Category World News

Joe Biden, the ice-cream-loving predecessor of Donald Trump, was given a cold burn by the president’s administration, who claimed he had led the US ice cream industry on a difficult economic footing.

Under President Trump’s leadership, the Office of the US Trade Representative reported on X on July 20 that “America had a trade surplus in ice cream in 2020, but that surplus turned into a trade deficit of $40.6 million.” A chart was included in the post that showed the US’s trade deficit with Turkiye, South Africa, Brazil, Canada, and Japan.

In the year that Biden took office, the US ice cream trade balance dramatically changed. Imports outnumber exports officially changed to zero in 2022, which indicates that the trade balance has changed since.

However, experts in the industry caution that exports account for only a small portion of the US’s ice cream production, and imports account for only a small portion of the country’s total.

Imports increased, primarily, to drive the trade change. Since 2020, exports have largely remained unchanged.

Then there’s the cherry on top. Data is also affected by disagreement over what products should be categorized as “ice cream,” according to experts. For instance, the US Trade Representative’s office references “edible ice,” which some experts (and dairy advocates) contend doesn’t qualify as ice cream.

According to Executive Vice President of the International Dairy Foods Association, Matt Herrick, “the US is a net exporter by a significant margin of ($193 million) or + 85% larger by value” after removing edible ice, PolitiFact received an email from the organization.

US trade deficit is caused by rising imports of ice cream.

According to the Online Observatory of Economic Complexity, which tracks economic data, the US had a trade surplus of between $ 20 million and $ 160 million between 1995 and 2020. Mexico is the country’s longest-standing client, followed by Saudi Arabia and Canada.

The US recorded an ice cream trade deficit of $92 million and $33 million, respectively, in 2021, which was close to losing.

Importing frozen foods seems unfavorable at first glance.

According to dairy economist Betty Berningat of HighGround Dairy, shipping frozen and refrigerated goods abroad is expensive. Mexico is “the top destination for US dairy exports,” according to the statement.

However, many US and European businesses have entered global markets.

Consumers may also want a particular dish named after or credited with being from another nation, according to Herrick.

Italy, the country’s first source for imported ice cream, is now the largest single source for imported ice cream in the United States. Italian ice cream imports increased by almost $65 million between 2020 and 2021 alone, before dropping slightly in 2023, the most recent year for which data is available.

This is partially due to the rise in demand for specialty pints among consumers. According to a report from Mordor Intelligence, a global market research firm, “product innovation and premiumization have become important in the US ice cream industry.”

The growth of premium pint offerings and individually wrapped novelties that offer both indulgence and portion control preferences is evidence of this trend, according to the report.

Much more ice cream is produced in the US than it is exported or imported.

To get to the pint: American ice cream is made there, not abroad.

The US ice cream industry is cherry-picking statistics from a sizable portion of it.

In 2024, US ice cream producers produced 1.31 billion gallons of the stuff, according to data from the US Agriculture Department. This includes frozen yoghurt, low-fat ice cream, sherbet, and regular ice cream.

In 2024, the US imported 2.35 million gallons of traditional ice cream, or 0.18 percent of the country’s production, according to Herrick.

That domestic production, which is only a small portion of 1.31 billion gallons of ice cream, was exported by the US, or about 1 percent of that amount.

Factoring in ice cream mixes, excluding “edible ice” products.

Another con for the international trade data is that it does not include “mixes,” which skew the totals, according to Herrick of the International Dairy Foods Association.

Making ice cream shakes and soft-serve products is done using mixes, which account for a sizable portion of US ice cream exports. Herrick remarked, “Inclusion of these data points would significantly alter the picture.” The exports of mixes have decreased, but it is true that the same cannot be said for traditional ice cream and edible ice exports.

He claimed that over the past five years, exports of milk-based beverages from the US have increased by 621 percent. The US exported nearly $35 million in mixes to the European Union in 2024.

A centuries-old love affair is melting away, Americans and dairy-based ice cream.

There are a lot of ice cream devoted fans at The White House.

The capital was provided with ice cream-making equipment by George Washington&nbsp. Thomas Jefferson is credited as the first person to create an ice cream recipe in the world. Ronald Reagan declared July 1984 National Ice Cream Month. Barack Obama even slung scoops back in the day, according to legend.

When Biden visited Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream headquarters in 2016 and was frequently seen with a cone in hand, Biden declared, “I love ice cream, and my name is Joe Biden.”

However, regular dairy ice cream consumption has been declining for years, a category that does not include frozen yoghurt, sherbet, or nonfat and low-fat ice creams.

Americans consumed 18.2 pounds of ice cream each year on average in 1975. That figure fell to 11.7 pounds by 2023.

Our decision

Under President Trump’s leadership, the US Trade Representative’s office claimed to have a summertime scoop: “America had a trade surplus in ice cream in 2020, but that surplus turned into a trade deficit of $40.6 million under President Biden’s watch.”

It is accurate to say that before Biden became president, the US ice cream trade balance was surplus for a quarter of a century.

However, the statement from the US Trade Representative causes the US ice-cream deficit to appear convoluted.

This trade sundae contains three scoops of context:

Imports increased a lot, which contributed to the change. Since 2020, exports have largely remained unchanged.

In comparison to domestic production, US ice cream imports and exports are insignificant.

There is disagreement over whether a particular product should or not be included in the data set, which can affect how trend interpretations are interpreted. The US has a surplus after factoring in ice cream mixes and edible ice products.

We rate the statement Mostly True, but it still needs some clarification and more details.

Small-scale coffee grower Jose Natal da Silva in Porciuncula, Brazil, is losing sleep because of concerns raised by President Donald Trump’s proposed new 50% US tariff on Brazilian goods.

The tariff, which is widely believed to be a political move in support of far-right Trump ally Jair Bolsonaro, who is currently facing a coup-planned trial, could lower Brazilian coffee’s demand and prices in the country’s top export market.

Brazil exports 85 percent of its coffee globally, making up 85 percent of that country’s total. Brazil is the biggest coffee customer because the US purchases 16 percent of that. Experts warn that the tariff will hurt Brazilian coffee producers, who make up the majority of Brazil’s coffee and have less resources to deal with downturns or relocate to new markets.

Already crop losses were caused by the drought that caused the climate last year. Prices for Arabica, which have fallen by 33 percent since February, are now adding to the decline. Da Silva, who grows 40 000 trees and other crops on a daily basis, warned that “we struggle for years and suddenly we might lose everything.”

Paulo Menezes Freitas, a nearby smallholder with 35, 000 trees, fears being forced to stop growing coffee in Varre-Sai. He claims that important imports like machinery and aluminum are also impacted by the tariff. He said, “It feels like the ground is sagging beneath us.”

Brazil’s coffee exporters are cautiously optimistic despite the blow. Marcio Ferreira, president of the Council of Coffee Exporters of Brazil (Cecafe), thinks US customers can’t afford to stop importing Brazilian beans. Small farmers fervently hope for a turnaround before their livelihoods disappear, however, on the ground.

An invisible threat is threatening our communities around the world, causing more deaths, lowering the quality of life, and compromising our shared cultural fabric. A person who lacks sufficient social contact, feels unsupported in their current relationships, or has strained or negative relationships is a growing threat to their well-being and well-being. Loneliness and social isolation are two other social disconnections that are present.

Worldwide, nearly one in six people express loneliness today. The rate is even higher among young people, teenagers, and those who reside in low-income nations. However, social isolation and loneliness can be fatal as well. They are more than just emotional states. Loneliness was linked to more than 871, 000 deaths annually between 2014 and 2019, according to a recent World Health Organization (WHO) report, or 100 deaths per hour. We now have unquestionable proof that our ability to form and maintain lasting human connections is just as important for our well-being as our physical and mental health. Health systems and policymakers have ignored it for too long, respectively.

The World Health Assembly adopted the first social connection resolution in a month with the release of the report from WHO’s Commission on Social Connection. This enormous threat to global health is at a turning point, and the report emphasizes the need for decisive leadership and action. In line with the commission’s recommendations, the report provides concrete steps forward and provide concrete steps to strengthen bonds that support individual and social progress.

Humans have a strong connection mechanism. Relationships have a profound impact on our brains, our feelings, and our ability to live well. Conversely, disconnection can lead to devastating consequences, including heart disease, stroke, depression, anxiety, dementia, and premature death. It can also lead to subpar academic performance in schools and workplaces, which costs societies billions annually.

The good news is that there are solutions. From national policies and community programs to campaigns and individual support strategies, the commission’s report lists effective interventions. It identifies a number of successful examples, including peer-to-peer support for low-income older people in South Africa, “social prescribing” activities like music, storytelling, gardening, and self-help groups, incorporating social connection into broader development policies in Albania and Spain, establishing dedicated national strategies in nations like Denmark, Germany, Japan, Finland, the Netherlands, and Sweden, and campaigns to encourage small acts of kindness in Australia, Great Britain, and the United States.

We urge all nations to give social connection a prioritization.

Not just about personal well-being and health. It serves as the foundation of social cohesion, national resilience, and economic prosperity. Societies that foster trust and connection are more creative, more secure, and able to handle crises more effectively. This fact was only ever greatly improved by the COVID-19 pandemic. The human need for connection became unmistakable as physical separation was forced by lockdowns, as did the expense of its absence.

A five-pillar global roadmap, which the WHO commission recommends, is built on the foundation of research, interventions, measurement, and engagement.

The main recommendations are to develop national policies that incorporate social connections into the labor, health, and education agendas, fund research to improve the effectiveness of interventions that are culturally relevant, collect better data to track the issue and assess progress, and create a global movement to change attitudes and combat stigma.

It is crucial that this movement includes the voices of those who have experienced loneliness and social isolation to gain insight into what true solutions look like.

We as leaders have a choice: to remain passive. Every day we delay adds to the day’s lost potential, unnecessary suffering, and preventable death. However, we can create more resilient, connected, and healthier societies if we take bold steps, work together, and show compassion on a large scale.

Socializing is not a luxury. It is necessary for humans. And now must it be a political priority more than ever.

A Palestinian man develops self-assurance and anxiety after signing an online petition.

The filmmaker’s direct phone conversation with a friend, “I Signed the Petition,” makes the documentary short about how the pair examine and question the significance of announcing a cultural boycott of Israel.

Includes footage from the Council for the Relief of Palestine’s Arab Refugees’ film Sands of Sorrow, which was filmed in 1950.