EU Corporate Giants Look Ready to Fold on Trump Tariffs
European efforts to tone down the risk of a full-blown trade war unfolded as a top Chinese official suggested there's reason to optimistic about ties between the world's two biggest economies. Both the Chinese and the Americans are hoping for a 'friendly, good' relationship between their countries, and politicians are expected to heed the will of the people, said Liu Jianchao, head of the Communist Party's International Department.
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Yahoo
32 minutes ago
- Yahoo
What is the state of play with Trump's tariffs?
With sweeping tariffs on friend and foe, US President Donald Trump has roiled financial markets and sparked a surge in economic uncertainty -- and tensions are mounting days before a fresh volley of higher duties are due to kick in. Here is a rundown of what Trump has implemented in his second presidency, with levies on dozens of economies set to bounce from 10 percent to a range between 11 percent and 50 percent on Wednesday. - Global tariffs - While Trump imposed a 10 percent tariff on most US trading partners in April, the rate is set to rise for dozens of economies including the European Union and Japan come Wednesday. To avoid higher levies, countries have been rushing to strike deals with Washington. So far, the UK and Vietnam have struck pacts with the United States, while China has managed to temporarily lower tit-for-tat duties. There are notable exceptions to the duty. Immediate US neighbors Canada and Mexico, which were separately targeted over illegal immigration and fentanyl, are not affected by the 10 percent global tariff. Also off the hook are copper, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors and lumber -- although these are sectors that Trump is mulling levies on. Gold and silver, as well as energy commodities, are excluded too. - China focus - China has borne the brunt of Trump's levies. The world's two biggest economies engaged in an escalating tariffs war this year before a temporary pullback. Both sides imposed triple-digit tariffs on each other's goods at one point, a level effectively described as a trade embargo. After high level talks, Washington agreed to lower its levies on Chinese goods to 30 percent and Beijing slashed its own to 10 percent. The US level is higher as it includes a 20 percent tariff imposed over China's alleged role in the global fentanyl trade. - Autos, metals - Trump has also targeted individual business sectors in his second term. In March, he imposed a 25 percent levy on steel and aluminum imports and last month doubled them to 50 percent. He has also rolled out a 25 percent tariff on imported autos, although those imported under the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) can qualify for a lower levy. Trump's auto tariffs impact vehicle parts too, while the president has issued rules to ensure automakers paying vehicle tariffs will not also be charged for certain other duties. - Canada, Mexico - Canadian and Mexican products were initially hard hit by 25 percent US tariffs, with a lower rate for Canadian energy. Trump targeted both neighbors saying they did not do enough on illegal immigration and the flow of illicit drugs across borders. But he eventually announced exemptions for goods entering his country under the USMCA, covering large swaths of products. Potash, used as fertilizer, got a lower rate as well. - Other threats - Beyond expansive tariffs on Chinese products, Trump ordered the closure of a duty-free exemption for low-value parcels from the country. This adds to the cost of importing items like clothing and small electronics. Trump has also opened the door for 25 percent tariffs on goods from countries importing Venezuelan oil. He has threatened similar "secondary tariffs" involving Russian oil. And he has ordered investigations into imports of copper, lumber, semiconductors, pharmaceuticals and critical minerals that could eventually bring new duties. - Legal challenges - Trump's sweeping tariffs on countries have faced legal challenges. The US Court of International Trade ruled in May that Trump had overstepped his authority with across-the-board global levies. It blocked many of the duties from going into effect, prompting the Trump administration's challenge, and a US federal appeals court has since allowed the duties to remain while it considers the case. bys/ksb Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Entrepreneur
an hour ago
- Entrepreneur
Waste Not, Want Tech
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. You're reading Entrepreneur United Kingdom, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media. In the tech world, 'waste' rarely makes the shortlist of blue-chip market opportunities. But for Mikela Druckman, co-founder and CEO of Greyparrot, a clean-tech company using artificial intelligence (AI) to revolutionise waste sorting and recycling, the status quo was a glaring omission. "Depth over breadth has been hugely important for us. From day one, we made a deliberate decision to focus on the waste industry - an under-digitised sector with massive environmental and economic impact." The bet on waste paid off - and fast. By focusing tightly on what she calls "deep domain expertise in waste analytics," Greyparrot turned ignorance into insight and insight into impact. The power of focus Rather than spreading thin, Greyparrot doubled down on a single sector and on one type of technology. "A big early bet was our approach to hardware. While we do deploy hardware to gather data, we made a conscious decision not to build robotic arms or complex recycling plant machinery ourselves." Their team built software that works with existing hardware in recycling plants - from Bollegraaf to Van Dyk - enabling rapid scale without reinventing industrial infrastructure. "That choice set us apart. It allowed us to scale faster, stay agile, and focus on what we do best: building industry-leading AI models, data infrastructure, and integrations that work across any plant setup. We recognised early on that access to large-scale, high-quality data would be one of the most valuable assets we could build - and that's become a core strength." Building with partners Greyparrot's growth model rests on collaboration. By partnering with established players the company expanded from day one - globally. "Greyparrot is an AI and data software specialist, and we partner with the best in the business when it comes to plant builders, robotics, and system integration." These alliances were strategic turbochargers. Together with Bollegraaf and Van Dyk, Greyparrot deployed its systems across 20 countries, analysing tens of billions of waste objects annually. "Today, we're proud to be a global clean tech leader." Reframing waste as gold The world's fastest-growing consumer goods sector was generating almost no intelligence, and Druckman turned that ignorance into opportunity with hard metrics: "In one instance, a single contamination alert from our system saved a European facility £47,000 in reprocessing costs and fines. In another, our AI identified an aluminium sorting issue in minutes - saving £48,000 on a single batch of material." Those case studies became proof. And with packaging under regulatory pressure, Greyparrot's ability to trace material flow upstream - into manufacturing - unlocked a new narrative: "We're helping brands understand the downstream consequences of their packaging design decisions… Insights don't just enhance recycling - they directly inform packaging design, support regulatory compliance, and accelerate progress toward circularity goals." Greyparrot's Deepnest platform takes consumer goods companies into live-feedback mode. Instead of theoretical recyclability, they can now see what happens to packaging post-consumption - data that could prompt rapid design shifts. Eyes wide open When AI meets real-world complexity, blind spots reveal themselves. Greyparrot found wasted money hiding in unexpected places: "I was surprised by the scale of invisible inefficiencies…Over the last year alone, our systems detected and categorised over 40bn waste objects into 111 categories, revealing massive shifts in quality and contamination over the course of a single day." Packing shrink sleeves and resistant materials like Tetra Pak - designed without recycling in mind - became tangible examples of downstream effects. "Take Lucozade bottles - their full plastic shrink sleeve meant that they weren't being recognised by recycling machinery, so they spent £6m to redesign more sustainable products." With real-time data, companies can emerge with 10–20% recovery gains in a single shift. Opportunities in the $3tn waste sector Waste's disruptability is debated, but Druckman points to three major shifts driving this opportunity: 1. Smarter hardware integration, with AI embedded into the sorting process. 2. AI retrofits for legacy plants, offering high ROI without new infrastructure. 3. Emerging data-driven compliance, led through platforms like Deepnest - connecting material flow to brand decisions. "Analysing 15 tonnes of waste typically takes a trained staff member around 375 hours. With AI, it takes six." For entrepreneurs, this suggests embedding your tech, retrofitting old systems, or influencing upstream incentives - while leaving physical assets in place. The reality check Greyparrot's success isn't a fairy tale. The company has survived pandemics, downturns, and hyper-cautious fundraising environments. "One of the biggest lessons that's shaped how we've built Greyparrot is the importance of resilience - not just in the technology, but in the business itself." Steady growth and autonomy in her team proved that momentum didn't rely on a singular figure. "During my second maternity leave, the team not only kept things running - they delivered growth in both headcount and revenue." That's not just good leadership; it's a replicable organisational structure fit for start-ups scaling globally. A circular future Looking ahead, Druckman sees AI as the operating system for recycling plants, but the bigger play lies elsewhere: "AI is laying the foundation for circular decision-making. Data from waste is now flowing upstream to inform how products are designed, tested, and improved - closing the loop between packaging innovation and recyclability." Plants are just the beginning. The next layer is connecting recycling feedback to packaging, design, and supply chains. "Entrepreneurs will play a huge role in scaling this transformation, and that's what we're doing with Deepnest." By rethinking rubbish, Greyparrot shows how innovation can recycle old problems into new possibilities - a truly circular success story.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Ariel Celebrates 25 Years of the Atom With Its Most Powerful Model Yet
Ariel Motor Company, the renowned British manufacturer of ultra-lightweight, no-compromise sports cars, is marking the 25th anniversary of the Ariel Atom with its most potent and exclusive variant yet: the Atom 4RR. Limited to just 25 individually tailored examples, this road-legal, track-focused machine will deliver an astonishing 525 bhp and 550 Nm of torque from a heavily reworked turbocharged Honda 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine. Built on the proven Atom 4R platform, the new 4RR features a host of internal engine changes, along with revised oil and fuel systems, to maximize performance. Ariel describes it as the ultimate expression of its 'serious fun' philosophy, aimed at drivers who want to push their skills and the Atom's engineering to the absolute limit. Pricing and full technical details will follow later this year. The new model not only celebrates 25 years of the Atom, but also underlines Ariel's heritage as a company dating back to 1871, when it produced the pioneering Ordinary, or 'Penny Farthing,' bicycle, the world's first series-production vehicle. As Ariel writes a new chapter with the Atom 4RR, here's a look back at the evolution of one of Britain's most radical sports cars: Launched at the turn of the millennium, the original Atom shocked the performance-car world. With a 120bhp Rover engine and Ariel's now-iconic exposed tubular space frame, it embodied an entirely fresh vision: extreme lightness, ultra-minimalist design, and a thrilling, highly configurable driving experience. The 'No Doors, No Windscreen, No Roof' ethos made the Atom a true driver's machine and helped cement its legend among purists. The second-generation Atom switched to Honda power, adopting the high-revving 220bhp Civic Type R K20 engine. From 2005, Ariel offered an optional supercharger pushing power to 275bhp, adding another level of performance, and introducing that unforgettable supercharger whine. Engineering and design updates further refined what was already a visceral driving experience. The Atom 3 brought a significant overhaul. A revised chassis, upgraded suspension, and updated bodywork made the car even more capable. Standard output rose to 245bhp, while a supercharged option lifted power to 300bhp. In 2010, Ariel built a very special edition: the Atom V8. This 25-car limited run boasted up to 500bhp and a spine-tingling 10,000rpm redline, taking the Atom philosophy to the extreme. Refining the Atom 3 platform, the Atom 3.5 improved engine management, steering, suspension, and bodywork, while retaining the same fundamental chassis. A year later, the even more hardcore 3.5R arrived with 367bhp, a sequential gearbox, and further suspension upgrades, cementing the Atom's place as a benchmark for raw, lightweight performance. Every part of the Atom was reimagined for the Atom 4, apart from the fuel filler cap, steering wheel, and pedals. As the first turbocharged Atom, it utilized a 2.0-liter Honda Civic Type R engine, producing 320bhp with switchable boost, and was backed by a stiffer chassis, advanced geometry, and adjustable driver aids, including traction control and launch control. With a stunning power-to-weight ratio and exceptional handling, the Atom 4 raised the bar for lightweight, road- and track-oriented sports cars. In 2023, Ariel further advanced the Atom 4 platform with the introduction of the 4R. This time, the same Honda turbo engine was tuned to 400bhp and 500Nm, resulting in the 4R achieving an extraordinary power-to-weight ratio of nearly 600bhp per tonne. Designed for the most dedicated drivers, the Atom 4R delivered electrifying track performance while remaining road-legal. As Ariel gears up to celebrate the Atom's 25th birthday, the 525bhp Atom 4RR stands as a fitting tribute to a quarter-century of engineering passion, fearless innovation, and that uniquely analog driving experience. With just 25 bespoke cars to be built, the 4RR will be among the rarest and most potent Ariels ever made. For those lucky enough to secure one, it promises a driving experience unlike anything else on the road or the track.
