This article is an on-site version of our FirstFT newsletter. Subscribers can sign up to our Asia<\/a>, Europe\/Africa<\/a> or Americas<\/a> edition to get the newsletter delivered every weekday morning. Explore all of our newsletters here<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Good morning and welcome to FirstFT Asia. In today\u2019s newsletter:<\/p>\n When will Congress pass Trump\u2019s tax bill?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n US shoppers ditch Temu and Shein<\/p>\n<\/li>\n China\u2019s \u201cchoke points\u201d<\/p>\n<\/li>\n A 150-year passion for Japonisme<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Donald Trump\u2019s \u201cbig, beautiful bill\u201d is inching closer to passage ahead of the US president\u2019s self-imposed July 4 deadline. Here\u2019s what you need to know.<\/p>\n Current situation:<\/strong> Senate Republicans charged ahead with their efforts to pass the bill with a final vote expected to take place late on Monday or early on Tuesday in the US<\/a>. Democrats have accused Republicans of trying to rush the bill through \u201cin the dead of night\u201d and have sought to delay it, forcing a reading of the 940-page bill on the Senate floor and amendments to the text.<\/p>\n What\u2019s at stake:<\/strong> The bill would fund an extension of the sweeping tax cuts introduced in Trump\u2019s first term by\u00a0slashing spending on healthcare and social welfare programmes. It would also increase spending on the military and border security. But Democrats and some Republicans say the planned spending cuts will cut access to Medicaid services for the poor.<\/p>\n <\/picture><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n Will the bill get passed?<\/strong> Republicans can only afford to lose three votes to secure a simple majority, with Democrats unified in their opposition. Two Republican senators have already said they would vote against the legislation, and several others have expressed reservations about the bill\u2019s size and scope. <\/p>\n Myles McCormick and Alex Rogers go deeper into the hurdles it will have to overcome and a potential timeline for passage<\/a>. Plus, here\u2019s more coverage:<\/p>\n Green power winners and losers<\/strong>: Trump\u2019s spending plan created a division of haves and have-nots in the future of US clean energy. Martha Muir breaks down the details<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Opinion from Lex:<\/strong> Private equity\u2019s \u201ccarried interest\u201d loophole is the one that got away. But this isn\u2019t the first time that\u2019s happened, writes John Foley<\/a>. <\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n And here\u2019s what else we\u2019re keeping tabs on today:<\/p>\n Economic data:<\/strong> Japan releases its June Tankan survey, which will provide key insights into business sentiment and economic conditions in the country.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Mayoral deadline: <\/strong>New York City will announce the final winner of New York\u2019s Democratic mayoral primary, expected to be democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Results:<\/strong> Tata Motors reports June sales.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n 1. The US dollar suffered its worst first half of the year since 1973<\/strong>, prompting global investors to rethink their exposure to the world\u2019s dominant currency. Trump\u2019s trade policies and rising debt levels sparked a decline of more than 10 per cent in the first half of 2025. As one strategist puts it, \u201cThe dollar has become the whipping boy of Trump 2.0\u2019s erratic policies\u201d. Will it continue to decline?<\/a><\/p>\n 2. Temu and Shein have seen their once rapid US user growth plunge after Trump closed a tax loophole<\/strong> for the online retailers. Both companies had escaped import duties by sending Chinese-made goods directly to consumers\u2019 homes as individual packages. Despite cheap prices and a social media advertising blitz, the retailers are now shifting their focus to Europe<\/a>.<\/p>\n 3. China\u2019s export controls are spilling over into products beyond rare earths and magnets<\/strong>, threatening broader supply chain disruptions and undermining US claims that a new trade deal had resolved delays to shipments. Edward White has more details from Shanghai<\/a>.<\/p>\n 4. South Korea is lifting a 14-year ban on so-called \u201ckimchi bonds\u201d <\/strong>while retail investors rush to invest in overseas stocks and dollar-backed stablecoins. The policy change is the government\u2019s latest move to deregulate the country\u2019s foreign exchange market and boost foreign currency inflows after its forex reserves fell in May to their lowest level in five years. Here\u2019s how the main issuers of \u201ckimchi bonds\u201d are expected to respond.<\/a><\/p>\n 5. Trump\u2019s administration ruled that Harvard University is in \u201cviolent violation\u201d of civil rights law<\/strong> and must \u201cimmediately\u201d reform or lose all federal funding. It\u2019s the latest escalation between the elite university and the US president<\/a>, even though comments by Trump earlier this month suggested that a settlement could be close.<\/p>\n Despite China rise\u2019s to the world\u2019s second-biggest economy and one of two true military superpowers, the nation has not been able to overcome dozens of industrial \u201cchoke points\u201d<\/a>. From a western standpoint, the vulnerabilities are holding back Beijing\u2019s quest for independence and leave it susceptible to US pressure in an era of trade wars and export controls. <\/p>\n Hong Kong\u2019s bull market is leaving China behind, in a sign that a lacklustre economic recovery and trade tensions with the US have weighed on investor sentiment in the mainland. The mainland stock market, which features a greater number of companies in traditional sectors such as heavy industry, property and energy, has sputtered while the Hang Seng index grew 20 per cent in the first six months of the year.<\/p>\n A London department store was founded 150 years ago on a passion for Japonisme. Now, it\u2019s on full display. Liberty is known as a place for the \u201cartistic shopper,\u201d as Oscar Wilde once put it, but more specifically its textiles stand out. Read more from HTSI on the store\u2019s new archival exhibition<\/a>, which will make an appearance this summer at Osaka\u2019s World Expo 2025.<\/p>\n\n
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Five more top stories<\/h3>\n
The Big Read<\/h3>\n
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<\/picture>We\u2019re also reading\u2009.\u2009.\u2009.\u2009<\/h3>\n
Chart of the day\u2009<\/h3>\n
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<\/picture><\/figure>\nTake a break from the news<\/h3>\n
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