US considers retaliatory tariffs over French tech tax

The Trump administration said it could introduce 100% import tariffs on $2.4bn worth of French goods after concluding France’s new digital turnover tax discriminates against US tech giants such as Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google and Microsoft. The tariffs will be considered during a hearing in Washington on 7 January. Sources: AFP, Deutsche Welle, Financial Times, Reuters and Washington Post.

US restores steel tariffs on Brazil and Argentina

Donald Trump reinstated 10% tariffs on aluminum and 25% tariffs on steel imported from Argentina and Brazil (that were introduced and suspended last year) claiming the countries’ “massive devaluation of their currencies” had hurt US farmers. Sources: AFP, BBC, Financial Times, The Guardian and New York Times.

EU warns over City divergence

Valdis Dombrovskis, the EU financial services commissioner, said the City of London could retain access to the European market if the UK remained aligned with EU rules. But Britain could not “engage in some kind of deregulation”, Dombrovskis told the Financial Times. More coverage: CityAM, the Telegraph and Wealth Advisor.

Ted Baker shares down on inventory problems

The fashion retailer Ted Baker appointed a law firm to review how it overestimated the value of its stock of merchandise by an estimated £20m-£25m. Sources: Financial Times, The Guardian and Sky News.

Putin signs law mandating Russian-built apps

The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, signed legislation requiring all smartphones, computers and smart TVs to be sold with Russian software pre-installed starting on 1 July. Sources: The Moscow Times and Reuters. Meanwhile, America’s Federal Bureau of Investigation warned that all Russian apps are a “potential counterintelligence threat”. Sources: Bloomberg, The Register and Wall Street Journal.

China blocks US from Hong Kong port calls

Beijing has banned US navy port calls in Hong Kong in retaliation for Washington passing a bill supporting anti-government protestors in the territory. Sources: Financial Times, NPR and South China Morning Post.

Agenda

Wednesday 4 December, 7pm: Free guided tour of Mudam in English. Thursday 5 December, 8:15am-9:30am: Delano Breakfast Talk on reviewing AML/KYC processes. Thursday 5 December-Sunday 8 December: Luxembourg Art Fair at Luxexpo. Saturday 7 December, 8pm: Voices International Christmas concert in Bonnevoie.

Here are 4 business & finance stories you may have missed

EU development bank: A German study says European Investment Bank directors favour projects from their home countries; the EIB says directors don’t control which projects are submitted to them, per Bloomberg. Fintech: HSBC is moving $20bn worth of private placement assets onto a blockchain-based custody system, per Reuters. Fintech: This South China Morning Post reporter described life in cashless Beijing as a foreigner without an Alipay or Wechat Pay account. Greenwashing: The activist hedge fund TCI warned Airbus, Canadian Pacific Railway, Univar and other companies to improve their disclosures of CO2 emissions or TCI will vote against board directors, per the Financial Times.

Here are 3 science & technology stories you may have missed

Environment: Researchers developed a strain of E. coli bacteria that consumes CO2 instead of sugar to grow, per Nature. Environment: A US government study concluded that a Tesla electric vehicle powered by a coal plant is still greener than a traditional petrol car, per Observer.com. Aviation: A Swiss outfit has developed a panic button for passengers that, once activated, will automatically manage a plane’s an emergency landing if the pilots are incapacitated, per The Economist. 

Messi and Rapinoe named best footballers of the year

Football player Lionel Messi won his 6th men’s Ballon d’Or award and Megan Rapinoe took the woman’s title. Sources: BBC, Deutsche Welle and France 24.

Thanks in advance for reading this

Behavioral scientists have these tips for getting better responses to your emails, via Wired UK. 

Today’s breakfast briefing was written by Aaron Grunwald