Latest news with #FabianBimmer
The Star
15-07-2025
- Business
- The Star
US planes, cars, drinks on EU list for potential tariffs
Containers are stacked at the loading terminal "Altenwerder" in the port of Hamburg, Germany, February 17, 2025. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer/File Photo BRUSSELS (Reuters) -Aircraft, machinery, cars, chemicals and medical devices are the leading big-ticket items on the latest list of U.S. goods the European Commission has proposed to impose tariffs on if talks with Washington do not yield an agreement on trade. The package is the second put forward by the European Commission, which oversees trade policy for the 27-nation European Union. It is designed to respond to U.S. tariffs on cars and car parts and a baseline tariff, currently at 10%. U.S. President Donald Trump, however, is now threatening a baseline tariff on imports from the EU of 30% from August 1, a level European officials say is unacceptable and would end normal trade between two of the world's largest markets. The list, sent to EU member states and seen by Reuters on Tuesday, covers U.S. goods imports worth 72 billion euros ($84.1 billion). It also includes electrical and precision equipment as well as agriculture and food products - a range of fruits and vegetables, along with wine, beer and spirits - worth a total of 6.35 billion euros. A first package on 21 billion euros of U.S. goods was approved in April but then immediately suspended to allow room for negotiations. That suspension has been extended to August 6. EU officials said on Monday that they were still seeking to strike a deal to avoid Trump's heavy tariff blow, but EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic said member states had agreed the bloc would need to take countermeasures if talks with the U.S. fail. The Commission initially put forward the second package in May for a public consultation. The proposal then related to 95 billion euros of U.S. goods. It has since been whittled down, though most of the main items have remained. There is no specific date for EU members to approve the package. ($1 = 0.8562 euros) (Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop; Editing by Joe Bavier)
Straits Times
15-07-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
US planes, cars, drinks on EU list for potential tariffs
Containers are stacked at the loading terminal \"Altenwerder\" in the port of Hamburg, Germany, February 17, 2025. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer/File Photo BRUSSELS - Aircraft, machinery, cars, chemicals and medical devices are the leading big-ticket items on the latest list of U.S. goods the European Commission has proposed to impose tariffs on if talks with Washington do not yield an agreement on trade. The package is the second put forward by the European Commission, which oversees trade policy for the 27-nation European Union. It is designed to respond to U.S. tariffs on cars and car parts and a baseline tariff, currently at 10%. U.S. President Donald Trump, however, is now threatening a baseline tariff on imports from the EU of 30% from August 1, a level European officials say is unacceptable and would end normal trade between two of the world's largest markets. The list, sent to EU member states and seen by Reuters on Tuesday, covers U.S. goods imports worth 72 billion euros ($84.1 billion). It also includes electrical and precision equipment as well as agriculture and food products - a range of fruits and vegetables, along with wine, beer and spirits - worth a total of 6.35 billion euros. A first package on 21 billion euros of U.S. goods was approved in April but then immediately suspended to allow room for negotiations. That suspension has been extended to August 6. EU officials said on Monday that they were still seeking to strike a deal to avoid Trump's heavy tariff blow, but EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic said member states had agreed the bloc would need to take countermeasures if talks with the U.S. fail. The Commission initially put forward the second package in May for a public consultation. The proposal then related to 95 billion euros of U.S. goods. It has since been whittled down, though most of the main items have remained. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore $3b money laundering case: MinLaw acts against 4 law firms, 1 lawyer over seized properties Singapore Air India crash: SIA, Scoot find no issues with Boeing 787 fuel switches after precautionary checks Opinion What we can do to fight the insidious threat of 'zombie vapes' Singapore $230,000 in fines issued after MOM checks safety at over 500 workplaces from April to June Business 'Some cannot source outside China': S'pore firms' challenges and support needed amid US tariffs Opinion Sumiko at 61: Everything goes south when you age, changing your face from a triangle to a rectangle Multimedia From local to global: What made top news in Singapore over the last 180 years? Singapore 'Nobody deserves to be alone': Why Mummy and Acha have fostered over 20 children in the past 22 years There is no specific date for EU members to approve the package. REUTERS
Straits Times
15-07-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
For Europe, 30% US tariff would hammer trade, force export model rethink
A container ship is seen at the loading terminal \"Altenwerder\" in the port of Hamburg, Germany, February 17, 2025. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer/File Photo BRUSSELS - The 30% tariff on European goods threatened by U.S. President Donald Trump would, if implemented, be a game-changer for Europe, wiping out whole chunks of transatlantic commerce and forcing a rethink of its export-led economic model. European ministers meeting in Brussels on Monday remained convinced they can bring Trump back from the brink before his Aug. 1 deadline and reach a deal that would keep the $1.7 trillion two-way trading relationship broadly intact. But the wild swings in Trump's mood towards the European Union - which he has sometimes labelled as friendly and at other times accused of being set up specifically to destroy the United States - keep the 30% threat very much alive for now. "It will be almost impossible to continue the trading as we are used to in a transatlantic relationship," EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic said of the 30% rate before meeting ministers and officials of the 27 EU capitals to give them an update. "Practically it prohibits the trade." EU officials had been hoping they could limit the damage by agreeing a baseline tariff around 10% - the one currently in place - with additional carve-outs for key sectors like autos. Last year the United States accounted for a fifth of all EU exports - its largest partner. Trump's bugbear is the $235 billion U.S. deficit generated by the goods component of that trade, even though the U.S. earns a surplus on services. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore $3b money laundering case: MinLaw acts against 4 law firms, 1 lawyer over seized properties Opinion What we can do to fight the insidious threat of 'zombie vapes' Asia China's economy grows 5.3% in first half of 2025, momentum slowing amid trade tensions Business 'Some cannot source outside China': S'pore firms' challenges and support needed amid US tariffs Multimedia From local to global: What made top news in Singapore over the last 180 years? Singapore Turning tragedy into advocacy: Woman finds new purpose after paralysis Opinion Sumiko at 61: Everything goes south when you age, changing your face from a triangle to a rectangle Singapore 'Nobody deserves to be alone': Why Mummy and Acha have fostered over 20 children in the past 22 years UPEND POLICY PLANS The impact of making European exports - from pharmaceuticals to autos, machinery or wine - too expensive to be viable for American consumers would be instantly tangible. Economists at Barclays estimate an average tariff rate on EU goods of 35% including both reciprocal and sectoral duties combined with a 10% retaliation from Brussels would shave 0.7 percentage points off euro zone output. This would eat up most of the euro zone's already meagre growth and likely lead the European Central Bank to cut its 2% deposit rate further. "Inflation would likely undershoot the 2% target more deeply, and for longer, prompting a more accommodative monetary policy stance – with the deposit rate potentially reaching 1% by (March 2026)," the Barclays economists said. An earlier estimate by German economic institute IW found tariffs of 20% to 50% would cost Germany's 4.3 trillion euro economy more than 200 billion euros between now and 2028. While arguably small in percentage terms, that lost activity could still upend Chancellor Friedrich Merz's plans to push through tax cuts and spend more on renewing the country's long neglected infrastructure. "We would have to postpone large parts of our economic policy efforts because it would interfere with everything and hit the German export industry to the core," Merz said at the weekend of a 30% rate. NOWHERE TO RUN Further down the line, it raises bigger questions over how Europe recoups the lost activity to generate the tax revenues and jobs needed to fund ambitions ranging from caring for ageing populations to military rearmament. Under its existing policy of trade diversification, the EU has done well in striking preliminary deals with new partners but - as the continued delay over completion of the giant EU-Mercosur trade pact shows - it has struggled to get them fully signed and sealed. "The EU does not have different markets to pull up to and sell into," Varg Folkman, policy analyst at the European Policy Centre think tank said of the long and complex timelines involved in classic free trade deals. Some observers have argued the stand-off with Trump is what the EU needs to complete long-delayed reforms of its single market, boosting domestic demand and rebalancing its economy away from the exports which account for around half of output. The International Monetary Fund has estimated the EU's own internal barriers to the free flow of activity are the equivalent of tariffs of 44% for goods and 110% for services. Mooted reforms such as creating freer cross-border capital markets have made little headway in more than a decade. "It is easier said than done. There isn't an agreement to deepen. The barriers are imposed by the EU members themselves to benefit their own," Folkman said of the web of national regulations. How all this plays into the EU's negotiating strategy in the less than three weeks ahead remains to be seen - but for now, the bloc has stuck to its line of being open to talks while readying retaliatory measures if they break down. One thing that might persuade Trump to reach a deal, some European observers suggest, is that the lingering uncertainty may by itself push back the timing of the Federal Reserve interest rate cut the U.S. president so desires. "The latest developments on the trade war suggest that it will take more time to get a sense of the 'landing zone' on of course raises uncertainty for everyone, including the Fed," AXA chief economist Gilles Moec said. "With this new for cutting quickly get even harder to justify." REUTERS
Straits Times
11-07-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
EU waits on Trump letter as markets digest latest tariff salvo
FILE PHOTO: Containers are stacked at the loading terminal \"Altenwerder\" in the port of Hamburg, Germany, February 17, 2025. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer/File Photo BRUSSELS - The European Union braced on Friday to receive a letter from U.S. President Donald Trump, outlining planned duties on his largest trade and investment partner after a broadening of his tariff war in recent days. The EU initially hoped to strike a comprehensive trade agreement, including zero-for-zero tariffs on industrial goods, but months of difficult talks have led to the realisation it will probably have to settle for an interim agreement and hope something better can still be negotiated. The 27-country bloc is under conflicting pressures as powerhouse Germany urged a quick deal to safeguard its industry, while other EU members such as France have said EU negotiators should not cave into a one-sided deal on U.S. terms. After keeping much of the world guessing on his intentions, Trump has outlined new tariffs for a number of countries, including allies Japan and South Korea, along with a 50% tariff on copper, and a hike to 35% on Canada. "We would need a crystal ball to detect what the U.S. intentions are," an EU diplomat said on condition of anonymity. Another source with knowledge of the U.S.-EU negotiations said an agreement was close, but that it was hard to predict if the EU might still get a letter announcing more tariffs or when any agreement might be finalised. One European industry lobbyist said it was nearly impossible to anticipate Trump's thinking. 'It's policy by Truth Social,' the lobbyist said, referring to Trump's social media platform. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Nuclear safety research gets boost with new institute, $66m funding as S'pore weighs energy viability Singapore Man who killed 5-year-old daughter gets life sentence after he appeals against 35-year jail term Singapore Judge declines to void alleged sham marriage in S'pore, says it is for Parliament to decide Business OCBC CEO Helen Wong to retire on Dec 31; Tan Teck Long named successor Singapore More than 14,300 people checked during 7-week-long anti-crime ops Opinion The unspoken reason people sometimes quit their jobs: Loneliness Singapore S'porean who defaulted on NS obligations used fake Malaysian passports at checkpoints over 800 times Business CEO salaries: At Singapore's top companies, whose pay went up and whose saw a drop? European shares dipped on Friday as investors awaited word on tariffs for the EU. "The EU has been negotiating with the U.S. about the sector tariffs and also about the reciprocal was expecting that there would be a better trade deal coming, but now it looks like it will be a worse outcome," said Jochen Stanzl, chief market analyst at CMC Markets. Stanzl added a rally on Germany's DAX reflected hopes of a better trade deal with the United States, but that the tariffs on Canada, despite weeks of talks, had cast some doubt on whether it could be achieved. Elsewhere U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Kuala Lumpur on Friday, as the two powers vied to push their agendas in Asia as tension simmers over Trump's tariffs. Rubio said the meeting was "very constructive," while adding the two sides had issues to resolve. China this week warned the United States against reinstating hefty levies on its goods next month and Beijing has also threatened to retaliate against nations that strike deals with the United States to cut China out of supply chains. TRUMP VERSUS THE EU Trump has periodically railed against the EU, saying in February that it was "formed to screw the United States" and asking why Europe exports so many cars but buys so few from the U.S. in return. His biggest grievance is the U.S. merchandise trade deficit with the EU, which in 2024 amounted to $235 billion, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. The EU has repeatedly pointed to the U.S. surplus in services that in part redresses the balance. The potential escalation between the EU and the U.S. is a big deal for financial markets, said Joseph Capurso, head of international economics at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. "If you get something similar to (the U.S.-China trade war in April), that's going to be very destabilising." In an interview with NBC News published on Thursday, Trump said other trading partners that had not yet received such letters would likely face blanket tariffs. "Not everybody has to get a letter. You know that. We're just setting our tariffs," Trump said in the interview. 'We're just going to say all of the remaining countries are going to pay, whether it's 20% or 15%. We'll work that out now,' Trump was quoted as saying by the network. REUTERS
The Star
27-06-2025
- Business
- The Star
Microsoft's next-gen AI chip production delayed to 2026, The Information reports
A view shows the Microsoft logo on the day of the Hannover Messe, one of the world's largest industrial trade fairs with this year's partner country being Canada, as both Canada and the European Union face new U.S. tariffs, in Hanover, Germany, March 31, 2025. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer/File Photo (Reuters) -Microsoft's next-generation Maia AI chip is facing a delay of at least six months, pushing its mass production to 2026 from 2025, The Information reported on Friday, citing three people involved in the effort. When the chip, code-named Braga, goes into production, it is expected to fall well short of the performance of Nvidia's Blackwell chip that was released late last year, the report said. Microsoft had hoped to use the Braga chip in its data centers this year, the report said, adding that unanticipated changes to its design, staffing constraints and high turnover were contributing to the delay. Microsoft did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Like its Big Tech peers, Microsoft has focused heavily on developing custom processors for artificial intelligence operations and general purpose applications, a move that would help reduce the tech giant's reliance on pricey Nvidia chips. Cloud rivals Amazon and Alphabet's Google have both raced to develop chips in-house, customized for their specific needs with the goal of improving performance and reducing costs. Microsoft had introduced the Maia chip in November 2023, but has lagged its peers in ramping it up to scale. Google, meanwhile, has seen success with its custom AI chips - called Tensor Processing Units - and in April unveiled its seventh-generation AI chip designed to speed the performance of AI applications. Amazon in December also unveiled its next-generation AI chip Trainium3 that is set to be released late this year. (Reporting by Deborah Sophia in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
