Thursday newspaper round-up: Tariffs, Telegraph sale, Border to Coast

(Sharecast News) - US officials are privately saying that they might not levy long-promised semiconductor tariffs soon, potentially delaying a centerpiece of Donald Trump's economic agenda. Officials relayed these messages over the last several days to stakeholders in the government and private industry, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter and a third person briefed on the conversations. A fourth person following the matter also said the administration was taking a more cautious approach to avoid provoking China. The discussions have not been previously reported. - Guardian

The government has been urged to take control of the sale of the Telegraph through an auction run by a body such as the UK competition regulator or the Cabinet Office. Peers called on the culture secretary, Lisa Nandy, to wrest the sale process from RedBird IMI, which is majority funded by the United Arab Emirates, in questions put to Labour minister Fiona Twycross in the House of Lords on Wednesday. - Guardian

The Tories have accused Rachel Reeves of "sullying the Budget process" and undermining the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) after Labour claimed the watchdog drove its decision to shelve income tax hikes. The Conservatives have asked the OBR to verify claims that Ms Reeves dropped plans to increase the tax in response to better-than-expected economic forecasts. - Telegraph

Hotel tycoon Sir Rocco Forte has attacked Labour plans for a Venice-style tourism tax across England, branding it "deeply unfair". The luxury hotelier, who is behind the Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh and Brown's in London, said it would be "beyond belief" if the Chancellor unveiled a new holiday tax in her Budget next week. - Telegraph

Border to Coast, the council pension schemes group, and the wealth manager City Asset Management have swelled the ranks of rebels planning to vote against proposals to create Britain's largest infrastructure investment trust. As a £70 billion investment giant and a small shareholder in HICL Infrastructure, one of the merging entities, Border to Coast called the proposed merger with The Renewables Infrastructure Group (Trig) "illogical" and "unjustifiable". - The Times