this is business briefing. i'm samantha simmonds. attempting to avoid a hard border on the island of ireland — the eu is set to unveil it's draft proposal for how it sees its relations with the uk after brexit. and on the markets we can see asia following the us downwards — it's all on fears the fed could raise interest rates faster than expected. australia recalls more than two million cars — amid worries over faulty airbags which have been linked to more than 20 deaths worldwide. with just over a year to go, one side of the brexit duo are finally laying their cards on the table. the european union is publishing a draft withdrawal agreement for the uk's departure which lays out how brussels see the future. but for business and investors

there's still a huge amount of uncertainty. one of the key issues it covers is northern ireland's land border with the republic of ireland. in 2015, $3.4bn worth of goods were traded across it in both directions. on tuesday the uk's international trade secretary liam fox reiterated that "the avoidance of a hard border in northern ireland is of crucial importance". that's something the republic of ireland agrees with. but businesses on both sides want to know what the future rules will be. and in the document the eu is expected to confirm it's fall back position is that eu rules continue to apply on both sides of the border. martin shanahan runs ida ireland, the irish government agency responsible for attracting foreign investment into ireland and has been telling our correspondentjoe lynam about the challenges brexit will bring.

i think from the companies that we deal with, brexit is not something that they asked for. for them, it typically means cost and disruption. they are working, at this point, to minimise both. try and minimise the cost of this and try and minimise the disruption. but it has also given many of them cause to look at their overall footprint, and make changes as to how they manage going forward. ireland faces its biggest post—war challenge in the face of brexit. what is the ida doing to the british—based companies to ireland? we've said from the outset it is not the result we wanted, it really affects ireland but there is greater mobile investment. there are two strands from our perspective, companies based in the uk, international and uk companies who now need a different footprint within europe and are considering dublin, ireland and other options

within the context, and obviously foreign investment into europe, he may have considered the uk but are now looking further afield. -- who may have. the customs union is important for economic reasons but also geopolitical reasons, given the fa ct also geopolitical reasons, given the fact that at the moment you have a com pletely fact that at the moment you have a completely open border between the north and south of ireland. this of the uk is to leave the customs union. what impact would have an ireland? obviously, anything which is less than the current situation, where both ireland and the uk are pa rt where both ireland and the uk are part of a single market and part of the customs union is suboptimal. interestingly, the customs union and an fta show more or less the same impact but there is diversion is representing the costs associated rather than tariffs and trade costs. martin shanahan there speaking to

joe lynam. australia has ordered a compulsory recall of more than two million vehicles — which could be at risk from faulty airbags made by the japanese firm takata. it said a voluntary recall announced last year hadn't been effective. it's one of the country's biggest consumer recalls and comes after at least 20 deaths and more than 200 injuries reported worldwide. hywel griffith is in sydney. welcome to you. this has been a global issue, hasn't it, why has austria made the recall compulsory? there was already a voluntary recall last year but the government are not satisfied with the response. there are concerns about what has happened to some of those vehicles that have already been taken off the roads and put into garages. it is understood while some were taken in to have old airbag sticking out, they were simply given new and similar airbags by the same company with the same fault. that fault increases over time, it was a make do and mend

approach, but the government is not happy with that and therefore the ca i’s happy with that and therefore the cars that have already been taken in a new cars and models will also have two going as part of this compulsory recall before the end of 2020. and it is one specific type of takata airbag they are worried about, isn't it? there are several types, they are all faulty but particularly the alpha airbag, that seems particularly dangerous. some 50% are at risk of exploding and releasing this struggle. —— shrapnel. it is estimated in australia there are 20,000 cars, some even injunkyards, but they have simply been told not to drive them again. contact manufacturers and because the recall is compulsory, manufacturers have to replace the airbags and bring in the cars, there are some 100 million vehicles worldwide affected. the company has already filed for

ba n kru ptcy company has already filed for bankruptcy but this will mean the cost in pa rt bankruptcy but this will mean the cost in part goes on to big brand car manufacturers. also the likes of volkswagen, ford and holden here in australia. thank you. now let's brief you some other business stories... the us commerce department is slapping steep tariffs of as much as 106% on chinese imports of aluminium foil. it claims that imports of aluminum foil products are being dumped in the us market at below price and that chinese producers are benefiting unfairly from government subsidies. oil prices have continued to fall — as industry numbers show an increase in us crude stockpiles amid surging production in the country. 0il stockpiles in the us have reached 421—million barrels — and rising output in the country is hampering 0pec‘s efforts to end the global glut — in a bid to raise prices. amazon has agreed to buy the video doorbell maker ring in a deal reportedly worth more than 1—billion dollars. it's set to be one of amazon's most expensive takeovers — after its almost 1a—billion dollar deal last yearfor whole foods market.

here in the uk, toys r us and the electronics chain maplin are on the brink of collapse — with more than 5,000 jobs at risk. the struggling retailers are understood to have put administrators on stand—by after failing to secure a rescue deal. a pair of smart shoes has been created to let industrial workers keep in touch via toe—typed coded messages. the footwear was inspired by morse code, but made possible by the latest communication technologies. rory cellan—jones met the firm responsible at the mobile world congress in barcelona. morse code. in the year if the internet, it seems everything is connected, including safety shoes. this one has got a sim card in it. this is

inside, what is it doing? so, this product has a smart sim card embedded in it and a wireless module to send a message from a worker, a safety message, from his team, to send an alert or to get the other way around, a message from his manager. telling him to stay safe, in case of a hurricane or a big danger. two-way communications, how does the person wearing the boots communicate? sojust does the person wearing the boots communicate? so just moving does the person wearing the boots communicate? sojust moving up the toe or pushing a button on his shoe, it will send a message directly to his team or the other way around. so the manager can send a message and the manager can send a message and the shoe will vibrate, telling them that there is a message. it will do a lot of noise. 80 decibels of sound, to warn him of an alert.

and now — what's trending in the business news this morning... the wall streetjournal says a german court has rung the death knell for some types of diesel cars. in a landmark ruling the court decided cities can ban diesel cars in an effort to reduce pollution. he gave an upbeat appraisal of the us economy — of course this combined with higher wage growth is worrying investors and now — what's trending in the business news this morning... the wall streetjournal says a german court has rung the death knell for some types of diesel cars. in a landmark ruling the court

decided cities can ban diesel cars in an effort to reduce pollution. bloomberg reports that google is fighting a businessman in a london court. the man wants the search giant to remove links about him being found guilty for an accountancy conspiracy in the 1990s. google argues the material is factually accurate — and that there is a strong public interest in maintaining it. and on our own website — levi strauss will use lasers to automate the way its jeans are made. it says using lasers reduces chemical use when creating faded or distressed looks. and don't forget — let's us know what you are spotting online — use the hashtag bbc—the—briefing that's it for business briefing this hour — but before we go, here are the markets. we can see asia has followed the us lead downwards. that's of course after the federal reserve chairjerome powell spoke yesterday. he gave an upbeat appraisal of the us economy — of course this combined with higher wage growth is worrying investors that there could be more interest rate hikes than they had expected this year. now looking at oil — we can see both brent crude and west texas continuing their fall. that's after industry numbers showed us crude stockpiles are rising — that's amid surging production in the country from shale producers. of course that's making it much harder for the likes of opec to end the global oil glut.

up next — newsbriefing — we'll take you through the stories making headlines in the global media today including... the uk is waking up to another morning of freezing conditions after temperatures as low as minus ten overnight. the cold weather has already caused major distruption, but forecasters say the worst is yet to come, with warnings in place until the weekend. here's our correspondent jon donnison with more. the so—called beast from the east has already left much of britain under a blanket of snow. this is kent, which has received some of the worst of the weather so far. on the ground it has been a much less pretty picture for drivers, with police reporting scores of accidents across the country. in lincolnshire, three people were killed in a crash on the a15. in the north—east, this was teesside yesterday. they have seen some was teesside yesterday. they have seen some of the heaviest snowfall. with more expected today, many schools are likely to stay closed. when i was younger the snow was a lot thicker and we could get in. wwe the teachers cannot get in in this area, because of the outlying villages that teachers come from. for the homeless, in central london,

it was another tough night. temperatures down to —10 degrees in some parts and feeling much colder in the wind. the elderly too are vulnerable. in hull, extra staff at meals on wheels services have been brought in to deliver hot food. meals on wheels services have been brought in to deliver hot foodlj cannot brought in to deliver hot food.|j cannot get out to get meals and things. it isjust cannot get out to get meals and things. it is just wonderful. cannot get out to get meals and things. it isjust wonderful. the only complaint i have is they never bring you a drop of brandy! over the next few days, that might be needed... forecasters say that they expect no letup in the freezing weather. until at least the weekend. jon donnison, bbc news. coming up at six on breakfast — dan walker and louise minchin will have all the day's news, business and sport... this is the briefing from bbc news. the latest headlines... the eu's set to publish a draft of the brexit treaty — it's likely to stoke tensions with britain over a possible

hard border in ireland. president trump's son—in—law and senior adviser, jared kushner, has had his white house security clearance downgraded. he now won't have access to many sensitive documents. now it is time look at the stories that are making the headlines in media across the world... we begin with the telegraph and uk foreign secretary borisjohnson who has suggested in a letter to prime minister theresa may northern ireland may have to accept enhanced border checks after brexit. the arab news leads with us envoy to the un nicky haley who is threatening to take action against iran after russia vetoed a un security resolution condemning tehran's support for yemen's houthi rebels. the new york times says saudi arabia's world dominance over oil production is waning. the kingdom's position is being challenged by a production boom in american shale fields and the rise of natural gas. the times asks if diesel owners have had their day after cities in germany were given the green light to ban older diesel cars. the move comes as the country tackles increasing pollution levels.

and the guardian carries a warning the earth could be heading for a climate catastrophe. the paper says an alarming heatwave in the sunless winter arctic is causing blizzards in europe and forcing scientists to reconsider even their most pessimistic forecasts of climate change. with me isjonathan charles who is managing director of the communications department at the european bank for reconstruction and development. good morning. braving the snowy conditions! yes, i was looking at that story in the guardian this morning. we will talk about that in a moment, in the telegraph, foreign secretary doris johnson a moment, in the telegraph, foreign secretary dorisjohnson raised the prospect of a hard border in ireland, is he rolling back or stating the obvious? —— boris johnson. he is squaring the impossible circle the british government is attempting to square. borisjohnson government is attempting to square. boris johnson plays government is attempting to square. borisjohnson plays into this, they

do not want to go for membership of the all a customs union, depending on whether you want the definite or an indefinite article ahead of that. they are scrabbling for things that will make this work. yesterday we had this letter that was picked up in the daily telegraph and other newspapers, this boris johnson letter suggesting there is some sort of electronic solution, where you have a hard border between the republic of ireland, and part of the uk. the bottom line is, as we are going to hearfrom uk. the bottom line is, as we are going to hear from the uk. the bottom line is, as we are going to hearfrom the european commission today when they bring out their latest document on these negotiations, that is not acceptable to the government in the republic of ireland, it is not acceptable to the european commission, the idea of having a hard border. it may be something that boris is trying to