near damascus the syrian observatory for human rights says the government air raids there have killed nearly one hundred fifty people since monday. and germany's right wing populist party the alternative for germany has overtaken the social democrats for the first time in a national opinion poll that news comes just before the s.p.d. begins a critical vote on whether to join a coalition government with chancellor merkel conservatives. whiskey and orange juice could a trade war be brewing between the u.s. and the european union over those products then fizzling will have that coming right out. and why.

a trip by airplane. seventeen thousand kilometers in six weeks. to months troops. are going to experience a. touching story. or this is our home as god's country or for listening to other better please sit down a single moment structurally starting from morning twenty seven. people at. a trade war is brewing between the e.u. and us reports the european union is preparing town took starts on american products for motorbikes but with. a u. turn to general motors it looks like the u.s. automaker could be staying in south korea after all. and cash strapped venezuela wants its own votes. currency to drum up funds the petro

a stroke of genius or an act of desperation. i've been physical and let's do business a trade war is in the air and the e.u. is preparing for it authorities are getting ready to slap high tariffs on american products like whiskey orange juice and motorcycles if donald trump carries out his threats he'd imported steel with punitive measures u.s. secretary of commerce wilbur ross to suggest the likelihood of putting a twenty four percent tariff on all still imports or introducing a quota china has already promised to patel yet i put in quotas on u.s. soil and other agricultural products. and there are reports the e.u. is ready to implement taps and target american products within days well coming up and says this is to tackle a global glut in still an alum india over supply things to beijing's ambitions to keep economic growth high china producing way more than it needs putting steel makers in the u.s. and e.u. out of business with dumping prices and now washington's trade sanctions could hurt

everyone. joins us from the e.u. the fact that capital brussels max what does brussels have in its arsenal well first of all you commission confirmed to d.w. news that they did they have pared to retaliate in some kind of way ever since the g seven last year i don't really know if you remember that when trump announced that he might be in the game for some some terrorists here and they have two ways of retaliating the first of all is of course they could slap on and you just mentioned ben there are terrorists goods they choose motorcycles whiskey those are among those you mentioned earlier but of course they could also file an official complaint with the world trade organization what we're hearing is that the european union will target products from republican states now that sounds like the e use getting involved in politics. you won't get anyone here in brussels to confirm that officially of course if you focus on the products like motorcycles in

wisconsin or harley davidson at least or whiskey in tennessee and kentucky you can associate those goods with states that can be associated in return with some politicians from the republican party or with a majority of republican voters i would be very careful with that why because those lists originated a long time ago under george w. bush we understand because of course there have been many trade tussles between the european union and the united states in the past already it seems they might have been updated now under the trump administration because it seems like this administration will really change course on trade but like i said they originated in a different time and really meddling here with internal policies that's nothing that anyone here officially would confirm i think what we do know though is that both sides are preparing for the. but as you mentioned there are ways around this is the w t o the world trade organization which trump doesn't say it sound so interested

in he sounds more interested in going around these types of institutions but surely that would diffuse any sort of trade wall. i think though that the easiest way of diffusing at least what you could call a trade conflict here between the european union united states is the trend but ministration chooses to not impose any terrorists on steel production in the european union and that's not a far shot because the main target here isn't the european union but china so it seems like not unlikely at least that if they do impose tariffs on steel production it would exclude the allies for example germany in the european union the european union as a whole and also countries like japan but if they don't well do we have a trade war then we probably will have retaliation but like i said earlier you know this is nothing new there has always been some scuttlebutt luna route between the european union and the united states for example in the agricultural sector so

calling it really a full blown trade war i probably wouldn't do that but yes it would be taking a step back and having a trade conflict acts of of course brussels thank you. general motors recently announced plans to shut down one of its full plants in south korea a decision welcomed by u.s. president don trump who took it as an opportunity to criticize the free trade agreement with seoul but while some expected g.m. to close its remaining plants there it looks set to make u. turn. g.m. is stuck between a rock and a hard place the calm make it doesn't want to be the target of washington's america first policies but it doesn't want to ruin his reputation in south korea eva. it's certainly our preference to stay and to fix the business and continue to be an important part of the green economy and you know there's a lot of work to do to make that happen but i'm very encouraged by the discussions that i'm optimistic that that that is an outcome that together we can achieve g.m.

is now proposing to work with a korean government to keep the remaining factories open in exchange the comic i would benefit from financial support and tax benefits the factory closure announced last week is a sensitive topic here workers staged a protest which seoul was watching closely some people in south korea feel g.m. decision to close the factory was driven by washington's protectionist measures for now the korean government is proceeding with measures to support those affected the city of concern where the factory is located is to be declared a crisis zone. if a city is ignited unemployment crisis on the government will set up an assistance plan for those laid off such as support through unemployment insurance. g.m. is one of the largest employers in this town so the factory closure will affect many lives. venezuela's economic crisis and spot an unusual government strategy it's launching

a crypto currency called the petro oil back in gentle county goes live today there are doubts it will work and stays opposition on legal grounds. if you can dispute just how badly venezuela needs a plan hyperinflation shortages and soaring debt have brought the country to its knees and its citizens to the streets. when venezuelan president nicolas maduro announced plans to launch a new crypto currency some viewed it as an imaginative way out of the crisis and as a workaround for western sanctions that effectively keep venezuela from raising cash from bonds and this is going to allow for advancements in international financing for the economic and social development of the country the new crypto currency will be backed by reserves of israel and while old oil gas and diamonds get from the phenomenon israel announces the creation of its crypto currency a big fan of you're going to feel the effect kind of and. the idea is to link

venezuela's oil reserves to the value of a petro with one hundred million petro tokens worth around six billion dollars being issued initially but not everyone is convinced venezuela's opposition controlled parliament considers the petrol a ruse to borrow money using the oil as collateral circumventing laws that demand legislative approval from us and many observers are skeptical that the solution to be managed by authorities like the central bank whose policies helped create venezuela's woes in the first place. some european spectators on this corner of blues joins us with a frank let's talk a strange car i want to traders in frankfurt think of the petro. well first of all ben if you talk to people here you know traders. trading all of the traditional financial markets most of them find it very difficult to understand what this idea

is all about those normal crypto currency is for example of bitcoin all about independence from a state you can send and. all value without an intermediary but here with the petro you do have an intermediary the venice whale and government and a very corrupt one and one which drove the economy of the country into the ground and the government is going to be in full control of this currency washington calls it an illegal way of financing venezuela and skirting sanctions but the country's crypto currency regulator reckons is interest coming from the us as well as europe and the middle east. quite a lot of countries and best is sound like they're lining up. to put it bluntly then all over the world there are people who are seeking for ways of transferring money illegally because for example they made their money illegally or they want to evade taxes or they live in the country. that's hit by sanctions so

that it's difficult for them to transfer money into legal jurisdiction like the european union now while the traditional ways of washing money have become less excess of all we have much more control on our banks here even tax havens like panama seem to become more transparent the crypto currencies and the cyberspace seem to be one of the remaining places where you can go if you have something to hide so it's quite quite possible that the petrol will find some interest among investors like this ok but what sort of danger would these so-called investors be getting themselves into i mean is this a real crypto currency that they're actually investing in considering its reliance on the oil. well that's why some people here call it all

future contracts in disguise you know a contract that you can buy and that allows you to get to legal real oil eventually when the time has come. it might be an innovative idea but as i said you have to rely on this government and given its past i wouldn't put a cent into it but just really briefly will other countries follow this i mean could other countries start issuing their own cryptocurrency. well other countries that some people sometimes call mafia states russia for example is considered to be thinking about crypto ruble that would allow you know financial transactions without having to face the sanctions of the european union and the u.s. or i will have to leave it there thank you very much nice doing business with you. the to.

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