Not-so-friendly fire

Good morning, friends. We’re about to slide into a long weekend across most of the region in celebration of Prophet Muhammad’s birthday. EnterpriseAM MENA+ will also be off on Friday, and we’ll be back in your inboxes at the usual time on Monday.

The trade file is back on the front pages of the global business press, and this time it’s not-so-friendly fire. Canada slapped retaliatory tariffs of up to 50% on USD 20 bn worth of US goods, targeting steel, dairy, and agricultural equipment and matching Washington’s rates line for line. They take effect 8 September, leaving a fortnight for posturing, carve-outs, and at least one all-caps Truth Social post.

Closer to home: Civil nuclear cooperation between Saudi Arabia and the US is moving forward, with President Donald Trump submitting an accord to Congress for review, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing an unnamed government official. Trump reportedly maintained his last-minute condition requiring Riyadh to normalize relations with Israel. Riyadh and Washington signed the 30-year agreement last month, ostensibly paving the Kingdom's way to enriching uranium on its soil — despite Trump later signaling that there would be no enrichment.

AND- The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces have been dissolved as their fighters integrate into the Syrian military, the group’s leader Mazloum Abdi said. With US backing, the group helped combat the Islamic State and previously controlled parts ​of the country. The move signals a key breakthrough in President Ahmed Al Sharaa’s efforts to unite Syria’s factions.

Meanwhile in the tech world: Anthropic is expected to inform investors that its total addressable market exceeds USD 30 tn, surpassing the USD 28.5 tn projection set by Elon Musk’s rocketmaker. The methodology, as far as anyone can tell: add up everything an AI model could conceivably do, then assume you win all of it. Somewhere in San Francisco there is a very tired associate who built that model, and somewhere in Hawthorne there is another one being told to go find another USD 2 tn. We are all in the business of telling stories about the future. Some of us just get better multiples for it. –Salma