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It's not possible German reaction to Donald Trump's latest tariff announcement of 100 levies on branded drugs unless makers are willing to inject cash into manufacturing in the US.
It's World Business Express from the BBC World Service.
I'm Sarah Rogers.
Also cyber scammers busted for preying on people looking for love, and why the global tattoo industry is booming.
Yes, the German pharmaceutical industry has told World Business Express Donald Trump's latest tariff announcement will be a severe setback to its multi-billion dollar industry.
The US president announced 100 levies on branded medicines from the start of next month, unless the drug maker is building a manufacturing plant in the US.
This is, of course, very, very difficult to chew for the companies.
I mean, that's impossible.
That's Hans Stüttel, who's president of Germany's VFA Association of Pharmaceutical Companies, which includes global names like Bayer and Merck.
The EU already has a trade deal in place with the US.
So what's happening?
We were in the anticipation that tariffs would be around 15% at the max.
And this is, of course, incomparable with a tariff of 100%.
I mean, there was talk of 250% tariffs at one point, then an agreement in place for 15%.
Now an announcement of 100% unless you're building a manufacturing plant there.
Are you looking for clarity over what the number is?
No.
Well, first of all, it's a post, it's a tweet, it's not an executive order.
But apparently there's a difference in interpretation of the agreement of a couple of weeks ago between the European Commission and the President of the United States.
And this is the first thing that needs to be cleared.
I mean, the US is a huge market for Germany.
A quarter of German pharmaceutical exports go into the US.
So what are you hoping for?
We know with the U.S. president that sometimes he's very drastic in his announcements.
But if parties are able to negotiate and come closer to each other, he's also always there to retreat.
It is one quarter of German exports of pharmaceuticals, 27 billion in 2024.
So that's huge.
If you look at Europe, it's also devastating because the biggest surplus in the trade balance with the US is pharmaceuticals.
And if all of these exports are being tariffed by another 100, So that's a doubling of the price, of the cost of the price.
So let's bring in our guest, Randy Samel, fund manager at M&G Investments.
Pharmaceuticals not the only tariff announcements today.
No, unfortunately not.
25% on imported trucks to the US, which will greatly affect the German truck-making industry.
And also furniture.
We're seeing now anywhere between 30 to 50 tariffs on kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities.
Not great if you want to be doing some renovations.
Back with Randip shortly.
Now our next story hundreds of alleged cyber scammers have been arrested in a sting operation carried out across a number of African countries.
The international police organisation Interpol, with UK funding targeted networks behind romance scams and schemes that use social media to extort victims with explicit images.
Interpol's director of cybercrime is Neil Jetton.
60% of the world has a smartphone in their hand.
We are able to be connected to criminals anytime, anywhere, any day.
The scammers are very, very savvy.
They know how to speak to people to appeal to their heart.
And then eventually you develop this trust and very quickly this trust is shattered.
It is very difficult to combat these types of crimes when you look at just the sheer volume of phishing emails that are sent out every day by criminals.
Millions of people click on them per day.
So part of the operation doesn't just end with the arrest.
Then you have the devices that criminals are using and hoping to gain and glean evidence from that to continue and help further victims.
Around $3 million was stolen from 1,400 victims.
Alex Felapelli is the CEO of dating site SimilarSouls.com, who wasn't involved in the operation.
They have around half a million users across Brazil and says it's hard to stop.
We have machine learning algorithms that detect patterns that these scammers use.
Part of the pattern is, for example, where they're coming from, right?
We can block some of the scammers right away before they cause any trouble.
We recommended people to be careful.
But of course, sometimes they just feel heartbroken, right?
That's not much we can do about it.
Staying with cyber attacks, and hackers say they've stolen the pictures, names and addresses of around 8000 children from the kiddo nursery chain.
The company has sites in the US, India and the UK.
And Turkish Airlines is to buy 225 Boeing planes following talks between President Erdogan and President Trump.
America wants Turkey to stop buying Russian oil and in return may lift some sanctions.
Now, let's bring back in Randeep Sumel.
Hello, Randeep, Fund Manager at M&G Investments.
And we've just had some data, haven't we?
Showing a rise in personal spending in the US in August, despite inflation?
We have, and it comes as a bit of a surprise.
All the tariff news, unemployment in the US going up, it still shows that the US consumer, which is seen as a bellwether for global growth, is still spending very strongly.
Thank you, Randy.
Well, perhaps this is what they're spending their money on.
I don't know if you have one.
I haven't.
Tattoos.
They're reserved, once reserved for rock stars or sailors, but are now mainstream industry, predicted to be worth six and a half billion dollars by 2033.
So I went to one of the biggest tattoo conventions in London to find out what's behind the boom.
The buzz of the tattoo pen making its mark on the next willing customer in an industry that appears to be drawing profits as well as pictures.
Hi, I'm Martin McIver, one of the organisers of the big London tattoo show.
We have 520 amazing tattoo artists.
We have some of the world's best tattooists here.
And it's no small convention, room for 10,000 visitors, say organisers.
That's estimated.
The industry was worth 35 billion worldwide last year, projected to nearly double in under a decade.
That's according to estimates from Market Research Intellect, and the US is leading the scene.
I would actually think it's more than that now already.
It's just been growing since the dawn of Miami Inc.
These days, tattooists don't need TV fame, just talent and a strong social media game.
Here are artists Jem Pin and John Arton.
I do realism, so portraits, animals, realistic things.
So I do ornamental, basically decorative.
There's definitely more people coming to get tattoos now than there's ever, ever been.
How much does tattoo cost?
I mean...
How long's a piece of string?
It depends what you want.
So we charge by the day, so a sleeve, you're looking at around ten sessions a day, right?
And tattoos seem to be everywhere, from your baristas to your boss.
For example, it's estimated around half of Italians are inked, and here in the UK it's around one in four.
But derising numbers also mean more regrets, removals and cover-ups.
Sadly, yeah.
It's just one of those things.
Merrin is the first to get a tattoo at the convention.
She admits she's spent a lot on her body art.
I won't be having avocado toast for a very long time.
It's all to do with kind of contributing to the skill of the artist and kind of the hygiene and the safety.
And that matters, especially as tattoo studios multiply.
Viktor Chigunov opened his store seven years ago.
A lot of new studios opened recently.
Creates more competition for the studios like ours.
It used to be more personal back in the days.
Now it's mostly fashion.
But if that changes, does it mean less skin in the game for business?
Here's Martin McIver again.
It's always weathered recessions pretty well.
Yeah, we'll see, but by and large, pretty good.
Well, for now, it appears the buzz continues.
Maybe I'll get a World Business Express tattoo.
That's it from us.
Please do subscribe to get the latest.
Just search for World Business Express wherever you get your podcasts.
I'm Sarah Rogers.
Thank you very much for listening.
America is changing, and so is the world.
But what's happening in America isn't just a cause of global upheaval.
It's also a symptom of disruption that's happening everywhere.
I'm Asma Khalid in Washington, D.C.
I'm Tristan Redman in London, and this is The Global Story.
Every weekday, we'll bring you a story from this intersection, where the world and America meet.
Listen on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts.
