French wine, spirits sales expected to fall 20% after US tariff announcement
PARIS, April 2 (Reuters) - Sales of French wine and spirits are expected to slide at least 20% after U.S. President Donald Trump announced global tariffs, Gabriel Picard, chairman of French wine and spirits exporters industry group FEVS said on BFM TV on Wednesday.
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The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Tariff dodgers take big risks to cut small corners
If you put up a barrier, people will find a way around it. So its not shocking to read recent news stories about how some businesses are trying to skirt around tariffs – particularly from China. They're shipping goods through third countries, rather than directly from China, using special 'shoppers' to skirt minimum quantity amounts, colluding with suppliers to falsify country-of-origin labels, undervaluing goods, or 'assembling' products out of China where tariffs are lower. They're creating shell companies in more tariff-friendly countries and even going so far as forging certificates of origin (thanks ChatGPT!) and otherwise falsifying shipping documentation in collusion with, or independently from, their suppliers. I get it. Whether you're a supporter or not of the administration's tariff policies, you're still likely fed up with Donald Trump's almost daily changes of his mind, the court cases, the lack of process, the chaos, the Tweets (sorry Xs, no, wait Truths). It's not as if businesses don't do this stuff all the time. For thousands of years, butchers have been putting their fingers on the scale; middlemen pocketed a few stolen pennies or denarii or drachmas behind their customers' backs. I have clients who regularly undervalue (or even hide) their inventory, keep two sets of books, fail to report cash receipts, run their personal expenses through their companies. The list goes on. But none of this is a great idea. As a certified public accountant, I have a professional obligation to not only point this kind of behavior out to my clients but to disengage from providing services to those who are breaking the law, or at the very least demonstrating a significant lack of ethics. I warn them about the downsides: the penalties, the fines, the potential jail time for criminal behavior. I try to make them understand that behaving this way risks ruining relationships with suppliers, customers, partners and employees. If caught it's both professionally and personally humiliating and not the kind of PR that will benefit your company. And it definitely upsets those in the community who are doing their best to abide by the law. And when it comes to tariffs, there are other – legal – ways to either avoid or reduce their impact on your business. You could use bonded or free trade zone warehouses. You could raise prices, cut other costs, invest in technologies. You can use new resources from the Small Business Administration to find domestic suppliers or lean into organizations like the World Trade Center Association to find alternate suppliers in more tariff-friendly locales. And yet, I know – and read – of a not-insignificant number of business people who insist on just skirting the law. Why? It's down to risk. Every decision one makes when running a business – or living your life – involves a risk/reward analysis. Rolling out a new product? It's possible no one buys it. Investing in a piece of property? Getting on an airplane? Crossing the street? We all take risks every day because we want the rewards. Some people have a higher tolerance for this stuff. Those are the ones playing the tariff lottery, risking that their number won't get picked. The business people I know who are willing to take these risks – even if they're on dubious legal grounds – all have a reason to back up their actions. Maybe they were 'completely ignorant, innocent or naïve' about the law. Or they come up with some legal explanation for their actions, regardless of how flimsy or far-fetched. Some of them have no problem throwing their supplier or employee or customer under the bus and then sleeping like a baby that night. They don't just hope that no one finds out. They have a story to tell. Personally, this is not for me. I'm not a big risk taker. And, like most people, I'm a pretty bad liar.
NBC News
2 hours ago
- NBC News
Poll: Americans disapprove of Trump's performance, as Republicans manage splits over spending plans
President Donald Trump's second-term approval rating remains stuck in negative territory, along with general attitudes toward his administration's policies, according to a new NBC News Decision Desk Poll powered by SurveyMonkey. But immigration and border security remains an exception, as the president tries to drive national attention back toward his strongest issue — though Americans are closely divided even on that area of relative strength. Americans' ratings of two of the other defining projects of Trump's second term, tariffs and the Department of Government Efficiency, are more negative. And as Congress works on another major Trump initiative, a massive tax and spending plan, the poll illustrates how Republicans must manage internal differences over competing priorities on taxes and government debt. A majority (55%) of all adults over 18 years old said they disapprove of the way Trump's handling his job as president, while 45% approve, unchanged from April's NBC News Stay Tuned Poll. While the overall number was stable, under the surface there are small signs of waning enthusiasm for the president, with the share of adults who strongly approve decreasing slightly since April. The share who strongly disapprove also fell slightly, though intense negative feelings remain stronger than intense positive feelings in this poll. Republicans were 5 percentage points less likely to say that they strongly support the president compared to April, with much of this movement coming from Republicans who say they identify as being part of the MAGA movement moving into the 'somewhat approve' category. The poll was conducted May 30-June 10, surveying 19,410 adults online nationwide with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.1 percentage points. When asked to identify emotions about the president and his actions, fewer MAGA supporters picked 'thrilled' compared to April, too. Thirty-seven percent said they're thrilled about the actions the Trump administration has taken so far during its term, down from 46% in April. In contrast, a majority (51%) of Democrats say they are 'furious' at the Trump administration's actions, showing a disparity in the intensity of feeling between the two parties. Indeed, Republicans shifted 7 percentage points away from being thrilled toward more neutral feelings about the president since April. This type of intensity gap has played a major role in past nonpresidential election cycles, and it may prove notable in off-cycle elections in New Jersey and Virginia this November, which generally see relatively lower turnout. Congressional Republicans and Trump will want to drive up enthusiasm among their base as they prepare to defend seats in the 2026 midterm elections. A majority of independents said they feel dissatisfied, angry or furious with the actions of the administration. That's reflected in independents' approval rating of the president, with 65% saying they disapprove of his performance. Immigration remains Trump's strongest issue A majority of Americans said they approve of Trump's handling of border security and immigration, though the public is closely split on even his strongest issue, with 51% approving of his handling of immigration and border security and 49% disapproving. While the survey was being conducted, Trump deployed National Guard troops and Marines to the Los Angeles area due to mounting protests over Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity in the county. He has spoken repeatedly about the issue in recent days. While the public overall is divided on Trump's immigration policy, his base is motivated by the issue and his handling of it. While 9% of Americans overall said immigration is the issue that matters most to them right now, 20% of MAGA supporters said immigration is the most important issue, second only to the economy. Trump's overall numbers on immigration were similar to the April poll, but Republicans, MAGA Republicans and independents were all slightly more likely to say now that they strongly approve of the way Trump is handling border security and immigration. In recent months, the administration's immigration policies have overlapped with its higher education policies, especially those aimed at foreign students across the United States. The poll found a majority of Americans disapprove of Trump's handling of issues related to college and universities, with 56% disapproving of Trump's actions toward universities, including a 42% plurality who said they strongly disapprove. Trump's base, however, strongly approves of his handling of universities. MAGA supporters overwhelmingly approve, including 72% who said they strongly approve. Most Republicans also approve, including 57% who strongly approve of Trump's handling of the issue. On the question of how institutions like Harvard University affect the U.S., a plurality of Americans said they help the country (44%) and about a quarter (24%) said they hurt the country. Another 31% said colleges and universities like Harvard are not making a difference. Harvard has been at the forefront of legal battles with the Trump administration over grant money and the ability to enroll foreign students. A majority of MAGA supporters (65%) and Republicans (53%) said universities like Harvard are mostly hurting the country, whereas three-quarters of Democrats said they help the country. Among independents, 46% said colleges and universities aren't making a difference and 42% said they're helping the country. Americans gave Trump negative ratings on how he's handling several other issues, including tariffs (40% approve, 60% disapprove), cost of living and inflation (39%-61%) and diversity, equity and inclusion efforts (44%-56%). Republicans split on priorities in Trump's big bill A slight majority of Americans (51%) said maintaining current spending levels on programs like Medicaid is the most important matter as Congress considers Trump-backed budget legislation this year. But it's closely split, within the margin of error, against a combined 49% who say a pair of Republican-aligned priorities are most important to them. The poll also illustrates how Republicans are trying to balance priorities and the demands of different parts of their narrow congressional majorities as they design the package. Mirroring the divisions among the Republican lawmakers negotiating the bill, 40% of Republicans said they care most about ensuring the national debt is reduced, while an almost identical share (39%) said they care most about continuing and expanding income tax cuts and credits enacted in 2017 by Trump. Another 2 in 10 Republicans said maintaining current spending is their most important budget priority. The findings come after a brief but explosive online feud between Trump and his former billionaire adviser, Elon Musk, who tarred the Republican legislation as a ' disgusting abomination ' over its spending levels. Several Republican senators have also expressed concerns about spending levels in the bill, even while backing the idea of extending the 2017 tax breaks and enacting some new ones. Senate Republicans, who have a 53-seat majority, are aiming to pass their version of the legislation by July. Democrats surveyed in the poll overwhelmingly said their priority is maintaining current spending levels on programs like Medicaid (79%), as do a slight majority of independents (53%). DOGE ratings decline slightly Meanwhile, Americans' assessment of Musk's efforts with DOGE to reduce spending and the size of the federal government declined slightly since April. In the most recent survey, 44% rated it as a success or partial success, down from 47%, while 56% rated it a failure or partial failure, up from 52%. The change included an erosion among Trump's most fervent supporters on DOGE, with 49% of MAGA supporters now saying the effort is a success, down from 66% in April. The survey was in the field during Trump and Musk's recent feud, though the results on this question did not change appreciably over time. Economic concerns Economic ratings remain lukewarm: 45% of Americans said their personal financial situation is the same as one year ago and 34% said it's worse. Another 21% said they're financially better off than they were a year ago. The findings were almost identical in April. A bare majority of Americans (51%) think Trump's tariffs will make their personal finances worse in the next year. This number is slightly down from April, and most groups shifted toward saying that the tariff policies will result in their finances being 'about the same.' That finding comes as inflation was largely steady in May, with the impact of many on-again, off-again tariffs and ongoing negotiations with trade partners still unclear. The NBC News Decision Desk Poll is powered by SurveyMonkey. It was conducted online May 30-June 10 among a national sample of 19,410 adults ages 18 and over. Reported percentages exclude item nonresponse and round to the nearest percentage point. The estimated margin of error for this survey among all adults is plus or minus 2.1 percentage points.
Leader Live
3 hours ago
- Leader Live
More jets does not mean UK ‘at war' says Reeves, amid Israel-Iran conflict
The Chancellor also indicated that the UK could 'potentially' support Israel, but declined to comment on 'what might happen in the future'. The two nations continued to exchange fire overnight, as the region braced for a protracted conflict. Sir Keir Starmer confirmed on Saturday that more RAF planes are being deployed, amid the escalating hostilities between Israel and Iran. Additional refuelling aircraft have been deployed from UK bases and more fast Typhoon jets will be sent over, it is understood. Asked whether the announcement from the Prime Minister means the UK is at war, Ms Reeves told Sky News: 'No, it does not mean that we are at war. 'And we have not been involved in these strikes or this conflict, but we do have important assets in the region and it is right that we send jets to protect them and that's what we've done. 'It's a precautionary move.' Oil prices surged surged on Friday after Israel's initial strikes against Iran's nuclear programme, sparking fears of increasing prices in the UK. The Chancellor told the BBC that there is 'no complacency' from the Treasury on the issue and 'we're obviously, monitoring this very closely as a government'. Sir Keir has declined to rule out the possibility of intervening in the conflict entirely, and the Chancellor indicated on Sunday that the UK could 'potentially' support Israel in the future. Britain last announced it had deployed fighter jets in the region in last year, when the Government said British aircraft had played a part in efforts to prevent further escalation. Asked whether the UK would come to Israel's aid if asked, the Chancellor told Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips: 'We have, in the past, supported Israel when there have been missiles coming in. 'I'm not going to comment on what might happen in the future, but so far, we haven't been involved, and we're sending in assets to both protect ourselves and also potentially to support our allies.' Pushed again on whether the UK would deploy assets in support of Israel if asked, she said: 'What we've done in the past (…) is help protect Israel from incoming strikes. 'So a defensive activity.' She added: 'I'm not going to rule anything out at this stage (…) it's a fast moving situation, a very volatile situation.' It comes after Iranian state media said Tehran had warned it would target US, UK and French bases in the region if the countries help Israel thwart Iran's strikes, according to reports on Saturday. Conservative shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride has backed the Government's decision to send further RAF jets to the region, telling the BBC it is the 'right thing' to do. He told the BBC: 'We've got assets out there in the UAE, Oman, Cyprus, they need to be protected given that Iran has suggested they may be under threat.'
