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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.
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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
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E-Commerce
Want more housing market stories from Lance Lamberts ResiClub in your inbox? Subscribe to the ResiClub newsletter. Speaking to ResiClub in December, Jay Bray, CEO of mortgage servicer Mr. Cooper, told me that real estate would see a lot of mergers and acquisitions in 2025and that Mr. Cooper was out shoppingas the industry continues to grind through the prolonged housing activity slump that started back in summer 2022. You’ve seen consolidation already. If you think about this industry going forward, you’re going to need a balanced business model. You’re going to need the capability to invest in technology, to use everybody’s favorite two initials: AI,” Bray said in December. “That requires scale, that requires capital, that requires a healthy balance sheet. So I think as long as we’re in this kind of grind it out origination market, I don’t see any reason you will not see more consolidation happen. The stronger players will continue to get stronger, to some degree, and continue to look for opportunities to consolidate. Bray added that: We are in the stronger category . . . We’ve probably done more acquisitions than anybody in the industry, by far, and so, yeah, we’re still in the market for that We will be active and looking for opportunities. Bray was right that a big deal loomedonly the hunter became the hunted. On March 31, mortgage lending giant Rocket Companies (owner of Rocket Mortgage, formerly known as Quicken Loans) announced it had reached an agreement to acquire Mr. Cooper for $9.4 billion. Rocket Companies claims that, combined, it will service more than $2.1 trillion in loan volume, including one in six mortgages in America. Rocket Companies CEO Varun Krishna [Photo: Rocket Companies] “Servicing is a critical pillar of homeownership alongside home search and mortgage origination,” said Varun Krishna, CEO of Rocket Companies, in the press release announcing the deal. “With the right data and AI infrastructure we will deliver the right products at the right time. That’s how we build lifelong relationships, by proactively unlocking benefits and meeting needs before they arise. We look forward to welcoming Mr. Cooper’s nearly 7 million clients.” This deal came just three weeks after Rocket Companies announced on March 10th that it struck an agreement to buy Redfin in a $1.75 billion deal. Whats going on? Rocket Companies is strategically positioning itself as a giant force in residential real estate, aiming to create a one-stop shop for homebuyers by merging Redfins customer funnel and Mr. Coopers mortgage servicing with its existing mortgage lending business. “Its becoming increasingly clear that Zillows true competition isnt CoStarits Rocket,” Amanda Orson, CEO of real estate marketplace Galleon, tells ResiClub. “Everyones been watching CoStars $1 billion ad blitz with Homes.com, but their residential play is burning cash with no meaningful traction. Meanwhile, Rocket is executing something far more ambitiousand more dangerous: Theyre buying the full residential real estate stack.” Redfin handles front-of-house customer acquisition, and Rocket does mortgage origination and lending, where it’s already the dominant direct-to-consumer player. Finally, Mr. Cooper has a $2.1 trillion mortgage servicing portfolio and 4.6 million customers. Says Orson: “This is vertical integration on an entirely new scale. Orson adds that there are two major forces at play right now in the real estate industry: changes in the commission structure and a new administration that appears more friendly to mergers and acquisitions. “The real estate transaction itself is undergoing tectonic change,” says Orson. “[The National Association of Realtors] settlement is just the start. We’re watching the unbundling of a 112-year-old commission structure. A wave of agentless transactions is comingand Rocket is positioning to serve them end-to-end.” Zillows current model relies heavily on agent commissions ($1.2 billion of its $1.9 billion in revenue), says Orson: “Theyve started to pivot into mortgage origination and full-stack products, but the scale Rocket already commands in direct-to-consumer lending puts them in a league of their own.” Plus, the new administration is a tailwind for M&A, she adds. “Rocket is taking advantage of this moment with bold moves, consolidating distribution, infrastructure, and recurring revenue,” says Orson. “Both Zillow and Rocket are chasing verticalization, but Rocket is further alongand playing to win. They now control the entire journey: from lead to loan to lifetime servicing. Zillow still has front-of-funnel traffic, for nowbut Rocket has monetization. Orson says that CoStarthe commercial real estate giant that owns Homes.com and was trying to compete with Zillowis the biggest loser in all of this. “Their residential push isnt sticky, isnt scaled, and at $1 billion [per] year in ad spend is starting to look like a costly distraction.
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E-Commerce
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