Economic activity in the U.S. manufacturing sector continued to contract in May amid uncertainties surrounding President Donald Trump's tariff policies, with the Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) standing at 48.5 percent, according to data released Monday by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM).
This marked the third straight month of contraction, with May's reading dipping slightly below April's 48.7 percent. A reading under 50 percent signals a general contraction in the manufacturing sector.
According to the ISM, government spending cuts or delays, along with tariffs, have caused serious disruptions to U.S. businesses.
In addition, the Conference Board Measure of CEO Confidence, a barometer of the health of the U.S. economy from the perspective of chief executives, fell sharply to 34 in the second quarter of 2025, the largest quarter-on-quarter decline in almost 50 years.
Latest data from the Conference Board also showed that 83 percent of business leaders are expecting a recession in the next 12 to 18 months.
Tariff uncertainties keep US manufacturing sector in prolonged contraction
Tariff uncertainties keep US manufacturing sector in prolonged contraction
Tariff uncertainties keep US manufacturing sector in prolonged contraction
The United States cannot legitimize an operation that attacked Venezuela and captured its president, a Chinese scholar said Sunday.
On Saturday, the United States launched a large-scale strike on Venezuela, during which Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife were 'captured and flown out of Venezuela' according to a post by U.S. President Donald Trump on his Truth Social account.
Teng Jianqun, director of the Center for Diplomatic Studies at Hunan Normal University, said in an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN) that the aim of this operation is to take full control of Venezuela’s natural resources.
"I don't think the United States can legitimize this operation to take custody of the president of Venezuela. And also I don't think the United States can legitimize its any action in taking the oil reserves of that country. This is actually a very dangerous game played by the Trump administration. And of course, the United States would like to take full control of that country and to take full control of the natural resources, especially the large reserve of oil in Venezuela," said Teng.
Teng said Venezuela is not an isolated case but a common practice by the United States. The United States launched an invasion of Panama on Dec. 20, 1989, which continued until January 1990, with the stated objective of capturing Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega on charges of drug trafficking and organized crime.
"We still remember the so-called sentence of the former president of Panama in the late 1980s. And this time, the president of Venezuela will be under some judicial condition (judicial proceedings) for the so-called drug trafficking and some other crimes. So I think this is not a single case for the Venezuela country, but also this is actually a practice by the United States -- to use force, to use so-called justice under law against any leaders in Latin America and the Caribbean waters," he said.
US cannot legitimize operation against Venezuela: Chinese scholar
