Month: June 2018

Two major auto trade groups on Wednesday warned the Trump administration that imposing up to 25 percent tariffs on imported vehicles would cost hundreds of thousands of auto jobs, dramatically hike prices on vehicles and threaten industry spending on self-driving cars. A coalition representing major foreign automakers including Toyota Motor Corp, Volkswagen AG, BMW AG and Hyundai Motor Co, said the tariffs would harm automakers and U.S. consumers. The administration in May launched an investigation into whether imported vehicles pose a national security threat and President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to quickly impose tariffs. “The greatest threat to the U.S. automotive industry at this time is the possibility the administration will impose duties on imports in connection with this investigation,” wrote the Association of Global Automakers representing major foreign automakers. “Such duties would raise prices for American consumers, limit their choices, and suppress sales and U.S. production of vehicles.” The group added: “Rather than creating jobs, these tariffs would result in the loss of hundreds of thousands of American jobs producing and selling cars, SUVs, trucks and auto parts.” On Friday, Trump threatened to impose a 20 percent tariff on all imports of EU-assembled cars. On Tuesday, Trump said tariffs are coming soon. “We are finishing our study of Tariffs on cars from the E.U. in that they have long taken advantage of the U.S. in the form of Trade Barriers and Tariffs. In the end it will all even out — and it won’t take very long!” Trump …

Leaders in east Africa have agreed to work together to build a single railroad and highway network to enhance integration in the region. Leaders and representatives of eight countries met in Kenya Tuesday for the 14th time to discuss the northern corridor project aimed at improving trade and tightening security. The representatives stressed the need for better movement of people, goods and services with better joint infrastructure. Kenya got the go-ahead to continue building its standard gauge railways to the Uganda border. Kenya is about to finish the second phase of the rail line between the cities of Nairobi and Naivasha. Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta told his counterparts plans are under way to extend the line. “Preliminary discussions for the funding of Naivasha and Kisumu sections are in progress and we expect to sign the framework agreement to the People’s Republic of China anytime this year,” he said. Uganda and Rwanda are also planning to extend railway connections to the countries after Kenya completes its part. The agenda included a way to improve a single customs territory by reducing the number of weigh bridges and police checks to speed up the delivery of goods in landlocked countries like Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan. Kenyatta said the border post between Kenya and Uganda has been effective. “Malaba — one stop border post total time taken at the crossing has now been substantially reduced to less than seven hours for goods traveling under [a] single customs territory,” he said. Following oil discoveries …

Enslaved on a Thai fishing vessel for 11 years, Tun Lin saw his fellow workers lose their minds one after another, with one fisherman jumping into the sea to end his life. Some would start murmuring or laughing to themselves as they worked day and night in Indonesian waters on the cramped boat, often surviving on fish they caught and drinking water leaking from an onboard freezer. “It was like a floating prison – actually, worse than prison,” the Burmese fisherman, who was sold into slavery, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in Samut Sakhon, a Thai fishing hub some 40 km (25 miles) southwest of the capital Bangkok. The 36-year-old, who was rescued in 2015 after losing four fingers and being stranded on a remote island for years without pay, is now lobbying for fishermen’s rights with the Thai and Migrant Fishers Union Group (TMFG). Under growing consumer pressure, Thailand has introduced a raft of modern technologies since 2015 – from satellites to optical scanning and electronic payment services – to crack down on abuses in its multibillion-dollar fishing industry. It is one of a growing number of countries using innovation to deal with modern slavery, from mobile apps in India to blockchain in Moldova, but experts warn against over-reliance on tech as a silver bullet without stronger workers’ rights. “Technology can be a double-edged sword,” said Patima Tungpuchayakul, co-founder of the Labor Rights Promotion Network Foundation, a Thai advocacy group. “It has become an excuse the government is using …

Warming waters have reduced the harvest of Alaska’s prized Copper River salmon to just a small fraction of last year’s harvest, Alaska biologists say. The runs of Copper River salmon were so low that the Alaska Department of Fish and Game shut down the commercial harvest last month, halting what is usually a three-month season after less than two weeks. Earlier this month, the department also shut down most of the harvest that residents along the river conduct to feed their families. The total commercial harvest for Alaska’s marquee Copper River salmon this year after it was halted at the end of May was about 32,000 fish, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game reported. That compares with the department’s pre-season forecast of over 1.2 million and an average annual harvest of over 1.4 million fish in the prior decade. State biologists blame warming in the Gulf of Alaska for the diminished run of Copper River salmon, prized for its rich flavor, high oil content and deep-red color. The fish spend most of their lives in the ocean, and those waters were 3 to 5 degrees Celsius (5 to 9 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than normal, thanks to a warm and persistent North Pacific water mass that climate scientists have dubbed “the Blob,” along with other factors, said Mark Somerville, a biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Warmer temperatures caused the metabolism of the fish to speed up, Somerville said. “They need more food for maintenance,” he said. …

International efforts to make it easier for garment workers in India to speak out against sexual harassment, dangerous working conditions and abuses are failing, campaigners said Tuesday. The U.S.-based certifying agency Social Accountability International (SAI) and Britain’s Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) — an alliance of unions, firms and charities — are not enforcing procedures they set up to protect workers, they said. “The organizations are violating the rules of the mechanisms they created by not taking time-bound action against complaints that come up,” said S. James Victor, director of Serene Secular Social Service Society, which works to empower garment workers. “They are far removed from ground reality. The fact is that every day a worker continues to face workplace harassment in the spinning mills and garment factories of Tamil Nadu.” From clothing stores to supermarkets, major brands are facing rising consumer pressure to improve conditions along their global supply chains, render them slavery-free and ensure fair wages. Poor regulation Many of the 1,500 mills in Tamil Nadu state — the largest hub in India’s $40 billion-a-year textile and garment industry — operate informally with poor regulation and few formal grievance mechanisms for workers, most of whom are women, campaigners say. “Workers are being victimized, harassed, and managements are literally going after them for raising any complaint,” said Sujata Mody of the Garment and Fashion Workers Union, which has about 3,000 active members. “The issue could be about a toilet break, sick leave or sexual harassment. No complaint is tolerated or …

President Donald Trump on Tuesday endorsed U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s measured approach to restricting Chinese investments in U.S. technology companies, saying a strengthened merger security review committee could protect sensitive American technologies. Trump, in remarks to reporters at the White House, said the approach would target all countries, not just China, echoing comments from Mnuchin on Monday amid a fierce internal debate over the scope of investment restrictions due to be unveiled Friday. “It’s not just Chinese” investment, Trump told reporters when asked about the administration’s plans. Mnuchin and White House trade adviser Peter Navarro sent mixed signals on Monday about the Chinese investment restrictions, ordered by Trump on May 29. Mnuchin said they would apply to “all countries that are trying to steal our technology,” while Navarro said they would be focused specifically on China. The restrictions are being developed to help put pressure on China to address the administration’s complaints that it has misappropriated U.S. intellectual property through joint-venture requirements, unfair licensing policies and state-backed acquisitions of U.S. technology firms. Enhanced reviews Mnuchin would prefer to use new tools associated with pending legislation to enhance security reviews of transactions by the Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States (CFIUS), some administration officials have said. A government official told Reuters on Sunday that Treasury had been working on a proposal to ban acquisitions of U.S. firms with “industrially significant technology” by companies with at least 25 percent Chinese ownership. Asked about the pending restrictions at a White …

Daniel Baud is a veteran of Route 66, who fondly recalls riding the iconic highway spanning a large swath of the United States saddled on his motorcycle. Sporting a snowy goatee and a leather jacket speckled with American memorabilia, he speaks reverently about his vehicle of choice.  “I’ve dreamt of having a Harley-Davidson ever since I was a kid,” Baud said. “For me, it’s about liberty.” Baud might fit comfortably into an upscale Hells Angels club. But the aging biker is not from Paris, Texas, but rather the French capital. On a recent morning, he gathered with other Paris-area enthusiasts to plot out their next trip — to Prague. The lure of the open road has been transplanted from America’s heartland to Eastern Europe. Now, as a transatlantic trade dispute deepens, Harleys, as the motorcycles are called, are a symbol of both what divides and what unites Europe and the United States. “The French in general seem to have an overwhelming passion and enthusiasm for American culture,” said Richard Clairefond, co-director of the Harley-Davidson Bastille dealership in Paris, where Baud’s club meets most weekends. “And the Harley just kind of rolls up into that experience.” In the crosshairs At the moment, however, the motorcycle is better known for being in the crosshairs of a growing divide between Brussels and Washington. After the Trump administration introduced tariffs on European steel and aluminum imports, the European Union riposted, slapping taxes on a long list of U.S. products, including peanut butter, orange juice — and Harley-Davidsons. …

U.S. President Donald Trump accused motorcycle maker Harley-Davidson Inc on Tuesday of using trade tensions over tariffs as an excuse to move production for European customers overseas. “Early this year Harley-Davidson said they would move much of their plant operations in Kansas City to Thailand. That was long before Tariffs were announced. Hence, they were just using Tariffs/Trade War as an excuse,” Trump said on Twitter. “When I had Harley-Davidson officials over to the White House, I chided them about tariffs in other countries, like India, being too high. Companies are now coming back to America. “Harley must know that they won’t be able to sell back into U.S. without paying a big tax!” Harley-Davidson representatives did not immediately return a request for comment. The company decided to build the Thailand plant last year after Trump pulled out from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which would have lowered import tariffs on its bikes in some of the fastest-growing motorcycle markets in Asia. Harley-Davidson said on Monday it would move production of motorcycles shipped to the EU from the United States to its international facilities and forecast the trading bloc’s tariffs would cost the company $90 million to $100 million a year. The Trump administration imposed tariffs on imports of European steel and aluminum earlier this month, and in response, the European Union began charging import duties of 25 percent on a range of U.S. products including big motorcycles like Harley’s on June 22. Trump responded angrily to the Harley-Davidson’s announcement on Monday, …

As Washington and Beijing teeter on the brink of a possible trade war, the European Union and China have agreed to launch a working group to promote reform at the World Trade Organization. The move is part of an effort to upgrade the global trade system’s toolbox and ward off growing threats to the multilateral trade system and body. According to a top EU official, the reform group would look at ways to modernize regulations and address the problem of state subsidies and other unfair trade practices. How willing a participant Beijing will be in that effort is unclear as most of the EU’s proposed upgrades are connected to unfair trade measures, practices and policies that exist in China. The same concerns are driving the administration of President Donald Trump to press forward with the possible threat of heavy tariffs on some $34 billion in Chinese goods. The Trump administration announced Monday that it is also mulling restrictions on foreign investments in technology.  European Union Vice President Jyrki Katainen admits that the effort to try and promote reform of WTO rules will not be easy. He said it would take time and that China would have different views on priorities.  But, Katainen added that if nothing is done, “the environment for multilateral trade will vanish.” State media in China has portrayed Monday’s meetings with EU officials, a high-level dialogue ahead of next month’s EU-China summit, as the two teaming up to combat “unilateralism and protectionism” and promote globalization and protecting …

The American fashion industry has something for nearly everyone: from high-fashion mavens, sports enthusiasts, to the most discriminating pet owners. Among the pet boutiques that aim to please the fussiest of pets and their owners, a popular designer stands out. Her name is Yana Syrkin, a Ukrainian immigrant who has been designing apparel for Hollywood pets for two decades. Iurii Mamon has more on Syrkin’s luxury pet store called Fifi & Romeo. …

Historic levels of violent crime in Mexico have sparked a record increase in the country’s car-armoring business, with an industry group predicting a double-digit jump in the number of vehicles bulletproofed this year. There were more than 25,000 murders across Mexico last year, the highest annual tally since modern records began, government data shows, with 2018 on track to be even worse. That insecurity will help drive a 10 percent rise in car-armoring services this year to 3,284 cars, above the previous all-time high in 2012, according to the Mexican Automotive Armor Association (AMBA). That figure is small relative to the 15,145 cars armored in 2017 in Brazil, which expects to see a 25 percent jump this year. Demand in Mexico has grown so strong that more global automakers have started bulletproofing cars on their own Mexican production lines as opposed to the usual practice of after-market armoring. Audi began making an armored version of its Q5 light sport utility vehicle exclusively in the central state of Puebla in mid-2017 for local sale and export to Brazil and Argentina. The company declined to give recent sales figures. Audi’s Mexico arm said its factory-made armored Q5, which cost $87,000 locally, was cheaper for consumers than using an after-market firm, which one industry expert estimated would boost the car’s cost to more than $95,000 and void the factory guarantee. BMW, Jeep and Mercedes-Benz have made armored cars in Mexico for several years. After being assaulted and robbed multiple times in recent years, …

To treat snake bites, bathe in a tea brewed from yellow button-shaped flowers, advises Melissa Espinoza Paez as she describes the medicinal properties of Costa Rica’s jungle plants, pointing out towering vines used to combat kidney problems. In the lush mountains close to the Panama border that make up the Bribri indigenous territory, Espinoza hopes the country’s first certified indigenous tour agency can deliver a bigger slice of income from ecotourism directly to local women. “When other agencies brought tourists to our territory, sometimes they’d give a small amount to the people here, but it wasn’t really the value of their work,” said Espinoza, 38, indicating a green dart frog trying to hide in the undergrowth. “We’re giving a tourism experience that is truly cultural… We are trying to live a more dignified life,” she said at the Siwakabata farm near Bribri town, some 220 km (140 miles) southeast of the capital San Jose. Based in Talamanca canton, one of the poorest in Costa Rica, the recently licensed Talamanca Indigenous Bribri Tour Guides Association (AGITUBRIT) wants to ensure the financial benefits start to trickle down to local families, said Espinoza. Alongside medicinal plant and gastronomy tours, hiking, jungle and river trips are run through a network of indigenous guides who stamp their cultural identity on the expeditions. Costa Rican tourists, who often have little knowledge of indigenous culture, as well as Europeans, have so far made up the visitors who come to find out more about the relatively isolated Bribri …

Uber argued Monday that is should be allowed to keep driving on the streets of London, telling a court that the ride-hailing app has made significant changes since a regulator refused to renew the company’s operating license last year.   Lawyers for the company opened their case in an effort to overturn Transport for London’s ruling in September that Uber was not a “fit and proper” company after repeated lapses in corporate responsibility. Uber attorney Tom de la Mare said the ruling led to “wholesale change” at the company.   “It’s profound and very much for the better,” he said at the Westminster Magistrates Court.   The regulator had raised a number of concerns about Uber, including driver vetting, the way it reports serious criminal offences and the use of technology that allegedly helps the company evade law enforcement officials.   Since then, De la Mare argued, three Transport for London inspections have shown a “perfect record of compliance.” Uber has said it has also made significant changes to its leadership and has been proactively reporting serious incidents to the Metropolitan Police.   De la Mare argues the measures show a “change of a business that grew very fast to one that has grown up.”   Chief Magistrate Emma Arbuthnot will rule whether Uber is “fit and proper” to hold a license in the capital now, as opposed to whether transport authorities made the right decision September.       …

Harley-Davidson, facing rising costs from new tariffs, will begin shifting the production of motorcycles heading for Europe from the U.S. to factories overseas.   The famed motorcycle maker said in a regulatory filing Monday that European Union tariffs on its motorcycles exported from the U.S. jumped from 6 percent to 31 percent.   Harley-Davidson Inc. said that it will not raise its prices due to “an immediate and lasting detrimental impact to its business in the region.”     …

President Donald Trump has issued a warning to U.S. trading partners that unless they remove restrictions placed on American goods, they will face “more than Reciprocity by the U.S.A.” “The United States is insisting that all countries that have placed artificial Trade Barriers and Tariffs on goods going into their country, remove those Barriers & Tariffs or be met with more than Reciprocity by the U.S.A. Trade must be fair and no longer a one way street!” Trump tweeted Sunday. Trump has already annoyed major U.S. trading partners, including China, Canada, Mexico, the European Union and India, by imposing tariffs on steel, aluminum and other products from those countries. On Friday, Trump threatened to impose a 20 percent tariff on vehicles assembled in the European Union and shipped to the United States, in retaliation for European tariffs on American imports. That threat was in response to EU tariffs on billions of dollars’ worth of American goods — including jeans, bourbon and motorcycles, which in turn were in response to trump’s tariffs on steel and aluminum. The U.S. is scheduled to start taxing more than $30 billion in Chinese imports in two weeks. Like the EU, China has promised to retaliate immediately, putting the world’s two largest economies at odds. U.S. Chamber of Commerce senior Vice President John Murphy was cited by the Associated Press as saying he estimates that $75 billion in U.S. products could be subjected to new foreign tariffs by the end of the first week of July. …

A young, Iraqi man struggled to find work in the oil-rich city of Basra. After extensive online job searches, he had an idea to outfit his small car with a coffee machine and a giant coffee cup on the roof, turning him into a barista with a mobile café. Arash Arabasadi reports. …

A British minister accused Airbus and other major companies of issuing “completely inappropriate” threats and undermining Prime Minister Theresa May in a sign of growing tensions with businesses leaders over Brexit. Aircraft manufacturer Airbus last week issued its strongest warning over the impact of Britain’s departure from the European Union, saying a withdrawal without a deal would force it to reconsider its long-term position and put thousands of British jobs at risk. Other European companies with major operations in Britain have also started to speak out two years on from the Brexit vote, voicing concerns over a lack of clarity on the terms of trade when Britain leaves next March. “It was completely inappropriate for businesses to be making these kinds of threats for one very simple reason — we are in an absolutely critical moment in the Brexit discussions and what that means is that we need to get behind Theresa May,” Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt told the BBC. “The more that we undermine Theresa May the more likely we to end up with a fudge which will be absolute disaster for everyone,” he added. German carmaker BMW has warned the company would have to make contingency plans within months if the government did not soon clarify its post-Brexit position and German industrial group Siemens said it urgently needs clarity on how its operations would have to be organized. The leaders of five major business lobby groups also warned the prime minister over the weekend that the ongoing uncertainty about …