The key driver of the economy saw the biggest increase in over two years in March, as car buyers tried to get ahead of President Trump's tariffs on imported autos and auto parts.

(Image credit: Patrick T. Fallon)

OIRA — the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs — is an obscure, but powerful federal office around the corner from the White House. President Trump has decided that it should get even more powerful.

For the last 45 years, OIRA has overseen most federal agencies by reviewing proposed regulations to make sure they agree with the President's policies and don't conflict with the work of other agencies. But one set of federal agencies has always been exempt from this review process — independent federal agencies like the SEC, FTC, FCC, and Federal Reserve. Until now.

According to a new executive order, those independent agencies are about to get a lot less independent. We take a look at what this change could mean for financial markets...and the future of American democracy.

This episode was produced by James Sneed and Willa Rubin. It was edited by Jess Jiang and engineered by Jimmy Keeley. It was fact-checked by Sierra Juarez. Alex Goldmark is our executive producer.

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Music: Universal Music Production - "Tanga," "The Jump Back," and "Kumbatia."

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Hong Kong is caught in the middle of the trade disputes between the U.S. and China despite being a free port. The former British colony has trade and customs policies different from mainland China's.

(Image credit: Chan Long Hei)

If you've ever passed through airport customs overseas and been refunded a VAT — or value added tax — for souvenirs, you've benefited from the VAT system. But President Trump says VAT is unfair to the U.S. On today's episode, we learn what VAT is and what it isn't.

Related episodes:
What's so bad about a trade deficit? (Apple / Spotify)
Tarrified! We check in on businesses (Apple / Spotify)
Why there's no referee for the trade war (Apple / Spotify)

For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.

The federal government has been tracking the weather for more than 150 years. But the rise of the Internet and big tech have made weather forecasting a more crowded space. Today on the show, the value of an accurate forecast and how the Trump administration's early moves are clouding the government's future forecasting. This piece originally aired in November 2024.

Related stories:
Hazard maps: The curse of knowledge (Apple / Spotify)
Should we invest more in weather forecasting?
After a year of deadly weather, cities look to private forecasters to save lives

Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.

Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.

(Image credit: Scott Olson)