Productivity and Unit Labor Costs Increase More Than Expected

Nonfarm productivity increased by more than expected in Q4 (+2.8%, quarter-over-quarter annualized), and the year-over-year rate increased by 0.4pp to +2.8%.

Unit labor costs—compensation divided by output— increased by more than expected in Q4 (+2.8%, quarter-over-quarter annualized), and the year-on-year rate was unchanged at +1.3%. Compensation per hour accelerated to an annualized pace of 5.7% in Q4 (vs. 3.3% in Q3), and the year-on-year rate increased by 0.3pp to 4.1%. Our wage tracker stands at 3.6% annualized in Q4 (vs. 3.5% in Q3) and 3.5% year-over-year (vs. 3.8% in Q3).

Productivity growth was revised up by about 0.6pp on average in each quarter between 2024Q2-2025Q3, largely as a result of the benchmark revisions to payroll growth that lowered the level of employment in March 2025 by 898k and an additional 147k in April through September 2025.

We suspect that much of the benchmark revision reflected the exclusion of unauthorized immigrants from the QCEW source data, leading the productivity statistics to be overstated by 0.3-0.4pp in 2024Q2-2025Q3. Since 2019Q4, labor productivity has grown at an annualized rate of 2.2%, or 2.0-2.1% after adjusting for the QCEW distortions and other measurement issues in the productivity statistics, a much stronger pace than the 1.5% average pace in the pre-pandemic cycle. (Goldman Sachs)

US Considers Requiring Permits for Nvidia, AMD Global AI Chip Sales

Nvidia Corp. has long been the world’s AI kingmaker. Now, the Trump administration is considering taking a formal role in the industry that would include similarly sweeping powers.

Officials at the US Commerce Department have written draft regulations that would restrict AI chip shipments to anywhere in the world without American approval, giving Washington broad control over whether other countries can build facilities for training and running artificial-intelligence models — and under what conditions.

The proposed rule — which could change substantially or be shelved entirely — would require companies to seek US permission for virtually all exports of AI accelerators from the likes of Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices Inc., a global expansion of curbs that currently cover around 40 countries, according to people familiar with the matter. (…)

Companies — and in some cases, their governments — would have to seek Washington’s blessing to buy the precious accelerators. How Trump’s team decides to dole out those licenses would then determine whether countries are able to build critical digital infrastructure, technology that many world leaders see as key to economic growth, corporate competitiveness and military sovereignty. (…)

Shipments of up to 1,000 of Nvidia’s latest GB300 graphics processing units, or GPUs, would undergo a fairly simple review with certain exemption opportunities. Companies building bigger clusters would need preclearance before seeking export licenses. They could face conditions such as disclosing their business models or allowing the US government site visits, depending on the specifics of the data centers in question.

For truly massive deployments — more than 200,000 of Nvidia’s GB300 GPUs owned by one company, in one country — the host government would have to get involved. The US would only approve such exports to allies that make stringent security promises and “matching” investments in American AI, the people said, noting that the draft rule doesn’t specify an investment ratio. (…)

A big unknown is how much money the US would expect from countries like France or India, which also have ambitions to build large data centers of 1 gigawatt or more. Another factor is how Trump may wield chip curbs in broader diplomatic negotiations, especially as he recalibrates his tariff strategy. Last year, the president threatened semiconductor export controls in retaliation for digital services taxes that have been imposed in places like the European Union.

“We do not really like the idea of potentially tying AI access to trade negotiations (or to any other of Trump’s assorted whims), which such a move clearly opens a door to,” longtime Bernstein chip analyst Stacy Rasgon wrote of the draft rule. (…)

Foreign leaders are broadly uncomfortable subjecting their tech futures to Washington’s whims. But when it comes to computing power, they have little choice. Countries can either import chips from American companies like Nvidia, the market leader by a wide margin, or Chinese firms like Huawei Technologies Co., which makes less-powerful chips in much smaller quantities but has global ambitions. And lest they consider the latter, Washington has issued a warning that using Huawei AI accelerators anywhere in the world could violate American trade restrictions.

Tariffs Are Lower and Businesses Are Racing to Take Advantage Race is on to speed up shipments, step up production and secure refunds

Michael Burns made a bet that the Supreme Court would strike down some of the Trump administration’s tariffs. Now it is paying off.

Burns, who owns the auto-products maker ValvoMax, decided to hold parts for the company’s oil-change kits in India back in October, hoping a court ruling would lower the tariff bill.

Once the court ruled that some tariffs were illegal, Burns jumped into action, telling the factory to ship the parts as soon as possible, before rates changed again.

“This is a big win for me, even if I don’t get the refund,” said Burns, who expects to pay $15,000 instead of $50,000 in tariffs on the shipment, valued at roughly $100,000. “For a small-business owner, that’s a lot of money.”

Companies that have been feeling the pinch from import duties over the past year are scrambling to capitalize on the Supreme Court ruling, even as it has sparked a fresh wave of uncertainty.

Some quickly made the decision to accelerate shipments to take advantage of the new, lower tariff rates. Others are looking to speed up production of essential items or rethinking pricing strategies. Businesses are also totaling up their tariff bills—and taking steps to boost their chances of securing a refund. (…)

“We are getting May ship dates out of China, so the race against time begins,” said Chief Executive Officer Matt Dortch, who hopes to get goods into the U.S. before the current 10% tariff rate expires in July. (…)

Some companies are putting off planned price increases. Alchemy Merch, a Phoenix-area maker of custom enamel pins, patches and other apparel accessories, decided in December that it would raise prices this year after absorbing added tariff costs in 2025. It had planned to formalize the changes with an email to customers in February, but has been holding off.

Owner Greg Kerr said he would still have to raise prices if tariffs remained at 10% or 15%. He is still trying to sort out the impact of the court decision and the timing of any price increase. “I have everything prepped for the price raise, but I haven’t implemented it because I’m still trying to bide my time to see what happens,” he said.

Alchemy absorbed about $40,000 in tariff costs last year instead of passing those charges on to customers. (…)

• Bessent says global 15% tariff starts this week, predicts Trump duties will return to old levels later this year

There will be a rush to import as much as possible before. It probably has already begun.

China’s Annual Economic Plan Highlights Tech Push, Market Stability

(…) Authorities signaled a firmer determination to put China’s years of deflation — and missed price targets — behind. The government aims to boost consumer prices by around 2%, and this year’s goal is “feasible,” Li said.

“By better balancing total supply and demand, we will steer general price levels back into positive territory and produce a reasonable, modest rebound in consumer prices to facilitate a virtuous cycle in the economy,” Li said.

Last year, the premier only pledged that the general price level will “stay within an appropriate range.”

But monetary easing may be less urgent this year, as Li promised only to “flexibly and effectively” employ instruments including reductions in the required reserve ratios and interest rates. That’s a toning down from his vow a year ago to “make timely cuts.”

Long a priority of President Xi Jinping, the 2026 report featured plenty of pledges on advanced technology and manufacturing.

After a 2025 promise to “improve self-reliance and strength,” this year the government is determined to move “faster” to achieve the same goals. Initiatives will be launched to “drive high quality development in key manufacturing chains.” Research will be boosted. “National advanced manufacturing clusters” are envisioned.

Also included: Support for the development of a vibrant open-source artificial intelligence ecosystem. The government additionally pledges steps to “improve AI governance.” New infrastructure projects will be launched to build computing clusters while coordinating the development of computing capacity and electricity supply. (…)

This year, Li provided more specific guidance on how the government plans to rein in excess capacity and “thoroughly address rat-race competition.”

Beijing will draw up regulations on developing a unified national market. Local governments will be given “lists of do’s and don’ts” for attracting investment. The awards of tax breaks and fiscal subsidies will be regulated. Pricing reforms for public utilities and services will be “steadily advanced.”

Preparing for a spike in trade tensions with the US weeks after Donald Trump’s return to the White House, last year’s report called for “exploring new markets” while aiming to stabilize foreign commerce. The result: a record $1.2 trillion trade surplus despite Trump’s tariff hikes.

The priority this year: Keeping trade volume “stable” and “refining its mix.” There’s also a call for “boosting imports to promote balanced trade.” (…)

The authorities will “work to stabilize the real estate market” this year, versus a proposal to “make continued efforts to stem the downturn and restore stability” in the 2025 report.

The special local government bond quota — a program to support cash-strapped provincial and other administrations — stays unchanged from 2025 at 4.4 trillion yuan ($637 billion). But when it comes to how to use the funds, Li omitted mention of purchases of land and unsold homes from developers — an initiative that’s made little progress, mainly due to concerns about low returns on investment. (…)

• PBOC Adviser Warns Long Road Ahead for China’s Consumption Pivot

China’s effort to pivot its economy toward consumer spending will take a long time, according to a central bank adviser, even as Beijing adopts a softer growth target to signal a greater focus on rebalancing its growth drivers.

Huang Yiping, a member of the monetary policy committee at the People’s Bank of China, told Bloomberg TV on Friday that investors should temper expectations for “aggressive” stimulus as the government doesn’t see itself in a “crisis time.” (…)

“Consumption can only be boosted through a gradual process. You can’t expect that the government does something through macro policy and consumption picks up dramatically,” Huang said in an interview. “If you look at the experience of other East Asian economies, successful ones like Japan, consumption’s share in GDP increased over a very long period, like three to four decades.” (…)

The government announced limited direct support to households, while maintaining a focus on developing “new productive forces” such as AI and high-tech manufacturing. (…)

Charts Show ‘Rupture’ With Canada Under Trump’s Tariffs

(…) Exports to the US tumbled by 5.8% last year as Canada recorded its widest trade deficit in data going back to 1988, outside of one year during the Covid-19 pandemic. The decline was driven by lower volumes of vehicles, steel, aluminum and forestry products, all of which are subject to US sectoral tariffs.

The hit to Canadian exports has dragged down growth, with real gross domestic product expanding by a modest 1.7% in 2025, the lowest rate of annual growth since the economy shrank in 2020.

Doug Porter, chief economist at Bank of Montreal, said the economy has still fared better than many had feared, largely because US tariffs apply only to a small share of Canadian exports, leaving Canada with one of the lowest effective US tariff rates in the world. Strong fiscal support from the federal government and Bank of Canada rate cuts also played supporting roles. (…)

The trade war’s damage is especially evident in manufacturing, where output shrank by 2.6% last year. “So make no mistake, it was a tough year for the economy, but it did manage to stay out of recession,” he said.

On a balance-of-payments basis, Statistics Canada reports that exports to countries other than the US reached a record last year, rising 17.2% annually. A strong run-up in gold prices contributed to that.

Excluding gold shipments, exports to countries outside of the US rose 10.4% annually on a customs basis, showing gains beyond price-driven gold flows. That was partly driven by the expanded Trans Mountain pipeline, which has significantly boosted oil shipments to Asia.

Canada has also been buying less from the US. Imports from the US fell by 2.9% last year. (…)

The trade war’s damage is not strictly economic. It’s also produced a political rift between the two countries not seen in modern history.

Many Canadians have found ways to respond to Trump’s tariffs in their personal lives, choosing to boycott American products and avoiding traveling to the US.

Last year, the number of Canadian-resident return trips from the US fell by about 25%, while trips overseas were up 9.2% compared with 2024. Total visits to the US fell to a record low outside of the Covid period.

Trump’s occasional musings about Canada’s sovereignty, including the suggestion that it should become a 51st state, have also pushed many Canadians to become distrustful of the US. A recent poll by Nanos Research Group conducted for Bloomberg found more than half of Canadians believe the US poses the greatest security threat to the country. (…)

In the fourth quarter of last year, Canada allocated the highest share of federal government investment to weapons systems since at least 1961.

Carney also signed a deal with China in January to lower tariff barriers and welcome Chinese joint-venture auto investment — an unthinkable step before Trump returned to the White House. (…)

Other companies have learned to roll with the trade punches — cutting costs or reorienting their business. “We look at trade flows, trade lanes constantly changing,” Pauline Dhillon, chief executive officer of Cargojet Inc., told analysts last week. “We have seen a decrease in the China to North America markets, but an increase from China to Europe. We’re also seeing an increase from Canada to Latin America and Canada to South America.”

Hegseth Boasts of ‘Historic’ Campaign Against Iranian Military

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the US and Israel are on the cusp of taking complete control of Iran’s airspace as he laid out plans to step up attacks deeper in the country as its defenses are destroyed.

“Iran’s capabilities are evaporating by the hour,” Hegseth told a press conference. “While American strength grows fiercer, smarter and utterly dominant, more bombers and more fighters are arriving just today.” (…)

He said the US had seen a drop-off in attacks from Iran, including a 73% decline in in drone attacks and an 86% fall in ballistic missile launches.

From various reports:

“Shoot the archer instead of the arrows”

As of March 6, 2026, reports indicate that Iran has lost approximately 300 ballistic missile launchers since the onset of the war.

Estimates suggest Iran has lost roughly 60% to 75% of its total launcher force in a matter of days.

The loss of these launchers has led to an 86% to 90% decrease in the volume of Iranian ballistic missile launches compared to the opening day of the war.

On March 6, the Israeli military reported destroying an additional six launchers in overnight strikes

Beginning of the end?

SERVICES PMIs

S&P Global: Services sector growth falls to lowest level since April 2025 amid weaker rise in sales

The headline S&P Global US Services PMI® Business Activity Index fell in February, decreasing to 51.7 from 52.7 at the start of the year. While indicative of growth for the thirty-seventh month in a row, the index was consistent with only a modest increase in activity that was the weakest for ten months.

New order growth extended into a twenty-second successive month but also cooled from January. Panelists reported that new client wins, and lower interest rates had helped sustain new business inflows, but uncertainty regarding tariffs and government policies limited the rate of demand growth, notably for international customers. Overall new export business recorded a marginal decline, extending the current period of contraction to three months. (…)

February data signaled a second successive monthly increase in headcounts. However, growth was largely associated with filling existing vacancies, and the gain in employment was only fractional amid reports that cost-cutting efforts had constrained hiring activity.

Meanwhile, service providers noted that labor-related expenses had been a source of increased overall operating expenses during February. Tariffs were reportedly the other key driver of higher input costs in the latest survey period. Overall input costs rose sharply in February, whilst there was an acceleration in the rate of selling price inflation. Panel members often reported that the latest increase in charges was indicative of the passing through of higher expenses to customers.

Looking ahead to the coming year, US service providers remained positive about future activity levels during February, with the degree of optimism strengthening compared to January. A hoped-for improvement in economic conditions and tax breaks was reported to have bolstered sentiment, while other firms also mentioned new project launches and associated marketing strategies.

However, the level of positive sentiment was below its long-run average as uncertainty regarding the direction of government policies weighed on sentiment.

Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence

“February’s PMI surveys reflect increasingly tough trading conditions for businesses so far this year. Slowing demand growth from customers both at home and across export markets has been compounded by adverse weather in many states, resulting in the smallest rise in service sector activity for ten months.

“Combined with a sharp slowing of manufacturing output growth in February, waning service sector performance indicates that the economy is growing at an annualized rate just below 1.5% so far in the first quarter, though hopefully this will improve somewhat if we see a weather-related bounce back in March.

• ISM Services Signals Broad Improvement in Demand Conditions

The ISM Services Index rose to 56.1, or the highest index reading in three and a half years in February. The report was good all around—activity broadened across most industries with demand conditions improving; price pressure is still high but not worsening, and some comments referred to increasing employment.

Nearly all industries reported an improvement in current conditions, with the business activity index rising to 59.9. The retail industry was the only industry that reported a drop in current activity. It also reported a decline in new orders and employment in February, signaling a cooling in retail spending after a sturdy holiday season followed by a strong January. This is consistent with what we’re seeing in high-frequency weekly retail credit card data from Bloomberg as well. We’re not overly concerned about the softness as it may reflect poor weather conditions, and incoming tax refunds should boost consumer spending in the next couple of months.

The new orders index rose further into expansion territory with 15 industries reporting increased demand last month. One respondent comment included in the note was fairly optimistic citing “stronger consumer demands, interest-rate stabilization, improved supply chain and stronger services activity.” Other comments included continued references to tariff uncertainty, cost pressure and capacity constraints while also acknowledging solid business climate and performance. Service-sector activity continues through large levels of uncertainty.

Source: Institute for Supply Management and Wells Fargo Economics

We even take the jump in the measure of inventories (+11.3) and order backlog (+11.9) as a signal of improving demand conditions after a year where most businesses operated inventory-light as a way to manage tariff uncertainty. We’ve heard anecdotally from some firms in the wake of the Supreme Court’s ruling against IEEPA tariffs that they view these next 150 days of Section 122 tariffs as a period of reprieve, both in terms of clarity and for some in terms of tariff rates. They’re importing more or bringing goods out of foreign trade zones as a result.

A larger share of respondents did, however, report feeling their inventories were too high in February, but a majority (76.6%) continue to say inventory levels are about right compared to operations. While price pressure still remains elevated throughout the services industry, the drop in the February prices paid index to 63.0 leaves it at its lowest in about a year. Sixteen industries reported an increase in costs, with no industry reporting a drop, but it is the direction of travel here that is most encouraging for broader consumer inflation. While price pressure isn’t easing, it doesn’t appear to be getting much worse.

The labor backdrop also improved marginally with the index rising to 51.8. Hiring conditions still appear mixed across industries, but one respondent comment included pointing to an expected improvement in activity boosting hiring. When the full February employment report is released Friday, we anticipate the economy added around 45K net new jobs, a more moderate pace than what has been registered over the past three months.

Canada: Services economy records further contraction of activity in February

In February, the headline Business Activity Index recorded 46.5, below the critical 50.0 no-change mark for a fourth successive month and indicative of a marked contraction in service sector output. However, by rising from 45.8 in January, the index signalled a slower decline overall.

Firms noted that client demand remained weak, characterised by uncertainty and a cautious attitude when committing to new business.

Subsequently, new orders declined again, extending the current downturn to 15 months. The rate of contraction was marked, the weakest since last October. A mixture of lower sales from both domestic and foreign clients was noted: new export business volumes declined again in February to a considerable degree.

Overall, employment declined for a sixth successive month although, like other variables measured by the survey, to a lesser degree than in January. Despite reduced capacity, levels of work outstanding were reduced, and again at a faster pace than typically recorded by the survey.

Although employment volumes were reduced, companies continued to report that labour costs remained a key source of higher operating expenses in February. Firms also noted a general increase in supplier charges. That said, input price inflation maintained its recent easing trend, dropping to its lowest level since September 2024. Output charges in contrast rose to a slightly faster degree, though inflation remained well below that of input costs.

Firms continued to signal efforts to pass on increased operating expenses to clients wherever possible.

Unpacking China’s Two Sessions: takeaways for 2026 and beyond

China’s annual target-setting is always an important event. Since GDP growth targets were first published in 1990, China has fallen short of the target only a couple of times. Generally, betting on China to miss its target has been a losing bet for forecasters.

This year’s GDP growth target was reduced to 4.5-5.0%, a slight softening from the more ambiguous “around 5%” target set in the past three years. While it was debatable how much flexibility “around 5%” entailed, most market participants viewed this as within 0.2-0.3pp of 5%.

With the new target, there appears to be a tolerance for slower growth, which should give policymakers more flexibility to pursue quality growth, a priority in recent years. Combined with China’s anti-involution drive, there will be a focus on reducing wasteful and duplicative investment while improving synergies and building on China’s long-term strategic direction. As the 15th Five-Year Plan has laid out, the key focuses are on improving industrial modernisation, improving technological self-reliance, and ramping up domestic demand.

With that said, the 4.5% threshold represents only a rather limited slowdown; China’s longer-term growth ambitions remain unchanged. The government work report outlined an intention for “laying a solid foundation for doubling per capita GDP by 2035 compared to 2020,” a key goal set by President Xi in the past. (…)

China rarely falls short of its growth target

There was little surprise in the other targets as well.

The inflation target, having been reduced to “around 2%” last year, remained unchanged. We expect inflation to rise this year to around 1% YoY, with the recent events in the Middle East potentially adding to upside risk on this number if supply disruptions persist.

The inflation target has historically not been prioritised as aggressively as the GDP target, and the final level often deviates significantly from the target. As such, we don’t expect this to play a significant role in monetary policy decision-making, where we still see a case for further easing this year.

The employment target for new urban employment has been set at “around 12 million” since 2023, while the urban unemployment target was set at “around 5.5%” since 2021, and both targets have remained unchanged. There will likely be continued focus on improving employment conditions for youth, who have suffered a disproportionately high unemployment rate in recent years amid more cautious hiring.

The fiscal targets were arguably the only area where there was a more lively debate on whether or not we’d see adjustments. While the fiscal deficit-to-GDP target of around 4% was expected to remain the same, it was unclear whether we’d see a small uptick in the bond issuance targets. This hasn’t turned out to be the case, with another RMB 4.4tn of special local government bond issuance and RMB 1.3tn of ultra-long-term bond issuance targeted this year. The report also noted that the central government will ramp up fiscal transfers to the local government.

In our view, this suggests that while growth stability remains an important objective, the stable fiscal deficit and bond issuance targets indicate a degree of restraint, avoiding relying too much on extra stimulus to drive growth at the cost of growth quality.

This may disappoint some watchers who had hoped for a stronger fiscal stimulus push. We believe there is still hope that the impact of fiscal policy could improve this year, with potentially more money available to go into the real economy rather than being used to bring off-balance-sheet debt onto the books. The government previously signalled its intent to stabilise investment growth in 2026 after 2025 saw a record low for fixed asset investment growth.

Growth target softened but other key targets left unchanged

The government work report also laid out the key objectives for the government in 2026.

In pole position is focusing on building a strong domestic market and boosting domestic demand. This sentiment has been repeatedly featured in past high-level meetings, and the government work report mentioned “special action to boost consumption” this year.

• Trade-in policy scale pared down from RMB 300bn in 2025 to RMB 250bn in 2026. One of China’s flagship policies to boost consumption has been the trade-in policy, which has been successful in bolstering beneficiary categories in the past few years. However, the peak of the impact has passed, and it looks likely to move from tailwind to headwind this year.
• Continued support for consumer credit: a RMB 100bn fund for promoting domestic demand will be established, aiming at facilitating loan interest subsidies and financing guarantees.
• Investment will be funnelled into strategic priorities, while continuing to crack down on inefficient investment. RMB 7565bn of central government budgetary investment and RMB 800bn of ultra-long-term bonds will be allocated for projects to further the key national strategies and build out national security objectives. 
• Our bold call for China in 2026 could be coming to fruition as well. The government work report mentioned supporting eligible regions in promoting spring and autumn breaks for primary and secondary schools and implementing a paid staggered-leave system for employees. Staggering holidays could help bolster domestic tourism, which suffers from heavy overcrowding during national holidays, and help smooth overall consumption. We expect progress on this front to be incremental, but it is a positive sign nonetheless, as it is relatively low-hanging fruit.

Other than domestic demand, policymakers continue to prioritise creating new growth drivers through innovation and securing technological self-reliance. Key tech sectors such as AI, semiconductors, and cloud computing will likely continue to benefit from outsized investment.

China has come under increasing pressure from abroad, as its trade surplus surged to nearly USD 1.2tn in 2025. In order to address these issues, there was mention of actively expanding imports to promote a more balanced trade development, as well as aiming to sign more bilateral trade and investment agreements. The stronger CNY thus far this year could help contribute to this process.

China continues to open up aspects of its economy. In 2026, the focus includes expanding market access for the services industries, where a pilot zone for the services sector opening up will be established. The government work report signals further opening up telecom, biotech, and healthcare sectors. There will also be pilot programmes to open up the digital sector. In order to continue to attract foreign investment, China will aim to guarantee national treatment for foreign investments and promote two-way investments.

China’s Five-Year Plans often give insight into the longer-term priorities and can be seen as setting the framework for future policy direction.

For the current Five-Year Period of 2026-2030, the government work report highlights four strategic priorities:

1. Promote high-quality development: a focus on quality continues to emphasise scientific and technological innovation, building a modern industrial system focused on advanced manufacturing and green development. The plan targets the digital economy to reach 12.5% of GDP, and for R&D expenditure to grow by 7% per year over the current five-year period. 
2. Strengthening the domestic economy: amid external uncertainties, strengthening domestic demand is of high importance. The plan calls for significantly boosting consumption, eliminating local protectionism, and investing in improving the goods and services sectors.
3. Promote common prosperity: encourage fertility and address population ageing, improve education, elderly care, promote quality employment, improve income distribution, and strengthen the social security system. 
4. Coordinate development and security: targeting various aspects of national security, such as food security, energy security, and resolving key risks, such as the property market and local government debt.

What does this mean for China’s economy? The trends we have seen in the past few years are likely to continue, with an increased focus on moving up the supply chain and improving tech self-reliance. The big question mark will be how successful China is in boosting its domestic demand, as domestic confidence remains tepid and continues to restrain this effort.