Latest news with #Mexico-US
17 hours ago
- Politics
US plans to open fly factory in Texas as part of fight against flesh-eating parasite
The U.S. government plans to open what amounts to a fly factory by the end of the year, announcing its intent Wednesday to breed millions of the insects in Texas near the border with Mexico as part of an effort to keep a flesh-eating parasite from infesting American cattle. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said sterile male New World screwworm flies bred at the $8.5 million facility would be released into the wild to mate with females and prevent them from laying the eggs in wounds that become flesh-eating larva. It would be only the second facility for breeding such flies in the Western Hemisphere, joining one in Panama that had largely kept the flies from migrating further north until last year. The fly's appearance in southern Mexico late last year has worried agriculture and cattle industry officials and veterinarians' groups, and the U.S. last month suspended imports of live cattle, horses and bison from Mexico. The U.S. Department of Agriculture also plans to spend $21 million to convert a facility for breeding fruit flies near Mexico's southernmost border with Guatemala into one for breeding sterile New World screwworm flies, but it won't be ready for 18 months. The U.S. bred and released sterile New World screwworm flies into the wild decades ago, and it was largely banished from the country in the 1960s. Previously, it had been an annual scourge for cattle ranchers and dairy farmers, particularly in the Southeast. 'The United States has defeated NWS before, and we will do it again," Rollins said. She held a news conference at Moore Air Base with Texas and cattle industry officials. Mexican Agriculture Secretary Julio Berdegué said in a post Wednesday on X that Rollins' plan 'seems to us a positive step in different aspects, it will strengthen the joint Mexico-US work.' 'We trust the enthusiasm for cooperation that Secretary Rollins mentioned, and based on objective results and the reports from the USDA mission visiting us this week, we will be able to restart exports of our cattle as soon as possible," he said. The new Texas facility would be built at Moore Air Base, less than 20 miles (32 kilometers) from the Mexico border, and the USDA said it would also consider building a companion fly-breeding center there so that up to 300 million flies could be produced a week. The Panama facility breeds about 100 million a week, and the one in Mexico could breed as many as 100 million as well. The USDA has said the flies have been detected as close as 700 miles (1,127 kilometers) from the U.S. border, and some U.S. agriculture and cattle industry officials have worried that if the migration isn't checked, the flies could reach the border by the end of summer. Pressure from the U.S. prompted Mexico to step up efforts to control the fly's spread. Buck Wehrbein, a Nebraska cattle rancher and the president of the National Beef Cattlemen's Association, said Moore Air Base had a fly-breeding facility in the 1960s that helped eradicate it in the U.S. While there are treatments for New World screwworm infestations, cattle industry officials still worry that farmers and ranchers could see huge economic losses. They, agriculture officials and scientists also said the larva can infest any mammal, including household pets, and it has occasionally been seen in humans. 'The only way to protect the American cattle herd from the devastating threat of New World screwworm is by having a sufficient supply of sterile flies to push this pest away from our border,' Wehrbein said. Texas officials said they are grateful that the U.S. is taking the screwworm threat serious and pleased with the plans for combating it, including the new facility in Texas. Officials in other states are watching the fly's migration as well and see having sterile male flies outnumber the non-sterile one is crucial to checking its migration. 'We have a real concern about wildlife because of their ability to cross the border unchecked somewhat, whether it's feral pigs, deer, wild cattle, whatever the case may be,' Kansas Animal Health Commissioner Justin Smith said in a recent interview. 'There's an opportunity for them to be our exposure risk.'
New York Post
a day ago
- Science
- New York Post
US government to build $8.5M fly breeding factory to mass produce millions of flesh-eating parasites — here's why
Fighting flies with flies. The US government will be opening a fly factory in Texas to mass produce millions of infertile flies as part of a sterilization campaign aimed at eliminating a flesh-eating parasite with a penchant for beef. The $8.5 million breeding facility, just 20 miles from the US-Mexico border, will focus on the New World screwworm flies wreaking havoc in Mexico after an outbreak last year, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced Wednesday. Advertisement 5 The United States government will open a fly breeding facility in Texas. via REUTERS The factory will propagate millions of sterile male screwworm flies to be released into the wild. The male flies will seek out fertile females and help prevent them from laying eggs, which they frequently deposit in cows' open wounds. 5 Female New World screwworm flies lay eggs that often produce flesh-eating larvae. AP When left to fester, flesh-eating larvae burst from the eggs and can decimate entire herds of cows. Advertisement While the flesh-eating parasites are treatable, they can spread to virtually any mammal, including household pets and, in some cases, humans. The Texas facility will mark the second of its kind on the Western Hemisphere. Up until now, Panama held the sole factory that helped prevent the screwworm flies from migrating north until last year. Two more fly breeding facilities are on the horizon, too. Advertisement 5 Screwworm flies were first pushed out of the US in the 1960s. AP The Department of Agriculture also plans to spend $21 million to convert a separate facility that breeds fruit flies near Mexico's southern border with Guatemala into a screwworm fly factory that won't be complete until the end of 2026. The USDA added that it is considering constructing a companion breeding center near the Texas one that would produce up to 300 million flies a week. The US tackled a prior screwworm fly issue during the 20th century through the same method and eventually eradicated the gnarly pests from the country in the 1960s. Advertisement Before that, screwworms were a persistent issue for cattle farmers in the Southeast. 5 Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins is confident the US will 'defeat NWS' again. X /@BeefUSA 'The United States has defeated [the New World screwworm] before, and we will do it again,' Rollins assured at a news conference Wednesday. Mexican Agriculture Secretary Julio Berdegué celebrated the multi-nation collaboration in a post on X and called Rollins' plan 'a positive step in different aspects' that 'will strengthen the joint Mexico-US work.' 'We trust the enthusiasm for cooperation that Secretary Rollins mentioned, and based on objective results and the reports from the USDA mission visiting us this week, we will be able to restart exports of our cattle as soon as possible,' he wrote. 5 The flesh-eating parasites can spread to virtually any mammal, including humans. REUTERS The USDA warned that the flies have been detected just 700 miles away from the US border. Some agriculture and cattle industry officials in the US worry that the swarms could be at the border by the end of the summer — right when calving season starts. With Post wires
Winnipeg Free Press
a day ago
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
The US plans to open a fly factory in Texas as part of its fight against a flesh-eating parasite
The U.S. government plans to open what amounts to a fly factory by the end of the year, announcing its intent Wednesday to breed millions of the insects in Texas near the border with Mexico as part of an effort to keep a flesh-eating parasite from infesting American cattle. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said sterile male New World screwworm flies bred at the $8.5 million facility would be released into the wild to mate with females and prevent them from laying the eggs in wounds that become flesh-eating larva. It would be only the second facility for breeding such flies in the Western Hemisphere, joining one in Panama that had largely kept the flies from migrating further north until last year. The fly's appearance in southern Mexico late last year has worried agriculture and cattle industry officials and veterinarians' groups, and the U.S. last month suspended imports of live cattle, horses and bison from Mexico. The U.S. Department of Agriculture also plans to spend $21 million to convert a facility for breeding fruit flies near Mexico's southernmost border with Guatemala into one for breeding sterile New World screwworm flies, but it won't be ready for 18 months. The U.S. bred and released sterile New World screwworm flies into the wild decades ago, and it was largely banished from the country in the 1960s. Previously, it had been an annual scourge for cattle ranchers and dairy farmers, particularly in the Southeast. 'The United States has defeated NWS before, and we will do it again,' Rollins said. She held a news conference at Moore Air Base with Texas and cattle industry officials. Mexican Agriculture Secretary Julio Berdegué said in a post Wednesday on X that Rollins' plan 'seems to us a positive step in different aspects, it will strengthen the joint Mexico-US work.' 'We trust the enthusiasm for cooperation that Secretary Rollins mentioned, and based on objective results and the reports from the USDA mission visiting us this week, we will be able to restart exports of our cattle as soon as possible,' he said. The new Texas facility would be built at Moore Air Base, less than 20 miles (32 kilometers) from the Mexico border, and the USDA said it would also consider building a companion fly-breeding center there so that up to 300 million flies could be produced a week. The Panama facility breeds about 100 million a week, and the one in Mexico could breed as many as 100 million as well. The USDA has said the flies have been detected as close as 700 miles (1,127 kilometers) from the U.S. border, and some U.S. agriculture and cattle industry officials have worried that if the migration isn't checked, the flies could reach the border by the end of summer. Pressure from the U.S. prompted Mexico to step up efforts to control the fly's spread. Buck Wehrbein, a Nebraska cattle rancher and the president of the National Beef Cattlemen's Association, said Moore Air Base had a fly-breeding facility in the 1960s that helped eradicate it in the U.S. While there are treatments for New World screwworm infestations, cattle industry officials still worry that farmers and ranchers could see huge economic losses. They, agriculture officials and scientists also said the larva can infest any mammal, including household pets, and it has occasionally been seen in humans. 'The only way to protect the American cattle herd from the devastating threat of New World screwworm is by having a sufficient supply of sterile flies to push this pest away from our border,' Wehrbein said. Texas officials said they are grateful that the U.S. is taking the screwworm threat serious and pleased with the plans for combating it, including the new facility in Texas. Officials in other states are watching the fly's migration as well and see having sterile male flies outnumber the non-sterile one is crucial to checking its migration. 'We have a real concern about wildlife because of their ability to cross the border unchecked somewhat, whether it's feral pigs, deer, wild cattle, whatever the case may be,' Kansas Animal Health Commissioner Justin Smith said in a recent interview. 'There's an opportunity for them to be our exposure risk.'
Globe and Mail
30-04-2025
- Automotive
- Globe and Mail
Redburn Atlantic: Time to Sell Tesla Stock (NASDAQ:TSLA)
Things have not been great for electric vehicle stock Tesla (TSLA) of late, nor for its various derivatives. And new word from analysts at Redburn Atlantic say it is time to pull out altogether. Investors, meanwhile, took Redburn's advice seriously, if only slightly, and shares of Tesla slipped fractionally in Tuesday afternoon's trading. Protect Your Portfolio Against Market Uncertainty Discover companies with rock-solid fundamentals in TipRanks' Smart Value Newsletter. Receive undervalued stocks, resilient to market uncertainty, delivered straight to your inbox. Word from Redburn Capital analyst Adrian Yanoshik calls for a mass exodus, as Tesla's recent history of declining sales volume and accompanying hurting cash flow is likely to carry on for the rest of the year. A combination of Mexico-US tariffs, China-Europe tariffs, and overall struggles with electric vehicle pricing are likely to produce troubles for Tesla through much of 2025. In fact, Redburn's projections on Tesla are downright pessimistic. Its estimates for free cash flow, and for earnings, are each 10% below Wall Street consensus, reports noted. And if the United States Inflation Reduction Act clean vehicle credits get pulled back as well, then that will take Tesla's sales down still another notch. Thus, Redburn's projected price target on Tesla stock stands at $160 per share. That represents a 44% drop against Monday's closing figures. Good Luck Buying One in New York And in New York, it may get tougher to even try to sell a Tesla to begin with. While state lawmakers have been previously seen working to bring more Tesla dealerships to New York under the guise of supporting green energy initiatives, that, somehow, changed. Now, New York is working to remove the five directly-operated Tesla dealerships in the state, because, apparently, Tesla cars are no longer green. Particularly when large amounts of them are being set on fire by 'protestors.' In fact, some Democrats in New York want to go farther still; instead of cutting off Tesla's ability to sell, they also want a 'comprehensive audit' of a deal that lets Tesla run a plant near Buffalo on a $1-per-year lease. Further, Dems also want clawbacks on previously-awarded subsidies, because again, somehow, Tesla electric vehicles just are not 'green' enough any more. Though, certainly, some have asserted that this is a matter of politics on Tesla's CEO's part rather than any issue with the vehicles themselves. Is Tesla a Buy, Hold or Sell? Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on TSLA stock based on 17 Buys, 10 Holds, and 12 Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 55.58% rally in its share price over the past year, the average TSLA price target of $284.74 per share implies 0.5% upside potential. See more TSLA analyst ratings Disclosure Disclaimer & Disclosure Report an Issue
USA Today
31-03-2025
- Business
- USA Today
Will Trump's tariffs raise prices? Here's how 'Liberation Day' affects imports.
Will Trump's tariffs raise prices? Here's how 'Liberation Day' affects imports. Show Caption Hide Caption Mexico-US reach tentative tariff agreement President Donald Trump and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum have agreed to pause tariffs on Mexican imports for one month. President Donald Trump's plans to impose reciprocal tariffs and a 25% auto tariff on imports to the United States are likely to slow production and drive up prices, even if he reaches deals to temporarily pause them, as he did in the case of Mexico and Canada. Trump's decision to levy 20% tariffs on imports from China and 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada earlier this year created uncertainty that is likely to raise prices until a permanent solution is found, said Mike Skordeles, head of U.S. economics at Truist. While prices are expected to increase across the board, some items will see a price bump more quickly than others. For instance, consumers are likely to pay more for perishable foods sooner than they will pay more for their cars. The U.S. received 51% of its fresh fruit and 69% of its vegetables from Mexico in 2022, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. A one-month pause on 25% tariffs for those items doesn't mean their prices won't rise. "If I was a producer, I'd say I need to get a little more for that stuff because there is a risk it might get shut down in a month," Skordeles said. In theory, companies can stockpile some amount of car parts. They can't stockpile avocados, which spoil within a week. But Dr. Michael Swanson, a Wells Fargo Agri-Food Institute chief agricultural economist, said those price increases might not reach your grocery store until after this weekend's Super Bowl. There may still be time to grab ingredients for guacamole. "It's unlikely that changes in tariffs will impact prices headed into the Super Bowl, however, we'll see how it plays out in the coming weeks," Swanson told USA TODAY. "This is certainly the year for consumers to stay food fluent." More: What items will cost more? What to know about Trump's tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China Oil tariff will affect costs of most products Trump's originally proposed 10% tariff on Canadian oil, which Skordeles said equates to a roughly 16 cent increase per gallon, would eventually raise the price of almost everything because companies need fuel to transport their products across the country. Retaliatory actions by the three U.S. trade partners are also likely to stir up trouble for American companies. "This is a mess," Skordeles said. "There are so many unintended consequences." Tariffs are a tax on the exchange of goods between countries, largely paid for by American companies in this instance. In a world where free trade in North America has been a given for decades, many supply chains, particularly those for cars, involve goods moving across borders before a product is ready to be sold to American consumers. Trump's originally proposed tariffs were likely to hit those who work in the automotive industry or are looking to buy a car hardest, because passenger vehicles and vehicle parts are some of the top imports the U.S. receives from Canada. Several car parts may need to travel across the border, sometimes on multiple occasions. Skordeles gave the example of a car company transporting transmissions. With tariffs in effect, it has to pause each time so U.S. Customs can count how many there are and ensure the correct tariffs are being applied. This process increases costs − costs that are likely to be passed on to consumers − and slows production, which could lead to supply shortages that further drive up prices. "You might see prices go up not just for new cars but for used ones, too, as any additional scarcity in the market often drives more would-be new shoppers to consider used cars," Stef Schrader told USA TODAY. "Cars that depend heavily on imported parts or are fully imported from the affected countries will likely see price hikes first." China tariffs more likely to stick Tariffs on China are more likely to stick than those on Canada and Mexico, Skordeles said. There is precedent for the U.S. imposing tariffs on China that stuck around during Trump's first term and during President Joe Biden's time in office. American consumers feel less impact of import tariffs at the checkout line if there are domestic substitutions for them, which the U.S. has sometimes been able to find in the past. At times when there was no substitution for imports, such as iPhones that are assembled abroad, Apple successfully lobbied to make their product exempt from Chinese tariffs. Contributing: Bailey Schulz Reach Rachel Barber at rbarber@ and follow her on X @rachelbarber_
