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Good morning. David Meyer here in Berlin, filling in for Alan.
It feels like the Airbus-Boeing tariff dispute, which at 16-years-and-counting is now old enough to be classified as an adult in some countries, will never end.
Just a few weeks ago, the European Union announced that the last illegal subsidies to Airbus had been done away with, through amendments to the plane-building consortium’s investment contracts with the French and Spanish governments. As a result, Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan said, the U.S. should “immediately” lift its tariffs of $7.5 billion in EU goods.
That didn’t happen. Yesterday, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said the EU’s actions were not enough. His office did not increase the U.S.’s tariffs on EU goods, but rather shuffled them around, taking some Greek and British items off the list of tariffed goods and adding an equivalent tally of French and German products.
Airbus isn’t happy, insisting that its funding arrangements are now in “full compliance” with the World Trade Organization’s rulings on the matter, and noting that the U.S.’s continued tariffs on Airbus aircraft come “at a time when aviation and other sectors are going through an unprecedented crisis.” The company called on the EU to “respond appropriately to defend its interests.”
The EU has already threatened to hit the U.S. with counter-tariffs, though it can’t do so until the WTO specifies an upper limit – a decision that should come very soon. (Of course, the U.S. sees such tariffs as unjustifiable, because it also claims to have removed the illegal subsidies that Boeing was receiving.)
So can fresh tariffs on American goods be avoided? Perhaps. As Lighthizer said yesterday: “The United States will begin a new process with the EU in an effort to reach an agreement that will remedy the conduct that harmed the U.S. aviation industry and workers and will ensure a level playing field for U.S. companies.”
Wouldn’t it be nice if some measured negotiations could reduce international trade tensions for once, and stop this dispute from reaching voting age?
More news below.
David Meyer
@superglaze
david.meyer@fortune.com
TOP NEWS
Sumner Redstone
Sumner Redstone, one of the last old-school media moguls and possible originator of the phrase "content is king," has passed away at 97. Here's Fortune's obituary, with all the key details of Redstone's stewardship of CBS and Viacom (and Dreamworks) – and of his tumultuous last years. A valuable Redstone quote: "Money, and I mean it sincerely, has never motivated me. The passion to win has motivated me." Fortune
Misinformation deaths
Misinformation about the COVID-19 pandemic killed at least 800 people in the first quarter of this year, according to a study that said around 5,800 people were admitted to hospital after ingesting alcohol-based cleaning products, or cow urine, or large amounts of vitamins, that they thought could cure the coronavirus. The paper said it was up to social media platforms, governments and international agencies to counter this "infodemic." BBC
English antibodies
A major antibody study has found that around 6% of people in England (so, 3.4 million) have been infected by the novel coronavirus. The survey took in 100,000 people. Londoners had the highest infection rates, at 13% of the population, while out in the boondocks of South West England the rate was more like 3%. And: "People from Black, Asian and other minority ethnic groups, care workers, and people living in larger households were among the most likely to have been infected." Bloomberg
Russian vaccine
Who would sign up for Russia's hugely controversial coronavirus vaccine, apart from Putin's daughter, and Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte? The Brazilian state of Parana, that's who – though officials there insist that it won't be produced and used there until large-scale Phase 3 trials have been completed (reminder: this crucial part of the validation process has not yet been executed, hence the controversy.) That means production would only go ahead late next year. Moscow Times
AROUND THE WATER COOLER
Tech and Harris
Joe Biden's selection of Kamala Harris as his running mate is potentially good news for Big Tech, as Fortune's Jeff John Roberts explains: "Until [Wednesday], Silicon Valley faced the prospect of Biden selecting a running mate such as Susan Rice or Tammy Duckworth who had few ties to their industry, or else Elizabeth Warren—an active scourge of the tech giants who had vowed to break up the likes of Facebook and Google. Instead, Biden chose a tech ally from their home state of California." Fortune
WFH costs
Fortune's Geoff Colvin takes a close look at the problems associated with working from home. He writes: "The stiffest penalty may be lost creativity and innovation. Every company is desperate for good ideas in this environment, and it would be hard to design a worse policy for finding them than unnecessarily requiring or encouraging employees to stay apart." Fortune
Pandemic offices
What will offices look like in the age of coronavirus? Fortune's Nicolas Rapp and Brian O'Keefe run you through it: "What’s out: crowded open-office work areas and collaboration spaces, touching door handles, and communal coffee machine…What may be in: density monitoring, to limit the number of employees in the office on a given day; going to meetings from your desk via videoconference; heavy-duty air filters; and interior design elements, such as new carpeting, that help reinforce social distancing." Fortune
Small businesses
Anthony Tan, the CEO of Southeast Asian "super-app" Grab, writes for Fortune that the COVID-19 crisis is pushing at least thousands of small businesses towards digitization. He writes: "While the social aspect of shopping at wet markets with our loved ones or visiting our favorite mom-and-pop store may be missed for now, going digital could be what ensures the survival of these traditional business ecosystems for future generations." Fortune
This edition of CEO Daily was edited by David Meyer.
