Cut

Someone cut five submarine cables in the Baltic. Finland already points as responsible for a ship of the “shade fleet”

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In the middle of Christmas, five submarine cables that connect Finland and Estonia were damaged. According to the Finnish Prosecutor’s Officeit was a deliberate act: an oil tanker dragged its anchor for about 90 kilometers and cut the electric interconnection Estlink 2 and four telecommunications cables. More than seven months later, on August 11, 2025, The Prosecutor’s Office presented positions For aggravated damage and aggravated interference in communications against the captain and two officers of the Eagle S ship, a ship linked to the call “shadow”That the European authorities associate with the elusion of restrictions on Russian crude. On the night of December 25, 2024, the Estlink 2 link stopped operating suddenly and, shortly after, failures were detected in four data cables that cross the same section of the Gulf of Finland. The service did not collapse thanks to alternative routes, but the technical impact was immediate and the authorities opened an investigation focused on the trajectory of a ship that sailed near the affected area. 90 kilometers groove at the bottom of the Baltic. The damage pattern was unequivocal: a prolonged groove in the seabed that coincided with the passage of the Eagle S. The researchers point out that The trajectory of the ship registered in the navigation data flashes with the damaged areas. Police recovered an anchor whose location coincided with the Eagle S route and with the detected groove, information between the evidence that motivated the accusation against the three officers. A cable that transports 650 megawatts under the sea. Estlink 2 is a high voltage electrical interconnection in direct current that joins Finland and Estonia for the seabed. He entered into market operation in December 2013 and was inaugurated in 2014; Its capacity reaches 650 megawatts and its function is to balance the electrical demand between the two countries. After the cut, Fingrid and Elering activated contingencies to maintain stability, and the link returned to the market at 01:00 of June 20, 2025 after repairs. In addition to the power grid, Four telecommunications cables were damagedaffecting part of data traffic between Finland and Estonia. Among the impacted operators are Elisa, Cinia – of public majority ownership – and a cable managed by CITIC. The repair work began days later and extended several weeks; According to the Prosecutor’s Office, the owners have assumed at least 60 million euros in direct repair costs, without relevant impacts on end users thanks to the alternative routed. An old acquaintance under magnifying glass. He Eagle s It is an oil company registered in the Cook Islands that sailed from the Russian port of UST-Luga with oil products and was detected in the vicinity of the affected area. Several media place their property in Caravella Llc Fzbased in United Arab Emirates. The ship appears in the so -called “Shadow Flot”, formed by boats with opaque structures that have continued to operate despite the restrictions. The European Union included Eagle S on its list of ships sanctioned on May 20, 2025. Can Finland judge it? The debate on jurisdiction. The defense claims that the cuts occurred outside the Finnish territorial waters. Because of this, Reuters pointsthe country would not have competence to prosecute the crew. The Prosecutor’s Office appeals to the territorial effect: the consequences occurred in Finland, in the electricity and communications, and that would justify the criminal action. Helsinki’s court now has the task to decide on competition and, where appropriate, set procedural deadlines. The result of the judicial decision will mark the next chapter of the case. If the Court accepts Finnish competition, the process against Eagle S officers will be a milestone in the European response to attacks against critical infrastructure. Images | HTM (Wikimedia Commons) In Xataka | The USA opened the way and China took note: it is updating its fleet with ships that have electromagnetic catapults

cut mountains

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The tunnels have saved us from surroundings to mountains and rock surfaces for decades. However, it is not the only technique to shorten time and develop new roads that connect cities with each other. In this aspect, it is worth telling how China once again demonstrates its ability to transform the landscape with a technique that seems taken from a science fiction film: literally cut mountains To build roads. Explosives, giant excavators and a millimeter planning is necessary to divide rock formations of hundreds of meters high. How the technique works. After A geological study Exhaustive to determine the composition of the mountain and plan the cuts so that they do not compromise the stability of the land, engineers use controlled explosives to create the first fractures, followed by specialized heavy machinery that can excavate tens of meters deep per day. The remaining walls are stabilized with metal meshes, projected concrete and drainage systems to avoid landslides. The final result is A clean step through the mountainwith vertical walls up to 200 meters high that seems that someone with a giant knife has crossed them. A technique in multiple regions of China. These ‘cut walls’ can be seen mainly in The mountainous provinces of GuizhouYunnan and Sichuan, where the karst terrain and the complicated rock formations made the construction of traditional tunnels impracticable. Projects as prominent as the Guiyang-Qianxi highway or the Taihang mountain pass have turned hours of hours into minutes. It has also been used in the construction of the High Speed Railroad that connects Beijing with Guangzhou, where several sections go through literally games in half. Click the image to watch the video Why not tunnels are used. The decision to cut instead of drilling usually comes Due to technical criteria and specific economics. In land with high concentration of groundwater or unstable rock formations, building tunnels can be more expensive and risky than direct cut. In addition, the maintenance of an open step is considerably simpler than that of a tunnel, which requires constant ventilation, lighting and drainage systems. In low -rise mountains, the cut also allows the greater proliferation of heavy vehicles, especially in an economy that depends so much on the transport of road goods. Beyond China. Although China has perfected and popularized this technique, it is not the only country that uses it. Norway uses similar methods in its fjords, where the characteristics of the land make the cut more viable than drilling (although in this country we also have spectacular projects of tunnels under construction such as Rogfast). In the United States, Cumberland Gap’s pass in the Apalaches was created by cutting techniques, although on a smaller scale. However, no country matches the ambition and scale of Chinese projects, which have become an art the mountain cut. Environmental impact. Although the benefits of using this technique are evident, especially in the aspect of econic development and its effectiveness to connect remote regions, this technique also generates a certain debate around environmental impact. And it is that this type of constructions can end up destroying local ecosystems, altering natural drainage patterns or fragmenting wildlife habitats, not to mention the amount of dust and noise during its construction that can generate millions of tons in waste. It can also be said that it is not the most used technique, since the tunnels remain the preference except exceptional cases. Cover image | Zhang Meifang and R/Damnthatsintending In Xataka | China has a prey capable of changing the rotation of the earth. Now they are building an even bigger

Cut the Internet in half a country

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The war between Russia and Ukraine is far from being symmetrical: while Russia attacks Shaheds of thermobárica load, Ukraine does so with pellets. However, kyiv is reaping great successes with drones, as in the Spiderweb Operation. They are among the main reasons why the higher commanders of the Zelenski army believe that the country You can resist this year and beyond. And they are causing havoc in infrastructure and Internet cuts to the population. Reality. Associated Press collects the complaints of many Russian citizens who complain about the normal MOBILE NETWORK In his country: “We have the Internet until 12 at night, and recently there has been no connection,” the blogger Pavel Osipyan on Instagram was rapped from the city. In that city the cuts are frequent, but also in others such as Voronezh, near Ukraine or Samara. A difficult day by day for citizens. Internet cuts are leaving many people without being able to pay by card, without being able to use transport applications or even unable to get money from ATMs. The Na Svyazi activist group, whose name translates into Russian for “being connected”, He has reported mobile internet cuts in 73 of 80 regions. And in 41 of them, there are also cuts from the domestic Internet. The official reason. Russian authorities are making internet cuts in many regions because Russian and Ukrainian drones depend on mobile networks to operate and operate key aspects such as navigation, according to, Kateryna StepanenkoRussian analyst at Institute for the Study of War. The mobile connection is also key to sending video in real time and receiving orders. The trend began in May, celebrating the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Germany in World War II. Dmitry Peskov, spokesperson for the Kremim confirmed deliberate restrictions. How long? “It will be done as necessary.” In the Duma, these blockages were talked about as a form of “Preventive protection aimed at suppressing possible threats“ The suspicion: Russia kills two birds with a shot. In Russia they have been common internet cuts and Social Network Blockingand experts like Anastasiya Zhyrmont, of the group Access Nowframe these new Internet blockages as another form of population control. In this sense, constantly chase VPN services. YouTube, for example, is not blocked, but Very slowedalready end of the year was in a 20% of its normal level of activity. From Human Rights Watch They have indicated in the past their restrictive measures as censorship. Disconnection and alternative. Russia has been preparing for a total internet disconnection for years. In 2019 he tested disconnect your network infrastructure of the rest of the Internet, and the experiment was listed as ‘success’. At the end of 2024, the country successfully simulated a Internet disconnection in several regions. Before a possible forced disconnection, such as asked Ukraine in 2022 To the Icann, there are A whole plan ready. Image | Maxim SubotinXataka, Trong Khiem Nguyen (Flickr) In Xataka | The production of Russian drones was so huge that Ukraine has opened them looking for clues. The surprise is China

Madrid has already set the card brake on the classrooms. The scissors will not cut all centers by educational equally

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The Community of Madrid just put date to an idea that had been around for some time: Limit the use of screens among the little ones. From the 2025/26 course, children in children and primary schools of public and concerted centers will not be able to work with digital devices individually. The official objective is to protect them from excessive or inappropriate use, something that, they say, will benefit more than half a million children. What changes in Infant and Primary? In practice, this means that in childhood and primary school it ends to have each one its tablet or its laptop. According to the Community of Madrid, teachers will not be able to send duties that require screen outside school and, within the classroom, only shared use and always with a pedagogical purpose will be allowed. This use will be very measured: in the first cycle of children (up to 3 years) there will be no contact with screens, in the second cycle (3 to 6 years) it will be limited to an hour weekly, in 1st and 2nd primary school also at one hour, in 3rd and 4th at an hour and a half and up to two hours per week in the last two courses. The exception of high school. ESO plays with other rules. Instead of a veto, the Community of Madrid leaves the decision in the hands of each institute. They will be the ones who mark whether or not they are used tablets, laptops or mobiles in class, adapting the rules to the reality of their students, their maturity and the way in which the subjects impart. Private schools: the great nuance. Not all schools are in the same bag. As Madrid’s Diario stands outthis regulation is only imposed on centers with public funds. The private ones are left out, although they are encouraged to apply their own criteria to regulate the use of technology in the classrooms. Exceptions and special cases. The regulations leave some open doors. For example, students with special needs can use tablets or computers without limits if recommended by a psychopedagogical report. In addition, the decree allows devices to be used in those options or programs that are not understood without technology, such as some digital or robotics projects. Progressive Supervision and Adaptation. It will not be a change overnight. The educational inspection will be responsible for controlling that the decree is applied correctly, but also to help the centers so that the change is as traumatic as possible. In addition, schools with projects where each student has their own device will have an extra year, until 2026/27, to adapt and reduce the use of screens. Open context and debate. Not everyone sees this change with the same eyes. The more than 400 allegations received that the debate is still open: are we protecting children or limiting their contact with tools that will be key in their future? The Madrid community is committed to the first reading, but the pulse between traditional education and digitalization is far from resolving. Images | Freepik (1, 2) In Xataka | The icing on the cake to the works of Madrid: the city has become a gymkana of reforms, cuts and discomfort

France needs to cut 40,000 million euros. And he has decided to start for something sacred in Europe: the holidays

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In France there are officially 11 holidays nationals per year, all established through Code du travail (Labor Code). In Spain, on the other hand, we cannot complain: “We enjoy” up to 14 of this type of day. It happens that the French have come up with an idea to refloat their maltrecha economy: start removing holidays from the labor calendar. That Europe trembles. Delete the party. French Prime Minister François Bayrou has presented One of the most radical and politically risky budgetary proposals of the last decades in France: freezing public spending, cutting pensions and social benefits, suppressing two national holidays and applying a new “solidarity contribution” to the great fortunes. Its objective: prevent the country from succumbing under the weight of a public debt that this year It will devour 62,000 million of euros only in interest, an amount equivalent to the combined expense in defense and education. In an appearance that defined as “the moment of truth”, Bayrou warned that France runs the risk of falling into a debt crisis similar to that of Greece in 2008 if it does not act in decision, and launched a message to the citizens: “We have become addicted to public spending. We must all make an effort.” The cost of two holidays. Among the most controversial measures, the holiday suppression of the Easter Monday And on May 8 (Victory Day), with which the Executive estimates Save 4,200 million of euros. France has 11 national holidays, compared to the eight of the United Kingdom or the 14 of Spain, which according to Bayrou is An incompatible luxury With the current fiscal situation. The measure aims to increase the number of working days as an indirect tool To stimulate economic growth. But beyond immediate savings, the elimination of days of deep historical and cultural burden represents a high -voltage political challenge, one that has aroused a transverse rejection in Parliament and public opinion. The attack on collective memory symbols, in a country where the history of world wars is a national identity pillar, has turned the proposal into an emotional catalyst. Structural austerity. Bayrou’s budget plan includes 44,000 million euros In tax and cuts increases. Among them, a general freezing of public spending by 2026 (which has been called A Année Blanche) without automatic inflation reviews, and without increases in pensions or social protection programs. This single measure would save 7.1 billion euros, the second largest component of the plan. The Rationalization of health expenditureincluding medications and low disease, as well as the unification of multiple social aid in a single payment with a stop, focused on low income. Bayrou also wants Cut the benefits by unemployment and reduce its duration. The only exempt from adjustment is the debt service and the defense budget, which will increase by 10 % (6.5 billion euros) In direct order by Emmanuel Macron, in response to the deterioration of the international environment and Russian threat. Suicidal political bet. He counted The Financial Times that, aware of the rejection that its plan causes throughout the political spectrum, Bayrou has been willing to Apply article 49.3 of the Constitution, which allows the budget to be approved without parliamentary vote, although with the risk of facing a motion of censure. This would be the same mechanism that led to the fall of its predecessor, Michel Barnierin 2023, for trying to unlink the pensions of the inflation index, an idea that Bayrou has now resumed. Marine Le Pen, leader of the national regrouping, has not taken long In threatening to censor him If you do not withdraw your proposals, denouncing a plan that “attacks all French, the workers and retirees, instead of ending the waste.” The left considers the project as A “wild austerity” that aggravates inequality and leaves intact the privileges of capital. Mujtaba Rahman, director for Europe of the Eurasia Group analysis group, defined it as “A kamikaze maneuver”: A proposal that has no chance of being approved but puts on the table the magnitude of the fiscal problem. A country on the edge. With a deficit 5.8% of GDP (the third highest in the EU after Romania and Poland) and a debt that is headed towards 115% of GDPFrance is at a critical crossing. If corrective measures are not applied, the cost of the debt could climb to 100,000 million of euros per year in 2029, becoming the largest structural burden of the budget. Bayrou has designed a five -year plan to stabilize that debt/GDP ratio, with the ambition to reduce the 4.6% deficit in 2026 and 3% in 2029. But analysts have warned that such objectives could be “inaccessible” Given the political fragility of the government, parliamentary polarization and the foreseeable social resistance. In Bayrou words: “We know the risks perfectly,” but suggests that giving up the attempt would be even more dangerous. Would it be possible in Spain? In Spain, the possibility of eliminating holidays nationwide is legally possible, but not unilateral or automatic, since it would require a normative reform and institutional negotiation. The reason? It’s not an exclusive competence of the central government and, unlike France, the Spanish system distributes this faculty between the State (fixed 8 days), the autonomous communities (set up to 4 days) and the municipalities (set up to 2 days). Plus: Remember that 14 annual holidays per worker are a right recognized in the Workers Statutebut its concrete distribution is variable. The law allows some holidays to move to Monday, replace them with others or even suppress in specific years, provided that 14 days in total are respected. France and a last act. In the case of France, rather than an economic proposal, Bayrou’s budget plan has acquired the form of a kind of Declaration of principles in front of a fractured country. It is the bet of a veteran politician who seems willing to assume the cost of impopularity to address A structural problem that most of their predecessors have avoided. One thing is clear: parliamentary arithmetic is … Read more

OpenAI has cut the price of O3 80%. And as a gift to the sector has sent a price war that will destroy margins

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Openai has moved token: the same day as presented O3 pro The price of O3 cut 80 %. It may only be segmentation, but very possibly it is also an advance of the price war that starts when the rivals already touch their performance and internal efficiency allows us to serve Tokens for cents. The new step is like this (prices per million Tokens): ENTRANCE EXIT OpenAi O3 $ 2 (before $ 10) $ 8 (before $ 40) OPENAI O3 PRO $ 20 $ 80 Gemini 2.5 Pro $ 1.25 $ 10 Claude 3.7 Sonnet $ 3 $ 15 Deepseek R.1-0528 $ 0.55 $ 2.19 That price narrowing comes because quality already converges in practice: almost all models “reason” comparable in common tasks, and hardware and inference efficiency improvements (on the side of OpenAi and the rest) reduce the marginal cost of serving each Token. The result is manual: The price becomes the main lever and segmentation appears as a containment dike —How the creation of O3 Pro, designed for customers willing to pay a lot due to low latencies, huge contexts or formal audits. For developers this is fertile land. 2 dollars a million tokens, AI ceases to be a luxury expense and looks like a CDN: Payment for use, without permanence contract. Yes tomorrow Gemini either Deepseek They offer better value for money, change is reasonably simple in infrastructure and Prompts. The blocking effect is transferred to the layer that surrounds the model (tools, data, user experience), not the model itself. At the contrary end of the cost spectrum, Apple has integrated its foundational models directly into operating systems. Any app can be invoked at home, free and without counters from Tokens No invoices at the end of the month: AI becomes as invisible as GPS or camera. It is another function. The play Remember the emergence of WordPress in the early 2000s. At that time, publishing online required or a lot of knowledge or a lot of money to pay someone to have it. WordPress loaded that barrier and democratized the publication. Twenty years later we gave the xataka legend to its creator precisely because of that. And now what? Possibly, an adjustment downward the margins in the base models and a migration of the business towards higher level services: observability, management of the management Fine Tuningprivate data accommodation, vertical agents … exactly what happened with the cloud when the price of the gigabyte sank and the value moved to the management layers. The “magic” of AI is blurred, but its usefulness – now much more affordable – opens the door to a much wider market. Just what Openai needs. In Xataka | O4-mini is much more than another model of AI. It is the Tesla Model 3 of OpenAI Outstanding image | Ilgmyzin in Unspash

is to cut off their fingers

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David Balland is one of the co -founders of Ledger. He no longer works actively in the company and retired with his partner to a town in the central part of France. In January both were kidnapped at gunpoint. Shortly after the kidnappers sent a video to ask for a rescue: in it they showed how one of the fingers to Balland was cut. The violent event is just an example of a dangerous trend in recent months. Wave of kidnappings and attacks. As they point out In The Wall Street Journalin recent months there have been several cases of kidnapping attempts or attacks with violence that have suffered people with an alleged great heritage in cryptocurrencies. “Help! Help!”. The daughter of the CEO of Paymium, a market for the sale of cryptodivisas in France, suffered an attempt to kidnapping recently. The woman went with her son and her husband when Uns men tried to put her in a white van. The woman asked for help, the husband struggled with the attackers and a neighbor who was close took the child to try to take him away. When other neighbors approached the attackers ended up getting into the van and fleeing. All over the world. Last September a man was sentenced to 47 years in prison for leading a band of criminals who carried out several assaults on the homes of people with large amounts of cryptocurrencies. In one of them they attacked a 76 -year -old man in Durham (USA) and threatened to cut the genitals. In Spain, too. On February 1, a woman appeared at the Marbella police station to warn that her son was kidnapped. The victim, a “trader” of London cryptocurrencies, ended using a trick to warn a friend in London and in fact he escaped from his captors. The founder of Tuenti, Zaryn Dentzel, was also kidnapped in 2021 to steal 25 million euros in Bitcoins. Its captors ended up being arrested and have been Nine years in prison. Better not to presume. Killian Desnnos is a French influencer residing in Malta and has often talked about how rich it is thanks to cryptocurrencies. In August 2023, a person disguised as a messenger from Amazon called his father’s house and kidnapped him. He sent a video pointing to the father with a gun. He ended up paying the rescue, the father was released the next day and the police found and arrested the two leaders of the kidnapping. “Showing on the Internet was not a good idea, I realize,” counted in X shortly after of the incident. What to hack. Traditionally criminals have tried to steal cryptocurrencies through cyber attacks to markets for the sale of these assets, but in recent times there are also numerous direct attacks to recognized people for being part of this segment and who supposedly have large amounts of money in the form of cryptodivisas. Kames LOPP, co -founder of the Bitcoin Casa security company, explains that “many people are reaching the security level of hiding money under the mattress,” and cryptocurrencies thus risk physical attacks. Data thefts do not help. How do criminals identify their victims? One of the possibilities is that they obtain such data from the robberies that some companies in this segment have suffered. Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase, four days ago, admitted that someone had stolen the data of 1% of the users of their platform (about 100,000 affected are estimated). Before it had already happened with Ledger, which in 2020 also suffered an intrusion that made it The data of 270,000 clients will be filtered. Identify cryptocurrencies. In France, as in Spain, there are public records of the owners of the companies and in them you can find the homes of those entrepreneurs. Taylor Monahan, who works in cybersecurity in Metamask, explains that cybercriminals manage to cross databases and even pay for sources of information. Doxing is an increasingly common problem And it allows attackers to obtain personal information and then harass it or, as in these cases, threaten to kidnappings or violent attacks. Image | Amjith s In Xataka | Today you only need one thing to become a pioneer of space flights: to have made a millionaire with Bitcoin

These are the things I did during the blackout so as not to get bored, and what will I do if there is a light cut again

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Behind him Mass blackout That we suffered a few days ago, I could use the mobile because I had an Internet connection. But there came a time when it didn’t work, so I took the opportunity to perform some activities to avoid boredom until the electricity supply arrived again. I made some, and others will do them in the hypothetical case of having a light cut. Take the opportunity to read at the ereader I’m currently reading ‘THE WAY OF THE KINGS‘, the first novel that begins the Archive of Brandon Sanderson’s storms, but had taken the reading for a week. I took the opportunity to continue reading a few digital chapters, using the Kobo Clara 2E. This model is no longer sold, so if you want a similar one Kobo Clara Color has a price of 169 euros In Mediamarkt. In Amazon it is cheaper, but the shipment takes several months. A EREADER It can come very well for prolonged moments in which we are left without light, since in addition to being able to save many digital books They usually have a several weeks autonomy. * Some price may have changed from the last review Start Berserk Nor did he have too much battery in the ereader, I did not want to exhaust her completely in case the light took too long to return. So taking advantage of the first two volumes from ‘the first two volumesBerserk‘, I decided to start Kentaro Miura manga. The first ‘Berserk’ volume has a price of 16.10 euros In its edition of Maximum Berserk. The truth is that it is a reading that I had pending for a long time, but that I bought, as I commented, a week ago. It is not the most premium edition, but it is very good. * Some price may have changed from the last review Play one Taking advantage that my partner was at home and that in my city it was festive (there was nothing open), we decided to play for a while ONE. We do not have many board or card games, but precisely the Deluxe edition We bought it a while ago and so far we had not played. Deluxe Cuesta edition 17.95 eurosbut the basic edition is cheaper, since it is found by 9.97 euros. * Some price may have changed from the last review Play the Nintendo Switch Although I have been playing some time without playing Nintendo SwitchI have connected it to the dock, so when the light left, the battery had completely charged. I took the opportunity to play just over half an hour at ‘The Talos Principle‘. However, the Nintendo console can be a good source of entertainment, at least for a few hours. Nintendo Switch currently has a price of 275 euros. In addition, he had several Video games in cooperative Local that are compatible with the Joy-with individual (although I also have a separate command), so, despite not getting to play them, we had in mind that we could spend some time playing the games. Nintendo Switch (standard) * Some price may have changed from the last review A puzzle To take advantage, above all, the sunny hours, I will bring the puzzles that I left for a long time at my parents’ house. I always let time pass and in the end I never start to ride them, so in this type of situation it may be well to take that step. Although it is not especially cheap, this Puzzle of ‘The Lord of the Rings’ I find it interesting to buy it. It has 2,000 pieces, so it can take a good time (or days) finish it. Can be found in Amazon by 32.69 euros. Puzzle of the Lord of the Rings (2,000 pieces) * Some price may have changed from the last review Some of the links of this article are affiliated and can report a benefit to Xataka. In case of non -availability, offers may vary. Image | Xiaomi In Xataka | These are some of the best batteries to be informed when there are unexpected light blackouts In Xataka | Five external batteries or powerbanks to have the mobile loaded for hours after an electric blackout

The trade war threatens to cut his wings in full takeoff

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The aeronautical sector It is emerging as one of the great victims by the Commercial War between the United States and China. At Growing tariff barriers imposed by both powers now adds Beijing’s alleged attempt to block the delivery of new Boeing aircraft in its territory. The information, Posted by Bloomberg earlier this weekalso points out that Chinese airlines will not be able to acquire equipment or pieces related to aviation to US suppliers. When a scenario like this is raised, it is easy to think that the closure of doors to Boeing and other American manufacturers can translate into an opportunity for firms such as Airbus or Comac. And, in part, it is. However, it is convenient to clarify: while Airbus’s main challenge is to increase its production capacity, in the case of Cabel the difficulties are deeper. The United States, in fact, could dynamite its most ambitious project overnight. As? Let’s look at the details. A plane with too many pieces borrowed In recent years we have seen how China has managed to make a decisive leap in multiple industries. One of the most obvious examples we have in front of our eyes: the automobile sector. For a long time, Chinese cars dragged a questionable reputation and a little competitive offer. Today the situation is very different. Something similar could be happening in commercial aviation. Although Airbus and Boeing continue to lead with slack, Cabe has been trying for years A hole in that historic duopoly. One of the key pieces in this important objective is the Comac C919a plane designed and assembled in China with an eye on competing directly with the Boeing 737 Max and the Airbus A320. With capacity for between 158 and 192 passengers and autonomy that ranges between 4,075 and 5,555 kilometers, its current deployment is still limited. However, if we attend to the growth rate of the Asian giant, everything indicates that it is a matter of time that the C919 is also consolidated outside its origin borders. But the project drags, at least for now, an Achilles heel that often goes unnoticed: a deep dependence on American technology. That’s how it is. The pride of Chinese aviation, the most ambitious development of its entire history in this sector, works thanks to key components manufactured by a rival country. For years, these pieces have crossed the ocean without major obstacles. But a block could hit the very heart of the Chinese dream of having its own regional reference plane. So what pieces are we talking about exactly? To understand it, it is convenient to go to Leeham News and Analysis worka specialized firm that has been closely following the ins and outs of the aerospace sector. Flight data recorders – General Electric (United States). Meteorological radar – Rockwell Collins (United States). Communications and Navigation Systems – Honeywell (United States). Antihielo Ala – Liebherr (Germany) system. Aluminum components for fuselage – Arconic (United States). Motors – CFM International, a joint venture between GE (United States) and Safran (France). Thrust investors – Safran (France). Fuel System – Parker (United States). Fire detection – Kidde (United Kingdom). Wheels and brakes – Honeywell (United States). Tires – Michelin (France). Landing train – Liebherr (Germany). Cola y Alas – Aviation Industry Corporation of China (Avic) (China). Just check the previous list to measure the blow that would mean the lack of any US component in the C919 assembly chain. Leeham News and Analysis already warns that the trade war threatens the project. In the same line is Ron Epstein, Bank of America analyst, who declared Reuters: “If China stop buying aeronautical components from the United States, the C919 program will stop or die” The current situation and future perspectives In recent days, the commercial war has intensified with rapid and unpredictable movements. And the truth is that half the world – individuals, companies, governments – still tries to understand how far their effects come. If we focus on the order of the Chinese government on aeronautical components, everything indicates that, for now, it affects only airlines. That would leave manufacturers such as Comac with margin to continue buying the pieces that need the United States. At least for the moment. However, The 125% retaliation tariff (that, added to the previous 20 % in the fentanyl case, leaves the invoice at 145 %) governs for imports from the United States. That includes engines, plane or brakes that Comac buys for their C919. The practical result is that each US component would cost me almost twice and a half its original pricea scenario hardly aware of any manufacturer who aspires to maintain the viability of your business. It is time to wait to see what all this flows. If the barriers imposed by both powers will fall and the trade will be reactivated. But there is also another scenario: that the United States imposes export controls on key components for Chinese aviation. He already did it with the Nvidia chips to stop his advance in artificial intelligence. This situation could reinforce China’s bet to develop your own key technology, although it still has a long way ahead. Images | Comac In Xataka | Before panic for US tariffs there are technological ones doing something uncommon: product collection

The tariffs have cut their wings before taking off

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The luxury articles industry faces a difficult crossroads before the new tariff policies imposed by the US. Although Trump has given a small 90 -day respite To the world economy, the imposition of tariffs up to 20% To European productsis a hard blow to fashion brands, watchmaking and high -end accessories. The luxury sector not only face an inevitable increase in the price of their products, but also puts on the table the future of the labels “Made in Italy” or “Swiss Made” that some of the more expensive and exclusive products as a synonym for design and quality. The luxury industry against tariffs. Europe has been the epicenter of fashion and world luxury for decades. Great brands such as Louis Vuitton, Hermès, Cartier, Chanel, Rolex or Phillipe Pattek thrive thanks to a balance between artisanal tradition and global strategies. However, the scenario has changed dramatically after commercial war drums of the United States. It is estimated that tariffs between 10% and 20% for certain luxury articles manufactured in Europe and the United Kingdom could raise the final cost for the consumer in a market that represents 24% of the total world expenditure on luxury, according to data from data from Bain & Company. Switzerland does not move. The question is even more serious for the watch industry. US has imposed a 31% tariff to Switzerland That, we remember, it does not belong to the EU. At the moment, the Swiss Executive position is not taking reciprocal tariff measures as is doing the rest of Europe, despite Be outraged with a policy that they consider unfair to the Helvetic country. Outstanding brands such as Rolex, Patek Philippe or Tag Heuer are among the most exposed to these increases since their manufacture is made in form exclusive in their workshops in Switzerland and do not consider taking part of the production to the US. Despite this panorama, the Swiss watch industry It is optimistic. They ensure that their main audience, composed of buyers of high purchasing power, will continue paying high pricesand consider that, for them, an extra cost of 31% is a minor inconvenience. Migrar is not on the road map. Given this new context, it could be thought that European luxury brands should consider moving their production to the US, as the automobile industry is being raised, to avoid tariffs. However, no fashion brand and luxury products have expressed its intention to abandon its current production centers. “In each conversation that I have had with customers during the last five to ten days, not even one person talked about building a factory in the United States,” assuredto The New York Times William Susman, managing director of the Investment Bank Cascadia Capital. Signatures like Victorinox, emblematic manufacturer Multipurpose knifeThey have made it clear that artisanal quality is inseparable from their identity and that any change in the location of production would compromise its essence. “This Swiss icon is inextricably linked to the quality promise ‘Swiss Made’. We will remain firm in it,” He sentencedCarl Elsener Jr., Executive Director of Victorinox to New York Times. The only exception is the Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy (LVMH) group, Bernard Arnault’s holding company, which in addition to having American brands such as Tiffany & Co, It has several factories In California and Texas, that opened Donald Trump himself in his first term. However, that would only free him from the cost of tariffs, since when importing high quality skins and fabrics from Europe and other regions, they would also be affected by reciprocal tariffs. The aspirational client: the great loss for luxury. Such and As they pointed out from Reutersthe US market represents between 20% and 30% of the sales of large fashion groups, cosmetics and luxury accessories such as LVMH, Keing, Richemont or Hermès. That percentage not only supplies millionaires who can pay it comfortably. There is also an important percentage of aspirational customer that, perhaps, is willing to pay $ 2,000 for a bag, but will think about it if that same product costs $ 2,400. “A 20% tariff on European luxury goods could depress luxury sales in the United States, especially for companies such as Burberry and Kering that focus more on a wealthy aspirational clientele than on ultra -up clients,” said the analysts of the Morningstar consultant in statements to Reuters. Another door that closes. The commercial war initiated by the US arrives at a time when, like The luxury cars sectorthe high -end products industry sought to recover from the fall in sales experienced in the Chinese market in 2024. Now, to lower their sales expectations in the US represents a hard blow, especially when the main brands in the sector had already opened new stores in the US, such and as they highlight in Business of Fashion. According to sector analysts, brands should rise between 4% and 6% their prices to mitigate the increase in costs. TO Tenor of the published by Business of Fashion Citing Barclays sources, a negative impact of 1.5% for the Fashion Division and LVMH leather articles and 2.4% for Prada and Hermès is expected. The dependence of the aspirational client would leave more exposed to companies such as Keing (Gucci, Balenciaga, Yves Saint Laurent, etc.) could suffer a fall of 8.7%, while the Swiss watches manufacturer Richemont (Cartier, Piaget, Baume & Mercier, Vacheron Constantin, etc.) could experience a 7.1%drop. All this, when sector forecasts They gave a growth of up to 3% for this year. In Xataka | How Louis Vuitton makes money: of the unattainable luxury to mass luxury In Xataka | Hermés’ heir millionaire adopted his gardener. His fortune has evaporated before he reaches his garden Image | Flickr (Trump White House Archced)

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