoremen to work at the terminals, there were closures. ILWU labor came to work this morning at SSA terminal, they said, however, once they arrived, some ILWU members chose not to enter the terminal. Without a full complement of labor, SSA decided to close its operations today.

Washington, DC --

EMTC sent a letter to Congressional leaders seeking removal of the Import Security and Fairness Act from the America COMPETES Act legislation, which is pending before House and Senate conferees for final text negotiations.  EMTC estimates that the de minimis provision will impose an additional cost of $499 billion on e-sellers, many of which are micro, small and medium size businesses (MSMEs).

EMTC has been a signatory to multi-association letters (issued in February 2022 and March 2022) advising Congress about the negative impact that including the Import Security and Fairness Act in the America COMPETES Act will have on U.S. companies.  See EMTC Fact Sheet on the America COMPETES Act.

EMTC hopes that these cost estimates will provide Congress with the necessary information to strip the de minimis provision from the bill. 

Paul Asinor, Executive Director of e-Commerce Association of Ghana, an affiliate of EMTC, was the keynote speaker at Jumia's 10th anniversary celebration. Paul gave an excellent overview of the state of e-commerce in Ghana and Africa.  EMTC is pleased to share his speech with you.   e-CAG and EMTC share the goal of removing administrative burdens to boost e-commerce growth and openness to dialogue with regulators. Our leadership team congratulates Jumia Ghana on its 10th anniversary. 

https://acrobat.adobe.com/link/review?uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:32d6a0b8-38f6-37f6-b514-9ff6ab16e0fc