02/04/2025

BIZ & FINANCE WEDNESDAY | APR 2, 2025 In shift, OpenAI announces

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Trump says will be ‘very kind’ with tariffs

open AI model SAN FRANCISCO: Artificial intelligence powerhouse OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, on Monday announced it is building a more open generative AI model as it faces growing competition in the open-source space from Chinese rival DeepSeek and Meta. The announcement marks a strategic shift by OpenAI, which until now has been a fierce defender of closed, proprietary models that do not allow developers to modify the basic technology to make artificial intelligence more adapted to their goals. OpenAI and defenders of closed models – which include Google – have often decried open models as more risky and vulnerable to nefarious uses by bad actors or foreign adversaries. OpenAI’s embrace of closed models has also been a bone of contention in its battles with former investor Elon Musk, the world’s wealthiest person, who has called on OpenAI to honour the spirit of the company’s name and “return to the open-source, safety-focused force for good it once was”. Putting pressure on OpenAI, many large companies and governments have proved reluctant to build their AI products or services on models they have no control over, especially when data security is a concern. The core selling point of Meta’s family of Llama models or DeepSeek’s models is addressing these worries by letting companies download their models and have far greater control to modify the technology for their own purposes and keep control of their data. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said earlier this month that Llama hit one billion downloads, while the release of DeepSeek’s lower cost R1 model in January rocked the world of artificial intelligence. “We’ve been thinking about this for a long time but other priorities took precedence. Now it feels important to do,” OpenAI’s chief executive Sam Altman said on X. As it builds its new model, the company plans to gather developer feedback through a series of events starting in San Francisco in the coming weeks, followed by sessions in Europe and Asia-Pacific regions. – AFP

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White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the goal today would be to announce “country-based tariffs”, although Trump remains committed to imposing separate, sector-specific charges. The uncertainty has jolted markets, hammering equities across the board and stoking recession fears. Asian stocks, which fell sharply Monday after Trump said his tariffs would include “all countries”, rebounded a little yesterday. The Wall Street Journal reported that advisers have considered imposing global tariffs of up to 20%, to hit almost all US trading partners. Trump has remained vague, saying his tariffs would be “far more generous” than ones already levied against US products. Trump’s fixation on tariffs is fanning US recession fears. Goldman Sachs analysts raised their 12 month recession probability from 20% to 35%. This reflects a “lower growth forecast, falling confidence, and statements from White House officials indicating willingness to tolerate economic pain”. China and Canada have imposed counter-tariffs on US goods, while the EU unveiled its own measures to start mid-April. For now, IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva said Trump’s tariffs were causing anxiety, but their global economic impact should not be dramatic. Ryan Sweet of Oxford Economics said to “expect the unexpected”, anticipating that Trump would “take aim at some of the largest offenders”. Besides reciprocal country tariffs, Trump could unveil additional sector-specific levies on

o American duties causing anxiety but no ‘dramatic’ economic impact: IMF chief WASHINGTON: US trading partners were bracing yesterday for an expected fresh raft of Donald Trump tariffs, while the US president promised to be “very kind” in addressing what he says are unfair trade imbalances. Trump – who has been making unprecedented use of presidential powers since taking office in January – said he could announce today exactly what “reciprocal tariffs” will be imposed. The Republican billionaire insists that action is needed because the world’s biggest economy has been “ripped off by every country in the world”, and is promising “Liberation Day” for the United States. Asked for details, he told reporters on Monday: “You’re going to see in two days, which is maybe tomorrow night or probably Wednesday.” But he added: “We’re going to be very nice, relatively speaking, we’re going to be very kind.” Critics warn that the strategy risks a global trade war, provoking a chain reaction of retaliation by major trading partners like China, Canada and the European Union. Over the weekend, China, South Korea and Japan agreed to strengthen free trade between themselves. But Trump said he was not worried the levies would push allies toward Beijing, adding that a deal on TikTok could also be tied to China tariffs.

semiconductors. He earlier announced auto tariffs to take effect romorrow. Economists have expected the upcoming salvo could target the 15% of partners that have persistent trade imbalances with the United States, a group that US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent dubbed a “Dirty 15”. The US has some of its biggest goods deficits with China, the EU, Mexico, Vietnam, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Canada and India. US trade partners are rushing to minimise their exposure, with reports suggesting India might lower some duties. Vietnam said yesterday it would slash duties on a range of goods including cars, liquefied gas and some agricultural products. Japan announced it will set up around 1,000 “consultation centres” for businesses hit by US tariffs. Speaking by phone to his US counterpart on Monday, Mexican Foreign Secretary Juan Ramon de la Fuente urged the preservation of free trade agreements between North American countries, and discussed the automobile industry, where 25% tariffs are poised to come into effect on April 3. European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde said on Monday that Europe should move towards economic independence, telling France Inter radio that Europe faces an “existential moment”. Separately, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer spoke with Trump on “productive negotiations” towards a UK-US trade deal, while German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the EU would respond firmly to Trump but was open to compromise. – AFP president said, adding: “I’d like to see TikTok remain alive.” Any deal to divest TikTok from ByteDance will require the approval of Beijing, and Trump has said he may offer to reduce tariffs on China as a way to get Beijing’s approval for the sale. Trump, though he supported a ban in his first term, has lately become the app’s greatest defender, seeing it as a reason more young voters supported him in November’s election. One of his major political donors, billionaire Jeff Yass, is also a major stakeholder in parent company ByteDance. – AFP

US president confident of finding TikTok buyer before deadline WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump again downplayed risks that TikTok is in danger of being banned in the United States, saying he remains confident of finding a buyer for the app’s US business by a Friday deadline. by the Chinese government, the law took effect on Jan 19, one day before Trump’s inauguration. But the Republican president quickly announced a delay that has allowed it to continue to operate; that delay is set to expire on April 5.

The hugely popular video-sharing app, which has over 170 million American users, is under threat from a law that passed overwhelmingly last year and orders TikTok to split from its Chinese owner ByteDance or face a ban in the United States. Motivated by widespread belief in Washington that TikTok is ultimately controlled

“We have a lot of potential buyers. There’s tremendous interest in TikTok,” Trump told reporters onboard Air Force One late on Sunday. “We have a lot of people that want to buy TikTok. “We’re dealing with China also on it, because they may have something to do with it,“ the

Regulators tell 23andMe to protect genetic data SAN FRANCISCO: The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on Monday warned genetic testing firm 23andMe to honour its promise to protect people’s personal information as it navigates bankruptcy. Ferguson noted that 23andMe assures users that the company does not share their personal information with third parties, including police, without user permission or valid court orders.

The bankruptcy announcement on March 23 prompted warnings for 23andMe customers to ask the company to delete their data to safeguard privacy. At its height a few years ago, the DNA testing craze saw millions of consumers rushing to discover their ancestry and health information, with tests from 23andMe becoming popular holiday gifts. The Silicon Valley-based company, which went public in 2021, claims 15 million customers and has seen its sales decline in recent months as the testing craze faded and the company suffered a data breach. – AFP

The pioneering US company, which sells a mail-back saliva test to determine ancestry or certain health-related genetic traits for less than US$200, filed for bankruptcy this month and is looking for a buyer two years after hackers gained access to millions of profiles. “Any bankruptcy-related sale or transfer involving 23andMe users’ personal information and biological samples will be subject to the representations the company has made to users about both privacy and data security,” FTC chairman Andrew Ferguson said in a letter to the company’s bankruptcy trustees.

Attendees visiting the 23andMe booth at the RootsTech annual genealogical event in Salt Lake City in the US. – REUTERSPIC