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US, China agree on trade framework at London talks
LONDON (AP) — The US and China have agreed in principle on a framework to carry out an agreement they reached on resolving their trade disputes last month, Chinese state media said. The announcement followed Tuesday's conclusion of two days of talks in London. The earlier agreement had been shaken by a series of disputes in the ensuing weeks, leading to a phone call last week between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping to try to calm the waters. Li Chenggang, a vice minister of
June 11, 2025 -
Apple plays it safe on AI despite Wall Street pressure
CUPERTINO, United States (AFP) -- Apple on Monday remained on its cautious path to embracing generative AI even as rivals race ahead with the technology and Wall Street expresses doubts over its strategy. The pressure was on Apple not to disappoint at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference a year after the iPhone juggernaut made a promise it failed to keep -- to improve its Siri voice assistant with generative AI. The annual WWDC is addressed to developers who build apps and tools to run on
June 10, 2025 -
US, China trade talks to resume
LONDON (AFP) — United States and Chinese officials were set to meet Tuesday for a second day of trade talks in London, seeking to shore up a shaky tariff truce in a spat further strained by export curbs. The gathering of key officials from the world's two biggest economies began Monday in the historic Lancaster House, run by the UK Foreign Office, following an earlier round of talks in Geneva last month. Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng was again heading the team in London, which included Commerce
June 10, 2025 -
China's rare earth export curbs hit auto industry
BERLIN/FRANKFURT, Germany (Reuters) — Some European auto parts plants have suspended output and Mercedes-Benz is considering ways to protect against shortages of rare earths, as concerns about the damage from China's restrictions on critical mineral exports deepen across the globe. China's decision in April to suspend exports of a wide range of rare earths and related magnets has upended the supply chains central to automakers, aerospace manufacturers, semiconductor companies and military contra
June 5, 2025 -
Trump says deal with Xi 'extremely hard' as steel tariffs double
Donald Trump said on Wednesday that it was "extremely hard" to reach a deal with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, but the EU touted progress in its own trade talks with Washington even though the US president doubled global metal tariffs. Trump's latest trade moves came as ministers from Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development countries gathered in Paris to discuss the outlook for the world economy in light of a US hardball approach that has rattled world markets. Trump's sweeping tariff
June 4, 2025 -
TSMC flags delays in Japan expansion while US plans advance
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Chief Executive Officer C. C. Wei blamed worsening traffic snarls for delays in expanding its base in southwestern Japan, even while a parallel US effort races ahead. Wei reaffirmed a commitment to spend another $100 billion ramping up manufacturing in Arizona over the next half-decade, while saying a plan to build a second plant in Japan was experiencing slight delays. He stressed productive discussions with Donald Trump earlier this year, even after telli
June 4, 2025 -
ECB signs off on Bulgaria's euro accession
Bulgaria has met all criteria to adopt the euro currency from Jan. 1, 2026, the European Central Bank said on Wednesday after assessing progress on a host of indicators from inflation to central bank legislation. "This positive assessment of convergence paves the way for Bulgaria to introduce the euro as of 1 January 2026 and become the 21st EU member state to join the euro area,” ECB chief economist Philip Lane said in a statement. The final decision rests with EU finance ministers, who are exp
June 4, 2025 -
US court blocks Trump's sweeping tariffs, citing overreach of authority
NEW YORK (Reuters) — A US trade court on Wednesday blocked US President Donald Trump's tariffs from going into effect in a sweeping ruling that the president overstepped his authority by imposing across-the-board duties on imports from nations that sell more to the United States than they buy. The Court of International Trade said the US Constitution gives Congress exclusive authority to regulate commerce with other countries that is not overridden by the president's emergency powers to safeguar
May 29, 2025 -
'US will have golden share in Nippon Steel's takeover of US Steel'
WASHINGTON (Reuters) — The US government will have veto power over key decisions relating to US Steel, as part of a deal with Nippon Steel that would approve the Japanese firm's bid for the well-known American steel company, a US lawmaker said Tuesday. The details are laid out in what is called a national security agreement the companies will sign with the US government, said Republican Sen. David McCormick of Pennsylvania, where US Steel is headquartered. "It'll be a US CEO, a US majority board
May 28, 2025 -
EU sees 'impetus' in US trade, businesses worry over uncertainty
BRUSSELS (Reuters) — US President Donald Trump's decision to drop his threat to impose 50 percent tariffs on European Union imports from next month gave "new impetus" to trade talks, the EU said on Monday, as global stock markets climbed and the euro rallied. Back-tracking on the new tariffs he announced on Friday, Trump on Sunday restored a July 9 deadline to allow for talks between Washington and the 27-nation bloc to produce a deal after what he said was "a very nice call" with EU Commission
May 27, 2025 -
OpenAI recruits iPhone designer Jony Ive to work on AI hardware
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- OpenAI has recruited Jony Ive, the designer behind Apple’s iPhone, to lead a new hardware project for the artificial intelligence company that makes ChatGPT. OpenAI said it is acquiring io Products, a product and engineering company co-founded by Ive, in a deal valued at nearly $6.5 billion. Ive became renowned for a meticulous design aesthetic that shaped the cultural zeitgeist during a 27-year career at Apple, which he left in 2019. He did his most influential work after
May 22, 2025 -
Trump tells Walmart to eat tariffs instead of raising prices
WASHINGTON (AP) — US President Donald Trump on Saturday ripped into Walmart, saying on social media that the retail giant should eat the additional costs created by his tariffs. As Trump has jacked up import taxes, he has tried to assure a skeptical public that foreign producers would pay for those taxes and that retailers and automakers would absorb the additional expenses. Most economic analyses are deeply skeptical of those claims and have warned that the trade penalties would worsen inflatio
May 18, 2025 -
Walmart warns of higher prices due to tariffs, holds off on second-quarter guidance
Walmart will have to start raising prices later this month due to the high cost of tariffs, executives said on Thursday, even as the retailing giant's US comparable sales surpassed expectations in the first quarter. Shares of the Bentonville, Arkansas-based company edged up 0.5 percent in pre-market trading. Its stock is up more than 60 percent over the past year. Walmart became the latest to avoid giving second-quarter profit guidance on Thursday due to the uncertainty around Donald Trump's tar
May 15, 2025 -
Aramco signs up to $90b in US deals amid Trump Gulf tour
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (Reuters) — Saudi Aramco said on Wednesday it had signed 34 preliminary deals with major US companies, potentially worth up to $90 billion in a push to deepen commercial ties with the United States on the back of President Donald Trump's visit to the kingdom. The announcement was made a day after Riyadh pledged $600 billion in US investments. Still, most tie-ups listed by the state oil giant were memorandums of understanding without a value attached. Some deals have a
May 15, 2025 -
US slashes 'de minimis' tariff on small China parcels to as low as 30%
The US will cut the "de minimis" tariff for low-value shipments from China to as low as 30 percent, according to a White House executive order and industry experts, further de-escalating a potentially damaging trade war between the world's two largest economies. The order published late Monday offers some relief to big Chinese e-commerce players Shein and Temu and follows a weekend deal between Beijing and Washington to unwind for 90 days most of the tit-for-tat tariffs imposed on each other's g
May 14, 2025