The US Treasury Department received the order to stop coining coins of a penny due to its cost, President Donald Trump reported.
US President Donald Trump said he ordered the Treasury Department to coin new cents, citing the cost of producing those coins.
“For too long, the United States has coined cents that literally cost us more than two cents. This is a waste! ”Trump wrote in a publication on Sunday night in his social Truth place. “I have ordered my treasure secretary to stop the production of new cents.”
Trump's measure adds to a vertiginous effort by his new government to implement radical changes through executive orders and proclamations.
Trump had not mentioned his desire to eliminate the penny during his campaign. But the so -called government efficiency department (Doge) of Elon Musk raised the possibility in an X publication last month, highlighting the cost of the penny.
The United States Currency House reported that it lost 85.3 million dollars in fiscal year 2024 that ended in September in the almost 3.2 billion cents it produced. Each penny cost almost $ 0.037, compared to $ 0.031 in the previous year.
The currency house also loses money by manufacturing the coins of five cents, which cost almost 0.14 dollars.
It is not clear if Trump has the power to unilaterally eliminate the humble currency of a penny. Currency specifications, such as size and metallic content, are dictated by Congress.
But Robert K. Triest, professor of economics at the Northeastern University, has argued that there could be room for maneuver. “The process to stop producing penny in the United States is a bit uncertain. He would probably require an intervention from Congress, but the Treasury Secretary could simply stop the coin of new cents, ”he said last month.
The members of the Congress have presented successive measures on the zinc currency with copper coating. The proposals over the years have tried to temporarily suspend the production of the penny, eliminate it from the circulation or require prices to be rounded to the multiple of five nearest cents, according to the Congress Research Service.
The supporters of eliminating the currency have cited cost savings, which would make faster to square the cash registers and the fact that several countries have already eliminated their currency of a penny. Canada, for example, stopped coining his penny in 2012.
It would not be the first time that the United States eliminates its lesser value currency. Congress suspended the manufacture of the currency of half a penny in 1857.
Trump's new government has focused intensely on reducing costs. Musk, who has been recruited to lead the task, has signed up for entire agencies and great segments of the Federal Labor Force while trying to achieve a two billion objective in savings.
“Let's remove the waste of the budget of our great nation, even if it is a penny at the same time,” he wrote.
Trump sent the message after attending the first half of the Super Bowl in New Orleans.