Transcripts For BBCNEWS World Business Report 20201210

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talks on a trade deal between the uk and the european union have concluded with both sides saying there are very large gaps to bridge. the british prime minister, borisjohnson, and the european commission president, ursula von der leyen, met over dinner in brussels. both have agreed talks on a deal will continue until sunday, when a firm decision will be made. a source in mrjohnson‘s office said he didn't want to leave any possible route to a deal untested. without a trade agreement, tariffs will be imposed on goods from the start ofjanuary and trade will be disrupted by increased border checks. our europe editor, katya adler, was following the talks in brussels. she said the same disagreements remain. remember there are three main sticking points still there that have been there for months. that's the rights for eu fishing communities to access uk waters after brexit. its competition regulations. the eu says, "uk, if you want to have preferential access to our single market, then you need to sign up to some principles on fair competition," says the eu. and the third point is the governance of a deal — how do you police it once it's in place? if either side breaks their word, what kind of penalties can be in place? those are the three outstanding issues, and they were discussed tonight. so it could be that even though not much progress was made tonight, some sense of progress was there, or it could also be that neither side wants to take the blame for walking away first from these negotiations because a no—deal situation will be chaotic and costly and difficult for both sides. and so neither ursula von der leyen, the european commission president who tonight at dinner represented all 27 eu countries, nor boris johnson, would want to be the one to say, "right, i've had enough," and have that chaos on their shoulders. as if to underline those concerns, uk consumers are being warned they could soon see prices for imported goods rising because of congestion at british ports. the christmas rush and disruption from the pandemic come on top of continued uncertainty over brexit, which is seeing companies try to move goods early in case of a no—deal situation. that's leading to severe delays at ports. chris southworth is secretary general of the international chamber of commerce here in the uk. chris, it's good to talk to you again. just tell me where your members are? we have talked for a while. what are the their key concerns? will, what do we need to do now to drive the economic recovery? you know, ithink to do now to drive the economic recovery? you know, i think the issues that are outstanding can be solved if there is the political will to do so, and if both sides walk away, this is going to reflect extremely poorly on the politicians on both sides stop the last thing anybody needs in the uk, eu, or worldwide, is more disruption, more uncertainty, and more costs stop but what about the logistics? we have heard companies say we have to hold production temporarily. your members, what are they having to do to get ready for what could happen on january to do to get ready for what could happen onjanuary one? to do to get ready for what could happen on january one?” think the advice to businesses the same as it has been very long time, to prepare for the worst and hope for the best —— for a long time. the issue in the boards is a big issue. the demand of boards are starting to open up against —— ports stop ships coming out of the eu and stopping in the different ports, and the uk is on the far west from the east of the ports, so we are the last port of call, that is one issue. and then people stockpiling, companies are stockpiling for brexit and for christmas, the christmas demand, all of those things are coming together to bea things are coming together to be a perfect storm in the ports. i don't think there is a short—term solution is about. it's just a reflection of what is going on in the world. other than to say the last thing we wa nt than to say the last thing we want in the ports is more chaos or disruption phase from the imposition of tariffs and extra costs, if the uk falls out of europe. and briefly, chris, evenif europe. and briefly, chris, even if there is a deal there are still going to be new systems in place and new bureaucracy for importers, exporters, on both sides. so that will cause delay and some confusion in the short—term, anyway, won't it? yeah, and a lot of companies are still unprepared. there are areas of guidance that are not there, though it is difficult for some companies to fully prepare. and we have to appreciate that. companies are doing everything they possibly can, and we have to try to support them as best we can. i think do not expect disruption in january, i we can. i think do not expect disruption injanuary, i think we just have to deal with it as best we can and try and minimise it as best we can. as companies get used to all of these new systems, it gets extremely complicated, and for any company that has never had to deal with them, many companies that have been trading with europe, this is all new. there is a lot of skilling up going on, and that is going to take some time before it settles back down again to some sort of normality. chris southworth, thank you very much indeed. joining me now is philippe binard from freshfel, the european fresh produce association. thank you forjoining us on the programme. talk us through eu producers, food producers, who export to the uk. how have they prepared or are getting ready? well, good morning. well, we are 20 days away from a new business environment between the eu 27 and the uk. there are still some pending issues regarding customs procedures, for the country, and importantly whether there is a deal or no deal, whether a new deal or no deal, whether a new deal would be applied, and that would make a major difference to anything over time also a possible divergence in the legislation. and i think your previous speaker said all of this is happening now, just before christmas, where there isa before christmas, where there is a major moment in regards to flow of products into the uk. and as far as many professionals a re and as far as many professionals are concerned, we are still in a covid—i9 environment, which does not facilitate incoming trade. it's very difficult. for people representing the uk market in the european environment, there isa the european environment, there is a larger market, 3.2 million tonnes are shipped every year, that means around christmas there are over 400 matters to handle in the uk ports. and that diversity is needed for handling a lot of concern what could happen in the coming days and the preparation of supply for the christmas climate and weeks across january, which could be very difficult. and you said you were worried about literally fresh produce rotting and not making it to supermarket shelves. and there is this issue of tariffs, if ta riffs is this issue of tariffs, if tariffs are put on european food, fresh food coming into the uk, how that will impact demand going forward? well, first, regarding rotten fruit, i don't think this will really happen. but freshness could be lost and that could impact on the quality with some delay. i mean there will be a lot of preparedness by the sector to ove i’co m e preparedness by the sector to overcome these difficulties, but of course if there are some further congestions in the ports, following leaving the single market, that would be very difficult. there could possibly be fast—tracked to speed up the process of customs clearing and because indeed, whatever would be a deal or no deal, whatever is the eu customs procedures, regarding perishable products, that could be used. similarly for seafood, one day items, so i think it would be very good to consider extending that. right. and on your other question, yes, the ut could make a lot of difference. overall i think it will be an issue of the ut but regarding the economy, and the difference in the exchange rates. all right. philippe binard, we will have to leave it there. well, there is one trade deal that the uk does have in the bag as of this morning. in the last couple of hours, international trade secretary liz truss has signed a free trade agreement with singapore. shara njit leyl is following this for us in singapore. tell us more. that's right, trade secretary liz truss is in town and a short while ago saying that free—trade agreement with her counterpart, assigned the uk is losing no time inforging assigned the uk is losing no time in forging trade deals with other countries even while brexit negotiations go down to the wild. liz truss said it is a sign the uk is re—emerging as a sign the uk is re—emerging as a fully independent nation and a fully independent nation and a majorforce in global trade stop the press release that went on to say the fda will provide opportunities for companies on both sides with certainty and clarity in trading arrangements. in essence, it is really no difference to the eu — singapore trade agreement already in place. singapore cou nts already in place. singapore counts britain as its third largest trading partner for goods, and second—largest for services, and its top investment destination in europe. total bilateral trade between those two countries came in at about $13.9 million does million in 2019. so things ina does million in 2019. so things in a whole slew of sectors including electronics, motor vehicles, parts for pharmaceutical products, medical devices, it's a very long list! some 84% of exports entering britain will continue to be duty—free while the fda is in place, so it won't be tariff free for you, from dumplings and some of those spicy, crispy anchovies, but of course, the timing is key. we look forward to some of those delights making it to the uk sometime soon. now, we have to talk about facebook. facebook is being sued by us federal regulators and more than 45 state prosecutors in the biggest legal action ever taken against the company. they accuse the social media giant of taking illegal action to buy up rivals and stifle competition. officials are asking the court to consider breaking up the company, which also owns instagram and whatsapp. new york state attorney general letitia james is leading the action by us states — this is what she had to say. for nearly a decade, facebook has used its dominance and monopoly power to crush smaller rivals and snuff out competition, all at the expense of everyday users. by using its vast troves of data and money, facebook has squashed or hindered what the company perceived as potential threats. they've reduced choices for consumers. they stifled innovation. and they degraded privacy protections for millions of americans. in an effort to maintain its market dominance in social networking, facebook has employed a buy or bury strategy to impede competing services. our north america technology correspondent james clayton is following the story in san francisco. he says the move is very significant, but don't expect a break—up of facebook any time soon. so, we knew that this announcement was coming up. i think few people realise just how punchy this was going to be. although there has been a lot said about antitrust and how these companies are too big, what is so kind of extraordinary about this is just what they are proposing here. this is the federal trade commission proposing to split up commission proposing to split up facebook, to grieve off whatsapp, to grieve off instagram, and the reason for thatis instagram, and the reason for that is because what they say is when facebook in 2012 was looking at the competition, surveying the competition, they saw instagram as a threat as a competitor, and rather trying to compete with instagram, they bought the competition. and in 2014, when whatsapp came along, these are whatsapp as a threat to facebook messaging —— they saw whatsapp as a threat to facebook messaging and what the competition. that was approved at the time. but the federal trade commission is saying now it shouldn't have been and it was in fact illegal. they with 46 states are now going to take this to court. what facebook has that as well, you approved this before. and also, when we bought these companies, they we re bought these companies, they were knowing there is because they are now, so don't punish us, just for making successful, large, american companies. this isn't going to be sorted out any time soon. that is really worth noting here. these cases notoriously take years and yea rs. notoriously take years and years. is because literally billions of dollars in cash, they afford good lawyers —— facebook has literally billions of dollars in cash and they can afford good lawyers to go through the mechanisms. this is a clear had been for where we're going in the there is clear consensus from many politicians that these big technology companies are a little bit too big and they wa nt to little bit too big and they want to cut them down to size. kathleen brooks is director of minerva analysis, which advises investors on economic and political affairs. this is a really interesting case which puts all our attention on facebook and how enormous it is and how pervasive it is in all our worlds. absolutely, very tough language against facebook and although this case is likely to getjake although this case is likely to get jake out, facebook although this case is likely to getjake out, facebook can appeal and even if they do lose, the federal authorities in the us and the 46 states are really painting facebook as the bogeyman and will that impact business? they share prices going down 2 cents yesterday on the back of this. it's interesting in the us as far as politics are consent, both republicans and democrats seem to be, not against facebook but not happy with facebook and from the republicans pointed view with the run—up to the presidential election they felt they were antirepublican. for they were antirepublican. for the democrats, the company so huge and make so much money, if that sort of syndrome, isn't it? it feels like regulators and politicians are now circling around tech now because it is so big and they are the largest companies in america. go back to the summer months, google under investigation. for being anti—competitive and not just the us, facebook and other us agencies are facing a potential lawsuit in australia, which enforce them to pay for the news they display. i think globally there is a real push and focus on the tech groups to make them, on the competitive side, like the ftc is doing in the us and on the previous seaside like what the us is doing and also in fairness, which is what the other parts of the world are looking at. and from the point of view of facebook, many legal experts we have talked to on the bbc are saying, actually it's not clear cut and they have quite a strong case to say we bought these companies quite some time ago at the time, you, the regulators, approved the purchases. yes, they cleared the purchases, yes absolutely. and that is a very strong defence but i think the us authorities could argue that when you make these very large complicated purchases that cost billions of dollars, you can either take your eye off the ball all you are actually then feeding and allowing the consumer to suffer feeding and allowing the consumer to suffer and that is the key thing. the consumer is number one. there previously has been affected all the data has been affected all the data has been affected all the data has been used as a cash cow by facebook to boost profit, and thatis facebook to boost profit, and that is something they would not have known about back in 2012. this is a real threat i think to facebook, certainly a big distraction. yes, they can afford the strong lawyers and it will be a drawnout court case but how will they come out of this reputation only? will the reputations to be eaten away at the corners while this is all going and that can affect future business. i think it isa affect future business. i think it is a concern. certainly is. nice to see you. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: wall street's latest tech titan — airbnb starts trading with a valuation of $47 billion but will it live up to investors' sky—high expectations? and now for some news here in the uk. teachers say the mental health impact of the coronavirus on students is now starting to emerge. when schools opened in the autumn, the main focus was on keeping pupils safe and catching up on months of lost learning. headteacher christina lahive says that teachers are having to focus on rebuilding children's social skills. although there is this loss of learning, there is also the loss of social interaction, loss of social interaction, loss of social interaction, loss of friendship, loss of structure. in the early stages of development, it can be devastating for some of our children. powers that ma nifested children. powers that manifested itself? the behaviours in class, being able to cope with the usual work they are able to do, becoming subduedin they are able to do, becoming subdued in class. an awful lot of challenges, it has to be said and more on that story and other top stories on bbc brea kfast other top stories on bbc breakfast at six o'clock on bbc one. this is bbc world news, the latest headlines: major differences remain after crucial brexit trade talks between borisjohnson and eu chief ursula von der leyen but the talking continues. the us government wants to break up facebook over digital monopoly concerns, in a move that could force the company to sell off instagram and whatsapp. in a few hours' time, shares in home rental company airbnb are due to start trading on the nasdaq stock exchange. there has been huge demand from investors. shares have sold for $68 each — way more than expected — giving airbnb a valuation of more than $47 billion when the market opens. it's the biggest stock market debut by a us firm this year and comes despite a slump in demand for international travel because of the pandemic. so what's going on? michael wade is professor of innovation and strategy at the imd business school in lausanne, switzerland. good morning and welcome to the programme. so, is airbnb massively overvalued? it does seem massively overvalued? it does seem like a strange time for a travel company to go public in the middle of a pandemic! but there are a number of signals to suggest this will go extremely well. took us through them. the markets are generally higher at the moment and buoyant. there have been a number of ipos that have gone very successful including companies like door — went public and went well. and even though the travel industry has suffered this year massively, airbnb has gone down less than a number of its competitors, like booking and expedia —— doordash. why has airbnb not suffered as much because we have not been able to book any travel accommodations. a question and it looked dire earlier this yearfor the company and they had more than $1 billion of cancellations earlier this year and have seen bookings plummet. however, it isa bookings plummet. however, it is a naturally hedged organisations so when people are not travelling internationally, like at the moment, of course they lose a lot of revenue but they can quickly switch focus to longer stays, rural locations and local trips. they are taking advantage of quarantine states for example an remote worker arrangements. airbnb is a massive disruptor arrangements. airbnb is a massive disru ptor in arrangements. airbnb is a massive disruptor in the travel market. it has been in the court rooms and so many cities around the world for various reasons, in some cases people do not trust airbnb properties, are so many scams on the site, so what is the future for the company, you think? they will have to spend a lot of time and energy to monitor what is going on in their properties. as you mentioned, they have had some negative experiences and manage those relatively well and they have added insurances, spent more time vetting posts to make sure that the hosts are appropriate, and also putting pressure on guests to treat their hosts better. they have to continue to work in this direction in this direction, thatis direction in this direction, that is for sure. have to leave it there. thank you for being on the programme with your thoughts on airbnb. a really interesting and busy week. doordash also coming to the market and earlier on in the week, we had the healthcare jaidee .com listing in hong kong on the hang seng and the markets bringing to an end an unusual year. that is all for me, thank you so much for company, you can join me, thank you so much for company, you canjoin our brea kfast tea m company, you canjoin our breakfast team on bbc one, if you are on bbc world, i will be back. see you soon. hello. in comparison to recent mornings, thursday gets off to a relatively mild start but not very inspiring skies for the majority first thing. a lot of cloud around, gloomy, and we will be stuck with that cloud in many areas throughout the course of the day. it's courtesy of an area of low pressure, a big area of low pressure which actually is a combination of smaller low pressure centres — one to the south—west of the uk this morning could bring some showery rain in here. the tail end of another one to the north—west will, i think, bring some more persistent rain through the course of the day into western scotland, gradually tracking it a little further eastwards. some showers will push across wales into the north—west of england as the day pans out as well. the best chance of any brightness probably in a few sheltered eastern spots across east anglia stretching up into lincolnshire. temperatures around average at best, typically 8—9, perhaps 11 for plymouth. but look towards the west and you'll see another band of rain approaching. now, this one tends to mean business. it will produce some heavier rain for all areas as it tracks its way eastwards. it's tied in with another one of those smaller low—pressure centres we saw as part of that big one at the start. but clear skies look like they could just hang on overnight to give us a patchy frost from the north—east of england and eastern scotland initially on friday. but the day overall is dominated by increasing winds and some rain pushing its way eastwards, but this area of low pressure will also manage to pull in some comparatively mild air to the south of the uk. you can see the amber colour here on the air mass picture behind me. so, actually, if we do see the sun coming out on friday, it could well turn out to be one of our warmest afternoons across the uk if we compare the whole of the weekjust gone. and the best place to see the sun at the moment, it looks like probably southern counties of england. we could widely see double figures here where the cloud lingers. further north, though, and some rather persistent rain, probably 7—9 just about covers it. now, for the weekend — blink and you'll miss it but there's a little ridge of high pressure in there. yes, that low still whirling away towards the west but saturday looks like a quieter, clearer, drier day. but as you can see, that low isn't giving up the ghost any time soon. for saturday, a little bit cooler, quite cloudy, but not a bad day. sunday, milder but we're back with the wet and windy conditions. good morning and welcome to breakfast with naga munchetty and charlie stayt. our headlines today: four days to reach a post—brexit deal as "very large gaps" remain in talks between the two sides. sunday is the new deadline to reach agreement after the latest trade negotiations failed to make progress. will mike ashley's last—ditch attempt to save debenhams work? his company — behind sports direct, house of fraser and evans cycles — will give us an update later. thousands ofjobs are at stake. i'll have the details. back to earth with a bang. elon musk‘s spacex rocket, designed to one day take people to mars, has exploded while attempting to land. the show must go on.

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