07/08/2025

BIZ & FINANCE THURSDAY | AUG 7, 2025

17

Trump says pharma and chips tariffs ‘incoming’

OpenAI releases downloadable free models SAN FRANCISCO: OpenAI on Tuesday released two new artificial intelligence (AI) models that can be downloaded for free and altered by users, to challenge similar offerings by US and Chinese competition. The release of gpt-oss-120b and gpt-oss-20b “open-weight language models” comes as the ChatGPT-maker is under pressure to share inner workings of its software in the spirit of its origin as a nonprofit. “Going back to when we started in 2015, OpenAI’s mission is to ensure AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) that benefits all of humanity,” said OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. An open-weight model, in the context of generative AI, is one in which the trained parameters are made public, enabling users to fine-tune it. Meta touts its open-source approach to AI, and Chinese AI startup DeepSeek rattled the industry with its low-cost, high-performance model boasting an open weight approach that allows users to customize the technology. “This is the first time that we’re releasing an open-weight model in language in a long time, and it’s really incredible,” OpenAI co-founder and president Greg Brockman told journalists. The new, text-only models deliver strong performance at low cost, according to OpenAI, which said they are suited for AI jobs like searching the internet or executing computer code, and are designed to be easy to run on local computer systems. “We are quite hopeful that this release will enable new kinds of research and the creation of new kinds of products,” Altman said. OpenAI said it is working with partners including French telecommunications giant Orange and cloud-based data platform Snowflake on real-world uses of the models. The open-weight models have been tuned to thwart being used for malicious purposes, according to OpenAI. Altman early this year said his company had been“on the wrong side of history”when it came to being open about how its technology works. He later announced that OpenAI will continue to be run as a nonprofit, abandoning a contested plan to convert into a for-profit organisation. – AFP SAN FRANCISCO: Advanced Micro Devices on Tuesday reported disappointing data centre revenue, a segment which includes lucrative artificial intelligence chips that investors are betting on for rapid growth. Shares of the Santa Clara, California-based company slumped roughly 4% in extended trading. AMD’s shares have climbed more than 40% this year, far outpacing a nearly 12% jump in the benchmark chip index, as investors bet on the company’s ability to capitalise on the widespread use of AI. “Investors may be paying closer attention to their data centre segment as they roll out new products to compete with Nvidia and go after more reliable customers,” said Carson Group chief market strategist Ryan Detrick. In Nvidia’s fiscal first quarter, its data centre segment jumped 73% to US$39.11 billion as companies scrambled to adopt the company’s flagship Blackwell chips and systems. By comparison, AMD’s second-quarter data center revenue grew 14% to US$3.2 billion, roughly in line with analysts’ expectations of US$3.22 billion, according to LSEG estimates. AMD’s relatively lackluster data centre revenue in the second quarter was “enough to raise an eyebrow”, said Dan Morgan, portfolio manager at Synovus Trust. – Reuters AMD data centre results disappoint

chips imports, Trump has already imposed steep duties of 50% on steel and aluminum, alongside lower levies on autos and parts. In the same CNBC interview on Tuesday, Trump said he expects to raise the US tariff on Indian imports “very substantially over the next 24 hours” due to the country’s purchases of Russian oil. This is a key revenue source for Moscow’s military offensive on Ukraine. His pressure on India comes after signaling fresh sanctions on Moscow if it did not make progress by tomorrow towards a peace deal with Kyiv, three years since Russia’s invasion. Moscow is anticipating talks this week with the US leader’s special envoy Steve Witkoff, and the Kremlin has criticised Trump’s threat of raising tariffs on Indian goods. Still, Trump did strike a positive note on China, which is in talks with US officials to continue a truce agreed in May that saw the world’s two largest economies pare down their eye-watering triple-digit tariffs. Regarding Chinese President Xi Jinping, Trump said: “I’ll end up having a meeting before the end of the year, most likely, if we make a deal. “If we don’t make a deal, I’m not going to have a meeting. I mean, you know, what’s the purpose of meeting if we’re not going to make a deal? “But we’re getting very close to a deal.” He said his relationship with Xi was “very good” and “I think we’ll make a good deal”. “It’s not imperative, but I think we’re going to make a good deal”. – AFP

“And then it’s going to go to 250% because we want pharmaceuticals made in our country.” Trump also said that Washington will be announcing tariffs “within the next week or so”. “We’re going to be announcing on semiconductors and chips.” Trump has set out varying tariff rates for dozens of economies after imposing a 10% levy on almost all trading partners in April. But these broad duties taking effect today exclude products like pharmaceuticals, steel, aluminium and lumber, which are being separately targeted by sector. This means that although the 39% tariff Swiss leaders seek to avoid come today excludes pharmaceuticals, Trump’s plans for a steep levy on such imports will likely remain a point of contention in any talks. Pharmaceuticals represented 60% of Swiss goods exports to the United States last year. Outside of Switzerland, most products from the European Union face a 15% tariff starting today, after Washington and Brussels struck a deal to avoid higher levies. But Trump warned on Tuesday that the EU could see its tariff level surge again if it did not fulfill obligations under their recent pact. Some imports from Canada are also targeted by tariffs, although Prime Minister Mark Carney stressed on Tuesday that more than 85% of trade between the North American neighbours remains tariff-free under existing exemptions. Besides probing pharmaceuticals and

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump signalled on Tuesday that fresh tariffs on imported pharmaceuticals and semiconductors could be unveiled within the coming week, as a cascade of incoming duties promises to reshape global trading ties. Governments around the world are bracing as new waves of US tariffs are due to take effect this week, first on many Brazilian products and then on dozens of other economies – including the European Union and Taiwan – beginning today. Trump’s sweeping plans have sparked a flurry of activity as leaders seek to avert the worst of his threats, with Swiss officials heading to Washington on Tuesday in a last-minute push to avoid punitive duties. But the US president appears set to widen his trade wars. Trump told CNBC on Tuesday that upcoming tariffs on imported pharmaceuticals could reach 250%, while adding that he plans for new duties on foreign semiconductors soon. “We’ll be putting (an) initially small tariff on pharmaceuticals, but in one year, one-and-a-half years, maximum, it’s going to go to 150%,” Trump said. o President to raise duties on Indian imports ‘very substantially’

Cathay Pacific unveils deal to buy 14 Boeing jets HONG KONG: Cathay Pacific said yesterday it would place an US$8.1 billion (RM34 billion) order for 14 Boeing jets, its first with the US aircraft maker for more than a decade. mostly passenger aircraft. The new order expects the aircraft to be delivered by 2034, according to a separate filing. Cathay was one of the first buyers to commit to Boeing’s 777X programme when it unveiled the purchase of 21 aircraft in 2013. A Cathay Pacific Boeing 777-300ER aircraft preparing for landing at the Capital International airport in Beijing. – AFPPIC

emissions, would meet Cathay’s growing global travel demand, Boeing added. The firm reported yesterday its attributable profit rose slightly to HK$3.65 billion in the first six months of 2025, benefiting from a pick-up in travel demand in Asia. Total revenue in that period increased 9.5% to US$6.92 billion. The company also declared an interim dividend of HK$0.20 per share. – AFP

In a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange, the airline said it would “purchase 14 Boeing 777-9 aircraft” and had “secured the right to acquire up to seven additional Boeing 777-9 aircraft”. Cathay already has a fleet of more than 230

Boeing said in a statement the new deal brought the order book of 777-9 aircraft – “the world’s largest twin-engine airplane” – to 35. The jets, designed to reduce fuel use and