Free Republic

The US has imposed duties on Chinese solar panel manufacturers after it said that they received unfair subsidies. Chinese exporters into the US - including Suntech - will now face customs tariffs of between 2.9% and 4.73%, the Commerce Department said. In 2011, imports of solar cells from China into the US were valued at $3.1bn (£1.96bn), it added. The price of solar panels dropped more than 30% last year, mainly linked to cheaper panels made in China. "Countervailable subsidies are financial assistance from foreign governments that benefit the production of goods from foreign companies," the Commerce Department said. China's...

WASHINGTON, Jan 27 (Reuters) - The United States has set preliminary anti-dumping duties ranging from 90 to nearly 175 percent on about $30 million worth of electric blankets from China, the U.S. Commerce Department said on Wednesday. The ruling is a victory for Jarden Consumer Solutions, a Florida-based subsidiary of consumer products company Jarden Corp (JAH.N). It filed a petition earlier this year asking for protection against its Chinese competitors. The relatively small case is of one several ongoing U.S. investigations into charges that Chinese companies are selling their goods in the United States at unfairly low prices and benefit...

Surat Al-Israa' was revealed to Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) in Makkah after his Night Journey from Makkah to Jerusalem. In verses 23–39 of this surah, Allah mentions some basic commitments of Muslims. Without fulfilling these commitments, no individual or group can succeed. Muslims have to live by these values and should invite humanity to these principles. These principles are not limited to one race, tribe, or group; they are universal in their scope and application. These are also called the hikmah or the teachings of wisdom. It is wise for everyone to follow them. If followed...

BAGHDAD, July 12, 2006 – The Iraqi government will announce tomorrow that for the first time, Iraqi police forces will take over security control of a province, the U.S. general in charge of coalition troops here said today. Army Gen. George W. Casey Jr., commander of Multinational Force Iraq, greets Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld upon Rumsfeld's arrival in Balad, Iraq, July 12. Photo by Airman 1st Class Andrew Oquendo, USAF  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The transfer of responsibility will take place in Muthanna province, which borders Saudi Arabia, U.S. Army Gen. George W. Casey Jr., commander of...

WASHINGTON, July 7, 2006 – Coalition troops operating in Iraq's Muthanna province will soon transfer security responsibilities to Iraqi police, a Multinational Force Iraq spokesman said today in Baghdad. When coalition forces leave Muthanna sometime next week, the province will become the first of Iraq's 18 provinces to be responsible for its own security, Air Force Brig. Gen. Kurt A. Cichowski told Pentagon reporters during a video teleconference. Yet, the transfer of security doesn't have any bearing on the numbers of U.S. and coalition troops, Cichowski said. About 127,000 U.S. troops are in Iraq. "It's important to understand that...

MARINE CORPS RECRUIT DEPOT SAN DIEGO (March 3, 2006) -- The sounds of their cadence roll through the halls and across the grounds of the depot. Up to 65 Marines go to Drill Instructor School each cycle. During this training period, students learn methods of training recruits to become United States Marines. The overall goal of this institution is to give these students as much knowledge from their instructors’ own experiences, as best they can, said Gunnery Sgt. Christopher L. Hambaugh, Drill Instructor School instructor. Every instructor served time in the trenches before he became an instructor at the school....

ABOARD HMS BULWARK -- HMS Bulwark (L15), the Royal Navy's most modern and versatile warship, assumed duties Feb. 28 from USS Cape St. George (CG 71) as the flagship for the Royal Navy staff which leads Combined Task Force 58 (CTF 58), a multinational coalition that conducts maritime security operations (MSO) in the North Arabian Gulf (NAG). Maritime security operations help set the conditions for security and stability in the maritime environment as well as complement the counter-terrorism and security efforts of regional nations. MSO deny the illegal use of the maritime environment as a venue for attack or to...

The Commerce Department said Tuesday it will comply with a NAFTA panel's order to drastically cut U.S. duties on imports of Canadian softwood lumber. U.S. officials said they disagree with the rationale behind the ruling, but respect its authority. The decision, announced late Tuesday, means the United States will reduce the punitive duties, which average about 16 percent, to less than 1 percent. Separate antidumping tariffs averaging about 4 percent will not be affected. Despite its action, the Commerce Department said it retains its right to appeal the NAFTA ruling, which it considers unfair. "We start off with a premise...

WASHINGTON (AP) - A Texas grand jury on Wednesday charged Rep. Tom DeLay and two political associates with conspiracy in a campaign finance scheme, an indictment that likely will force him to step down as House majority leader. DeLay attorney Steve Brittain said DeLay was accused of a criminal conspiracy along with two associates, John Colyandro, former executive director of a Texas political action committee formed by DeLay, and Jim Ellis, who heads DeLay's national political committee. GOP congressional officials said the plan was for DeLay to temporarily relinquish his leadership post and Speaker Dennis Hastert will recommend that Rep....

WASHINGTON, Sept. 1, 2005 – The National Guard troops reporting for duty in the Gulf region to help maintain security are trained professionals, many who serve as civilian law enforcement officers when not on military duty, the chief of the National Guard Bureau told reporters today. Army Lt. Gen. H Steven Blum said the Guard forces aren’t simply troops with no police skills pulled into the mission; they’re bringing solid expertise to the mission and an understanding that they’re supporting existing law enforcement authorities, not replacing them. “They are military police, trained badge-carrying law enforcement officers that discharge their duties...

BAGHDAD, Iraq - A Cabinet minister and 21 lawmakers allied with radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr will boycott their official duties to protest an attack Wednesday on their leader's office in Najaf, a key supporter said. The move could seriously complicate efforts to convene parliament to vote on a new constitution and raises fears of internal conflicts among the Shiites at a time when Sunni Arabs are outraged over the new draft constitution. The statement by Fattah al-Sheik was confirmed by Transport Minister Salam al-Maliki, who said he had "suspended" his membership in the Cabinet to protest the burning of...

MOSCOW (AP) - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday stripped many of the duties of his top economic adviser - an outspoken critic who has accused the Kremlin of trying to muzzle voices of dissent and civil society in Russia. Andrei Illarionov, who last week said the Kremlin efforts to censure the public would eventually spark mass protests, was stripped of his responsibilities as Russia's envoy to the Group of 8 industrial nations, the Kremlin said. Another top adviser, Igor Shuvalov, was given Illarionov's duties, which typically involve heavy preparations for G-8 summit and meetings, earning the envoys the affectionate...

If the San Jose City Council votes today to censure fellow council member Terry Gregory, Mayor Ron Gonzales is proposing to strip Gregory of most of his official duties, saying Gregory would no longer be fit to represent the city at large and no longer trustworthy with taxpayer money. Pending a vote for censure, Gonzales said Thursday that he would direct city officials to not allow any expenditures or reimbursements for travel by Gregory. And he said that next month, he would further penalize Gregory by recommending he not be assigned to any standing council committees, not serve as a...

The purpose of FreeRepublic.com's multiple message boards is to limit the topics for each board to particular topics. Posting the same message on all the boards defeats the purpose of multiple-boards for special topics. It is very annoying to see the same message on every bulletin board. PLEASE! DO THE READERS A FAVOR. STOP CROSS-POSTING YOUR MESSAGES!

Does anyone know what the president's benefits, his seven powers, his duties, or even what the former president's benifits are??I looked on all kind of search engines and I can't seem to find it anywhere. Thanks so much for your help to those who can help.

SACRAMENTO - Top deputies to Secretary of State Kevin Shelley enlisted government aides and used state resources to work on his political campaigns in possible violation of state law, according to interviews and documents obtained by the Mercury News. While Shelley was an assemblyman running to be California's top elections official and after the San Francisco Democrat took office last year, aides drove his campaign manager to pick up donations, used state mail to ferry campaign checks to Sacramento and used a government fax machine to transmit political fundraising material, records and interviews show. One regional director cited her political...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Commerce Secretary Don Evans vowed "tough" enforcement of U.S. trade laws on Thursday, one day before his department is due to make a preliminary decision whether to impose potentially massive import duties on wooden bedroom furniture from China. "We are going to continue to look American workers in the eye, all across this country, and tell them we are going to be tough when it comes to enforcing our trade laws and maintaining a level playing field with the rest of the world. And China is certainly right there at the top of the list," Evans said...

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Published on TaipeiTimes http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2003/11/26/2003077281 TVs the latest target in US-China trade dispute ECONOMICS: First it was bras, now it's televisions. Stoking fears of a trade war between the first and fifth biggest traders, the US is targeting TV imports REUTERS , WASHINGTON ANDHONG KONG Wednesday, Nov 26, 2003,Page 1 The US accused Chinese companies of dumping televisions on the US market and slapped stiff duties on the products in the latest flare-up in trade tension between the two economic giants. The US Commerce Department ruled on Monday that televisions from four Chinese firms were being sold in the US...

<p>Judge Judith Barzilay huddled late last year with a telepathic professor and a cast of mutants to ponder an age-old question: What does it mean to be human?</p> <p>In her chambers at the U.S. Court of International Trade, in New York, the judge examined Prof. X and the rest of his band of X-Men, all of them little plastic figures at the heart of a six-year tariff battle between their owner, Marvel Enterprises Inc., and the U.S. Customs Service.</p>

EU to impose duties on state-subsidized airlines of third states Brussels, March 12, IRNA -- The European Commission Tuesday proposed the imposition of duties on those air carriers from third countries which get subsidies.The duties will be calculated on the basis of the amount of aid granted to those airlines. If the third country carriers are state-controlled, duties can also be imposed to offset any unfair pricing practices. quot;In the European Union, our airlines have to 'play it by the book'whether or not they are undergoing a crisis such as the one bolstered by the events in September 2001,quot; said...