World Business Report

The governments of China, Mexico and Canada have begun their responses to President Trump’s tariffs on goods entering the US.Trump’s measures include tariffs of 25% on all goods arriving from Mexico and Canada, and well as a further 10% on Chinese products.We get reaction from those countries and hear how it affects companies around the world.

On the programme, we explore how businesses in the US are preparing as President Trump confirms he will impose 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada. We hear from the BBC's Erin Delmore, reporting from the North America Toy Fair—where many products originate from China. How will these tariffs impact the prices consumers pay?Plus, chip-making giant TSMC is set to invest at least $100 billion in the United States to develop cutting-edge semiconductor manufacturing facilities.And we look into former President Donald Trump’s plans to establish a U.S. cryptocurrency reserve—what’s driving this move?

European defence manufacturers’ share prices jump, as investors expect many European countries to ramp up military spending. Prices of several cryptocurrencies have risen after the US president announced he will launch a US crypto fund. President Donald Trump says Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Solana and Cardano will be included in a ‘Crypto Strategic Reserve’.And Will Bain hears about the call from the director of Oscar winning movie Onura. Sean Baker has called on people to support independent movies by going back to the cinema.

The big event of 2021 that will shape economies all over the world for decades to come was the COP 26 climate conference in Glasgow in November. The meeting saw a deluge of promises, but what was actually achieved? Martin Webber speaks to Tim Gould, chief energy economist at the International Energy Agency and economist Irwin Stelzer, from the Hudson Institute in the United States.It was another boom year for the pharmaceutical industry as it crafted the vaccines that have saved so many lives. Of the 8 billion coronavirus vaccinations worldwide, one billion have been delivered by the US logistics company, UPS. We hear from Wes Wealer, President of UPS healthcare.And small business owners have had a bleak time for much of the past year. But many of those that have survived now feel optimistic. We hear from the owner of the Aroma speciality coffee shop in Bologna in Italy, Cristina Caroli, about her year.

Covid-19 is set to prompt radical long term changes to how we live and work, so what lessons can be learnt when we eventually emerge from the pandemic? Could the changes in the way we work herald higher productivity and happier people in the future?We hear the stories of the people who managed to thrive during a very difficult year, including the milkman who saw a boom in deliveries and the dancer who found work in South Korea when the London stage went dark.Martin Webber is joined by Professor Devi Sridhar who holds the Chair of Global Public Health at the University of Edinburgh; economist Roger Bootle, of Capital Economics; Robert Reich, former Labour Secretary under President Clinton; Tomas Philipson, who was Chair of the Council of Economic Advisors under Mr Trump; and actor Thomas Inge who is currentl starring in the musical Cats in South Korea.