What the Papers Say: Dua Lipa and Paul McCartney demand action on AI ‘rip off'; Trump warms up to China; film tax breaks paused

Business Post

10-05-2025

10 am - Good morning from a busy Business Post newsroom. Editor Daniel McConnell here with your Saturday morning round-up of the main stories making the headlines here in Ireland and across the globe.
Paul McCartney, Elton John and Dua Lipa urge Starmer to back UK artists in AI copyright row
Sir Paul McCartney, Richard Curtis and Dua Lipa are among the 400 top musicians, artists and media executives who have written to UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer seeking support to protect copyright from being ripped off by artificial intelligence tools.
The Financial Times says the letter calls on Starmer to next week back an amendment to a bill introduced by Baroness Beeban Kidron, a crossbench peer, that would give transparency and protection over whether artists' work is being used to train AI models.
Kidron's amendment would make tech giants tell copyright owners which individual works — from music and books to films and newspapers — they have used to train their AI models.
This would allow companies and artists 'to hold AI firms accountable for the mass theft of creative works that continues to take place', the letter says.
Donald Trump signals openness to cutting China tariffs
US President Donald Trump has signalled his openness to cutting tariffs on China ahead of Saturday's high-stakes talks between the world's two largest economies, as both sides seek to de-escalate their trade war, the Financial Times reports.
In a post on his Truth Social network, Trump suggested the US could almost halve its tariffs on Chinese goods, which stand at 145 per cent, while calling on Beijing to open up its markets to American products. '80% Tariff on China seems right! Up to Scott B,' he said, in a reference to the Geneva meeting led on the US side by Treasury secretary Scott Bessent. Bessent and trade representative Jamieson Greer are set to meet China's vice-premier, He Lifeng, as the two countries seek to look for ways to unwind their huge levies on each other in a tit-for-tat confrontation that threatens the global economy.
Improvement to Irish film tax break delayed due to Donald Trump tariff threat
The Government postponed the announcement of an improvement to Ireland's film tax incentive this week, following US President Donald Trump's threat to put a 100pc tariff on movies produced outside America, the Irish Independent reports.
Government sources say that an announcement about Section 481, the Irish film tax credit, was called off as a result. Because it would have made Ireland more attractive as a film destination, a decision was taken that the timing was wrong, and it might have sent the wrong signal to the US administration.
Ministers receive pay increases in new Cabinet under public sector deal
Several ministers received substantial pay increases when they were reappointed to the Cabinet when the Government was formed in January, the Irish Times reports.
Following a repeated series of queries from The Irish Times over the past month, the Government said it was intended that ministers would apply similar arrangements to the last government when a portion of their salaries was gifted back for the duration of the administration.
During the last government, ministers approved a series of public sector pay increases but sought not to benefit themselves, instead gifting back 10 per cent of their salaries to the Exchequer.
However, these arrangements lapsed when the last government ended. No similar arrangement was put in place when the new Cabinet was appointed in January of this year – meaning that the full ministerial salary applied. This meant that those ministers who were reappointed saw a significant increase in their monthly salary.
€36m restoration works begin at Dublin's famous College Green bank
Restoration works have begun at Bank of Ireland's branch on College Green, one of Dublin's most important historic buildings, as part of a three year €36 million project, the Irish Times reports.
Built to house the Irish parliament in the 18th century, the building has been home to the bank since 1803 following the Act of Union, opening to the public five years later. It is one of the oldest banking halls in continuous use in the world.
While it has been maintained and adapted for modern use over the years, many of its oldest features have been largely untouched including some windowpanes which were part of the original structure.
Rolls-Royce and Aston Martin shares leap after US-UK trade deal
Rolls-Royce and Aston Martin shares surged after the trade deal between Donald Trump and Sir Keir Starmer gave them easier access to US markets, the Daily Telegraph reports.
Rolls, a major manufacturer of jet engines, was one of the biggest risers on the FTSE 100 share index after Howard Lutnick, the US commerce secretary, said the aerospace company's engines and plane parts would not be subject to tariffs.
Shares rose 4.5pc to 783.46p to close the session above the level they traded at before Mr Trump's wave of tariffs on April 2.
Luxury carmaker Aston Martin, which gets more than one third of its revenue from America, soared 14pc. A week ago, it had warned investors that it was limiting exports to the US as a result of Mr Trump's trade war.