Inflation Eases, Trump Extends China Deal, Mining Halted

U.S. inflation slowed to 2.7% in July as President Trump extended the China trade deal for another 90 days. Authorities have ordered an illegal mining operation in Mitchell County to shut down. The state Appeals Court has again ruled against Bald Head Island’s village leadership in an ongoing dispute.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:09):
It's five oh five and welcome into a Wednesday edition
of the Carolina Journal News Hour Deuce Talk eleven, ten
ninety nine to three WBT. I'm Nick Craig. Good morning
to you. Well. US inflation ticked down in the month
of July. This is according to new data that we
are tracking this morning out of the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
That data shows that inflation in the United States slowed

(00:33):
slightly in July, with the Consumer Price Index that's the
CPI rising by point two percent on a seasonally adjusted basis.
Over the past twelve months, the CPI increased by two
point seven percent, slightly below June's figure of two point
eight percent. Those figures surpassed economists expectations, as most analysts

(00:57):
forecasted a modest increase of points two percent for July,
with the annual rate remaining at two point eight percent. Instead,
inflation slowed slightly, bolstered by stable prices in key sectors
as well as declining energy costs, which we know has
a major impact on the and the economy. In this case,

(01:19):
the CPI and the inflation index, the report indicators indicates
rather that core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy
prices rose point three percent in July, exactly in line
with economists' forecasts. Over the last year, core CPI has
risen a three point one percent, remaining within a manageable

(01:41):
range for policymakers and consumers alike. Grocery prices meanwhile, remained
steady month over month, with some categories experiencing decreases that
eased pressure on household budgets. Energy prices, however, made a
significant downward move, with gas prices dropping two point two

(02:02):
percent in July, which is nearly ten percent lower than
they were at this time last year, with fuel oil
so folks used to heat their homes things of that
nature down two point nine percent. Egg prices continue their
long decline, falling twenty percent since President Donald Trump's administration
took office. Overall energy commodities declined by nine percent year

(02:26):
over year, reflecting an ongoing easing in prices that has
provided continued relief to American consumers. Further easing also came
in as it relates to shelter costs, which is the
largest contributed to overall inflation, which has hit its lowest
level since October of twenty twenty one. So looking at

(02:48):
them many years since that level has been the where
it is right now. While state specific data for July
is not yet available, data from June for the Southeastern region,
which would include, of course, the state of North Carolina,
showed that the region experienced a point one percent increase
in prices, slightly below the point two percent increase for

(03:10):
the country as a whole. For July. The Bureau also
released new figures on wage growth, which continue to paint
a positive picture for American workers. Real wages increased in July,
with earnings up one point three percent compared to twelve
months ago July of twenty twenty four. This growth outpaced

(03:33):
inflation and signals a trend of rising purchasing power amid
an environment of steady inflation. The White House Press Secretary
in Caroline Levitt said in a press release yesterday after
this data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics quote. Today's
CPI report revealed that inflation beat market expectations once again

(03:55):
and remained stable, underscoring President Trump's commitment to lowering costs
for American families and businesses. The Pannikins continue to be
proven wrong by the data. President Trump's tariffs are ranked
raking in billions of dollars. Small business optimism is at
a five month high, and real wages continue to rise.

(04:19):
The American people have rightfully put their trust in President
Trump's America First agenda that is making America wealthy again.
Despite the ongoing debate about the impacts of tariffs, many
experts agree that the recent inflation data does not yet
reflect the full effect of recent trade policies. Some economists

(04:41):
warn against prematurely attributing the inflation slowdown to the President's
ongoing tariff policies across the world. The Bureau of Labor
Statistics also release new figures on some of that wage
growth as well. Real wages increased in July, so some
positive at numbers there as well. Many economists have been

(05:02):
expecting that in the inflationary impact of Trump's tariff policies
to come through in new inflation data. They've been expecting
that over the last couple of months, but so far
that result has been muted. Brian Balfour, the senior vice
president of Research at the John Locke Foundation, said quote
trying to tie overall inflation trends to Trump's tariffs is

(05:25):
both premature and off base. It's premature because many of
the tariffs didn't even take effect until October seventh, after
the latest CPI number was calculated. Moreover, it's off because
overall inflation is a reflection of the monetary policy, not
tax policy. Inflation is caused by an increase in the

(05:47):
money supply, whereby more dollars are chasing the economy's goods
and services. The more relevant measure is how tariffs impact
the prices of those items being tariffed, along at the
prices of the finished goods that utilize inputs that are
subject to tariffs. So some pretty good economic numbers coming

(06:08):
out of the US Bureau of Labor Statistics in the
month of July. We've got some additional details on this story,
including that quote from Caroline Levitt and Brian Balfour of
the John Locke Foundation. Those are available on our website
this morning at Carolina Journal dot com. With that In
other news, this morning, President Donald Trump signed an executive

(06:28):
order extending the current trade deal with the People's Republic
of China, that's the PRC, which was set to expire
yesterday on August the twelfth. That deadline has now been
kicked down to November tenth, Joseph Harris, fiscal policy analyst
for the John Locke Foundation, told The Carolina Journal President

(06:49):
Trump's second ninety day trade pause with China will keep
the tariff rate on most Chinese imports at ten percent
until November tenth. One hundred and twenty five percent tariff
was implemented in April before being paused during the first
trade truce, which happened in May. Between twenty fourteen and

(07:11):
twenty twenty four, China's trade relationship with North Carolina experienced
notable shifts, with Harris noting interestingly, over the past decade,
North Carolina's trade gap with China has narrowed before tariff's
climbed to levels that prompted the first ninety day slowdown.
On the import side, China fell from being North Carolina's

(07:34):
largest source of imports in twenty fourteen to all the
way down to third place in twenty twenty four. From
twenty fourteen to twenty twenty four, Chinese imports into North
Carolina decreased from approximately twelve point five billion to just
seven point one billion, which is about a forty three
percent decline. This was the third most significant decline among

(07:57):
the top fifty countries where North Carolina imported goods in
twenty twenty four. On the export side, China's position strengthened,
moving from the third largest to the second largest destination
for North Carolina exports. Over that same decade twenty fourteen
to twenty twenty four, the value of exports from North

(08:19):
Carolina to China more than doubled, rising from roughly two
point seven billion dollars in twenty fourteen to about five
point nine billion dollars in twenty twenty four. That's an
increase of approximately one hundred and twenty percent, according to EDPNC.
Within the next top fifty export destinations for North Carolina

(08:42):
in twenty twenty four, this growth was the eleventh most
significant increase. Joseph Harris says, quote. The decline in Chinese
imports to North Carolina has been substituted with surging shipments
from Vietnam, Mexico, and Cambodia. Each has recorded tripled digit
growth since twenty fourteen, stepping into supply goods once dominated

(09:05):
by Chinese producers and Chinese markets. President Donald Trump put
out a recent shoot social post noting China is worried
about its shortage of soybeans. Our great farmers produce the
most robust soybeans in the world. I hope China will
quickly quadruple its soybean orders. This is also a way

(09:26):
of substituting reduction reducing China's trade deficit with the USA.
Rapid service will be provided. Thank you for your attention
to this matter. North Carolina is one of the largest
soybean producers in the United States. China the number one
buyer of US soybeans any across any other country, so

(09:46):
the ongoing trade war and the ongoing tariff debate with
China can have a major impact on both the import
and export side. We do have some additional details on
this story as we continue to watch tear their economic
impact on North Carolina's largest sector, which continues to be
agriculture and of course the goods, services, and products that

(10:08):
many North Carolina citizens provide and to produce. You can
get those additional details by visiting our website This morning
Carolina Journal dot com. The headline Trump extends a China
trade talks deal another ninety days. It's five forty two.

(10:31):
Welcome back to the Carolina Journal News. Our newstock eleven
ten ninety nine three WBTT. A pretty interesting situation unfolding
earlier this week in North Carolina. A superior court judge
ruled that a company must immediately halt what it described
by state officials as an illegal mining operation in Mitchell
County in the small community of Poplar. The operation was

(10:54):
uncovered by officials from the Department of Labor earlier this
year who saw a regular when they showed up to
provide safety training to the folks working on that mine site.
Horizon thirty, LLC, which has offices in both Raleigh and Allentown, Pennsylvania,
had been mining without environmental permits in that area since

(11:15):
earlier this year. According to a North Carolina DEQ press release,
Horizon thirty submitted a mining permit application to mine at
the site earlier this year. A hearing on the matter
was scheduled for July twenty ninth. The permit would have
allowed the mind to operate on the little over fifty
acres of land mining construction aggregate at a proposed depth

(11:38):
of five hundred and fifty feet. The actual area of
the mine excavation would have covered approximately twenty three acres.
The company planned to produce what is known as solid
granite ballast and crusher run rock, which is a mixture
of crushed stone and dust which is often used in
road construction. According to documents submitted to North Carolina, the

(12:01):
company planned to mine materials for emergency repairs of the
CSX railroad lines damaged by Hurricane Helene in the western
half of North Carolina in the eastern half of Tennessee.
On Friday, North Carolina Labor Commissioner Luke Farley sent out
a press release that officials from his department discovered the

(12:21):
operation earlier this year after the Federal Mind Safety and
Health Administration requested that the department provide minor safety training
at the site. When the North Carolina Department of Labor
visited the site, they discovered multiple problems and immediately questioned
whether the site had had the required state environmental permit.

(12:44):
According to Commissioner Farley, he says, quote, this is exactly
why I've made it a priority to support and empower
our field staff. Their experience, judgment, and vigilance are critical
to keeping workers safe and enforcing the law. Hadn't gone
above and beyond their duty to protect workers, this illegal

(13:04):
operation could have continued unnoticed, putting lives at risk and
undermining public trust in our regulatory system. The North Carolina
Department of Labor officially ALERTEDDQ after Horizon thirty failed to
produce the necessary documentation. The EQ then later confirmed that
the operation was in fact unauthorized and violated state mining laws.

(13:30):
The company first contacted the Division of Environmental Qualities Division
of Energy, Mineral and Land Resources in December to find
out about the state mining requirements. In January, that department
found out about a potential mining operation at the site.
This group had reportedly notified Horizon thirty of required permits

(13:53):
and violation and gave them multiple violations through the month
of June. There have also been reports of a wildlife
death in the area since the mining began, raising concerns
from local residents. So go back to July the twenty first.
That's when the North Carolina Department of Justice filed a
complaint and an injunction on behalf of the North Carolina

(14:16):
DEEQ in Mitchell County Superior Court, requesting a court order
against Horizon thirty. In addition to the immediate stop of activity,
the judge also said that the company is not allowed
to take any materials off site and must submit a
plan within the next thirty days to reclaim some of

(14:37):
that material. The state has also filed an injunction to
force the company to cease operations until it gets its
proper permitting. If Horizon thirty LLC does not comply, it
could face civil or criminal contempt charges. According to WOS
that's News thirteen out of Asheville. During the proceedings, Horizons

(14:59):
defense attorneys said that the company had in fact stopped
mining activity back on October, or rather on August the ninth,
so just a couple of days before this hearing, with
another scheduled for September the twenty third. A very interesting
story unfolding in the western half of our stata, a
company apparently running an illegal or not permitted mining operation,

(15:23):
going to the state originally to try and get the
proper permits, only to then later apparently just conduct mining
operations without those proper permits. So, as it stands from
the superior Court judge, that company must immediately halt its operations.
They apparently have done so as of Saturday. We'll see
if anything else there crops back up. It's five thirty five.

(15:51):
Welcome back to the Carolina Journal News Hour Newstock eleven,
ten ninety nine three WBT don't forget if you miss
any of our program weekday mornings five to six right
here on WBT. You can check out the Carolina Journal
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anywhere you get your shows. Search for the Carolina Journal
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(16:13):
get a new program delivered each and every weekday morning.
You can also watch live and demand after the fact
on our Carolina Journal YouTube channel as well. Again, all
of that over on our website as well, Carolina Journal
dot com. And in lengthy legal proceeding that has gone
on as it relates to the fairy and barge system
that brings folks and supplies back and forth from the island.

(16:35):
To get some details on this, this morning, Mitch Koki
from the John Locke Foundation joins us on the Carolina
Journal News Hour. Mitch Ferry Barge. This has been like
a multi year legal dispute. What is going on in
the village, a very small village of a Baldhead Island.

Speaker 2 (16:52):
Well, the latest ruling is more bad news for the
village government of Baldhead Island because what happened was the
statecourd of Appeals in an unpublished opinion which has limited
value as a precedent and usually is kind of buried
among the court cases that are put out there. In
this unpublished opinion, the Court of Appeals agreed with the

(17:12):
lower Court that Baldhead Island could not enforce this right
of first refusal or ROFR to purchase that infrastructure that
we're talking about, the ferry system, the barge, the tram
system on the island, and the parking lot on the
mainland that goes along with all of this. The dispute

(17:34):
really stems from the fact that Baldhead Island was developed privately,
and when the gentleman who developed the island died in
twenty thirteen, eventually, as the state decided they wanted to
sell that private infrastructure. By that time there was a
village of Baldhead Island, so there is a village government
and the government had talked about buying all this infrastructure,

(17:56):
but the two sides could not come to an agreement.
So at some point point the private owners of the property,
the estate of the original developer, decided to sell to
this outside into t Sharpview Capital, which sparked a lot
of different legal battles from the village of bald Head Island. Now.

(18:17):
Earlier this year the State Supreme Court decided not to
take up the case of the actual sale of the
system from the previous owners, the estate of the developer
bald Had Island two Sharpview Capital. But now the Court
of Appeals has stepped in most recently and said it's
not going to enforce this right of first refusal that

(18:41):
the village claimed that it have had for buying the infrastructure,
because that had never been put forward to the Utilities Commission.
The Utilities Commission is involved because the Utilities Commission has
for many years had authority over the ferry system and
the tram system that operates on Baldead Island, because there's

(19:05):
very little auto traffic on the island. And you might
remember that there was some dispute for a while about
whether the barge which carries materials other than people to
Baldhead Island, whether that was going to be part of
the Utilities Commission, and whether a parking lot that goes

(19:25):
along with this on the mainland would also be under
the Utilities Commission's purview. That has been the source of
another legal battle, but the latest decision basically says, no,
Baldhead Island Village, the local government, you did not have
the right to buy this property before it was sold
to Sharpview Capital. So it seems as if other than

(19:47):
a ruling that allowed the Utilities Commission to take over
more control than it had before. Other than that ruling,
which was something that Baldhead Island the village government had
pushed for, the rest of the ruling that have been
coming out recently have been against the village government and
in favor of the sale of the infrastructure from one

(20:10):
private owner to another private owner.

Speaker 1 (20:12):
Mitch. What makes this kind of interesting is we talk
about the village of Baldead Island, the island. This is
truly an island. The only way to get to and
from Baldhead Island from the portions of southeastern North Carolina
is through some sort of boat, ferry or barge. There
is no land connector there's no bridge. Even when the
tide is low, there's no way to physically get there.
So I guess that's probably part of the reason why

(20:34):
the village itself is fighting so hard to try and
claim that they had the right to purchase some of
these assets because it truly is the only connector to
the municipality that they are as the local government.

Speaker 2 (20:47):
Yeah, I think that's true that the village government wants
to ensure that there's mainland access, and I think there
is a concern that if it is owned privately and
not by the private owner who developed this, which was
the original arrangement, that there could be some concern that
there would be cutbacks or corners are cut and so

(21:09):
people aren't getting the service that they want. There's also
been along the sideline here a concern that Sharpview Capital
in buying this is trying to make it a money maker,
and so other than just having the normal services that
Baldhead Island is used to, they might do something on

(21:29):
the private parking lot that would be substantially different than
what is seen today. I mean, I remember in some
of the court discussions in court filings, there was talk
about maybe they're going to build a huge hotel on
this parking lot, which would completely change for some people
the character of what Baldhead Island is all about. And
so there has been a mix of reasons why the

(21:52):
village has been interested in trying to get this one
just to ensure that they could kind of keep services
as they are also to block private owners from doing
something different that might change the character of Baldhead Island
by adding a lot more people in the area.

Speaker 1 (22:10):
Now there is a little bit of safeguard for that.
As you mentioned, the North Carolina Utilities Commission is an
overview and does have some responsibility for certain assets, including
the ferry system which transports people back and forth, Mitch.
And with that, for any sort of major rate hike
or any sort of substantial changes in service, wouldn't this
new owner in sharpview, wouldn't they have to go to

(22:31):
the Utilities Commission propose that and would not have to
be approved by in this case the state government.

Speaker 2 (22:38):
Yes, that's right. The Utilities Commission does have oversight over
the ferry system, over the island operated tram system. And
the recent rulings that have been dealing with what the
Utilities Commission has oversight over and doesn't have kind of
been a mixed bag. I believe that the parking lot
was ruled as being under the Utilities commissions purview, but

(23:02):
the barge system was not. And so there's a mix
of what is a public utility and what is not
which it does, as you mentioned, give a safeguard to
the people of Baldhead Island that there can't be major
changes in the costs of these things without Utilities Commission approval.
But what seems likely from the recent rulings is that

(23:24):
Baldhead Island is as a village government is not going
to be able to step in and block the private sale. Now,
another piece of this that we haven't really gotten into
is that there had been discussions shortly after the developer's death,
which goes back to twenty thirteen, about the village purchasing this.

(23:44):
The only reason this went to court is that the
two sides couldn't come to an agreement about what cost
would be paid. I think the developer or the estate
of the developer wanted more money. They said this is
a valuable asset, and the village government, whether it's just
out of penny pinching or trying to make sure that
they're not having to pass along exorbitant costs to the residents,

(24:09):
try to keep the sale price low. And because they
couldn't reach an agreement, that's why the move was turned
to try to get private investors instead, and that's what
ended up sparking all this court battle.

Speaker 1 (24:22):
Yeah, it's definitely been a lengthy, ongoing, very interesting legal
case that's been going on over the last couple of years.
You can read the most recent details and some of
the backstore on all of this by visiting our website
This morning, Carolina Journal dot com. Mitch Koki from the
John Locke Foundation joins us on the Carolina Journal News Hour.

(24:44):
Good morning again. It's five point fifty one. Welcome back
to the Carolina Journal News Hour, Newstock Aven ten ninety
nine three wbt im Nick Craig, Good morning to you.
We've got some encouraging news out of the US Bureau
of Labor Statistics. That's the BLS this morning that shows
the inflation across the United States slowed slightly in the
month of July, with the Consumer Price Index the CPI

(25:08):
rising by point two percent on a seasonally adjusted basis.
Over the past twelve months, the CPI increased by two
point seven percent, which is slightly below June's figure of
two point eight percent, so a slight decrease there. Those
figures surpassed economists expectations, as most forecasted a modest increase

(25:29):
for the month of July. With the annual rate remaining
at two point eight percent, so it was off zero
point one percent there Instead, inflation slowed slightly, bolstering bolster
rather by stable prices in key sectors and a big
decline in energy costs across the US. The report indicates
that core inflation, which does exclude things that like food

(25:53):
and energy prices, which are deemed relatively volatile month to month,
rose point three percent in the month of July, which
is exactly in line with economists' forecasts. Over the last
year course, CPI had risen three point one percent, remaining
within a manageable range for policymakers and consumers. Grocery prices, meanwhile,

(26:16):
remained steady month over month, with some categories experiencing decreases
that eased pressure on household budgets. Energy prices, however, made
a significant downward move, with gasoline prices dropping two point
two percent in July, nearly ten percent lower than they
were last year, and fuel oil down two point nine percent.

(26:40):
Egg prices continued their long decline, falling twenty percent since
earlier this year when the Trump administration took office, and
overall energy commodities declined by nine percent over the past year,
reflecting an ongoing easing and prices that hadd that is
continuing to provide relief to American consumers. Another sector that

(27:04):
did provide additional relief was what is defined as shelter costs,
that is, apartments and rents, condo costs, all of that
which is a large contributor to overall inflation, which hit
its lowest level since October of twenty twenty one. And
while there's not state specific data for July available, data

(27:24):
from June for the Southeastern region of the US, which
does include North Carolina, showed that the region experienced a
point one percent increase in prices, slightly below the point
two percent average for the country as a whole. For July.
The Bureau also released new figures on wage growth, which

(27:46):
continued to paint a positive picture for American workers. Real
wages in July were with ertings up one point three
percent compared to last year. This growth outpaced inflation and
the signals a trend of rising purchasing power amid an
environment of steady inflation. White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt

(28:09):
noted today's CPI report revealed that inflation beat market expectations
once again and remains stable, underscoring President Trump's commitment to
lower cost for American families and businesses. Despite the ongoing
debate around the impacts of tariffs, and many economists and

(28:30):
experts agree that recent inflation data does not yet fully
reflect the effects of recent trade policy decisions. Some economists
warn against prematurely attributing the inflation slowdown to tariffs. Many
economists have been expecting that the inflationary impact of Trump's

(28:50):
tariff policies will come through in new inflation data, but
that has been muted to this point. Brian Balfour, the
senior vice president of Research at the John Locke Foundation,
told the Carolina Journal quote trying to tie overall inflation
trends to Trump's tariffs is both premature and off base.

(29:11):
It's premature because many of the tariffs didn't take effect
until August the seventh, after the latest CPI number was calculated. Moreover,
it's off base because overall inflation is a reflection of
monetary policy, not tax policy. Inflation is caused by an
increase in the money supply, whereby more dollars are chasing

(29:34):
the economy's goods and services. The more relevant measure is
how tariffs impact the price of those items being tariffed,
along with the prices of finished goods that utilize inputs
that are subject to those tariffs as well. You can
read more on the July CPI report from the US
Bureau of Labor Statistics over on our website. This morning,

(29:56):
Carolina Journal dot com. The headline US inflation team down
by two point seven percent in July and with that,
we are also watching the ongoing tariff discussion with China.
Earlier this week, the President signed another executive order delaying
the ninety delaying the traded barrier and tariff situation for

(30:18):
another ninety days. A Chinese imports will stay at ten
percent until November the tenth of this year, as negotiations
between the administration here in the US and the U
and the administration over in China continue to hash out
a more lucrative trade deal for the United States. What
was originally threatened as a one hundred and twenty five

(30:41):
percent tariff was implemented earlier this year. However, that has
been delayed once again until November of this year. You
can read details on that story as well Carolina Journal
dot com. That's going to do it? For a Wednesday
edition of the Carolina Journal News Hour. WBT News is
next followed by Good Morning BT, act with you tomorrow
morning five to six right here on News Talk eleven ten.

(31:03):
In ninety nine, three WBT