Tag: European Union

World Trade Organisation rules that European Union failed to remove all Airbus subsidies

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The World Trade Organisation ruled on Tuesday the European Union had ignored requests to halt all subsidies to planemaker Airbus, prompting the United States to threaten sanctions against European products unless the EU stops “harming US interests”.

The WTO said the EU had failed to remove support in the form of preferential government loans for the world’s largest airliner, the A380, andEurope’s newest long-haul plane, the A350, causing losses for Boeing and US aerospace workers.

However, the Geneva watchdog dismissed US claims that loans for Airbus‘s most popular models, the A320 and A330, were costing Boeing significant sales and in so doing narrowed the scope of one of the world’s longest and costliest trade spats.

Airbus shares fell shortly after the WTO issued its findings and were poised to close down around 0.86%.

The report comes at a time of mounting trade tensions over US aluminium and steel tariffs and the impact on European firms of Washington’s decision to exit the Iran nuclear pact.

US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said in a statement the United States would slap countermeasures on European goods unless the EUfell into line.

Boeing predicted such tariffs could reach billions of dollars a year starting as early as 2019.

“This is expected to be the largest-ever WTO authorisation of retaliatory tariffs,” it said in a statement.

The EU‘s Executive Commission said most of the aid faulted in earlier rounds of the long-running case had expired in 2011 and that it would swiftly comply on the remaining measures.

Tuesday’s finding wraps up a case against the EU dating back to 2004 and means the US can now seek WTO backing to impose sanctions on an as yet unspecified list of European goods.

At the same time, the WTO is close to finalising a similarly drawn-out case against subsidies for Boeing, and Airbus says this could in turn spark EU sanctions against the United States.

“Today’s report is really only half the story,” said Airbus Chief Executive Tom Enders.

Barring a negotiated deal, both sides are expected to push for billions of dollars in sanctions annually, but the amounts will depend on arbitration, expected to take around a year.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Facebook asks European users which news sources they trust

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Facebook is asking users in Europe which news sources they trust to help it gauge whether to extend a change to its News Feed that it made in the United States earlier this year, designed to filter out misinformation.

In January, Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said the News Feed, the social media company’s centrepiece service, would prioritise “high quality news” over less trusted sources as part of its fight against false information on the platform.

Facebook has been criticised for failing to prevent false reports – originating from alleged Russia operatives, for-profit spammers and others – spreading on its platform, notably during the 2016 US presidential election campaign.

It has also had a stormy relationship with news organisations, especially those with strong political leanings.

Zuckerberg said in January there was too much “sensationalism, misinformation and polarisation” in the world, and social media was making the problem worse.

“Social media enables people to spread information faster than ever before, and if we don’t specifically tackle these problems, then we end up amplifying them,” he wrote then.

The company, which has more than 2 billion monthly users, turned to its members to determine how news outlets ranked in terms of trustworthiness, using short surveys on the site.

On Thursday, it said it would start showing similar two-part surveys to users in Britain, Germany, France, Italy and Spain, asking them if they are familiar with specific news sources, for example BBC News or the Guardian, and if they trust them.

A Facebook spokesman said the results of the survey would not currently affect the ranking or the composition of News Feed in Britain or any of the other countries yet.

The company said it would announce if it decided to implement any changes.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Subdued UK industrial output data caps glum first-quarter for economy

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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British industrial output barely rose in March, confirming a glum first quarter for the economy that looks likely to scupper a Bank of England interest rate hike later on Thursday.

The data, released along with figures for the construction industry and overseas trade, did nothing to alter the picture of an economy that has struggled for momentum in recent months.

While heavy snow storms swept through Britain in early March, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) stuck with its earlier judgement that this had little overall impact on the economy’s performance in the first three months of 2018.

The ONS said industrial output inched up by 0.1 percent month-on-month in March, the same pace as in February and slightly below the consensus for growth of 0.2 percent in a Reuters poll of economists.

British data have mostly soured over the past month, forcing investors to axe widespread bets that the BoE will raise interest rates this month.

The BoE, which did not have early access to Thursday’s data, announces its decision at 1100 GMT.

Almost all economists polled by Reuters think the weak run of data will dissuade the central bank from raising rates this time, at least until August.

“Today’s figures support previous estimates showing the economy was very sluggish in the first quarter of 2018, with little impact overall from the bad weather,” ONS statistician Rob Kent-Smith said.

A lack of clarity around Britain’s terms of departure from the European Union in less than a year, as well as a slowing euro zone economy, are among reasons cited for Britain’s disappointing performance of late.

The ONS said the impact from Thursday’s data on its preliminary estimate of first quarter economic growth — which showed only a 0.1 percent quarter-on-quarter increase — was negligible.

Manufacturing output, which was a bright spot last year thanks to the strong global economy, edged lower for a second month running, dropping by a monthly 0.1 percent after a 0.2 percent fall in February.

Economists had expected a fall of 0.2 percent.

Separate ONS data showed Britain’s goods trade deficit with the rest of the world increased to 12.287 billion pounds in March from 10.414 billion pounds in February — at the top end of forecasts that had pointed to a gap of 11.25 billion pounds.

Nonetheless, the ONS indicated that net trade was likely make a very small positive contribution to economic growth in the first quarter.

The ONS also released figures for construction output, which fell 2.3 percent on the month in March, after a fall of 1.0 percent in February — more or less as expected in the Reuters poll.

On the year, construction output was down 4.9 percent in March, the biggest annual drop since January 2013.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

European powers pledge to uphold Iran N-deal after US exit

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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European leaders have pledged to remain committed to the Iran nuclear deal after US President Donald Trump dumped it as a “horrible, one-sided” agreement rooted in “fiction” and ordered the highest level of economic sanctions against Tehran.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Wednesday called Trump’s Tuesday speech “silly and superficial” and said he was “making a damn mistake”. He also said that he did not trust Britain, France or Germany and would need “guarantees” before continuing the nuclear deal.

Following Trump’s announcement, the UK, France and Germany urged Washington not to obstruct the implementation of the Iran deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

They said they would work with the other signatories to the agreement to stress continuing support for the accord. Iran — in the 2015 pact with China, France, Russia, Britain, the US and Germany plus the EU — had agreed to halt its nuclear programme in return for an easing of economic sanctions.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told RTL radio that “the deal is not dead. There’s an American withdrawal from the deal but the deal is still there”.

“President Emmanuel Macron would also speak to his Iranian counterpart, Hassan Rouhani, about our wish to stay in the agreement,” he said, adding that there would be a meeting between France, Britain, Germany and Iran on Monday.

France also said it would do everything possible to protect European businesses after Trump warned he would seek to hit European firms that continued to trade with Tehran.

EU Foreign Ministers will meet their Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif next week to offer personal reassurances they will take practical steps to protect the deal from sweeping US Treasury sanctions due to come into force over the next 180 days.

The Iranian President said his government remained committed to the nuclear deal with world powers, despite the US withdrawal. But he warned that Iran “was also ready to resume uranium enrichment if the accord no longer offered benefits”.

In the Iranian Parliament, members burned an American flag.

Iranian Leader Khamenei said: “Trump, I tell you on behalf of the Iranian nation: You are making a damn mistake and you cannot do anything.”

India called on all parties to “engage constructively” to resolve all contentious issues.

In a televised address, Trump said the US would withdraw from the “horrible, one-sided deal that should have never, ever been made” and that economic sanctions against Tehran would be reinstated.

Rather than protecting the US and its allies, he said it had placed “very weak limits on the regime’s nuclear activity and no limits at all on its other malign behaviour, including its sinister activities in Syria, Yemen and other places”.

Trump called the agreement “decaying and rotten” and “defective at its core”.

The EU moved to protect the nuclear agreement by vowing to take steps to immunise European firms doing business with Tehran from any US sanctions. EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said Europe will abide by the JCPOA.

Russia said it was “deeply disappointed” by Trump’s decision. A meeting is scheduled between France, Britain, Germany and Iran on Monday.

Trump’s predecessor Barack Obama, under whose administration the deal was signed, said Trump’s announcement was “misguided” and “a serious mistake”.

But the move was welcomed by Iran’s major regional rivals, Saudi Arabia and Israel.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Microsoft hell-bent to protect customers’ data, says Satya Nadella

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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At a time when data privacy is making headlines the world over, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella on Monday reiterated that the company is determined to ensure consumers’ data and is building secure solutions towards preserving data privacy.

Delivering the keynote address on the first day of Microsoft’s “Build 2018” developers’ conference, he said it is the job of the tech industry to build customers’ trust in technology.

“We have the responsibility to ensure that the new-age technology is empoweing everyone, creating equitable growth for all while creating employment on the global scale,” Nadella told the gathering of over 6,000 developers.

Amid increasing data breaches like the massive Facebook data scandal, tech giants are today busy deliberating on how to ensure privacy and security for the users.

“Customers must be in control of their data. It is our collective responsibility to keep the data safe,” the Microsoft CEO emphasised.

As the European Union (EU) prepares to introduce the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) on May 25 to harmonise data privacy laws, Nadella said engineers at Microsoft are working round the clock to build GDPR-compliant solutions.

“Choices we make today are going to define the future. We at Microsoft have enshrined principles to preserve human rights. GDPR is a sound regulation and we will be GDPR-compliant by the end of this month,” Nadella said, adding that no other company than Microsoft has done more to legitimately protect their customers’ data.

After four years of debate, the GDPR was finally approved by the EU Parliament on April 14, 2016. Organisations that fail to comply with the new regulation may face hefty fines.

On Artificial Intelligence (AI), Nadella said he believes in a privacy-preserving AI.

“We are working on the AI technology across the domains with encrypted data as we can only, collectively, make ethical AI choices,” he said.

“With over 50 regions, Azure is now the world’s computer — more than any other Cloud provider,” Nadella said.

Driven by consistent growth in its Office and Cloud offerings, Microsoft posted revenue of $26.8 billion and net income of $7.4 billion in its third quarter that ended on March 31 this year.

The Azure Cloud offering had 93% revenue growth.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Facebook bids to keep data privacy case from EU’s top court

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Facebook bid on Monday to block referral of a landmark privacy case to Europe’s top court by requesting a last-ditch appeal, seeking to avoid a potential ban on the legal instrument it uses to transfer users’ data to the United States.

The case, taken in Ireland by privacy activist Max Schrems, is the latest to question whether methods used by technology firms such as Google and Apple to transfer data outside the 28-nation European Union give EU consumers sufficient protection from US surveillance.

A ruling by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) against the legal arrangements could cause major headaches for thousands of firms, which make millions of these transfers every day.

The Irish High Court this month ordered the case to be referred to the EU’s top court to assess whether the methods used for data transfers — including standard contractual clauses and the Privacy Shield agreement — were legal.

A Facebook lawyer asked for the referral to be delayed to allow Ireland’s Supreme Court to decide if it would accept an appeal. Facebook would seek an accelerated referral to the Supreme Court so that it would take days not months to decide on whether to allow an appeal, said lawyer Paul Gallagher.

Gallagher said one of the grounds for appeal was the question of whether the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation, to be implemented from May 25, would render the case moot or irrelevant.

A lawyer for Ireland’s Data Protection Commissioner, said there was no precedent in Ireland for such an appeal and said such a move would simply delay a question, which is of “huge urgency” for people across the EU.

“Millions of people’s data are being transferred and are potentially being adversely impacted by the lesser protections in the United States,” the lawyer, Michael Collins said.

Sean O’Sullivan, representing Schrems, said his client like millions of other Europeans, faced potential “continued unlawful processing of his data” if the Irish appeal was to go ahead.

The case was taken in Ireland, the location of Facebook’s headquarters for most of its markets outside the United States.

The judge earlier said the case raised well-founded concerns that there was an absence of an effective remedy in US law compatible with EU legal requirements. She did not indicate when a decision would be made on whether to allow a referral to the Supreme Court.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

EU moves to regulate tech giants’ business practices

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Tech giants including Google, Apple and Amazon will for the first time face rules governing their commercial relations with smaller businesses under a law proposed by the European Union on Thursday.

The new rules will specifically target app stores, search engines, e-commerce sites and hotel booking websites such as Expedia, requiring them to be more transparent about how they rank search results and why they delist some services.

The proposal would also give companies the right to collectively sue online platforms if they do not respect the new rules on non-discrimination and transparency.

Music streaming services such as Spotify have been pushing for Brussels to address relations between platforms and businesses, saying the former have an incentive to disadvantage competitors’ services.

Apple’s entry into the music streaming field with Apple Music sparked concerns from other companies, such as Spotify, which have argued that the 30% cut Apple takes of subscriptions in its App Store gives its own service an unfair advantage.

Under the EU’s proposal, which will have to be approved by the European Parliament and member states before becoming law, online platforms will have to appoint mediators to deal with complaints and bear at least half the costs.

Platforms will also have to describe in their terms and conditions any differentiated treatment they give to their own services versus those offered by other businesses.

“Platforms and search engines are important channels for European businesses to reach consumers but we must make sure they are not abusing their power, and thus bring harm their business users,” said Mariya Gabriel, EU Commissioner for the Digital Economy.

“We are taking a very important step with clear rules on transparency, efficient dispute settlement and the launch of an observatory to analyse online platforms’ practices in greater detail.”

However, music streaming companies said such transparency requirements did not go far enough.

“In order to be effective, the regulation must also address the discriminatory practices that arise when a platform provider is also the direct competitor with those third parties,” said Hans-Holger Albrecht, President of Digital Music Europe which includes Spotify, Deezer and Soundcloud.

CCIA, which represents Google, Amazon and eBay, said online platforms go to great lengths to maintain good relations with their business users because it was in their own interest.

“There is no evidence of a systemic problem that would justify regulation through the strongest legislative instrument available to the EU. A more flexible approach, rather than an outsized, one-size-fits-all Regulation, would be more conducive to the growth of Europe’s digital economy,” said Jakob Kucharczyk, Vice President, Competition & EU Regulatory Policy at CCIA.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

European Union starts monitoring aluminum imports after US tariffs

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The European Union has started monitoring imports of aluminum to determine whether US tariffs have led to a surge in shipments of the metal into Europe, the EU official journal said on Thursday.

Data collected on the quantity and value of incoming aluminum products will help the bloc decide whether to take measures to limit imports.

The European Commission began an investigation last month to assess the need for potential “safeguard” measures for steel.. Steel imports have been under surveillance since April 2016.

The United States imposed import tariffs of 25% on steel and 10% on aluminum in March, although the European Union and six other countries secured temporary exemptions.

The Commission, which oversees trade policy in the 28-nation EU, believes that the 10% tariff introduced by the United States has increased the risk that more aluminum will be diverted to Europe at depressed prices.

Significant oversupply has built up since the early 2000s, with most of the new capacity in China, the journal said.

It added that although China exports very little primary aluminum, this has depressed prices of the globally traded commodity.

The surveillance will apply to imports of aluminum exceeding 2.5 tonnes.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

India demands compensation for US steel and aluminium tariffs at WTO

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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India has followed the European Union and China by demanding compensation from the United States at the World Trade Organization (WTO) for US steel and aluminium tariffs, documents filed to the WTO showed on Tuesday.

Like the EU and China, India said it regarded the US tariffs as “safeguards” under the WTO rules, entitling it to ask for compensation for loss of steel and aluminium exports to the United States.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

European Union says US tariffs causing ‘distortion’ in global trade

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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European Union Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom says that new US steel and aluminum tariffs are distorting global trade and could damage hopes for economic growth.

Malmstrom told reporters that “we are a seeing a recovery and a potential growth in trade and global growth but it is threatened by these tariffs.”

Europe’s top trade official added: “we can see already tendencies of distortion of trade that affects the EU as well.”

Last month, US President Donald Trump slapped tariffs of 25% on steel imports and 10% on imported aluminum, but granted the EU a temporary exemption until May 1.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow