Marc Ross Daily | March 26
Marc Ross Daily is geopolitical business news + intelligence for senior executives + comms pros.
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Happy Wednesday.
Here’s today’s Marc Ross Daily:
*** Globalization + Geopolitics ***
Nations are imposing trade barriers at the quickest rate since the 1930s, when a flood of US tariffs spurred a wave of global protectionism.
Trade war explodes across world at pace not seen in decades: Proliferating tariffs engulfing US, China and their partners draw parallels to 1930s protectionist spiral. NYT
Canadians + Europeans are staying away from the US as relations sour under President Donald Trump. February saw 13% fewer Canadian air passengers to the US year-on-year, and many Europeans are likewise reconsidering US trips, Reuters reported.
Canadians are boycotting American vacations: WSJ reports infuriated by annexation talk, neighbors to the north are keeping their vacations local. That is bad news for popular US destinations.
Has the US become a hostile environment for tourists? Detentions and deportations have cast an unflattering spotlight on the way the US treats visitors. Chris Bryant
Bloomberg: Erdogan wins Trump praise as Turkish assets steady after rout
Europe talks tough on military spending, but unity is fracturing: NYT reports European leaders are struggling to find the money and the political will to replace the bulk of the US contribution to Ukraine and to their own defense.
Russia + Ukraine agreed to a ceasefire in the Black Sea following talks with the US in Saudi Arabia.
US agrees to help Russia boost exports in Ukraine talks: WSJ reports the US also said it would restore Russia’s access to payments systems, after Moscow demanded the easing of sanctions in return for a cease-fire in the Black Sea.
Bloomberg: Trump says it’s possible Putin is dragging his feet on ceasefire
Trump needs ‘pathetic’ Europe for Black Sea truce: The US president cut the continent out of his Ukraine negotiations with Vladimir Putin. Now he wants it to end sanctions. The Telegraph
France and the UK test their renewed relationship on Ukraine and European defense: Le Monde reports Emmanuel Macron and Keir Starmer are gathering a 'coalition of the willing,' at the Elysée on Thursday, around 30 allied countries ready to help Kyiv.
Europe has a Meloni problem: Keeping Italian PM inside coalition of the willing could be tricky given Trump’s Ukraine policy. Telegraph
The global leaders rising in the polls as they battle Donald Trump: From Canada to Ukraine, populations rally behind leaders seeking to fend off the US president’s threats. FT
US intelligence report says Russia remains enduring threat: NYT reports on the day the report was released, Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, told lawmakers that Moscow was a “formidable competitor.”
France unveils ‘incredible’ new high-speed TGV trains with double-decker dining car: CNN reports branded INOUI (a play on the French word “inouï,” meaning unprecedented or incredible), these will be the fifth generation of the country’s TGV intercity service that has been at the forefront of high-speed rail travel since their launch nearly 45 years ago.
Bloomberg: French tax authorities are using AI to clamp down on tax fraud
A Japanese court has ordered the dissolution of the Unification Church after the government criticised its recruitment practices, claiming it spread fear among followers.
Reuters: Secretive Chinese network tries to lure fired federal workers, research shows
The US missile system that is enraging China: WSJ reports the land-based Typhon system, capable of targeting key sites in mainland China, hands Trump an early test of his commitment to deterring Chinese aggression against American allies.
US adds export restrictions to more Chinese tech firms over security concerns: NYT reports the additions included companies that are customers of Intel and Nvidia, and one firm that was the focus of a New York Times investigation last year.
Trump takes tough new approach to choking off China’s access to US tech: WSJ reports the move is the clearest signal yet that the Trump administration intends to further limit what kind of American technology Chinese companies can buy.
Bloomberg: Trump weighs imposing copper import tariffs in weeks, not months
Bloomberg: Trump says he doesn’t want ‘too many’ exceptions in tariff push
+ Potential US tariffs on European-made products could hit revenue at luxury carmaker Lamborghini, its CEO said.
+ Governor of the Bank of England Andrew Bailey has said that Donald Trump’s tariffs and Britain’s ageing population threaten the economy.
Italy’s Pirelli pushes Chinese owner to cut stake amid fears of Trump freeze-out: FT reports management will demand Sinochem reduce its stake in tyremaker at board meeting on Wednesday.
Europe arms for the tariff war: The US also has much to lose in a dumb-and-dumber trade brawl. WSJ - Editorial
The secondary ‘tariff man’ cometh: Using trade duties to extract favours will be a feature of Donald Trump’s bid to reshape the international order. Tej Parikh
India is on a hiring binge that Trump’s tariffs can’t stop: An abundance of motivated young professionals is luring American businesses to base their global operations in Indian cities. NYT
Greenlanders are angry and confused over unwanted US visit: WSJ reports Greenland says the coming visit is an act of aggression as President Trump doubles down on pressuring the self-governing Danish territory.
Vice president says he will travel to Greenland on Friday, joining his wife: WP reports leaders in Greenland had viewed the second lady’s trip as an escalation in President Donald Trump’s push for the United States to annex Greenland, and adding the vice president to the trip signals a more serious tone from the White House.
+ The Vances will now visit the US’s isolated military base in the far northwest of the Danish semi-autonomous island on Friday, where they will be briefed on Arctic security issues and meet with US service members. Stops in populated areas Nuuk and Sisimiut, where locals had warned of anti-US demonstrations, are now dropped.
Trump to name right-wing media critic ambassador to South Africa: NYT reports L. Brent Bozell III, who must be confirmed by the Senate, would be stepping into the role at a time when relations between South Africa and the United States are at a low point.
*** US Politics + Elections ***
Chat blunder shows pitfalls of Trump’s ad hoc approach to foreign policy: The administration has struggled to translate Trump’s promise of quick results into early wins. WSJ
Here are the attack plans that Trump’s advisers shared on Signal: The administration has downplayed the importance of the text messages inadvertently sent to The Atlantic’s editor in chief. The Atlantic
AP: In their own words: Trump officials shrugging off Signal leak once decried Clinton’s server
CBS News: As top Trump aides sent texts on Signal, flight data show a member of the group chat was in Russia
+ Trump gave a long interview to conservative TV network Newsmax last night in which he insisted the mega-leak to Atlantic boss Jeffrey Goldberg was “no problem,” stating again that no classified information was shared.
Trump goes after the messenger: The president is privately upset with the sloppiness of his advisers. Publicly, he’s focused on attacking the press. Jonathan Lemire
The Signal scandal needs an investigation. Where’s Pam Bondi now? Elie Honig
The amateurism of the Trump White House: ‘Signalgate’ will send shockwaves through the US security apparatus and foreign allies. FT - Editorial
The Signal leak is too big to sweep under the rug: Rather than admitting their colossal mistake, Trump administration officials are quickly falling back on their preferred tactics of denial and deflection. Nia-Malika Henderson
What Team Trump’s group chat error really revealed Freddy Gray
+ @peterbakernyt: The scheduling of a Musk meeting at the Pentagon is deemed classified information and leaks about it will be investigated.
But the scheduling of a secret military strike is not classified and its disclosure on an unsecured text chat has prompted no announced investigation.
A ‘signal’ for Trump to calm down? The intel snafu is leverage if a GOP Congress wants to start setting bounds. Holman W. Jenkins, Jr.
Everything is a group chat now, including war John Herrman
Trump gave Waltz a vote of confidence. It wasn’t as smooth behind the scenes. The fight over Waltz’s survival shows the administration is obsessed with reporters more than NatSac protocols. Politico
The reason Donald Trump will not fire Mike Waltz: The national security adviser can sleep sound as long doesn’t break commander-in-chief’s golden rule. Benedict Smith
Inside Pete Hegseth’s rocky first months at the Pentagon: The disclosure of battle plans on a chat app created a new predicament for the defense secretary. NYT
Hegseth faces renewed scrutiny after Signal chat disclosures: It is an uncomfortable episode for the new defense secretary, who has vowed to hold senior military leaders accountable for mistakes. WP
+ “I know exactly what I’m doing.” -- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, talking to reporters while insisting “nobody texted any war plans.”
Corporate America’s euphoria over Trump’s ‘golden age’ is giving way to distress: CEOs and investors are fretting over what they see as whipsaw policy changes and complacency about the risks of recession. WSJ
Americans’ confidence in the US economy fell to a four-year low, new data released Tuesday showed, as they fret about higher costs stemming from US President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Trump plays recession roulette with the American economy: I thought the probability of a downturn was nearly zero. Now one is likely, and we may see stagflation. Alan Blinder
Lawsuits against the Trump administration keep coming: The two largest US teachers’ unions and a prominent civil-rights group sued the administration for moving to effectively abolish the Education Department.
The age of Don Jr.: How the ultimate failson became an edgelord whisperer and bona fide power player. NY Mag
Reuters: Trump's World Liberty Financial crypto venture says it will launch stablecoin
Reuters: FBI says it is probing 'increase in violent activity toward Tesla'
Trump’s plans to save TikTok may fail to keep it online, Democrats warn: The path to saving TikTok should run through Capitol Hill.’ The Verge
Law firms refuse to represent Trump opponents in the wake of his attacks: NYT reports the president issued a new order Tuesday sanctioning yet another law firm, Jenner & Block. The result overall has been called an extraordinary threat to the constitutional rights of due process and legal representation, as well as a far weaker effort to challenge Trump’s actions in court than during his first term.
A Trump H-1B crackdown could hit Big Tech hard, with Amazon suffering most: US tech firms — Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Apple — were the top 10 employers of H-1B recipients in 2024. ROW
Colorado’s experiment with psychedelic mushrooms begins: Undark reports that though the fungi await FDA approval, the state has begun overseeing legal use of the drug in mental health treatment.
James Malone (D) has won an open Pennsylvania state Senate seat in a major upset in a district that comfortably voted for President Trump in November, The Hill reports.
*** Distribution + Innovation ***
Fintech Block laid off 931 people Tuesday, according to a leaked message from the company seen by TechCrunch.
Perplexity is in talks to raise new funding based on an $18 billion valuation.
Nvidia has snapped up 7 AI startups since 2021, with 4 of these in just the last year.
Korean chip startup FuriosaAI has turned down an $800 million takeover offer from Meta Platforms.
Alibaba said Tuesday it plans to resume hiring, emboldened by Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s recent overtures to business leaders.
Reuters: DeepSeek narrows China-US AI gap to three months, 01.AI founder Lee Kai-fu says
Reuters: China's DeepSeek releases AI model upgrade, intensifies rivalry with OpenAI
Chinese AI start-ups overhaul business models after DeepSeek’s success: The country’s top groups are re-evaluating their strategies as they race to remain competitive. FT
Bloomberg: ChatGPT Can Now Edit Photos Better and Create Charts for Work
OpenAI is expanding the role of Chief Operating Officer Brad Lightcamp, who will now lead the effort for corporate partnerships, as Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman shifts more of his focus to the technical side of the AI startup’s business.
Google is searching for an answer to ChatGPT: Big changes are underway for the internet’s most popular product, and Google (and the web) may never be the same. Bloomberg
OpenAI says its AI voice assistant is now better to chat with: TC reports OpenAI released updates Monday for Advanced Voice Mode, its AI voice feature that enables real-time conversations in ChatGPT, to make the AI assistant more personable and interrupt users less frequently.
OpenAI claims breakthrough in image creation for ChatGPT: WSJ reports the AI startup says it spent a year using human workers to train its GPT-4o model to generate more realistic images, comprehensible text.
AI-powered databases boost the Alzheimer’s drug discovery process: The Oxford Drug Discovery Institute is using artificial intelligence and ‘knowledge graphs’ to sift through vast amounts of biomedical data, potentially leading to faster treatments. WSJ
In Italy, 'Il Foglio' newspaper provocatively launches a supplement entirely made by AI: With no more human names or bylines, the Milanese daily is giving its readers a supplement of 20 articles written by ChatGPT Pro. Le Monde
How to tell when AI models infringe copyright: A recent court ruling uses the marketplace to define the boundaries of intellectual property. WP - Editorial
Kyle Vogt, former CEO of self-driving car company Cruise, has raised $150 million in a new funding round led by Greenoaks for his robotics startup The Bot Company, valuing the firm launched less than a year ago at $2 billion, sources told Reuters.
General Motors will use artificial intelligence chips and software from Nvidia to develop autonomous vehicle technology for its vehicles and improve workflow at its factories.
Reuters: Alphabet's Waymo aims for 2026 self-driving ride-hailing launch in Washington DC
Zeekr + Xpeng said they will start selling EVs with technology that allows drivers to drive hands free.
Reuters: Tesla's sales and market share in Europe drop again in February
Tesla’s Europe sales drop nearly 45% amid row over Musk’s Trump links: Guardian reports US carmaker’s European market share falls as Chinese rival BYD overtakes it on global revenue, topping $100bn.
Reuters: Chinese EV giant BYD's fourth-quarter profit leaps 73%
Lamborghini + Mercedes-Maybach plan to expand in India as a growing tribe of young, rich Indians splurge on super luxury cars, driving their sales to record levels.
Dollar Tree to sell Family Dollar business for $1 billion: WSJ reports a duo of private-equity firms is set to buy the discount chain.
YouTube sees record viewing, beats Disney in TV viewing share: TV Tech reports YouTube hit record share of monthly TV viewing in February and had the largest share of TV viewing by the major media companies, according to Nielsen’s February 2025 Media Distributor Gauge, which ranks media companies by the combined share of TV viewing their various networks and outlets achieve.
+ During February YouTube has 11.6% of TV viewing compared to 10% for Disney in Nielsen’s February Media Distributor Gauge
How much information is too much? Research explores how decision-makers’ confidence affects their search for data. CBR
*** Culture ***
When Axel Vervoordt does hotels...The interiors master rarely takes on hospitality. He made an exception for the Bayerischer Hof. FT
Forget sheep; now we count the ways to get quality sleep Mitch Albom
*** Sport ***
The elite skater who kept cracking under pressure—until she rewired her brain: Amber Glenn hasn’t lost an event all season–after finding a way to physically train herself for the stresses of competition. WSJ
Opening day is a week away—and the Dodgers are already dominating: WSJ reports with a pair of wins against the Chicago Cubs in Tokyo, baseball’s $400 million team sent an ominous warning to the rest of the sport.
Toronto Star: ‘I’d rather go to Russia’: Joe Rogan to skip next UFC event in Canada, says he doesn’t visit anymore
+ This isn’t the first time Rogan has skipped a Canadian UFC event in recent years.
Emi Martinez’s taunts, scuffles and crowd fury as Argentina humiliate Brazil: Telegraph reports defending World Cup champions silence fierce rivals in fiery qualifying encounter after Raphinha’s pre-match jibes return to haunt him.
Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.
-Marc
Marc A. Ross | Chief Communications Strategist @ Caracal
Marc Ross Daily | March 26
