trump's tax threat — the president—elect ramps up the pressure on america's three biggest trading partners, with tariffs on china, mexico and canada. plus — is this how the world will look in a century? we take a glimpse into the future thanks to augmented reality. welcome to business today, i'm mark lobell. let's start in the uk where the car giant stellantis — owner of vauxhall — has announced plans to close its van—making plant at luton, putting hundreds ofjobs at risk. it says it will consolidate its electric van production at its other uk plant in ellesmere port. the announcement comes amid growing concerns among car manufacturers that current rules designed to speed up the transition to electric vehicles are too onerous. they stipulate that

manufacturers must sell a minimum quota of electric cars and vans each year. the uk government is now preparing to launch a fast track consultation on potential changes to rules designed to promote the sale of electric vehicles. let's get more on this. i'm joined by the car industry expert david bailey, professor of business economics at the birmingham business school. what's your reaction to this news? it is very sad news. the plant at luton had been in operation for almost 120 years making commercial vehicle since 1935. the workers in particular had worked very flexibly there for a long time to get costs down and make the site attractive to investment. however, it was always a small site and it was vulnerable to closure if its owner, in this case now stellantis, was looking to cut costs. essentially, it has lost out ellesmere port in the uk, a

much larger and more efficient plant, so a very sad day. it is plant, so a very sad day. it is a symbolic— plant, so a very sad day. it is a symbolic loss, _ plant, so a very sad day. it is a symbolic loss, as _ plant, so a very sad day. it is a symbolic loss, as you - plant, so a very sad day. it is a symbolic loss, as you say, | a symbolic loss, as you say, for luton. the company said it was made, the move, was made in context of the yuki's rose to move to ev. why will it help moving to another plant? it is moving to another plant? it is firstly about — moving to another plant? it is firstly about cutting _ moving to another plant? it 3 firstly about cutting costs. stellantis has been complaining about for some time the fact that making cars in the uk has become far too difficult. firstly, the mandate is to owners, and there are not enoughin owners, and there are not enough in the way of incentives to actually encourage people to go out and buy electric cars and vans. that is the big problem. it is a way of trying to cut costs in order to keep operations in the uk going. there is a big investment also going into ellesmere port, which should be a more efficient production base for them. ., ., them. you mentioned the mandate- _ them. you mentioned the mandate. let's _ them. you mentioned the mandate. let's separate i them. you mentioned the i mandate. let's separate two things here, the first is the government's target to get a new petrol and diesel cars scrap by 2030, no new diesel or

petrol cars by then. there also think the companies, 10% of car sales need to be evs each year and 22% of van sales. what do you think is the rational behind the fact it might weaken those targets?— those targets? essentially, the government — those targets? essentially, the government has _ those targets? essentially, the government has said _ those targets? essentially, the government has said it - those targets? essentially, the government has said it has - government has said it has reinstated, we think it has not formally declare that, the 2030 target for banning petrol and diesel sales, hybrids and some bar may be allowed until 2035 in some form, but we do not know what form. this mandate comes in over 22% minimum electric battery car sales, increasing to 80% by 2030. that has a high target, with the very rapid ramp up. there is some flexibility in it, but car—makers would like to see more so they are not defined. i think what we have got to look at here is the balance between on the one hand, encouraging electrical vehicle take—up, which we want to see to get in at zero, as against on the

other hand, helping domestic production and having an industrial strategy. the feeling at the moment is the balance has tipped far too far in favour of rapid take—up, not in favour of rapid take—up, not in looking after our industrial base. , base. david bailey, professor, alwa s base. david bailey, professor, always spotting _ base. david bailey, professor, always spotting mistakes - always spotting mistakes committed 22% of car sales. thank you for picking up that and join us on the programme does not let over to the us. president—elect donald trump has pledged huge tariffs with three of america's big trading partners. trump said immediately after his inauguration on the 20th of january, he will sign an executive order imposing a 25% tariff on all goods coming from mexico and canada. he added the tariffs will remain in place until the two countries clamp down on drugs and migrants illegally crossing the border. trump also said an additional 10% tariff will be put on china until the government there blocks smuggling of the synthetic opioid fenta nyl from the country. china hit back at trump's comments, telling the bbc that "no one will win a trade

war ora tariff war". meanwhile, the canadian prime ministerjustin trudeau has spoken to donald trump today, with a canadian government official telling the bbc that they had a good conversation about trade and border security. mexico has also reacted, with president claudia sheinbaum suggesting that it may impose tariffs of its own. let's go to our north america business correspondent michelle fleury. why is donald trump announcing this now, i though it was american convention to have one president at a time? donald trump is not necessarily someone who follows convention centre had been some debate as to whether campaign promises made about tariffs, 60% on china, 20% on the rest of the world, there was debate about how serious he was. was itjust a negotiating tool. as the

conversation ramped up, and people, certainly the markets, took heart when he picked his secretary—treasurer, it was perhaps a sign he was using tariffs as a negotiating tool. but then almost immediately afterwards, it was followed with a tweet, slapping on tariffs to three of america's biggest trade partners. it is perhaps an opening salvo on negotiations on tariffs. i was speaking to someone who is a former us trade representative who said, evenjust former us trade representative who said, even just threatening this has real world economic consequences. whether or not, try follows through, we will have to wait and see. as you say, when he has inaugurated on his first day in office. then it will be interesting to see whether he is able to get the emergency powers he needs to pass it through as an executive order. ~ ., already witnessing the real—world consequences. let's discuss it a further

with scott lincicome is vice president of general economics and trade at the cato institute. mexico's president says it will cause inflation and job losses in both countries — is that right? i would certainly expect that a 25% tariff on imports from mexico in particular would be quite substantial in terms of price increases for groceries in particular, but also for a lot of manufactured goods, giving the supply chains are so integrated between the north american economies. haifa integrated between the north american economies.- integrated between the north american economies. how is the --rosect american economies. how is the prosoect of _ american economies. how is the prosoect of 1096 _ american economies. how is the prospect of 1096 tariffs _ american economies. how is the prospect of 1096 tariffs on - prospect of 10% tariffs on china likely to go down there? that is a bit more manageable in the sense that you would expect currencies to offset some of those price pressures. some of the supply chains might be able to adapt as well. but

at the end of the day, americans tend to pay for us tariffs and you would expect some price pressures to be passed onto— some price pressures to be assed onto , ., ., passed onto justin trudeau and donald trump _ passed onto justin trudeau and donald trump have _ passed onto justin trudeau and donald trump have spoken - passed onto justin trudeau and donald trump have spoken and discussed illegal migration. how much is it about the art of the deal? i how much is it about the art of the deal?— the deal? i think a lot of it. we have — the deal? i think a lot of it. we have to _ the deal? i think a lot of it. we have to remember - the deal? i think a lot of it. - we have to remember to 2018, 2019, were donald trump tweeted a lot of tariff related threats, very few became actual policy. when we see concrete administrative actions, when we see federal executive notices and orders, we should get more concern, but the occasional tweet is usually an opening ply for negotiations early to get attention or find policy that is already going on that donald trump that can claim credit for

and claim victory.— and claim victory. thank you very much — and claim victory. thank you very much for— and claim victory. thank you very much forjoining - and claim victory. thank you very much forjoining us. - i want to take you into the world of augmented reality, which integrates digital information with the user's environment in real time and is becoming more commonplace. museums are among those using ar to enrich exhibits by overlaying content onto physical artifacts. click�*s spencer kelly went to london's natural history museum. deep in the heart of london's natural history museum, the exhibits are coming to life. i'm surrounded by fireflies. oh, wow! visions of nature takes visitors to the year 2125 to see how the natural world is adapting to climate change and human behaviour. when people think about museums, they often associate them with the past,

maybe the present. the great thing about this exhibition and this experience is it gives us a chance to talk about the future and to present a view of the future. we've worked really, really closely with the museum scientists to make sure that that future is credible and is based on a scientific, rigorous process. and whilst none of us know what's going to happen in the future, you know these are imagined scenarios, but they are scenarios based on current science, current thinking about what the really big challenges facing the planet are, but also what the most beneficial actions to try and address them are. i'm eye to eye with a cuttlefish. this is a mixed reality experience. some of the exhibition is physically here, but the real stars come out when you look through microsoft's hololens 2 headset. the device we're using, the hololens, has a lot of sensors, and what we love with this technology, actually, you can interact with the headset itself with your fingers. so we tried to design some action from the visitors that

are linked to their actions, because when you act on something, you are into the story and when you interact, you have an impact. and that's what we want to do with that technology, to have the visitor have an impact on the story. i think if you really want to enjoy a mixed reality experience, you have to be a bit forgiving because the technology is still evolving. for example, the images don't go right the way to the edge of your vision. they're kind of in these smallish windows in the centre of what you can see, so sometimes an animal might drop off out of this rectangle, but if you can get over that, it is a really immersive experience. as you turn your head, as you move around, all the creatures stay absolutely locked in the 3d space they're supposed to be in, and it is an immersive experience. hello! let me bring you back to reality with some of the other

business stories making use around the world. chinese tech giant, huawei, has launched its first smartphone, equipped with a fully home—grown operating system. huawei is looking to challenge the dominance of its western rivals with its new �*mate 70' device, after sales tumbled in the us after being hit by sanctions. the firm added more than 3 million phones have been pre—ordered, which is expected to go on sale next year. french farmers have ramped up their protests against a new international trade deal by blocking traffic and dumping tyres in city centres. they're angry at the proposed mercosur free trade pact between the eu and four south american nations, which they believe will lead to cheap imports, undercutting their own produce. stay with us here on bbc news.

you're watching bbc news. let's return to uk politics.

the government is pledging to reduce the benefits bill by getting more people into work. bbc verify�*s ben chu has been looking at those proposals in more detail. the government says it wants to get britain working and is outlining new policies to achieve that. let's start by looking at the problem the government the government is concerned about inactivity. that's not the same as unemployment, which is people looking for work who can't currently get it. inactivity is people who are not looking for work, so essentially the government wants to get more people out of this group and into work. and one of the reasons inactivity is increasing is increasingly long—term sickness. our best estimate of the number of working age people not in work because of a long—term illness is up from around 2 million in 2019 to around 2.8 million today. most of those people are on benefits. spending on working age health and disability benefits stands this year at £56 billion, and it is projected to rise to £75 billion in 2030 as more people becoming inactive. this is the spiralling benefits bill referred to by the work and pensions secretary liz kendall.