 |
|
|
|||||
The U.S. stock market is careening through a second straight day of stunning swings Tuesday as uncertainty reigns about what whether President Donald Trump will ease up on his trade war, which is scheduled to kick into a higher gear after midnight. The S&P 500 lost an early gain of 4.1%, which had it on track for its best day in years, and slumped 1.7% with about an hour left in trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 403 points, or 1%, after giving up its earlier surge of 1,460 points, while the Nasdaq composite was 2.4% lower, as of 3:13 p.m. Eastern time. Stocks globally had rallied much more earlier in the day, with indexes up 6% in Tokyo, 2.5% in Paris and 1.6% in Shanghai. But even after those jumps, analysts had been warning to expect more swings up and down for financial markets not just in the days ahead but also the hours. The big question remains centered on how long Trump will keep his stiff tariffs on other countries, which would raise prices for U.S. shoppers and slow the economy. If they last a long time, economists and investors expect them to cause a recession. But if Trump lowers them through negotiations relatively quickly, the worst-case scenario can be avoided. Hope still remains on Wall Street that negotiations may be possible, and Trump said Tuesday that a conversation with South Korea’s acting president helped them reach the confines and probability of a great DEAL for both countries.” Their top TEAM is on a plane heading to the U.S., and things are looking good, Trump said on his Truth Social platform. We are likewise dealing with many other countries, all of whom want to make a deal with the United States. Japanese stocks led global markets higher after the countrys prime minister, Shigeru Ishiba, appointed his trade negotiator for talks with the United States. It was based on an agreement between Ishiba and Trump, Japanese officials said. But investors should still remain cautious, said Sameer Samana, a senior global market strategist for Wells Fargo Investment Institute. He pointed to how the key countries continue to escalate, rather than de-escalate. China said it will fight to the end and warned of countermeasures after Trump threatened on Monday to raise his tariffs even further on the worlds second-largest economy. That led White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt to say Trump’s threats of even higher tariffs on China will become reality after midnight, when imports from China will be taxed at a stunning 104% rate. That would coincide with Trump’s latest set of broad tariffs, which are scheduled to kick in at 12:01 a.m. And Trump has made clear that he does not intend to have any exemptions or exclusions in the tariffs, according to the country’s top trade negotiator, Jamieson Greer. The U.S. trade representative also said in testimony before a Senate committee that roughly 50 countries have already been in contact, and he’s told them: “If you have a better idea to achieve reciprocity and to get our trade deficit down, we want to talk with you, we want to negotiate with you. Trumps trade war is an attack on the globalization thats shaped the world’s economy and helped bring down prices for products on store shelves but also caused manufacturing jobs to leave for other countries. Trump has said he wants to narrow trade deficits, which measure how much more the United States imports from other countries than it sends to them as exports. On Wall Street, health insurers gained ground after the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced a stronger-than-expected increase in Medicare Advantage payments for next year. Humana jumped 9.6%, United Health climbed 5.9%. On the losing end were companies that import many of the products they sell. Ralph Lauren sank 6.8%, for example. It sourced about 15% of its products from China last fiscal year. Best Buy doesn’t import many products directly from China, but the electronics industry in general has a complex supply chain that heavily depends on the country. Best Buy estimates vendor imports from China make up about 55% of the products it purchases, and the retailer’s stock fell 8.5% In the bond market, Treasury yields mostly rose for a second straight day to recover more of their sharp losses from prior months. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.22% from 4.15% late Monday and from just 4.01% late Friday. Yields tend to rise with expectations for the U.S. economys strength and for inflation. Stan Choe, AP business writer AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.
Category:
E-Commerce
The United States said on Tuesday that 104% duties on imports from China will take effect shortly after midnight, even as the Trump administration moved to quickly start talks with other trading partners targeted by President Donald Trump‘s sweeping tariff plan. U.S. stocks retreated on the news. Global markets had previously posted gains on hopes that Trump might be willing to negotiate down the array of country and product-specific trade barriers he is erecting around the world’s largest consumer market. The administration has scheduled talks with South Korea and Japan, two close allies and major trading partners, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is due to visit next week. But the White House made clear that country-specific tariffs of up to 50% would nevertheless take effect at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time (0401 GMT), as planned. Those tariffs will be especially steep for China, as Trump has ratcheted up duties on its imports to 104% in response to counter-tariffs Beijing announced last week. China has refused to bow to what it called “blackmail” and has vowed to “fight to the end.” Administration officials said they would not prioritize negotiations with the world’s No. 2 economic power. Trump’s sweeping tariffs have raised fears of recession and upended a global trading order that has been in place for decades. “Right now, we’ve received the instruction to prioritize our allies and our trading partners like Japan and Korea and others,” White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said on Fox News. The White House said Trump instructed his trade team to create “tailor made” deals for the nearly 70 countries that have reached out for talks. Trump’s lead trade negotiator, Jamieson Greer, told Congress that his office is trying to work quickly but is not facing a particular deadline. “The president has been clear, again, that he’s not doing exemptions or exceptions in the near term,” Greer told lawmakers. China is bracing for a war of attrition, and manufacturers are warning about profits and scrambling to plan new overseas plants. Citing rising external risks, Citi cut its 2025 China GDP growth forecast to 4.2% from 4.7%. Three out of four Americans expect prices to rise as Trump’s tariffs kick in, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll. Chipmaker Micron told customers it will impose a tariff-related surcharge starting on Wednesday, while U.S. clothing retailers said they are delaying orders and holding off on hiring. Running shoes made in Vietnam that now retail for $155 will cost $220 when Trump’s 46% tariff on that country takes effect, according to an industry group. Consumers are stocking up while they can. “I’m buying double of whatever – beans, canned goods, flour, you name it,” Thomas Jennings, 53, said as he pushed a shopping cart through the aisles of a New Jersey Walmart. Stock markets found a firmer footing on Tuesday after a gut-wrenching few days for investors which prompted some business leaders, including those close to Trump, to urge the president to reverse course. European shares bounced off 14-month lows after four straight sessions of heavy selling, while global oil prices steadied after falling to four-year lows. Wall Street’s main indexes had posted gains earlier in the day, but fell after the White House said the tariffs on China would take effect. Europe eyes counter-measures The European Commission, meanwhile, is mulling counter-tariffs of 25% on a range of U.S. goods including soybeans, nuts and sausages, though other potential items like bourbon whiskey were left off the list. Officials said they stood ready to negotiate. The 27-member bloc is struggling with tariffs on autos and metals already in place, and faces a 20% tariff on other products on Wednesday. Trump has also threatened to impose tariffs on EU alcoholic drinks. European pharma companies, also fearful of the tariff fallout, warned the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, in a meeting that Trump’s tariffs would expedite the industry’s shift away from Europe and towards the United States. Susan Heavey, Trevor Hunnicutt and Joe Cash, Reuters Writing by Andy Sullivan, Matthias Williams and John Geddie.
Category:
E-Commerce
The Supreme Court has allowed the Trump administration to use a 1798 wartime law, the Alien Enemies Act, to deport Venezuelan migrants it accuses of being gang members, ending the temporary halt on deportations ordered by a federal district judge. But the court also ruled that the administration must give Venezuelans it claims are gang members the chance to legally fight any deportation orders. It also did not weigh in on Trumps invocation of the act. The ruling came after the wartime law was used last month to fly more than 130 men accused of being members of the gang Tren de Aragua to El Salvador, where the U.S. has paid to have the men held in a notorious prison. The Trump administration argues that the gang has become an invading force. The Venezuelans deported under the act did not get a chance to challenge the orders, and attorneys for many of the men say there’s no evidence they are gang members. American Civil Liberties Union attorney Lee Gelernt called it an important victory that people must now be given the right to challenge their removal orders. The Trump administration welcomed the ruling, with Attorney General Pam Bondi saying an activist judge in Washington, DC does not have the jurisdiction to seize control of President Trumps authority to conduct foreign policy. What is the Alien Enemies Act? In 1798, with the U.S. preparing for what it believed would be a war with France, Congress passed a series of laws that increased the federal government’s reach. The Alien Enemies Act was created to give the president wide powers to imprison and deport noncitizens in time of war. Since then, the act has been used just three times: during the War of 1812 and the two world wars. It was part of the World War II legal rationale for mass internments in the U.S. of people of German, Italian and especially Japanese ancestry. An estimated 120,000 people with Japanese heritage, including those with U.S. citizenship, were incarcerated. Can the U.S. use a wartime law when it’s not at war? For years, Trump and his allies have argued that the U.S. is facing an invasion of people arriving in the country illegally. Arrests on the U.S. border with Mexico topped 2 million a year for two straight years for the first time under President Joe Biden, with many released into the U.S. to pursue asylum. After hitting an all-time monthly high of 250,000 in December 2023, they dropped sharply in 2024 and dramatically more after Trump took office. The Trump administration has increasingly described the migrant issue as a war, most notably by designating eight Latin American criminal groups, including Tren de Aragua, as foreign terrorist organizations. Trump’s invocation of the act, which was publicly announced March 15, the same day as the deportations, said Tren de Aragua was attempting an invasion or predatory incursion of the United States. Administration officials now regularly use military terminology to describe the situation, with Trump telling reporters last month that this is a time of war. Trumps critics insist he is wrongly invoking an act designed for use during declared wars. Trumps attempt to twist a centuries-old wartime law to sidestep immigration protections is an outrageous and unlawful power graband it threatens the core civil liberties of everyone, Scott Michelman, legal director of the ACLU of the District of Columbia, said in a statement after the Monday ruling. How has the legal case proceeded? The ACLU and Democracy Forward preemptively sued Trump hours before the March 15 deportations began, saying five Venezuelan men held at a Texas immigration detention center were at imminent risk of removal under the Alien Enemies Act. U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg blocked their deportation, prompting an immediate Justice Department appeal. Later that day, Boasberg issued a new order to stop the deportations being carried out under the centuries-old law, and said any planes in the air needed to turn around. By then, though, two ICE Air planes were heading across the Gulf of Mexico and toward Central America. Neither came back. Mark Sherman and Tim Sullivan, Associated Press
Category:
E-Commerce
All news |
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||