26/05/2025

BIZ & FINANCE MONDAY | MAY 26, 2025

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Trump threatens new tariffs on EU, smartphones

President backs Nippon, US Steel ‘partnership’ WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump last week threw his support behind a new “partnership” between US Steel and Japan’s Nippon Steel, sending the American firm’s share price skyrocketing on hopes of an end to the long-running saga over foreign ownership of a key national asset. While the details of the deal remained unclear, the Pennsylvania-headquartered firm’s share price popped after Trump took to Truth Social to hail the new arrangement, closing up more than 21% and then rising further in after hours trading. “US Steel will REMAIN in America, and keep its Headquarters in the Great City of Pittsburgh,” the US president said in his social media post. He added that the new “planned partnership” between America’s US Steel and Japan’s Nippon Steel would create at least 70,000 jobs and add US$14 billion (RM59 billion) to the US economy. Trump’s remarks are the latest in a long saga which began in December 2023, when US Steel and Nippon Steel announced plans for a US$14.9 billion merger. That deal was bitterly opposed by unions in part because it would have transfered ownership of the critical asset to a foreign company. In a statement, Nippon Steel said it“applauds” the bold action taken by Trump, adding it shared the administration’s “commitment to protecting American workers, the American steel industry, and America’s national security”. US Steel praised Trump’s “bold” leadership on the deal, noting that it would “remain American” and expand in size due to the “massive investment” that Nippon would make over the next four years as part of the deal. Neither the White House nor the two companies, have so far published the details of the new partnership. The United Steelworkers’ union, which represents US Steel employees and has long opposed the deal, said it could not“speculate”on the impact of Trump’s announcement without more information about the deal. – AFP French minister suggests ban on cash PARIS: As France battles the scourge of drugs crime in its streets, a top minister has raised eyebrows by evoking stopping the use of cash entirely to discourage narcotics deals. “How do we stop drugs from spreading in our neighbourhoods?” Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin asked in a hearing with the upper house Senate last week. “There is a fairly simple measure – the end of liquid cash would prevent the creation of points for drug dealing,” he added. Unlike in some other European countries, notably Nordic nations, cash remains a relatively essential part of daily life in France, with bakeries and cafes often setting a minimum payment before a card can be used. In an interview with RTL, Darmanin said cash drug deals are worth “between €4 and €6 billion” in France each year, of which only “a few million euros” are seized by the authorities. Cash, he added, “is what enables a large part of the functioning of organised crime, prostitution, and human trafficking.” But saying he was “realistic”, Darmanin added that stopping cash was“one of the responses but not the only one” to fighting drug crime. Cash still made up 43% of transactions in France last year, according to a study published in December 2024 by the European Central Bank. Liquid money is also important in the daily lives of older people and there are also concerns about what would happen in a cash-free country if payment systems suddenly went down. – AFP

o European Union urges respect not threats

must be paid by Apple to the US.” Trump later stepped up his threats, saying he would hit all smartphones not made in the country. “It would be also Samsung and anybody that makes that product, otherwise it wouldn’t be fair,” Trump told reporters, adding that the new tariffs would come into effect from the end of June. Trump imposed sweeping tariffs on most of the world on what he called “Liberation Day” on April 2, with a baseline 10% plus steeper duties including a 20% levy on the EU. Markets were thrown into turmoil but calmed after he paused the bigger tariffs for 90 days. Trump has since claimed some early successes in deals struck with Britain and with China, the world’s second biggest economy. But talks with the EU have failed to make much progress, with Brussels recently threatening to hit US goods worth nearly €100 billion (RM478 billion) with tariffs if it does not lower the duties on European goods. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Bloomberg Television the lower 10% tariff rate was “contingent on countries or trading blocs coming and negotiating in good faith.” “The administration had kind of hinted that they were considering imposing reciprocal tariffs on countries that weren’t negotiating in good faith,” Barclays senior US economist Jonathan Millar said. – AFP

“I’m not looking for a deal. I mean, we’ve set the deal. It’s at 50%,” Trump said. “They haven’t treated our country properly. They banded together to take advantage of us.” Billionaire property tycoon Trump, 78, also denied that his tariffs would hurt American businesses. “They’re not hurting, they’re helping.” Trump’s new tariffs would, if imposed, dramatically raise Washington’s current baseline levy of 10%, and fuel simmering tensions between the world’s biggest economy and its largest trading bloc. The EU’s trade chief said the bloc would work for a trade deal with Washington based on “respect” not “threats”. “The EU’s fully engaged, committed to securing a deal that works for both,” trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic posted on X, after a previously planned call with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. In a separate message that also unnerved markets, Trump blasted Apple boss Tim Cook for failing to move iPhone production to the United States despite repeated requests. Trump said he had “long ago informed Tim Cook of Apple that I expect their iPhones that will be sold in the United States of America will be manufactured and built in the United States, not India, or anyplace else”. “If that is not the case, a tariff of at least 25%

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump rekindled his trade war with the European Union last week by threatening 50% tariffs, as Brussels reacted with a call for “respect.” Trump also unleashed a broadside against smartphone makers including US tech giant Apple, threatening them with new duties of 25% if they do not move production to the United States. Stock markets fell as the Republican’s comments fuelled fears of global economic disruption, after a relative lull in recent days after Trump reached deals with China and Britain. Trump first raised the issue of EU tariffs in an early morning post on his Truth Social network. “Our discussions with them are going nowhere!” Trump said. “Therefore, I am recommending a straight 50% tariff on the European Union, starting on June 1, 2025.” He doubled down later in the day, telling reporters in the Oval Office that there was nothing the 27-nation bloc could do to change his mind.

An oil tanker is being loaded at Aramco’s Ras Tanura oil refinery and oil terminal in Saudi Arabia. – REUTERSPIC

Saudi Aramco considers asset sales to free up funds: Sources RIYADH: Saudi state oil giant Aramco is exploring potential asset sales to free up funds, two people with knowledge of the matter said, as it pursues an international expansion and weathers lower crude prices. They declined to say which assets could be sold or name the banks involved. Aramco is looking to improve efficiency and cut costs, according to two other people with knowledge of the matter, and an option under consideration would be asset sales, one of them said.

its industries to improve profitability amid low crude prices and as it spends its hydrocarbon wealth on new sectors to cut reliance on oil. The kingdom faces a widening budget deficit with the International Monetary Fund saying Riyadh needs a price of oil of over US$90 per barrel to balance its books compared to prices of around US$60 per barrel in recent weeks. Aramco has in recent years made a push to grow its global footprint, including investing in Chinese refineries, Chilean fuel retailer Esmax and US-headquartered LNG firm MidOcean. – Reuters

Aramco is the world’s largest oil-producing company and the main source of Saudi state revenue. The firm will slash dividend payouts by nearly a third this year as lower oil prices hit its income. The company has asked investment bankers to pitch ideas for how to raise funds from its assets, the people said.

Aramco is the engine of the Saudi economy and its sprawling business includes units for aviation, construction and sports. It has retained majority stakes during previous asset sales such as its deals around its pipeline infrastructure. The Saudi government is putting pressure on