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☆ There's a messy battle over AI going on in DC — and there's no end in sight
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-05 | by ( Madison Hall | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Why does the US not have federal AI regulation? Biden signed the executive order on "Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence" near the end of 2023. Another challenge comes from AI experts and researchers choosing private sector jobs instead of ones in the government, a kind of "brain drain," Zhang said. "Less than 40% go to government looking to create all those AI regulations and governance structures." AdvertisementThe vast majority of AI experts end up working in the private sector rather than for universities or federal governments.

Persons: —, hasn't, Joe Biden, Trump, Kevin McCarthy, Biden, I'm, Jason Green, Lowe, It's, Sen, Martin Heinrich, Sam Altman, Bill O'Leary, Rebecca Finlay, Finlay, we're, she's, Daniel Zhang, Zhang, Drew Angerer, That's, there's Organizations: Service, White, Business, Bills, Republican, Artificial Intelligence, Federal Government, Science & Technology, Congress, Microsoft, Google, Defense, Center, Senate, Washington, Getty, Stanford Institute for, AI, Stanford's, for, Biden Locations: Silicon Valley, Korean, Washington , DC, Congress, North America

☆ US, Britain announce partnership on AI safety, testing
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-02 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Safety Summit at Bletchley Park, in central England, on Nov. 2, 2023. - The United States and Britain on Monday announced a new partnership on the science of artificial intelligence safety, amid growing concerns about upcoming next-generation versions. Britain and the United States are among countries establishing government-led AI safety institutes. Both are working to develop similar partnerships with other countries to promote AI safety. Both countries plan to share key information on capabilities and risks associated with AI models and systems and technical research on AI safety and security.

Persons: Rishi Sunak, Kamala Harris, Gina Raimondo, Michelle Donelan, Raimondo, Donelan, Biden Organizations: British, Artificial Intelligence, Monday, British Technology, Safety, Reuters, EU Trade, Technology Council, ., Commerce Department Locations: Bletchley, England, United States, Britain, Washington, Bletchley Park, U.S, Belgium

☆ A viral TikTok is igniting a debate over data centers taking over Virginia's countryside
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-25 | by ( Alex Bitter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

But a viral TikTok shows that some people aren't happy about what the giant structures are replacing in Northern Virginia. Related storiesOthers pointed out the irony of posting about the issue on a social media platform powered by data centers. Data centers are popping up thanks to billions of dollars of investment and the AI boom. In Loudon County, roughly a 45-minute drive from DC, some residents say they can hear a constant hum from all the data centers in the area. AdvertisementDo you live or work in Northern Virginia or another part of the US where data centers have altered life?

Persons: —, @claireecowles, suara, commenter, they're Organizations: Service, Business, Northern, Northern Virginia Technology Locations: Northern Virginia, Shenandoah, Washington, Virginia, NoVa, Loudon County

☆ Nashville's startup scene is booming. Here's why investors and founders are moving to 'Music City'
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Ashley Capoot | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - SEPTEMBER 1, 2019: Tourists visit the bars and country music venues in the Lower Broadway entertainment district in Nashville, Tennessee. As more investors and founders are flocking to explore Nashville's booming health care and technology scene, Shah said he gets recognized regularly. (Photo Illustration by Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty ImagesNicknamed "Music City," Nashville is chock-full of country singers and perpetually buzzing with live music. (Photo by Robert Alexander/Getty Images) Robert Alexander | Archive Photos | Getty ImagesNashville's health tech startup scene has also benefited from significant investment from local organizers and government officials. Eligible Nashville entrepreneurs can also become members of the Greater Nashville Technology Council and the Nashville Health Care Council.

Persons: Robert Alexander, Robin Shah, Shah, Pavlo Gonchar, Kyle Cooksey, Bill Frist, Cooksey, John Bass, Bass, Ellen Herlacher, Luke Benda, it's, Cerner, It's, Vanderbilt, Marcus Whitney, Whitney, Benda, Landon Gibbs, Gibbs, Raelyn Wilson, Wilson Organizations: Tourists, Broadway, Getty, Thyme, CNBC, Nashville, Nashville Health Care, Healthcare, HCA, Community Health Systems, Acadia Healthcare, Vanderbilt University, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Belmont University, Meharry Medical, Monogram Health, Downtown, Istock, Amazon, Oracle, Bank, Greater Nashville Venture Capital Association, Center, Nashville Area, of Commerce, Force, Ventures, Greater, Greater Nashville Technology Council, Nashville Health Care Council, HCA Healthcare Locations: NASHVILLE , TENNESSEE, Nashville , Tennessee, Fort Lauderdale , Florida, Nashville, UKRAINE, U.S, Acadia, Downtown Nashville , Tennessee, Music City, Rocky, Colorado, Boston, Greater Nashville, Cumberland

HONG KONG (AP) — Taiwan authorities are investigating four Taiwan-based companies suspected of helping China’s Huawei Technologies to build semiconductor facilities. Political Cartoons View All 1202 ImagesThe companies could be fined up to 25 million Taiwan dollars ($777,665) for violating regulations. Cleanrooms and other high-tech equipment and services are crucial for the delicate process of making computer chips. But Wang reminded companies that if they used U.S. technology and equipment they would not be able to co-operate with firms included in the U.S. U.S. officials say the company is a security risk and might facilitate Chinese spying, an accusation that Huawei denies.

Persons: Economic Affairs Wang Mei, Wang, Yuan Organizations: Huawei Technologies, Economic Affairs, of Economic Affairs, Bloomberg, Huawei, Strategic, Tech Commodities, Taiwan's China News Agency, Topco, K Engineering, United Integrated Services Co, Chemical Technology, Chemical Technology Taiwan Co, Science, Technology Council, U.S . Commerce Locations: HONG KONG, Taiwan, China, Chemical Technology Taiwan, U.S

☆ U.S. optimistic it will reach critical minerals deal with EU
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-02 | by ( Philip Blenkinsop | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Shelley Christians/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBRUSSELS, Oct 2 (Reuters) - The United States is optimistic it will conclude an agreement with the European Union to allow critical minerals mined or processed in Europe to qualify for U.S. clean vehicle tax breaks, a senior U.S. official said on Monday. The transatlantic partners are negotiating whether and how EU critical minerals, such as lithium and nickel, can qualify for green subsidies under the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act, which promotes products manufactured in North America. He added there was no plan to tie an agreement on critical minerals to the result of separate transatlantic negotiations to resolve a bilateral dispute over U.S. import tariffs on EU steel. The United States signed a minerals deal with Japan in March. Fernandez also said he was meeting EU officials to discuss an agenda for the next joint Trade and Technology Council, which the United States will host before the end of the year.

Persons: Jose W, Fernandez, Shelley Christians, Jose Fernandez, Philip Blenkinsop, Mark Potter Organizations: United, State, Economic Growth, Energy, Mining, REUTERS, Rights, European Union, U.S, State Department, Japan, EU, Trade, Technology Council, Thomson Locations: United States, Cape Town , South Africa, Rights BRUSSELS, Europe, U.S, North America, Brussels, Britain

☆ Prayers, parties, student shows planned in India for moon landing
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] Arun Haryani, an enthusiast with his body painted in tri-colours reacts as he holds up a model of LVM3 M4 which was used in launching of Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft on the eve of its moon landing, in Ahmedabad, India. REUTERS/Amit Dave Acquire Licensing RightsNEW DELHI, Aug 22 (Reuters) - Excitement rose in India on Tuesday on the eve of a much-anticipated moon landing, with prayers held for its success, schools marshalling students to watch a live telecast of the event and space enthusiasts organising parties to celebrate. India's second attempt to land on the moon after a failure in 2019 is being seen as a display of the tenacity of its scientific institutions. Authorities and educators also hope it will encourage scientific inquiry among millions of students in the world's most populous country. Students have sent scores of messages wishing ISRO luck for a successful landing, the agency said.

Persons: Arun Haryani, Amit Dave, Narendra Modi, Narottam Sahoo, Srikant, Nivedita, Saurabh Sharma, Nag Choudhury, Sumit Khanna, Sunil Kataria, Krishn Kaushik, YP Rajesh, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: REUTERS, DELHI, Indian Space Research, ISRO, Reuters, Operations, YP, Thomson Locations: Ahmedabad, India, Russian, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Kolkata, Mumbai, Varanasi, Bengaluru, Lucknow, New Delhi

☆ Old Cold War tool could help in new era of tension
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( Hugo Dixon | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

The United States may soon expand its export controls to cover semiconductors used in artificial intelligence and access to cloud computing. The People’s Republic has responded with tit-for-tat export controls on gallium and germanium, two strategic metals used in chips and other technologies where it has a dominant position. This is what the U.S. and its allies did during the last Cold War, when they established the Coordinating Committee for Multilateral Export Controls (CoCom). The United States’ subsidies for green technologies via its Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) caused tension with its allies. Its premier, Li Qiang, travelled to Germany last month hoping to persuade it not to row in behind the United States.

Persons: Joe Biden, Hung Tran, Li Qiang, –, Biden, Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, Frances Burwell, Canada –, George Hay, Oliver Taslic, Pranav Kiran Organizations: Reuters, NATO, Soviet, Atlantic Council, Reuters Graphics Reuters, European Union, Multilateral Export Controls, United, Republican, Florida, EU, U.S, U.S . Trade, Technology Council, Twitter, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, China, Republic, U.S, Netherlands, Japan, States, United States, People’s Republic, Germany, Beijing, ’, Russia, Britain, Canada, Australia, South Korea

☆ Nvidia dips on report U.S. considering new A.I. chip export restrictions for China
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Rohan Goswami | In Rohangoswamicnbc | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Shares of Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices both fell more than 2% in early trading after The Wall Street Journal reported the federal government is weighing new restrictions on exports of sophisticated chips used in artificial intelligence computing to China. The export restrictions under consideration would be imposed by the Commerce Department and would come after the U.S. government already limited the computing power of chips made for Chinese use. Nvidia responded to the earlier restrictions by building a lower-spec chip for the Chinese market. But under the new controls being considered, even that chip, the A800, would be export restricted without licensing, the Journal reported. The restrictions would also apply to companies that offer cloud-based computing solutions, the Journal reported, which have been used by some companies to skirt export controls.

Persons: Gina Raimondo, Antony Blinken, Katherine Tai, chipmakers Organizations: Commerce, EU Trade, Technology, Nvidia, Devices, Street Journal, Commerce Department, U.S, AMD, Marvell, Broadcom, Qualcomm Locations: U.S, College Park , Maryland, China

☆ Tim Cook bets his legacy on augmented reality
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

David Paul Morris/Getty Images Cook speaks in front of an image of an iPhone 4S at Apple headquarters in 2011. Yui Mok/PA Images/Getty Images Tim Cook puts on a Boston Red Sox jersey before a baseball game between the Red Sox and the Detroit Tigers in June 2017. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images Tim Cook signs the box of a new iPhone X at an Apple Store in Palo Alto in November 2017. Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg/Getty Images Cook speaks via video conference at a House Judiciary subcommittee hearing on online platforms and market power in July 2020. In pictures: Apple CEO Tim Cook Prev NextFollowers of the company are divided on what the headset could ultimately mean for Cook.

Persons: Tim Cook, Steve Jobs, Cook, It’s, … it’s, ”, Margaret O’Mara, Andrew Burton, Phil Schiller, Jobs, David Paul Morris, Apple, Tom Williams, Marcio Jose Sanchez, Bono, Justin Sullivan, Tony Avelar, Stephen Lam, George Washington University's, Alex Brandon, Stephen Colbert, Jeffrey R, Pope Francis, Shutterstock Cook, Maddie Ziegler, AirPods, Monica Davey, James Corden, Pharrell, Beck Diefenbach, Reuters Cook, Yui Mok, Billie Weiss, Donald Trump, Jonathan, Oprah Winfrey, Win McNamee, Theresa Goh, Edgar Su, Andrew Harrer, Graeme Jennings, Noah Berger, Sajid Moinuddin, India's, Francis Mascarenhas, Brooks Kraft, it’s, Mike Bailey, “, Tim Bajarin, ’, ” Bajarin, Bajarin, they’ll Organizations: New, New York CNN, Apple, Vision, Apple Watch, University of Washington, Washington Post, Getty, Reuters, Alamy, Homeland Security, Governmental, Flint Center, Performing Arts, Cook, CBS, Serviziofotograficoor, Primary School, Boston Red Sox, Red Sox, Detroit Tigers, American Technology, White House, Steve Jobs Theatre, Carnegie Library, Central Public Library, Bloomberg, Singapore, Apple Worldwide, Conference, Epic Games, Apple Inc, FBB Capital Partners, Jobs Locations: New York, Cupertino , California, Cupertino, Palo Alto , California, Palo Alto, San Francisco, Down, London, Washington , DC, Oakland , California, Mumbai

☆ Australia says tougher laws needed on artificial intelligence
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SYDNEY, June 1 (Reuters) - Australia said on Thursday it planned to regulate artificial intelligence (AI) including a potential ban on deep fakes and realistic-looking but false content, amid concerns the technology could be misused. "Governments have got a clear role to play in recognising the risk and ... putting curbs in place," Husic said. Australia was among the first countries regulate AI, unveiling a voluntary ethics framework in 2018. European lawmakers last month inched closer to pass a law to regulate AI, potentially the world's first comprehensive AI law that could form a precedent among advanced economies. Husic said Australia would also consider banning high-risk elements of AI if there was strong demand for it during public consultations to frame the new laws.

Persons: Ed Husic, Husic, Renju Jose, Stephen Coates Organizations: SYDNEY, ABC, Australia's National Science, Technology, Governments, Thomson Locations: Australia, Sydney

☆ US, EU agree firm stance on China at trade, tech meeting
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Philip Blenkinsop | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The two partners sought at their Trade and Technology Council in Sweden to find common interests, such as over artificial intelligence and future trade in environmentally-friendly goods, but China proved a pervasive topic. The statement said the EU and the United States were deeply concerned about foreign information manipulation, interference and disinformation. The European Union plans to recalibrate its China policy, recognising coordination with a more hawkish United States is essential. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the EU's and the United States' views of China had increasingly converged, noting neither was looking for confrontation. They also said they were committed to working with the G7 to coordinate action to counteract acts of economic coercion, which would include trade restrictions the EU says China has imposed on EU member Lithuania.

Persons: Antony Blinken, Margrethe Vestager, Jonas Ekstromer, you've, Philip Blenkinsop, Emelia Sithole Organizations: European, Trade, Technology Council, TT News Agency, REUTERS, European Union, TTC, EU, Lithuania, Thomson Locations: Lulea, Sweden, REUTERS LULEA, United States, Ukraine, China, EU, Brussels, recalibrate, Africa, Latin America

☆ EU tech chief calls for voluntary AI code of conduct within months
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Philip Blenkinsop | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LULEA, Sweden, May 31 (Reuters) - The United States and European Union should push the artificial intelligence (AI) industry to adopt a voluntary code of conduct within months to provide safeguards while new laws are developed, EU tech chief Margrethe Vestager said on Wednesday. The European Union's AI Act, with rules on facial recognition and biometric surveillance, could be the world's first comprehensive legislation governing the technology, but is still going through the legislative process. "In the best of cases it will take effect in two and a half to three years time. That is obviously way too late," Vestager told reporters before a meeting of the joint EU-U.S Trade and Technology Council in Sweden. Vestager, a European Commission vice president, said a code of conduct come emerge quickly while governments and legislators from the EU to Canada to India establish rules.

Persons: Margrethe Vestager, Vestager, Thierry Breton, Philip Blenkinsop, Mark Potter Organizations: LULEA, European Union, EU, U.S Trade, Technology Council, European Commission, Thomson Locations: Sweden, United States, European, Canada, India

☆ EU's Vestager sees draft code of conduct on AI within weeks
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

LULEA, Sweden, May 31 (Reuters) - European Union tech chief Margrethe Vestager said she believed a draft voluntary code of conduct for generative AI could be drawn up "within the next weeks", with a final proposal for industry to sign up "very, very soon". "Generative AI is a complete game-changer," Vestager, who is a vice president of the European Commission, told a news conference on Wednesday after a meeting of the EU-U.S. Trade and Technology Council. "Everyone knows this is the next powerful thing. So within the next weeks we will advance a draft of an AI code of conduct," she said, adding she hoped there would be a final proposal "very, very soon" that industry could sign up to. Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop and Bart Meijer; Editing by Alison WilliamsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Margrethe Vestager, Vestager, Philip Blenkinsop, Bart Meijer, Alison Williams Organizations: LULEA, Union, European Commission, EU, U.S . Trade, Technology Council, Thomson Locations: Sweden

"Mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war," more than 350 signatories wrote in a letter published by the nonprofit Center for AI Safety (CAIS). As well as Altman, they included the CEOs of AI firms DeepMind and Anthropic, and executives from Microsoft (MSFT.O) and Google (GOOGL.O). Elon Musk and a group of AI experts and industry executives were the first ones to cite potential risks to society in April. AI pioneer Hinton earlier told Reuters that AI could pose a "more urgent" threat to humanity than climate change. Last week OpenAI CEO Sam Altman referred to EU AI - the first efforts to create a regulation for AI - as over-regulation and threatened to leave Europe.

☆ EU, US to weigh China, AI, trade strains at high-level Sweden talks
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Philip Blenkinsop | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, Trade Representative Katherine Tai and European Commission vice president and trade chief Valdis Dombrovskis will also take part. China will be a major focus of the meeting, even if the word "China" only features twice in the draft joint statement - on non-market practices and disinformation. The gathering in northern Sweden comes just as the European Commission presents its "Economic Security Strategy", expected to contain measures to prevent rivals such as China gaining access to its most sensitive technology. Brussels wants to see cooperation to boost green trade, such as mutual recognition of products, even though the U.S. and EU do not have and do not plan to forge a free-trade agreement. The EU is seeking progress with the U.S. towards an accord on critical minerals used for electric vehicles.

The agreement came after the European Union, which participates in the G7, inched closer this month to passing legislation to regulate AI technology, potentially the world's first comprehensive AI law that could form a precedent among the advanced economies. The G7 leaders said they "need to immediately take stock of the opportunities and challenges of generative AI", a subset of the technology popularised by the ChatGPT app. A month later, EU lawmakers urged world leaders to find ways to control AI technologies, saying they were developing faster than expected. The United States so far has taken a cautious approach on governing AI, with President Joe Biden last month saying it remained to be seen whether AI is dangerous. While acknowledging differences on how AI should be regulated, the G7 leaders agreed on Friday to create a ministerial forum dubbed the "Hiroshima AI process" to discuss issues around generative AI, such as copyrights and disinformation, by the end of this year.

☆ EU and US to pledge joint action over China
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-13 | by ( Philip Blenkinsop | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRUSSELS, May 13 (Reuters) - Washington and the EU will pledge joint action to tackle concerns focused on China about non-market practices and coordinate their export controls on semiconductors and other goods at a meeting this month, a draft statement showed. Brussels says it considers China a partner in some fields, an economic competitor and a strategic rival. The European Union plans to recalibrate its China policy, recognising coordination with a more hawkish United States is essential. Highlighting the medical devices sector in China, the document said the transatlantic partners are "exploring possible actions" over the threat posed by non-market policies and practices. The two sides also said they were committed to working with the G7 to coordinate action to counteract acts of economic coercion, such as the trade restrictions the EU says China has imposed on EU member Lithuania.

Leading AI developers, including Anthropic, Google, Hugging Face, NVIDIA Corp (NVDA.O), OpenAI, and Stability AI, will participate in a public evaluation of their AI systems. Shortly after Biden announced his reelection bid, the Republican National Committee produced a video featuring a dystopian future during a second Biden term, which was built entirely with AI imagery. Such political ads are expected to become more common as AI technology proliferates. In February, Biden signed an executive order directing federal agencies to eliminate bias in their AI use. The Biden administration has also released an AI Bill of Rights and a risk management framework.

☆ White House to meet Microsoft, Google CEOs on AI dangers
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Nandita Bose | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/IllustrationWASHINGTON, May 4 (Reuters) - The White House will host CEOs of top artificial intelligence companies, including Alphabet Inc's Google (GOOGL.O) and Microsoft (MSFT.O), on Thursday to discuss risks and safeguards as the technology catches the attention of governments and lawmakers globally. Leading AI developers, including Anthropic, Google, Hugging Face, NVIDIA, OpenAI, and Stability AI, will participate in a public evaluation of their AI systems at the AI Village at DEFCON 31 - one of the largest hacker conventions in the world - and run on a platform created by Scale AI and Microsoft. Such political ads are expected to become more common as AI technology proliferates. In February, Biden signed an executive order directing federal agencies to eliminate bias in their use of AI. The Biden administration has also released an AI Bill of Rights and a risk management framework.

☆ Analysis: Whether Trump or Biden, some in Europe see the US as an unreliable ally
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( Luke Mcgee | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

But they also knew that Biden would not be able to undo all the damage done in Donald Trump’s four years. First, if Trump could happen once, there is no reason he or someone in his mold won’t happen again. Second, Biden, Europeans believe, has continued much of Trump’s foreign policy of protectionism on trade and maximum pressure on China. I am worried we are underestimating the risk of China,” says an Eastern Europe diplomat. “Europe has lots of ties to China, but it also learned recently how fast a partner can become an adversary.

☆ EU urges firm results, green alliance from US trade talks
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRUSSELS, April 12 (Reuters) - The United States and the European Union need to produce clear results next month from their forum on trade and technology and forge closer ties on green products and technology, European Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said on Wednesday. "We should also be aiming to move forward on digital and sustainable trade," Dombrovskis said. The transatlantic partners should, he said, help set common standards for green goods and technologies, ensure fair competition and build resilient supply chains. Dombrovskis said the two should work to align the domestic supports of the IRA and the EU Green Deal, so "turbo-charging" the green transition. In my view, we should be aiming for nothing less than a green transatlantic marketplace," Dombrovskis said.

☆ U.S. trade chief Tai defends pursuit of non-traditional trade deals
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( David Lawder | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

She said past trade deals focused on "aggressive liberalization and tariff elimination" made the U.S. and other countries too dependent on China for critical materials. Her remarks come amid growing calls from U.S. business and agricultural trade groups for Congress to approve new "fast track" negotiating authority for USTR to pursue traditional free trade deals. These groups argue the U.S. is falling behind the growing network of free trade deals forged by China and the European Union in recent years, putting U.S. farmers and food companies at a disadvantage against many foreign competitors in key markets. Republicans in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives also pelted Tai with complaints about the lack of new tariff-reducing trade deals during hearings last month. Tai told reporters it has been difficult to explain the need to break away from the traditional vision of ever-liberalizing trade deals.

☆ U.S. trade chief Tai to defend pursuit of non-traditional trade deals
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( David Lawder | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, April 5 (Reuters) - U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai on Wednesday will defend the Biden administration's decision not to pursue traditional free trade deals and argue her approach of working to ease non-tariff barriers is better for workers and supply chain resilience. Her remarks come amid growing calls from U.S. business and agricultural trade groups for Congress to approve new "fast track" negotiating authority for USTR to pursue traditional free trade deals. These groups argue the U.S. is falling behind the growing network of free trade deals forged by China and the European Union in recent years, putting U.S. farmers and food companies at a disadvantage against many foreign competitors in key markets. Republicans in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives also pelted Tai with complaints about the lack of new tariff-reducing trade deals during hearings last month. Tai told reporters it has been difficult to explain the need to break away from the traditional vision of ever-liberalizing trade deals.

☆ Aussie start-up firm SafetyCulture appoints Tesla Chair as director
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 27 (Reuters) - Australian technology firm SafetyCulture on Monday said it has appointed Robyn Denholm, chair of electric vehicle maker Tesla Inc (TSLA.O), as a director to its board. Denholm, who has been an advisor to the Australian firm since late 2021, is replacing Rick Baker, co-founder of Blackbird Ventures, the company said in a statement. The collapse of U.S.-based technology-focused lender Silicon Valley Bank and the ensuing volatility in global financial markets in recent weeks has stoked concerns of higher funding costs for start-up businesses. Denholm's new role is in addition to her roles as Tesla Chair and Chair of The Technology Council of Australia, the company said. Denholm has been in various senior roles in the global technology industry, including former chief financial officer at Australian firm Telstra and is an operating partner at Blackbird Ventures.

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