Palestinian lives are “not seen as equivalent” to others
[unable to retrieve full-text content] EU MP Lynn Boylan says the EU’s inaction on Gaza shows it doesn’t see Palestinian lives as equal to Ukrainian ones.
Death toll in Thailand-Cambodia border clashes hits 32, over 130 injured
The death toll on both sides now stands at 32, as fears grow of a larger conflict breaking out between the neighbours. Cambodian officials have reported another 12 people killed as a result of the ongoing border dispute with Thailand, with the death toll on both sides now standing at 32, as fears grow that the Southeast Asian neighbours may become engulfed in an extended conflict. Cambodian Ministry of National Defence spokesperson Maly Socheata told reporters on Saturday that seven more civilians and five soldiers were confirmed dead. One other Cambodian man was earlier reported killed when Thai rockets hit the Buddhist pagoda he was hiding in on Thursday. At least 50 Cambodian civilians and more than 20 soldiers have also been injured, the spokesperson said. Thailand has reported 13 civilians – including children – as well as six soldiers killed over the past two days of fighting. An additional 29 Thai soldiers and 30 civilians have also been wounded in Cambodian attacks. Cambodian newspaper The Khmer Times, quoting officials in Cambodia’s Preah Vihear province, said about 20,000 residents have so far been evacuated from the country’s northern border with Thailand. More than 138,000 people have also been evacuated from Thailand’s border regions, with about 300 evacuation centres opened, according to Thai officials. On Friday, Thailand declared martial law in eight districts along the border with Cambodia. The decades-old conflict – centred around a contested section of the Thai-Cambodian border – re-erupted on Thursday after a landmine explosion along the border wounded five Thai soldiers. Advertisement Tensions spilled over on Thursday with Thailand and Cambodia carrying out direct attacks on one another’s territory, with both sides accusing the other of opening fire first. Thailand said the Cambodian military launched long-range rockets at civilian targets in the country, including a strike on a petrol station that killed at least six people. The Thai military then scrambled an F-16 fighter jet to bomb targets in Cambodia, including the reported strike on the Buddhist pagoda, which resulted in one civilian casualty. Cambodia has accused Thailand of using a large number of cluster munitions – a controversial and widely condemned weapon – calling it a clear violation of international law. Phumtham Wechayachai, Thailand’s acting prime minister, said on Friday that Cambodia may be guilty of war crimes due to the deaths of civilians, as well as damage caused to a hospital. The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) held an emergency meeting focused on the clashes behind closed doors late on Friday in New York, but did not issue an official public statement after the meeting. The Associated Press news agency, citing an unnamed council diplomat, reported that all 15 UNSC members called on the parties to de-escalate fighting, show restraint and resolve the dispute peacefully. Adblock test (Why?)
UK’s Starmer faces mounting pressure to recognise Palestinian state
More than 200 lawmakers in the United Kingdom have called on the British government to recognise a Palestinian state, as pressure mounts on Prime Minister Keir Starmer to take concrete action amid Israel’s war on Gaza. Some 221 MPs from across the political spectrum signed an open letter on Friday calling on Starmer’s Labour government to recognise a Palestinian state in advance of a United Nations conference on Palestine next week. “We are expectant that the outcome of the conference will be the UK Government outlining when and how it will act on its long-standing commitment on a two-state solution; as well as how it will work with international partners to make this a reality,” the letter reads. “Whilst we appreciate the UK does not have it in its power to bring about a free and independent Palestine, UK recognition would have a significant impact due to our historic connections and our membership on the UN Security Council, so we urge you to take this step.” Parliamentarians from nine political parties were among the signatories, Labour MP Sarah Champion said, including Labour, the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, SNP, and the Greens. The letter comes as public anger is growing in the UK and around the world over Israel’s continued bombardment and blockade of the Gaza Strip, which has spurred a deadly starvation crisis. 221 MPs, from 9 parties, have sent a joint letter to the Prime Minister & Foreign Secretary urging them to recognise Palestine as a state now pic.twitter.com/b2hbX2XCGR — Sarah Champion (@SarahChampionMP) July 25, 2025 Advertisement It also comes a day after French President Emmanuel Macron announced that France would recognise the State of Palestine at the UN in September. “Consistent with its historic commitment to a just and lasting peace in the Middle East, I have decided that France will recognise the State of Palestine,” Macron said in a social media post on Thursday. “I will make this solemn announcement before the United Nations General Assembly this coming September. The urgent priority today is to end the war in Gaza and to bring relief to the civilian population.” Macron’s announcement drew the ire of Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said the move “rewards terror”. But Netanyahu has faced widespread condemnation for Israel’s continuing assault on Gaza, which has killed more than 59,000 Palestinians since it began in October 2023. Israel’s blockade of the enclave has caused a deepening humanitarian crisis, with the United Nations and top human rights groups reporting that many Palestinian children are now suffering from severe malnutrition and at risk of death. In a statement on Friday, Starmer said “the appalling scenes in Gaza are unrelenting”. “The continued captivity of hostages, the starvation and denial of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people, the increasing violence from extremist settler groups, and Israel’s disproportionate military escalation in Gaza are all indefensible,” he said. But Starmer stopped short of announcing plans to recognise a Palestinian state, instead saying he was working “on a pathway to peace in the region”. “That pathway will set out the concrete steps needed to turn the ceasefire so desperately needed, into a lasting peace,” he said. “Recognition of a Palestinian state has to be one of those steps. I am unequivocal about that. But it must be part of a wider plan which ultimately results in a two-state solution and lasting security for Palestinians and Israelis.” Reporting from a protest outside Starmer’s residence in London on Friday afternoon, Al Jazeera’s Milena Veselinovic said demonstrators expressed “outrage” at the British government’s stance amid the dire situation in Gaza. “Many of them feel powerless, so one of the only things they can do is gather here, make as much noise as they can, and hope that it will be noticed by the people in power,” she said. “They want Keir Starmer to do more with the power that he has, and with the influence that he has, to put an end to this.” In addition to recognising a Palestinian state, the British government has faced growing calls to sanction Israel and impose an arms embargo against the country. Advertisement Veselinovic said Starmer is in “a difficult diplomatic situation” as he prepares to meet United States President Donald Trump, who was travelling to Scotland on Friday. She explained that Macron’s announcement added pressure on the UK, which is a close ally of both France and the US, to also recognise a Palestinian state, but noted that Trump has criticised the French president’s move. “It does seem like a gulf is emerging here over what the European stance is overall, which is much more aligned with what UN aid agencies are saying is going on on the ground in Gaza, and the American position, which seems to nearly 100 percent back whatever is the Israeli government’s version of events is,” she said. “And in the middle of that is Keir Starmer, who wants to maintain good relations with both sides.” Adblock test (Why?)
US military expands enforcement role at Mexican border under Donald Trump
United States troop deployments at the border with Mexico have tripled to 7,600 and include every branch of the military – even as the number of attempted illegal crossings plummets. In addition, President Donald Trump has authorised funding for an additional 3,000 Border Patrol agents, offering $10,000 signing and retention bonuses. The military mission at the border is guided from a new command centre at a remote Army intelligence training base located alongside southern Arizona’s Huachuca Mountains. There, a community hall has been transformed into a bustling war room, where battalion commanders and staff use digital maps to pinpoint military camps and movements along the nearly 3,200-kilometre (2,000-mile) border. Until now, border enforcement had been the domain of civilian law enforcement, with the military only intermittently stepping in. But in April, large swaths of the border were designated militarised zones, empowering US troops to apprehend immigrants and others accused of trespassing and authorising additional criminal charges that can mean prison time. The two-star general leading the mission says troops are being untethered from maintenance and warehouse tasks to work closely with US Border Patrol agents in high-traffic areas for illegal crossings – and to deploy rapidly to remote, unguarded terrain. “We don’t have a [labour] union. There’s no limit on how many hours we can work in a day, how many shifts we can man,” said Army Major-General Scott Naumann. “I can put soldiers out whenever we need to in order to get after the problem, and we can put them out for days at a time. We can fly people into incredibly remote areas now that we see the cartels shifting [course].” Advertisement The Trump administration is using the military broadly to boost its immigration operations, from guarding federal buildings in Los Angeles against protests, to assisting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Florida. There are also plans to hold detained immigrants on military bases in New Jersey, Indiana and Texas. Dan Maurer, a law professor at Ohio Northern University and a retired US Army judge advocate officer, said that Trump is aiming to follow through on his campaign promise to crack down on undocumented border crossings. “It’s all part of the same strategy that is a very muscular, robust, intimidating, aggressive response to this – to show his base that he was serious about a campaign promise to fix immigration,” said Maurer. “It’s both norm-breaking and unusual. It puts the military in a very awkward position.” Adblock test (Why?)
Players hits back at FIFA and Infantino after Club World Cup
FIFA and its President Gianni Infantino have been criticised for the expanded Club World Cup in the domestic off season. The global football players’ union has hit back at FIFA and its President Gianni Infantino, saying their autocratic style of leadership was harming the rights of its members. “Football needs responsible leadership, not emperors,” the FIFPRO network said on Friday after a meeting of 58 national player unions responded to FIFA pursuing its agenda with unofficial player representatives. “It needs fewer autocratic monologues and more genuine, inclusive and transparent dialogue,” the union added. FIFA announced two weeks ago that it reached a consensus on key issues after Infantino hosted a group of mostly non-recognised officials in New York before the Club World Cup final. The latest rift between soccer’s governing body and its players’ unions flared while the European Commission in Brussels is considering a formal complaint against FIFA. It was filed by FIFPRO’s European division and national leagues in Europe against FIFA’s style of governance and decision-making. FIFPRO said FIFA’s core agenda included an overloaded global match calendar with too many games for elite players, a lack of physical and mental recovery periods and extreme playing conditions. Players at the monthlong Club World Cup in the United States, who played in the heat of daytime games to appeal to worldwide TV audiences, reported feeling dizzy and unwell. The 63-game tournament backed by Saudi Arabian money was lucrative for clubs, especially in Europe, though FIFA added it to the schedule without formally consulting players. Advertisement The tournament, FIFPRO said, was “celebrated by President Infantino despite being held under conditions that were extreme and inappropriate for any human being, demonstrating a troubling insensitivity to human rights, even when it concerns elite athletes. “FIFPRO reaffirmed its unwavering commitment to protecting the rights of men and women players – rights which are being seriously undermined by commercial policies imposed by its autocratic system of governance,” the Netherlands-based union said of FIFA. “This is a model that puts the health of players at risk and sidelines those at the heart of the game,” FIFPRO said, adding it was “unacceptable for an organization that claims global leadership to turn a blind eye to the basic needs of the players”. FIFA was approached for comment. FIFPRO has not had a formal working agreement with FIFA since the previous one expired in 2023. Adblock test (Why?)
Meta to suspend political advertising in the EU as transparency law looms
The social media giant follows Alphabet, Google’s parent company, which made a similar decision in November. Meta will suspend political and social issue advertising on its platforms in the European Union starting in October. Facebook and Instagram’s parent company announced the new policy change on Friday, citing legal uncertainty about the bloc’s new rules on political advertising. The Silicon Valley-based social media giant is following in the footsteps of Alphabet, Google’s parent company, which made the same decision in November. The EU legislation, called the Transparency and Targeting of Political Advertising (TTPA) regulation, which will apply from October 10, was prompted by concerns about disinformation and foreign interference in elections across the 27-country bloc. The law requires Big Tech companies to clearly label political advertising on their platforms, who paid for it and how much, as well as which elections are being targeted, or risk fines up to 6 percent of their annual turnover. “From early October 2025, we will no longer allow political, electoral and social issue ads on our platforms in the EU,” Meta said in a blog post. “This is a difficult decision – one we’ve taken in response to the EU’s incoming Transparency and Targeting of Political Advertising (TTPA) regulation, which introduces significant operational challenges and legal uncertainties,” it said. Meta said the EU rules would ultimately hurt Europeans. “We believe that personalised ads are critical to a wide range of advertisers, including those engaged on campaigns to inform voters about important social issues that shape public discourse,” it said. Advertisement “Regulations, like the TTPA, significantly undermine our ability to offer these services, not only impacting effectiveness of advertisers’ outreach but also the ability of voters to access comprehensive information.” Meta’s Facebook and Instagram are currently being investigated by the European Commission over their suspected failure to tackle disinformation and deceptive advertising in the run-up to the 2024 European Parliament elections. The EU probe is under the Digital Services Act, which requires Big Tech to do more to counter illegal and harmful content on their platforms or risk fines of as much as 6 percent of their global annual turnover. ByteDance’s TikTok is also in the EU crosshairs over its suspected failure to tackle election interference, notably in the Romanian presidential vote last November. Meta’s political advertising has long been a concern in the United States, as well. Last week, CEO Mark Zuckerberg settled a lawsuit brought on by shareholders over alleged privacy violations. The suit alleged that the company failed to comply with a Federal Trade Commission settlement in 2012 in efforts to protect consumer privacy. The lawsuit came amid the 2018 Cambridge Analytica scandal in which the social media giant gave user data to the firm – without their consent – for political advertising purposes. Adblock test (Why?)
Lionel Messi, Jordi Alba avoid sanctions over MLS All-Star snub
Former Barcelona duo Lionel Messi and Jordi Alba could have been banned for one match after sitting out All-Star match. Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi and Jordi Alba have not been sanctioned for skipping Wednesday’s MLS All-Star Game in Austin, Texas, their coach confirms. Both players were voted into the showcase by fans and the media, but neither featured in the MLS squad’s 3-1 win against Mexico’s Liga MX All-Stars. League rules stipulate that players who choose to opt out of the All-Star Game without an approved medical reason can face a one-match suspension. Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano pointed out on Friday that his team had “played the most games so far this semester by far” and Messi “showed normal fatigue from the number of games and minutes he’s been playing”, according to ESPN. “Look, players always have discomfort, especially when they play every three days. But luckily, [Messi] is returning today,” Mascherano said on Friday. “Let’s hope he can train alongside the group so we can count on both of them for tomorrow’s game. We haven’t received any [sanction].” Inter Miami host FC Cincinnati on Saturday night at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Mascherano said Messi, 38, and Alba, 36, will be available for the match depending on their fitness levels. Messi shares the MLS top scorer honours with 18 goals and has 10 assists in 17 league matches this season. The Argentinian forward also made six starts in the CONCACAF Champions Cup and four in the FIFA Club World Cup. Alba has one goal and eight assists in 18 MLS matches. The Spanish defender made seven starts in the Champions Cup and one in the Club World Cup. Advertisement Adblock test (Why?)
India’s Modi pledges $565m to Maldives to boost infrastructure
Prime Minister Narendra Modi says India will also support the Maldives in ‘strengthening its defence capabilities’. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced a $565m credit line and launched free trade talks with the Maldives during a visit to the Indian Ocean archipelago. Modi’s two-day trip, which began on Friday, is aimed at boosting India’s development partnership with the Maldives, where India competes with China for influence. The Indian prime minister said the credit line was central to that goal. “This will be used for projects linked to infrastructure development in line with the priorities of the Maldivian people,” he said, adding that the two countries would also finalise a bilateral investment agreement. Modi, who is making his first official visit to the Maldives since winning a third term last year, also stressed that India will remain the “first responder” for the country, which has a population of approximately 525,000 people. “India will continue to support the Maldives in strengthening its defence capabilities,” he said. “Peace, stability, and prosperity in the Indian Ocean region are our shared goals.” India had been concerned that the Maldives was drifting towards the orbit of its rival China following the 2023 election of President Mohamed Muizzu on an anti-India platform. Since coming to power, Muizzu broke tradition by choosing to travel to China before visiting India. He also secured the withdrawal of a small contingent of Indian military personnel, who operated two search-and-rescue helicopters and a fixed-wing reconnaissance aircraft based in the archipelago. Advertisement Muizzu’s moves briefly soured relations with New Delhi, before India helped to prevent the $7.5bn economy from defaulting on its debt as the Maldives struggled to get tourists to its white-sand beaches and luxury resorts. Muizzu has since visited India and toned down his anti-India rhetoric. He also met Modi twice last year in New Delhi, with both leaders pledging to begin a “new chapter” in bilateral ties. On Friday, Muizzu said the credit line from India would be used to strengthen the Maldives’ security forces, as well as improve healthcare, housing, and education. “India’s continued assistance to the Maldives through the export of essential commodities is a key facet of our bilateral cooperation,” he said. Modi is due to leave the archipelago on Saturday after attending the country’s 60th Independence Day celebrations in the capital, Male. The Indian prime minister will also remotely inaugurate an expansion of the international airport on the island of Hanimaadhoo, which India is helping to finance. Adblock test (Why?)
Trump says Hamas will be ‘hunted down’ as Gaza ceasefire talks wane
Washington, DC – United States President Donald Trump has suggested that Hamas is refusing to agree to a Gaza truce because it fears what comes after all the Israeli captives are released. Trump’s comments at the White House on Friday appear to suggest that the US and Israel are not ready to guarantee a lasting end to the war but rather a short-term truce to get Israeli captives out of Gaza. “We’re down to the final hostages, and they know what happens after you get the final hostages,” the US president told reporters. “And basically because of that, they really didn’t want to make a deal.” Trump blamed the Palestinian group solely for the apparent collapse of the ceasefire talks, saying the group is going to be “hunted down”. “Hamas didn’t really want to make a deal. I think they want to die, and it’s very, very bad,” he said. On Thursday, Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff said Washington was cutting short its involvement in the negotiations, accusing Hamas of showing “a lack of desire to reach a ceasefire”. Israel also said it withdrew its negotiators from Qatar, where the ceasefire talks were taking place. Hamas expressed bewilderment at the US position, saying it had made “a sincere commitment to the success of the mediators’ efforts” to reach a deal. The group also said the mediators — Qatar and Egypt — welcomed its “constructive and positive” position. Talks have been ongoing for months to secure a 60-day truce that would see the release of 10 Israeli captives and a pause in the Israeli bombardment of Palestinians in Gaza. Advertisement Hamas has insisted that it is seeking a permanent ceasefire. Witkoff previously said the truce “will lead to a lasting peace in Gaza”. However, Israeli officials repeatedly described plans to return to the fighting and remove all Palestinians from Gaza after the captives are released. In fact, Israeli Minister of Defence Israel Katz has said that the country would use the truce to move hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to an internment camp in southern Gaza, in preparation for their removal from the territory altogether. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said during a visit to Washington, DC, earlier this month that Israel “still has to finish the job in Gaza” despite the ceasefire talks. In February, Trump called for depopulating Gaza and turning the territory into a “Riviera of the Middle East” — a proposal that legal experts say would amount to ethnic cleansing, a crime against humanity. Israel has systematically flattened large parts of Gaza, using bombardment, explosives and bulldozers in what advocates say is an effort to make the territory unliveable. Netanyahu has argued, however, that the departure of Palestinians would be “voluntary”. But human rights experts warned that people do not actually have a choice when they are under the threat of bombardment and starvation. On Thursday, Trump suggested that Gaza is set to experience more violence, saying Israel is “going to have to fight”. “They’re going to have to clean it up. You’re going to have to get rid of it,” he said. Trump dismisses French recognition of Palestine The US president’s comments come as deadly hunger continues to spread in Gaza due to an Israeli blockade impeding the flow of aid and other essential supplies into the territory. The Israeli-imposed starvation in Gaza has garnered international condemnation, even from close allies of the US and Israel. On Thursday, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney slammed the denial of humanitarian aid to Gaza as a “violation of international law”. French President Emmanuel Macron also said his country will recognise Palestine as a state at the United Nations General Assembly in September. Before leaving for the United Kingdom on Friday, Trump dismissed his French counterpart’s statement, saying it “doesn’t carry any weight”. “Here’s the good news: What he says doesn’t matter,” Trump said. “It’s not going to change anything.” Adblock test (Why?)
Fact check: Did US go from ice cream trade surplus to deficit under Biden?
President Donald Trump’s administration dished out a cold burn to Trump’s ice-cream-loving predecessor, Joe Biden, saying he led the US ice cream industry down an economic rocky road. “America had a trade surplus in ice cream in 2020 under President Trump’s leadership, but that surplus turned into a trade deficit of $40.6 million under President Biden’s watch,” the Office of the US Trade Representative wrote July 20 on X. The post included a chart that shows the US ice cream trade deficit with Japan, South Africa, the European Union, Brazil, Canada and Turkiye. The US ice cream trade balance did change dramatically in 2021, the year Biden took office. The trade balance officially flipped negative – which means imports outnumber exports – in 2022 and has remained so since then. But industry experts caution that US ice cream imports account for a minuscule fraction of all the US ice cream consumed in the US, and exports account for a tiny fraction of all US ice cream produced. The trade change was driven mostly by a jump in imports. Exports have remained largely unchanged since 2020. And the cherry on top? Disagreement over which products to classify as “ice cream” also affects data, experts say. For example, the data referenced by the office of the US Trade Representative also includes “edible ice”, which some experts (and dairy defenders) say doesn’t qualify as ice cream. Removing edible ice shows that “the US is a net exporter by a significant margin of ($193 million) or +85% larger by value,” International Dairy Foods Association Executive Vice President Matt Herrick told PolitiFact via email. Advertisement Ice cream imports increase causes US trade deficit From 1995 to 2020, the US had an ice cream trade surplus, ranging from about $20m to about $160m, according to the Observatory of Economic Complexity, an online economic data platform. Longtime customers include Mexico, followed by Saudi Arabia and Canada. In 2021, that surplus nearly vanished, and in 2022 and 2023, the US notched up an ice cream trade deficit of $92m and $33m, respectively. At first glance, importing frozen foods doesn’t seem practical. “Shipping refrigerated and frozen products overseas is expensive,” dairy economist Betty Berningat of HighGround Dairy said. “Mexico is the top destination for US dairy exports.” But many US and European companies have tapped into global markets. “Consumers may also want a specific treat that is styled after or known to be from another country,” Herrick said. Italy, the birthplace of gelato, is now the United States’ largest single source of imported ice cream. Italian ice cream imports more than quintupled from about $12m to almost $65m between 2020 and 2021 alone, before decreasing somewhat in 2023, the last year for which data is available. Some of this stems from increased consumer demand for specialty pints. A report by Mordor Intelligence, a global market research firm, said “product innovation and premiumisation” have become key in the US ice cream industry. “This trend is particularly evident in the growth of premium pint offerings and individually wrapped novelties that cater to both indulgence and portion control preferences,” the report said. The US produces far more ice cream than it imports or exports To get to the pint: The vast majority of ice cream consumed in the United States is made there, not overseas. The Trump administration is cherry-picking stats from a fraction of a sliver of the US ice cream industry. According to US Agriculture Department data, US ice cream makers churned out 1.31 billion gallons of ice cream in 2024. This includes regular ice cream, low-fat and nonfat ice cream, sherbet and frozen yoghurt. By comparison, the US imported 2.35 million gallons of traditional ice cream in 2024 – that’s 0.18 percent of the amount produced domestically, Herrick said. The US exported 16.4 million gallons of that domestic production, which is also a tiny fraction of 1.31 billion gallons of ice cream – a little more than 1 percent. Factoring in ice cream mixes, excluding ‘edible ice’ products Another caveat about the international trade data: It does not include “mixes”, which skews the totals, said Herrick of the International Dairy Foods Association. Advertisement Mixes are used to make ice cream shakes and soft-serve products, and they account for a significant portion of US ice cream exports. “Inclusion of such data points would change the picture quite significantly,” said Herrick. “While it is true that traditional ice cream and edible ice exports have seen decreased exports, the same cannot be said for exports of mixes.” US milk-based drink exports increased 621 percent over the past five years, he said. In 2024, the US exported nearly $35m in mixes to the European Union. Americans and dairy-based ice cream: A centuries-old love affair melting away? The White House has churned out plenty of ice cream devotees. George Washington stocked the capital with ice cream-making equipment. Thomas Jefferson is credited as being the first American to record an ice cream recipe. Ronald Reagan declared July National Ice Cream Month in 1984. Barack Obama even slung scoops back in the day. Biden, who was often sighted with a cone in hand, proclaimed while visiting Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream headquarters in 2016: “My name is Joe Biden, and I love ice cream.” But consumption of regular dairy ice cream – a category that does not include frozen yoghurt, sherbet or nonfat and low-fat ice creams – has been trending down for years. In 1975, Americans ate an average of 18.2 pounds each of ice cream per year. That figure fell to 11.7 pounds by 2023. Our ruling The office of the US Trade Representative purported a summertime scoop: “America had a trade surplus in ice cream in 2020 under President Trump’s leadership, but that surplus turned into a trade deficit of $40.6 million under President Biden’s watch.” It’s accurate that the US ice cream trade balance had a surplus for a quarter of a century before turning negative while Biden was president. But the US Trade Representative’s statement makes the US