Trump Tariffs

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China on Monday issued a direct warning to countries considering trade deals with the US that could disadvantage Beijing.

The warning came in the aftermath of reports that the Trump administration in the US may offer tariff exemptions to other nations in return for limiting their trade with China.
President Trump this month paused major tariff increases on other countries for 90 days, while hiking duties further on goods from China to 145 percent.

“China firmly opposes any party reaching a deal at the expense of China’s interests. If this happens, China will not accept it and will resolutely take reciprocal countermeasures,” the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said, CNBC reported.

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Over the course of April 7-13, cargo handled by China has dropped by 9.7 percent.

Cargo going through ports in China has dropped by 9.7 percent in the second week of April, indicating that tariffs implemented by the Trump administration have been hammering the country’s exports to the US.

Over the course of April 7-13, cargo traffic dropped by 9.7 percent to 244 million tons, according to the Wall Street Journal. The week prior, when President Donald Trump implemented his reciprocal tariffs, there was only a drop of 0.88 percent.

Container throughput dropped by 6.1 percent, the Journal reported, reversing an increase of 1.9 percent the week prior. The outlet reports that there has been a steady increase in port volumes since January 2025, and the last couple weeks have seen that reverse.

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The Trump administration is gearing up for significant economic shifts, with its proposed tariffs said to be setting the stage for a potential overhaul of the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) leadership.

Like Gary Gensler’s ouster at the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission), reports indicate that Fed chair Jerome Powell may face a similar fate with discussions starting long before his term ends.

Jerome Powell’s Exit Planned As Trump Tariffs Spell Economic Hardship

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the Trump administration’s plans to interview candidates to replace Fed Chair Jerome Powell.

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China has suspended exports of a wide range of critical minerals and magnets, threatening to choke off supplies of components central to automakers, aerospace manufacturers, semiconductor companies and military contractors around the world.

Shipments of the magnets, essential for assembling everything from cars and drones to robots and missiles, have been halted at many Chinese ports while the Chinese government drafts a new regulatory system. Once in place, the new system could permanently prevent supplies from reaching certain companies, including American military contractors.

The official crackdown is part of China’s retaliation for President Trump’s sharp increase in tariffs that started on April 2.

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The United States and China– two of the world’s largest economies– are locked in a dangerous trade stand-off that may have no winners. As the US tries to arm-twist China — with mounting tariffs– into seeking a deal from his administration, it is becoming increasingly clear that Beijing may have more leverage than President Donald Trump and his aides think.

The United States remains an almost irreplaceable market for China for its manufactured goods. However, experts caution Washington not to underestimate Beijing’s capacity to resist the Trump administration’s coercive tactics. The combination of Beijing’s centralised political control, diversified export markets and stronghold over some strategically vital materials, including rare earth metals and magnets, gives China plenty of room to negotiate with the US.

The complexity of the United States’ dependence on China was evident over the weekend when the Trump administration exempted smartphones, laptops and TVs from its new tariffs — goods that the US primarily imports from China.

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In an interview with online outlet Unherd, the US vice president told Sohrab Ahmari:

We’re certainly working very hard with Keir Starmer’s government. The president really loves the UK. He loved the queen. He admires and loves the king. It is a very important relationship. And he’s a businessman and has a number of important business relationships in [the UK].

But I think it’s much deeper than that. There’s a real cultural affinity. And of course, fundamentally America is an Anglo country. I think there’s a good chance that, yes, we’ll come to a great agreement that’s in the best interest of both countries.

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If you are confused about the government‘s tariff policy, don’t worry. You are not alone. Confusion is not your fault. Since taking office for the second time, President Donald Trump has flipped back and forth on tariffs while offering different explanations for current policy and different predictions for future policy.

There are many components to successful leadership, but an important one is communicating to constituents what your policies are, why they are needed, and how they will work. Trump has not done this for his tariffs. As a result, the economy is suffering, and voters are beginning to blame the president for their pain. Until Trump is able to deliver stability or clarity on this matter, the economic pain will continue for everyone, and the political pain for Trump and the Republican Party will worsen.

On his first day in office, Trump announced a 25% tariff on all goods from Canada and Mexico and a 10% tariff on all goods from China starting Feb. 1. On Feb. 1, Trump reannounced the tariffs but pushed the start date to Feb. 4. Then, on Feb. 3, he announced a 30-day delay for the Canada and Mexico tariffs but started the China tariffs.

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President Donald Trump has clarified that electronics are not exempt from his new tariffs, warning that “NOBODY is getting ‘off the hook.’”

The warning comes as Trump redoubled his promise to end “unfair” trade policies once and for all.

The president confirmed that America’s trading partners are not “off the hook.”

The clarification came after his administration appeared to back away from targeting products like smartphones imported largely from China.

Trump’s reversal caused the stock market to rally Monday as confidence in tech stocks rebounded.

Companies like Apple are largely reliant on supply chains based in Asia, especially China.

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International travel to the United States fell 12% in March compared to rates from March 2024, according to the National Travel and Tourism Office.

From January to March, 7.1 million visitors entered the U.S. from abroad, a 3.3% decline from the first three months of 2024. This marks the sharpest decrease in travel since the COVID-19 pandemic.

The U.S. tourism industry expected the year to be positive regarding travelers from abroad visiting the U.S. In 2024, the number of international visitors to the U.S. rose, with some forecasts predicting 2025 would reach pre-COVID levels.

Tourism Economics, a travel forecasting company, originally anticipated the U.S. would have nearly 9% more international arrivals this year but revised its annual outlook last week to a 9.4% decline.

But travel from overseas has nosedived for tourists upset by President Donald Trump’s tariffs and reports of dozens of tourists being arrested at the border.

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Nvidia on Monday announced it would design and build factories to produce NVIDIA AI supercomputers entirely in the United States.

“Together with leading manufacturing partners, the company has commissioned more than a million square feet of manufacturing space to build and test NVIDIA Blackwell chips in Arizona and AI supercomputers in Texas,” Nvidia announced.

Yahoo Finance reports:

As part of this $500 billion commitment, Nvidia said it is building two new supercomputer manufacturing plants in Texas in partnership with contract manufacturers Foxconn (2354.TW) and Wistron (3231.TW).

Nvidia expects to mass-produce supercomputers at those sites in 12 to 15 months. The chipmaker said its latest Blackwell AI chips are already in production at TSMC’s (TSM) plant in Phoenix.

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A top boss in America’s largest auto union praised President Donald Trump for sticking to his guns amid a high-stakes international tariff war that he promises will bring millions of manufacturing jobs back to the U.S.

Despite endorsing former Vice President Kamala Harris, the United Auto Workers have come solidly around to Trump since he began instituting sharp tariffs on other countries, which for decades have benefited from U.S. companies shifting their manufacturing and production lines overseas. The change “will bring work back” to his union members, UAW president Shawn Fain told a stunned MSNBC host on Monday.

“Now, we’ve been very clear,” Fain said. “We do believe, and we know, when it comes to auto, when it comes to heavy truck, and agricultural implementation, we know that tariffs will influence these companies to do the right thing and reinvest in this country and reinvest in factories in this country.”