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Hello and welcome to World Business Report from the BBC World Service.
I'm Roger Hearing, and on this edition, India moves into the era of 50% tariffs – on many of its exports to the US.
For some businesses it's a small bump in the road, for others it's a disaster.
By our most conservative projections, these tariffs are going to cost us half a million to three-fourths of 750k, which is just not something that we can withstand.
Also today, Donald Trump is threatening the billionaire financier George Soros with an indictment for racketeering.
How professional golfers are surviving in Africa. and the aggravation of having to listen to other people's music and entertainment on trains and buses.
I just sit there and think, oh lovely, and then I hear, ah, and it's sometimes very loud, and then they're ringing, or they're watching some sort of loud film.
She's a bit of a bugbear for me. Well, now London's transport chiefs are trying to do something about it.
But first, the time window has closed and Indian exporters are now dealing with 50% tariffs on many goods that they sell into the US.
Donald Trump said it was to punish New Delhi for buying Russian oil.
But of course they... view is very different in India.
India criticised the levies as unfair, unjustified and unreasonable.
Here's Davina Gupta in Delhi. It's been a difficult day for Indian exporters because we are talking about nearly two-third of Indian exports, which experts say is around $55 billion worth. which will be hit with these 50% tariffs.
These are harshest ever tariffs that these businesses have seen because America remains vulnerable a lucrative market for them.
US was India's largest trading partner last year.
So we're talking about businesses which are into textile or garments and leather like shoes and bags, shrimps, automobiles. components.
And we're also talking about gems and jewelry.
For these businesses, it's been quite difficult to figure out what to do next.
Now, I've been speaking to some of these small manufacturers and they say that they are afraid there could be job cuts if these tariffs prolong. would also look at a scenario where they have to wind down eventually because they won't be able to keep up with the competition.
And who is that competition? We're looking at, say, for example, in the textile sector, garments coming from Bangladesh and Vietnam, which have lower tariffs to enter the Indian companies will have to pay 50% from here on.
So it makes them virtually uncompetitive.
They would be quite costly and they know there'll be a repercussion from there on.
Davina Gupta there in Delhi. Well, in general, the Indian authorities have been keen to suggest the impact of all this is pretty low.
But it's not for everyone. Sana Javri Kadri is founder and CEO of Diaspora Spice, which sources spices in India and exports them mainly to the US and the UK.
Frankly, I'm exhausted. We've been navigating this since March and, you know, ultimately we're a small company and by our most conservative projections.
These tariffs are going to cost us half a million to three-fourths of 750k, which is just not something that we can withstand, even if it's just for a few months.
And so we have made the decision that as of next week, we will have to pass on the cost to the customer and...
It is going to shrink and slow down our growth significantly.
And you know, whilst I source from India and I'm of Indian origin, I am an American and I run an American business.
And ultimately, this is both going to cause the slowdown of an American business's growth and provide a much more expensive product to the American customers.
So I'm going to be hitting the road over the next few months to the EU.
Growing further in the UK, looking at Australia, I have to de-risk my market, you know?
Sana Javri Kadri there. Well, that's not the view from all sectors.
Arabenda Nayak is director of the tea buyer and exporter CI Limited in Kolkata.
And I asked him if this was particularly significant for the Indian tea industry.
No, it is not. It is not. I mean, and also we've been speaking to... the big Indian shops over there, the big Indian importers, they're going to pass on all the Increase cost to the consumers and it's going to hurt the consumers in US more than anything else.
But, Aravinda, there will be companies in your country, in India, who will suffer as a result of this.
Unless they can diversify, they can move to other markets, then they will be losing, won't they?
They will, they will. There are few niche exporters who rely on exports to US and those people will get affected. tea industry as such effect will be very small Arabinda Nayak there.
Well, joining me now is Gunjan Bagla, chief executive of Amrit Inc., a consultancy firm specialising in trade. between India and the US, and it's based in California.
Gunjan, thanks for being with us here on World Business Report.
How important is all this to either the US or India?
Does it actually matter to either side that much?
Well, thank you, Roger. And yes, it does matter quite a bit to both sides.
You know, if you look at it as the overall percentage of Indian GDP, it's not large.
However, the sectors that are affected are going to be affected very deeply.
So if you're a young American man and you want to buy an engagement ring, For your fiance, most of the diamonds are polished and perfected in the city of Surat in Western India.
And the price of diamonds, if it goes up by 50%, I think young men will have a pretty tough time buying those diamonds, and some of them may resort to other means.
If you look at... markets such as automotive parts.
If you go into an auto parts store here, the batteries, the radiators, the alternators, many of them are made in India. because India has a very vibrant auto parts industry.
And those costs for the 50% tariffs are definitely going to be passed on to the buyers and ultimately to American consumers.
So there will be an effect in many, many industries.
I grew up in the town of Kanpur, which has a very large leather industry.
And there are hundreds of small businesses that process and finish the leather.
Many of them would be at risk of going out of business because they depend on the US as their primary market.
And 50% tariff is not something that they can withstand.
Indeed. And Gunjan, let me pursue that point and say, well, surely in these cases, they'll have to make new arrangements.
Someone described it to me as the way water comes downhill, in the end it finds its own path.
So people will find... Their own path, perhaps, to exporting to other countries.
So what's coming in now could be permanent changes.
Well, possibly. You see, we believe that these tariffs are temporary.
In fact, just yesterday, Treasury Secretary Scott Besson said You know, the largest economy in the world and the largest democracy in the world will find a way to settle this.
Finding another customer for a commodity like rice or sugar is easy.
But if you have customized orders for auto parts or even diamonds, these are not commodities.
And The buyers in the US are large companies, as are the buyers in Europe and other countries.
And it's not easy to simply replace one customer with another.
So some people will want to wait. Some will struggle and try, and others may just decide that they can't handle this and lay off most of their staff.
So the impact will be uneven. and distributed, it will be felt in India as well as in the US. for products that American consumers and American companies need.
Now, two big sectors are excluded for now.
One is pharmaceuticals. 40% of the pharmaceuticals bought by Americans Generic pharmaceuticals are produced in India.
And electronics. So my next iPhone will not be affected because Apple is producing something like $80 billion. of iPhones in India.
And those sectors apparently are omitted from their tariffs for now, at least.
And in those circumstances, briefly, do you see a room for this coming back together?
Do you think that there will be more discussions and it will change?
Oh, yes, absolutely. The two countries are aligned in many ways.
In fact, just yesterday, there was a dialogue between the US and India's State Department and Defense Department.
Both countries are aligned to have a free and open Indo-Pacific, both countries are for each other's prosperity.
So this is a minor tiff and much of it is driven by the Ukraine war.
So my expectation is that Both countries will ultimately find a solution.
But in the meantime, people will suffer.
In the meantime, businesses... will not want to ship large quantities of anything at 50% tariffs.
Well, clearly not, because obviously it doesn't work for them.
Gunjan, thank you so much for being with us.
Gunjan Bagla there of Amrit Inc. Well, let's pick up on some of this with Susan Schmidt, Portfolio Manager at Exchange Capital Resources in Chicago.
Susan, thanks for being with us. First of all, how did all this play on the Indian markets?
Remember that the Indian markets cover many different companies in a variety of industries.
And so we didn't see a huge impact. The Indian markets overall were down just about 1% as a result of this.
And that shows how specific these tariffs are going to target individual industries.
As we mentioned, shrimp, textiles, jewelry, chemicals.
Very specific businesses are getting hit here.
And those are the businesses that will feel the pressure.
Let's turn our thoughts now to what's going on in the tech sector, very specifically in the AI and to do with microchips, because NVIDIA, I mean, just about... the biggest bellwether there is in tech right now.
Their results have come out in the last couple of hours.
Uh, Coming in third quarter revenue above Wall Street estimates, expected revenue of £54 billion in the third quarter compared with an estimate of £53 billion.
So they're doing OK. But their shares have dropped.
Why is that? Their shares have dropped, but only slightly.
So 2% to 3% as initial news hit the aftermarkets.
And we've seen sales up. 56% year over year.
Remember that expectations here have really gone up since NVIDIA started talking about their presence in AI.
And this has been a huge acceleration from where they were just a little over two years ago when they first started talking about AI.
We saw data center revenue increase. We've seen the margins hold, gross margins above 72%.
And the company indicating that they are very profitable and that they can be doing further share buyback. which means they have extra cash on hand.
They'll be going into the markets and buying shares back, which is generally taken as a big sign of confidence by management.
I think markets are looking at this saying we've really seen this company do well and we – have faith in them that they're continuing to do well.
If you look at NVIDIA's stock, it's more than...
Doubled almost since where we were in those March lows.
So investors are looking at this down 2%.
The grand scheme of things in this case, Chandra, doesn't mean a lot.
And very briefly, dealing with China, is it something NVIDIA's got in hand now?
This quarter, with the 56% up year over year, excluded sales to China.
So that's clearly something that they have in hand.
They're not worried about it going forward and it's taken out of future guidance, which the guidance exceeded estimates.
So we're all good. Susan, thank you for making that clear.
Susan Schmidt there of Exchange Capital Resources in Chicago.
Now, George Soros is a man who crops up very often in far-right conspiracy theories.
He's a 95-year-old Holocaust survivor and a billionaire and major donor to the US Democratic Party.
And now Donald Trump has posted on social media that Mr Soros and his son Alex should be charged under the racketeer-influenced... and Corrupt Organisations Act, RICO as it's known, for supposedly supporting violent protests across the US.
Donald Trump wrote Soros and his group of psychopaths have caused great damage to our country.
That includes his crazy West Coast friends.
Be careful. We're watching you. So what's going on?
What is the US president claiming? I asked our North America correspondent, Anthony Zerka.
He posted on his social media website, Truth Social, a post that was harshly critical of him, which is not surprising.
Donald Trump has criticized George Soros. the billionaire financier of liberal causes here in the United States, across the world, on multiple times.
But he said that he should be indicted. on racketeering charges that his organization, Open Society, was supporting violent radical protests here in the United States.
He also condemned George Soros' son, Alex, who handles most of the business for his father.
Now his father's a nonagenarian, so getting on in years.
And so, yeah, it was a harsh post, and Donald Trump seemed to be wanting some sort of criminal prosecution.
And he does, after all, run the Department of Justice, at least at one remove.
So, I mean, presumably this could happen.
Typically, there's been a firewall between the Department of Justice and the White House just to avoid these kind of appearances of political influence on prosecutions and even investigations.
But that's not the way Donald Trump operates.
That's not the way he operated in his first term. and certainly not the way he has been operating this year in his second term.
And we've seen some of Donald Trump's rhetoric turn into actual investigations. actual prosecutions, actual searches.
Of course, John Bolton, Donald Trump's former national security advisor, who has been sharply critical of the president.
He had his office and home raided by the FBI on Friday looking for possible classified information.
We spoke about Lisa Cook. the Fed governor who has been referred for criminal prosecution under allegations of mortgage fraud.
Again, Part of this was because Donald Trump has wanted to influence the Fed and has spoken out against it.
So we are seeing a line this time around, this presidential term, between Donald Trump's rhetoric and actual... criminal investigation.
So I guess we can say that maybe there will be a prosecution on this.
We can't just take this as overheated rhetoric.
And what's Open Society saying about it?
Open Society released a statement saying that these allegations... were false, that they support democracy and open government, freedom of information in the United States. around the world.
They condemned in no uncertain terms what Donald Trump was saying.
Anything behind this, Anthony? Is there some latest event or change that has put Donald Trump in the mood to make these kind of changes? claims and suggestions, some new thing that's happened?
Is it related in any way to the sending in of National Guard into certain US cities to try and bring law and order, as Donald Trump says?
Open Society has spoken out against the National Guard involvement in Washington, D.C., and and in Los Angeles earlier this year, and Donald Trump's talk about sending National Guard troops into other cities like Baltimore and Chicago and into New York.
So that might have prompted that certainly got news attention on the conservative circles that Donald Trump pays attention to.
Soros organization had also. been linked to some of the protests against Tesla and the Tesla dealerships when Elon Musk, Tesla's CEO, was very active in... and laying off government workers earlier this year.
So criticism of Soros and conspiracy theories around George Soros and other...
Anger directed at George Soros has been bubbling around conservative circles for years.
I mean, more than a decade at this point.
It's not surprising that this could trigger Donald Trump.
But I think probably the calls for protest for his deployment of National Guard troops, that has been the triggering motive here.
Anthony Zerka there. This is Jacob Goldstein from What's Your Problem?
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Sofa start at just $6.99, making it the perfect time to upgrade your space.
Anibase pet-friendly, stain-resistant, and interchangeable slip covers are made with high-performance fabric built for real life.
You'll love the cloud-like comfort of hypoallergenic high resilience foam that never needs fluffing. durable steel frame that stands the test of time with modular pieces you can rearrange anytime it's a sofa that adapts to your life Now through Labor Day, get up to 60% off site-wide at washablesofas.com.
Every order comes with a 30-day satisfaction guarantee.
If you're not in love, send it back for a full refund.
No return shipping, no restocking fees, every penny back.
Shop now at washablesofas.com. Offers are subject to change and certain restrictions may apply.
You're with World Business Report from the BBC World Service.
Now, the world's top golfers often rank amongst some of the highest earning athletes in the world. and golf tournaments are known for having huge prize funds.
At this year's Masters tournament in Augusta, Georgia, the total prize fund was $21 million. and the winner, Rory McIlroy, took home £4.2 million.
But this is not the case for all pro golfers across the world, and many in Africa are struggling to make a living.
Zawadi Mudibo has been meeting African professional golfers who say they're having to take on other jobs because there's not enough money in the sport on the continent.
I am at the Namulonge nine-hole golf course to meet Rodel Gaita, one of the 60 professional golfers in Uganda. who's recently just won and retained his title at the Entebbe Professionals Golf Open tournament in central Uganda.
The earnings are not that good. When you've got an event, it's less than 10,000 US dollars.
So on a number of about 60 professionals, it's a scramble.
Once you make a cut or you have a win, you're just winning about 900 US dollars or 700 US dollars.
That only caters for your... call it accommodation people like me who have got a family now yeah you can't live off golf you need to have some side gigs you do as well to make it otherwise if you try to depend on golf you might get going back to the village i do driving i do uber when i leave golf i do driving in the evening That's the sound of a falcon slasher at Uganda's Namulonge Gulf Coast, where prospects of a facelift are on the horizon.
In Africa, playing golf both as a hobby and professionally is growing. largely due to rising awareness and more people with disposable incomes. in 2024 the golf equipment market in africa generated a revenue of 1.6 billion us dollars Africa had an estimated 600,000 9 and 18 hole golfers as of 2022.
But behind the growth of the sport lies a stark reality professional golfers in sub-Saharan Africa face.
The challenge of pursuing an underdeveloped sport with few tournaments and sponsorship.
After I turned pro, I really found out how difficult it is.
Because with professional golf, you have to really be settled.
Your mind has to be at ease. And for the next seven, eight years, I was just trying to stay afloat.
You can actually go a year, two years without being paid.
If you don't make a cut, you're not getting paid.
That's the brutal. This is Dane Moore from the small copper belt town of Indola, Zambia.
He moved to South Africa as a teenager to pursue his golf career.
Without the sponsors that I have, I don't think I would have come this far where I would have continued playing. because financially it's just too much of a stress.
Or I would have had to, like other golfers, have a side hustle to fund all of this. and balance out life, family, all that.
Sometimes you're playing very good golf and you can make a lot of money in a short period of time, or you're playing very bad golf and you lose a lot of money in a short period of time.
Most clubhouse tournaments across East, West and Central Africa are for amateur or weekend golfers. for those looking to earn a living out of the sport.
Here, the sport is largely characterized by narrow opportunities for financial gain, where the passes or prize fund is not sufficient to make a living.
Uche Andrew Odo is a Nigerian pro golfer.
I must say for me it's a mixed feeling. Mixed feeling because there are quite a number of events that we have. around Africa, but mainly because of the small price money, you don't want to pay a flight ticket all the way to Uganda for example, or Kenya for example, you want to go and play in a particular tournament and Clearly, pro golfers could still make far more than the average wage in sub-Saharan Africa.
A prize of $900 for winning a tournament is the equivalent of a month's salary for most people.
But as we have heard, there are no guarantees.
Sawadi Mudibo there reporting on what it's like being a professional golfer in Africa.
Now when we travel on a bus or a train, most of us expect to do so without being assaulted by other people's loud phone conversations or the soundtrack of the movie that they're watching.
But increasingly it seems our fellow passengers don't necessarily feel the same way and it can make us quite annoyed.
Come in! Now I'm on the train! There's a lot of people, you know, they talk quite loudly and it is annoying.
Sometimes you could be in a different mindset, you know, and you don't want to hear a lot of noise.
I've seen them with literal speakers before.
It's ridiculous. I don't know why. They might think it's cool, I don't know.
As long as it's not too loud, innit? I try and mind my own business.
Keep to myself. I just sit there and think, oh lovely, and then I hear, ah! and it's sometimes very loud and then they're ringing or they're watching some sort of loud film No, it is a bit of a bugbear for me.
And I sit there and I glare at them and I think, I'm turning into a really miserable old lady.
The views of some London commuters there will now Transport for London, which runs the city's underground trains and buses, has launched a campaign to urge people not to be...
But does this mean that they will fine those who don't follow this advice?
I asked Amy Horton, a London-based freelance journalist.
No, they're not going to be fining people.
The campaign at the moment just consists of Posters being put up on their network, starting with the Elizabeth line and then I think rolling out across August.
And these posters are just part of their hashtag travel kind campaign asking for people to be more considerate.
So no, no fines. But it is a problem, isn't it?
I mean, you're in London. You know it. I know it as well.
But just explain what happens and why it is a problem.
Yeah, I think especially now that there's a lot more 4G and 5G coverage on London Underground lines, there's a small minority of people. listening to music out loud or scrolling through TikTok out loud or taking phone calls out loud, which, you know, at best is... mild annoyance for other travelers and at worst can kind of cause severe distress for people who might have like you know conditions that heighten noise sensitivity and could they have an emotional reaction to it?
It's called bear beating, isn't it? There's actually a term for it.
Yeah, I think it's been called bear muting in the past or headphone dodging.
I've heard it being called. So yeah, preference.
Yeah. But why? I mean, why do people do that?
Surely, you know, you want to listen to a piece of music, I suppose, or have a phone conversation, I suppose, even.
You would naturally either do that in private or use headphones, surely.
Yeah, of course. I think, you know, when I'm on the tube and suddenly I realise my headphones aren't connected to my music, I'm in a panic trying to connect them, make sure no one else can hear.
I think maybe it's older people who aren't necessarily as tech savvy. like heard stories where people have been having loud conversations or playing music out loud and not really realized and had that social awareness and you know someone's asked them to to turn it down or put headphones in and they've apologised for it.
And I guess maybe there are cases where it's a bit more of just a lack of consideration and not really caring for... how other people around you are.
Because what you're describing there sounds like a very civilised interaction, and forgive my cynicism.
Thank you. But going up to someone and telling them, please don't play your loud music or have your loud conversation, you're not necessarily going to get the right answer, are you?
This is true, yeah. I think it can be hard to know when to confront people about it or not, which is where maybe the posters do have value because...
It might allow people to feel more empowered to ask people to turn it down.
But yeah, you never know what kind of reaction you're going to get.
Amy, have you ever asked someone to be quiet or not, you know, be loud or done anything of that kind?
I haven't done it personally, no. I'm not a very confrontational person, unfortunately.
So even if it was someone who was having a really loud... unpleasant conversation or you just say, you'd be very English and just sit there and go, nope, not going to say anything.
Yeah, exactly. The British sensibility, I think maybe I would just, you know, turn my own headphones up and get on with it.
Well, I'm shocked. I mean, you know, you've got to say what you think, surely.
Amy Horton there, London-based freelance journalist.
And the headphone campaign by Transport for London is set to be rolled out on all public transport in London by the autumn.
Lots. of rather finger-wagging posters perhaps telling us what we should or shouldn't do.
And let me add, of course, if, on the other hand, you are listening to World Business Report, something really important like that... then of course it would be perfectly reasonable to broadcast it to all the commuters who would be only too happy to learn all about tariffs against India and... and golfing in Africa and all those other things you've heard on the program.
But that's it from World Business Report.
Bye-bye.
