The daily business briefing: April 3, 2019

1. Trump eases border closure threat, vowing to protect trade

President Trump on Tuesday modified his threat to close the border after companies warned a shutdown could disrupt their supply chains, saying he would try to keep freight moving and protect trade in any closure. Trump didn't completely back off the threat, but praised Mexico for recent steps to curb the flow of undocumented migrants. He also called on Congress to address what he has declared to be an emergency at the border. "Let's see if they keep it done," Trump said, referring to Mexico. "Now, if they don't, or if we don’t make a deal with Congress, the border's going to be closed, 100 percent." The remarks came as the benchmark Hass avocado price from Michoacan, Mexico, soared 34 percent higher on Tuesday, after Trump's initial threat to close the border.

The Associated Press Bloomberg

2. Global stocks rise as U.S.-China trade talks resume

Global markets mostly gained on Wednesday ahead of the start of the latest round of U.S.-China trade talks in Washington. France's CAC 40 rose by 0.8 percent and Germany's DAX surged by 1.4 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 was up by just 0.2 percent as Prime Minister Theresa May said she would seek another Brexit delay and discuss a compromise with the opposition. On Wall Street, futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up by 0.4 percent, while those of the S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq gained 0.5 percent and 0.6 percent, respectively. Negotiators for the world's two biggest economies reportedly are getting close to a deal to end a trade war in which both have imposed new tariffs on billions of dollars' worth of each other's goods.

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The Associated Press CNBC

3. Chemical plant fire kills 1 in Texas

A chemical plant in Crosby, Texas, caught fire on Tuesday, killing at least one person. Two others were flown by helicopter to a hospital, where they were in critical condition. The blaze at the KMCO plant was the second at a Houston-area chemical plant in three weeks. The KMCO plant is 25 miles northeast of Deer Park, where an Intercontinental Terminals Co. facility burned for several days last month. Firefighters quickly contained Tuesday's fire. Authorities ordered residents within a 1-mile radius to shelter in place, but the lockdown was lifted later in the day. The Crosby Independent School District shut down ventilation and air conditioning systems at its schools, but no airborne hazardous chemicals were immediately detected in the area.

CNN

4. GM, Ford, Toyota team up on self-driving car safety standards

General Motors, Ford, and Toyota announced Wednesday that they were forming a consortium to develop safety standards for self-driving cars. The work could eventually contribute to U.S. regulations for the emerging technology. The three major automakers said in a statement that they were joining forces to establish "safety guiding principles to help inform standards development." Regulators have been struggling to figure out how to regulate autonomous vehicles, and U.S. lawmakers last year discussed but failed to agree on proposed legislation to speed up the process of getting self-driving vehicles onto U.S. roads. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration rules don't allow vehicles without steering wheels or brake pedals on streets, but the agency last month asked the public whether it should make a change.

Reuters

5. Ghosn tweets that he soon will 'tell the truth'

Ousted Nissan Motor chief Carlos Ghosn on Wednesday posted from a new Twitter account that he was preparing to "tell the truth about what's happening." Ghosn tweeted from the @carlosghosn account, which was verified by Twitter, that he would hold a news conference on April 11. Ghosn was a leading force in the auto industry after turning around Nissan when it was struggling with losses. He led an alliance of Nissan, Renault of France, and Mitsubishi of Japan that makes 10 million cars a year. He lost his leadership roles after he was arrested in November by the Japanese authorities on suspicion of financial wrongdoing. He was released on bail last month after spending more than three months in a Tokyo jail.

CNBC The New York Times