Australian exporters brace for immediate US tariffs on Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’

Australian exporters will be hit with US tariffs immediately on Donald Trump’s self-proclaimed “Liberation Day”, but the White House has left the door open to “good negotiation” to have them rolled back or amended.The US president is expected to announce new global reciprocal tariffs at 4pm on Wednesday Washington DC time (7am Thursday AEDT), but the details remain largely unknown.Australian pharmaceuticals, meat exports and other agricultural products are potential targets of the new tariff regime, though the minister for employment and workplace relations, Murray Watt, said on Wednesday morning the government had no information on which products would be subjected to the new tariffs, or at what rate.The prime minister has said Australia’s pharmaceutical benefits scheme, and its biosecurity regime – declared irritants of the US administration – were not up for negotiation.Anthony Albanese said on Wednesday that his government was in daily discussion with the US administration over the new tariff regime and was prepared for “whatever outcome is determined”

UK regulator fines 10 carmakers and two trade bodies over green ad collusion

Ten leading car manufacturers – plus two automotive trade bodies – have been fined more than £77m by a UK regulator after admitting breaking competition law in relation to advertising their green credentials.The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched an investigation after a tipoff from Mercedes-Benz, which allowed the German marque to avoid financial penalties despite also being involved in the cartel.Its rivals – BMW, Ford, Jaguar Land Rover, Peugeot Citroën, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Renault, Toyota, Vauxhall and Volkswagen – “illegally agreed” not to compete when advertising what percentage of their cars can be recycled at the end of the car’s life, the CMA found.The regulator added that the carmakers, with the exception of Renault, also agreed not to share information with their customers about the percentage of recycled material used in their vehicles.Two trade associations, the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) and the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), were also involved in facilitating the agreements

UK needs to relax AI laws or risk transatlantic ties, thinktank warns

Tony Blair’s thinktank has urged the UK to relax copyright laws in order to let artificial intelligence firms build new products, as it warned a tougher approach could strain the transatlantic relationship.The Tony Blair Institute said enforcing firm copyright measures would strain ties with the US, which is poised to announce tariffs on UK goods on Wednesday.Warning that geopolitical considerations require “urgent and adequate attention” while AI policy is being drafted, TBI said: “Without similar provisions in the United States, it would be hard for the UK government to enforce strict copyright laws without straining the transatlantic relationship it has so far sought to nurture.”The thinktank has said that if the UK went down the route of demanding licensing of all UK content used in AI models, it would simply push that development work to other territories where there are less strict copyright laws. To enforce a strict licensing model, the UK would also need to restrict access to models that have been trained on such content, which could include US-owned AI systems

AI firms are ‘scraping the value’ from UK’s £125bn creative industries, says Channel 4 boss

The chief executive of Channel 4 said that artificial intelligence companies are “scraping the value” out of the UK’s £125bn creative industries, and urged the government to take action.Alex Mahon told MPs that if the government pursues its proposed plan to give AI companies access to creative works unless the copyright holder opts out, it would put the UK creative industries in a “dangerous position”.Speaking on the work of Channel 4 at a culture, media and sport select committee meeting on Tuesday, she said: “AI is clearly absolutely critical to the future of our industry, and many industries. The debate of the day is we need very clear terms. UK copyright law is very, very clear

AOC appoints Mark Arbib as CEO for run-in to 2032 Brisbane Olympic Games

Sports administrator and former Labor government minister Mark Arbib said he wants to “inspire and advance” the country after he was appointed chief executive of the Australian Olympic Committee for the run-in to the 2032 Brisbane Games.The 53-year-old has served on the AOC’s executive committee since 2016, and has been central in preparations for the 2032 Games as chair of the AOC’s Brisbane Legacy and Impact Committee. He was previously a federal government sport minister and president of Athletics Australia for six years until 2021.Arbib said it was an honour to lead the Australian Olympic movement. “The Olympics are the pinnacle of sport – both in Australia and across the globe,” he said

‘High degree of uncertainty’ over DCMS recouping millions from rugby clubs, MPs warn

There remains a “high degree of uncertainty” over whether tens of millions of pounds paid to rugby union clubs and other sports teams during the Covid-19 pandemic will ever be repaid, the House of Commons’ public accounts committee has warned.In a report published on Wednesday, the committee also criticised the Department for Culture, Media and Sport for being “overly optimistic” in believing it will recover most of the £474m it paid out to 120 organisations in the sport and culture sectors to help them survive the impact of the pandemic.“There remains a high degree of uncertainty over how much of the loan book will ever be repaid,” the report stated.The report also highlighted what it said was a “gap in oversight and accountability” in the £123.8m loaned to rugby clubs – citing the fact that Susannah Storey, the permanent secretary of the DCMS, is married to Pev Hooper, a director of Premiership Rugby and a managing partner of CVC Capital Partners