07/03/2018 BBC Business Live

on Wednesday 7th March.

Mr Cohn has been seen

as a moderate voice

in the White House, so his departure

has dealt a big blow to business

leaders hoping to prevent

the US President igniting

a global trade war.

Also in the programme....

Harleys, Levi's and Bourbon -

why the European Union is targeting

classic American goods as it

prepares to retaliate

against those US tariffs.

And all that makes

investors nervous.

In Asia markets dropped sharply

and this is how Europe has opened.

And we'll be getting

the inside track on the start-up

siblings who made it big -

You may not have heard

of the Collison brothers

but their payments technology has

made them billions -

they are now among the youngest

self-made billionaires in the world.

Also tomorrow is

International Women's

Day and to mark the occasion Mattel

has launched a new set

of Barbie dolls - this one

behind me is Nicola Adams

the Olympic boxing champion.

Nicola says she is honoured.

So we want to know who would you

nominate for your Barbie role-model?

Let us know.

There should be a Sally Bundock

Barbie! You heard it here first.

We start at the White House,

where top economic advisor Gary Cohn

has quit after losing a heated

battle President Trump over tariffs.

He opposed President's proposed

steel and aluminium tariffs

because of the impact

on the American economy,

US jobs and the threat

of a global trade war.

In a moment, we'll hear

from a global trade expert but first

Kim Gittleson in New York

has more details.

Gary Cohn has long said he opposed

the tariffs. He is known as somebody

who supports free trade. He worked

at Goldman Sachs and he is a

Democrat. He has clashed with

President Trump on a host of issues.

The thing they seem to agree on was

the tax reform. Beyond that, there

wasn't that much common ground. When

we saw President Trump come out

today saying that he once more

believed he wants these tariffs to

be instituted, it seemed like a done

deal that he would have to resign.

That is part of our team in New

York.

Gary Cohn quitting Trump's

team is the latest

in the transatlantic

tit-for-tat over trade.

Today, the European Commission

hammers out its plan

to counter the US President's threat

of import tariffs of 25% on steel

and 10% on aluminium due this week.

The Commission says response

will comply with WTO rules.

It's drawn up a target list of 100

US goods - worth $3.5

billion.

Many of them will have

significant political impact.

Among them the iconic US

motorbike Harley-Davidson -

made in Wisconsin -

home state to House of

Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan.

And Bourbon whiskey -

made in Kentucky, the state

of Senate majority leader Mitch

McConnell.

Orange juice is a key export

for Florida - a vital swing

state in US elections.

And there's the ultimate example

of classic Americana -

Levi's jeans, a US firm that relied

on Europe for a 20% jump

in sales last year.

The row is already hitting business.

Electrolux, Europe's

largest appliances maker,

is freezing a $250 million

investment in a Tennessee factory

over fears Trump's tariffs

could dent its competitiveness.

Joining us from Brussels

is Allie Renison

of the Institute of Directors,

a business lobby group.

You were listening to all of that,

as we speak, European Commission

representatives are discussing their

next move, what do you expect to

come out of Brussels?

Well, I think

that this is something someone like

Gary Cohn was worried about, the

concerns were the impact to the US

economy and the scale of

retaliation. This is part of the

problem. The EU is looking not just

at retaliating in respect of

products the US and Trump are

putting duty on, they're looking

wider in scope. It is depressing to

hear somebody like president junker

say if the US want to do stupid, we

can do stupid too. That is the

question - how far will it range?

The pressure and the stakes getting

higher by the hour, when we get to a

position where we are talking about

tariffs and barriers to trade, there

is no telling where that will stop?

Yes that is part of it, if you're

looking at how rationale a

proportionate response might look

like, you might hope markets like

the EU would be looking at taking

the case and taking the US's

justification of this under a broad

national security exception to the

WTO, instead a lot of country and

the EU will be thinking after they

act, rather than the other way

around.

How damaging would be a

trade war of this scale be for those

part of your organisation and other

businesses?

Well, I think one of the

things that people often forget,

certainly the president, there are a

lot of industries who rely on

inputs, processing and consuming

industries and for every one job you

might save with tariffs, you lose

she Sen or eight -- even or eight in

the supply chain. But that often

doesn't get thought about. That is

the biggest concern, the revere

bracing through the supply chain.

Thank you.

Let's take a look

at some of the other

stories making the news.

Australia's economy clocked

up GDP growth of 0.4%

in the last three months of last

year - lower than expected and

marking a weak finish to the year.

A fall in exports in the last

quarter dragged on growth.

Over the year as a whole,

the economy grew by 2.4%

compared to a year earlier,

that's down from 2.9%.

The Royal Bank of Scotland has

agreed a $500 million settlement

with New York State over

the mis-selling of financial

products in the run up to the global

financial crisis in 2008.

RBS is the sixth bank to settle

with the state over similar claims,

linked to risky mortgages.

The agreement will see

the bank pay $400 million

in relief to homeowners, as well as

$100 million to the state.

Blackberry has filed

a lawsuit in the US accusing

Facebook of copying features

from Blackberry Messenger

in a violation of its patent rights.

Blackberry, which was once a leader

in the smartphone market,

says Facebook used the features

and technology in its WhatsApp

and Instagram apps.

The claims come after Blackberry has

increased efforts to make money

from its more than 40,000 patents.

Facebook has said it

would fight the claims.

Lots of stories on the business live

pages. All the news as it breaking,

Paddy Power have reported a 20% rise

in operating profits. A strong

growth in sports betting helped to

boost its figures.

A new blow for Japanese

steel giant Kobe -

US consumers have filed a lawsuit

accusing the company of fraud.

It's the first US consumer

complaint since the Kobe

quality-control scandal broke -

and it also takes aim at Toyota.

Leisha Santorelli is in Singapore.

We talked about this yesterday, and

the boss and all the ongoing chaos

around the world, this just the

latest installment?

Yes the fallout

continues this is possibly the first

class action that Kobe steel have to

face. So in this US court filing,

Kobe is accused of breaking US

consumer laws by covering up the

fact they used sub standard metal

used in cars. This includes very

popular models. So Kobe has taken a

massive reputational hit in America

and they will have to try and limit

the damage. As we reported

yesterday, their president is

stepping down, as is the boss of its

aluminium and copper unit. But that

won't stop the legal risks and won't

limit the hits to their share price,

they fell by another 7% in Tokyo

today to close at its lowest level

this year. The fallout will have to

be contained in the months to come.

Before you go, we are asking people

about inspirational business women

that could be immortised by Barbie,

anyone in your part of world?

I

replied to Sally on Twitter, I think

a great idea is to allow people to

customise their dolls, so if I had a

daughter they should make one in her

likeness. Or as my mum.

It is

mother's day on Sunday. So good

timing. Thank you. Here is what is

happening on the markets. Some

volatility after the news that Mr

Cohn is leaving the White House. He

is leaving, investors are nervous.

So that is what happened in the US

and Asia. Now Europe and it doesn't

look like I can show you the numbers

now, but we are expecting it to look

weaker as a result of that nervous

frns investors -- nervousness from

investors. Sally has the European

numbers.

Yes you can see it is flat.

Brent crude down a per cent and our

regular guest is with us.

Justin Urquhart Stewart

is with us, of Seven

Investment Management.

You were listening to the

conversation about trade. Give us

your take on this and how it is

being interpreted in the markets.

The backdrop is the global economy

doing well, but you have got to put

the issue of trade wars and that is

a very serious issue for the

markets. Add to that Mr Cohn going.

Without him, who is controlling the

mad house? The result is markets are

sailing into the wind, the sails are

flapping, they haven't got a

direction. Behind that you will see

interest rates rising in the

interest and that will put further

pressure on the markets.

Among this

uncertainty, people are looking

elsewhere for places to put their

money. We have talked about bit coin

and seeing a relationship. You have

been looking at an interesting way

that people might be investing.

Some

people will know. One lovely thing I

found, handbags...

You can invest in

handbags.

Not any old handbag. 2010.

A hand made Himalaya bag and that

has been auctioned for 157,000

euros.

That is a good return.

It is

portable and in terms of the

elements to invest in, it is

something physical you can see. It

is better than the bitcoin.

How can

you use it if it costs 29,000 euros.

Depends who you are. Maybe we could

have a Barbie doll with the handbag.

An incredible asset. Thank you. He

will be back. More to discuss,

including his Barbie doll

recommendation.

Still to come: The startup siblings

that made their billions from smart

online payments sytems Stripe -

we talk to one

of the Collinson brothers

about how they made it big.

You're with Business

Live from BBC News.

More debate of the Brexit in the UK.

Philip Hammond will tell European

leaders it's in the "mutual

interest" of the UK and the EU

to include financial services

in a free trade agreement.

The UK Chancellor is due

to make the argument

in a speech later today.

Our economics editor

Kamal Ahmed has details.

Tell us what he is going to say.

This is the latest stage in that

Brexit battle. It is over an

important part of the trade

negotiations that are coming up -

financial services. For Britain,

they're incredibly important. Not

just for the two million jobs that

are connected to financial services

across the UK, but because Britain

has a trade surplus with the EU on

financial services of about £20

billion a year. So very valuable to

Britain. Philip Hammond is saying it

is also valuable to the EU - London

is a huge global market, where lots

of European governments and

businesses raise a lot of money. And

he is going to say that it is

important for both sides that there

is a deep and special agreement

between Britain and the EU once we

have left the single market. Which

at the moment give us privileged

access to the EU. It seems that his

position has already been rejected

by the European Commission. Today,

Donald Tusk is going to say any free

trade deal cannot involve financial

services. But we need to remember

these are negotiations and you put

out your stall and make your

argument and both sides probably

admit in the end there will be some

form of agreement.

This is one of those perfect

examples where critics will say you

cannot have your cake and eat it.

Yes but for the EU it is important

they keep links to London. Frankly

neither Frankfurt, Paris, nor any

centre in EE you can maintain the

financing operations they have, so

they will meet London in this

instance. -- nor any centre in the

European Union.

DHL has reported its

results. Last year profits up 7.2%.

You're watching Business Live -

our top story -

the top economic advisor

to the White House, Gary Cohn

has quit after a battle

President Trump over tariffs.

He opposed President's proposed

steel and aluminium tariffs

because of the impact

on the American economy,

US jobs and the threat

of a global trade war.

That has left investors pretty

nervous.

That has left investors pretty

nervous. We can show you what

trading is doing in the European

markets...

Some suggesting this can only

Some suggesting this can only do one

thing, which is harm global trade.

We often introduce you to

interesting businesses and

entrepreneurs.

And today's guest is no exception.

His name is John Collison

and with the help of his brother

Patrick he founded "Stripe".

Stripe enables businesses around

the world to more easily

accept online payments

and run their websites.

Set up in San Francisco six years

ago, it now has over

100,000 customers worldwide

including the likes of Amazon,

Fitbit and Facebook.

In 2016 it announced

a new round of funding that valued

the company at $9.2 billion.

According to Forbes that means

the brothers are now worth

upwards of $1.1 billion each.

And at 27 John is the world's

youngest self-made billionaire.

Where did we go wrong?

We are just a little bit jealous.

Yes, we sent somebody else because

we were so jealous.

Our Business Editor Simon Jack

went along to meet him

and began by asking for the secret

of his success?

It was valuable that myself and

Patrick at the technical background

to be able to build the first

version of Stripe. Because you can

build a product, see if it works for

customers, make changes, wash and

repeat on a two-day cycle. One is

the career track of being a software

developer. It will continue to be a

good one for decades to come. I

think that is a good bet to make.

The second thing is, I think in the

case of Stripe, it was helpful that

it was a gradual process. We came to

the idea because we had started an

Internet business before. We were

gobsmacked at how easy it was to

accept money. We started using a

prototype. We got a user using us.

Then another, and then after a while

things started to snowball. But that

is the other thing I would encourage

people, especially if they are in

that starting position, if you pay

close attention to what the

customers are saying about the

actual problems you can learn a lot

just through the listening process.

You have 25 people in London, 700 in

California, now you are betting big

in Dublin. People think that London

is the thin tech hub in London, you

are betting on Dublin, wife?

Dublin

has been our European headquarters

from day one. If a few reasons for

that. It is in the EU. Also, Dublin

is increasing its phenomenal talent

market. Where you have this melting

pot effect. It reminds me of what

you get in the valley and what you

get in London, people coming from

all over Europe to work in Dublin.

We are using Dublin as a hub for

which to serve Europe, the Middle

East, and Africa.

What is the threat

to the -- what is the threat Brexit

has on London as the tech hub?

A big

one. It is twofold. Firstly, in

actuality, it'll get harder to have

a talent hub here where people from

across Europe, especially, are

coming to work. We are seeing this

in the US right now where it has

already proven the case that people

are less willing to move to the US.

They don't even want to enter the

Visa process because of what they

perceive to be the political climate

and how the country is towards

foreigners. I think that is the

perception and that'll get difficult

for people to go over there.

Are you

seeing it already here?

We are

seeing it already in the US and we

are worried about seeing it in the

UK.

If recruitment gets harder, if

people are less willing to move to

the UK, for example, what the

penalty, what happens?

The ultimate

risks we are talking about is does

the UK have a vibrant tech centre

and start-up system. That is putting

it into stark terms. I think it

will, but how successful it will be,

I think there are degrees of success

we can talk about there. We might be

looking at a lower level than

before...

If you had a message to

the Government, as they are thinking

about this, from your sector, what

would it be?

It is a bit of a factor

of what is done is done, on the

Brexit side, but I think what we can

affect is people's perceptions of

the UK and the UK as an attractive

investment climate. And the

attractiveness of moving to the UK.

Like I said, in the US, I think that

is something we are risking, we are

sending the message that people

should not come to the US, but we

should be sending the opposite

message. We need to make it clear to

people that the UK is still a great

place to emigrate to.

Justin has

returned, as promised. We have lots

to discuss, including your

nominations for the Barbie doll

idea. First, this story in the

papers. Debenhams to rent flagship

store space to people who hot desk.

This is a sign of The Times, isn't

it, with these big department stores

are really struggling.

It isn't good

news, it is just showing a problem.

Debenhams has all of this space. But

Debenhams is a shop where people go

and rent spaces. This is just an

extension of that. A lot of these

businesses, and yet the same with

House of Fraser, they are all

suffering. All of the news we have

had is that the bottom has fallen

out of the retail basket. Many of

these shops are having real

problems.

The bricks and mortar

basket, is that what we are

thinking?

Exactly. The online ones

are still there. One prime example

is John Lewis that works

effectively. But where that hasn't

happened you are in difficulty.

A

lot of big supermarkets have done

this, as well. They have been

leasing space to dry cleaners,

cafes, key cutters, this is just an

extension.

And a logical extension.

This reflects what has happened to

British business. We are sitting at

record numbers of new businesses,

600,000 per year. Go back 30 years,

that number would be around 180,000.

Still a high rate. But we are being

much more entrepreneurial than

France and Germany. What we must do

is nurture these. Providing sites

like this is a good way of doing it.

But beyond that you need to be able

to finance. And access to long-term

finance, not just short-term

solutions.

Why is Washington so obsessed with

China's Huawei. It is proving to be

pretty dominant in the market.

Almost challenging Apple and

Samsung.

Just how close is Huawei to

the Government? These companies are

intrinsically linked. If you are

allowing Huawei into high-tech

areas, which can affect national

communications with some influence,

that level of high-tech, I am

talking about five G, then you need

to control it, see who is involved.

We are more accepting of it over

here. Vodafone already has a deal

with Huawei. More to come on that.

Nominations for new goals. The maker

of Barbie says it will be

recognising International Women's

Day tomorrow and will come out with

some new models. There is Nicola

Adams with a goal with her likeness.

Were talking about this, who would

you nominate?

Cleopatra.

A

historical figure.

And she ran the economy.

Absolutely.

Boudicca... And I thought of Mary

Queen of Scots, you can have an

accessory where you might be able to

remove the head.

CHUCKLES

Or Mrs Pankhurst holding a placard

about the suffragettes. You need to

access rights these things.

CHUCKLES

Thank you. Just quickly, Amelia

Earhart has already