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The refund system set up by U.S. Customs and Border Protection to enable companies to recover illegally collected tariffs from ​the U.S. government went live on Monday. U.S. importers, including Target and Walmart, are due more than $160bn in refunds following the Supreme Court's decision ruling the tariffs unlawful in February. CNBC nevertheless notes that trade lawyers are warning of bureaucratic hurdles, legal vulnerabilities, and the possibility of a last-minute appeal by the Trump administration. ″[Importers] are pessimistic that the government is going to make this easy. They’re anticipating that the government is going to make it as difficult as possible to get their money back,” said trade attorney Matthew Seligman, principal at Grayhawk Law. 

 

CNBC

Reuters

The U.S. Treasury Department ​is asking ‌private credit firms to submit information ​about their ​business models and ties ⁠to the ​regulated financial system. Firms are being asked about their recent performance and relationships ​with ​banks, ⁠insurance, and reinsurance companies. A Treasury spokesperson said the department “routinely confers” with market participants and financial regulators about private credit.

 

Punchbowl News

Proposed ​reforms to Biden-era rules on enhanced disclosures by the $26 trillion private fund industry have been jointly tabled by the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The SEC said such changes would reduce burdens on the private funds and investment advisers while still requiring the collection of "necessary and appropriate" information.

 

Reuters

The NAACP has launched legal action against Elon Musk's xAI Corp. for allegedly constructing a gas plant to power its Colossus 2 data center near Memphis without the necessary air permits. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi, claims violations of the federal Clean Air Act and seeks penalties of up to $124,400 per day for each violation. The NAACP argues that the 27 gas turbines "potentially put the nearby, predominately Black community at risk." Earthjustice and the Southern Environmental Law Center are acting as legal counsel for the NAACP.

 

Bloomberg Law

Reuters reports that AI is presenting new issues for attorney confidentiality rules, particularly after a federal judge in New York ruled earlier this year that Bradley Heppner, the former chair of bankrupt financial services firm GWG Holdings, could not shield his AI chats from prosecutors pursuing securities fraud charges against him. More than a dozen major U.S. law ​firms have outlined advice for people and companies to decrease the chances of AI chats ending up in court. "We are telling our clients: You should proceed with caution," said Alexandria Gutiérrez Swette of New York-based law firm Kobre & Kim.

 

Reuters

The European Union’s age verification application is ready to be rolled out to protect children online, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Wednesday. “Our European age verification app is technically ready” and will “soon” be “available for citizens to use,” von der Leyen said at a press conference in Brussels. “We are moving ahead with full speed and determination ⁠on the enforcement of our European rules. We are holding accountable those online platforms that do not ​protect our kids enough . . . This app gives parents, teachers, caretakers a powerful tool to protect children, because we will have zero tolerance for companies that ​do not respect our children's rights.”

 

European Commission

CNN

Politico

Reuters

The European Commission has said Google should allow third-party search engines, including that of artificial ‌intelligence chatbots with search functionalities, to access its search data in order to comply with the Digital Markets Act. Clare Kelly, senior competition counsel at Google, said the company would contest the measures, which it said overreached and would jeopardise ​users' privacy. "Hundreds of millions of Europeans trust Google with their ⁠most sensitive searches - including private questions about their health, family, and finances - ​and the Commission's proposal would force us to hand this data over ​to third parties, with dangerously ineffective privacy protections," Kelly said.

 

EU Today

Engadget

Reuters

The European Commission has said Meta’s recent attempt to charge fees for rival AI assistants on WhatsApp does not address its antitrust concerns. "The Commission notified Meta that the ​revised policy seems to have the same effect of excluding third-party ⁠AI assistants from WhatsApp and thus appears at first sight to ​be in breach of EU competition rules," the EU's executive arm said. Interim measures would remain in place until the end of the investigation, the Commission said, adding: "To prevent serious and irreparable harm ​to competition, the Commission intends to order Meta to reinstate access for ​third-party AI assistants under the same conditions as before 15 October 2025."

 

Politico

Reuters

Samsung Electronics wants a court to block the company's South Korean labor unions from engaging in illegal activities ​during strike action. Unionized workers at the world's largest manufacturer of memory chips last month voted to authorize strike plans and threatened to walk out for 18 days ​from May 21, should a ​wage deal with management not be agreed upon. The unions accused Samsung of infringing on workers' right to strike, which is protected under the law. A strike at the company could worsen bottlenecks in the global supply of semiconductors.

 

Straits Times

The Bank of England is conducting tests to better understand the risks and opportunities AI presents for the financial sector, BoE Deputy Governor for Financial Stability Sarah Breeden said in a letter to the U.K. Parliament’s Treasury Committee. Testing will focus on "herding" behavior that could amplify selloffs during periods ​of market stress, Breeden said. The BoE said it disagreed with an assessment ‌by the Treasury Committee that it was taking a "wait-and-see" approach to the risks presented by AI.

 

PYMNTS.com

Reuters

Insurers are seeking to avoid paying out nearly €580m ($684m) over September 2022 attacks on Nord Stream ​gas pipelines that were a direct result of Russia's invasion ‌of Ukraine. Nord Stream is suing Lloyd's and Arch Insurance over blasts that ruptured pipelines carrying Russian gas under the Baltic Sea to Germany. No state has taken responsibility for the explosions. Lawyers representing Lloyd's and Arch at the High Court in London say Nord Stream's insurance policy excludes damage caused by war or under the ‌order of ⁠any government. The trial is expected to last about five weeks.

 

Financial Times

Reuters

Regulators have hesitated to impose taxes on e-cigarettes, fearing it might push vapers back to traditional tobacco. However, a recent study published in Health Economics indicates that higher prices can effectively reduce e-cigarette use among adult vapers without increasing tobacco smoking. Lead researcher Shaoying Ma from the Center for Tobacco Research at Ohio State University said: "Our findings suggest that increasing e-cigarette prices can effectively reduce vaping without the unintended consequence of more smoking among adult vapers." The study found that mid-range prices led to a 30% to 33% drop in vape sales, while the highest prices resulted in a 49% to 51% decrease. The research concluded that higher e-cigarette prices do not significantly correlate with increased cigarette smoking among adult vapers in the U.S.

 

US News and World Report