09/03/2018 BBC Business Live

Live from London, that's our top

story on Friday 9 March.

As President Trump signs off

new tariffs on steel

and aluminium imports,

major trading partners

condemn the move, calling

it a "serious attack"

on international trade.

Also in the programme.

Asian markets rise on the news that

President Trump is to meet

North Korean leader

Kim Jong-un in person.

A quick look at the markets in

Europe, all in the read so far.

-- red.

And we'll be getting

the inside track

on the week in tech.

President Trump has been asking

whether violent video games

have a role to play

in preventing gun violence.

And why has Amazon's home assistant

Alexa started laughing?

All that with our resident tech

guru Rory Cellan Jones.

Today, steel tarrifs.

Tomorrow, potentially higher prices

on things like peanut butter

and blue jeans.

Are you worried that a trade

war will make imported

goods more expensive?

Let us know what you think.

Just use the hashtag, #BBCBizLive.

Hello and welcome to Business Live.

Major US trading

partners have condemned

President Trump for signing

new tariffs on steel

and aluminium imports.

China described it as a "serious

attack" on the system

of international trade

while the French Economy Minister

said there were "only

losers" in a trade war.

The import duties will go

into effect in two weeks' time.

Kim Gittleson in New York explains

how the sanctions will work.

So you have been hearing about these

tariffs for over a week now.

We have to protect and build our

steel and aluminium industries.

President Trump has finally signed

the proclamations that make these

tariffs a reality.

So what do you need to know?

The first thing is they fulfil a key

campaign promise President

Trump made to American steelworkers.

As of March 23 there will be a 25%

tariff on imported steel and 10%

tariff on imported aluminium.

Not everyone will be subject.

Mexico and Canada will be

exempt because the US

is negotiating with them as part

of the North American Free Trade

Agreement, and in a White House that

likes a show it has invited

countries around the world

to apply for exemptions.

Countries must first show

they are not a threat to

national security but it

pays to remember these

tariffs aren't popular.

They have been rejected

by key foreign allies,

many members of the Republican Party

and many in the

industries President Trump has

said he hopes to help.

Including this Korean

manufacturer in Phoenix.

We can import a lot

of specialty steel

from Europe and will have

to continue to import from Europe

because it is not

available in the US.

For that steel we purchase

from Europe it will cost 25% more.

Why should the rest

of the world care?

These significant tariffs

of aluminium and steel mark a

significant departure away

from decades long policies

towards free trade in favour

of a more

protectionist stance

by the Trump administration.

And they could be the first shot

at an ongoing global

trade war.

Charles de Lusignan

is the spokesperson

for the European Steel Association

and he joins us from Brussels.

We have heard this week from the

European Commissioner for trade

warning that the EU could

potentially go to full take in

reciprocal tariffs, we had from

Donald Tusk saying politicians on

both side of the Atlantic need to

act responsibly. Is this robust

response particularly the kind from

the EU what we should be hearing

from the EU? Will it help soften the

impact of what Donald Trump has said

or will it heighten the prospect of

a trade war?

Hello. Like you the having me on.

What the commissioner has put

forward is a three pronged approach

involving a complaint to the WTO,

safeguards against trade deflection

of products, and finally a list of

retaliatory measures. The list has

been specifically calculated to be

of a value equivalent to the

estimated foregone loss of exports

of steel to the US. The EU does not

want a trade war, their measures are

titrated to show the US -- are

calculated to show the US they are

reciprocal and not aggressive.

There

are fears some of the steel that was

previously exported to the US might

now come to Europe, are you

concerned?

Yes, the US imports every year 35

million tonnes under the scope of

what they have covered in the

measures and we estimate as much as

20 million could turn around to

Europe, many of the same countries

in the top ten of US exporters are

the same who go to Europe, Brazil

and Turkey are large exporters to

the US, they will head straight to

the EU. Trade deception could have a

larger effect on the industry than

the loss of exports.

We know those concerns within the EU

will be raised in -- on Saturday,

that the EU should be excluded from

these tariffs, how hopeful are you?

In the announcement yesterday by

tramp he equated being lifted,

excluded from tariffs with spending

more on Nato commitment -- I Donald

Trump. The US has always provided

the cover in Europe and what it is

true Nato allies could spend more,

linking it to trade and steel and

kicking off a trade war seems like

an odd way.

15% of Europe's still goes to the

US, what will happen with that

steel?

If it is EU steel exports, the

reality is that might result in

production cuts along with the trade

deception immediately causing 25,000

EU jobs at risk Fletcher deflection.

There may be a game in the US of

jobs, our estimates suggest there

could be 104 days it's as job losses

there. President Trump alleges he is

a business man but making a product

that your country relies on, will

have an effect on your

competitiveness. Cars, construction

of a steel which will be 25% more

expensive which will have a very

serious effect on US competitiveness

downstream in addition to knocking

heads off the steel industry in

Europe which has only just seen a

slow recovery.

Let's take a look

at some of the other

stories making the news.

Inflation in China rose

to 2.9% in February,

well above forecasts and flirting

with the Government's newly set 2018

goal of around 3%.

It was the fastest pace of consumer

inflation since November 2013.

11 Asia-Pacific countries have

signed the trade pact known as the

Trans-Pacific Partnership. Although

the US pulled out last year the deal

was salvaged by the remaining

members.

Former US president Barack Obama is

in advanced talks with Netflix on

shows, according to a New York Times

report. Netflix will pay the family

for exclusive content on its video

streaming service.

Asian markets rallied

on Friday, on hopes that

North Korean nuclear tensions

might be easing.

Investors responded to US

President Donald Trump accepting

an invitation for face-to-face talks

with North Korean

leader Kim Jong-un.

Sarah Toms has more.

Welcome, bring us up to date on how

the markets reacted?

It should be no surprise markets

across Asia were up today, in South

Korea, the best day in ten months.

And in Japan. This meeting between

Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un comes

as a huge relief because investors

don't want conflict and they do not

want it especially between the

world's most volatile leaders who

called each other the rocket man for

example. The region is vital to

global shipping and manufacturing.

Any kind of escalation could disrupt

trade, and any economic activity.

What is interesting about this

meeting is what does it actually say

about the state of the North Korean

economy and how badly is it doing as

those sanctions begin to take effect

and start to bite.

Thank you.

Here are the markets.

Asian markets rallied

on the back of peace hopes.

There was already some optimism

on the markets after Mr Trump

earlier left the door open

for possible exemptions on US

tariffs on steel and aluminium.

Little reaction to news those import

tariffs were going ahead.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng edged up 0.7%.

In Europe.

There's a sense of disbelief among

some market analysts

as the announcement of new US

tariffs which had been stoking fears

of a global trade war, fails

to deliver the predicted sell-off.

There will be reaction with the US

job figures. A month ago those

figures impacted quite

significantly, massive falls across

the world.

Joining us is Tom Stevenson,

investment director

at Fidelity International.

We have had some breaking news, the

UK is going to seek an exemption

from President Trump's tariffs, we

heard from Liam Fox who says he will

travel to Washington next week to

discuss the new duties and says we

will be looking to see how we can

maximise our case for exception

under these circumstances. The UK

will ask for an exemption. All of

this talk about tariffs has exerted

a robust response -- response from

the EU and now the UK, are we in

danger of moving towards global

protectionism?

When Donald Trump was elected a year

ago it was a double edged sword.

People worried about his

protectionism, his nationalism, but

they looked on the positive side

with tax reforms and infrastructure

spending. In the first year debate

focused on the positives. More

recently we have seen the

Protectionist angle coming to the

fore. Britain would be the only one

an exemption. To impose tariffs on

the basis of national security is a

nonsense, with Canada, Europe and

the UK, it makes no sense.

It is

interesting how Donald Trump is

framing the debate.

It is targeted

at China. China will probably be

least affected by these measures.

The markets have taken it in their

stride. They don't think it is

likely to happen in the form being

presented.

We can be a bit more relaxed. Having

a look at the markets, and the US

job figures due to be out, the

markets are steadying themselves.

Attention will be paid to them

because a month ago when we had

those figures they caused a wobble

in the markets. We will see strong

figures again, 200,000 jobs created,

and implement at 4%, as low as 17

years ago at the peak of the dot-com

bubble. That is what investors are

worried about, that it will lead to

bond yields rising, interest rates

rising.

We will see you later. Thank you.

Still to come.

We look back at the week in tech.

Why has Amazon's home assistant

Alexa started laughing unexpectedly?

We'll look at this and other stories

with our resident tech

guru Rory Cellan Jones.

You're

with Business Live from BBC News.

Restaurant chain Wagamama has been

fined an undisclosed amount

for failing to pay staff

the National Minimum Wage.

It's among 43 employers

in the hospitality sector

on the government's latest list

of firms breaking the law.

Wagamama's HR director

Thomas Heier joins us now.

This happened on your watch.

Are you

responsible for this? Yes, it has

happened and it was brought to our

attention in 2016 and we address did

-- addressed it and subsequently

introduced a uniform supplement that

we pay to all of our people from

here on in.

You said this was down

to an inadvertent misunderstanding

and about uniforms and the fact that

staff were told to wear a certain

uniform you didn't offer to pay for

it. We've now had to recompense

people in your company was the worst

offender in this latest naming and

shaming list that is damning

indictment.

Just to respond to what

you said, it was about as asking

people to wear the colour black on

the bottom half of their body, so

black jeans, shirts, trousers and

shoes. We do provide a branded

T-shirt or top and ultimately we

were not aware that by stipulating

black we were in breach of the

legislation. Had we stipulated dark,

we might not have been on the list.

But you are an HR director, so isn't

it your job to be on top of this?

You are right, and we need to learn

from that as a business.

Are you

surprised you are still in a job?

We

are now dealing with that.

I'm

surprised you still have your job?

I

wasn't here when that happened but I

do take accountability for it and

honestly I'm working with the team

to move forward from here on in.

You

are off the hook. Banks were talking

to us. The Institute of directors

has suspended its chair, Lady Judge

as it examines claims about her

conduct that include racist, sexist

and bullying behaviour. It issued a

one line statement this morning as

the council took the decision having

received an executive summary to

suspend the chair pending further

investigation. Much more on the BBC

website.

You're watching Business Live.

Our top story.

China has condemned big steel

and aluminium tariffs signed off

by Mr Trump as an attack

on the global trade system.

A quick look at how

markets are faring.

It is largely shrugging off these

potential murmurs of a trade war,

although European markets have

opened slightly in the red this

morning.

And now let's get the inside

track on this week's big

tech stories with our resident tech

guru Rory Cellan-Jones.

Do you like being called a guru? I

feel we should all sit there

cross-legged. Rory, good morning.

Your first story is about Trump is

holding a video games conference or

meeting of the back of that awful

shooting in Florida school last

month.

As we know, very little news

out of the Donald Trump White House

in the last 24 hours, but this is

the big news, a summit with a video

game industry. One of these things

where the video game industry is

cynical about this. It is felt

around the world that it's an easy

punchbag for politicians. But there

is concern around the world about

the impact of video games on young

people and whether it promotes

violence. I think the video games

industry would say that the same

games are played in the UK,

Australia as in the US yet we have

different levels of gun violence.

Exactly. They would have pushed back

about this. Each side says it is a

fruitful meeting and I don't think

much will come out of it.

You Tube,

they are rallying over its content

with advertisers following a

problem.

There have been a number of

stories that has blown up about

Google and its ability to deal with

extremist videos and unpleasant

content. There is a far right video

that kept popping up despite the

fact you tube said it had taken it

down. And a more interesting row

involving a right wing conspiracy

site in the US, Info wars, which is

legal in the terms of YouTube and

might not want to take that site

down. But advertisers discovered

that their messages were appearing

alongside this material and they

were shocked at that. This really

highlights the whole debate about

online advertising. Online

advertising was supposed to promise

absolute targeting and control and

the impact of the ads and it's

turned out to be not the case.

Advertisers are finding they give

their money to Google and YouTube

they appear in places they don't

want them to be and they are cross

about it.

Have you been hearing

strange cackling in your house?

There is always strange cackling in

my house. You are obviously talking

about the story of the week, the

Amazon Smart Speaker, let's hear it.

It is a bit creepy.

This is one of

those funny things and there has

been talk of a long time about

unexplained things happening with

their smart speakers. I was sat in

front of a popular quiz show in the

UK a few months ago and my Amazon

Eco piped up with, I don't know the

answer to that question. But what

happened this week was that people

reported unexplained laughter.

You

are supposed to have two acts of

eight -- activate the Alexa.

If I

said Alexa, laugh, you could hear

Alexa devices responding, the Amazon

said that was what was happening.

People said they didn't realise they

were joining the words Alexa and

then laugh, and that is why it was

happening. They have changed the

command so you have to say, can you

laugh? And then it utters a very

disappointing TD.

Imagine if you

heard the tackle and who did not

have a Alexa. That is a different

story. Always good to talk to you,

Rory. First, a quick reminder of how

to stay in touch. Stay up-to-date

with the business news as it happens

on the live page. There is insight

and analysis from the team of

editors around the globe. And we

want to hear from you as well. Get

involved on the BBC business live

web page.

What you need to know when you need

to know it. What other business

stories have the media then taking

an interesting? Late Kick Off,

before we look at some of the

stories that caught our eye. --

before we kick off. People were

talking about the cost of things

like Levis, whiskey, the favourite

US brands with those things going

up. We had some responses, William

said, I buy New Zealand peanut

butter, I'm not fond of

Harley-Davidson. Quite specific

items. Another comment on the Alexa

to story. Jerome said he activated

his this morning. So the cackling is

not asked. -- is not ours.

I do have

a Alexa but I had to put it away in

a drawer because Mrs Stevenson was

unhappy with the idea of people

listening into our conversations,

and quite right too.

Let's head back

to the Financial Times about a story

about a property conference that

happens every year in the south of

France. The FT is asking, in the

current climate, how much money it

costs the these sort of events, is

this something that the property

sector should be investing its time

and money in? Full disclosure, you

been to this conference.

Yes, many

years ago, and in a very different

world. I used to go to it as a

reporter to report on the property

industry and, sadly what people say

about these events is true. The

world has completely moved on in the

25 years since I went. I went in the

early 90s. I suspect an awful lot of

companies will be thinking twice

about whether they really want to do

this and how it looks to the outside

world and whether that is worth it.

People who have gone in the past

have said there is a seedier side to

these unofficial events. I won't put

you on the spot and ask if you saw

any things like that. But they did

break the story about the

President's club in the behaviour of

some of the men there, who behaved

badly. Do you think there will be an

end to this kind of thing and an end

to this type of conference, just

briefly?

As I say, many companies

will look and weigh it up, is it

worth it? There are networking

advantages to this conference but if

it looks bad to the customers, is it

worth it?

Interesting. Good to see

you this morning. Thanks for getting

in touch on Twitter. Keep your

thoughts coming in as it's always

good to hear from you. Thanks for

joining us.