Fortune (July 27)
“Now that trade deals have been clinched with the European Union and Japan, the U.S. looks to focus on China as the world’s two biggest economies prepare for high-stakes talks.” Some think “China will be less willing to cave,” which could send tariffs “back to prohibitively high levels that would effectively cut off trade.” On the other hand, with legal challenges set to commence in August, the “U.S. tariffs could be invalidated.” In fact, many suspect the promised investment from Japan and the EU was pledged with this in mind…and that it will never transpire.
Tags: August, China, Clinched, Economies, EU, High stakes, Invalidated, Investment, Japan, Legal challenges, Pledged, Tariffs, Trade, Trade deals, U.S.
New York Times (July 23)
“G.M. was the second automaker this week to show the toll that the Trump administration’s trade policies are taking on the industry. Stellantis, the maker of Chrysler, Jeep and Ram vehicles, said on Monday that it lost 2.3 billion euros ($2.7 billion) in the first half of the year partly because of tariffs and other Republican policies.” Automakers employ roughly “one million manufacturing workers. Eroding profits will make it harder for them to invest in new technologies to withstand growing competition from Chinese automakers that have been expanding abroad.”
Tags: $2.7 billion, Automakers, China, Chrysler, Competition, G.M., Industry, Invest, Jeep, Manufacturing, Profits, Stellantis, Tariffs, Technologies, Trade policies, Trump, Withstand, Workers
Wall Street Journal (July 21)
“While no recession has been yet forecast, economic growth is expected to slow substantially in 2025” based on a larger than expected decline in leading economic indicators. “The U.S. economy is set to slow… with the impact of tariffs becoming more pronounced in the second half of the year through higher prices.”
Tags: 2025, Decline, Economic growth, Forecast, Higher prices, Impact, Leading economic indicators, Recession, Second half, Slow, Tariffs, U.S.
Barron’s (July 19)
“This market risk is a slow-motion wreck waiting to happen.” And yet the U.S. market remains sanguine, largely tuning “out the past week’s tariff drama.” Freya Beamish, Chief Economist at TS Lombard, is “cautioning investors against complacency because multiple ‘low-grade shocks’ can take their toll like that of a frog in boiling water.” The impact of tariffs, deportations and “the series of low-grade shocks the market is struggling to digest” will eventually appear and “investors may be underestimating their impact on inflation.”
Tags: Beamish, Boiling water, Chief economist, Complacency, Deportations, Frog, Inflation, Investors, Low-grade shocks, Market risk, Slow-motion wreck, Tariffs, TS Lombard, U.S.
Reuters (July 15)
“Toyota and Hyundai Motor may have a beef with U.S. protectionism, but they have one thing in common with President Donald Trump: when it comes to global car markets, it’s America first for Asia’s legacy automakers.” With the outlook “upended” by Trump’s tariffs, the U.S. still “remains by far the most important market for Japan’s Toyota, South Korea’s Hyundai and Asian rivals including Honda and Nissan. North America accounts for at least 40% of the revenue at both Toyota and Hyundai.”
Tags: Car markets, Honda, Hyundai, Japan, Legacy automakers, Nissan, Outlook, Protectionism, South Korea, Tariffs, Toyota, Trump, U.S., Upended
New York Times (July 8)
“China has overtaken Detroit as the center of the global auto industry. America can embark on an all-out push to rebuild world-class manufacturing and supply chains, or our carmakers can hide behind tariffs, continue making gas-powered trucks and S.U.V.s and fade into irrelevance.”
Tags: Auto industry, Carmakers, Center, China, Detroit, Gas-powered, Manufacturing, Overtaken, S.U.V.s, Supply chains, Tariffs, Trucks, U.S.
Bloomberg (June 29)
“With just 10 days to go until President Donald Trump’s country-specific tariffs are set to resume, the White House appears poised to fall short of the sweeping global trade reforms it promised to achieve during the three months they were on hold.” It is unclear what will happen to the tariffs at the point. The President’s unpredictable approach may gain “concessions from trading partners,” but “the erratic effort has injected uncertainty into the financial markets, and created anxiety for domestic businesses. The lack of clarity around the deadline heightens the tension.”
Tags: 10 days, Anxiety, Approach, Businesses, Clarity, Concessions, Deadline, Erratic, Financial markets, Global trade, Promised, Reforms, Resume, Tariffs, Tension, Trading partners, Trump, Uncertainty, Unpredictable
Wall Street Journal (June 25)
Steel and aluminum :”are trump’s worst tariffs.” They “will hit consumers, jobs and national security.” On June 3, President Trump announced that U.S. tariff rates on steel and aluminum would double to 50%, effective the next day.“ This move constitutes “the most reckless trade action of the Trump presidency.” The tariffs on these crucial manufacturing materials “will drive up the cost of U.S. manufactured products dramatically.” They may “drag the economy into a recession” and “will increase the probability of retaliation against American exports and an all-out trade war.” On top of that, the tariffs “will harm national security by increasing the cost of two essential components of defense procurement.”
Tags: 50, Aluminum, Consumers, Defense procurement, Economy, Exports, Jobs, Manufacturing, National security, Recession, Reckless, Retaliation, Steel, Tariffs, Trade war, Trump, U.S.
New York Times (June 12)
“America’s closest allies are increasingly turning to each other to advance their interests, deepening their ties as the Trump administration challenges them with tariffs and other measures that are upending trade, diplomacy and defense.” Much of the proactive push involves Britain, France, Canada, Japan and other middle powers. Their efforts “to come closer together as the United States recalibrates its global role… will be on display over the next few days as the Group of 7 industrialized nations’ leaders meet in Alberta, Canada.”
Tags: Advance, Alberta, Allies, America, Britain, Canada, Challenges, Defense, Diplomacy, France, G7, Japan, Middle powers, Recalibrates, Tariffs, Ties, Trade, Trump, U.S., Upending
Reuters (June 9)
“Latin America has emerged as a top investing destination as ongoing wars – both of the military and trade variety – make investors seek options in a region they view as refreshingly untroubled by tariffs and major conflicts.”
Tags: Conflicts, Investing destination, Investors, Latin America. Emerged, Military, Ongoing wars, Options, Region, Tariffs, Trade, Untroubled
