Daily Business Report: May 29, 2024
New app helps businesses
navigate Biden’s tariffs on China
By Christine Clark | UC San Diego
A new application developed by Kyle Handley, associate professor of economics at the University of California San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy (GPS),
allows users to see what products will be impacted the most from the recent tariffs the Biden administration will introduce on items imported from China. It also shows whether the same good could be imported from another source country at a cheaper price.
The tariffs introduced last week were placed on a variety of goods, including electric vehicles, semiconductors, solar cells and batteries.
The Biden Tariff Analyzer App can act as a tool for businesses and governments to identify quickly what the problem imports will be and whether alternative source countries are available, providing the top 10 suppliers of each product by trade value and trade share for 2023.
“The new tariffs are likely politically motivated by the administration, so that it can appear to be ‘tough on China,’” Handley, who also is the director of UC San Diego Center for Commerce and Diplomacy, said. “For example, the administration placed a 100 percebt tariff on electric vehicles (EVs), yet the U.S. imports only 2 percent of EVs from China.”
The app reveals that other tariffs may prove challenging for the U.S. such as the new 25 percent tariff on permanent magnets, which are used in batteries and other consumer goods. There is no other major source country for this product outside of China—about 80 percent of these magnets come from China, with 5 percent from Japan and 3 percent from Germany.
Top Photo credit: wildpixel/iStock media
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Migrants get aid at last California border stop
By Lynn La May | CalMatters
We’ve launched a partnership with PBS SoCal for two-minute video stories each weekday. While many will be based on prior CalMatters stories, some will be exclusive to SoCalMatters.
The first aired Monday and it focuses on a crossing at the Mexico border near San Diego known as “Whiskey 8.” Migrants, sometimes by the hundreds, camp for days there in the open air, waiting to be picked up by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
CalMatters’ Wendy Fry, who has been covering the border for more than 15 years, reports on volunteers including Adriana Jasso from the American Friends Service Committee, who provide asylum seekers with food, coffee, information and aid that they say authorities do not supply.
- Jasso: “We find ourselves in the country with the most wealth in the history of humanity. … And to know, and to hear over and over, from the authorities that people have to wait under these conditions.”
The Border Patrol says San Diego has become the busiest sector in the 2,000-mile southern border. In the first week of May alone, agents apprehended 8,303 migrants — compared to 3,311 in all of May 2020.
For more on what humanitarian workers are doing, watch the video segment.
As Wendy has previously reported, federal, state and local officials are grappling with the rising numbers at the border. With nonprofits and churches in the region struggling for funds and resources, Border Patrol officials say that overcrowded facilities leave them no choice but to release migrants on the streets or at transit stops, often with little resources to guide them to their final destination.
But the agency is also pouring tens of millions of dollars into expanding surveillance capabilities along the border. Over the next 14 years, it is expected to spend about $67.8 million on high-tech surveillance cameras. This has raised privacy concerns for the millions of people living on both sides of the border, particularly between California and Baja California.
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Cal State faces extra $500 million budget gap
By Mikhail Zinshteyn | CalMatters
Half a billion dollars. That’s how much more California State University’s budget gap will grow in two years under Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposed spending plan for next year, a fiscal chasm that may prompt hiring freezes, raid precious reserves and bring larger class sizes and fewer courses.
“We have to do less with less,” said Cal State trustee member Christopher J. Steinhauser. “We are going to have fewer programs, fewer positions. And anyone listening to this meeting, if they think that we can do this without doing that, they’re really kidding themselves.”
Senior finance officers from Cal State’s chancellor’s office debuted the sobering figures at last week’s board of trustees meeting. The forecasted deficit could change — legislators and Newsom have until late June to finalize a state budget that could include more money for the university.
Protecting Cal State, community college and University of California ongoing funding from cuts “wherever possible” is a priority, said David Alvarez, a Democratic assemblymember from Chula Vista and chair of Assembly’s budget subcommittee on education, last week.
“We got to stick with the commitments we’re making to the students of California in the budget,” added Greg Wallis, a Republican assemblymember from Rancho Mirage, at the same hearing.
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SDSU joins collaborative in efforts to prevent sexual violence
As part of the San Diego State University’s ongoing efforts to prevent sexual harassment, the university is now a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) Action Collaborative member, joining institutions in addressing gender-based violence nationwide.
NASEM’s Action Collaborative membership comes following a competitive application process, and current members include Boston University, Johns Hopkins University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and others.
The group collectively engage and learn from research experts and practitioners, identify barriers and challenges and identify and commit to research related to sexual violence and prevention.
Created in April 2019, NASEM’s Action Collaborative grew out of a desire among higher education institutions to collaborate and learn from each other in response to the National Academies’ 2018 Sexual Harassment of Women report.
By 2020, the collaborative had more than 55 members and, in more recent years, has introduced members outside of the higher education sector.
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Inhibrx Inc. stockholders approve sale of INBRX-101 to Sanofi
Inhibrx Inc. (Nasdaq: announced that, at a special meeting, the company’s stockholders approved the sale to Sanofi of all the assets and liabilities primarily related to INBRX-101, an optimized, recombinant alpha-1 antitrypsin (“AAT”) augmentation therapy currently in a registrational trial for the treatment of patients with alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency. Immediately prior to the closing of the merger, all non-101 assets and liabilities, including INBRX-105, INBRX-106, INBRX-109, Inhibrx’s non-101 discovery pipeline and its corporate infrastructure, will be spun out from the company into a new publicly traded company, Inhibrx Biosciences Inc.
Blanchard announces collaboration with OpenAI
Blanchard, a global pioneer in leadership development, consulting, and coaching for more than 40 years, announces the strategic partnership with OpenAI, adopting its ChatGPT Enterprise platform. This collaboration signifies Blanchard’s commitment to revolutionizing the approach to leadership training and development, ensuring that leaders are not only prepared for the challenges of today but become visionaries for the opportunities of tomorrow.
Ascent completes first public securitization of college loans in $287 million offering
Ascent, a leading provider of innovative financial products and student support services, enabling students to access education and achieve academic and economic success, is proud to announce its inaugural public securitization in a $287.43 million transaction. The offering included its most innovative product to increase access to college education, the pioneering Outcomes-based Loan.
GC Cell participates in 2024 Bio International Convention
GC Cell, a leader in the cell and gene therapy (CGT) sector within the biopharmaceutical industry, proudly announces its role as the first Korean Business Forum sponsor at the upcoming 2024 BIO International Convention. Set to take place in San Diego from June 3-6, this year’s convention is themed “Making the Impossible Possible” and anticipates participation from over 1,500 companies and 20,000 attendees worldwide.
2024 Indie Book Award winners announced
Independent Book Publishing Professionals Group (IBPPG) has named the best indie books of 2024. The books are winners of the 2024 Next Generation Indie Book Awards, the largest international book awards program for independent publishers and self-published authors. The winners and finalists will be honored Friday, June 28 at a gala event at the US Grant Hotel in San Diego, coinciding with the American Library Association Annual Conference.
2024 is the 17th year of the largest international book awards program.
Immunic to participate in 2024 BIO International Convention
Immunic, Inc. , a biotechnology company developing a clinical pipeline of orally administered, small molecule therapies for chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, announced participation in the 2024 BIO International Convention June 4 in San Diego.
Jessica Breu, vice president nvestor relations and communications, will present a company overview on June 4 at 11:00 a.m.
Cortechs.ai launches novel prostate imaging solution
Cortechs.ai, a market leader in the quantitative imaging space for over a decade with their flagship product NeuroQuant, is now formally expanding beyond neuroradiology with the widespread commercialization of their prostate MRI solution, OnQ Prostate. OnQ Prostate is FDA-cleared post-processing software that aids radiologists in their interpretation of prostate MRI by supporting improved detection of clinically significant prostate cancer.
Korean scalp care expert Dr. FORHAIR renews Costco contract
Dr.FORHAIR, a functional hair care brand with clinically-validated scalp-based solutions renewed a 1-year contract for Folligen Original Shampoo in 250 Costco branches across the U.S. Celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month, it continues to draw the spotlight towards Korean beauty brands as a whole. The brand’s most popular product, Folligen Original Shampoo, will be available most prominently in Los Angeles, as well as San Diego, San Francisco, and San Jose in Costco locations starting in June.
Sandiola serves as lead sponsor for first Pull-up for Hunger fundraiser
Sandiola proudly announces the successful completion of the first annual Pull-Up for Hunger fundraiser, held on May 21, 2024, at San Dieguito Academy High School in Encinitas. In collaboration with The Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank and the San Dieguito Academy High School Boys Lacrosse team, the event aimed to fight hunger and build awareness around food insecurity in San Diego County.
North Island Credit Union Foundation presents
2024 Innovation in Education Impact Award
As the Premier Sponsor of the Classroom of the Future Foundation (CFF), North Island Credit Union Foundation recently presented the organization’s prestigious 2024 Innovation in Education Impact Award to Grossmont Union High School District for its Patient Care Pipeline Program. In recognition of the award, North Island Credit Union Foundation provided Grossmont Union High School District with $10,000 to support student participation in its Patient Care Pipeline, a unique program that prepares high school students for a variety of health care career opportunities.
