Afternoon Coffee: Tesla Issues Recall over Power Steering Bolts, Trump Targets African Apparel Export Program

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Electric vehicle maker Tesla said Thursday it is voluntarily recalling Model S sedans built before April 2016 in order to replace bolts in the power steering component, Reuters reports. The bolts, made by German supplier Bosch, can begin to corrode after contact in cold temperatures with road salt.

African Apparel 

The Trump administration’s hardline trade policies are starting to shift focus from metals to apparel. As the Washington Post reports, the president said Thursday he will soon suspend Rwanda’s participation in a program that allows African countries to export apparel to the United States on a duty-free basis. 

Food-Tracking Tech

Companies from food producers to sensor manufacturers are making big bets on supply chain software. As the Wall Street Journal reports, food safety tracking firm FoodLogiQ has raised $19.5 million in a new funding round that included a venture funding subsidiary of Tyson Food and Tesco. FoodLogiQ’s platform “allows a food company’s suppliers to provide |details about the processes or pesticides used in farming, when and how products were shipped, audit filings and other factors a company wants to keep on file.”

Inflation Figures

And finally, an economic update: Inflation as measured by the Federal Reserve picked up to its strongest level in almost a year during February, according to the Financial Times. The personal consumption expenditures price index excluding food and energy rose 1.6% from a year earlier, the largest increase since April 2017.