White House Releases Details of BBB Framework Accord, List of Pay-fors
U.S. growth slowed sharply in third quarter, hampered by shortages and pandemic
In Today’s Digital Newspaper
Market Focus:
• GDP: U.S. economy grew at 2% annual rate in third quarter, slower than expected
• U.S. jobless claims fall to new pandemic low
• U.K. dials back gov’t stimulus for the fast-growing British economy
• Retail sales forecast to be highest ever this holiday season
• U.S. trade deficit in goods surged in September
• Bank of Japan tempers growth outlook
• EU members will pay about $30 billion more for natural gas in 2021
• World Gold Council reported gold demand in the third quarter declined 7%
• Ag demand update
• Quiet price action overnight
• Russia trims grain crop estimate
• Chinese pork prices continue to fall
• Cash cattle trade pushes higher
• Pork movement surges
Policy Focus:
• White House releases details of BBB framework agreement
• White House releases details of BBB pay-fors
• Biden meets with House Dems this morning
• Update on BIF and BBB
Afghanistan:
• U.S. intelligence agencies failed to predict rapid Taliban takeover of Afghanistan
• Republican lawmakers say standard screening steps were bypassed
China Update:
• China heading to Glasgow climate talks next week with a bold agenda
• Chinese pork prices continue to fall
• Sales of soybeans, cotton for China in most-recent week, but slight reductions for corn, pork
Trade Policy:
• Tai to be at National Chicken Council meeting
• China pushing for farm subsidy rules overhaul at WTO
Energy & Climate Change:
• Top execs from six major fossil fuel companies and trade associations to testify
• DOE investing over $200 million in EV battery research.
Livestock, Food & Beverage Industry Update:
• Meatpacking companies cite Covid response, vaccination
• Lawsuit charges poultry price-fixing, asks restitution
Coronavirus Update:
• White House: Vaccine rule won’t strain supply chains; logistics companies disagree
• Promising Covid-19 pill licensed to nonprofit to increase global supply
Politics & Elections:
• Do Dems have the will to win in 2022?
Congress:
• House, Senate appropriators to meet next week on FY 2022 spending
• Senate bill on Fed traders
MARKET FOCUS
Equities today: Global stock markets were mostly weaker in overnight trading. The U.S. stock indexes are pointed to slightly higher openings — stock futures stood firm after better-than-expected weekly jobless claims and despite disappointing Q3 GDP data (see below for details). Among companies reporting today: Apple, expected to show record full-year results, and Amazon, likely to post strong third-quarter sales. Asian equity markets finished lower after earnings data prompted a pullback in US shares Wednesday. The Nikkei fell 278.15 points, 0.96%, at 28,820.09. The Hang Seng Index was down 73.01 points, 0.28%, at 25,555.73. European equities are narrowly mixed in early trading, with the Stoxx 600 up 0.1% while regional markets are down 0.3% to up 0.5%.
U.S. equities yesterday: The Dow dropped 266.19 points, 0.74%, at 35,490.69. The Nasdaq finished up 0.12 point, 0.00%, at 15,235.84. The S&P 500 fell 23.11 points, 0.51%, at 4,551.68.
On tap (see detailed list of events and reports below):
• GDP: U.S. Commerce Department releases its estimate of third-quarter gross domestic product. (8:30 a.m. ET) UPDATE: GDP grew at a 2% annual rate in the third quarter of 2021, the Bureau of Economic Analysis announced. The growth was slower than what forecasters expected and was well below the 6.7% pace of growth that the economy experienced in the second quarter of this year. GDP grew at a 6.3% annual rate during the first quarter. The delta variant of Covid-19, which caused hospitalizations and deaths to climb starting in early July and peaking last month, likely crimped economic growth, along with shortages and logistical woes. “The economy doesn’t have a demand problem,” said Ben Herzon, executive director of IHS Markit, a forecasting firm. “It has a supply problem.”
• U.S. jobless claims are estimated to have fallen to 289,000 last week from 290,000 the prior week. (8:30 a.m. ET) UPDATE: Worker filings for unemployment benefits declined last week to their lowest level since the coronavirus pandemic began, as employers competed for employees in a tightening labor market. Initial unemployment benefits, a proxy for layoffs, decreased to 281,000 last week from a revised 291,000 a week earlier, the Labor Department said. Weekly claims are holding well below a recent peak of 424,000 in mid-July but remain above 2019’s weekly average of 218,000.
• Japan reports October consumer prices excluding food. (7:30 p.m. ET.)
• France reports third-quarter GDP. (1:30 a.m. ET Friday)
• European Union reports third-quarter GDP for the euro zone. (5 a.m. ET Friday)
Politics calendar:
• President Biden will speak to the House Democratic Caucus in the Capitol, 9 a.m. ET.
• Speaker Nancy Pelosi will hold her weekly news conference, 10:45 a.m. ET.
• Biden will speak in the East Room of the Capitol, 11:30 a.m. ET.
• House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy weekly news conference, 11:30 a.m. ET.
• Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will leave the White House for Andrews. They’ll fly to Rome. 12:15 a.m. ET.
• Biden arrives in Rome, 8:10 p.m. ET.
The U.K. dialed back government stimulus for the fast-growing British economy, one of the first big Western economies to step away from the emergency policies put in place to tackle the coronavirus pandemic as concerns over inflation intensify. Treasury chief Rishi Sunak set new tax and spending policies that together with faster growth are forecast to shrink the U.K.’s budget deficit significantly over the next few years, putting the U.K. in the vanguard of countries reducing fiscal support for their economies as the strong but fitful recovery from the pandemic continues.
Retail sales forecast to be highest ever this holiday season. It may be the best holiday season ever for retailers, with the National Retail Federation (NRF) predicting sales will rise as much as 10.5%, to $859 billion, between Nov. 1 and Dec. 31, beating last year’s record as shoppers return to malls and stores. Consumers have plenty of purchasing power, said NRF chief economist Jack Kleinhenz. With higher incomes and less household debt, people expect to spend an average of $648 on gifts plus another $349 on decorations, food, and other items. NRF said 49% of consumers this year began to browse or buy before November, snapping up clothing, electronics, and toys before they sell out. Gift cards are again the most popular gift, desired by 56% of survey respondents.
Comments: Inflation will be a big factor in forecast for record retail sales as nearly everything costs more.
U.S. trade deficit in goods surged in September. The U.S. registered a record trade deficit in goods of $96.3 billion in September, a 9.2% increase from August when the red ink on goods totaled $88.2 billion. The record trade deficit came as exports fell to $142.2 billion, down $7 billion from August, while imports rose to $238.4 billion, up $1.1 billion from August. The increase in imports signals consumer demand for imported goods is rising and that backs up solid consumer activity that has been showing in recent data. This also indicates the broader trade data due Nov. 4 will probably show a larger deficit. That data will also put the wraps on fiscal year (FY) 2021 trade figures and U.S. agriculture still will end the year with a positive trade balance, a shift from FYs 2019 and 2020 when the sector registered deficits.
Bank of Japan tempers growth outlook. Japan’s economy is likely to grow 3.4% in the fiscal year (FY) that ends March 2022, down from a prior outlook in July for an expansion of 3.8%, according to updated forecasts issued by the Bank of Japan. But it raised its outlook for FY ending March 2023 to 2.9% compared with a July outlook of 2.7% growth. As for inflation, the updated outlook indicated the BOJ does not expect significant inflation. They look for core consumer prices (minus food) to be flat in the year ending in March 2022, with a rise of 0.9% in the following year.
Market perspectives:
• Outside markets: The U.S. dollar index is firmer ahead of U.S. economic data, with several foreign rival currencies weaker against the greenback. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note is weaker, trading under 1.55%, while there is a mixed tone in global government bond yields. Gold and silver are mixed, with gold firmer around $1,803 per troy ounce and silver weaker around $24.15 per troy ounce.
• Crude oil prices are under pressure after the build in US inventories in government data Wednesday. U.S. crude is around $81.25 per barrel and Brent around $82.50 per barrel. Contracts were under pressure in Asian trading, with U.S. crude down $1.86 at $80.80 per barrel and Brent $2.12 lower at $81.75 per barrel.
• EU members will pay about $30 billion more for natural gas in 2021 than they would have under the old oil-indexed prices, according to the International Energy Agency. The global energy adviser still thinks the switch was worth it, estimating that the bloc saved $70 billion in lower gas import costs over the past decade.
• The World Gold Council reported gold demand in the third quarter declined 7% compared to Q3 2020. Outflows from gold-backed ETFs were the primary factor. Increasing jewelry demand did mitigate the slide in demand, said the WGC. Gold jewelry demand grew 33%, year-on-year. Meantime, central banks purchased 69 metric tons for reserves vs 10 MT in same period in 2020.
• Ag demand: Saudi Arabia tendered to buy 655,000 MT of optional origin hard wheat. Pakistan cancelled a tender to buy 90,000 MT of optional origin wheat and issued another tender for the same amount.
• NWS weather: Anomalous low-pressure system to spawn severe weather across Southeast today... ...Flash Flooding threat moves into the Mid-Atlantic states on Friday... ...Wet pattern continues across the Pacific Northwest.
Items in Pro Farmer's First Thing Today include:
• Quiet price action overnight
• Russia trims grain crop estimate
• Chinese pork prices continue to fall
• Cash cattle trade pushes higher
• Pork movement surges
POLICY FOCUS
— President Biden has delayed his trip to Rome to go again to Capitol Hill to get a vote on the bipartisan infrastructure measure (BIF). He will be at the Capitol at 9 a.m. ET to urge progressive House Democrats to, in essence, trust him in believing negotiations on the Build Back Better (BBB/budget reconciliation) is close and that House Dems should vote for the around $1 trillion BIF. This is Biden’s second trip to meet with House Democrats on the BIF. The last time ended in a stalemate.
The situation is high stakes for Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) because progressives refuse to back the BIF until the complex and still unsettled BBB is finalized, a process that could take days or even weeks. Pelosi has called for the House Rules Committee to meet today and unveil some text of the still unfinished reconciliation package.
The self-imposed deadline for voting for the BIF package is Oct. 31; that is when funding for some transportation programs also expires.
The White House this morning released a two-page summary of the details of the $1.75 trillion BBB package. Link
Some of Biden’s most ambitious proposals were stripped out, including plans to offer two years of tuition-free community college to all Americans, incentivize utilities to switch to clean power sources, and undo the Trump tax cuts. The latest casualty of the internal Democratic negotiations over the is a provision that would have offered 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave for all American workers.
The single largest component of the framework Biden will unveil today is expected to be a suite of policies aimed at addressing climate change, which are likely to cost around $500 billion, including grants, loans, and tax credits to push industrial sectors towards decarbonization; manufacturing credits to boost domestic supply chains for solar and wind energy; and grants and loans to encourage the agriculture sector to shift to clean energy providers. Other key provisions of Biden’s package — although they are all likely to be slimmed down — are expected to be an extension of the expanded Child Tax Credit, a guarantee of two years of pre-K for all American children, an infusion of funding to support home health care, and increased funding for public housing.
Bottom line: An estimated six or seven Republicans are expected to vote for the BIF, so Pelosi’s margin around 10 votes. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), who chairs the progressive caucus, didn’t rule out announcing progressives’ support for a framework before the text could be drafted. “If the president were to come to us and say he’s got an agreement that all 50 senators, that everybody in the House agrees with and that could we get on board, then obviously we would look closely at it and we would see if we were there,” she said. “And if we were, we’d be happy to do some big news conference in the Rose Garden with the president tomorrow morning before he goes off to [the United Nations climate summit in Scotland] and say we have agreement in principle.”
Someone to watch: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), the original architect of many of the initial BBB proposals. He went to the White House to appeal to President Biden personally. Reports note that Sanders pilloried Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), who he said had “sabotaged” and “destroyed” the most progressive revenue policies in the bill. Sanders also vowed that his more robust prescription drug pricing plan and his expansion of Medicare benefits to include vision, hearing and dental coverage would be in the bill.
The politics of reaching the end zone: A party-wide commitment on the framework would allow Biden to arrive at the climate summit this weekend in Scotland with a credible promise that the U.S. is devoting over $500 billion to meet its emissions targets. A BIF win could help Terry McAuliffe, who is in a razor-thin race with GOP Glenn Youngkin ahead of Tuesday’s gubernatorial election in Virginia.
— The funding mechanism for the BBB package is no longer a wealth income tax but instead a surtax on wealthy Americans. Under the, wealthy Americans will pay an additional 5% tax on income over $10 million, and an additional 3% on top of that on aggregate gross income over $25 million. The billionaire income tax faced opposition from several Democrats, including Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.). Democrats also appear to be in consensus mode regarding imposing a 15% corporate minimum tax rate. If so, the two programs could go a long way toward funding the around $1.75 trillion package. \
The White House today released details of paying for the BBB plan:
AFGHANISTAN
— U.S. intelligence agencies failed to predict the rapid Taliban takeover of Afghanistan and instead offered scattershot assessments of the staying power of the Afghan military and government, a review by the WSJ of wide-ranging summaries of classified material shows (link). The nearly two dozen intelligence assessments from four agencies charted Taliban advances from spring 2020 through this July and forecast continued gains. They saw the Kabul government as unlikely to survive without U.S. support but differed over how long it and the military could hold on, the summaries show. None foresaw the Taliban’s lightning sweep into the capital while U.S. forces remained on the ground.
— Republican lawmakers say standard screening steps were bypassed during the chaotic evacuation that brought Afghans to the U.S. after Kabul fell
CHINA UPDATE
— China, the world’s largest greenhouse-gas polluter, is heading to Glasgow climate talks next week with a bold agenda: For the first time, it promises to take major steps to wean itself off fossil fuels, committing to net-zero emissions before 2060. But in the coming decade, the country says, its carbon emissions will continue to rise, peaking sometime before 2030. China’s climate pledges are bumping up against realities on the ground, the WSJ reports (link). It says China is so large and still growing so quickly that it might not be technically possible, let alone politically palatable, for the country’s leaders to move faster.
— Chinese pork prices continue to fall. China’s average pork price in 16 provincial regions fell 15% in September and was down 61.8% versus year-ago, according to ag ministry data. Chinese domestic pork and hog prices continue to fall amid increased supplies and a decline in demand. In August, Beijing increased surveillance of the hog/pork market to stabilize prices and domestic production. While pork prices are falling, Chinese consumers are spending a lot more on vegetables after fall flooding wiped out crops. The price of some vegetables is now higher than pork.
— Sales of soybeans, cotton noted for China in most-recent week, but slight reductions for corn, pork. U.S. export sales activity to China for the week ended Oct. 21 saw continued sales activity for U.S. soybeans and upland cotton but reductions for corn and pork, according to USDA. Activity for 2021-22 included net sales of 1,080,986 tonnes of soybeans and 186,669 running bales of upland cotton, but net reductions of 1,152 tonnes of corn; there was no activity reported for wheat or sorghum. USDA also said 20,000 running bales of upland cotton were sold to China for 2022-23. On the meat side, net sales of 4,536 tonnes of beef, but net reductions of 1,404 tonnes of pork for 2021.
TRADE POLICY
— Tai to be at National Chicken Council meeting. U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai will be at the National Chicken Council Annual Conference in Washington. There are no indications on what she may discuss, but Tai’s recent appearances have focused on touting the Biden administration’s worker-centered trade policy and taking on actions by countries that are non-market economies, a reference typically viewed as addressing actions by China without specifying them as the target.
— China pushing for farm subsidy rules overhaul at WTO. China is taking aim at farm subsidy policies of other countries at the WTO as the country continues to push back against criticism levied against China by several countries last week during the eighth Trade Policy Review (TPR) of China conducted last week. "There are very unfair rules in the agriculture sector, and enormous subsidies some developed country members are entitled to, that severely distort international agricultural trade," said Wang Shouwen, vice minister of China's Ministry of Commerce, during a press briefing, according to Reuters.
Background. Subsidies paid by developing countries to their farmers are capped at 10% of the value of production and have a “very limited impact” on trade, Wang said, while contending subsidies paid by developed countries are impacting trade. The U.S. won a WTO case in 2019 on China’s domestic agriculture supports for wheat, rice and corn.
As for issues raised during last week’s TPR, Wang said China took seriously many of the issues raised during that review but continued to brushback criticism over matters China maintains are outside of the WTO commitments it made when it joined in 2000. "We understand hopes from other countries that China should further relax its entry barriers for investment but using this to criticize China and claiming China has not fulfilled its duties under WTO is not reasonable, fair or acceptable," Wang stated.
It is not clear which specific subsidy efforts by developed countries China is targeting, but some reports suggested it was in part the Common Agricultural Policy deployed by the European Union (EU).
ENERGY & CLIMATE CHANGE
— Top executives from six major fossil fuel companies and trade associations will testify before the House Oversight Committee about whether they misled the public about climate change. The hearing marks the beginning of a wide-reaching probe into climate disinformation.
— DOE investing over $200 million in EV battery research. The Department of Energy (DOE) announced Wednesday (Oct. 27) it is investing $209 million across 26 national laboratory projects focused on electric vehicle (EV) battery technology. DOE’s Argonne National Laboratory also announced Li-Bridge, a new public-private partnership to bridge gaps in the domestic lithium battery supply chain. The goal of the EV tech investments is to “significantly” reduce the cost and size of next generation batteries, allow for faster charging, mitigate power grid impacts from a rise in the number of EVs and streamline vehicle-to-vehicle communications to reduce energy use and emissions, DOE said. Meanwhile, Li-Bridge will work across national laboratories “to accelerate the development of a robust and secure domestic supply chain for lithium-based batteries.”
LIVESTOCK, FOOD & BEVERAGE INDUSTRY
— Meatpacking companies cite Covid response, vaccination. Some of the biggest meatpacking corporations say they shelled out millions to combat the Covid-19 crisis while their workers were on the front lines, pushing back against Democrats and labor advocates who say they’re to blame for worker deaths. At least 59,000 meatpacking plant workers suffered infections during Covid-19 outbreaks at corporate plants — and 269 died between March 2020 and February 2021, a report by the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis details (link to report).
— Lawsuit charges poultry price-fixing, asks restitution. Nineteen poultry processors, including industry leader Tyson Foods, are accused of conspiring to fix chicken prices in a lawsuit filed by Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson. The suit asks for restitution for Washington consumers that could potentially run into the millions of dollars. Link for details.
CORONAVIRUS UPDATE
— Summary: Global cases of Covid-19 are at 245,138,047 with 4,974,921 deaths, according to data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. The U.S. case count is at 45,704,110 with 741,235 deaths. The Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center said that there have been 416,154,424 doses administered, 190,990,750 have been fully vaccinated, or 58.2% of the U.S. population.
— White House: Vaccine rule won’t strain supply chains. A requirement for federal workers and contractors to be fully vaccinated for Covid-19 — which would affect a number of transportation companies that work with the U.S. gov’t — won’t exacerbate a backlog of shipping and deliveries, according to the Biden administration. “The requirements for federal workers and contractors will not cause disruption,” Jeff Zients, Biden’s coronavirus response coordinator, said at a briefing for reporters.
But logistics companies in industries ranging from trucking to warehouses are warning the mandate will cause backlogs. Groups representing them say substantial numbers of their employees are unvaccinated and may quit or be let go at the height of the holiday season. The supply chain is already suffering as a shortage of workers, backlogged ports, and other challenges slow the movement of goods.
— Promising Covid-19 pill licensed to nonprofit to increase global supply. Merck is licensing molnupiravir, an antiviral it developed with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, to a group that will pick drugmakers to make the pill for low- and middle-income countries. The Medicines Patent Pool, which aims to expand poor countries’ access to drugs, will work with multiple drugmakers to produce molnupiravir for 105 nations, including Pakistan, Cambodia and all of Africa, the company and nonprofit said.
POLITICS & ELECTIONS
— Do Dems have the will to win in 2022? House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.), speaking to the Jewish Federation of Charleston on Wednesday night: “I’m not too sure that Democrats have yet developed the will to win in 2022.” Clyburn characterized the current ideological divides in his party as “the major threat to its tissue-thin majorities in the House and Senate,” wrote Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod, who covered the event. “These divides have been on stark display during the ongoing negotiations over the bipartisan infrastructure bill and ‘Build Back Better’ social spending bill, with intra-party trust between the center and the left severely tested. Progressives have got to feel like they can take a chance on moderates. Get outside of their comfort zone. Moderates have got to feel the same way about progressives,” Clyburn explained. “And between those two, you’ve got the New [Democrats], you’ve got the Congressional Black Caucus, you’ve got the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, you’ve got the Asian and Pacific Islanders, all of us operating within our comfort zone.”
CONGRESS
— House, Senate appropriators to meet next week on FY 2022 spending. House Appropriations Chair Rosa DeLauro (D-Ct.) Wednesday invited the panel’s top Republican Rep. Kay Granger (R-Texas) and Senate Appropriations Chair Pat Leahy (D-Vt.) and Ranking Member Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) to meet next week on spending plans for fiscal year (FY) 2022 that started Oct. 1. The four would meet to “begin conference negotiations for a fiscal year 2022 omnibus,” said DeLauro spokesman Evan Hollander. He noted that DeLauro was hoping for a “productive conversation as all sides work to meet the December 3 funding deadline.”
Both Leahy and Shelby indicated in separate remarks Wednesday that they would be meeting soon with their House counterparts. Meanwhile, acting Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young sent a letter to all four appropriations leaders, urging them to get an agreement on all the spending plans ahead of Dec. 3 — the date the gov’t is funded through via the current continuing resolution.
Reports also indicated Young held calls with all four of the spending panel leaders this week to indicate the Bident administration “stands ready to partner with Congress” on a final FY 2022 spending plan.
— Senate bill on Fed traders. Fed officials would be prevented from trading individual stocks and would face penalties for ethical breaches under an expected Senate bill. The bill is co-sponsored by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Democratic Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Jeff Merkley of Oregon and Raphael Warnock of Georgia. The legislation would prevent Fed officials from trading individual stocks, but allow investments in diversified mutual funds, investment trusts and U.S. Treasury securities. If enacted, the law would allow a window to sell prohibited securities, or officials could hold them while in office or place them in a blind trust. If officials didn’t comply with the law, they would face fines of at least 10% of the value of the investment that was either bought or sold. The bill would make the Fed responsible for administering its provisions.
EVENTS AND REPORTS
Thursday, Oct. 28
· Market-based climate solutions for agriculture. The R Street Institute virtual discussion on "Market-Based Solutions for the U.S. Agriculture Sector," focusing on trade and carbon emissions.
· Food price inflation. U.S. Chamber of Commerce virtual discussion on "Inflation in the Food and Related Industries."
· Renewable energy and climate. National Press Club Newsmaker Luncheon address with Jerome Pecresse, CEO of GE Renewable Energy, on "the urgency to address the energy transition by focusing on modernizing the electric grid to incorporate more wind, solar and hydropower and meet United Nations climate goals."
· Big oil disinformation. House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing on "Fueling the Climate Crisis: Exposing Big Oil's Disinformation Campaign to Prevent Climate Action."
· Japan, South Korea elections. Center for Strategic and International Studies virtual discussion on "Elections in Northeast Asia," focusing on Japan and South Korea.
· CFPB review. Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee hearing on "New Era for Consumer Protection: The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's Semi-Annual Report to Congress,” with Rohit Chopra, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
· International climate issues. House Select Climate Crisis Committee hearing on "International Climate Challenges and Opportunities."
· Climate migration. Foreign Policy webinar on "Addressing the Root Causes of Climate Migration."
· China subsidies and technology. Information Technology and Innovation Foundation virtual discussion on "How China's Subsidies Threaten Advanced-Technology Industries."
· Climate standards. Center for American Progress virtual discussion on "Climate Disclosure Standards: Who Should Set Them?"
· China policy. Center for Strategic and International Studies virtual discussion on "Xi Jinping's New Policy Framework."
· U.S./Taiwan relations. George Washington University's East Asia National Resource Center virtual discussion on "New Paths for US-Taiwan Ties."
· Covid report. Health and Human Services Department teleconference of the Covid-19 Health Equity Task Force to present and vote on the Task Force Final Report with recommended Implementation Plan and Accountability Plan for mitigating inequities caused or exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic and for preventing such inequities in the future.
· EVs. Final day of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NAS) virtual workshop on "Navigating an Electric Vehicle Future," focusing on meeting consumer needs.
· Economic reports. Jobless Claims GDP | Pending Home Sales Index | KC Fed Manufacturing
· Energy reports. Singapore onshore oil-product stockpile weekly data | Russia weekly refinery outage data | EIA Natural Gas Report | North Sea loading programs (December)
· USDA reports. FAS. Export Sales NASS. Egg Products
