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International business developments today featured two major stories: a boost for British AI ambitions and a notable escalation in international trade tensions.

Google DeepMind's Robotic Science Laboratory

Google DeepMind revealed plans to establish its first “automated science laboratory” in the UK. This initiative is seen as a boost to the nation's AI goals.

The lab will be primarily dedicated to materials science research. It will employ “cutting-edge robotics” to create and characterize hundreds of substances per day. The main aim is to dramatically shorten the timeframe for discovering transformative new materials.

The company commented that the lab, scheduled to be built in the year 2026, will “supercharge research breakthroughs”. They elaborated:

Finding new materials is one of the most important endeavors in scientific research, providing the opportunity to lower expenses and enable completely novel technologies.

To illustrate, superconductors that operate at ambient temperature and pressure could enable affordable diagnostic scans and minimize power loss in power networks. New substances could help us tackle critical energy challenges by unlocking advanced batteries, next-generation solar cells and higher-performance semiconductors.

This initiative is part of a deeper partnership with the UK government. Under the agreement, British researchers will get special access to several cutting-edge artificial intelligence models for research purposes.

The Mexican Trade Move

In a separate story, international trade frictions intensified today after the Mexican legislature approved increased import duties of as high as 50% starting in 2026 on imports from China and several other Asian nations.

The new levies are designed to strengthen local industry. They will raise or impose new duties of as much as 50% from 2026 on certain goods such as autos, vehicle components, textiles, apparel, plastics and steel.

The measures will apply to imports from nations that lack free trade agreements with Mexico, including China, India, South Korea, Thailand and Indonesia. The majority of products will face duties of up to 35%.

China's Commerce Ministry has criticised the move, urging its counterpart to rectify “unilateral, protectionist measures” as soon as possible.

Other Business Updates

Moscow's energy export revenues have hit their lowest level following the start of the conflict in Ukraine in 2022. A global energy watchdog stated that exports declined again in the last month due to lower shipments and weaker market prices.

In Switzerland, the Swiss National Bank has left interest rates unchanged at 0%. The bank cited price increases that was somewhat softer than expected, but added that medium-term inflationary pressure remained virtually unchanged.

Technology stocks faced pressure after disappointing earnings from Oracle. The company's stock fell sharply in after-hours dealing after it fell short of revenue and earnings forecasts and increased its expenditure outlook for AI data centers. The news raised concerns about the profitability of heavy spending on AI.