EU to buy ‘significant' US energy to replace Russian sources: Von der Leyen
'Purchases of US energy products will diversify our sources of supply and contribute to Europe's energy security. We will
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The Spinoff
9 hours ago
- The Spinoff
Doodling and the art of the sale on Sir Michael Hill's superyacht
Renowned New Zealand jeweller Sir Michael Hill has died, aged 86. Back in 2019 The Spinoff visited his superyacht not once but twice: Toby Morris spoke to him about one of his other passions, drawing, as part of video series Two Sketches – watch below – while Mad Chapman learnt a valuable lesson in the art of the sale. Sir Michael Hill (first name Michael, last name Jeweller) gently held my hand on his superyacht. His hands were insultingly softer than mine, and he was selling me an imaginary engagement ring. 'You slide the ring on the finger, straighten it up. We don't say anything and we wait for a reaction,' he said, gazing expectantly at my very-much-not-engaged-to-be-married face. My reaction was to place my clammy hand back onto the new leather of Hill's couch in the dining room of Hill's superyacht and realise with a cold certainty that I would never acquire even half a percent of Hill's wealth. I was on the superyacht, a 40 metre vessel painted in navy camouflage grey and docked in the Auckland Viaduct, to talk to Hill about his new book of drawings, Catch & Release, but I was immediately distracted by the Russian nesting doll situation on deck. On the big deck of the big yacht was a smaller yacht. Next to the smaller yacht was a sealeg amphibious craft (look it up). Under the frog craft were four kayaks. Russian nesting boats. I had never met Michael Hill but I wanted to make sure I learned something, anything, from one of New Zealand's most successful businessmen. I wanted to know how he did it. I wanted to know how I could achieve all my goals as he had. 'Gotta have a 30 year goal,' he said, quashing my first goal of one simple trick to a life of fulfilment. 'People don't know where they're going! If you think of what you want to be known for in 30 years' time, you can then work backwards from that. I say that to young people these days and they stare at me blankly.' I stared at him blankly. After opening the first Michael Hill Jewellery store in 1979, Hill swiftly took over the New Zealand jewellery industry, buying up competitors' stores throughout the country and replacing them with his own. What was he doing differently? Turns out Michael Hill knows how to sell – 'selling is a real art, it really is' – and he was willing to teach it to me, someone who has no ambitions to sell anything ever. 'It's exactly like catching flounder,' he began. 'You ever done that?' I shook my head. 'You've got your gorgeous windows and the net goes down and around here,' he gestured from the front entrance of his hypothetical store, along one side, and to the back. 'In a normal shop a person will come in and gravitate towards the right. People slide in so they're coming along the side of the net. You have your most tempting stock there at the start. They're a little more tempted so they go in a little further. Once they're in a bit, the salesperson can say something. Basically a salesperson shouldn't move. If you spook [the customer] they'll fold their arms and walk straight back out.' I agreed. Nothing makes me leave a store faster than an aggressive salesperson. Don't talk to me at all and I'll work myself up into such a state that I'll buy something out of guilt without you having to do any selling. Once the consumer flounder has made their way deep into the net, it's time for phase two: building a relationship. 'You have to start a conversation casually, not being too pushy. Find out what the customer really wants and then it's [about] fulfilling their desires.' Right. 'It becomes a lifelong journey if it's done right. If you force them to buy, they'll never come back.' It sounded simple enough. Make every customer a lifelong friend and your business will thrive. I have four friends and no business to speak of. It all made sense. 'It's not easy to teach,' said Hill. 'Most people talk too much. The big trick when they're trying a ring on is not to talk at all.' I nodded mutely and we sat in silence for a moment. Who would crack first and prove themselves to be a lesser salesperson? He did. 'You show them the product and they have to hold it. If they don't hold the ring, they're never going to buy it. No good talking about it, you have to get it in their hand. 'Would you like to try it on?' So you put it on the finger, you hold the finger…' He grabbed my hand and I panicked. Etiquette dictates you must allow a woman a moment to surreptitiously wipe her sweaty hand on her shorts before you hold it. Instead I sat there, my flounder of a hand in his, as he mimed placing a ring on my finger. 'We don't say anything and we wait for a reaction.' I looked at him, he looked at me, I looked down at my outstretched hand and wondered if I was going to have to act out a reaction to a non-existent ring. Thankfully, Hill did it for me. 'There's two reactions you're gonna get. The first reaction is that if you don't like it you're going to take it straight off so quick and shove it down on the tray. We can ask 'I can see that wasn't what you cared for, can you explain why?' 'Of course if they like it then it's the reverse. We say 'can you explain what it is you like about that?' Whereas a stupid salesperson will be rattling off everything like 'this is a half carat diamond it's 58 carats it's got 18 carat gold band it's got four claws it's $2200 and I can give it to you for $900'. What?' When shopping for engagement rings, people aren't so interested in the logistics, said Hill, because 'it's emotional. It's the most emotional purchase you can ever get.' I stored this knowledge for later use and moved on with the interview. Before long, Hill was describing an exclusive line of jewellery sold in his stores, and why such a line was perfect for me specifically. 'You'd love one of those, that would be really you. Big time. It's made from the Totorere shell, which are those shells you find on Northern beaches. They're amazing. It's made for strong women that are resilient and show strength.' I was nodding along, wanting him to continue tangentially complimenting me. It took a while before I caught on. 'Wait a minute, is this you selling to me?' He just laughed. When I got back to the office I looked up the necklace he'd described to me. He was right, it was really nice. It was also $900. I closed the tab and went back to work. Maybe in 30 years.
NZ Herald
12 hours ago
- NZ Herald
Balancing economic interests and security concerns, European officials said they got the best deal possible
European officials and analysts said the tentative agreement does not even end the uncertainty because so many details must still be worked out. To the harshest critics, including some in France who spoke of a 'capitulation' and 'humiliation', the agreement is proof of a deeply unbalanced alliance, and the latest example of European appeasement of Trump. At Nato, allies similarly strained to pledge a huge increase in military spending demanded by Trump. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who announced the deal with Trump while sitting next to him at one of his golf resorts in Scotland, touted 'a huge deal' clearly playing to Trump's love of largeness. But at her news conference soon afterwards, von der Leyen appeared far more sober, calling the 15% tariffs she had accepted on European automobiles to be 'the best we could get'. The EU, and in particular Germany, its auto-making powerhouse had hoped to eliminate the 25% US car tariffs entirely. 'We should not forget where we came from,' von der Leyen said. 'Fifteen per cent is certainly a challenge for some, but we should not forget it keeps us the access to the American markets.' Trump indeed had threatened far worse, including a 30% across the board tariff that upended months of painstaking negotiations. Under the new deal, the US will now impose a 15% duty on most imports from the EU. The blanket rate foisted on the EU mirrors a US deal announced this month with Japan, another Group of Seven ally, but it is higher than the 10% that Britain secured earlier this year and that EU officials had grudgingly accepted in recent talks. Since World War II, trade agreements have largely sought to reduce the cost of buying and selling goods across borders. A 2017 deal the EU struck with Canada eliminated tariffs on most goods traded between them. An agreement signed with Vietnam in 2019 aims to phase out nearly all customs duties. Trump's accord with the EU goes in the opposite direction, raising tariffs, with some exceptions. Economists say the tariffs will increase costs for importers, who must pay the duties, and put upward pressure on inflation. Consumers and businesses will likely bear some of the extra costs, experts say. Reaction in EU countries In France, where President Emmanuel Macron had urged the EU to take a harder line, the deal drew sharp backlash. While Macron was quiet on today, Prime Minister Francois Bayrou said it was 'a dark day when an alliance of free people, brought together to assert their values and defend their interests, resigns itself to submission'. Von der Leyen's European Commission, the EU's executive body which negotiates trade policy for its 27 member nations, had faced calls from Germany and Italy, two countries that do outsize business with the US, for an accord that would limit damage to their export-dependent companies. But even capitals that had urged a conciliatory approach were not exactly celebrating today. 'The agreement successfully averted a trade conflict that would have hit the export-oriented German economy hard,' German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said. Still, members of the European Parliament from Germany blasted the deal even as it reduced Trump's tariff on cars, one of Germany's central demands. 'My first assessment: not satisfactory; this is a lopsided deal,' said Bernd Lange, who chairs the European Parliament's committee on international trade. 'Concessions have clearly been made that are difficult to accept. Deal with significant imbalance. Furthermore, lot of questions still open.' Workers at a Volkswagen factory in Zwickau, Germany. Photo / Ingmar Nolting, the New York Times Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof acknowledged that 'no tariffs would have been better' but called the deal 'vital for an open economy like ours'. Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever said: 'One thing is clear: This is a moment of relief but not of celebration'. Influence of security The talks laid bare the EU's queasiness at using its economic muscle, one of its few areas of leverage against Washington, at a time when allies have had to calibrate repeatedly to keep Trump on board as Russia wages war in Ukraine. Ultimately, after months of mixed signals and threats from Trump, EU leaders said they accepted a deal to give their industries a reprieve from the months of uncertainty that threatened to cripple business. Officials suggested they had relented out of concern that Trump was prepared to raise tariffs to a level that would effectively halt trade between Europe and the US. 'Let's pause for a moment and consider the alternative: A trade war may seem appealing to some but it comes with serious consequences,' said the EU trade commissioner, Maros Sefcovic, who shuttled to Washington in recent months for difficult talks with Trump officials. 'Our businesses have sent us a unanimous message: avoid escalation and work towards a solution that brings immediate tariff relief,' Sefcovic told reporters today. He said he and his team had travelled to Washington 10 times for a deal and said that the EU's calculations reached beyond trade. 'It's about security, it's about Ukraine, it's about current geopolitical volatility,' Sefcovic said. He said he couldn't go into detail on what was discussed in the room with Trump yesterday, 'but I can assure it was not just about the trade'. Details of the deal Now, nearly 70% of European goods will face the blanket tariff, a big increase in charges, according to a senior EU official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak frankly about the details of the deal, which is still under negotiation. The EU had sought carve-outs from the US tariff regime for key sectors including wine and spirits and aircraft parts. The announced agreement eliminates tariffs on airplane parts but a decision on wine and spirits was postponed. EU officials said talks will continue in the coming weeks. The two sides appeared to diverge on other details. The White House indicated that a 50% tariff on steel would remain in place, while EU officials said there would be further negotiations on lowering steel tariffs. Many officials and experts said that it was crucial to sort out the details. 'We need to understand what is included,' said Brando Benifei, an Italian member of the European Parliament and head of its delegation for relations with the US. Benifei and others questioned whether US probes into the national security aspect of trade relations might result in extra tariffs down the line, such as on EU pharmaceutical products. At first glance, Benifei said the deal 'seems very asymmetric'. 'The result is due in my view to the push by some governments to have a deal at any cost, which has weakened our stance,' he added. 'Because the US knew some governments wanted a deal whatever the cost.' Others noted that Trump's threats managed to shift the view on what constituted relief. Just a few weeks ago, EU and US negotiators neared an agreement that involved a blanket tariff of 10%, before a Truth Social post by Trump derailed them. Today, some investors saw benefits for Europe's key auto industry, for instance, which would see US car tariffs reduced to 15% from 25%. The tariffs, however, were at 2.5% before Trump's global trade blitz, and some industry groups noted their dismay. 'The US tariff rate of 15%, which also applies to automotive products, will cost German automotive companies billions annually and burdens them,' Hildegard Mueller, president of Germany's main auto industry group, the VDA, told Agence France-Presse. On some issues, the Europeans stood their ground. Trump officials had pressed the EU for concessions on tech industry regulations and on food standards, which the bloc insisted were non-negotiable. As part of the deal, Trump said Europe had committed to buying more US energy and weapons and boosting investment in the US. But those provisions are mostly aspirational promises without guarantees. European nations were already poised to buy more US weapons under an arrangement with Trump to continue arming Ukraine, and the bloc was already seeking alternative energy sources, including liquefied natural gas from the US, as part of its push to phase out Russian energy imports. More energy purchases and European investments would come from member states and companies which Brussels does not control. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, seen as a close Trump ally in the EU, heralded the deal, while saying details still need to be worked out. 'I obviously welcome the fact that an agreement has been reached,' Meloni told reporters. Still, she added, 'we need to verify the possible exemptions, particularly for certain agricultural products. So there are a number of elements that are missing.'
NZ Herald
a day ago
- NZ Herald
Round three - United States and China hold economic talks as trade truce nears end
The Trump Administration has been trying to win concessions from many countries before an August 1 deadline for reimposing tariffs announced in April. Those levies were suspended in order to reach trade deals. Over the last week, the Trump Administration has announced deals with some of America's biggest trading partners in quick succession. Last week the US and Japan finally agreed to a deal that included a 15% tariff on Japanese imports and a pledge from Japan to invest US$550 billion in the US. Today, Trump announced that he had also reached a deal with the European Union, whose economies rely on exports to the US. The deal would put a 15% tariff on many European exports, including cars. One of the biggest unknowns is what will happen with China, which remains one of America's largest source of imports. After a tit-for-tat period of tariffs and retaliation, the two nations have come to something of an uneasy truce after talks in Geneva in May, and in London in June. Today, before he met with European officials, Trump implied that some kind of trade arrangement with China might be close at hand. 'We just struck a deal with Japan as you know, and we're very close to a deal with China,' he said. This will be the first meeting between the countries without an imminent crisis, like the tariff standoff or China's economically crippling ban on rare earth exports this year. Trade experts said the list of potential topics for discussion was long, ranging from Trump's push to get China to stop the flow of fentanyl to the US, to America's concerns about its purchases of Russian and Iranian oil, and recent exit bans that have prevented US citizens from leaving China. US officials appear to be looking forward to more ambitious trade talks in the months to come. Those could include Chinese purchases of American products, steps to open the Chinese market and, potentially, Chinese investment in the US. They are also likely seeking to lay the groundwork for a potential meeting between Trump and Xi Jinping, the Chinese leader, this year. Administration officials are considering a trip to Beijing before a meeting of Asian and Pacific countries in South Korea in October or potentially connecting Trump and Xi on the sidelines of an international meeting. Michael Pillsbury, a former government official who has advised the Trump Administration on China, said this would be Trump's sixth summit meeting with Xi. Each of those summits had a minimum of two hours of dialogue, and Trump went prepared with specific dealmaking requests, he said. 'The President feels it's better to deal face to face,' he said. Trade experts are also wondering whether US technology controls or an agreement to transfer ownership of TikTok may be on the negotiating table. On CNBC last week, Howard Lutnick, the Secretary of Commerce, said that the US had submitted a proposal to China for transferring ownership of TikTok to American companies, and that the Administration was waiting for the Chinese response. The topic was 'not officially' part of the trade talks, he said, 'but unofficially, of course'. Tensions between the US and China started to spiral after Trump announced his 'Liberation Day' tariffs in early April. China was the only country to immediately retaliate, matching Trump's tariffs of 34% with 34% tariffs on American products. Beijing also set up a licensing system to restrict exports of seven rare earth elements that are processed almost exclusively in China and used in electric cars, smart bombs and other high-tech devices. Trump then responded by ratcheting up tariffs on Chinese products to a minimum of 145%, which brought much of the trade between the countries to a halt. The previous rounds of negotiations secured a temporary truce that included China's relaxing its restrictions on shipments of valuable rare earth minerals and magnets needed by US manufacturers. In return, US officials agreed to roll back limits on exports of US products and technology, including ethane and airplane parts, as well as the proposed visa restrictions. US tariffs on Chinese imports were scaled back to 30%, while China has 10% tariffs on American products. The truce is scheduled to expire on August 12, after which tariffs would rise by 10%. However, Bessent has been optimistic that the truce could be extended. In an interview on the Fox Business Network last week, Bessent said that 'trade is in a good place' with China. He added that he hoped to begin having broader discussions with his counterparts about rebalancing the Chinese economy and encouraging China to curb purchases of Russian and Iranian oil. Bessent said China was in a manufacturing slump and faced a residential real estate market crisis. He argued Beijing must focus on building a consumer economy. 'They can't export their economic problems to the rest of the world; they need to solve them,' Bessent said. US companies continue to have a rash of criticisms about doing business in China, including the country's newly established rare earth licensing system. The processing time for licences is long, American firms say, and China requests proprietary and sensitive business information as part of the applications. In a survey released this month, members of the US-China Business Council said strained relations and tariffs between the two countries remained their biggest concerns. But they also said Chinese policies favouring domestic companies were eroding confidence in doing business in the country. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. Written by: Alan Rappeport and Ana Swanson ©2025 THE NEW YORK TIMES
