0:00:18 > 0:00:19This is Business Briefing, I'm Sally Bundock.
0:00:19 > 0:00:21The Art of the Deal.
0:00:21 > 0:00:24Trump's team says the US has struck $300 billion worth of trade
0:00:24 > 0:00:26and investment deals during his Asian trip.
0:00:26 > 0:00:33We investigate.
0:00:33 > 0:00:36And President Trump's determination to slash regulations for US business
0:00:36 > 0:00:39is alarming many who worry about pollution and public health.
0:00:39 > 0:00:42And on the markets in Asia today, shares fluctuate, a day
0:00:43 > 0:00:57after Japan's main market saw its biggest drop since April.
0:01:08 > 0:01:09Five countries, nearly two weeks, and billions
0:01:09 > 0:01:10of dollars in deal-making.
0:01:11 > 0:01:13Well, that is the line from the White House and host
0:01:14 > 0:01:16nations, as President Trump's mammoth tour of Asia draws
0:01:16 > 0:01:23to a close.
0:01:23 > 0:01:26After all, the President is known to be a deal-maker.
0:01:26 > 0:01:28So much so, in fact, that he has promised a major
0:01:29 > 0:01:31statement on trade before he arrives back in Washington.
0:01:31 > 0:01:33That means the clock is ticking.
0:01:33 > 0:01:36The White House is touting the rather whopping figure of $300
0:01:36 > 0:01:37billion in deals during the President's swing
0:01:38 > 0:01:38through the region.
0:01:38 > 0:01:41The lion's share of that came during his trip to China.
0:01:41 > 0:01:44South Korea, Japan, and Vietnam make up the remaining $50 billion-odd.
0:01:44 > 0:01:48Mr Trump is still in the Philippines, so we will hold off
0:01:48 > 0:01:48on that figure.
0:01:48 > 0:01:51But this is business, and you have to pay attention
0:01:51 > 0:01:52to the fine print.
0:01:52 > 0:01:56So dig a little deeper, and you will see that some of these
0:01:56 > 0:01:58are memoranda of understanding, MoUs, so more promises of agreements
0:01:58 > 0:02:03to come, or they are deals that had already been in the works for months
0:02:03 > 0:02:10or even years.
0:02:10 > 0:02:12All will need official approval.
0:02:12 > 0:02:15With me is Professor Rajneesh Narula, the John H Dunning chair
0:02:15 > 0:02:21of international business at Henley Business School.
0:02:21 > 0:02:27What is your interpretation of the deals done?Well, I think it is
0:02:27 > 0:02:32public relations, really. These deals were going to happen anyway,
0:02:32 > 0:02:37and Trump's trip is just a bit of icing on the cake, just to show that
0:02:37 > 0:02:41he has done something. About $50 billion of the Chinese deal comes
0:02:41 > 0:02:47from aircraft, from Boeing aircraft. Another $40 billion is helicopters,
0:02:47 > 0:02:52and that sort of thing. So these things were going to go on anyway,
0:02:52 > 0:02:56and there are short-term victories, which is what Trump seems to
0:02:56 > 0:03:00specialise in. There isn't anything that is really long-term. There is a
0:03:00 > 0:03:09big investment by JD, I think, in a beef factory in Montana, but apart
0:03:09 > 0:03:12from that, I don't think there is much that wouldn't have happened
0:03:12 > 0:03:18anyway.In terms of trade between the US and countries in that part of
0:03:18 > 0:03:21the world, what was achieved from that point of view? Of course, the
0:03:21 > 0:03:24United States removed itself from the transpacific partnership. Talk
0:03:24 > 0:03:30us through the trade deals from that point of view.That is the big news
0:03:30 > 0:03:34from the trip. Trump's thunder was stolen, as it were, by Trudeau, who
0:03:34 > 0:03:39announced that they were going to more or less edge on with the
0:03:39 > 0:03:45transpacific partnership, rebranded as a copper offensive and
0:03:45 > 0:03:51progressive... It is in the title, actually, those words --
0:03:51 > 0:03:55comprehensive and progressive. They will sign it by the new year.So the
0:03:55 > 0:04:00US is missing out on that. During his speeches, I remember his speech
0:04:00 > 0:04:04in Beijing, he was talking about the fact that we will look after
0:04:04 > 0:04:09ourselves, we expect you to look after yourselves, but we want to
0:04:09 > 0:04:13talk bilateral trade. And he has talked a lot about the Indo Pacific.
0:04:13 > 0:04:18He is pivoting towards India, trying to reduce China's influence.Yes,
0:04:18 > 0:04:24the thing is, bilateral agreements are a relic from the 1970s and
0:04:24 > 0:04:291980s. Ever since we have had the WTO, the big focus has been on
0:04:29 > 0:04:34making trade similar for large groups of trade simpler for large
0:04:34 > 0:04:42groups of countries. Trump is trying to destroy Nafta. He seems to have
0:04:42 > 0:04:44something against multilateral agreements, but that is the way it
0:04:44 > 0:04:54of the future. Even China has its own One Belt, One Road programme,
0:04:54 > 0:04:58saying we are the ones who are the staple superpower and want to play
0:04:58 > 0:05:01with everyone. And they make Trump look bad.
0:05:01 > 0:05:05The Chinese economy is starting to cool, and a slew of economic data
0:05:05 > 0:05:06out earlier today confirms it.
0:05:06 > 0:05:18Sharanjit Leyl has been crunching the numbers.
0:05:18 > 0:05:24Quite a few numbers to crunch, actually, because industrial output
0:05:24 > 0:05:30growing slower than expected, 6.2% in October according to the National
0:05:30 > 0:05:34bureau of statistics. Retail sales was also out and claimed a slower
0:05:34 > 0:05:39than expected 10% in October from last year. I hear you say that is a
0:05:39 > 0:05:42fairly decent number, but what is interesting is, of course, in
0:05:42 > 0:05:46industrial output the slowdown is prompted by slowing property and
0:05:46 > 0:05:52construction activity, and that is two of the main growth drivers hit
0:05:52 > 0:05:55by borrowing costs as well as government measures to try and cool
0:05:55 > 0:05:59a heated housing market and curb industrial pollution, a massive
0:05:59 > 0:06:03problem in China's major cities. After this data we saw Chinese
0:06:03 > 0:06:07stocks which had been at the two year high, they actually retreated
0:06:07 > 0:06:12from that two year high, following the date. We saw a broader measure
0:06:12 > 0:06:19money supply unveiled yesterday after closed -- following that data.
0:06:19 > 0:06:24All of this is starting to suggest that China's economy is slowing
0:06:24 > 0:06:28because of these measures the government have put in place, though
0:06:28 > 0:06:31nonetheless they are still targeting annual economic growth of around
0:06:31 > 0:06:386.5% this year. Thank you for that summary, in Singapore.
0:06:38 > 0:06:40President Trump's pick for head of chemical safety,
0:06:40 > 0:06:43Dr Michael Dourson, has spent much of his career helping businesses
0:06:43 > 0:06:46fight red tape on the use of potentially toxic compounds
0:06:46 > 0:06:47in everyday goods.
0:06:47 > 0:06:51The town of Hoosick Falls in upstate New York has seen its water supply
0:06:51 > 0:06:53contaminated with chemicals, and people living there
0:06:53 > 0:06:56are concerned at the prospect of Dr Dourson taking up the role.
0:06:56 > 0:07:00Michelle Fleury has the story.
0:07:01 > 0:07:07This water looks safe to drink. But, until recently, it wasn't. Emily and
0:07:07 > 0:07:14her daughter Gwen have an incredibly high level of total of the No Loc
0:07:14 > 0:07:28acid, -- perfluoro acid.There were no words for how I felt as a mother
0:07:28 > 0:07:33and a person, I felt violated.Emily moved her family away from a
0:07:33 > 0:07:37chemical plant near her old home that cause the contamination.I get
0:07:37 > 0:07:40that worse things happen around the world, but never in a million years
0:07:40 > 0:07:44did I think that living in the United States of America I would
0:07:44 > 0:07:48have to go to a dark, cold, dingy basement to pick up water for my
0:07:48 > 0:07:53family.Hoosick Falls is a small town on the border of New York and
0:07:53 > 0:07:59Vermont. For decades the region was home to plastic factories that used
0:07:59 > 0:08:03perfluorononanoic acid. It wasn't until 2016 that the local water
0:08:03 > 0:08:07supplies received filtration systems. And the fight for clean
0:08:07 > 0:08:10water continues all the way to Washington, where some Hoosick Falls
0:08:10 > 0:08:14residents travelled to make clear their objection to the nomination of
0:08:14 > 0:08:19Michael Dourson, Donald Trump's pick to become the country's top chemical
0:08:19 > 0:08:27regulator. Michael Hickey began the fight to test Hoosick Falls's water
0:08:27 > 0:08:31for chemicals after his father died of kidney cancer. He made the trip
0:08:31 > 0:08:35to Washington recently to speak out against Michael Dourson's
0:08:35 > 0:08:40nomination.The is the guy that big companies will bring in to defend
0:08:40 > 0:08:45them. He is not working for people. He is working for big business.In
0:08:45 > 0:08:51the past, Michael Dourson has advocated for chemical safety levels
0:08:51 > 0:08:56much higher than is now considered acceptable, at his nomination shows
0:08:56 > 0:09:00a pattern emerging under the Trump administration.What we are broadly
0:09:00 > 0:09:04seeing happen across the Federal Government is that the formerly
0:09:04 > 0:09:08regulated parties are becoming the regulators themselves.The agency
0:09:08 > 0:09:14where Dourson will serve as prioritising reducing what the
0:09:14 > 0:09:17President Coles job killing regulations. In Hoosick Falls, Emily
0:09:17 > 0:09:22is considering the cost of that as she looks for assurances that the
0:09:22 > 0:09:26water in her home is safe for her family.
0:09:26 > 0:09:29Now let's brief you some other business stories: A judge in Brazil
0:09:29 > 0:09:32has ordered a homicide lawsuit against the executives of mining
0:09:32 > 0:09:33company Samarco to resume.
0:09:33 > 0:09:3621 people who worked for the company are accused of being responsible
0:09:36 > 0:09:49for the collapse of a dam, in 2015, that led to the deaths of 19 people.
0:09:49 > 0:09:52Shares of Barbie toymaker Mattel have jumped by 20% on reports rival
0:09:52 > 0:09:54toy giant Hasbro is considering a takeover.
0:09:54 > 0:09:56Hasbro, whose brands include Play-Doh and My Little Pony,
0:09:56 > 0:09:57are also higher.
0:09:57 > 0:10:00Last month shares in both companies fell, after a warning
0:10:00 > 0:10:07that the bankruptcy of retailer Toys"R"Us could hurt sales.
0:10:08 > 0:10:11Goldman Sachs has written down to zero the value of its stake
0:10:11 > 0:10:12in the Weinstein Company.
0:10:12 > 0:10:15The move comes as the Weinstein Company looks for fresh financing,
0:10:15 > 0:10:17after more than 50 women claimed that ex-chairman Harvey Weinstein
0:10:18 > 0:10:20sexually harassed or assaulted them over the past three decades.
0:10:20 > 0:10:22Weinstein has denied having non-consensual sex with anyone.
0:10:22 > 0:10:47And now, what is trending in the business news this morning?
0:10:47 > 0:10:52The markets ending with US shares... We haven't got it here, but the Dow
0:10:52 > 0:10:56up slightly at the close on Monday. The news briefing is here in a
0:10:56 > 0:11:18moment.