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President Donald Trump said Monday he is increasing tariffs on South Korean goods because the country’s legislature has yet to approve the trade framework announced last year.Trump said on social media that import taxes would be raised on autos, lumber and pharmaceutical drugs from South Korea with the rate on other goods going from 15% to 25%. The U.S. president previously imposed the tariffs by declaring an economic emergency and bypassing Congress, while South Korea needed legislative approval for the framework announced in July and affirmed during Trump’s October visit to the country.“Our Trade Deals are very important to America. In each of these Deals, we have acted swiftly to reduce our TARIFFS in line with the Transaction agreed to,” Trump said. “We, of course, expect our Trading Partners to do the same.”The threat was a reminder that the tariff drama unleashed last year by Trump is likely to be repeated again and again this year. The global economy and U.S. voters might find the world’s trade structure constantly being subject to disruption and new negotiations as Trump has already sought to levy tariffs in order to bend other nations to his will.Trump has in the past tied his tariffs to commitments by South Korea to invest $350 billion in the U.S. economy over several years, including efforts to revitalize American shipyards. But the Trump administration’s relations with South Korea have at times been rocky with the raid last year by immigration officials at a Hyundai manufacturing site in Georgia in which 475 people were detained.South Korea’s presidential office responded after a meeting of top South Korean officials that it will convey its commitment to implementing last year’s deal to the U.S.The presidential office said that South Korea’s Industry Minister Kim Jung-Kwan will travel to the U.S. for talks with Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, while Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo will travel separately to meet with Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. Kim was on a visit to Canada.South Korean lawmakers have submitted five bills on implementing South Korea’s proposed $350 billion investment package to the National Assembly. The bills are currently before the assembly’s finance committee.Kim Hyun-jung, a spokesperson for South Korea’s governing Democratic Party, said his party will coordinate with the government to organize swift debate and action on the bills.Assembly officials said the five bills will likely be incorporated into a single proposed law, which will need approval from the finance and judiciary committees before it can go to a floor vote.Trump’s announcement of new tariffs fits a pattern in which Trump plans to continue to deploy tariffs, possibly to the detriment of relations with other countries.Just last week, the president threatened tariffs on eight European nations unless the U.S. gained control of Greenland, only to pull back on his ultimatum after meetings at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Trump on Saturday said he would put a 100% tax on goods from Canada if it followed through with plans to bolster trade with China.Trump has bragged about his trade frameworks as drawing in new investment to the U.S., yet many of his heavily hyped deals have yet to be finalized. The European Parliament has yet to approve a trade deal pushed by Trump that would put a 15% tax on the majority of goods exported by the EU’s 27 member states.The United States is poised this year to renegotiate its amended 2020 trade pact with Canada and Mexico. There are also ongoing Section 232 investigations under the 1962 Trade Expansion Act, as well as an upcoming Supreme Court decision on whether Trump exceeded his authority by declaring tariffs under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Kim reported from Seoul, South Korea. Josh Boak and Hyung-Jin Kim, Associated Press
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E-Commerce
After two weeks of intense political and legal scrutiny, the Federal Reserve will seek to make this week’s meeting about interest rates as straightforward and uneventful as possible, though President Donald Trump probably still won’t like the result.The central bank’s interest rate-setting committee is almost certain to keep its key short-term rate unchanged at about 3.6%, after three straight quarter-point cuts last year. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said after December’s meeting that they were “well positioned to wait to see how the economy evolves” before making any further moves.When the Fed lowers its short-term rate, it can over time influence other borrowing costs for things like mortgages, auto loans and business borrowing, though those rates are also affected by market forces.This week’s meeting one of eight the Fed holds each year will be overshadowed by the bombshell revelation earlier this month that the Justice Department has subpoenaed the Fed as part of a criminal investigation into testimony Powell gave last June about a $2.5 billion building renovation. It’s the first time a sitting Fed chair has been investigated, and prompted an unusually public rebuke from Powell.Now, Powell will have to shift from a dispute with the White House to emphasizing that the Fed’s decisions around interest rates are driven by economic concerns, not politics. Powell said Jan. 11 that the subpoenas were “pretexts” to punish the Fed for not cutting rates as sharply as Trump wants.Powell will be “under even more pressure to underscore, ‘everything we’re doing here is all about the economics,'” said Claudia Sahm, a former Fed economist and chief economist at New Century Advisors. “‘We didn’t think about the politics.'”Michael Gapen, chief U.S. economist at Morgan Stanley and also a former Fed staffer, said that despite the scrutiny, the Fed can be expected to consider its interest rate policies like it always does.“The meetings have a regular flow to them,” he said. “There are presentations that are made, there are discussions that have to be had. Some of these other broader-based attacks on the Fed don’t really come up.”Not long after the Justice Department’s subpoenas, the Supreme Court last week considered whether Trump can fire Fed governor Lisa Cook over allegations of mortgage fraud, which she denies. No president has fired a governor in the Fed’s 112-year history. During an oral argument, the justices appeared to be leaning toward allowing her to stay in her job until the case is resolved.Other Fed officials have also signaled the central bank is likely to keep rates unchanged at their two-day meeting that ends Wednesday. The Fed’s three rate cuts last year were intended to bolster the economy after hiring slowed sharply over the summer and fall in the wake of Trump’s April tariffs on dozens of countries.Yet the unemployment rate ticked lower in December, after picking up for much of last year, and there are other signs the job market may be stabilizing. The number of people seeking unemployment benefits has stayed historically low, a sign layoffs haven’t spiked.Meanwhile, inflation remains elevated and actually ticked higher last year, according to the Fed’s preferred measure. Prices rose 2.8% in November from a year earlier, the latest data available. That is up from 2.6% in November 2024.Unless businesses start cutting jobs or the unemployment rate rises, the Fed is unlikely to cut rates again for at least a few months, economists say. If inflation slowly declines this year, as economists expect, the Fed may cut again in the spring or summer. Wall Street investors expect just two quarter-point rate reductions this year, according to futures prices.Many economists expect growth could pick up in the coming months, which would be another reason to forego rate cuts. Gapen estimates that tax refunds could be about 20% higher this spring than last year as the Trump administration’s tax cuts take effect. Refunds could average $3,500, Gapen said.The economy expanded at a 4.4% annual rate in last year’s July-September quarter and may have grown at a similarly healthy pace in the final three months of last year. If such solid growth continues, Fed officials will likely wait to see if hiring picks up as well, further reducing the need for more rate cuts. Christopher Rugaber, AP Economics Writer
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E-Commerce
Whether hes climbing skyscrapers in Taiwan or working to build the Honnold Foundation, free solo climber and activist Alex Honnold remains an optimist. He sat down with Fast Company to talk about why a good outlook is essentialboth for his sport and in the fight for the planet. Honnold also reflects on education, human potential, overconsumption, and whats at stake for American national parks and public lands.
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E-Commerce
Ive always been somewhat ritualistic, shaped by my Midwestern upbringing in a modest immigrant family. I remember my parents calculating the mileage of our 82 Honda Civic in a notepad after every fill-up, the same car I eventually inherited in high school. Or saving every receipt on vacation to audit our daily spending down to the dollar. In every sense, they were amazing parents, and their rituals instilled in me a desire to be intentional about how I lived my life. As human beings in a world of constant distraction, time is the most precious resource we have. As a CEO, managing that resource is one of the most important skills you can master. And its no picnic. Ive often said work-life balance in the C-suite is an illusion. Its a worthwhile concept, but just like every cause has an effect, every choice has a consequence. Work out or binge-watch a show? Travel the world or save for a house? One isnt better than the other; theyre just choices. Rituals structure your time. Put simply, the more deliberate you are with your habits and behaviors, the more intentional you can be with that time. They dont emerge from nowhere; theyre developed and refined over years of trial and error. How we create and, more importantly, maintain habits is deeply personal. What works for me almost certainly wont work for someone else. RITUALS IN SERVICE OF OTHERS GE, a company known for its highly organized, almost programmatic culture, is where I honed many of my habits. Early in my career, I worked 12- to 13-hour days, socialized until midnight, slept four or five hours, and hit repeat. At 26, I became a manager for the first time and realized that my colleagues, many of them only a year or two younger, were looking to me for guidance. Rituals were no longer just a catalyst for my own success; they became a way to deliver on my responsibility to othersa mindset that still defines my leadership at Twilio 25 years later. THE 70-20-10 RULE About 18 months ago, I met with a mentor, a seasoned leader and board chairman for some of the worlds top businesses. He shared a piece of advice that resonated with me: never spend evenings on things that aren’t mission critical. His point was simple: if its not family, it better be work. Otherwise, skip it. Apart from a select few industry events, I decline nearly all networking and work-adjacent invitations so I can spend my time on what matters: showing up for my family and the company I run. Most of my rituals orbit my calendar. I refuse to fill it with anything that drains attention or energy, both people and topics, personal or professional. Thats why I adhere to a 70-20-10 rule: 70% of my time on what matters, 20% on what must get done, and 10% on what gives me energy. That leaves exactly 0% for distractions. Speaking of those work-life consequences, Ive missed milestones and moments with friends and family I can never get back. But I made choices that were right for me at the time and have few regrets. Ive been incredibly fortunate to carve out a life my parents only dreamed about. Today, as a soon-to-be empty nester, Im much more intentional (and present) about building rituals around moments that matter mostthat 70%like family dinners: a ritual I almost never miss when Im in town. RITUALS BEHIND MY ROUTINE Rituals are, by nature, structured and repetitive, but they arent immutable. Ive adapted mine to meet different stages of life and careerkids, promotions, jobs. Ive built and shed many, but these seven are most foundational for me right now: Power of a plan: It sounds obvious, but aday without a plan is a ship without a rudder. I start each day, week, month, and year with one. It prioritizes what matters and reinforces accountability. Refill the tank: My parents were firm believers in work hard, play hard, and that mantra shapes my weekends. While I do work, I make sure Saturdays and Sundays are memorableor epic as my baseline. With one kid in college and another headed there soon, I prioritize my time with them as much as possible, with regular trips to the record store with my daughter or the driving range with my son. Delegate a lot: There are two forces at work here: I have a highly competent staff, and delegation empowers ownership (how else do we learn?). And it lightens my load. Avoid multitasking: Multitasking is a myth; research backs this, and so does my personal experience. Its unavoidable sometimes, but always at the expense of something else. I try to avoid it, at work and home. Declutter the inbox: Email overload is real. I embrace a philosophy of inbox zero to reduce clutter and track priorities. No meeting default: I only attend critical meetings and believe they are for three things: dialogue, debate, and decision-making. Everything else can be done asynchronously, and I regularly purge those that dont meet this bar. FINAL THOUGHTS The more responsibility you take on as a leader, the greater the demands on your time and energy, and the more critical it becomes to perform for those who depend on your judgment, guidance, and steady hand. Decades into my career, Im a creature of habit. Whether in the office with colleagues, on the road with customers, or at home with family, my days are anchored by rituals. So, as the energy and enthusiasm of the New Year inevitably wanes, resolutions will too. Its rituals, ones that fuel creativity, value precious time, and set you and your teams up for sustainable success, that last. Khozema Shipchandler is the CEO of Twilio.
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E-Commerce
Three of the world’s biggest tech companies face a landmark trial in Los Angeles starting this week over claims that their platformsMeta’s Instagram, ByteDance’s TikTok, and Google’s YouTubedeliberately addict and harm children.Jury selection starts this week in the Los Angeles County Superior Court. It’s the first time the companies will argue their case before a jury, and the outcome could have profound effects on their businesses and how they will handle children using their platforms. The selection process is expected to take at least a few days, with 75 potential jurors questioned each day through at least Thursday. A fourth company named in the lawsuit, Snapchat parent company Snap Inc., settled the case last week for an undisclosed sum.At the core of the case is a 19-year-old identified only by the initials “KGM,” whose case could determine how thousands of other, similar lawsuits against social media companies will play out. She and two other plaintiffs have been selected for bellwether trialsessentially test cases for both sides to see how their arguments play out before a jury and what damages, if any, may be awarded, said Clay Calvert, a nonresident senior fellow of technology policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute.KGM claims that her use of social media from an early age addicted her to the technology and exacerbated depression and suicidal thoughts. Importantly, the lawsuit claims that this was done through deliberate design choices made by companies that sought to make their platforms more addictive to children to boost profits. This argument, if successful, could sidestep the companies’ First Amendment shield and Section 230, which protects tech companies from liability for material posted on their platforms.“Borrowing heavily from the behavioral and neurobiological techniques used by slot machines and exploited by the cigarette industry, Defendants deliberately embedded in their products an array of design features aimed at maximizing youth engagement to drive advertising revenue,” the lawsuit says.Executives, including Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, are expected to testify at the trial, which will last six to eight weeks. Experts have drawn similarities to the Big Tobacco trials that led to a 1998 settlement requiring cigarette companies to pay billions in healthcare costs and restrict marketing targeting minors.“Plaintiffs are not merely the collateral damage of Defendants’ products,” the lawsuit says. “They are the direct victims of the intentional product design choices made by each Defendant. They are the intended targets of the harmful features that pushed them into self-destructive feedback loops.”The tech companies dispute the claims that their products deliberately harm children, citing a bevy of safeguards they have added over the years and arguing that they are not liable for content posted on their sites by third parties.“Recently, a number of lawsuits have attempted to place the blame for teen mental health struggles squarely on social media companies,” Meta said in a recent blog post. “But this oversimplifies a serious issue. Clinicians and researchers find that mental health is a deeply complex and multifaceted issue, and trends regarding teens’ well-being aren’t clear-cut or universal. Narrowing the challenges faced by teens to a single factor ignores the scientific research and the many stressors impacting young people today, like academic pressure, school safety, socio-economic challenges and substance abuse.”Meta, YouTube, and TikTok did not immediately respond to requests for comment Monday.The case will be the first in a slew of cases beginning this year that seek to hold social media companies responsible for harming children’s mental well-being. A federal bellwether trial beginning in June in Oakland, California, will be the first to represent school districts that have sued social media platforms over harms to children.In addition, more than 40 state attorneys general have filed lawsuits against Meta, claiming it is harming young people and contributing to the youth mental health crisis by deliberately designing features on Instagram and Facebook that addict children to its platforms. The majority of cases filed their lawsuits in federal court, but some sued in their respective states.TikTok also faces similar lawsuits in more than a dozen states. Barbara Ortutay, AP Technology Writer
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E-Commerce
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