“The U.S. and ‌more than a dozen other countries including Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Australia on Thursday launched their own pact to not impose duties on e-commerce after no agreement was reached to end deadlock with Brazil, a document showed.

Brazil upheld its opposition to a four-year extension of a global deal at World Trade Organization talks ​in Geneva which concluded on Thursday. However, Turkey, which had previously been against it, dropped its opposition, a WTO spokesperson said.

Failure ​at a high-level WTO meeting in Yaounde, Cameroon, in March to renew the long-standing moratorium on duties for cross-border ⁠streaming and downloads marked another setback for the WTO, as business groups said it raised serious concerns about the ability of the ​organisation to set global trade rules.

The moratorium, agreed in 1998 and regularly renewed since, bars duties on cross-border electronic transmissions such as streaming music ​or films and downloading software.”

From Reuters.

“Japan Airlines (JAL) will start using humanoid robots in ground handling tasks at Tokyo’s Haneda airport from May, in a two-year trial it said is aimed at easing employees’ workload.

For a start, the Chinese-made robots will be deployed to load and unload cargo containers, JAL and GMO AI & Robotics, its partner in the project, said in a demonstration to the media on Monday.

Japan’s aviation industry is wrestling with a labour crunch brought on by an increase in inbound tourism and a declining working-age population, said JAL, which employs some 4,000 ground handling staff.

The carrier hopes that these robots can also be used to clean cabins and operate ground support equipment in future.”

From BBC.

“Starting this year, Kia has narrowed its vehicle price gap with Chinese models in Europe to 15-20% from 20-25% previously depending on markets, Song said, according to ​a recording of the event obtained by Reuters.

The move highlights how Europe has become a key battleground between legacy ​automakers and Chinese electric vehicle firms such as BYD, as they pursue rapid overseas expansion amid ⁠flagging sales in China and effective exclusion from the U.S. market.”

From Reuters.

“FedEx said on Tuesday it had launched a same-day delivery service ​with last-mile delivery software company OneRail, ‌as retailers and logistics firms race to speed up order fulfillment.

The service, called FedEx SameDay ​Local, lets customers choose narrower ​delivery windows, including two-hour and end-of-day ⁠options. FedEx said it links customers ​to a national network of more than ​1,000 delivery providers through a system that matches orders with the nearest vehicle and driver.

The ​move comes as companies across the ​sector invest in faster fulfillment and stronger last-mile networks ‌to ⁠meet rising customer demand for quicker and more flexible delivery.”

From Reuters.