All posts tagged: manufacturing

Khanna, China committee press Blanche for Chinese manufacturing report

Khanna, China committee press Blanche for Chinese manufacturing report

Published by Sam Flores

Rep. Ro Khanna, a Democrat from California, during the National Action Network 35th Anniversary Convention in New York, April 8, 2026. Victor J. Blue | Bloomberg | Getty Images House China select committee ranking member Ro Khanna led a bipartisan group of lawmakers pressing acting Attorney General Todd Blanche for an overdue report on illegal labor practices by Chinese companies in the U.S. auto industry. In a new letter sent to Blanche on Wednesday morning and shared exclusively with CNBC, the lawmakers demanded an update on the report, which Congress commissioned earlier this year. It comes after CNBC joined Khanna, D-Calif., on a visit to a leading auto glass manufacturer, Vitro, which accuses a Chinese competitor, Fuyao, of undercutting prices and driving out competition. Khanna was joined on the letter by Reps. Shontel Brown, D-Ohio, Scott Perry, R-Pa., and Mike Kelly, R-Pa. “The stability and security of the U.S. auto supplier industrial base is critically important,” the lawmakers wrote in the letter. “As thousands of American workers in the auto manufacturing industry face job loss, …

BYD says its cast aluminum frame is lighter and tougher than steel

BYD says its cast aluminum frame is lighter and tougher than steel

Published by skeptic

If you’re from Pittsburgh, you may want to sit down for this one: global EV sales leader BYD claims the aluminum frame that underpins its new Yangwang U8L SUV passes a brutal, 12 ton lift test – despite weighing over 100 lbs. less than a comparable steel frame. When it comes to electric cars, every unnecessary pound is means less range, less performance, and less time spent actually driving, with more time spent charging. That’s why engineers from Tesla, Porsche, Volvo, and literally every other EV brand have invested years of research looking for ways to replace traditional steel structures with lighter materials without giving an inch on safety. Now, it seems like BYD has cracked it thanks to a new, low-pressure casting process developed by China’s rapidly expanding aerospace industry. BYD engineers assigned to the U8L project were tasked with developing a full-size vehicle frame that would float offer the strength and corrosion resistance of conventional steel without the associated weight penalty, eventually settling on aerospace-grade 6-series and 7-series aluminum after testing a number …

Europe’s race to secure its energy supplies — live updates – POLITICO

Europe’s race to secure its energy supplies — live updates – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

The fallout from the U.S.-Israel war in Iran is already rippling through global markets. But the worst may still lie ahead for Europe. As oil and gas supplies tighten and prices spike, the shock is seeping into every corner of the economy, from manufacturing to borrowing costs to demand shifts. Against this gloomy backdrop, how can policymakers contain the damage to avoid a deeper economic impact? And beyond the short term, what will this energy shock mean for Europe’s households and its industrial competitiveness? The crisis is also accelerating another shift: Europe’s clean transition. It’s no longer seen predominately as a climate imperative, but a question of economic security. Which policy moves will help safeguard the bloc’s sovereignty while reducing its emissions? Follow all the discussions and news from POLITICO’s Energy & Climate Forum as we unpack these hot-button issues with the policymakers, industry leaders and policy experts shaping Europe’s response. See the full program here and follow along here from 9 a.m. Source link

Manufacturing Consent For Trump’s Invasion Of Cuba

Manufacturing Consent For Trump’s Invasion Of Cuba

Published by Jenni Sidey

Authored by Natasha Bannan via Common Dreams, Yves here. I wish I had the time to research and unpack more clearly is the set of legal theories the US is abusing to prosecute Nicholas Maduro and his wife and now to justify the arrest of Raul Castro and the conquest of Cuba. The US seriously takes the position that we can impose strained invocations of US rules against terrorism and engage in extrajudicial seizures, as in kidnapping. The article below describes how we are now putting a lot of weight on the thin reed of enforcing Batista-era property rights. These days, most of Havana’s streets are fairly empty of cars, but full of people walking or riding bicycles, electric bikes, electric “tricycles,” or scooters. Trash has piled up on most corners where regular pick-up has become impossible given that the garbage trucks have no gasoline. The average conversation starts off with comparing who’s gone the longest without electricity. The sympathy flows, as you exchange stories of what else you are going without: water, gas, food, …

Beijing threatens retaliation over EU moves to curb imports from China – POLITICO

Beijing threatens retaliation over EU moves to curb imports from China – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

The statement came in reaction to a meeting of top EU officials on Friday to brainstorm on how to counter Chinese overcapacity. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Friday convened an orientation debate with her 26 commissioners to explore a range of policy tools aimed at addressing the EU’s growing trade imbalance with China, as a surge in Chinese goods ranging from vehicles to solar panels and clothes is undercutting Europe’s industries, leading to factory closures and job losses.   “The current state of the trade and investment relationship is not sustainable,” reads an European Commission statement following orientation debate. “As economic and security interests become ever more intertwined, both dimensions will require a more robust and coherent response.” The EU’s goods trade deficit with China widened to €360 billion last year from €312 billion in 2024. It expanded even more sharply in the first quarter of 2026, trade figures show. While France and other member states have pushed for stronger measures to shield European industry, Germany has long warned against steps that could …

Contributor: Why Trump is manufacturing a new crisis in Cuba

Contributor: Why Trump is manufacturing a new crisis in Cuba

Published by Sam Flores

With the United States’ attention fixed on Iran, Venezuela and other crises, the Trump administration’s increasing pressure campaign against Cuba has largely unfolded in the background. That may be why it has drawn less attention than other major foreign policy efforts. But the pieces add up to something larger than routine sanctions policy. In January, President Trump declared Cuba an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to U.S. national security and foreign policy, accusing Havana of hosting adversary intelligence capabilities, aligning with Russia, China, Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah, supporting terrorism, destabilizing the hemisphere through migration and violence, and spreading communism throughout the region. Since then, the administration has tightened sanctions, disrupted shipping, amplified warnings about drones and connections to Iran, expanded the U.S. naval presence in the region and recently indicted former Cuban president Raúl Castro. Trump sent CIA Director John Ratcliffe to Havana to warn Cuban officials against hostilities while urging political change as a path to relief from U.S. sanctions. This all looks less like a response to a sudden crisis than the construction of …

The Billion Chinese Startup Trying to Build Hands for Every Robot

The $6 Billion Chinese Startup Trying to Build Hands for Every Robot

Published by skeptic

If you could buy a humanoid robot for less than a smartphone, would you? Would you buy several robots to handle cooking, cleaning, babysitting, and even your job? This is the pitch being made by Zhou Yong, the 40-year-old founder and chief technology officer of LinkerBot, one of China’s leading manufacturers of dexterous humanoid hands. The startup’s hardware comes complete with five fingers and at least 11 joints and is sold for as little as $600 in China. LinkerBot’s hands can play piano, thread needles, tighten screws, and assemble electronics. In three to five years, Zhou predicts, the price for one will fall to just $200. Eventually, “everyone will own ten robots on average,” Zhou said in an exclusive interview with WIRED. Marketing spectacles like the humanoid robot marathon in Beijing have drawn attention to robots’ legs, but the real frontier in humanoids is hands. “The hands are the majority of the engineering difficulty of the entire robot,” Elon Musk said at an event last fall. Founded in 2023, LinkerBot has quickly emerged as a …

The looming crisis putting Europe’s energy security at risk  – POLITICO

The looming crisis putting Europe’s energy security at risk  – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

With a smaller proportion of oil and gas supplies likely to be compliant, less availability means there’s a real risk this looming crisis will affect energy affordability for households and businesses alike. Remember, these rules have nothing to do with lowering levels of methane, which the legislation does not demand until 2030, but are about adhering to measurement, reporting, certification and verification standards for which neither the European Commission nor member states have done the work to establish in time for implementation.    With a smaller proportion of oil and gas supplies likely to be compliant, less availability means there’s a real risk this looming crisis will affect energy affordability for households and businesses alike.    Consumers will ultimately bear the burden through anticipated higher gas and/or fuel prices; Wood Mackenzie say gasoline and diesel prices could increase by 24 percent and 16 percent respectively. The Commission knows this but appears unwilling to make the necessary changes to reduce the cost burden on its citizens.  High energy costs would further damage the competitiveness of Europe’s energy intensive industries like steel, chemicals and manufacturing — leading the bloc further down …

Why running Britain is so hard, no matter who does it – POLITICO

Why running Britain is so hard, no matter who does it – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

Things can’t only get better  It wasn’t always like this.  The last Labour prime minister to win big before Starmer was Tony Blair. When he came to power in 1997, the U.K. had a bigger economy than China’s, was a leading member of the growing European Union trade bloc, and was approaching peak oil and gas production in the North Sea. Blair led Britain for 10 years.  Nearly three decades on, Starmer inherited a country that has never really recovered from the economic shock of the 2008 financial crisis, is menaced by Russia, and now relies on imports for its energy security.  Keir Starmer celebrates winning the 2024 general election with a speech at Tate Modern in London on July 5, 2024. | Ricky Vigil/Getty Images It has found no lasting remedy for the resentment felt by many communities (outside London, the still-flourishing finance capital) who — over several decades — have seen traditional manufacturing roles move inexorably overseas. as the global economy tilts towards China and other rising powers.  “We had a pretty incredible run from the mid-to late-1980s, through the 1990s, until the [2008] crash,” said Jim O’Neill, a former chief economist at Goldman Sachs and an ex-Treasury …

EU Commission plans new squeeze on Chinese trade – POLITICO

EU Commission plans new squeeze on Chinese trade – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

The push would also accelerate work on a so-called overcapacity instrument to deal with state-subsidized firms producing vast quantities of goods in strategic sectors, making it virtually impossible for other industries to compete. Such a mechanism has been under discussion for some time, but is perceived as risky as it would likely run afoul of World Trade Organization rules, which generally bar members from discriminating against single countries. According to two EU officials working on the proposals, granted anonymity to speak frankly, the plans will first be discussed and refined by commissioners at an “orientation debate” on May 29. EU leaders are then expected to discuss China’s export curbs on critical raw materials — essential for everything from wind turbines to car batteries — at a G7 summit in France that begins June 15, providing political direction for the EU executive. Following that, the Commission will seek input from EU heads of government at a European Council on June 18 in Brussels. A draft agenda for the summit, obtained by POLITICO, includes the issue as …