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 was expected to announce new global reciprocal tariffs at 4pm on Wednesday Washington DC time (7am Thursday AEDT), but the details remained largely unknown.Australian pharmaceuticals, meat exports and other agricultural products were 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 said on Tuesday that Australia’s Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS), and its biosecurity regime – declared irritants of the US administration – were not up for negotiation.On Wednesday, Anthony Albanese said 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

Rebel Energy goes bust leaving 90,000 customers without supplier

A UK energy supplier with about 90,000 customers has gone bust, blaming a “perfect storm” of soaring wholesale prices and squeezed customers, on the day households face another increase in gas and electricity bills.Rebel Energy, which serves about 80,000 households and 10,000 business customers, will cease trading immediately and leave the industry regulator to find a new supplier for its customers.Its failure comes about three years after soaring gas prices triggered a spate of energy company failures, with more than 30 going bust.Rebel was founded in 2019 by Dan Bates, a former energy trader with the oil company BP, to “make things fairer for customers and the planet”.In a social media post Bates said: “Rebel Energy has been facing a perfect storm of rising wholesale costs during January and February together with the pressure of the cost of living crisis on our customers

Motor finance compensation ruling ‘goes too far’, says City regulator

A court of appeal ruling that has left lenders fearing PPI-level compensation bills over the motor finance commission scandal “goes too far”, the City regulator said on Tuesday.The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) made the comments in a written submission to the supreme court on Tuesday, as part of a high-profile case being closely watched by the government. The Treasury, which tried but failed to intervene in the case, is concerned the standing decision could spook businesses and threaten investment in the UK.The case is part of efforts by two specialist lenders – Close Brothers and FirstRand – to overturn the controversial court of appeal ruling from October. The court said that failing to disclose plainly to consumers the amount of commission paid to car dealerships, and receiving their informed consent, was unlawful

Global cost of Trump trade war ‘could reach $1.4tn’; Goldman Sachs cuts UK growth forecast over tariff spillovers – as it happened

A full-blown trade war between the US and its trading partners could cost $1.4tn, a new report shows.Economists at Aston Business School have modelled a range of potential scenarios, including the possibility that America it hit by full global retaliation after it announces new tariffs against other countries.That full-scale trade conflict could result in a $1.4 trillion global welfare loss, Aston has calculated

Italy’s Leonardo given £165m UK military helicopter contract

The Italian defence company Leonardo has been given a £165m contract extension by the British government for its work maintaining the Royal Navy’s fleet of 54 Merlin helicopters, in an sign of the impact of the UK’s commitment to ramp up defence spending.Keir Starmer’s government, which is planning to increase military spending to 2.5% of gross domestic product by 2027, said the deal with Leonardo would help to bolster national security.Leonardo said the extension would help to support 1,000 jobs, including 200 workers at its factory in Yeovil in Somerset, as well as 800 across the wider UK supply chain. The agreement will also support jobs at the Royal Navy’s airbase at Culdrose in Cornwall