Economic policy

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, speaks during a news conference following a weekly meeting with the Senate Republican caucus, Tuesday, Dec. 8. 2020 at the Capitol in Washington. (Sarah Silbiger/Pool via AP)
December 10, 2020 - 10:57 pm

Congress stuck, McConnell resists state aid in COVID-19 deal

WASHINGTON (AP) — An emerging $900 billion COVID-19 aid package from a bipartisan group of lawmakers all but collapsed Thursday after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Republican senators won't support $160 billion in state and local funds as part of a potential trade-off in the deal...
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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, speaks during a news conference following a weekly meeting with the Senate Republican caucus, Tuesday, Dec. 8. 2020 at the Capitol in Washington. (Sarah Silbiger/Pool via AP)
December 10, 2020 - 7:58 pm

Sen. Rand Paul delays defense bill vote over troop drawdowns

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Senate vote on a wide-ranging defense policy bill was delayed Thursday after Kentucky Republican Rand Paul objected to the measure, casting the next steps in doubt and raising the slim prospect of a government shutdown if a short-term spending bill caught up in the dispute is...
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Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin testifies before a Congressional Oversight Commission hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday Dec. 10, 2020. (Sarah Silbiger/The Washington Post via AP, Pool)
December 10, 2020 - 5:57 pm

US budget deficit up 25.1% in first 2 months of budget year

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. government's deficit in the first two months of the budget year ran 25.1% higher than the same period a year ago as spending to deal with the COVID pandemic soared while tax revenues fell. The Treasury Department reported Thursday that with two months gone in the budget...
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Two rostrums stand prepared for a possible joint statement after a dinner meeting by Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, in Brussels, Belgium, Wednesday Dec. 9, 2020. The political leaders are meeting in the hope of finalising a Brexit trade deal between Britain and the European bloc. (Aaron Chown/Pool via AP)
December 10, 2020 - 2:04 pm

UK's Johnson: 'Strong possibility' Brexit talks will fail

BRUSSELS (AP) — With a chaotic and costly no-deal Brexit only three weeks away, leaders of both the European Union and United Kingdom saw an ever likelier collapse of trade talks, and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson even spoke of a “strong possibility" of failure. Both sides told their...
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A worker wearing a face mask clears snow from the roof of a bar, in Pamplona, northern Spain, Saturday, Dec. 5, 2020. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos)
December 10, 2020 - 10:06 am

Europe gets new blast of stimulus to counter virus surge

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The European Central Bank unleashed another half-trillion euro ($600 billion) wave of stimulus as a winter surge in COVID-19 infections shuts down large parts of the economy and wipes out pre-Christmas sales revenue ahead of the region's most important holiday. The 25-...
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December 10, 2020 - 9:59 am

UK signs post-Brexit free trade deal with Singapore

LONDON (AP) — The U.K. has signed a free trade deal with Singapore covering trade worth 17.6 billion pounds ($23.4 billion,) the latest in a series of trade pacts that Britain is seeking to secure around the world post-Brexit. International Trade Secretary Liz Truss, who was in Singapore for the...
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President-elect Joe Biden speaks during an event to announce his choice of retired Army Gen. Lloyd Austin to be secretary of defense, at The Queen theater in Wilmington, Del., Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2020. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
December 10, 2020 - 5:46 am

AP sources: Biden to pick Katherine Tai as top trade envoy

WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Joe Biden is set to nominate Katherine Tai to be the top U.S. trade envoy, according to two people familiar with his plans. Tai, who is chief trade counsel for the House Ways and Means Committee, will be tapped as the U.S. Trade Representative, according to the two...
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A man wearing a face mask compares two bottles of Australian wine at a supermarket in Hangzhou in east China's Zhejiang province on Nov. 27, 2020. China's government on Thursday, Dec. 10, 2020 slapped more taxes on wine from Australia, stepping up pressure in a bitter diplomatic conflict over the coronavirus, territorial disputes and other irritants. (Chinatopix via AP)
December 09, 2020 - 10:58 pm

China slaps more taxes on Australian wine amid tension

BEIJING (AP) — China’s government on Thursday slapped more taxes on wine from Australia, stepping up pressure in a bitter diplomatic conflict over the coronavirus, territorial disputes and other irritants. China, Australia's biggest export market, already has blocked imports of its wine, barley,...
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European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, right, welcomes British Prime Minister Boris Johnson prior to a meeting at EU headquarters in Brussels, Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2020. Leaders of Britain and the EU meet Wednesday for a dinner that could pave the way to a post-Brexit trade deal, or tip the two sides toward a chaotic economic rupture at the end of the month. (Olivier Hoslet, Pool via AP)
December 09, 2020 - 6:23 pm

UK-EU to resume Brexit trade talks but say large gaps remain

BRUSSELS (AP) — In the end, not even dinner of scallops and steamed turbot could bring the leaders of the European Union and Britain any closer together than months of talks by negotiators seeking to cobble together a trade deal in the wake of their Brexit divorce. European Commission President...
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President-elect Joe Biden speaks during an event to announce his choice of retired Army Gen. Lloyd Austin to be secretary of defense, at The Queen theater in Wilmington, Del., Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2020. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
December 09, 2020 - 6:08 pm

AP sources: Biden to pick Katherine Tai as top trade envoy

WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Joe Biden is set to nominate Katherine Tai to be the top U.S. trade envoy, according to two people familiar with his plans. Tai, who is chief trade counsel for the House Ways and Means Committee, will be tapped as the U.S. Trade Representative, according to the two...
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