Earth-moving machinery clear land on the new Honda EV battery plant in Fayette County, Ohio. Photo: Stephen Starr
The Ashland, Kentucky, steel rolling plant was due to open in spring 2020, but today an open, grassy space is all that lies behind a metal fence. Photo: Stephen Starr
A steel plant across the Ohio River from Coal Grove in Kentucky that was shut down in 2015. Photo: Stephen Starr
Travis Allen says he thinks the new Honda battery plant in Fayette County, Ohio, will be good for the local community. Photo: Stephen Starr
In 2017, Taiwanese company Foxconn announced plans to invest $10 billion in a Wisconsin project employing 13,000 people - but those plans ultimately fell through. Reuters
Intel is spending $20 billion on a new chip plant that would require 7,000 skilled workers. AP
Land in Johnstown, Ohio, where Intel plans to build two new processor factories. AP
Hopes for the rejuvenation of America's automotive industry might rest on an unassuming cornfield in rural Ohio and on two major international companies.
The drone of earth-moving machinery fills the spring air near the field in Fayette County. Street sweepers patrol surrounding local roads, clearing soil churned up by lorries entering and exiting a massive construction site.
It may not look like much now, but it is the site of a $3.5 billion project by car maker Honda and Korean tech company LG that will focus on manufacturing batteries for millions of electric vehicles.
Thousands of people will be employed at the site – the size of 78 American football fields – that according to Honda will produce 35 gigawatt hours of batteries per year, enough to power 500,000 vehicles.
President Joe Biden has hailed the plant as “another win for America”, as part of a wider move to reimagine the country’s transport system with green alternatives, all made in the US.
Though the Honda-LG project is new, America’s Midwest is no stranger to industrial activity.
For much of the 20th century, this part of the world served as a manufacturing engine that drove the country to become the world's top industrial power.
During the Second World War, Pittsburgh, a city in the neighbouring state of Pennsylvania, produced more steel than Germany and Japan combined. Places such as Cleveland, Detroit and Cincinnati thrived in their steel- and industry-building roles.
But by 1990, industrial manufacturing in America had largely collapsed, with these cities losing nearly half of their populations due to offshoring, and countries such as China having caught up.
Electric Vehicle Summit in Abu Dhabi – in pictures
The Siemens stand at the Electric Vehicle Innovation Summit at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre. All pictures by Khushnum Bhandari / The National
The Polestar UAE stand at the summit
The Powertech Mobility stand
The opening day of the Electrical Vehicle Innovation Summit
Delegates on the opening day of the conference
The Naas stand at the conference
The opening day of the Electric Vehicle Innovation Summit
Today, the Midwest manufacturing revival is a little different: much of the energy driving it is coming from overseas.
Lured by massive tax and other incentives, international conglomerates such as Honda have been zeroing in on the Midwest's easy access to blue-collar labour and ready-made infrastructure.
In Moraine, Ohio, a former General Motors car plant has been repurposed into a glass-manufacturing factory by Chinese company Fuyao, which now employs about 2,000 people.
In Michigan, Germany-based companies and investors have created close to 8,000 jobs since 2015.
“Pandemic-era port bottlenecks and shipping disruptions, along with geopolitical tensions, have underscored the precariousness of overly long, heavily globalised supply chains,” says Mark Muro, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.
“Given that, numerous producers are ‘regionalising’ their production – bringing it closer to particular markets – namely the US.”
In 2017, Taiwanese company Foxconn – the world’s largest producer of electronics, including Apple’s iPhone – announced plans to invest $10 billion in a Wisconsin project employing 13,000 people to build screens for televisions and other devices.
An electric car battery factory in Nanjing, China. AFP
Donald Trump, who was president at the time, took part in the 2018 groundbreaking ceremony, calling it the “eighth wonder of the world”. It was to be the largest single investment by a foreign company on US soil ever.
And yet, the promise of international investment in this part of America has often been fraught with challenges.
In 2021, Foxconn effectively abandoned its Wisconsin plans, potentially leaving the state on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars.
For Ashland, a small town in Kentucky, June 1, 2018, was the day residents believed their community would enter a new era.
On a patch of land outside the town, champagne corks were popped as the first sod was turned on a $1.7 billion aluminium plant – the first greenfield facility of its kind to be built in the country in almost four decades.
The plant was to have created 600 jobs, with an additional 1,500 employed in the construction phase. Pay would start at $65,000 – about double the average wage in eastern Kentucky.
The project succeeded in attracting the world’s largest aluminium maker, Russia's Rusal, which sunk $65 million in the plant. The Commonwealth of Kentucky chipped in $15 million of taxpayer money.
But today, all that exists on the site is a fence and dated signs. The plan ultimately failed to materialise – through no fault of Rusal’s – in an episode that highlights the difficulties companies face in raising huge sums of money.
What’s more, an ongoing labour shortage that has contributed to rising inflation and a deficit of housing could affect plans for other new manufacturing efforts in the Midwest.
Plans for two new Intel processor factories in Licking County, Ohio. AP
In another part of Ohio, Intel is spending $20 billion on a new chip plant that would require 7,000 skilled workers, while car companies such as Ford and General Motors are investing heavily in electric vehicles, which could further add to labour shortages.
“[Honda] said they are going to hire 2,000 people. I don’t know where they are going to get 2,000 people,” says Fayette County resident Carolyn Trimble, who has watched for months as machinery poured in and out of the Honda battery site not far from her front door.
The construction work has resulted in her water supply being affected, but she says the company has since updated her system to ensure her home has continued access to water.
Despite these false dawns and reservations, experts say that, on the whole, these new initiatives are good for the Midwest.
“The region is still somewhat traumatised from the factory closures of the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s, so an eye to downsides is understandable,” says Mr Muro of the Brookings Institution.
“[However] the current trends supporting regionalisation, localisation and reshoring are strong, and aren’t likely to reverse in the short term.”
That’s a position echoed by Travis Allen, a military veteran who lives several fields across from the new Honda battery plant.
“I think it’s going to be good for the community. My family has lived in this area all our lives. I think it’s going to add jobs, and we need that,” he says.
“There are some problems with drugs and such in Fayette County. Maybe this will help boost and get people up and get a job.”
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
Brief scores
Day 1
Toss England, chose to bat
England, 1st innings 357-5 (87 overs): Root 184 not out, Moeen 61 not out, Stokes 56; Philander 3-46
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
MATCH INFO
Fulham 0
Aston Villa 3 (Grealish 4', Hourihane 15', Mings 48')
Man of the match: Jack Grealish (Aston Villa)
Monster
Directed by: Anthony Mandler
Starring: Kelvin Harrison Jr., John David Washington
3/5
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
Key facilities
Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
Premier League-standard football pitch
400m Olympic running track
NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
600-seat auditorium
Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
Specialist robotics and science laboratories
AR and VR-enabled learning centres
Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023 More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
Weather warnings show that Storm Eunice is soon to make landfall. The videographer and I are scrambling to return to the other side of the Channel before it does. As we race to the port of Calais, I see miles of wire fencing topped with barbed wire all around it, a silent ‘Keep Out’ sign for those who, unlike us, aren’t lucky enough to have the right to move freely and safely across borders.
We set sail on a giant ferry whose length dwarfs the dinghies migrants use by nearly a 100 times. Despite the windy rain lashing at the portholes, we arrive safely in Dover; grateful but acutely aware of the miserable conditions the people we’ve left behind are in and of the privilege of choice.
RESULT
Arsenal 2
Sokratis Papastathopoulos 45 4'
Eddie Ntkeiah 51'
Portsmouth 0
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
