exemption

WASHINGTON — President Trump said on Friday he’s considering granting Hungary an exemption from U.S. sanctions on Russian energy as he sat down with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán at the White House. “We’re looking at it because its very difficult for him to get the oil and gas from other areas,” Trump said.

Orbán said it’s a “vital” issue for his landlocked country, and said he planned to discuss with Trump the “consequences for the Hungarian people” if the sanctions took effect.

In comments on Friday, Orbán said he would present Trump with several “suggestions” for implementing an exemption.

“I’m not asking for some kind of gift from the Americans or some kind of unusual thing. I am simply asking for the realization that the sanctions recently imposed on Russian energy puts certain countries like Hungary, which do not have access to the sea, in an impossible situation,” Orbán said on state radio. “I’m going to ask the president to acknowledge that.”

A large delegation of cabinet members, business leaders and numerous right-wing political influencers with close connections to Hungary’s government accompanied Orbán to Washington. The delegation rented a 220-passenger commercial jet from Hungarian carrier Wizz Air for the journey.

Prior to Orbán’s arrival on Thursday, a bipartisan group of U.S. senators introduced a resolution calling on Hungary to end its dependence on Russian energy.

The resolution was co-signed by 10 senators including Republicans Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Chuck Grassley of Iowa, as well as Democrats Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire and Chris Coons of Delaware. It “expresses concern that Hungary has shown no sign of reducing its dependence on Russian fossil fuels,” and urges Budapest to adhere to a European Union plan to cease all Russian energy imports into the bloc by the end of 2027.

“Europe has made extraordinary progress cutting its energy ties with Moscow, but Hungary’s actions continue to undermine collective security and embolden the Kremlin,” Shaheen wrote in a statement. The resolution, she continued, “sends a clear message that when it comes to buying Russian energy, all allies should be held to the same standard, and that includes Hungary.”

On Friday, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said in Washington that he will sign a bilateral nuclear energy cooperation agreement with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, according to Hungarian state news agency MTI.

The deal will involve Hungary’s first-ever purchases of American nuclear fuel, which it currently buys from Russia, and introduce U.S. technology for the on-site storage of spent fuel at Hungary’s Paks nuclear plant. The agreement will also include cooperation on small modular reactors.

After arriving in Washington, Orbán and some of his top officials met with Eduardo Bolsonaro, the son of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who in September was sentenced to 27 years in prison for plotting a coup after an election loss. Orbán posted on social media: “We stand firmly with the Bolsonaros in these challenging times — friends and allies who never give up. Keep fighting: political witch-hunts have no place in democracy, truth and justice must prevail!”

Megerian and Spike write for the Associated Press. Spike reported from Budapest

The California Legislature on Thursday passed a pair of bills to prohibit on-duty law enforcement officers, including federal immigration agents, from masking their faces and to require them to identify themselves.

Senate Bill 627, written by Sens. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) and Jesse Arreguín (D-Berkeley), includes exceptions for SWAT teams and others. The measure was introduced after the Trump administration ordered immigration raids throughout the Los Angeles area earlier this year.

Federal officers in army-green neck gaiters or other face coverings have jumped out of vans and cars to detain individuals across California this summer as part of President Trump’s mass deportation program, prompting a wave of criticism from Democratic leaders.

Representatives for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security defend the face coverings, arguing that identifying officers subjects to them to retaliation and violence.

If supported by Gov. Gavin Newsom, the law would apply to local and federal officers, but not state officers such as California Highway Patrol officers. Wiener, when asked about that exemption on the Senate floor, declined to elaborate.

Leaders in Los Angeles County are exploring a similar measure to ban masks despite some legal experts’ view that the supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution dictates that federal law takes precedence over state law.

The bill’s backers argue that permitting officers to disguise themselves creates scenarios where impostors may stop and detain migrants, which undermines public trust and ultimately hinders legitimate law enforcement operations.

“The idea that in California we would have law enforcement officers running around with ski masks is terrifying,” Wiener said in a brief interview. “It destroys confidence in law enforcement.”

Wiener’s bill allows exceptions for masks, including for undercover officers. Medical coverings are also allowed. .

Senate Bill 805, a measure by Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez (D-Alhambra) that targets immigration officers who are in plainclothes but don’t identify themselves, also passed the state Legislature on Thursday.

Her bill requires law enforcement officers in plain clothes to display their agency, as well as either a badge number or name, with some exemptions.

The ‘de minimis’ import tax exemption helped fuel home delivery and the rise of e-commerce in the US.

The US has suspended tariff exemptions for small delivery packages valued at $800 or less, ending a loophole that allowed more than one billion packages to enter the US last year without customs duties.

The loophole is due to end on Friday in the US, followed by a six-month transition period to a new tariff regime.

More than 30 countries, including Australia, Germany, Japan and Mexico, have suspended or partially suspended package shipments to the US in advance of the cost change.

Postal unions around the world say more clarity is needed about how the tariff will be calculated before they resume shipments to the US.

Global logistics giant DHL said it would not ship standard business parcels to the US until “unresolved” questions are answered regarding “how and by whom customs duties will be collected in the future”, and “how the data transmission to the US Customs and Border Protection will be carried out”.

A White House fact sheet released on July 30 stated that tariff rates on small packages will be calculated in one of two ways starting August 29.

The first option sets a flat rate of $80 to $200 per item, depending on the country of origin. The second option is based on the value of the package and the “reciprocal” tariff rate set by the White House for individual countries.

The flat rate will only be available for the next six months, after which all small packages will be subject to a tariff of 10 to 40 percent for most countries.

The White House set its “reciprocal” tariff rates in July for most trade partners, although negotiations are ongoing with key trade partners Mexico and China.

The administration of President Donald Trump says that tariffs are necessary to lower the US trade deficit, while ending the “de minimis exemption” – which lets people off on paying import tax on small items – will help slow the movement of narcotics posted across borders.

The de minimis exemption has been in place since the 1930s, but it played a critical role in the US economy after it was raised from $200 to $800 in 2015. The exemption on import tax on items valued less than $800 helped pave the way for international e-commerce by letting retailers ship directly to the customer.

Over the past decade, the number of packages crossing the US border each year rose tenfold from 129 million to 1.36 billion, according to US customs data.

The exemption also previously allowed Chinese e-commerce giants like Shein and Temu to avoid paying tariffs set on Chinese goods during Trump’s first term in office.

US tariff exemption on packages worth $800 or less due to end this week.

Mexico says it will suspend package shipments to the United States before the end of a tariff exemption for small-value packages.

The announcement on Wednesday follows similar moves by postal services from several European countries, including Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Italy, and the United Kingdom, as they await  further details from the US government.

The “de minimis” exemption has allowed packages worth less than $800 to enter the US tariff-free since 2016, but the loophole is set to expire on Friday.

The change is expected to dent the business of Chinese e-commerce platforms like Shein and Temu – which have evaded US tariffs by mailing directly to customers – but it has also created confusion for other US trade partners. Mexico said it will suspend shipments pending more details from Washington about new duties.

“Mexico continues its dialogue with US authorities and international postal organisations to define mechanisms that will allow for the orderly resumption of services, providing certainty to users and avoiding setbacks in the delivery of goods,” the government said.

Shipping giant DHL said “key questions remain unresolved, particularly regarding how and by whom customs duties will be collected in the future, what additional data will be required, and how the data transmission to the US Customs and Border Protection will be carried out.”

The White House announced plans to suspend the de minimis exemption for all countries on July 30, as part of US President Donald Trump’s wider trade war.

The exemption was previously suspended for China, Hong Kong, Mexico, and Canada due to concerns about the flow of fentanyl and other drugs over the US border.

A White House Fact Sheet released on July 30 said two schemes may be used to calculate tariffs for small packages.

The first is calculated based on the value of the package, while the second scheme sets a tariff of $80 to $200 per item.

Both rates are based on the blanket tariff set by the Trump administration for most US trade partners in August, ranging from 10 to 40 percent.

The White House has also imposed tariffs on individual sectors, such as semiconductors, steel and aluminium, vehicles and auto parts.

Mexico is still negotiating its tariff rate with the US, and has pledged to raise tariffs on Chinese goods and take tougher measures against drug cartels to secure a deal with Trump. Some goods, however, will still be covered by the 2020 free trade US-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

Aug. 23 (UPI) — Many foreign governments are planning to stop some mail services to the United States after Friday’s expiration of the tariff exemption on low-cost goods.

France, Germany, India and the Britain temporarily have already suspended some mail services to the United States due to the expiration of the de minimis tariff exemption on low-cost goods, The Washington Post reported.

Other nations are planning to halt services.

The mail disruption could delay the receipt of some packages from those nations and others that might likewise halt some mail deliveries to U.S. destinations.

It also might lead to tariffs of $80 or more for respective products.

The suspensions won’t affect letters or small parcels worth less than $100 in many countries, Politico reported.

“The suspension will be maintained for the time strictly necessary to adopt the necessary operational measures to meet the new obligations of the United States,” the Spanish national postal service Correos said Friday.

On Friday, Belgian postal service Bpost stopped shipping parcels to the U.S. on Saturday, the company announced in a statement.

Britain’s Royal Mail, planning to halt service next week, said it hopes the stop would only last few days and will have “a new system up and running,” the BBC reported.

In France, “Despite discussions with the U.S. customs services, no time was granted to postal operators to organize themselves and ensure the necessary IT developments for compliance with the new established rules,” La Post said, according to reports in Le Monde.

In Germany, Deutsche Post and DHL Parcel Germany temporarily suspended business customer parcels to the U.S. beginning Saturday. Shipments via DHL Express are not affected.

President Donald Trump in July signed an executive order that ended the de minimis tariff exemption for low-value shipments from all nations to the United States as of Friday.

“Many shippers go to great lengths to evade law enforcement and hide illicit substances in imports that go through international commerce,” Trump said in the July 30 executive order ending the tariff exemption.

“Some of the techniques employed by these shippers to conceal the true contents of shipments, the identity of the distributors and the country of origin of the imports include the use of re-shippers in the United States, false invoices, fraudulent postage and deceptive packaging,” Trump said.

He said the “risks of evasion, deception and illicit drug importation” are especially high for “low-value articles” that were subject to the duty-free exemption.

The de minimis exemption eliminated tariffs on goods valued at $800 or less when shipped or mailed to the United States.

Trump ordered the Department of Homeland Security to eliminate the tariff exemption, which enabled overseas interests to avoid tariffs and smuggle deadly substances, like fentanyl, into the United States, the DHS announced on July 31.

Congress in the 1930s passed the de minimis exemption amid the Great Depression and amended it several times afterward.

De minimis is a Latin term that means something is too insignificant for consideration, and the exempted amount was $200 for many years.

The Obama administration in 2016 increased the exempted amount from $200 to $800 to improve economic activity.

ATHENS — The end of an exemption on tariff duties for low-value packages coming into the United States is causing multiple international postal services to pause shipping to the U.S. as they await more clarity on the rule.

The exemption, known as the “de minimis” exemption, allows packages worth less than $800 to come into the U.S. duty-free. A total of 1.36 billion packages were sent in 2024 under this exemption, for goods worth $64.6 billion, according to data from the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol Agency.

It is set to expire Friday. On Saturday, postal services around Europe announced that they are suspending the shipment of many packages to the United States amid confusion over new import duties.

Postal services in Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Italy said they will stop shipping most merchandise to the U.S. effective immediately. France and Austria will follow Monday.

The U.K.’s Royal Mail said it would halt shipments to the U.S. on Tuesday to allow time for those packages to arrive before duties kick in. Items originating in the U.K. worth over $100 — including gifts to friends and family — will incur a 10% duty, it said.

“Key questions remain unresolved, particularly regarding how and by whom customs duties will be collected in the future, what additional data will be required, and how the data transmission to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection will be carried out,” DHL, the largest shipping provider in Europe, said in a statement.

The company said that starting Saturday it “will no longer be able to accept and transport parcels and postal items containing goods from business customers destined for the U.S.”

A trade framework agreed on by the U.S. and the European Union last month set a 15% tariff on the vast majority of products shipped from the EU. Packages under $800 will now also be subject to the tariff.

The U.S. duty-free exemption for goods originating from China ended in May as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to curb American shoppers from ordering low-value Chinese goods. The exemption is being extended to shipments from around the world.

Many European postal services say they are pausing deliveries now because they cannot guarantee the goods will enter the U.S. before Aug. 29. They cite ambiguity about what kind of goods are covered by the new rules, and the lack of time to process their implications.

Postnord, the Nordic logistics company, and Italy’s postal service announced similar suspensions effective Saturday.

“In the absence of different instructions from US authorities … Poste Italiane will be forced, like other European postal operators, to temporarily suspend acceptance of all shipments containing goods destined for the United States, starting August 23. Mail shipments not containing merchandise will continue to be accepted,” Poste Italiane said in a statement Friday.

Shipping by services such as DHL Express remains possible, it added.

Bjorn Bergman, head of PostNord’s Group Brand and Communication, said the pause was “unfortunate but necessary to ensure full compliance of the newly implemented rules.”

In the Netherlands, PostNL spokesperson Wout Witteveen said the Trump administration is pressing ahead with the new duties despite U.S. authorities lacking a system to collect them. He said that PostNL is working closely with its U.S. counterparts to find a solution.

“If you have something to send to America, you should do it today,” Witteveen told the Associated Press.

Austrian Post, Austria’s leading logistics and postal service provider, stated that the last acceptance of commercial shipments to the U.S., including Puerto Rico, will take place Tuesday.

France’s national postal service, La Poste, said the U.S. did not provide full details or allow enough time for the French postal service to prepare for new customs procedures.

″Despite discussions with U.S. customs services, no time was provided to postal operators to re-organize and assure the necessary computer updates to conform to the new rules,″ it said in a statement.

PostEurop, an association of 51 European public postal operators, said that if no solution can be found by Aug. 29, all its members will probably follow suit.

Nellas and Anderson write for the Associated Press and reported from Athens and New York, respectively. AP writers Angela Charlton in Paris; Costas Kantouris in Thessaloniki, Greece; Stephanie Lichtenstein in Vienna; Brian Melley in London and Molly Quell in Amsterdam contributed to this report.

Los Angeles city officials on Thursday carved out a curfew exemption for ticket holders of indoor events and performing arts venues downtown including the Music Center, paving the way for evening performances of Center Theatre Group’s “Hamlet” and Los Angeles Opera’s “Rigoletto.”

The news comes as Mayor Karen Bass’ 8 p.m.-to-6 a.m. curfew for the civic center area approaches its third night and arts organizations, restaurants and other businesses across the area report a drop in patrons. On Wednesday, Center Theatre Group canceled a second night of director Robert O’Hara’s world-premiere adaptation of “Hamlet” at a cost of roughly $35,000 in ticket sales per night. That’s in addition to what the company is spending on production expenses.

“At this time, Center Theatre Group, the Music Center, and the surrounding streets have not been directly impacted by protest or law enforcement activity. Our staff and artists are already on site, and we look forward to seeing you,” CTG wrote in a statement Thursday.

Major protests are planned nationwide for Saturday, when Trump’s 79th birthday coincides with the massive 250th anniversary military parade he is throwing in Washington, D.C., at a reported cost of $45 million.

One of the so-called “No Kings” protests is scheduled to take place 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in front of City Hall, prompting Center Theatre Group to cancel its Saturday matinee and evening performances of “Hamlet.” Other events scheduled for that day and night have been been postponed, including a show by the rock band Ozomatli that’s part of the Grand Performances series at California Plaza, and a Metro Art event called Bollywood Express at Union Station.

The Broad museum, adjacent to the Music Center, said it will close all weekend. “The safety and well-being of our visitors and staff continues to be our highest priority,” the museum said in a statement.

L.A. Opera, however, issued a mid-afternoon news release announcing the curfew exemption and noting that “Rigoletto,” scheduled to run from 7:30 p.m. to about 10:30 p.m. Thursday, would go on as planned. The company also is moving forward with its Saturday “Renée Fleming and Friends” concert, scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

“Attendees will need to leave the theater immediately afterward without lingering on the Music Center campus,” the release said, adding that guests may need to prove their attendance at the show if stopped by law enforcement. “All ticket holders should have their tickets with them while in the area, either printed, digital or as a screen shot of the ticket.”

The release also says that people should avoid driving through downtown from the south, where much of the military activity is centered.

A representative for L.A. Opera acknowledged that given the circumstances, ticket holders may choose not to show up. They will be allowed to exchange their tickets for one of the remaining performances June 15, 18 or 21; or they can request a refund from the box office.

ISLAMABAD — Afghans who worked for the U.S. during its war against the Taliban urged President Trump on Thursday to exempt them from a travel ban that could lead to them being deported to Afghanistan, where they say they will face persecution.

Their appeal came hours after Trump announced a U.S. entry ban on citizens from 12 countries, including Afghanistan.

It affects thousands of Afghans who fled Taliban rule and had been approved for resettlement through a U.S. program assisting people at risk due to their work with the American government, media organizations, and humanitarian groups. But Trump suspended that program in January, leaving Afghans stranded in several locations, including Pakistan and Qatar.

Pakistan, meanwhile, has been deporting foreigners it says are living in the country illegally, mostly Afghan, adding to the refugees’ sense of peril.

“This is heartbreaking and sad news,” said one Afghan, who worked closely with U.S. agencies before the Taliban returned to power in 2021. He spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the issue, fearing Taliban reprisals and potential arrest by Pakistani authorities.

He said the travel ban on an estimated 20,000 Afghans in Pakistan could encourage the government to begin deporting Afghans awaiting resettlement in the U.S. “President Trump has shattered hopes,” he told the Associated Press.

He said his life would be at risk if he returned to Afghanistan with his family because he previously worked for the U.S. Embassy in Kabul on public awareness campaigns promoting education.

“You know the Taliban are against the education of girls. America has the right to shape its immigration policy, but it should not abandon those who stood with it, risked their life, and who were promised a good future.”

Another Afghan, Khalid Khan, said the new restrictions could expose him and thousands of others to arrest in Pakistan.

He said police had previously left him and his family alone at the request of the U.S. Embassy. “I worked for the U.S. military for eight years, and I feel abandoned. Every month, Trump is making a new rule,” said Khan. He fled to Pakistan three years ago.

“I don’t know what to say. Returning to Afghanistan will jeopardize my daughter’s education. You know the Taliban have banned girls from attending school beyond sixth grade. My daughter will remain uneducated if we return.”

He said it no longer mattered whether people spoke out against Trump’s policies.

“So long as Trump is there, we are nowhere. I have left all of my matters to Allah.”

There was no immediate comment on the travel ban from the Taliban-run government.

Pakistan previously said it was working with host countries to resettle Afghans. Nobody was available to comment on Trump’s latest executive order.

Ahmed writes for the Associated Press.

AUSTIN, Texas — Texas this year has been the center of the nation’s largest measles outbreak in more than two decades, as a mostly eradicated disease has sickened more than 700 in the state, sent dozens to hospitals and led to the death of two children who were unvaccinated.

But even as the outbreak slows, a bill approved by state lawmakers and sent to Republican Gov. Greg Abbott would make it significantly easier for parents to enroll their children in school without standard vaccinations for diseases such as measles, whooping cough, polio and hepatitis A and B.

Supporters say the bill streamlines an already legal exemption process that allows families to avoid vaccines for reasons of conscience, religious beliefs or medical reasons. It would let them download the required forms from a website instead of contacting state health officials and waiting for one to come in the mail.

The bill does not change which vaccines are required. However, critics say easing the exemption process opens a door to further outbreaks with potentially deadly results.

“If this bill becomes law, Texas is likely to see more illness, more death and higher health care costs for families and business,” Rekha Lakshmanan, chief strategy officer for Texas-based nonprofit Immunization Project, told state senators before the bill won final approval.

“The outbreak (in Texas) is not a coincidence. It is the canary in the coal mine screaming at the top of its lungs,” she said.

The exemption bill — as well as other bills passed by the Texas House on lawsuits against vaccine makers and removing immunization restrictions on organ transplants — are a snapshot of efforts across dozens of conservative states to question vaccines or roll back requirements.

At the national level, this wave has been buoyed by still-lingering pushback from the COVID-19 pandemic and the Trump administration’s embrace of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who was one of the nation’s leading anti-vaccine advocates before being appointed secretary of the U.S. Health and Human Services Department.

The most recent federal data shows U.S. kindergarten vaccination rates have dipped since the pandemic — 92.7% in the 2023-24 school year compared to 95% before COVID-19 — and the proportion of children with exemptions rose to an all-time high. And last week, the “Make America Healthy Again” federal report on the nation’s health and wellness questioned the necessity of vaccine mandates for schoolkids.

The national Association of Immunization Managers, an organization of state and local immunization officials, has been tracking nearly 600 vaccine-related bills across the country in 2025, and the majority would not be considered pro-vaccine, said Brent Ewig, the group’s the group’s chief policy officer.

“We saw a spike in vaccine-related bills during the pandemic. The last few years it had been tapering off. With recent actions at the federal level, there has been a spike again,” Ewig said.

The Texas measles outbreak and vaccine requirements

Measles has been considered eliminated from the United States since 2000. The Texas outbreak started in late January in West Texas’ Mennonite communities that have been resistant to vaccines and distrustful of government intervention, and the highly contagious virus quickly jumped to other places with low vaccination rates.

Like many states, Texas requires children to obtain vaccines to protect against 11 diseases to attend public and private schools and child care centers. The state’s vaccination rates for the 2023-24 school year ranged between 93.78% for chicken pox to 95.78% for hepatitis B.

But parents can obtain exemptions for religious or personal reasons, or if a doctor determines it would not be safe because of a medical condition.

Exemption rates in Texas have been rising for nearly two decades, with a dramatic spike over the last five years. According to the Texas Department of Health Services, the agency received exemption requests for nearly 153,000 students in the 2023-2024 fiscal year, up from 136,000 the previous year and nearly double the 77,000 requested in 2019.

Texas’ vaccine rollback

The bill on vaccine exemption paperwork would make it easier for parents to obtain the needed form by letting them download it to a computer or smartphone. The current system where parents ask state health officials to mail a paper copy to their home can sometimes take weeks. The form would still need to be notarized before it is turned in to a school and a student is enrolled.

Advocates say the changes would help parents thread the bureaucratic process and get their children enrolled in school quicker.

“This bill is not about whether vaccines are good or bad, it’s about government efficiency and keeping kids in schools,” said Jackie Schlegal, founder of Texans for Medical Freedom, which advocates for “vaccine freedom of choice.”

Critics argue that simplifying the exemption form process makes it too easy for unvaccinated kids to enroll in a school, endangering the health of other kids and families.

“For years Texas has struck a delicate balance of parents’ right and public health and safety,” Lakshmanan said. “This bill is more than just a form … We can support parents without putting other families at risk.”

Still waiting for a Senate vote is a bill that would allow vaccine makers who advertise in Texas to be sued if their vaccine causes a person to be injured. That bill has been opposed by the Texas Association of Manufacturers.

The author of that bill is first-term state Rep. Shelley Luther, who was briefly jailed in 2020 for opening her Dallas salon in violation of governor’s emergency order during the pandemic. Abbott quickly weakened his enforcement of coronavirus safeguards and a court ordered her released.

Vertuno writes for the Associated Press.

State waste officials have taken another stab at rules implementing a landmark plastic waste law, more than two months after Gov. Gavin Newsom torpedoed their initial proposal.

CalRecycle, the state agency that oversees waste management, recently proposed a new set of draft regulations to implement SB 54, the 2022 law designed to reduce California’s single-use plastic waste. The law was designed to shift the financial onus of waste reduction from the state’s people, towns and cities to the companies and corporations that make the polluting products. It was also intended to reduce the amount of single use plastics that end up in California’s waste stream.

The draft regulations proposed last week largely mirror the ones introduced earlier this year, which set the rules, guidelines and parameters of the program — but with some minor and major tweaks.

The new ones clarify producer obligations and reporting timelines, said organizations representing packaging and plastics companies, such as the Circular Action Alliance and the California Chamber of Commerce.

But they also include a broad set of exemptions for a wide variety of single-use plastics — including any product that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture has jurisdiction over, which includes all packaging related to produce, meat, dairy products, dog food, toothpaste, condoms, shampoo and cereal boxes, among other products.

The rules also leave open the possibility of using chemical or alternative recycling as a method for dealing with plastics that can’t be recycled via mechanical means, said people representing environmental, recycling and waste hauling companies and organizations.

California’s Attorney General, Rob Bonta, filed a suit against ExxonMobil last year that, in part, accuses the oil giant of deceptive claims regarding chemical recycling, which the company disputes.

Critics say the introduction of these exemptions and the opening for polluting recycling technologies will undermine and kneecap a law that just three years ago Newsom’s office described as “nation-leading” and “the most significant overhaul of the state’s plastic and packaging policy in history.”

The “gaping hole that the new exemptions have blown” into the bill make it unworkable, practically unfundable, and antithetical to its original purpose of reducing plastic waste, said Heidi Sanborn, director of the National Stewardship Action Council.

Last March, after nearly three years of negotiations among various corporate, environmental, waste, recycling and health stakeholders, CalRecycle drafted a set of finalized regulations designed to implement the single-use plastic producer responsibility program under SB 54.

But as the deadline for implementation approached, industries that would be affected by the regulations including plastic producers and packaging companies — represented by the California Chamber of Commerce and the Circular Action Alliance — began lobbying the governor, complaining the regulations were poorly developed and might ultimately increase costs for California taxpayers.

Newsom allowed the regulations to expire and told CalRecycle it needed to start the process over.

Daniel Villaseñor, a spokesman for the governor, said Newsom was concerned about the program’s potential costs for small businesses and families, which a state analysis estimated could run an extra $300 per year per household.

He said the new draft regulations “are a step in the right direction” and they ensure “California’s bold recycling law can achieve its goal of cutting plastic pollution,” said Villaseñor in a statement.

John Myers, a spokesman for the California Chamber of Commerce, whose members include the American Chemistry Council, Western Plastics Assn. and the Flexible Packaging Assn., said the chamber was still reviewing the changes.

CalRecycle is holding a workshop next Tuesday to discuss the draft regulations. Once CalRecycle decides to finalize the regulations, which experts say could happen at any time, it moves into a 45 day official rule making period during which time the regulations are reviewed by the Office of Administrative Law. If it’s considered legally sound and the governor is happy, it becomes official.

The law, which was authored by Sen. Ben Allen (D- Santa Monica) and signed by Newsom in 2022, requires that by 2032, 100% of single-use packaging and plastic foodware produced or sold in the state must be recyclable or compostable, that 65% of it can be recycled, and that the total volume is reduced by 25%.

The law was written to address the mounting issue of plastic pollution in the environment and the growing number of studies showing the ubiquity of microplastic pollution in the human body — such as in the brain, blood, heart tissue, testicles, lungs and various other organs.

According to one state analysis, 2.9 million tons of single-use plastic and 171.4 billion single-use plastic components were sold, offered for sale, or distributed during 2023 in California.

Most of these single-use plastic packaging products cannot be recycled, and as they break-down in the environment — never fully-decomposing — they contribute to the growing burden of microplastics in the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the soil that nourishes our crops.

The law falls into a category of extended producer responsibility laws that now regulate the handling of paint, carpeting, batteries and textiles in California — requiring producers to see their products throughout their entire life cycle, taking financial responsibility for their products’ end of life.

Theoretically such programs, which have been adopted in other states, including Washington, Oregon and Colorado, spur technological innovation and potentially create circular economies — where products are designed to be reused, recycled or composted.

Sanborn said the new exemptions not only potentially turn the law “into a joke,” but will also dry up the program’s funding and instead put the financial burden on the consumer and the few packaging and single-use plastic manufacturers that aren’t included in the exemptions.

“If you want to bring the cost down, you’ve got to have a fair and level playing field where all the businesses are paying in and running the program. The more exemptions you give, the less funding there is, and the less fair it is,” she said.

In addition, because of the way residential and commercial packaging waste is collected, “it’s all going to get thrown away together, so now you have less funding” to deal with the same amount of waste, but for which only a small number of companies will be accountable for sorting out their material and making sure it gets disposed of properly.

Others were equally miffed, including Allen, the bill’s author, who said in a statement that while there are some improvements in the new regulations, there are “several provisions that appear to conflict with law,” including the widespread exemptions and the allowance of polluting recycling technologies.

“If the purpose of the law is to reduce single-use plastic ad plastic pollution,” said Anja Braden from the Ocean Conservancy, these new regulations aren’t going to do it — they are “inconsistent with the law and fully undermine its purpose and goal.”

She also said the exemptions preclude technological innovation, dampening incentives for companies to explore new recyclable and compostable packaging materials.

Nick Lapis with Californians Against Waste, said his organization was “really disappointed to see the administration caving to industry on some core parts of this program,” and also noted his read suggests many of the changes don’t comply with the law.

Next Tuesday, the public will have an opportunity to express their concerns at a rulemaking workshop in Sacramento.

However, Sanborn fears there will be little time or appetite from the agency or the governor’s office to make substantial changes to the new regulations.

“They’re basically already cooked,” said Sanborn, noting CalRecycle had already accepted public comments during previous rounds and iterations.

“California should be the leader at holding the bar up in this space,” she said. “I’m afraid this has dropped the bar very low.”