Tag: European Union

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

Technology companies to be forced to give police overseas data under European Union proposal

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

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Technology companies such as Google, Microsoft and Facebook will be forced to hand over users’ data to European law enforcement officials even when it is stored on servers outside the bloc, under a law proposed by the EU.

The law would allow European prosecutors to force companies to turn over data such as emails, text messages and pictures stored online in another country, within 10 days or as little as six hours in urgent cases.

The European Union executive says the proposed law, which would apply to data stored inside and outside the bloc, is necessary because current legal procedures between countries to obtain such electronic evidence can drag on for months.

“Electronic evidence is increasingly important in criminal proceedings,” said European Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans.

“We cannot allow criminals and terrorists to exploit modern and electronic communication technologies to hide their criminal actions and evade justice.”

Digital borders are a growing global issue in an era where big companies operate so-called cloud networks of giant data centres, which mean that an individual’s data can reside anywhere.

Technology companies have found themselves torn between protecting consumers’ privacy while cooperating with law enforcement. The political pressure has intensified after Islamist-inspired attacks across Europe in recent years.

The United States recently moved to address the same problem, passing a law making it clear that US judges could issue warrants for data held abroad while giving companies an avenue to object if the request conflicts with foreign law.

Prosecutors and police will have to ask a judge to approve their request for electronic evidence where it concerns more sensitive data, such as the actual content of messages, emails, pictures and videos.

FRAUGHT WITH COMPLEXITY

The proposal will apply only in cases where crimes carry a minimum jail sentence of three years. In cases of cybercrime there will be no minimum penalty requirement.

Where companies find themselves in a conflict-of-law situation because the country where data is stored forbids them from handing it over to a foreign authority, they will be able to challenge the seizure request.

However, such extraterritorial rules are fraught with complexity, legal and privacy experts warn.

In the United States, for example, certain companies are prohibited from disclosing information to foreign governments, while in Europe consumers’ data privacy is strictly protected and companies are restricted in how they can transfer data outside the bloc.

“The Commission is proposing dangerous shortcuts to allow national authorities to obtain people’s data directly from companies, basically turning them into judicial authorities,” said Maryant Fernandez Perez, senior policy adviser at campaign group European Digital Rights.

Ultimately, the Commission hopes to start talks with the United States on a deal to help law enforcement authorities to seize evidence held on each other’s territories.

“We always think it’s useful to have an EU-US coordinated approach instead of a French-US approach, a Belgian-US approach because that leads to fragmentation,” a Commission official said.

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 confirms data of 2.7 million Europeans ‘improperly shared’

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

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Facebook has confirmed that the data of 2.7 million EU citizens were among those improperly used by political consultancy Cambridge Analytica, the EU executive said on Friday.

The European Commission said it received a letter from the social media giant late on Thursday and that it would press for more details, piling pressure on the firm that has lost more than $100 billion in market value in the last 10 days.

“Facebook confirmed to us that the data of overall up to 2.7 million Europeans or people in the EU to be more precise may have been improperly shared with Cambridge Analytica,” a Commission spokesman said.

“The letter also explains the steps Facebook has taken in response since.”

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