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Europe and the United States are meeting in Paris to negotiate a settlement of a tense tariff spat with global economic ramifications between two global economic powerhouses.The European Union’s top trade negotiator, Maroš Šefčovič, met Wednesday with his American counterpart, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, on the sidelines of a meeting of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.“We’re advancing in the right direction at pace,” Šefčovič said at a news conference. He said ongoing technical meetings between EU and U.S. negotiators in Washington would be soon followed by a video conference between himself and Greer to then “assess the progress and charter the way forward.”Brussels and Washington are unlikely to reach a substantive trade agreement in Paris. The issues dividing them are too difficult to resolve quickly.President Donald Trump regularly fumes about America’s persistent trade deficit with the European Union, which was a record $161 billion last year, according to the U.S. Commerce Department.Trump blames the gap between what the U.S. sells and what it buys from Europe on unfair trade practices and often singles out for criticism the EU’s 10% tax on imported cars. America’s was 2.5% until Trump raised it to 25% in April. The EU has argued its purchases of U.S. services, especially in the technology sector, all but overcome the deficit.After the Trump administration’s surprise tariffs last week on steel rattled global markets and complicated the ongoing, wider tariff negotiations between Brussels and Washington, the EU on Monday said it is preparing “countermeasures” against the U.S.The EU has offered the U.S. a “zero for zero” deal in which both sides end tariffs on industrial goods, including autos. Trump has rejected that idea, but EU officials say it’s still on the table.The EU could buy more liquefied natural gas and defense items from the U.S., and lower duties on cars, but it isn’t likely to budge on calls to scrap the value added tax, which is akin to a sales tax, or open up the EU to American beef.“We still have a few weeks to have this discussion and negotiation,” French Trade Minister Laurent Saint-Martin said in Paris on Wednesday ahead of the OECD meeting. “If the discussion and negotiation do not succeed, Europe is capable of having countermeasures on American products and services as well.”Greta Peisch, who was general counsel for the U.S. trade representative in the Biden administration, said the zero-for-zero proposal could provide a way to make progress if the Trump administration “is looking for a reason not to impose tariffs on the EU.”But Peisch, now a partner at the Wiley Rein law firm, wondered: “How motivated is the U.S. to come to a deal with the EU?” Trump, after all, has longstanding grievances and complaints about EU trade practices.One target of his ire is the value-added tax, similar to U.S. state sales taxes.Trump and his advisers consider VATs unfair protectionism because they are levied on U.S. products. But VATs are set at a national level, not by the EU, and apply to domestic and imported products alike, so they have not traditionally been considered a trade barrier. There is little chance governments will overhaul their tax systems to appease Trump.Likewise, the Europeans are likely to balk at U.S. demands to scrap food and safety regulations that Washington views as trade barriers. These include bans on hormone-raised beef, chlorinated chicken and genetically modified foods.“When you start talking about chickens or GMOs or automobile safety standards, you’re talking about the ways countries choose to regulate their economies,” Peisch said. “We think that’s protectionist. They think it’s keeping their citizens healthy . . . It’s been a sore point for 60 years.” McNeil reported from Barcelona and Wiseman reported from Washington, D.C. Catherine Gaschka, Sam McNeil and Paul Wiseman, Associated Press
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E-Commerce
TikTok, a platform where misinformation and dangerous rhetoric often spreads far and wide, has officially removed the #SkinnyTok hashtag from its search results. The hashtag had become a space for creators to promote restrictive eating and other forms of unhealthy weight-loss content. TikTok spokesperson Paolo Ganino told Politico that the move was part of a regular review of the platforms risks, but it followed considerable pressure from the European Union. Fast Company has reached out to TikTok for comment and will update this post if we hear back. ‘Revolting and absolutely unacceptable’ In April, Frances minister for digital media, Clara Chappaz, requested that the nations media regulator, Arcom, look into the hashtag. The agency teamed up with the European Commission to review the revolting and absolutely unacceptable videos, as Chappaz described them. The European Commission has also been investigating TikToks risk management of addictive design and harmful content since February 2024. Users searching #SkinnyTok will now see a landing page that reads, If you or someone you know has questions about body image, food, or exerciseit is important to know that help is out there and you are not alone. If you feel comfortable, you can confide in someone you trust or check out the resources below. Please remember to take care of yourselves and each other. It also has a resources link with an explainer on eating disorders, steps to take if you or your friend needs support, and emergency information. TikTok’s community guidelines prohibit videos that promote eating disorders and dangerous weight loss behaviors, and selling or promoting products to lose weight. Last year, TikTok even banned Liv Schmidt, a popular user known for posting controversial eating habits, for violating community guidelines. However, she freely posted to her 670,000 followers until The Wall Street Journal sent questions to TikTok for a profile on Schmidt. She created a new account following her ban. Could other platforms see a #SkinnyTok spillover? Now, #SkinnyTok might be gone from TikTok’s search results, but whos to say that users wont migrate to another hashtag or platform to keep sharing these harmful videos? Despite the community guidelines, this content continued out in the open through a well-known hashtag. Before regulatory agencies stepped in, users who searched for #SkinnyTok would see a message from TikTok stating, You are more than your weight, accompanied by a resources button. But the harmful content followed right behind it, violating the rules and risking the health of the users who absorbed it. TikTok, owned by China-based ByteDance, has 1.58 billion monthly users, according to data from SproutSocial. Its largest audience is in the United States.
Category:
E-Commerce
Discount store operator Dollar Tree forecast its second-quarter adjusted profit to be down as much as 50% from a year ago, accounting for volatility caused due to changing tariffs. Shares of the company were down about 3% in premarket trading. The Trump administration’s roller coaster tariff swings have thrown businesses into turmoil and unsettled consumers worldwide, who now brace for price hikes on everything from groceries to sneakers. Dollar Tree said on Wednesday that its second-quarter profit from continuing operations, which exclude its Family Dollar business, could be down as much as 45% to 50% year-over-year before re-accelerating in the second half of the year. In March, the company said it would sell its less-profitable Family Dollar banner for $1 billion to a group of private equity investors. Dollar Tree maintained its annual comparable store sales forecast, a day after rival Dollar General raised its full-year targets after beating quarterly estimates on resilient demand. However, Dollar Tree raised its annual profit forecast, benefiting from lower freight costs and resilient demand for affordable essentials. It expects fiscal 2025 adjusted earnings per share to be in the range of $5.15 to $5.65, compared with its prior forecast of $5.00 to $5.50. However, Dollar Tree reiterated that the company’s full-year earnings per share will be hurt by 30 cents to 35 cents related to the Family Dollar sale, with that impact concentrated in the first two quarters of the fiscal year. The company posted first-quarter revenue of $4.64 billion, compared with analysts’ estimates of $4.54 billion, as per data compiled by LSEG. Its adjusted profit of $1.26 per share topped estimates of $1.20. Anuja Bharat Mistry, Reuters
Category:
E-Commerce
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