Kia ora and welcome to your Tuesday recap of international business and political news from overnight.
First up, Europe warned that trade deals with the United States could now be at risk after US President Donald Trump’s push for a new global 15% tariff, after he was pushed back in the Supreme Court, CNBC reported.
Officials in Europe and the UK expressed concern at Trump’s new policy and the risk to trade deals signed last year. They asked for more clarity from the White House.
Meanwhile, Trump promised to use tariffs in a “much more powerful and obnoxious way”, the Guardian reported.
“The supreme court (will be using lower case letters for a while based on a complete lack of respect!*) of the United States accidentally and unwittingly gave me, as President of the United States, far more powers and strength than I had prior to their ridiculous, dumb, and very internationally divisive ruling,” he wrote on Truth Social.
“Our incompetent supreme court did a great job for the wrong people, and for that they should be ashamed of themselves (but not the Great Three!).”
Oxford Economics economist Grave Zwemmer warned Trump could impose limitless “punitive” tariffs on any country under Section 301 of the Trade Act which could last four years.
Meanwhile, the US would not back out of tariff deals it has already sealed with countries around the world, including the UK, the EU, Japan, and Switzerland. Trade representative Jamieson Greer said Trump’s new 15% tariff was separate from agreements struck in recent months.
“We want them to understand these deals are going to be good deals. We’re going to stand by them. We expect our partners to stand by them.”
To the markets, where Wall Street fell amid renewed trade tensions, sticky inflation data, and rising geopolitical risks. Markets had initially welcomed the Supreme Court’s ruling that challenged the legality of certain tariffs imposed under emergency powers.
Capital.com senior market analyst Daniela Hathorn said that optimism was short-lived. “The key issue for markets is not just the tariff level itself, but the unpredictability surrounding what comes next.”
Earlier, the Dow Jones dropped 1.5%, while the Nasdaq fell 1.2%, and the S&P 500 lost 1.1%, CNBC said.
Embattled former UK ambassador Peter Mandelson was detained as part of a misconduct investigation into his ties with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Al Jazeera reported.
The former official was taken away from his home in London by authorities. The Metropolitan Police later confirmed a 72-year-old man had been arrested “on suspicion of misconduct in public office” and taken to a London police station to be interviewed.
Mandelson had been embroiled in scandal since emails released by the US Justice Department showed his close connection with Epstein. CNN also noted the former politician was fired from his ambassador role in September by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Meanwhile, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has written to Starmer to confirm Australia would support the removal of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor from the line of succession, the ABC reported.
"In light of recent events concerning Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, I am writing to confirm that my Government would agree to any proposal to remove him from the line of royal succession," Albanese wrote.
"I agree with His Majesty that the law must now take its full course and there must be a full, fair and proper investigation. These are grave allegations and Australians take them seriously."
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
Elsewhere, the BBC reported on an interview with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky ahead of the fourth anniversary of the war with Russia. Zelensky noted that World War III was already underway.
He said Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin had started a third world war and wanted to impose a different way of life on the world, warning that Putin "will not stop at Ukraine".
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz signed a military order designating five Palestinian local online media platforms as “terrorist” organisations, alleging links to Hamas, Al Jazeera reported.
The order targets Al Asima News, Quds Plus, Alquds Albawsala, Maraj and Maydan Alquds. It said the outlets were used to incite unrest, particularly in Jerusalem.
In business news, Netflix said its takeover bid for Warner Bros Discovery was better than a rival offer from Paramount because it would expand the business and the industry.
Netflix co-chief executive Ted Sarandos told the BBC that "growth" was a key driver. "We're buying a movie studio and a distribution entity that we don't currently have – we'll be adding to the market."
Meanwhile, Trump told Netflix to remove Democratic foreign policy expert Susan Rice from its board or “face the consequences”, the Guardian reported. Trump described Rice as a “political hack” and accused her of having “no talent or skills”.
And Italian supercar manufacturer Lamborghini has abandoned plans to make all-electric vehicles and will instead focus on making plug-in hybrid cars because of a drop in demand for EVs, the Guardian reported.
Lamborghini unveiled its first all-electric concept car in 2023, but it was no longer planning to put it into production.
Chief executive Stephan Winkelmann said developing EVs risked becoming an “an expensive hobby” for the brand. He said it would continue to build combustion engine vehicles for “as long as possible”.
