Conquer Club

From 2013 through 2018 Hunter Biden and his company brought in about $11 million via his roles as an attorney and a board member with a Ukrainian firm accused of bribery and his work with a Chinese businessman now accused of fraud, according to an NBC News analysis of a copy of Biden’s hard drive and iCloud account and documents released by Republicans on two Senate committees.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/nation ... -rcna29462

Federal agents used a confidential U.S. witness working inside the Russian nuclear industry to gather extensive financial records, make secret recordings and intercept emails as early as 2009 that showed Moscow had compromised an American uranium trucking firm with bribes and kickbacks in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, FBI and court documents show.

They also obtained an eyewitness account — backed by documents — indicating Russian nuclear officials had routed millions of dollars to the U.S. designed to benefit former President Bill Clinton’s charitable foundation during the time Secretary of State Hillary Clinton served on a government body that provided a favorable decision to Moscow, sources told The Hill.

https://thehill.com/policy/national-sec ... istration/

The Washington Examiner got its hands on emails showing that the Clinton Foundation sought ties with Russian billionaire Viktor Vekselberg at a time when he was in charge of an important element of then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's "Russian reset."

Hillary helped create "a major technology transfer initiative" that "may have substantially undermined U.S. national security," according to Peter Schweizer, president of the Government Accountability Institute and the author of " Clinton Cash."

Part of the "reset" was the creation of "Skolkovo," an industrial enclave near Moscow that was to become a kind of Russian Silicon Valley. The idea was to encourage U.S. firms to help out with both technology and investment, in exchange for market access.

Despite warnings from both the FBI and her own State Department about the possibility of Russia getting access to militarily sensitive technologies, Hillary went ahead with the program. Why?

At the time, Vekselberg -- head of the Skolkovo Foundation and a pal of Vladimir Putin -- was also a contributor to the Clinton Foundation. These ties later proved quite lucrative, with 17 of the 28 American companies that participated in the Skolkovo project also being donors to the Clinton Foundation.

https://www.investors.com/politics/edit ... -families/

saxitoxin wrote:No paywall on this one...

From 2013 through 2018 Hunter Biden and his company brought in about $11 million via his roles as an attorney and a board member with a Ukrainian firm accused of bribery and his work with a Chinese businessman now accused of fraud, according to an NBC News analysis of a copy of Biden’s hard drive and iCloud account and documents released by Republicans on two Senate committees.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/nation ... -rcna29462

This one also doesn't have a paywall...

Federal agents used a confidential U.S. witness working inside the Russian nuclear industry to gather extensive financial records, make secret recordings and intercept emails as early as 2009 that showed Moscow had compromised an American uranium trucking firm with bribes and kickbacks in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, FBI and court documents show.

They also obtained an eyewitness account — backed by documents — indicating Russian nuclear officials had routed millions of dollars to the U.S. designed to benefit former President Bill Clinton’s charitable foundation during the time Secretary of State Hillary Clinton served on a government body that provided a favorable decision to Moscow, sources told The Hill.

https://thehill.com/policy/national-sec ... istration/

Paywall free here, too:

The Washington Examiner got its hands on emails showing that the Clinton Foundation sought ties with Russian billionaire Viktor Vekselberg at a time when he was in charge of an important element of then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's "Russian reset."

Hillary helped create "a major technology transfer initiative" that "may have substantially undermined U.S. national security," according to Peter Schweizer, president of the Government Accountability Institute and the author of " Clinton Cash."

Part of the "reset" was the creation of "Skolkovo," an industrial enclave near Moscow that was to become a kind of Russian Silicon Valley. The idea was to encourage U.S. firms to help out with both technology and investment, in exchange for market access.

Despite warnings from both the FBI and her own State Department about the possibility of Russia getting access to militarily sensitive technologies, Hillary went ahead with the program. Why?

At the time, Vekselberg -- head of the Skolkovo Foundation and a pal of Vladimir Putin -- was also a contributor to the Clinton Foundation. These ties later proved quite lucrative, with 17 of the 28 American companies that participated in the Skolkovo project also being donors to the Clinton Foundation.

https://www.investors.com/politics/edit ... -families/

mookiemcgee wrote:

saxitoxin wrote:No paywall on this one...

From 2013 through 2018 Hunter Biden and his company brought in about $11 million via his roles as an attorney and a board member with a Ukrainian firm accused of bribery and his work with a Chinese businessman now accused of fraud, according to an NBC News analysis of a copy of Biden’s hard drive and iCloud account and documents released by Republicans on two Senate committees.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/nation ... -rcna29462

This one also doesn't have a paywall...

Federal agents used a confidential U.S. witness working inside the Russian nuclear industry to gather extensive financial records, make secret recordings and intercept emails as early as 2009 that showed Moscow had compromised an American uranium trucking firm with bribes and kickbacks in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, FBI and court documents show.

They also obtained an eyewitness account — backed by documents — indicating Russian nuclear officials had routed millions of dollars to the U.S. designed to benefit former President Bill Clinton’s charitable foundation during the time Secretary of State Hillary Clinton served on a government body that provided a favorable decision to Moscow, sources told The Hill.

https://thehill.com/policy/national-sec ... istration/

Paywall free here, too:

The Washington Examiner got its hands on emails showing that the Clinton Foundation sought ties with Russian billionaire Viktor Vekselberg at a time when he was in charge of an important element of then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's "Russian reset."

Hillary helped create "a major technology transfer initiative" that "may have substantially undermined U.S. national security," according to Peter Schweizer, president of the Government Accountability Institute and the author of " Clinton Cash."

Part of the "reset" was the creation of "Skolkovo," an industrial enclave near Moscow that was to become a kind of Russian Silicon Valley. The idea was to encourage U.S. firms to help out with both technology and investment, in exchange for market access.

Despite warnings from both the FBI and her own State Department about the possibility of Russia getting access to militarily sensitive technologies, Hillary went ahead with the program. Why?

At the time, Vekselberg -- head of the Skolkovo Foundation and a pal of Vladimir Putin -- was also a contributor to the Clinton Foundation. These ties later proved quite lucrative, with 17 of the 28 American companies that participated in the Skolkovo project also being donors to the Clinton Foundation.

https://www.investors.com/politics/edit ... -families/

So you saying Trump failed to drain the swamp...

saxitoxin wrote:How it Started:
America's Back!

How it's Going:
Biden pleads with Australia to send urgent humanitarian assistance to the U.S. due to mass food shortages.

Even the overseas factories of U.S. manufacturers, like Abbott's Ireland facility, must be authorized by the FDA to export to the United States. The FDA also maintains a "red list" of goods subject to immediate seizure, including popular European brands of formula.

A 2019 study found that major European formula brands met almost all of the FDA’s requirements for baby formula, yet authors warned that differing instructions on how to use European formula might confuse Americans.

European formula also has to meet some standards that are tougher than those seen in the U.S., according to the New York Times. European Union standards ban the use of added sugars like corn syrup, and mandate that at least 30% of the formula’s carbohydrates come from lactose.

Despite the lack of approval, American households often import European formula—technically illegally—for their own personal use.

Back in April, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers seized $30,000 worth of baby formula imported from Europe, after the FDA argued the German and Dutch products were mislabeled. The FDA also claimed the foreign manufacturers failed to comply with its regulatory requirements.

The Biden Administration has promised that formula imported under the new FDA guidelines would be safe. "All companies will meet the FDA’s gold standard for quality control, and only safe products will come to America’s shelves,” said Jean-Pierre during her Monday briefing.

Tariffs and trade
But low U.S. imports aren't just explained by the FDA's tough nutritional standards.

The U.S. imposes high tariffs—up to 17.5%—on imported baby formula. Formula is also subject to a mechanism called a tariff-rate quota, where additional duties can be placed on goods once total imports pass a certain level.

As part of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), negotiated by President Donald Trump to replace the North America Free Trade Agreement in July 2020, Canada agreed to impose an additional surcharge of $3/kg if the total volume of its global formula exports—not just exports to the U.S.—broke a certain threshold. That threshold is currently set at 40,480 metric tons for the current "dairy year" of August 1 2021 to July 31 2022.

The new duties seemingly closed off Canada as a source of infant formula. The U.S. imported a grand total of zero tons of baby formula from its nothern neighbor in 2021, yet has shipped tons of domestic formula into Canada. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S.-manufactured infant formula made up the largest component of U.S. dairy exports to Canada in 2021, accounting for 22% of all northbound dairy trade.

saxitoxin wrote:How it Started:
America's Back!

How it's Going:
Biden pleads with Australia to send urgent humanitarian assistance to the U.S. due to mass food shortages.

Dukasaur wrote:It's entirely a self-inflicted wound.
https://fortune.com/2022/05/17/us-infant-baby-formula-shortage-imports-fda-nutrition-tariffs-usmca/

Even the overseas factories of U.S. manufacturers, like Abbott's Ireland facility, must be authorized by the FDA to export to the United States. The FDA also maintains a "red list" of goods subject to immediate seizure, including popular European brands of formula.