Major International Business Headlines Brief ::: 30 Jul 2025
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Major International Business Headlines Brief ::: 30 Jul 2025
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ü Trump says he may skip G20 summit in South Africa, cites policy
disapproval
ü South Africa still seeks US trade deal days before tariff deadline
ü Trump says leaders of Rwanda, Congo will be coming to Washington
ü South African rand starts data-filled week softer, eyes on tariff
deadline
ü S.Africas Transnet secures more than $5 bln in fresh govt guarantees
ü Uganda expects to boost cocoa output by 29% this year
ü Trump says 'good friend' India may face up to 25% tariffs
ü No deal on China tariffs until Trump agrees, says Bessent
ü Starbucks ditches pickup-only stores as they 'lack warmth'
ü YouTube to be included in Australia's teen social media ban
ü IMF upgrades global growth forecast as tariffs ease
<mailto:info at bulls.co.zw>
Trump says he may skip G20 summit in South Africa, cites policy disapproval
(Reuters) President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he might skip the
upcoming Group of 20 (G20) leaders summit in South Africa in November and
send someone else to represent the United States, citing his disapproval of
South African policies.
KEY QUOTE
I think maybe Ill send somebody else because Ive had a lot of problems
with South Africa. They have some very bad policies, Trump told reporters
aboard Air Force One.
WHY ITS IMPORTANT
Trump has taken issue with South African domestic and foreign policies
ranging from its land policy to its case accusing Israel of genocide in the
U.S. allys war in Gaza.
Trump signed an executive order in February to cut U.S. financial assistance
to South Africa. In May, Trump confronted South African President Cyril
Ramaphosa with false claims of white genocide and land seizures during a
White House meeting.
Earlier this year, Secretary of State Marco Rubio also boycotted a G20
foreign ministers meeting in South Africa, which has the G20 presidency
from December 2024 to November 2025.
TENSE TIES
Washington, both under Trump and former President Joe Biden, has complained
about the case brought by South Africa at the International Court of
Justice, where it accused Israel of genocide over its military assault in
Gaza.
Israels assault has killed tens of thousands, caused a hunger crisis,
internally displaced Gazas entire population and also led to accusations of
war crimes at the International Criminal Court. Israel denies the
accusations and casts its Gaza offensive as self-defense after a deadly
October 2023 Hamas attack that killed 1,200 people and in which over 250
were taken hostage.
Diplomatic relations between the U.S. and South Africa have also been
strained under Trump due to South Africas Black Economic Empowerment (BEE)
policies to address the legacy of centuries of racial inequality.
Ramaphosa, who has urged Trump to attend the G20 summit, rejects
Washingtons claims that South Africa will use its land policy to
arbitrarily confiscate white-owned land.
South Africa still seeks US trade deal days before tariff deadline
(Reuters) South Africas trade ministry said on Tuesday that it still
wanted to negotiate a trade deal with the United States, before a 30% tariff
on its exports to the U.S. is due to kick in on Friday.
Pretoria has been tight-lipped about its negotiations with U.S. President
Donald Trumps administration ahead of the August 1 deadline, which comes as
the two countries relationship has deteriorated over South Africas
domestic race policy and its genocide case against Israel, which Israel
denies.
In a statement, the trade ministry said it was still waiting for
substantive feedback from our U.S. counterparts on the final status on our
framework deal.
Trump says leaders of Rwanda, Congo will be coming to Washington
(Reuters) U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that the leaders of
Rwanda and Congo would be coming to Washington after the two sides signed a
peace agreement last month to halt violence that escalated this year.
South African rand starts data-filled week softer, eyes on tariff deadline
Reuters) The South African rand was weaker in early trade on Monday, with
investor attention pinned on key economic data expected during the week
while investors also eyed an uncomfortably close August 1 deadline for U.S.
President Donald Trumps country-specific tariffs.
At 0524 GMT the rand traded at 17.7475 against the dollar, 0.2% weaker than
Fridays close.
The risk-sensitive currency lost a bit of ground last week and remains on
the back foot as cautious traders await tariff updates with the country
facing a 30% duty on its exports to the U.S. and an interest rate decision
by the South African Reserve Bank on Thursday.
Many traders and analysts expect another rate cut after inflation rose
modestly in June, moving just inside the central banks target range.
For further clues on the shape of Africas most industrialised economy,
investors will look to money supply and private sector credit data on
Tuesday, budget balance figures on Wednesday, producer inflation and trade
balance data on Thursday.
South Africas benchmark 2035 government bond was marginally stronger in
early deals, as the yield fell 1.5 basis points to 9.835%.
S.Africas Transnet secures more than $5 bln in fresh govt guarantees
(Reuters) South Africas government will give Transnet an additional 94.8
billion rand ($5.34 billion) guarantee facility to support the ailing
state-owned logistics firms recovery plan, the transport ministry said on
Sunday.
The facility comes on top of a 51 billion rand guarantee the government
announced for Transnet in May, including 41 billion rand to cover the
companys funding needs over the 2025/26 and 2026/27 financial years, and 10
billion rand earmarked for debt servicing and capital investments.
The new guarantee comprises 48.6 billion rand to cover all debt redemptions
over the next five years, and an additional 46.2 billion rand to mitigate
against further credit rating actions, the ministry said in a statement.
The government is supporting Transnets five-year turnaround strategy, which
seeks to restore freight rail volumes to 250 million metric tons per year by
the end of the period. Those volumes fell to 152 million metric tons in the
2023/24 financial year, from a peak of 226 million metric tons in 2017/18.
Transnet has failed to deliver reliable freight rail and port services due
to equipment shortages and maintenance backlogs after years of
under-investment. Its capacity has been further constrained by widespread
cable theft and vandalism.
The companys debt has risen to 145 billion rand from 138 billion rand at
the end of the 2023/24 financial year, according to its chairperson, Andile
Sangqu. Its loss widened to 7.3 billion rand in 2023/24, from 5.7 billion
rand the previous year.
Transnets struggles have cost mineral exporters primarily coal and iron
ore producers billions of rand in lost revenue. These exporters account
for nearly 70% of Transnets freight volumes.
Due to a lack of railway capacity, most of South Africas chrome exports now
reach ports by road, raising costs, damaging roads and the environment.
($1 = 17.7563 rand)
Uganda expects to boost cocoa output by 29% this year
(Reuters) Ugandas cocoa production is expected to surge nearly 29% this
year from 2024, helped by expanded crop acreage where new trees are starting
to come to fruition, a senior agricultural ministry official told Reuters on
Friday.
The east African country is better known as Africas largest exporter of
coffee but it has also been trying to expand its output of other cash crops
like cocoa and palm oil.
However, it is still way off catching up to the Ivory Coast and Ghana the
worlds leading cocoa producers. Ivory Coast is expected to export 1.3
million metric tons in the 2025/26 season.
Ugandan is projected to produce 45,000 tons of cocoa this year, up from
35,000, Alex Lwakuba, commissioner for crop production at the Ministry of
Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) said.
In recent years, Lwakuba said, the government had carried out free seedling
distribution
and expanded the production of cocoa in new regions.
New acreage for cocoa crop had been opened up in areas in Ugandas northwest
and eastern regions, he said.
Traditionally most of Ugandas cocoa was grown in the highlands of the
Rwenzori region in the countrys west, near its border with the Democratic
Republic of Congo.
Farmers were also responding to high demand for Ugandan cocoa and expanding
their crop fields, he said.
Demand is high and particularly for Uganda because of our method of
production. Our cocoa is organic
our cocoa is natural, we dont use any
synthetic agrochemicals.
Farmers in Ivory Coast, the worlds largest cocoa producer, typically apply
pesticides and anti-fungal treatments to the crop twice a year, in July or
August and then again in December or January, in order to boost yields and
ensure bean quality.
Trump says 'good friend' India may face up to 25% tariffs
India could face tariffs as high as 25% if it fails to finalise a trade deal
with the US this week, President Donald Trump has said.
"Yeah, I think so," he told reporters on Tuesday when asked whether Delhi
would face higher tariffs in the absence of an agreement.
The US has set a 1 August deadline for India and several other countries to
either reach a trade agreement or face increased tariffs.
Indian and American officials have been negotiating a trade deal for the
past few months, but officials have alternated between sounding optimistic
and cautious about when it will be announced.
When asked about what he expected from a potential deal with India, Trump
said: "We're going to see. India has been a good friend, but India has
charged basically more tariffs than almost any other country".
"But now I'm in charge, and you just can't do that," he added.
The BBC has reached out to India's commerce ministry for a comment.
Tariffs are taxes charged on goods imported from other countries. The US
president has repeatedly taken aim at India's high tariffs, branding it a
"tariff king" and a "big abuser" of trade ties.
Trump has not yet sent a letter to India setting a new tariff rate - as he
has with more than a dozen other trading partners.
NurPhoto via Getty Images Women plant rice saplings in a paddy field on the
outskirts of Guwahati, India, on July 20, 2025NurPhoto via Getty Images
India defends farm protections, citing food security and the livelihoods of
millions of small farmers
Back in April, Trump had announced tariffs of up to 27% on Indian goods,
which was later paused.
Since then, both sides have been racing to negotiate an agreement, with
officials sometimes sounding positive and at other times, measured.
"We continue to speak with our Indian counterparts. We've always had very
constructive discussions with them," US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer
said earlier this week.
He also acknowledged that although he had earlier said a deal with India
might be "imminent", it needed to be understood that Delhi's trade policy
has been "protectionist for a very long time" and has been "premised on
strongly protecting their domestic market".
Greer added that Trump has been focused on securing deals that substantially
open other markets to the US.
Agriculture and dairy are among the key sticking points for both countries.
For years, Washington has pushed for greater access to India's farm sector,
seeing it as a major untapped market. But India has fiercely protected it,
citing food security, livelihoods and the interests of millions of small
farmers.
Last week, Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal told CNBC that the
agriculture sector is sensitive for India and that it will make sure that
farmers' interests are "well protected".
Goyal also told news agencies that India remains "optimistic" about striking
a deal with Washington soon.
Speaking to Reuters, he said that India was making "fantastic progress" in
talks with the US and that he hoped they were able to "conclude a very
consequential partnership".
Until recently, the US was India's largest trading partner, with bilateral
trade reaching $190bn in 2024. Trump and Modi have set a target to more than
double this figure to $500bn.
India has already reduced tariffs on a range of goods - including Bourbon
whiskey and motorcycles - but the US continues to run a $45bn (£33bn) trade
deficit with India, which Trump is keen to reduce.-BBC
No deal on China tariffs until Trump agrees, says Bessent
Top officials from the US and China have ended two days of what both sides
described as "constructive" talks by agreeing to continue working to extend
their 90-day tariff truce.
China's trade negotiator Li Chenggang said Beijing and Washington had agreed
to push to preserve the truce, under which both sides temporarily suspended
some measures against each other.
But US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said any extension would be up to
President Donald Trump.
The negotiations, held in Stockholm, Sweden came as a truce established in
May is set to expire next month, threatening to revive the turmoil that hit
in April when the two countries exchanged escalating tit-for-tat tariffs.
Speaking to reporters on Air Force One on his way back to the US from
Scotland, Trump said he had spoken to Bessent about the negotiations.
"They had a very good meeting with China, and it seems that they're going to
brief me tomorrow," he said.
Trump started hiking tariffs on Chinese goods shortly after his return to
the White House. China ultimately responded with tariffs of its own.
Tensions escalated, with tariff rates hitting the triple digits, before a
trade truce in May.
That left Chinese goods facing an additional 30% tariff compared with the
start of the year, with US goods facing a new 10% tariff in China.
Without the truce being extended by the 12 August deadline, tariffs could
"boomerang" back up, US officials said.
"Nothing is agreed until we speak with President Trump," Bessent said, while
downplaying the risks of escalation.
"Just to tamp down that rhetoric, the meetings were very constructive. We
just haven't given the sign off," he said.
Beijing and Washington have been at loggerheads on a range of issues apart
from tariffs. These include US demands that China's ByteDance sell TikTok to
an American company and that China speed up its export of critical minerals.
What does the US-China tariff deal mean?
US companies up against 'nightmare' tariff wall
This was the the third meeting between the US and China since April.
Negotiators for the two sides said they discussed each others' economies,
implementation of terms previously agreed by Trump and Chinese President Xi
Jinping and rare earths, a key sticking point because of their importance in
new technology including electric vehicles.
The US also pressed China on its dealings with Russia and Iran.
Li Chenggang said both sides were "fully aware of the importance of
safeguarding a stable and sound China-US trade and economic relationship".
Bessent said he felt the the US had momentum, after recent agreements that
Trump has secured with Japan and the European Union.
"I believe they were in more of a mood for wide-ranging discussion," he
said.
President Trump has long complained about the trade deficit with China,
which last year saw the US buy $295bn (£221bn) more goods from China than
the other way round.
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the US was already on track to
reduce that gap by $50bn this year.
But Bessent said the US was not looking to completely "de-couple".
"We just need to de-risk with certain strategic industries, whether it's the
rare earths, semiconductors, medicines," he said at a briefing for reporters
after the conclusion of the talks.
-BBC
Starbucks ditches pickup-only stores as they 'lack warmth'
Starbucks says it will phase out its mobile order and pickup-only outlets
because they "lack warmth", as the world's biggest coffee chain continues to
shake-up its operations.
The company has around 90 shops in the US that have no seating for customers
- an approach popular with some of its rivals.
The move will not affect the firm's mobile ordering service, which accounts
for almost a third of transactions, the BBC understands.
Starbucks boss Brian Niccol made the comments after the company's earnings
for the three months to the end of June showed that US same-store sales had
fallen by 2% - the sixth quarterly decline in a row.
For the same period the company also reported that net income dropped by 47%
to $558m (£418m) - worse than Wall Street expectations.
"We found this format to be overly transactional and lacking the warmth and
human connection that defines our brand," Mr Niccol told investors on
Tuesday.
The same level of convenience can be provided by its traditional cafes
through mobile ordering, added Mr Niccol, who was appointed the firm's chief
executive officer last year.
Instead, the company will prioritise "welcoming coffeehouses with great
seats" and focus on delivering drinks in four minutes or less in its cafes
and drive-throughs.
The BBC understands that some of the current pickup-only outlets will be
converted to include seating.
Starbucks opened its first pickup-only outlet, which was designed to make
collecting orders and delivery easier, in New York in 2019.
Mr Niccol is leading a "Back to Starbucks" initiative, which aims to provide
better experiences for customers and boost the company's financial
performance.
At least 1,000 of its cafes in the US will be revamped by the end of next
year, with a new look and plans to replace thousands of seats that were
removed, said Mr Niccol.
In April, Mr Niccol said the firm will hire more baristas and scale back
plans to roll out automation.
The company is also revamping its menus and the company's dress code.
The chain has more than 41,000 outlets around the world.
Starbucks' shares rose by more than 4.5% in extended trading on Tuesday in
New York.-BBC
YouTube to be included in Australia's teen social media ban
YouTube will be included in Australia's world-first social media ban for
children under 16, after the government ditched a previous exemption for the
platform.
The video sharing site was set to be excluded from the ban - which will
limit TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, X and Snapchat and is due to start in
December.
Under the ban, teenagers will still be able to view YouTube videos but will
not be permitted to have an account, which is required for uploading content
or interacting on the platform.
YouTube - owned by Google - had argued it shouldn't be blocked for children
as the platform "offers benefit and value to younger Australians": "It's not
social media," it said in statement on Wednesday.
Australia's laws are being watched with great interest by global leaders,
with Norway announcing a similar ban and the UK saying it is considering
following suit.
"Social media is doing social harm to our children, and I want Australian
parents to know that we have their backs," Prime Minister Anthony Albanese
told media on Wednesday.
"We know that this is not the only solution," he said of the ban, "but it
will make a difference."
Australia's eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant last month recommended
YouTube be added to the ban as it was "the most frequently cited platform"
where children aged 10 to 15 years saw "harmful content".
After Wednesday's announcement, a spokesperson from YouTube said it will
"consider next steps" and "continue to engage" with the government.
Last week, several Australian media outlets had reported that Google was
threatening to sue the government if YouTube was included in the ban,
arguing it would restrict political freedom.
Federal Communications Minister Anika Wells said that while there is a place
for social media, "there's not a place for predatory algorithms targeting
children".
She described trying to protect children from the harms of the internet as
"like trying to teach your kids to swim in the open ocean with the rips and
the sharks compared to at the local council pool".
"We can't control the ocean but we can police the sharks and that is why we
will not be intimidated by legal threats when this is a genuine fight for
the wellbeing of Australian kids," she said.
Exclusions to the ban will include "online gaming, messaging, education and
health apps" as they "pose fewer social media harms to under 16s", Wells
said.
Under the ban, tech companies can fined up to A$50m ($32.5m; £25.7m) if they
don't comply with the age restrictions. They will need to deactivate
existing accounts and prohibit any new accounts, as well as stopping any
work arounds and correcting errors.
More details of how the new ban will work are due to be presented to federal
parliament on Wednesday.-BBC
IMF upgrades global growth forecast as tariffs ease
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has predicted stronger global economic
growth than it forecast in April in part due to some US tariffs on goods
being softened.
A surge in US imports as firms tried to beat impending higher import taxes
and actions by some governments to boost growth bumped up its latest
forecast.
However, higher tariffs and more uncertainty could lead to weaker growth and
slower economic activity, the IMF warned.
Meanwhile, UK growth is predicted to be 1.2% this year, and 1.4% in 2026,
unchanged from revised forecasts set out in May.
The UK is set to be the third fastest growing economy out the world's
so-called most advanced economies this year and the next, after US and
Canada.
The IMF, which is a group of 190 countries that work together to try to
stabilise the global economy, said the upgrade to its global predictions
included trade "front-loading" in recent months - referring to the rush of
imports into the US.
It forecast global growth of 3% in 2025 and 3.1% in 2026, up from 2.8% and
3% in its April report.
However, that is still below the 3.3% rate it had projected for both years
in January, prior to US President Donald Trump taking office, and the
pre-pandemic historical average of 3.7%.
American firms rushed products into the country earlier this year to try to
get ahead of new taxes on imports pledged by Trump.
The IMF said this created risks that could add to any future economic
shocks, including companies, having too much stock, making future imports
less necessary.
Also, firms may have to pay more to store goods, and there was also a risk
of items becoming obsolete, it said.
What tariffs has Trump announced and why?
Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, the IMF's chief economist, said a modest decrease
in trade tensions, however fragile, had contributed to the resilience of the
global economy.
However, he added: "The world economy is still hurting, and it's going to
continue hurting with tariffs at that level, even though it's not as bad as
it could have been."
He added that the boost from front-loading is going to "fade away" and it
risked being a drag on economic activity in the second half of the year and
into 2026.
The IMF said the global pace of price rises was expected to fall to 4.2% in
2025 and 3.6% in 2026.
But it said inflation would probably remain above target in the US as import
taxes were passed through to US consumers in the second half of the year.
Trump's trade policies, which he argues will boost US manufacturing and
jobs, have upended global trade.
He brought in a universal tariff of 10% on goods from nearly all countries
from April and is threatening higher duties to be imposed from Friday.
Far higher tariffs that the US and China have imposed on each other have
been paused until 12 August, with the parties engaged in talks in Stockholm
this week.
Steeper tariffs that have been announced on products including cars, steel
and other metals, pharmaceuticals and computer chips, have not been included
in the IMF forecast.
Trade deals with Japan and the EU have also not been included in the
numbers.
"We'll have to see whether these deals are sticking, whether they're
unravelled, whether they're followed by other changes in trade policy," Mr
Gourinchas said.-BBC
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