Germany yesterday announced a €1.6-billion ($1.9-billion) fuel price relief package for households and businesses struggling with the energy shock triggered by the Middle East conflict.

Following talks between his CDU party and its coalition partners, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said his government has decided to cut the tax on petrol and diesel by around 17 euro cents ($0.19) for two months.

Germany yesterday announced a €1.6-billion ($1.9-billion) fuel price relief package for households and businesses struggling with the energy shock triggered by the Middle East conflict.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz said his government has decided to cut the tax on petrol and diesel by around $0.19 for two months.
The funds for the relief measures would be financed by higher taxes on tobacco.

The announcement followed another surge in oil prices after the US-Iran peace talks collapsed and US President Donald Trump’s decision to blockade the Strait of Hormuz.

The war “is the root cause of the problems we face in our own country”, said Merz, stressing that Berlin is doing all it could to try to end the conflict.

“This will very quickly improve the situation for drivers and businesses in the country, and above all for those who, mainly for professional reasons, spend a great deal of time on the road,” he told a news conference in Berlin.

The funds for the relief measures would be financed by higher taxes on tobacco, a finance ministry spokesman was cited as saying by global newswires.

Employers can also pay staff tax-free bonuses of up to €1,000 ($1,170) to mitigate the impacts of inflation, which has already started rising in Germany, the government announced.

“At the same time, we cannot offset every single outcome on the market with government funds… The state cannot absorb all uncertainties, not all risks, not all disruptions in global politics,” Merz cautioned.

He said the war’s effects are likely to last long. “The German economy will face a significant burden over an extended period,” he added.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)

With fiscal positions weakened and policy space narrowed, policymakers in the ASEAN+3 region must prioritise safeguarding fiscal sustainability and rebuilding buffers, according to the ASEAN+3 Fiscal Policy Report (AFPR) 2026 released recently by the ASEAN +3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO).

At the same time, growing demands on fiscal policy require governments not only to respond to immediate shocks, but also to support growth, facilitate structural transformation and reduce poverty and inequality over the medium to long term, it noted.

With fiscal positions weakened and policy space narrowed, ASEAN+3 policymakers must safeguard fiscal sustainability and rebuild buffers, the ASEAN+3 Fiscal Policy Report 2026 said.
Governments should also support growth, facilitate structural transformation and reduce poverty and inequality over the medium to long term, it noted.
Particular attention should be given to liabilities outside the budget.

ASEAN+3 comprises members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, along with China, South Korea and Japan.

These competing demands are compounded by sluggish revenue growth and rigid budget structures. Addressing these challenges will require stronger fiscal management frameworks, including improvements in risk management, fiscal aggregate management, strategic resource allocation, spending efficiency and revenue mobilisation.

The report also highlights the importance of comprehensive fiscal risk management, urging policymakers to strengthen the identification, assessment and disclosure of fiscal risks.

Particular attention should be given to liabilities outside the budget, including borrowing by off-budget public entities and government arrears.

Systematic monitoring and proactive management of contingent liabilities are essential, especially those related to government guarantees, public-private partnerships, state-owned enterprises and social security obligations, the report remarked.

Enhancing fiscal aggregate management, alongside improving strategic resource allocation and spending efficiency, will be critical to meeting rising expenditure demands in line with national priorities, while safeguarding fiscal sustainability and rebuilding buffers, it added.

The report further encourages policymakers to implement comprehensive and durable revenue-enhancing measures, including strengthening tax administration—particularly through digitalisation—rationalising tax expenditures and advancing structural reforms to major taxes.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)

The American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) along with 18 other trade bodies recently wrote a letter to Congressional leadership in the US House of Representatives seeking support to move HR 4930 forward in the legislative process.

The piece of legislation, aimed at addressing long-standing challenges to the enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPR) at US borders, was reported with unanimous, bipartisan support from the House Ways and Means Committee.

AAFA along with 18 other trade bodies recently wrote to Congressional leadership in the US House of Representatives seeking support to move HR 4930 forward in the legislative process.
The piece of legislation, aimed at addressing long-standing challenges to the enforcement of IPR at US borders, was reported with unanimous, bipartisan support from the House Ways and Means Committee.

“We encourage you to move swiftly in bringing the bill to the Floor,” the letter noted.

In fiscal 2023-2024, US Customs & Border Protection (CBP) seized over 32 million counterfeit and pirated items, valued in excess of $5 billion, across more than 300 ports of entry, the letter noted.

“More disconcerting though is the rate at which those figures are increasing. In just the past five years, the number of illicit goods seized by CBP has more than doubled, while the value of those goods has grown by more than 400 per cent,” the letter said.

“The cost of this criminal trafficking cannot be measured in dollars alone though, but in the injuries caused by often dangerous fakes that put consumers’ health and safety at risk, in diminished investments to drive the next wave of innovation by American businesses, in jobs lost

to unfair competition, and increasingly, by the threats such products pose to our national security,” the letter said.

The overwhelming volume of trade passing through U.S. ports, and the speed at which it moves, presents a significant obstacle to effective border enforcement, it noted.

While Congress has expressed a clear desire in recent years for greater partnership between the public and private sectors on these issues, CBP has raised concerns over both the scope of its authority to share information with, and to seek assistance from, its partners in the private sector in carrying out its IP enforcement mission, it said.

HR 4930 clarifies and expands the agency’s authority, offering practical tools to safeguard consumers and legitimate businesses.

“It is essential that CBP has the ability to work with relevant stakeholders throughout the supply chain, both to avoid the siloing of information that has often hindered the agency’s efficiency, and to ensure that the private sector can offer effective and timely assistance on matters of trade enforcement, thereby ensuring that bad actors and trade cheats are held accountable,” the letter added.

The trade associations which signed the letter include Baby Safety Alliance, International AntiCounterfeiting Coalition, International Intellectual Property Association, Personal Care Products Council and Transnational Alliance to Combat Illicit Trade.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)