WEBVTT - December 20, 2023: China Tariffs, Hamas Command, More

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<v Speaker 1>News when you want it with Bloomberg News Now. I'm

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<v Speaker 1>Brian Curtis in Los Angeles. The Biden administration is said

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<v Speaker 1>to be discussing raising tariffs on some Chinese goods, including

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<v Speaker 1>electric vehicles. The Wall Street Journal reports it's an attempt

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<v Speaker 1>to bolster the US clean energy industry against cheaper Chinese exports.

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<v Speaker 1>The Israeli military says it has uncovered a major Hamas

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<v Speaker 1>command center in the heart of Gaza City. The military

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<v Speaker 1>says it's a serious blow to Hamas pressure is growing

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<v Speaker 1>on Israel to scale back the offensive. Secretary of State

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<v Speaker 1>Anthony Blincoln says the US expects to see Israel move

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<v Speaker 1>to lower the intensity of the operation with.

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<v Speaker 2>A smaller number of forces. That's really focused in on

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<v Speaker 2>dealing with the leadership of Hamas, the tunnel network, and

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<v Speaker 2>a few other critical things. And as that happens, I

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<v Speaker 2>think you'll see as well, the harmed to civilians also

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<v Speaker 2>decrease significantly.

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<v Speaker 1>B Lincoln did not mention a timeline for the shift.

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<v Speaker 1>Chinese President Hijinping told US President Biden that Beijing will

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<v Speaker 1>reunify Taiwan with mainland China, but he said that timing

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<v Speaker 1>had not yet been decided that's according to NBC, the

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<v Speaker 1>conversation took place during the recent summit in San Francisco.

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<v Speaker 1>We get more with Bloomberg's Kailey lines.

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<v Speaker 3>As really underscores how difficult the Taiwan issue is for

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<v Speaker 3>this administration, which still technically abides by the one China policy,

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<v Speaker 3>tries to exercise strategic ambiguity when it comes to Taiwan.

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<v Speaker 3>But President Biden has also been on the record saying

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<v Speaker 3>that the US would come to Taiwan's defense if attacked. Attack,

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<v Speaker 3>of course, would implicate that it is actually attempt to

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<v Speaker 3>take it by force. But still this idea that China

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<v Speaker 3>does intend to actually bring Taiwan back more solidly into

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<v Speaker 3>the fold. It creates a problem for the US that

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<v Speaker 3>is really trying to be supportive of democracy in Taiwan,

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<v Speaker 3>but is really reluctant to weigh in on the independence question.

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<v Speaker 1>Bloomberg's Kyley lines Donald Trump's legal team is urging the

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<v Speaker 1>Supreme Court to hold off on intervening in his election

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<v Speaker 1>obstruction case. Bloomberg's At Baxter has the story.

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<v Speaker 4>This is the case brought by Special Counsel Jack Smith,

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<v Speaker 4>saying Trump conspire to overturn the twenty twenty election. Smith

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<v Speaker 4>requested the consideration of Trump's immunity claim, seeking to ensure

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<v Speaker 4>the trial can start on March fourth. Trump's lawyers are

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<v Speaker 4>arguing there has not been identification of a compelling reason

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<v Speaker 4>for thet's extraordinary haste he proposes. Trump has long said

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<v Speaker 4>he wants the cases put off until after the twenty

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<v Speaker 4>twenty four election. This is the first Trump criminal case

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<v Speaker 4>to hit the Supreme Court, and the court could rule

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<v Speaker 4>as early as this week whether it will hear it,

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<v Speaker 4>ed Baxter Bloomberg Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Meantime, President Biden said that Venezuelan leader Nicholas Maduro is

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<v Speaker 1>honoring promises to adopt political reforms. That's as the US

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<v Speaker 1>announced the prisoner's swap deal with the South American country.

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<v Speaker 1>Biden said Maduro is so far keeping his commitment on

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<v Speaker 1>a free election. Venezuela freed ten Americans and handed over

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<v Speaker 1>an infamous US defense contractor. That contractor is nicknamed Fat Leonard.

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<v Speaker 1>It's all in exchange for a close ally and a

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<v Speaker 1>financier of Maduro. US consumer confidence rose in December by

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<v Speaker 1>the most since early twenty twenty one. The Conference Board

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<v Speaker 1>says Americans are growing more upbeat about the economy and

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<v Speaker 1>the labor market. Even so, the board's chief economist Stana

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<v Speaker 1>Peterson says, there are still concerns.

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<v Speaker 5>We actually ask consumers for right ends, and the write

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<v Speaker 5>ends still continue to complain about inflation, both food and energy.

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<v Speaker 5>Their concerns about politics were a little less intense, but

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<v Speaker 5>they are concerned about interest rates. But interestingly, in December,

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<v Speaker 5>the number thinking that interest rates were going to continue

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<v Speaker 5>to rise of the next year actually lessen. So it's

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<v Speaker 5>still inflation. I still think that's the big story for consumers.

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<v Speaker 1>More on that, the conference board to outlook for high

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<v Speaker 1>prices did improve. Expected inflation a year ahead fell to

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<v Speaker 1>the lowest level since late twenty twenty. Micron Technology, the

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<v Speaker 1>largest US maker of memory semiconductors, says second quarter revenue

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<v Speaker 1>will be five point one to five point five billion dollars.

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<v Speaker 1>That was stronger than the analyst estimate of four point

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<v Speaker 1>nine to nine billion. CEO Sanjay Merotra says there's a

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<v Speaker 1>strong demand for the expensive memory that is used in

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<v Speaker 1>data centers. We get more from Bloomberg's Ian King.

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<v Speaker 6>That is certainly the message that the CEO wants to

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<v Speaker 6>get across that you know a certain type of data

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<v Speaker 6>center demand, and that's related to AI that these big

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<v Speaker 6>and video based systems that we need need a lot

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<v Speaker 6>of memory. That's great, and that's very profitable, and they're

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<v Speaker 6>in fact sold out of that. And what he also

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<v Speaker 6>said was, look, you know, smartphones, PCs. We're not talking

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<v Speaker 6>about huge expansions here, but at least things are getting

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<v Speaker 6>better after a couple of really brutal years.

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<v Speaker 1>Bloomberg's ian king Micron shares traded up four point eight

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<v Speaker 1>percent in late trading. And that's news when you wanted

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<v Speaker 1>with Bloomberg News. Now I Brien Curtis, this is Bloomberg