US businesses across the country are concerned about the economic impact of President-elect Donald Trump’s proposals to raise tariffs and sharply curtail immigration, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday.”More contacts were optimistic about the outlook for 2025 than were pessimistic about it,” the US central bank said in its “Beige Book” survey of economic conditions. However, “contacts in several Districts expressed concerns that changes in immigration and tariff policy could negatively affect the economy,” it said.On the campaign trail, Trump threatened to impose sweeping tariffs of between 10 and 20 percent on all goods entering the United States, and to carry out mass deportations of millions of undocumented immigrants.Whether or not Trump follows through on his plans once he takes office as president on Monday remains to be seen.But manufacturers in a number of districts told the Fed they are already stockpiling inventories “in anticipation of higher tariffs.”In the Philadelphia district, inflation expectations rose on concerns about “deficits, tariffs, and immigration,” the Fed said. And in the Dallas district, contacts “noted concern about disruption from potential retaliatory tariffs on agriculture exports,” and raised concerns that they would have to pass on higher cost to consumers.Concerns in the Atlanta district meanwhile were broad-based, and included “labor shortages, concerns over tariffs, and potential supply chain disruptions at east coast ports that would result from a labor strike,” the Fed said.Despite the worries, businesses across the Fed’s 12 districts reported an overall increase in economic activity in late November and December, the Fed said.Prices increased modestly overall, the Fed continued, adding that contacts had said they expected prices would “continue to rise in 2025, with some noting the potential for higher tariffs to contribute to price increases.”

As Donald Trump prepares to assume power for a second term Monday, avowed admirer Javier Milei of Argentina has his sights set on becoming the US president’s man in Latin America.But while the duo have much in common, analysts do not clearly see what Milei stands to gain politically from a close friendship with his ideological idol.Self-declared “anarcho-capitalist” Milei was the first foreign leader to visit Trump at his Mar-a-Lago Florida estate after the Republican’s November US election victory.The pair share right-wing ideologies, and some personality traits. They are both showmen known to be abrasive towards their detractors, dismissive of “wokeism,” and supportive of cost-cutting and deregulation. Both also have the backing of Tesla, X and SpaceX boss Elon Musk, who has taken note of Milei’s chainsaw-wielding approach to budget-slashing ahead of taking on his own new role as the head of Trump’s “Department of Government Efficiency”.”It is clear that there will be a very strong political affinity: Argentina will be closely aligned with the priorities of the United States, both at a global and regional level,” Ariel Gonzalez Levaggi of the Argentine Council for International Relations told AFP. “Milei has consolidated himself as one of Trump’s most important foreign allies,” added Benjamin Gedan, Latin American head of the Washington-based Wilson Center think tank.The incoming US leader will need an ally in the region as he ramps up pressure on ideological foes Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela, while also sparring with Mexico over immigration and with Panama over control of the Panama Canal.But even if he can be of use to Trump in a region where the US leader has few rightwing allies, what does Milei stand to benefit?- In search of funds -The Argentine leader is seeking funds from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), to which his country is already repaying a record $44 billion loan issued with Trump’s support during his first term in office.However, Trump has appointed a Milei critic — former Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) head Mauricio Claver-Carone — as his special envoy to Latin America.Claver-Carone has already said that any talk of a new loan for Argentina was nothing but “an illusion,” a “waste of time.””Perhaps some additional disbursements could be released” from the existing loan, said Gonzalez Levaggi. “But a new deal, a new loan? Unlikely,” even as Argentina’s sky-high inflation has nosedived during Milei’s first year in office.Another difference between the two leaders is on trade.Trump seeks to protect US domestic industry through import tariffs, while Milei is an ardent free market advocate.”In this context, Milei could be left disappointed if Trump imposes new tariffs on the whole world, including on Argentine exports,” said Claudio Loser, a former IMF Western Hemisphere chief. Argentina is a major exporter of beef, wine, dairy and grains.- China’s regional role -Jorge Arguello, who was Argentina’s ambassador to Washington under US presidents Barack Obama, Trump and Joe Biden, says he “never saw a particular interest in Argentina, nor Latin America” in that office.It is only when there is a presence “of external actors like China or Russia that alarms go off” in Washington, he added.China is Argentina’s second-biggest trading partner after Brazil, and Beijing last year extended a currency swap worth billions of dollars that brought much-needed relief for Argentina’s depleted foreign reserves.Despite once vowing he would never make deals with communists, the usually incendiary Milei showed his pragmatic side when he cordially met with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping at the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro last November.The reality is that China has a capacity for investment in Latin American infrastructure “that the US cannot offer,” said Alejandro Frenkel, an international relations expert at San Martin University in Buenos Aires.And Milei’s hopes for a free trade agreement with the United States may have to wait for the departure of Trump and his “America First” agenda, the analysts say.

US President Joe Biden announced Wednesday a “full and complete” ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the first part of their peace accord, and said he had acted as “one team” with incoming leader Donald Trump.Speaking at the White House just days before he leaves office, a visibly relieved Biden said the negotiations to halt the Gaza conflict had been some of the “toughest” of his career.”I’m deeply satisfied this day has come, finally come,” Biden said in a televised statement.A number of Americans would be among the hostages who would be released by Palestinian militants in Gaza, he added.The first phase of the deal would last six weeks and include a “full and complete ceasefire, withdrawal of Israeli forces from all the populated areas of Gaza and the release of a number of hostages held by Hamas,” Biden said.The as yet unfinalized second phase would bring a “permanent end to the war,” the 82-year-old Democrat said, adding he was “confident” the deal would hold.Biden’s administration has been criticized for its channeling of military aid to Israel during its offensive in Gaza, which was sparked by Hamas’s deadly October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.But he said pressure on Hamas and its Iranian backers had helped push through a truce, adding that the deal now agreed was the “exact” same as one he had proposed in May.Biden, flanked by Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, meanwhile said his administration had been working as “one team” with Trump’s ahead of the Republican starting his second term as president on January 20.”In these past few days, we’ve been speaking as one team,” said Biden, noting that most of the implementation of the deal would be under a Trump White House.”I told my team to coordinate close with the incoming team to make sure we’re all speaking with the same voice — because that’s what American presidents do.”Trump earlier claimed credit for the “epic” deal, in posts on social media. His Mideast envoy was involved in the talks and consulted with the White House.Asked by a reporter whether he or Trump was mainly responsible for the deal, Biden replied: “Is that a joke?”