Marc Ross Daily | March 6
Marc Ross Daily is geopolitical business news + intelligence for senior executives + comms pros.
Geopolitics is disrupting every business and industry. I am here to help.
Always Be Communicating.
Happy Thursday.
Here’s today’s Marc Ross Daily:
*** Ross Rant ***
Straight Talk Podcast | "Lost in Translation"
I'm sharing a recording from the Straight Talk podcast I did back on February 20th—a compelling conversation led by students with experts on Indo-Pacific affairs. Despite the dust devil of geopolitical events since then, the conversation remains timely and provides an accessible overview of today's geopolitical environment and its historical and geographical complexities.
In this episode, "Lost in Translation," I discussed the evolving nature of global power dynamics. For example, the Indo-Pacific is no longer a simple bipolar structure; as smaller nation-states are stepping up to shape policy and new global commercial players emerge, the US is navigating a new environment.
America's influence in crucial regions like the Taiwan Strait is increasingly contested. To respond, America employs strategic alliances like AUKUS to expand cultural soft-power influences like the NBA.
My goal in this pod is to provide an understanding so business leaders and communications pros can maintain sway in this pivotal region.
Listen on Spotify here.
Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.
-Marc
*** Globalization + Geopolitics ***
Ten things you should know about Trump’s tariffs but were afraid to ask: No, Mr President, they are not going to make America rich, great or popular. Chris Giles
Trump’s tariff turbulence is worse than anyone imagined: Even his concessions are less generous than expected. Economist
Trump to delay Canada, Mexico auto tariffs for one month: Bloomberg reports President Donald Trump is exempting automakers from newly imposed tariffs on Mexico and Canada for one month, the White House said Wednesday, as a temporary reprieve following pleas from industry leaders.
Trump agrees to one-month tariff reprieve aimed at helping US automakers. WP reports but the president said more tariffs are coming April 2.
White House grants one-month tariff exemption for automakers: WSJ reports the reprieve applies to cars from Mexico and Canada that comply with a free-trade pact with those nations.
Canada and Mexico rally around their flags and punch back on tariffs: WSJ reports Trump’s move leaves their trade-dependent economies vulnerable, as Canadians cancel US vacations and Mexico plans retaliatory tariffs.
Toronto Star: TRUMP TARIFF FIGHT
Ontario’s nice rhetoric is over. Its ad campaign touting friendship isn’t. WSJ reports commercials promoting the province as an ally to the US will continue, despite strong words for President Trump from its premier.
Ontario canceled a $68 million Starlink contract over US tariffs.
Canada’s Liberals were heading into a crushing defeat. Then came Trump. WP reports after President Donald Trump ramped up his attacks, Liberals reversed a 20-point polling deficit and are neck-and-neck with the Conservatives.
Toronto Star: King Charles dons Canadian military honours amid annexation threats from Donald Trump
+ ‘If war is what the US wants, be it a tariff war, a trade war or any other type of war, we’re ready to fight till the end.’ -- The Chinese embassy in Washington’s statement following Trump’s tariff announcement.
China’s National People’s Congress is convening from March 5 to 11, giving leaders a chance to set the economic direction of the country and lay out their spending plans for the year ahead.
China’s leaders reveal their plan to cope with 2025: Beating trade wars and deflation and boosting science are priorities. Economist
Trump’s tariffs push Xi to overhaul China’s ailing growth model: A more decisive shift toward domestic consumption is needed to meet the country’s long-term goals. Bloomberg
China is secretly worried Trump will win on trade: In seeking accord with US, Beijing wants to avoid becoming isolated like the Soviet Union during the Cold War. WSJ
Beijing ramps up efforts for tech independence: The country aims to develop a system of open-source models. WSJ
Reuters: DeepSeek's progress shows rise of China's AI companies, says Chinese official
South Korea, Japan join global moves to add guardrails on AI use: Bloomberg reports South Korea and Japan are the latest major economies to move forward with AI regulations that could apply to some US companies, even as the Trump administration steps back from domestic rules around the technology.
+ South Korea’s new AI Basic Act takes effect next year in one of the world’s 15 largest economies.
+ Last week, Japan put in place a draft law that would allow the government to assess AI misuse.
In Northeast Asia, US allies are on alert: Le Monde reports Japan and South Korea are adopting a cautious wait-and-see policy in the wake of geopolitical upheavals caused by the Trump administration. However, Tokyo and Seoul know, unlike Europe, that they remain indispensable allies of the US.
JD Vance’s forgotten wars: Maybe next time don’t insult stalwart allies during a TV interview. WSJ - Editorial
‘Shadow fleets’ and subaquatic sabotage: are Europe’s undersea internet cables under attack? Europe is on high alert after a series of outages to cables and pipelines. This visual guide explains what happened and what’s being done. Guardian
The Polish Space Agency remains offline after a cyberattack this weekend.
US cuts off intelligence sharing with Ukraine: FT reports fresh blow to embattled government in Kyiv as Trump administration shifts on conflict.
+ The US has reportedly blocked the UK from passing on any US-sourced intelligence to Kyiv.
More people will die after US cuts, says Ukraine MP: The Times reports warning as Trump severs intelligence link.
Ukrainians fear beginning of 'a frightening period' after Trump suspends US military aid: Le Monde reports on the front line as well as in the rear, Ukrainians oscillate between anguish, stupor and resignation after the Trump administration's announcement, which will weaken the country's defense.
The dangerous tension in Europe’s response to Trump: By trying to stop the rift, Europe may hasten it. Economist
UK told to prepare for US halting help with Trident nuclear missiles: The Times reports after tensions over a failed test last year, experts say the White House withdrawing assistance would cost billions.
Macron proposes French nuclear extension, Ukraine troop deployment: Le Monde reports in a televised address to the French on Wednesday, the French president described Russia as a 'threat to France and Europe,' and said he wanted to confer with European allies on using France's nuclear deterrent to protect Europe.
France to open talks to extend nuclear shield for Europe: Bloomberg reports: “Our nuclear deterrent protects us,” Macron said in a televised address Wednesday. “I have decided to open the strategic debate on the protection, through our deterrent, of our allies on the European continent.”
The 'American umbrella': Why European defense is dependent on the US: The military protection the US has historically provided its allies – mainly European countries – is becoming increasingly uncertain under the Trump administration. French President Macron on Wednesday said he wanted to discuss extending France's nuclear deterrence to the rest of Europe. Le Monde
Europe must trim its welfare state to build a warfare state: There is no way of defending the continent without cuts to social spending. Janan Ganesh
Reuters: UK drops antitrust probe into Microsoft and OpenAI tie-up
Reuters: Google reports scale of complaints about AI deepfake terrorism content to Australian regulator
Is this the most powerful woman in the world? Mexico’s first female president, Claudia Sheinbaum, has a whopping 85% approval rating. And you bet she’s using it to fight the trade war. Jessica Karl
*** US Politics + Elections ***
During Trump’s rowdy speech to Congress, the quiet moments said the most: NYT reports President Trump’s comments on tariffs and Social Security sent something of a chill through the House chamber.
Trump uses old tricks to sell a new agenda: Long a provocateur, the president is now presenting himself as an ideologue. John Harris
Trump delivered a rally speech to Congress, but the reckoning is ahead: WP reports the president’s true test will come as he has to move past executive orders.
Donald Trump’s Washington reaches a new partisan peak: His address to Congress showed that Republicans will follow their leader anywhere, and that Democrats don’t have one. Economist
Democratic response to Trump shows a party divided on how to resist him: NYT reports party leaders opted for a sober, centrist counter to President Trump’s speech, but the overriding image of Democratic pushback came from a liberal congressman.
The 2025 'resistance' against Trump is a fragmented phenomenon: Just about every day, protests are taking place against the brutality of the Trump administration's executive orders, a movement born on the fringes of the Democratic Party, or even at odds with its establishment. Corine Lesnes
America’s Supreme Court voted 5-4 to deny Trump’s bid to freeze nearly $2bn in foreign-aid spending.
Tariff whiplash spooks consumers: WSJ reports uncertainty around Trump’s trade war is weighing on Americans and causing some to hold back on purchases.
Stagflation: The two-headed monster stalking the economy: WSJ reports tariffs have stoked fears of a dreary combination of weak growth and inflation.
US Sovereign Wealth Fund is set to be financed by tariffs imposed on foreign countries, Reuters reports, citing two unidentified people familiar with the matter.
Trump speech provides ppening for lawyers challenging Musk’s DOGE authority: WSJ reports President Trump touted Elon Musk’s leadership in his congressional address, while government lawyers tell judges that the tech mogul has no power.
Draft of Trump executive order aims to eliminate Education Department: WSJ reports Secretary Linda McMahon would be directed to ‘take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure.’
Reuters: Trump wants to kill $52.7 billion semiconductor chips subsidy law
Bloomberg: Trump set to meet with technology leaders early next week
Michigan resident Pete Buttigieg sidesteps question about political office. What he said Detroit Free Press
GA-GOV: Rep. Lucy McBath (D-GA) took the first step towards a gubernatorial run today as she formally
*** Distribution + Innovation ***
Latest Turing Award winners again warn of AI dangers: The creators of a foundational AI training method are concerned that companies are motivated by profit, not safety. The Verge
Turing Award winners warn over unsafe deployment of AI models: Two pioneers of reinforcement learning have won the $1mn prize from the Association for Computing Machinery. FT
Turing Award goes to 2 pioneers of artificial intelligence: Andrew Barto and Richard Sutton developed reinforcement learning, a technique vital to chatbots like ChatGPT. NYT
Reuters: Judge denies Musk's bid to halt OpenAI's for-profit shift, fast tracks trial
CNBC: Judge denies Musk’s attempt to block OpenAI from becoming for-profit entity
FT: Judge denies Elon Musk’s attempt to immediately block OpenAI’s conversion to for-profit entity
Reuters: Digg to make comeback as co-founder Rose, Reddit's Ohanian bet on AI-driven revival
TC: Kevin Rose, Alexis Ohanian acquire Digg
McDonald’s gives its restaurants an AI makeover: WSJ reports the fast-food giant’s new initiative uses artificial intelligence to target order accuracy and help restaurants detect equipment issues before they fail.
Reuters: Amazon's AWS forms new group focused on agentic AI
$30 billion: The amount that Safe Superintelligence, the startup by former OpenAI top researcher Ilya Sutskever, is worth, making it one of the most valuable AI startups in the world, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Corporate US clean energy purchases near 120 GW, driven by AI datacenter boom: The rise of AI has caused expectations for datacenter electricity demand — and by extension, overall power demand — to skyrocket since the unveiling of ChatGPT in the fall of 2022, prompting a rush toward clean energy purchases. Corporations in the US have contracted nearly 48 GW of additional clean energy capacity in the 12 months since our February 2024 update, with Big Tech driving most of the activity. S&P Global
Klarna Bank AB is seeking to raise at least $1 billion in a US initial public offering and is set to file publicly as soon as next week, according to people familiar with the matter.
Jeff Bezos injects tough Amazon culture into rocket maker Blue Origin: Billionaire’s new focus has led to job cuts and longer hours for workers at company that aims to rival Elon Musk’s SpaceX. FT
Reuters: Abercrombie & Fitch forecasts tepid sales growth, shares drop
Detroit Free Press: New electric Cadillac Escalade priced at $132,000 to start
*** Culture ***
Meghan Markle’s new Netflix show is out of touch with the times: In it she positions herself as an elite Martha Stewart. Economist
WP: ‘Hamilton’ cancels Kennedy Center shows after Trump takeover
I make millions from AI art — but the law has to be fair: Refik Anadol supports the Make It Fair campaign to protect copyright law from the likes of his former employer Google. The Times
*** Sport ***
Can Trump get Pete Rose into the Hall of Fame? The president wants to see the disgraced baseball legend enshrined in Cooperstown. It turns out he could be closer than ever to getting his wish. WSJ
The Times: UK to launch bid for 2035 Women’s World Cup — and men’s could follow
Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.
-Marc
Marc A. Ross | Chief Communications Strategist @ Caracal
Marc Ross Daily | March 6
