Latest news with #BRUSSELS
Washington Post
5 hours ago
- Business
- Washington Post
Trump's tariffs could upend U.S. trade with E.U., a global export power
BRUSSELS — President Donald Trump's threat to slap 30 percent tariffs on the European Union starting Aug. 1 derailed weeks of delicate negotiations and risks upending what E.U. officials call the most important trade relationship in the world. The E.U. negotiates trade policy for its 27 nations, with a combined population of nearly 450 million, and it is one of the world's top three exporters alongside China and the United States. Brussels says that means it cannot be strong-armed into a bad agreement. Yet even as Trump's last-minute curveball undermined an emerging deal, frustrated E.U. leaders are still trying to negotiate. Much is at stake. More than one-fifth of goods exported by the E.U. go to the U.S.
Zawya
7 hours ago
- Business
- Zawya
EU launches talks with GCC countries for bilateral strategic agreements
BRUSSELS — The European Commission and the High Representative have welcomed the European Council's decision to authorize the opening of bilateral negotiations with each of the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries — Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Oman — with the aim of concluding Strategic Partnership Agreements (SPAs). The proposed SPAs are designed to establish modern, ambitious, and comprehensive frameworks for cooperation, tailored to the EU's shared priorities with each GCC partner. The move follows the 2022 Joint Communication on a Strategic Partnership with the Gulf and builds on momentum from the October 2024 EU–GCC Summit in Brussels. The agreements are set to cover a broad range of sectors, including foreign policy, security, justice, trade and investment, climate and energy, digital transformation, education, culture, and enhanced people-to-people engagement. Brussels described the SPAs as a strategic shift in EU-Gulf relations, positioning them to address mutual challenges and unlock shared opportunities across the rapidly evolving Middle East region. Negotiations are expected to begin soon, with the order and pace determined by each GCC country's level of interest. The EU emphasized that these new SPAs will complement existing regional and bilateral cooperation frameworks, including Free Trade Agreement talks already underway. © Copyright 2022 The Saudi Gazette. All Rights Reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
Wall Street Journal
14 hours ago
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
Europe Prepares for a U.S. Trade Fight
BRUSSELS—The European Union thought it was on the verge of a deal with the U.S. to keep tariffs in check. Now it is readying a counterattack. U.S. officials told the EU's trade chief this past week that they expect President Trump to demand further concessions from the bloc to get an agreement, including a baseline tariff on most European goods that could be in the range of 15% or higher, according to people briefed on the talks.
CNA
3 days ago
- Business
- CNA
Microsoft likely to sign EU AI code of practice, Meta rebuffs guidelines
BRUSSELS :Microsoft will likely sign the European Union's code of practice to help companies comply with the bloc's landmark artificial intelligence rules, its president told Reuters on Friday, while Meta Platforms rebuffed the guidelines. Drawn up by 13 independent experts, the voluntary code of practice aims to provide legal certainty to signatories. They will have to publish summaries of the content used to train their general-purpose AI models and put in place a policy to comply with EU copyright law. The code is part of the AI Act which came into force in June 2024 and will apply to Google owner Alphabet, Facebook owner Meta, OpenAI, Anthropic, Mistral and thousands of companies. "I think it's likely we will sign. We need to read the documents," Microsoft President Brad Smith told Reuters. "Our goal is to find a way to be supportive and at the same time one of the things we really welcome is the direct engagement by the AI Office with industry," he said, referring to the EU's regulatory body for AI. Meta reiterated its criticism of the code. "Meta won't be signing it. This code introduces a number of legal uncertainties for model developers, as well as measures which go far beyond the scope of the AI Act," Meta's chief global affairs officer Joel Kaplan said in a blog post on LinkedIn on Friday. The U.S. social media giant has the same concerns as a group of 45 European companies, he said. "We share concerns raised by these businesses that this over-reach will throttle the development and deployment of frontier AI models in Europe, and stunt European companies looking to build businesses on top of them," Kaplan said. OpenAI and Mistral have signed the code.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Corning staves off antitrust fine as EU regulators accept concessions to mobile phone makers
By Foo Yun Chee BRUSSELS (Reuters) -EU antitrust regulators on Friday accepted glass maker Corning's offer to waive exclusive deals with mobile phone makers and glass processing companies and scrap purchasing clauses to end an eight-month long investigation and stave off a possible fine. The U.S. company, which sells a break resistant glass used as a cover for mobile phones, tablets and smart watches under the Gorilla Glass brand, counts Samsung, Sony, Google, HP, Dell and Nokia as its customers. Apple is reportedly a customer too. Corning submitted concessions to the European Commission in November last year. Corning has now agreed "to waive all exclusive dealing clauses in all its current agreements with OEMs (original equipement makers) and finishers", the EU antitrust enforcer said in a statement. It will also not require OEMs to purchase, or cause their supply chain to purchase, more than 50% of their demand from the company. The offer is valid for 9 years. EU antitrust violations can cause companies as much as 10% of their turnover. 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
