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☆ China protests 'vile' Taiwan visit by German minister
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory and has ramped up military, political and economic pressure to assert those claims. The politically sensitive visit is taking place as Berlin is reviewing its previously close ties with China. In January, a visit to Taiwan by a delegation of high-ranking lawmakers from the liberal Free Democrats (FDP), the smallest party in Chancellor Olaf Scholz's three-way coalition, also led to protests from Beijing. "It is a great pleasure and honour for me to be the first minister heading a specialist government department to visit Taiwan in 26 years," she added. Given the sensitivity of the trip, Stark-Watzinger is not scheduled to meet Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen.

☆ Thousands of Buildings Collapsed in One Turkish City. Thousands More May Have to Come Down.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Leanne Abraham | Lauren Leatherand Scott Reinhard | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +8 min

Four of the complex’s five buildings collapsed. About 3,100 buildings collapsed in Antakya, trapping residents and killing more than 20,000 people in the city, Lutfu Savas, the metropolitan mayor, said on Feb. 19. Shake intensity Moderate Severe TURKEY 7.8-magnitude earthquake Antakya TURKEY mediterranean SEA SYRIA Area of detail SYRIA TURKEY Area of detail SYRIA TURKEY 7.8-magnitude earthquake Antakya SYRIA Source: USGS Shake intensity shown only for the first Feb. 6 earthquake. Shops’ higher ceilings and wider windows often come at the expense of structural support against earthquake damage. Two of the complex’s five buildings collapsed, trapping residents inside.

[1/6] German Economy Minister Robert Habeck and French Minister for Economy, Finance, Industry and Digital Security Bruno Le Maire hold a joint news conference in Washington, U.S., February 7, 2023. "It's a process, and in a process you go step by step," Le Maire told reporters. After meetings with Yellen, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and White House officials, Habeck and Le Maire emerged with few specifics other than pledges to be clear about their competing green subsidies. Noting the agreement on both sides on the need for transparency on subsidies, Habeck said, "We will (create) a technical group to make this transparency work." But Commerce said she applauded the TTC's work to promote transparency for U.S. and EU semiconductor subsidies and support supply chains.

☆ Explainer: Why the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act has rattled Europe
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

BRUSSELS, Feb 1 (Reuters) - The European Commission presented its Green Deal Industrial Plan on Wednesday in response to the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), with increased levels of state aid to help Europe compete as a manufacturing hub for clean tech products. The Treasury is set to provide guidelines in March for electric vehicles bought by consumers, but there appears less room for manoeuvre. The European Commission and the White House have set up a high-level task force to discuss the issue. France has led calls for Europe to respond with state support of its own for European companies, including through a "buy European act" and large-scale subsidies. Longer term, the European Commission says it will propose a European Sovereignty Fund, but it is unclear how it will operate and how it will be funded.

FASTER PERMITSClean tech firms could be in line for simpler rules and fast-tracked permits to build production facilities in Europe. The EU executive said it would produce a "Net-Zero Industry Act" offering faster permits to manufacturers of technologies key to its climate goals. That could include carbon capture and storage, renewable energy, renewable hydrogen production facilities and batteries. Brussels had already slashed the time lines and simplified the rules for renewable energy projects last year. The Commission, which oversees EU trade policy, wants to increase the EU's network of trade agreements, such as those concluded with Chile, Mexico, New Zealand and Mercosur and one it aims to agree with Australia.

☆ EU escalates WTO case against China over patents, Lithuania
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Philip Blenkinsop | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Flags of European Union and China are pictured during the China-EU summit at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, July 12, 2016. The disputes, both brought to the WTO at the beginning of the year, concern alleged Chinese restrictions on EU companies' rights to use foreign courts to protect their high-tech patents and on trade with EU member Lithuania. The Commission formally requested consultations with China at the WTO, the first step in a WTO challenge. The panel requests come as the European Union reviews its stance towards China, seeing it increasingly as a competitor and system rival than a partner. In the Lithuania case, many of China's actions were not published measures, which are typically the focus for WTO litigation.

They issued a joint statement after the third ministerial-level of the U.S.-EU Trade and Technology Council (TTC) vowed to work constructively to resolve it. EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis on Monday called the $430 billion U.S. Inflation Reduction Act discriminatory and urged steps be taken before year's end to modify the law. It offers consumers tax credits of $7,500 for new purchases of Tesla (TSLA.O), Ford (F.N) and other North American-made EVs that the EU fears will significantly hurt European. Other participants included U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and European Commission Vice President Margrethe Vestager. During a state visit to Washington last week, French President Emmanuel Macron told broadcaster CBS it was a "job killer" for Europe.

☆ Monday's EU-US trade talks overshadowed by tax concerns on climate measure
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( David Lawder | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

COLLEGE PARK, Md., Dec 5 (Reuters) - Top European Union officials intend to complain loudly to their U.S. counterparts at a trade meeting on Monday about the bloc's electric vehicles being cut off from tax credits in U.S. President Joe Biden's signature climate law. "The Inflation Reduction Act will be part of the range of discussions on trade," a spokesperson for the White House National Security Council said in a statement. The U.S. side was "committed to continuing to understand EU concerns" through a newly established task force, the spokesperson added. European and South Korean officials criticized the Inflation Act at the G20 Summit in Indonesia last month. French officials say they are hopeful an executive order from the White House could give European nations a break, without the need for seeking revisions from Congress - a move the White House wants to avoid.

☆ Friendshoring makes sense if done in the right way
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Hugo Dixon | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

These examples explain the enthusiasm for “friendshoring”, an idea U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is pushing. First, it could provoke an all-out trade war – causing the kinds of disruptions that friendshoring is intended to prevent. Things would be different if China was the West’s implacable enemy in the way that Putin’s Russia is. Using friendshoring in a defensive rather than aggressive way means focusing on strategic products. While it makes sense to cut its dependency on China, that doesn’t mean going all the way to zero.

☆ Tax credits for EU electric vehicles to dominate U.S. trade talks
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

U.S. Secretary of State Blinken attends the Freedom of Expression Roundtable, in New York, U.S., September 19, 2022. The European Union's top trade official on Monday called for urgent steps before the end of the year to modify a U.S. climate law that would cut off the bloc's electric vehicles from U.S. tax credits, calling the measure discriminatory. EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis, speaking to Deutsche Welle before a meeting of the U.S.-EU Trade and Technology Council (TTC) said the law threatened to undermine progress made by the year-old transatlantic forum. Dombrovskis said the EU was looking at how to make its own subsidies "more efficient" and potential increases in joint U.S.-EU financing. Participants include U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and European Commission Executive Vice Presidents Valdis Dombrovskis and Margrethe Vestager.

☆ EU to adapt state aid schemes in response to U.S. subsidy package, von der Leyen says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS, Dec 4 (Reuters) - The EU will adapt its state aid rules to prevent an exodus of investment triggered by a new U.S. green energy subsidy package, the bloc's chief executive said on Sunday. "Competition is good ... but this competition must respect a level playing field," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a speech in the Belgian city of Bruges. "The (U.S.) Inflation Reduction Act should make us reflect on how we can improve our state aid frameworks and adapt them to a new global environment," she added. The topic is one of several on the agenda of the EU-U.S. Trade and Technology Council meeting on Dec. 5. Reporting by Sabine Siebold and Riham Alkousaa; Editing by Gareth Jones and David HolmesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Explainer: Why the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act has Europe up in arms
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Leigh Thomas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

While EU countries welcome the new commitment to energy transition, they fear the $430 billion Inflation Reduction Act will put their companies at an unfair disadvantage. EU countries are worried their companies will suffer because of U.S. tax breaks for components used in renewable energy technologies like electric cars on condition they are made in North America. EU countries consider that 200 billion euros ($207 billion) out of the total is tied to locally produced content provisions that potentially violate World Trade Organization (WTO) rules. However, a riposte from Europe would likely face resistance from more traditionally free trade friendly nations such as the Netherlands and Sweden. France has led calls for Europe to respond with state support of its own for European companies, including through a "buy European act" and large-scale subsidies.

But a new U.S. law offering hefty subsidies to local manufacturers of green technology has given the company pause for thought. That is roughly four times what the German government is offering, he said, with cheaper energy prices in the United States on top. The act introduces tax credits related to investment in green technology, plus tax breaks for consumers buying an electric vehicle or other green product made in North America. German carmakers and suppliers, for which the United States is a main export market, are among its biggest victims. "If we don't do anything, a lot will emerge in the United States," said Siemens Energy (ENR1n.DE) Chief Executive Christian Bruch.

☆ EU demands quick fix from U.S. of green subsidy law
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Philip Blenkinsop | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The EU argues the $430 billion Inflation Reduction Act, to take effect in January, will make the United States a world leader in the electric vehicle market at its expense. Czech industry and trade minister Josef Sikela said all 27 EU members were concerned. He told reporters before a meeting of national trade ministers that time was running out and expressed hope a solution could be found by Dec. 5 when top U.S. and EU officials will meet. He said ministers would discuss how to persuade the United States to modify its act. The objective would not be to launch into a subsidy race, which would be counter-productive," he said.

☆ The world can harness trade to save the planet
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Hugo Dixon | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

But the right trade policies can also do a lot to save the planet. The first step is to have even-handed carbon tariffs. The World Trade Organization is worried that imposing carbon tariffs in an uncoordinated way could damage global trade and is working on a framework to avoid this. Global trade is struggling following the Covid-19 pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and tension between China and America. By COP28, they and other countries should drive forward trade policies to save the planet.

☆ U.S., EU plan AI roadmap at next trade, technology council meeting on Dec. 5
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON, Nov 10 (Reuters) - The United States and European Union plan to release a new artificial intelligence roadmap that prioritizes security and risk management at the next meeting of a joint trade and technology council, a senior U.S. official said on Thursday. Commerce Undersecretary for International Trade Marisa Lago told an event hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce that the document would be released when the U.S.-EU Trade and Technology Council meets on Dec. 5. "We think that this is a mutual priority that is going to grow in scope as new AI applications come online and as more authoritarian regimes are taking a very different approach to the issues of security and risk management," she said. Reporting by Andrea ShalalOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ U.S. oil service firms' results to show impact of demand, inflation
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Liz Hampton | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Oct 18 (Reuters) - Oilfield service firms are poised to deliver the strongest third quarter results in years as demand for equipment and services has risen despite supply chain snags and higher costs from inflation, according to analyst forecasts. Oil prices remain near their highest levels in about eight years, spurring more producer demand for services. The international rig count rose to 879 last month, up from 787 a year ago, according to Baker Hughes. The Philadelphia Oil Service Index (.OSX) this summer hit its highest level since March 2020, trading around $90, but has dropped to about $68.50 on fears of a recession. The oilfield sector has faced capital constraints, "supply chain issues, workforce shortages and inflation impacts," said Leslie Beyer, CEO of the Energy Workforce & Technology Council, which represents oilfield service companies.

☆ Pittsburgh tech workers say building community and financial stability has made the move to work remotely from a lesser-known tech hub worth it
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( Katie Malone | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Amid a market downturn, tech workers in Pittsburgh say they're happy to live in a low-cost area. Three tech workers told Insider their stories and why they chose to work from Pittsburgh. When the world shut down early in the COVID-19 pandemic, it suddenly became less important for tech workers to live in hot spots like New York; Austin, Texas; or San Francisco. Now, she says, intangible perks like Pittsburgh's supportive tech community have made her very satisfied with her decision. And at some jobs, even ones without a Pittsburgh HQ, there's a pride in the locality that keeps workers here.

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