Brexiteer Ratcliffe's Carmaker Ineos Blames EU for Trump Tariffs
The carmaker founded by Brexit-backing billionaire Jim Ratcliffe criticized the European Union over US auto tariffs, accusing Brussels of failing to negotiate with President Donald Trump's administration.
Ineos Automotive Ltd., which makes its Grenadier sport utility vehicle in France, said it's 'outraged that the tariff situation with the US has been neglected by the EU.' Trump's additional 25% import duty will be collected from April 3.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time Magazine
22 minutes ago
- Time Magazine
What the U.S. Dollar's Dip Means For You
Americans' wallets could be set to take a hit as the U.S. dollar has tumbled to a three-year low amid concerns about the stability and strength of the country's economy. The dip could aid domestic businesses that export U.S. goods, but will make international travel and imports pricier for Americans. The U.S. dollar has already lost about 10% of its value this year, in contrast with the euro, which reached its highest level in nearly four years after gaining 0.4% on Tuesday. The devaluation of the dollar, the world's dominant reserve currency, on Thursday came after news outlets reported that President Donald Trump is considering announcing a new Federal Reserve Chair this fall, ahead of the end of current Chair Jerome Powell's term. The Wall Street Journal first reported the news on Wednesday. The Fed has faced pressure from Trump to lower borrowing costs, but has stopped short of doing so in order to assess the potential impact of the President's tariffs and keep unemployment low. In addition to Trump's tariffs, his 'Big, Beautiful Bill' has contributed to uncertainty surrounding the U.S. economy. Economists have warned that the legislation could add more than $2.5 trillion to the federal debt, despite claims by the Administration that it would save money. Here's what to know about the weakening dollar. Why did the U.S. dollar fall? A number of factors contribute to the value of the U.S. dollar, among them how in demand it is from central banks and other financial institutions. The country's broader fiscal situation, including inflation rates, trade relationships, debt, and trade deficits, also play a role. As economists have warned about a potential U.S. recession or economic slowdown, investors have pulled back on investing in the U.S. 'The institutional quality that the U.S. had in terms of being a safe haven has been really undermined,' says Bilge Erten, a professor of economics at Northeastern University. 'Why would you invest in U.S. assets when you know that the U.S. dollar is likely to continue to lose value?' Trump and his policies have contributed to many of the concerns raised about the economy in recent months. Some experts, however, say that while political factors help shape the strength of the U.S. dollar, its devaluation was projected to occur regardless of the winner of the 2024 presidential election. 'No matter what happened, there was a high chance that the dollar was going to fall, and I think it's going to fall further,' says Kenneth Rogoff, a Harvard professor and author of Our Dollar, Your Problem: An Insider's View of Seven Turbulent Decades of Global Finance and the Road Ahead. Rogoff, who predicted the fall of the U.S. dollar in his book, argues that its dip in value is part of its typical fluctuation. 'It had reached a high we had only seen in 2002 and 1985 and both of those times, it fell very sharply in the ensuing years,' he says. The dollar most recently saw a spike in value around 2015, though it deteriorated during the COVID-19 pandemic, before rising again. Its recent high rate meant that it was projected to fall in the years to come, according to Rogoff. That's not to dismiss the role that Trump's policies may be playing, however. Rogoff points to the President's sweeping 'Liberation Day' tariffs as a policy that he says 'accelerated the process.' 'Trump can absolutely make the dollar go down by saying, 'I'm going to tax investors if they come into the United States,' which is in the Senate Bill. That's obviously going to discourage money. It's going to drive down the dollar. So there are lots of ways to play with it,' Rogoff says. How will the dip in the U.S. dollar impact Americans? The dip in the U.S. dollar means that its exchange rate is less strong, making international travel more expensive for Americans. The prices of imported goods will also be higher, experts warn. 'When someone from Europe is selling to the U.S., they're going to take [the dollar's devaluation] into account, because once they convert what they get in dollars into euros, they're getting less,' says Erten. 'That means they have to sell it at a higher price to get the same value.' Companies that export U.S. goods, however, may benefit from a more competitive edge. The dollar's lowering value means that the cost of American goods and services will decrease in price when taking into account the exchange rates. 'Services that U.S. workers compete for will cost less,' says Rogoff. In that respect the fall of the U.S. dollar may work to the advantage of Trump, who has vowed to bring back manufacturing jobs to the U.S. On the other hand, the labor market, which has already become increasingly challenging, might be impacted. A reduction of foreign investments into the U.S. could lead to more unemployment, which currently stands at a low 4.2%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Fast Company
23 minutes ago
- Fast Company
U.S. economy shrank more than expected in the first quarter
The U.S. economy shrank at a 0.5% annual pace from January through March as President Donald Trump's trade wars disrupted business, the Commerce Department reported Thursday in an unexpected deterioration of earlier estimates. First-quarter growth was weighed down by a surge of imports as U.S. companies, and households, rushed to buy foreign goods before Trump could impose tariffs on them. The Commerce Department previously estimated that the economy fell 0.2% in the first quarter. Economists had forecast no change in the department's third and final estimate. The January-March drop in gross domestic product — the nation's output of goods and services — reversed a 2.4% increase in the last three months of 2024 and marked the first time in three years that the economy contracted. Imports expanded 37.9%, fastest since 2020, and pushed GDP down by nearly 4.7 percentage points. Consumer spending also slowed sharply, expanding just 0.5%, down from a robust 4% in the fourth-quarter of last year. It is a significant downgrade from the Commerce Department's previous estimate. Consumers have turned jittery since Trump started plastering big taxes on imports, anticipating that the tariffs will impact their finances directly. And the Conference Board reported this week that Americans' view of the U.S. economy worsened in June, resuming a downward slide that had dragged consumer confidence in April to its lowest level since the COVID-19 pandemic five years ago. The Conference Board said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index slid to 93 in June, down 5.4 points from 98.4 last month. A measure of Americans' short-term expectations for their income, business conditions and the job market fell 4.6 points to 69. That's well below 80, the marker that can signal a recession ahead. Former Federal Reserve economist Claudia Sahm said 'the downward revision to consumer spending today is a potential red flag.' Sahm, now chief economist at New Century Advisors, noted that Commerce downgraded spending on recreation services and foreign travel — which could have reflect 'great consumer pessimism and uncertainty.' A category within the GDP data that measures the economy's underlying strength rose at a 1.9% annual rate from January through March. It's a decent number, but down from 2.9% in the fourth quarter of 2024 and from the Commerce Department's previous estimate of 2.5% January-March growth. This category includes consumer spending and private investment but excludes volatile items like exports, inventories and government spending. And federal government spending fell at a 4.6% annual pace, the biggest drop since 2022. In another sign that Trump's policies are disrupting trade, Trade deficits reduce GDP. But that's just a matter of mathematics. GDP is supposed to count only what's produced domestically, not stuff that comes in from abroad. So imports — which show up in the GDP report as consumer spending or business investment — have to be subtracted out to keep them from artificially inflating domestic production. The first-quarter import influx likely won't be repeated in the April-June quarter and therefore shouldn't weigh on GDP. In fact, economists expect second-quarter growth to bounce back to 3% in the second quarter, according to a survey of forecasters by the data firm FactSet. The first look at April-June GDP growth is due July 30.
Wall Street Journal
32 minutes ago
- Wall Street Journal
Apple Reworks European App Store Policy to Swerve More EU Fines
Apple AAPL -0.22%decrease; red down pointing triangle has reworked the terms and conditions for developers that use its highly lucrative App Store in the European Union in a bid to avoid racking up more fines under the EU's digital antitrust law. The iPhone maker is trying to avoid yet more financial penalties after the European Commission – the EU's executive arm – ruled in April that the company's terms and conditions violate the Digital Markets Act, a relatively new law aimed at curbing the market power of tech giants like Apple. The watchdog fined Apple 500 million euros ($583 million), saying the obligations it imposes on developers that prevent them from steering customers to better deals outside of the App Store are unfair.
