Economy

Tariff crisis threatens world trade: “Could be worse than in the 1930s”

Donald Trump’s new tariff package risks having serious consequences for world trade, says Philippe Varin, the global chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce, to DI.

– The biggest risk is a systematic escalation, he says.

Varin believes that the situation could be three times worse than the tariff crisis of the 1930s if more countries respond with their own trade barriers.

He urges companies to take greater responsibility in building a new global trade order and emphasizes the importance of preserving the WTO. According to him, a collapse of the World Trade Organization could halve world trade flows and reduce developing countries’ GDP by up to 5 percent.

The Tiktok upheaval
Sources: Amazon bids for Tiktok at the last minute

Amazon has made a last-minute bid to buy Tiktok, according to sources to the New York Times. Shortly afterwards, the White House also confirmed the information.

The offer was reportedly sent via a letter to US Vice President JD Vance and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

However, the newspaper writes that several parties in the negotiations are not taking the offer seriously.

The move comes as the video app approaches Saturday's deadline where Tiktok must be separated from Chinese ownership to avoid being banned in the US.

Amazon shares are strengthening on the stock exchange after the news.

Source: Rescue plan for Tiktok expected today

Dent Donald Trump will present plans for a new company, Tiktok America, as part of the attempts to save the app in the US. This is stated by a source for The Information.

It is not certain that the Chinese government will approve the arrangement, according to the site.

The proposal means that the new company would be owned by about 50 percent of new American investors while Tiktok's algorithm is licensed from parent company Bytedance.

If the plans are implemented, existing Bytedance investors would own around a third of the video app, while Bytedance itself would retain 19.9 percent. This puts Chinese ownership just below the 20 percent threshold required for the US to allow the app in the country.

Trump Media fell ahead of the president's big sale

Trump Media shares fell just over 7 percent after it became known that the company's namesake is considering selling all of his shares in the company.

According to a notification to the US regulatory authority, a sale of 142 million shares is planned, including Donald Trump's 114 million shares. According to the company, the transaction will take place "at some point".

Donald Trump's shares in the company are worth around SEK 22 billion. As recently as September, the president said that he would not sell any shares in the company.