Latest news with #US-specific
Fibre2Fashion
2 hours ago
- Business
- Fibre2Fashion
EU experts predict 18% tariffs on US imports by 2025 end: Survey
Economic experts across the European Union (EU) anticipate a rise in tariff levels on imports from the United States by the end of 2025, with an average expected rate of 18 per cent, according to Economic Expert Survey (EES) conducted by the ifo Institute. Experts in France, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Slovakia, and Romania foresee some of the highest tariffs—between 20 and 25 per cent. Meanwhile, Central European countries such as Germany, Austria, and Poland expect tariffs in the 15 to 20 per cent range, while Italy, Sweden, and Bulgaria anticipate lower rates of 10 to 15 per cent, ifo institute said on its website. In contrast, experts from non-EU European nations expect significantly lower tariffs on US imports. Swiss and Norwegian experts anticipate rates of five to ten per cent, while their British counterparts expect a 12 per cent tariff. On the other hand, US experts project a 19 per cent average tariff on EU imports to the United States. EU experts expect average tariffs on US imports to rise to 18 per cent by end-2025, though they recommend lower rates at 12.8 per cent, as per the Economic Expert Survey (EES). Non-EU nations foresee lower tariffs. US experts expect 19 per cent tariffs on EU imports but favour just three per cent. Experts overall prefer moderate tariffs and oppose rising protectionism, especially towards US goods. When asked about their normative views—what tariffs should be by the end of 2025—European experts generally advocate much lower rates. The EU average for desired tariffs on US imports stands at 12.8 per cent, with France, Portugal, and Spain still showing higher-than-average preferences (10–20 per cent), but lower than their expected figures, the survey revealed. Germany, Austria, Italy, Finland, and Sweden prefer even more moderate rates, ranging from five to 15 per cent. Notably, experts from Switzerland are the only group whose expectations and normative assessments closely align. US experts favoured even lower tariff levels on EU imports, advocating a rate of just three per cent—far below the levels European experts propose for US goods. The survey also highlighted that expectations for general tariffs on all imports (regardless of origin) are lower and less varied than for US-specific imports. EU experts expect average general tariffs to stand at 13.1 per cent by the end of 2025, with most countries—including France, Germany, Italy, and Spain—expecting rates in the 10 to 15 per cent range. Romania again stands out with a projection of 20 to 25 per cent. On the normative side, EU experts believe that ideal general tariffs should be around 9.2 per cent, reflecting a broader preference for lower trade barriers. Most assessments fall in the five to 15 per cent range, indicating that experts largely disapprove of the expected protectionist trends. The findings underscored a consistent theme: across both US-specific and general tariffs, economic experts in Europe advocate lower rates than they expect will be enacted, particularly in relation to US imports. The gap between expected and desired tariffs is notably wider for US-specific trade, suggesting greater concern over escalating trade tensions with the United States. Fibre2Fashion News Desk (SG)
Business Times
19-07-2025
- Business
- Business Times
Blackstone drops out of consortium bid for TikTok US: source
PRIVATE equity giant Blackstone has withdrawn from a consortium seeking to invest in TikTok's US operations, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday. The latest change came as uncertainty has mounted and there have been several delays in the TikTok deal now at the center of US-China trade talks. Blackstone had planned to take a minority stake in the TikTok US business in a deal orchestrated by President Donald Trump. The consortium is led by Susquehanna International Group and General Atlantic, current investors in TikTok's Chinese owner ByteDance. The group had emerged as the front-runner to secure TikTok's US business in a deal under which US investors would own 80 per cent of TikTok, while ByteDance would retain a minority stake. Blackstone declined to comment. TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up The deadline for ByteDance to divest the popular social media app in the US has been repeatedly postponed, creating uncertainty for investors. Last month, Trump signed a third executive order extending the deadline for ByteDance to sell TikTok or face a ban, moving the cutoff to Sept 17. In April 2024, Congress passed a law mandating a sale or shutdown of TikTok by Jan 19, 2025. Extensions to the deadline have drawn criticism from some lawmakers, who argue the Trump administration is 'flouting the law' and ignoring national security concerns related to Chinese control over TikTok. ByteDance is exploring various options to address these concerns, including selling or restructuring its US operations. The Chinese social media giant, which raked in US$43 billion in the first three months of this year, recently surpassed Meta in quarterly revenue, sources told Reuters. The US consortium, favored by the administration in any TikTok deal, also includes KKR, as well as new investors such as Andreessen Horowitz, Reuters previously reported. Oracle is also likely to take a stake. It is unclear whether other bidders in the consortium are still involved. A deal had been in the works this spring to spin off TikTok's US operations into a new US-based firm. Talks were put on hold after China indicated it would not approve the transaction, following Trump's announcement of steep tariffs on Chinese goods. If a sale is finalised, the new US app is expected to be owned by a joint venture formed by an American investor consortium and ByteDance, which would maintain a minority stake. TikTok is already working on a US-specific app, sources told Reuters. Blackstone's exit highlights the complexities and uncertainties involved in the deal, as the ongoing talks over TikTok's fate have now become part of Trump's broader trade negotiations with China, and Trump said he would speak to President Xi Jinping about it. REUTERS
Time of India
18-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Fuel folly
Times of India's Edit Page team comprises senior journalists with wide-ranging interests who debate and opine on the news and issues of the day. Washington's new tariff plan for those who buy Russian oil is hypocritical & will hurt US too After insulting Zelenskyy in Feb, pausing intelligence sharing with Kyiv in March, and weapons supplies in March and May, Trump finally has a plan to stop Putin. He's going to hit Russia and its trade partners with 'very serious tariffs'. Not immediately – Putin gets 50 days to finish the business he started in 2022. But as a big buyer of Russian oil, India should take note. Trump's threatened to impose 100% tariff on countries that buy Russian goods after the expiry of his deadline, and if he doesn't waver, or forget – neither unlikely – the concessions won through a trade deal could be lost. Will tariffs work? Not directly, because Russia and US have never been more decoupled economically since the collapse of the Soviet Union. US bought goods worth just $3bn from Russia last year, and sold $500mn worth, down from $29bn and $6bn, respectively, before the start of the war in 2022. That's why Putin must be checkmated through secondary tariffs on his major oil buyers like China, India and Brazil. Fossil fuels are a very big part of Russia's GDP (16%), and make up over half of its exports (55%). By the third anniversary of the war, Russia had earned about $1tn from fossil fuel exports. India, which used to buy just 1% of its oil from Russia before the war, now sources 40%, so the threat of 100% tariff on exports could make it pivot again. And China, which buys 20% of its oil from Russia, might also find 100% tariff discouraging. Russia could be hurt, but at what cost? Plugging the Russian pipeline is bound to drive up oil prices, which could increase inflation in most places, including US. Add to that the US-specific price rise resulting from 100% tariff on China, India and other US trade partners, and the political risk might be too much for Trump's Republicans. Above all, Trump's threat – backed by Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte – smacks of hypocrisy. After ordering the world not to buy Russian oil, US continued buying enriched uranium from Russia for its nuclear plants. Even when it announced a ban on Russian uranium imports from 2027, it gave a waiver to its largest operator of reactors. Likewise, Rutte's Europe is still buying gas from Russia, and won't stop till the end of 2027. So, Trump and Rutte's threat is less about conviction than convenience. India must play by the same rule. Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email This piece appeared as an editorial opinion in the print edition of The Times of India.
India Today
10-07-2025
- Business
- India Today
TikTok building separate app for US as exit deadline looms
TikTok is preparing to launch a standalone app for US users that is expected to operate on a separate algorithm and data system from its global app, laying the groundwork for a potential sale orchestrated by US President Donald Trump, according to people familiar with the the past several months, TikTok employees have been working under tight deadlines to build a new, US-specific version of TikTok by transferring and duplicating the application's codebase — including AI models, algorithms, features and user data — from the global platform, current employees at the company told Reuters, who requested anonymity while discussing private move could open the door to resolving years of debate over whether the company would share what is considered the crown jewel of the ByteDance-owned short video-sharing platform- the recommendation algorithm powering the Chinese-owned platform, which has been at the center of the US-China technology standoff. ByteDance and TikTok declined to initiative, known internally as 'M2", has a September deadline, and could represent the biggest technical break between TikTok's US operations and its international business. The change is expected to impact how 170 million US users access global content and how non-US creators make money on the new US-only app is designed to function independently, similar to Douyin — the version of TikTok available exclusively in mainland China. Users from outside the US will not find the American version in their app store, sources details of the upcoming US app are reported here for the first time. The Information first reported on the planned launch of the US TikTok current content is expected to migrate into the new app, it remains unclear to what degree new content from the global TikTok apps will be integrated into the US version. The new app is expected to use only data from US users to train its recommendation algorithms, further distancing it from TikTok's global systems, sources added. As a result, most users will be recommended content generated within the ANXIETYThe push to separate TikTok's US app from its global platform has been underway for months, as ByteDance executives prepared various plans to prevent a ban of the app in the US, a move required by recently passed legislation over data security future of the app used by nearly half of all Americans has been up in the air since a 2024 law, passed with overwhelming bipartisan support, required ByteDance to divest TikTok by January officials have said TikTok's ownership by ByteDance makes it beholden to the Chinese government, and Beijing could use the app to conduct influence operations against the US and collect data on the first deadline and a brief moment of "going dark" in January, TikTok began moving non-US user data out of American data centers run by Oracle, ensuring only US user data remained on servers in the US, paving the way for separating US and international businesses, according to company has also been working on separating the codebase for its core algorithm since last year, a move first reported by Reuters and denied by the company at the the split is completed, the core technology and ongoing development will be managed separately from the global TikTok team, although some ByteDance employees could continue supporting TikTok US in an outsourced capacity, one of the sources has raised internal concerns about whether the algorithm for the US will remain as effective in the long run as it is today, when TikTok can leverage ByteDance's global engineering talent and product project comes as ByteDance faces continued political pressure in Washington to divest its US business. A deal had been in the works this spring to spin off TikTok's US operations into a new US-based firm, but it was put on hold after China indicated it would not approve it following Trump's announcements of steep tariffs on Chinese a sale is finalised, the new app is expected to be owned by a joint venture formed by an American investor consortium and ByteDance, which will maintain a minority consortium, which has emerged as the frontrunner, includes ByteDance's current shareholders Susquehanna International Group (SIG), General Atlantic, KKR KKR.N, as well as new investors such as Blackstone and Andreessen Horowitz, Reuters previously reported. Oracle ORCL.N is also likely to take a it remains unclear whether Beijing has approved the plan to copy the algorithm or sell TikTok's US previous negotiations, Chinese authorities expressed strong reluctance to allow the export of TikTok's recommendation algorithm, widely seen as ByteDance's valuable asset and a key driver of its global 2020, when the Trump administration first pushed for a sale of TikTok's US business, China updated its export control rules to cover technologies such as recommendation algorithms, effectively giving the government a say over any the time, TikTok's management team rejected the plan of hiving off its US operations as detrimental to both users and the global network, according to people with knowledge of the the talks on TikTok's fate are also part of President Trump's broader trade negotiations with China over tariffs, sources said last week he would resume talks with China about a TikTok deal. While he said he was "not confident" about Beijing's approval, Trump added, "I think the deal is good for China and it's good for us."- EndsMust Watch
Korea Herald
10-07-2025
- Business
- Korea Herald
TikTok prepares US app with its own algorithm, user data
NEW YORK (Reuters) — TikTok is preparing to launch a standalone app for US users that is expected to operate on a separate algorithm and data system from its global app, laying the groundwork for a potential sale orchestrated by US President Donald Trump, according to people familiar with the matter. Over the past several months, TikTok employees have been working under tight deadlines to build a new, US-specific version of TikTok by transferring and duplicating the application's codebase — including AI models, algorithms, features, and user data — from the global platform, current employees at the company told Reuters, who requested anonymity while discussing private matters. The move could open the door to resolving years of debate over whether the company would share what is considered the crown jewel of the ByteDance-owned short video-sharing platform- the recommendation algorithm powering the Chinese-owned platform, which has been at the center of the US-China technology standoff. The initiative, known internally as 'M2," has a September deadline, and could represent the biggest technical break between TikTok's US operations and its international business. The change is expected to impact how 170 million US users access global content and how non-US creators make money on the platform. The new US-only app is designed to function independently, similar to Douyin — the version of TikTok available exclusively in mainland China. Users from outside the US will not find the American version in their app store, sources said. Technical details of the upcoming US app are reported here for the first time. The Information first reported on the planned launch of the US TikTok app. While current content is expected to migrate into the new app, it remains unclear to what degree new content from the global TikTok apps will be integrated into the US version. The new app is expected to use only data from US users to train its recommendation algorithms, further distancing it from TikTok's global systems, sources added. As a result, most users will be recommended content generated within the US. The push to separate TikTok's US app from its global platform has been underway for months, as ByteDance executives prepared various plans to prevent a ban of the app in the US, a move required by recently passed legislation over data security concerns. The future of the app used by nearly half of all Americans has been up in the air since a 2024 law, passed with overwhelming bipartisan support, required ByteDance to divest TikTok by January 19. Washington officials have said TikTok's ownership by ByteDance makes it beholden to the Chinese government, and Beijing could use the app to conduct influence operations against the US and collect data on Americans. After the first deadline and a brief moment of "going dark" in January, TikTok began moving non-US user data out of American data centers run by Oracle, ensuring only US user data remained on servers in the US, paving the way for separating US and international businesses, according to sources. The company has also been working on separating the codebase for its core algorithm since last year, a move first reported by Reuters and denied by the company at the time. Once the split is completed, the core technology and ongoing development will be managed separately from the global TikTok team, although some ByteDance employees could continue supporting TikTok US in an outsourced capacity, one of the sources added. This has raised internal concerns about whether the algorithm for the US will remain as effective in the long run as it is today, when TikTok can leverage ByteDance's global engineering talent and product expertise. The project comes as ByteDance faces continued political pressure in Washington to divest its US business. A deal had been in the works this spring to spin off TikTok's US operations into a new US-based firm, but it was put on hold after China indicated it would not approve it following Trump's announcements of steep tariffs on Chinese goods.
