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EU warns of ‘strong’ tariff response

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Brussels had a “strong plan” to counter incoming American tariffs, as countries scrambled to prepare for the levies. Her remarks came ahead of US President Donald Trump’s long-touted April 2 announcement of still-unspecified reciprocal tariffs — followed by the implementation of wide-ranging duties on steel, aluminum, and cars — fears of which have sparked a stock market selloff, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq closing out their worst quarters since 2022. Though some countries, such as Vietnam, are slashing duties to address American concerns, Brussels has taken a harder line: Among the EU’s “counterstrike” options are tougher restrictions on Silicon Valley and American banks, Politico noted.

Trump faces referendum

Voters in Florida and Wisconsin head to the polls today in an early test of US President Donald Trump’s popularity. Floridians will fill two House of Representatives seats vacated by Republicans, and though Democrats are the underdogs in both races, analysts are closely watching each for clues to the response to Trump’s early moves on trade and immigration: His approval ratings have dipped as the economy has begun flashing several warning signs. Meanwhile, voters in Wisconsin will elect a new justice to the state’s Supreme Court, a race with outsize impact because of the court’s power in drawing electoral boundaries as well as over key issues such as abortion rights.

China launches surprise Taiwan drills

China launched massive surprise military drills around Taiwan days after the US defense secretary on a trip to Asia pledged to counter Chinese “aggression.” Beijing said its army, navy, and air forces surrounding Taiwan was a “stern warning” to the self-ruling island’s leaders — which Chinese state media called “parasites” who were seeking independence for Taiwan, claimed by Beijing as part of its territory. Yet the campaign is also likely meant to pressure Washington, after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth visited Manila and Tokyo last week, promising to “reestablish deterrence” in the region. Taiwan, in particular, has reportedly grown quietly confident that the White House will back it in any confrontation with Beijing.

Beijing’s thorny Africa push

China is making inroads in Africa but faces challenges in expanding its influence there, analysts said. China now operates more diplomatic missions across the continent than the US, with Washington’s cancellation of USAID programs underscoring how Beijing appears to be filling a vacuum left by a retreating rival, China Global South’s Africa editor noted. Yet the Asian power does not have a clear path: Its interests on the continent — stability, predictability, and investment — clash with those of its partner, Russia, which “is sowing chaos,” a researcher noted in Foreign Policy, putting the pair on a collision course. And when it comes to military ties, China faces competition from Turkey, which is pushing low-cost drones that compete with Beijing’s.

China ramps up research

Beijing is accelerating research spending, bucking a wider international trend. Growth in R&D spending across business and academia in OECD countries slowed from 3.6% in 2022 to 2.4% in 2023, the rich-country grouping said, but China’s spending went up 8.7%. Beijing is keen to become a research leader: Traditionally, talented Chinese scientists left for Europe or the US, but that is changing. China’s first winner of math’s prestigious Fields Medal told the South China Morning Post that studying abroad is no longer “the only path to success.” Other countries are wary: CERN’s chief said Europe’s planned successor to the Large Hadron Collider must go ahead, or the continent will cede its scientific leadership role to China.

Race for homegrown chips

China is moving fast — and perhaps illegally — to manufacture high-end chips domestically. At present, ASML in the Netherlands is the only company that builds the lithography machines required for cutting-edge semiconductors, which alongside Western export controls creates a painful bottleneck for Chinese tech. Beijing wants to change that: Taiwan says it is investigating 11 Chinese companies for allegedly poaching its engineers. Whatever its tactics, China may be having some success. One Huawei-linked company has apparently built lithography machines only a few generations behind the leading edge, while the Asianometry newsletter reported on rumors that another domestic company has come even closer, with a laser source capable of competing with ASML but at lower energy costs.

AI firms garner huge investments

OpenAI raised $40 billion at a valuation of $300 billion, making it one of the best-funded startups in the world. The tech investor SoftBank provided most of the money, the Financial Times reported. At the same time, Google DeepMind’s drug discovery spinoff Isomorphic Labs raised $600 million, a reminder that while ChatGPT and other artificial intelligence chatbots are making headlines, AI is having profound impacts elsewhere in the economy: Isomorphic’s AlphaFold has changed biomedical research by allowing scientists to easily predict proteins’ 3D shapes. Another AI which can rapidly identify proteins from samples and speed up diagnostics and environmental studies was unveiled this week, as leading journal Science heralded an “AI revolution” in research.

Stephen Miran, Chair, White House Council of Economic Advisers, will join top global leaders at Semafor’s 2025 World Economy Summit. Taking place April 23-25, 2025, in Washington, DC, this will be the first major gathering of its kind since the new US administration took office.

Bringing together leaders from both the public and private sectors — including congressional leadership, finance ministers, and central bankers — the three-day summit will explore the forces shaping the global economy and geopolitics. Across 12 sessions, it will foster transformative, news-making conversations on how the world’s decision-makers are tackling economic growth in increasingly uncertain times.

Apr. 23–25, 2025 | Washington, DC | Learn More

Brain-computer implant progress

A new brain-computer interface translated a paralyzed woman’s neural signals into speech within three seconds. Previous speech-generating BCIs only produced sound after the user finished an entire sentence, like an instant-message chat, one neuroscientist told Nature. In contrast, the new system flows “like a normal conversation” albeit with a delay, complete with tone and emphasis like natural speech. The patient, voiceless since a stroke in 2005, had electrodes implanted in 2023, and artificial intelligence synthesized her voice from old wedding videos. Alongside recent breakthroughs in BCIs and stem cell treatments for spinal injury, medical technology is making significant progress in restoring function to people with paralysis.

Argentina poverty rate plummets

Argentina’s poverty rate fell sharply in the second half of last year, in a further boost for President Javier Milei’s radical economic agenda. After taking office in late 2023, Milei deployed “shock therapy” that included slashing government spending and subsidies on which millions relied, measures that helped tame inflation but which sent poverty rates soaring. The falling poverty figures are the latest sign that his policies are reaping rewards: The economy is forecast to grow almost 5% this year after a period of recession. However economic challenges still abound: Argentina is seeking $20 billion from the IMF in order to build foreign currency reserves, a key step to stabilizing the peso.

Adolescence for UK schools

The British government will make the Netflix drama Adolescence available to be shown in high schools. The show, about a schoolchild’s murder possibly linked to online radicalization by so-called “incel” influencers, has ignited a wave of public concern about internet misogyny. “As a father… it hit home hard,” Prime Minister Keir Starmer said. British politics has a tendency to be driven by TV shows: A dramatization of a scandal in the country’s mail service led to a huge public outcry and debates in Parliament. Yet while the focus is on young men, young women’s views have shifted more: A growing ideological gender gap in the US and UK is driven largely by women becoming much more left-liberal.

• France assumes the presidency of the UN Security Council.
• Latin America’s biggest defense and security trade show kicks off in Rio de Janeiro.
• SpaceX launches four private astronauts into polar orbit.

The share of spending on heating British homes lost through poor insulation, a reflection of the country’s aging housing. Almost 40% of the UK’s homes were built before 1946, compared with an EU average of 18%, making it some of the oldest housing stock globally. Improving insulation of UK homes could lower their energy consumption by as much as 40%, but the upfront costs are high. “Retrofitting Britain’s draughty homes is easier said than done,” The Economist wrote.

Warfare, dir. Ray Mendoza, Alex Garland. There is “not an ounce of fat” on this movie about a Navy SEAL unit in Iraq, according to Empire: “No backstories. No monologues. Just the work.” Once the action kicks in, “there is no respite. They were not afforded any, so neither are we.” It is an exhausting watch, but nonetheless “exhilarating… War is hell, and Warfare refuses to shy away from it.” Warfare is released on April 11.

As Democrats begin their slow slog back to power, they’re grappling with how the party found itself so hopelessly outmatched online — and what it can do to recover, Semafor’s Max Tani reported.

One possible solution, epitomized by California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s new podcast, involves tacking to the rhetorical center: “We’ve got to get out of our safe spaces and get into where other people are living,” Newsom told Tani last week. “That’s really what this podcast is about.”