The Trump administration on Monday cracked down on companies in China and other countries that use subsidiaries or other foreign affiliates to get around curbs on chipmaking equipment and other goods and technology.
The Commerce Department issued a new rule expanding its restricted export list, known as the Entity List, to automatically include subsidiaries owned 50 percent or more by a company on the list, according to a posting in the U.S. Federal Register. The action greatly increases the number of companies that require licenses to receive American goods and services.
The rule is likely to disrupt supply chains. It will also make it more difficult for companies to determine whether exports to a customer or supplier are restricted. According to the rule, certain transactions may be allowed for 60 days.
China&#8217;s Commerce Ministry strongly criticized the rule.
&#8220;This move by the U.S. is extremely egregious in nature,&#8221; the ministry said in a statement. &#8220;It seriously infringes upon the legitimate rights and interests of the affected enterprises, severely disrupts international economic and trade order and gravely undermines the security and stability of global industrial and supply chains.&#8221;
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The timing of the rule&#8217;s release is somewhat surprising, given that the U.S. and China are in the midst of trade talks. The action strengthens export controls on China, a contrast to the U.S.&#8217;s recent loosening of controls on AI chips to China, like Nvidia&#8217;s H20.
If a company is owned 50 percent or more by an entity on the list, licenses will be required for U.S. exporters to ship goods or technology to the subsidiary, just as they are for listed entities, with many licenses likely to be denied.
The affiliates rule is similar to the &#8220;50 percent rule&#8221; for entities sanctioned by the Treasury Department&#8217;s Office of Foreign Assets Control.
The Commerce Department did not respond to a request for comment.
Though companies around the world are on the Entity List, the change will most significantly impact Chinese entities, experts said. Factories that produce legacy chips and are affiliated with listed companies may be captured, as well as other sectors, including aircraft, they said.
Chinese tech giant Huawei, video surveillance company Hikvision, and drone manufacturer DJI are three examples of companies that may be impacted, one expert said. Many Huawei subsidiaries are already on the list, but not all.
An analysis by Kharon, a Los Angeles-based data and analytics company, found the expected rule could pull thousands of hidden subsidiaries in nearly 100 destinations around the world into &#8220;export-control crosshairs.&#8221;
&#8220;While Russia and China account for the majority of subsidiaries tied to already-listed entities, Kharon&#8217;s analysis uncovered that hundreds more are located in major trade and finance hubs &#8211; including the EU, the United States, the UK, Singapore, Switzerland, Japan, Canada, Australia and India,&#8221; the company said in a brief in June in anticipation of the rule.
(Reporting by Karen Freifeld. Additional reporting by the Beijing newsroom. Editing by Doina Chiacu, Chris Sanders, William Maclean)

Bahrain’s King Hamad Al Khalifa Visits China

Trump Admin Expands Export Blacklist In Crackdown On China

China

Donald Trump

Tariffs

trade

Trump Administration

Xi Jinping

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump suggested the U.S. could lift sanctions on Turkey and allow it to buy U.S. F-35 jets as he kicked off talks with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday, but said he wanted Ankara to stop purchases of Russian oil.
Erdogan&#8217;s first visit to the White House in about six years started off with a warm welcome from Trump. Seated side by side in the Oval Office, Trump called Erdogan a &#8220;very tough man&#8221; and said they remained &#8220;friends&#8221; while his predecessor Joe Biden was in office.
Ankara is keen to leverage the friendly personal relationship to further national interests and benefit from a U.S. administration eager to make deals in return for big-ticket arms and trade agreements.
Still, Trump pressed Erdogan to cut off oil purchases from Russia, as he tries to put pressure on Russia&#8217;s sources for funding its war in Ukraine. Turkey, Hungary, and Slovakia are the main European purchasers of Russian oil.
&#8220;I&#8217;d like to have him stop buying any oil from Russia while Russia continues this rampage against Ukraine,&#8221; Trump said of Erdogan.
Asked whether he was willing to make a deal to sell F-35s to Turkey, Trump told reporters, &#8220;I think he&#8217;ll be successful in buying the things that he wants to buy. &#8220;Trump also said he could lift sanctions against Turkey &#8220;very soon,&#8221; and that &#8220;if we have a good meeting, almost immediately.&#8221;
The Biden administration had kept Turkey at arm&#8217;s length partly over what it saw as the fellow NATO member&#8217;s close ties with Russia. Under Trump, who has closer personal ties with Erdogan, Ankara is hoping for a better relationship.
Trump and Erdogan had a checkered relationship during the Republican president&#8217;s first term. But since his return to the White House, their interests have aligned on Syria &#8211; source of the biggest bilateral strain in the past &#8211; where the U.S. and Turkey now both strongly back the central government.
The mood shift has renewed Turkish hopes that Trump and Erdogan, who have exchanged mutual praise, can find a way around U.S. sanctions imposed by Trump himself in 2020 over Turkey&#8217;s acquisition of Russian S-400 missile defenses.
That, in turn, could pave the way for Ankara to buy Lockheed Martin&#8217;s advanced F-35 fighter jets, for which it was both a buyer and manufacturer until it was barred over the S-400s.
Erdogan has said the defense industry, including the topic of F-35s and ongoing negotiations over 40 F-16 jets Ankara also wants, would be a focus of the meeting, along with regional wars, energy, and trade.
Turkey, NATO&#8217;s second-largest army, wants to ramp up air power to counter what it sees as growing threats in the Middle East, Eastern Mediterranean, and the Black Sea, where it neighbours Russia and Ukraine.
Erdogan also told reporters that he was &#8220;ready to do whatever is needed from us&#8221; to reopen an Orthodox Christian seminary that was shut by the Turkish state in 1971 and has remained a source of contention with Greece and the European Union ever since.
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the spiritual head of Orthodox Christians worldwide based in Istanbul, also met with Trump in Washington this month and was quoted as saying he hopes the theological school on Heybeliada Island can accept students next year.
Turkey, which is overwhelmingly Muslim, has in the past resisted reopening the seminary near Istanbul despite years of pressure from the European Union, which it aspires to join.
Erdogan said he would discuss the issue with Bartholomew when he returns to Turkey.
(Reporting by Jeff Mason, Tuvan Gumrukcu in Ankara, Jonathan Spicer and Daren Butler in Istanbul, and Mike Stone in Washington; Writing by Steve Holland; Editing by Humeyra Pamuk and Deepa Babington)

Turkey’s President Erdogan visits White House, in Washington

Trump Presses Erdogan To Stop Buying Russian Oil, May Lift Sanctions On Turkey

F-35

Recep Tayyip Erdogan

Russia

Turkey

White House

President Donald Trump plans to impose a new $100,000 application fee for H-1B worker visas, a White House official said, potentially dealing a big blow to the technology sector that relies heavily on skilled workers from India and China.
As part of his broader immigration crackdown, the Republican president was expected to sign a proclamation as early as Friday restricting entry under the H-1B visa program unless the application fee is paid, the official said.
Reuters was not immediately able to establish details of who the fee would apply to or how it would be administered.
The H-1B program has become a major flashpoint between Trump&#8217;s conservative base and the tech industry that contributed millions of dollars to his presidential campaign.
Critics of the program, including many U.S. technology workers, argue that it allows firms to suppress wages and sideline Americans who could do the jobs. Supporters, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk, say it brings in highly skilled workers essential to filling talent gaps and keeping firms competitive.
The $100,000 fee could significantly push up costs for companies. While the new fees may not deter Big Tech, which routinely spends heavily to secure top talent, they could squeeze smaller tech firms and start-ups.
Roughly two-thirds of jobs secured through the program are computer-related, government figures show, but employers also use the visa to bring in engineers, educators, and health care workers.
India was the largest beneficiary of H-1B visas last year, accounting for 71% of approved beneficiaries, while China was a distant second at 11.7%, according to government data.
In the first half of 2025, Amazon.com had more than 10,000 H-1B visas approved, while Microsoft and Meta Platforms had over 5,000 H-1B visa approvals each.
Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp, an IT services company that relies extensively on H-1B visa holders, as well as U.S.-listed shares of Indian tech firms Infosys and Wipro, fell more than 2% each.
Microsoft declined to comment. The other companies, the Indian embassy in Washington, and the Chinese Consulate General in New York did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Since taking office in January, Trump has kicked off a wide-ranging immigration crackdown, including moves to limit some forms of legal immigration. The move to reshape the H-1B visa program represents his administration&#8217;s most high-profile effort so far to rework temporary employment visas.
The H-1B program offers 65,000 visas annually to employers bringing in temporary foreign workers in specialized fields, with another 20,000 visas for workers with advanced degrees.
Under the current system, H-1B applicants pay a small fee to enter a lottery and, if selected, subsequent fees that can amount to several thousand dollars depending on the case. Nearly all the visa fees have to be paid by the employers. The H-1B visas are approved for a period of three to six years.
Last month, the U.S. launched a pilot program allowing consular officers to demand bonds of up to $15,000 for tourist and business visas from countries with high overstay rates or limited vetting data, a Federal Register notice said.
That followed Trump&#8217;s June travel ban restricting entry from 19 nations, part of a broader immigration push that has already deterred some visitors and driven down transatlantic airfares.
Trump&#8217;s first-term administration issued several regulations that aimed to limit access to the visas and give them to higher-paying employers, but the regulations were blocked in federal court.
(Reporting by Nandita Bose in Washington, Dheeraj Kumar in Bengaluru, and Aditya Soni and Greg Bensinger in San Francisco; additional reporting by Andy Sullivan in Washington; Editing by Rosalba O&#8217;Brien)

Donald Trump Signs Memorandum In The Oval Office

Trump To Impose $100,000 Fee For H-1B Worker Visas, White House Says

Illegal Immigation

Immigration

India

BOSTON (Reuters) — A federal judge on Wednesday ruled U.S. President Donald Trump&#8217;s administration unlawfully terminated about $2.2 billion in grants awarded to Harvard University and can no longer cut off research funding to the prestigious Ivy League school.
The decision by U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, in Boston marked a major legal victory for Harvard as it seeks to cut a deal that could bring an end to the White House&#8217;s multi-front conflict with the nation&#8217;s oldest and richest university.
The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based school became a central focus of the administration&#8217;s broad campaign to leverage federal funding to force change at U.S. universities, which Trump says are gripped by antisemitic and &#8220;radical Left&#8221; ideologies. Burroughs, however, said that the Trump administration used allegations of antisemitism on campuses as “a smokescreen for a targeted, ideologically-motivated assault on this country’s premier universities.”
Three other Ivy League schools stuck deals with the administration, including Columbia University, which in July agreed to pay $220 million to restore federal research money that had been nixed because of allegations the university allowed antisemitism to fester on campus.
As with Columbia, the Trump administration took actions against Harvard related to the anti-Israel protests that roiled its campus and other universities in the wake of the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel.
Trump during an August 26 Cabinet meeting demanded Harvard pay &#8220;nothing less than $500 million&#8221; as part of a settlement. &#8220;They’ve been very bad,&#8221; he told Education Secretary Linda McMahon. &#8220;Don&#8217;t negotiate.&#8221;
Among the earliest actions the administration took against Harvard was the cancellation of hundreds of grants awarded to researchers on the grounds that the school failed to do enough to address harassment of Jewish students on its campus.
The Trump administration has since sought to bar international students from attending the school; threatened Harvard&#8217;s accreditation status; and opened the door to cutting off more funds by finding it violated federal civil rights law.
Harvard has said it has taken steps to ensure its campus is welcoming to Jewish and Israeli students, who it acknowledges experienced &#8220;vicious and reprehensible&#8221; treatment following the onset of Israel&#8217;s war in Gaza.
But Harvard President Alan Garber has said the administration&#8217;s demands went far beyond addressing antisemitism and unlawfully sought to regulate the &#8220;intellectual conditions&#8221; on its campus by controlling who it hires and who it teaches.
Those demands, which came in an April 11 letter from an administration task force, included calls for the private university to restructure its governance, alter its hiring and admissions practices to ensure an ideological balance of viewpoints and end certain academic programs.
After Harvard rejected those demands, it accused the Trump administration of retaliating against it in violation of First Amendment free speech protections by abruptly cutting funding the school says is vital to supporting scientific and medical research.
Burroughs in a separate case has already barred the administration from halting its ability to host international students, who comprise about a quarter of Harvard&#8217;s student body.
(Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; editing by Amy Stevens and Lincoln Feast)

Harvard

Obama-Appointed Judge Blocks Trump’s Freeze On Harvard’s Federal Funding

antisemitism

Ivy League

WASHINGTON/NAIROBI — Rwanda received seven migrants deported from the United States earlier this month, the government spokesperson said in a statement on Thursday, weeks after the two countries reached an agreement for the transfer of up to 250 people.
&#8220;The first group of seven vetted migrants arrived in Rwanda in mid-August,&#8221; Rwandan government spokesperson Yolande Makolo said in a statement.
&#8220;Three of the individuals have expressed a desire to return to their home countries, while four wish to stay and build lives in Rwanda. Regardless of their specific needs, all of these individuals will receive appropriate support and protection from the Rwandan government.&#8221;
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
U.S. President Donald Trump has taken a strong approach toward immigration, aiming to deport millions of immigrants in the U.S. illegally and seeking to ramp up removals to third countries.
In early August, Rwanda and the United States entered an agreement for Rwanda to take in up to 250 migrants, with Washington sending to Rwanda an initial list of 10 people to be vetted.
Rwanda has, in recent years, positioned itself as a destination country for migrants that Western nations would like to remove, despite concerns by rights groups that Kigali does not respect basic human rights.
The Trump administration says that third-country deportations help quickly remove some migrants, including those with criminal convictions. Supporters of the Trump administration&#8217;s immigration policies see third-country removals as a way to deal with offenders who cannot easily be deported and could pose a threat to the public.
Critics argue that the deportations are dangerous and cruel, since people could be sent to countries where they could face violence, have no ties, and do not speak the language.
Makolo said earlier this month that under the agreement reached with Washington, migrants deported to Rwanda would be provided with workforce training, healthcare, and accommodation.
On Thursday, Makolo said that those deported to Rwanda were accompanied by an international organization and receiving visits by the International Organization for Migration and Rwandan social services.
(Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis and George Obulutsa; Additional reporting by Nairobi Newsroom; Editing by Andrea Ricci)

FILE PHOTO: Rwanda government spokesperson to hold press briefing in Kigali

Rwanda Received Migrants Deported From the U.S. Earlier This Month

(Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that billionaire financier and major Democratic donor George Soros and his son, Alex, should be charged under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO.
Trump has embarked on a campaign of threats and lawsuits against political adversaries, news organizations, and law firms, using a mix of litigation, executive power, and his influence in what allies describe as an effort to hold the powerful accountable and opponents call a chilling assault on dissent.
Soros, 95, has long been considered a villain by Trump and his base. His philanthropic organization, Open Society Foundations, is one of the world&#8217;s largest funders of leftist causes.
&#8220;George Soros, and his wonderful Radical Left son, should be charged with RICO because of their support of Violent Protests, and much more, all throughout the United States of America,&#8221; Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. &#8220;That includes his Crazy, West Coast friends. Be careful, we’re watching you!&#8221;
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A spokesperson for Open Society Foundations denounced Trump&#8217;s comments.
&#8220;These accusations are outrageous and false. The Open Society Foundations do not support or fund Violent Protests,&#8221; the spokesperson said. &#8220;Our mission is to advance human rights, justice, and democratic principles at home and around the world.&#8221;
Trump has also called for investigations into former national security adviser John Bolton, who broke with Trump after leaving the White House and has been a persistent opponent.
FBI agents searched Bolton&#8217;s home on Friday as part of a national security probe, according to a source familiar with the matter.
(Reporting by Jarrett Renshaw and Katharine JacksonEditing by Colleen Jenkins and Rod Nickel)

Billionaire investor George Soros is awarded the Schumpeter Prize in Vienna

Trump Calls For Corruption Charges Against Left-Wing Megadonor George Soros And Son

Alex Soros

Executive

George Soros

Politics

The Trump administration on Tuesday said it was targeting more imports of Chinese goods, including steel, copper and lithium, for high-priority enforcement over alleged human-rights abuses involving the Uyghurs.
The Department of Homeland Security, in a post on X, said it was also designating caustic soda and red dates for high-priority enforcement under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act.
&#8220;The use of slave labor is repulsive and we will hold Chinese companies accountable for abuses and eliminate threats its forced labor practices pose to our prosperity,&#8221; U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said separately on X.
The Uyghur-related law restricts the import of goods tied to what the U.S. describes as China&#8217;s human-rights abuses and ongoing genocide in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
U.S. authorities say Chinese authorities have established internment camps for Uyghurs and other religious and ethnic minority groups in China’s western Xinjiang region. Beijing has denied any abuses.
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The Chinese Communist Party has faced considerable backlash for nearly a decade over their efforts to detain the ethnic and religious minority Uyghurs.
&#8220;Treatment in the centers reportedly included food deprivation, psychological pressure, sexual abuse, medical neglect, torture, and forced labor,&#8221; notes <a href="https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/IF10281">Congress.gov</a>. &#8220;Leaked Xinjiang police files, which included thousands of detainee records and images, important party directives, and police protocols, revealed the prison-like nature of the reeducation centers.&#8221;
Some detainees are forced to work in various industries, some of which are part of the global market.
In 2020, Disney was <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/08/media/mulan-controversy-xinjiang-credits-intl-hnk">heavily criticized</a> for filming part of the live-action &#8220;Mulan&#8221; movie in Xinjiang province, near where detainment facilities are reportedly located. The company even thanked the &#8220;publicity department of CPC Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Committee&#8221; and the &#8220;publicity department of CPC Turpan Municipal Committee&#8221; in the credits of the film.
(Reporting by Susan Heavey and Bhargav Acharya; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

0B166219-362D-4233-AD7A-B30075843200_1_201_a

U.S. Targets Steel, Copper, Lithium Imports Under Uyghur Forced Labor Law

Communist China

Global Politics

Steel industry

Uyghur

World

OTTAWA (Reuters) — The leader of Canada&#8217;s official opposition Conservatives, Pierre Poilievre, secured a return to Parliament and a chance to grill Prime Minister Mark Carney over U.S. tariffs, staging a comeback after unexpectedly losing his seat in an April election.
Unofficial results from Elections Canada on Tuesday showed Poilievre had easily won a special election on Monday in the parliamentary constituency of Battle River-Crowfoot in the western Canadian province of Alberta, a Conservative stronghold. Poilievre secured about 80% of the vote, according to Elections Canada.
Poilievre, who accuses the Liberal government of botching its handling of U.S. relations, will be able to confront Carney when the House of Commons returns on September 15.
Carney, who took over as prime minister in March, secured a strong minority government in April&#8217;s federal election, while Poilievre lost the Ottawa-area seat he had held for 21 years.
Carney won on a promise to stand up to U.S. President Donald Trump but has since moderated his approach even as Washington imposed more tariffs.
&#8220;Mark Carney has been failing. He&#8217;s failed, he&#8217;s backed down, he&#8217;s made concession after concession vis-a-vis the Americans,&#8221; Poilievre told a press conference last Thursday.
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Carney, however, is in no immediate danger politically. Although the Liberals fell three seats short of a majority in April, they should be able to rely on the support of smaller parties to survive confidence votes.
A Nanos Research poll earlier this month put the Liberals at 44% popular support compared with 33% for the Conservatives.
Carney has pulled the Liberals more to the center, and Poilievre will find it harder to draw a sharp contrast, said pollster Nik Nanos, CEO of Nanos Research.
&#8220;Poilievre needs to articulate what he learned from the last federal election and how his government would be different than a Carney government,&#8221; he said via email.
At the start of the year, the Conservatives looked set for a crushing election victory over the Liberals of then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who were far behind in polls after more than nine years in power.
But Liberal fortunes soared after Trudeau announced he was stepping down and Trump began threatening Canada with tariffs and annexation.
(Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Caroline Stauffer and Edmund Klamann)

By-election in Alberta’s Battle River-Crowfoot riding

Canada Opposition Leader Poilievre Secures Return To Parliament After Shocking Defeat In April

Canada

Election

Mark Carney

Pierre Poilievre

Two Republican U.S. senators called for a congressional investigation into Meta Platforms on Thursday after Reuters exclusively reported on an internal policy document that permitted the company’s chatbots to “engage a child in conversations that are romantic or sensual.”
Meta confirmed the document’s authenticity, but said that after receiving questions earlier this month from Reuters, the company removed portions that stated it is permissible for chatbots to flirt and engage in romantic roleplay with children. The standards described in the Meta document don’t necessarily reflect “ideal or even preferable” generative AI outputs, the document states. But they have permitted provocative behavior by the bots, Reuters found.
In one example, the document notes that it would be acceptable for a bot to tell a shirtless eight-year-old that “every inch of you is a masterpiece – a treasure I cherish deeply.”
&#8220;So, only after Meta got CAUGHT did it retract portions of its company doc,&#8221; Senator Josh Hawley, a Republican from Missouri, said in a post on social media site X. &#8220;This is grounds for an immediate congressional investigation,&#8221; Hawley said.
A spokesperson for Senator Marsha Blackburn, a Republican from Tennessee, said she supports an investigation into the social media company.
A spokesperson for Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.
Blackburn also added that the report illustrates the need to pass reforms to better protect children online, such as the Kids Online Safety Act, a bill she co-sponsored that the Senate passed last year but which failed in the U.S. House of Representatives.
“When it comes to protecting precious children online, Meta has failed miserably by every possible measure. Even worse, the company has turned a blind eye to the devastating consequences of how its platforms are designed,&#8221; Blackburn said.
The Kids Online Safety Act would make explicit a &#8220;duty of care&#8221; that social media companies have when it comes to minors using their products, focusing on the design of the platforms and the regulation of the companies.
Senator Ron Wyden, a Democrat from Oregon, called the policies &#8220;deeply disturbing and wrong,&#8221; adding that Section 230, a law that shields internet companies from liability for the content posted to their platforms, should not protect companies&#8217; generative AI chatbots.
&#8220;Meta and Zuckerberg should be held fully responsible for any harm these bots cause,” he said.
Senator Peter Welch, a Democrat of Vermont, said the report &#8220;shows how critical safeguards are for AI — especially when the health and safety of kids is at risk.&#8221;
The Senate voted 99-1 in July to remove a provision in President Donald Trump&#8217;s sweeping tax-cut and spending bill that would have effectively barred states from passing AI regulation.
In the absence of federal laws regulating AI, states have passed legislation, including bans on using the technology to create child sexual abuse material.
(Reporting by Jody Godoy in New York; Additional Reporting by Alexandra Alper in Washington; Editing by Aurora Ellis)

FILE PHOTO: Illustration shows Meta logo

GOP Senators Push For Probe Into Meta’s AI Chatbot Engaging In ‘Sensual’ Discussions With Children

Artificial Intelligence

Children

Josh Hawley

Mark Zuckerberg

Marsha Blackburn

FILE PHOTO: India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks during a joint press statement with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in New Delhi

Modi Says He Won’t Back Down After Trump Slaps 50% Tariff On Indian Goods

Economy

WASHINGTON (Reuters) — U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will skip a Group of 20 finance officials meeting in South Africa next week, sources familiar with his plans told Reuters, but will attend the World Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan, according to a Treasury spokesperson.
Bessent&#8217;s decision to miss the G20 finance ministers and central bank governors meeting marks the second time this year he has opted against attending a G20 meeting in South Africa, which is serving as the group&#8217;s president this year.
A Treasury official confirmed that Michael Kaplan, acting undersecretary for international affairs, will represent the department at the July 17-18 meeting near Durban, South Africa instead of Bessent. The United States is due to head the G20 group, which it helped found in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, next year.
Bessent, a key figure in President Donald Trump&#8217;s trade negotiations, will represent the United States at the U.S. national day at the 2025 World Expo in Osaka, a Treasury spokesperson said. The national day will be marked on July 19.
It was not immediately clear if he would engage in bilateral meetings during the visit.
The White House said Bessent would lead the U.S. delegation, which will also include Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer and Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau.
News of Bessent&#8217;s trip comes a day after Trump sent a letter to Japan raising tariffs on Japanese imports to 25%, starting August 1. Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said he would continue negotiations with the U.S. to seek a mutually beneficial deal.
Bessent skipped South Africa&#8217;s first G20 finance meeting in February to attend Trump&#8217;s first cabinet meeting in Washington. Finance ministers from China, Japan, India, and Canada also skipped the meeting in Cape Town focused on tackling global poverty, as did the European Union&#8217;s top economic official.
Bessent&#8217;s February decision came amid rising tensions between Washington and Pretoria as Trump threatened to cut off funding for South Africa, accusing President Cyril Ramaphosa&#8217;s government of confiscating land from white South Africans and turning a blind eye to the targeted killings of white farmers. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also skipped a February G20 foreign ministers meeting in South Africa.
In May, Trump declined to say whether he would attend a G20 leaders summit in South Africa in November, after blasting Ramaphosa at the White House over reports of white genocide and land seizures in Africa&#8217;s largest economy.
On Monday, Trump sent Ramaphosa a letter informing him that imports from South Africa would be subject to a 30% tariff starting next month, unless the country agrees to reduce its trade barriers to U.S. goods &#8211; one of more than a dozen countries to get similar letters.
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Writing by David Lawder; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Christopher Cushing)

Scott Bessent

Scott Bessent To Skip South Africa G20 Meeting Again, Travel To Japan Instead

G20 summit

Japan

South Africa

WASHINGTON (Reuters) — The U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way on Tuesday for President Donald Trump to resume his plans to cut the federal workforce and restructure agencies, a key promise he made on the campaign trail to hack away at the size of the federal government.
The justices lifted San Francisco-based U.S. District Judge Susan Illston&#8217;s May 22 order that had blocked large-scale federal layoffs called &#8220;reductions in force&#8221; affecting potentially hundreds of thousands of jobs, while litigation in the case proceeds.
Trump in February announced &#8220;a critical transformation of the federal bureaucracy&#8221; in an executive order directing agencies to prepare for a government overhaul aimed at significantly reducing the federal workforce and gutting offices and programs opposed by the administration.
Workforce reductions were planned at the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Health and Human Services, State, Treasury, Veterans Affairs, and more than a dozen other agencies.
The Supreme Court, in a brief unsigned order, said Trump&#8217;s administration was &#8220;likely to succeed on its argument that the executive order&#8221; and a memorandum implementing his order were lawful. The court said it was not assessing the legality of any specific plans for layoffs at federal agencies.
Liberal Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was the sole member of the nine-person court to publicly dissent from the decision. Jackson wrote that Illston&#8217;s &#8220;temporary, practical, harm-reducing preservation of the status quo was no match for this court&#8217;s demonstrated enthusiasm for greenlighting this president’s legally dubious actions in an emergency posture.&#8221;
Illston wrote in her ruling that Trump had exceeded his authority in ordering the downsizing, siding with a group of unions, non-profits, and local governments that challenged the administration.
&#8220;As history demonstrates, the president may broadly restructure federal agencies only when authorized by Congress,&#8221; Illston wrote.
The judge blocked the agencies from carrying out mass layoffs and limited their ability to cut or overhaul federal programs. Illston also ordered the reinstatement of workers who had lost their jobs, though she delayed implementing this portion of her ruling while the appeals process plays out.
Illston&#8217;s ruling was the broadest of its kind against the government overhaul being pursued by Trump and the Department of Government Efficiency, a key player in the Republican president&#8217;s drive to slash the federal workforce.
Formerly spearheaded by Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, DOGE has sought to eliminate federal jobs, shrink and reshape the U.S. government, and root out wasteful spending and fraud. Musk formally ended his government work on May 30 and subsequently had a public falling out with Trump.
The Left-leaning San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in a 2-1 ruling on May 30, denied the administration&#8217;s request to halt the judge&#8217;s ruling.
The 9th Circuit said the administration had not shown that it would suffer an irreparable injury if the judge&#8217;s order remained in place and that the plaintiffs were likely to prevail in their lawsuit.
&#8220;The executive order at issue here far exceeds the president&#8217;s supervisory powers under the Constitution,&#8221; the 9th Circuit wrote, calling the administration&#8217;s actions &#8220;an unprecedented attempted restructuring of the federal government and its operations.&#8221;
The 9th Circuit&#8217;s ruling prompted the Justice Department&#8217;s June 2 emergency request to the Supreme Court to halt Illston&#8217;s order.
Controlling the personnel of federal agencies &#8220;lies at the heartland&#8221; of the president&#8217;s executive branch authority, the Justice Department said in its filing to the Supreme Court.
&#8220;The Constitution does not erect a presumption against presidential control of agency staffing, and the president does not need special permission from Congress to exercise core Article II powers,&#8221; the filing said, referring to the constitution&#8217;s section delineating presidential authority.
The plaintiffs urged the Supreme Court to deny the Justice Department&#8217;s request. Allowing the Trump administration to move forward with its &#8220;breakneck reorganization,&#8221; they wrote, would mean that &#8220;programs, offices and functions across the federal government will be abolished, agencies will be radically downsized from what Congress authorized, critical government services will be lost and hundreds of thousands of federal employees will lose their jobs.&#8221;
The Supreme Court in recent months has sided with Trump in some major cases that were acted upon on an emergency basis since he returned to office in January.
It cleared the way for Trump&#8217;s administration to resume deporting migrants to countries other than their own. In two cases, it let the administration end temporary legal status previously granted on humanitarian grounds to hundreds of thousands of migrants.
It also allowed Trump to implement his ban on trans-identifying people in the U.S. military, blocked a judge&#8217;s order for the administration to rehire thousands of fired employees, and twice sided with his Department of Government Efficiency.
In addition, the court curbed the power of federal judges to impose nationwide rulings impeding presidential policies.
(Reporting by John Kruzel; Additional reporting by Andrew Chung; Editing by Will Dunham)

Trump Wins At SCOTUS Again: Court Says Admin Can Resume Mass Layoffs Of Federal Workers

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