Turkey to endure Trump’s tariff turmoil better than other countries: Erdogan
U.S. President Donald Trump (L) and Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) back in 2019.
Peter Nicholls | Afp | Getty Images
Turkey is set to weather the turmoil triggered by U.S. tariffs more easily than other countries, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday.
“It is understood that the trade war ignited by customs tariffs will have a global impact. Saying that a storm is coming that will affect everyone would not be an exaggeration,” he said, in comments carried by state news agency Anadolu.
The Turkish leader nevertheless added that, “as we are among the countries facing low tariffs, we believe we will overcome this period more easily compared to many other countries.”
Turkey has been slapped with the baseline 10% tariff introduced by Washington as part of Trump’s extensive new levies, which has set rates as high as 40% on some countries. Turkey is a major global exporter, with sales worldwide hitting a record $262 billion last year.
— Ruxandra Iordache
EU trade official Bernd Lange told CNBC the bloc is looking to broaden its coalition of trading partners in a bid to maintain the rule-based trade order in the wake of Trump’s tariffs regime.
The European Union is expected on Wednesday to announce countermeasures to Trump’s reciprocal tariffs. The bloc, a major trading partner of the U.S., has been hit with 20% duties.
Europe is looking to negotiate with the U.S, as there are a “lot of elements where we can find some common ground,” said Lange, chairman of the European Parliament’s committee on International Trade.
Simultaneously, the EU is also looking to maintain the rule-based trade order by cooperating with a broader coalition of countries.
“We are looking to have a more broad coalition, not only with China but also with a lot of other countries like India, like Indonesia, Vietnam which are really harmed by U.S. tariffs, so that we can stabilize the rule-based trading organization and the WTO,” he told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe.”
— Lily Meckel
General view of the Bank of England and the Bank of England’s Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) in March 2025.
Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images
Risks to the global and U.K. economy have intensified as a result of Trump’s latest tariffs, the Bank of England warned, signaling a high possibility of “further sharp corrections” in markets.
“The global risk environment has deteriorated, and uncertainty has intensified. A range of risky asset prices, led by those denominated in US dollars, have declined sharply. The probability of adverse events, and the potential severity of their impact, has risen,” the British central bank said.
It further noted that the recent announcements of U.S. reciprocal tariffs alongside retaliatory measures from Washington’s trade counterparts have “contributed to a material increase in the risks to global growth and a weakening of the central outlook, as well as increased uncertainty over the outlook for inflation globally.”
Global markets were upended last week by the White House’s announcement of fresh levies introduced under Trump’s protectionist trade agenda, triggering sharp declines in equities, a surge in U.S. Treasury yields and darkening the growth outlook for the world’s largest economy.
“As the UK is an open economy with a large financial sector, global risks are particularly relevant to UK financial stability,” the Bank of England said.
— Ruxandra Iordache
A container delivery truck drives past stacked piles of shipping containers at the Port of Long Beach in Long Beach, California on July 6, 2018, including one from China Shipping, a conglomerate under the direct administration of China’s State Council.
Frederic J. Brown | AFP | Getty Images
China’s foreign ministry reiterated Wednesday that Beijing will take “resolute and forceful” measures to protect its own interests, after net total tariffs of 104% on Chinese imports into the U.S. took effect.
“If the U.S. genuinely wants to resolve the problem through dialogue and negotiation, it should show an attitude of equality, respect and mutual benefit,” Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian said at a regular press briefing.
— Anniek Bao
The European Central Bank raises interest rates, Suqian, Jiangsu province, China, June 15, 2023.
CFOTO | Future Publishing | Getty Images
The rollout of U.S. reciprocal tariffs will help unite policymakers at the European Central Bank on the need for further interest rate cuts, according to analysts at BNP Paribas.
In a note titled “ECB: Tariffs turmoil clears path to a cut,” analysts argued that ongoing disinflation and downside risks to economic growth should prompt a 25-basis-points cut from the central bank next week.
“While higher fiscal spending, higher trade tariffs and positive bank lending data might be arguments to pause, we think uncertainty surrounding the outlook and a recent tightening in financing conditions should resolve any policy dilemma,” they said.
BNP Paribas expects the ECB to cut its key interest rate to 2% by June.
— Chloe Taylor
Major U.S. ally South Korea, which was slapped with a 25% rate under the latest Trump tariff regime, says ship-building could be a key advantage in negotiations with the White House.
“Since President Trump and the Trump administration are showing great interest in shipbuilding cooperation, we believe that the shipbuilding sector will be a very important negotiating card for us,” South Korea’s Minister of Trade, Industry, and Energy Ahn Duk-geun said on Wednesday, according to Reuters.
This comes after U.S. President Donald Trump and South Korea’s interim leader Han Duck-soo held talks on Tuesday to discuss tariffs. Several nations are looking to negotiate with the U.S to mitigate the effect of the U.S. protectionist trade policy.
— Lily Meckel
Speaking after the Reserve Bank of India’s decision to cut interest rates, the central bank’s Governor Sanjay Malhotra said he was “concerned about growth” in India due to the impact of U.S. tariffs.
He pointed out India is better placed than other countries to tackle the tariff-led hikes due to its narrower trade surplus with the U.S. and the lower “reciprocal” tariff rate it received from Washington, compared with other nations.
“My understanding is that the impact of these tariffs on India vis-à-vis some of the other countries [such as] China and some of the other countries, [is] much less,” Malhotra said.
— Lim Hui Jie
The Louis Vuitton boutique in the Place Vendome luxury retail area in central Paris, France, on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2024.
Andrea Mantovani | Bloomberg | Getty Images
In a note to clients on Wednesday, strategists at Deutsche Bank downwardly revised target prices for 19 companies.
Many of the companies were in the European luxury and mining sectors. Gucci owner Kering’s target price was slashed by 39.7%, while British luxury giant Burberry’s target price was lowered by 35.7%. French conglomerate LVMH’s target price was cut by 16.5%.
In the mining sector, BHP, Anglo American, Glencore and Rio Tinto were among those with downgraded target prices.
“The direct impact of the tariffs is not a huge headwind in our view with … price increases able to offset the profit impact,” Deutsche Bank’s team said in their note. “However, weaker global stock markets and the broader economic uncertainty will weigh on confidence and we see this further postponing a recovery in luxury demand.”
On mining, Deutsche Bank advised investors to “seek selective exposure” in the coming six to 12 months.
“The reciprocal tariffs announced last week have driven the sharpest sell-off in Mining since 2020,” its strategists said. “Our base case now assumes global growth verging on recession over the next two quarters … While there is still the risk of further downside in the near term, mining valuations are approaching trough levels, [and] debt levels are low.”
— Chloe Taylor
The BMW logo can be seen on a wheel rim on one of the car manufacturer’s cars.
Sven Hoppe | Picture Alliance | Getty Images
Europe’s auto giants fell sharply on Wednesday morning, extending recent losses as Trump’s sweeping tariffs take effect.
Shares of French car parts supplier Valeo fell 7.2% shortly after the open, tumbling toward the bottom of the pan-European Stoxx 600 index.
Milan-listed Stellantis dipped 4.1%, while German automakers Porsche and BMW both traded more than 3% lower.
An escalating trade war is expected to have a profound impact on the global car industry, particularly given the high globalization of supply chains and the heavy reliance on manufacturing operations across North America.
— Sam Meredith
Prime Minister of Italy Giorgia Meloni on Nov. 20, 2024, in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Tomas Cuesta | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will meet Trump at the White House on April 17, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said during a Tuesday press briefing.
“On April 17th, President Trump will welcome Prime minister Giorgia Meloni of Italy for an official working visit at the White House,” she noted, without disclosing the meeting agenda.
As a member of the European Union, Italy is subject to the 20% reciprocal tariffs that the U.S. slapped on the wider bloc.
The Italian government held talks with industry leaders to discuss U.S. tariffs at Palazzo Chigi on April 8th. Both the government and industry representatives “shared the need to avoid a trade war between the United States and the EU” according to a Google-translated government press release.
In these meetings, Meloni also noted “that Italy intends to explore is that of eliminating reciprocal duties on existing industrial products with the “zero for zero” formula.”
— Lily Meckel
Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (right) and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez at a joint press conference after their meeting at the Government Office in Hanoi on April 9, 2025.
Nhac Nguyen | Afp | Getty Images
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez expressed support for free trade and warned against the demerits of tariffs during a joint press briefing with Vietnamese counterpart Phạm Minh Chính in Hanoi.
“Spain supports an international order based on rules with free trade and economic openness and considers that trade wars do not benefit anyone, but harm everyone,” Sanchez said, according to a CNBC translation.
He did not specify a particular regime of duties, but European Union member Spain faces 20% in reciprocal U.S. duties alongside the wider bloc. Washington has slapped Vietnam with a 46% tariff rate.
Sanchez has been carrying out an official visit to Vietnam to discuss bolstering ties between the two nations.
— Ruxandra Iordache
The yen defied broader market move to strengthen 0.75% while several Asian currencies weakened to multi-year lows after Trump tariffs came into effect.
The Korean won fell to its lowest since 2009 at 1,484.1 against the greenback. Indonesia’s rupiah declined to a fresh record low of 16,965 per dollar.
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Korean won and Indonesian rupiah in the past year
Malaysia’s ringgit weakened to 4.5 against the greenback, the lowest since February.
The U.S. Dollar Index declined 0.49% to 102.449.
“Market participants’ concerns about the adverse impacts of tariff hikes on U.S. growth appear to have had a more pronounced impact on the value of the U.S. dollar than the prospect of a narrower trade deficit,” the Fitch Group wrote in a note.
— Lee Ying Shan
New Kia cars are displayed on the sales lot at San Leandro Kia on May 30, 2023 in San Leandro, California.
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images
South Korea has announced three trillion won ($2 billion) of additional support for its automobile industry, in response to the 25% tariff from the U.S. earlier this month.Other measures include financial support for automakers, as well as discounts and tax cuts, according to a Google translation of the announcement.
Despite the announcement by South Korea, shares of major automakers slid, with Hyundai down 0.56% and Kia losing 1.3%.
— Lim Hui Jie
President Donald J Trump meets with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office at the White House on Monday, April 07, 2025 in Washington, DC.
The Washington Post | The Washington Post | Getty Images
The U.S. is going to announce “very shortly a major tariff on pharmaceuticals,” Trump said at a National Republican Congressional Committee dinner.
According to the president, the tariffs will cause drug companies to “leave China” and other manufacturing hubs and “come rushing back into our country.”
Trump has previously floated the idea of tariffs of 25% or higher on pharmaceuticals.
— Erin Doherty
Trump has signed an executive order that triples the previously announced tariff rates on low-value packages exported to the U.S. from China via the international postal system.
Trump set the initial tariff rate on packages worth less than $800 at 30% of the shipment’s value or $25, effective on May 2.
The new rate will be 90% of the shipment’s value or $75, rising to $150 after June 1.
Until this year, shipments worth less than $800, so called de minimis packages, had been exempt from tariffs.
This tariff-free category greatly benefited Chinese online mega retailers Shein and Temu, which ship goods directly to U.S. customers by international post.
— Christina Wilkie
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks next to coal industry workers, on the day he signs energy-related executive orders at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 8, 2025.
Nathan Howard | Reuters
Trump says his administration is “doing very well” in early negotiations with other countries who are set to soon face steep tariffs on their U.S. exports.
“I call them tailored deals, not off the rack,” Trump said at an executive order signing event at the White House.
“These are tailored, highly tailored deals,” he said.
Trump said representatives from Japan and South Korea will be flying to the U.S. “to make a deal.”
At that rate, none of the 86 countries set to face new, so-called reciprocal tariffs will be able to head off the new duties before they take effect at 12:01 a.m. ET Wednesday.
— Kevin Breuninger
A truck leads the Canadian Customs plaza at the Ambassador Bridge border crossing in Windsor, Ontario, on March 8, 2025.
Geoff Robins | Afp | Getty Images
Canada reconfirmed plans to implement 25% retaliatory tariffs on U.S.-made vehicles into Canada, saying the new levies will go into effect at 12:01 a.m. ET Wednesday.
The response includes 25% tariffs on vehicles from the U.S. that are not compliant with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, as well as non-Canadian and non-Mexican content of USMCA-compliant fully assembled vehicles imported into Canada from the U.S.
The latter part means that even if a vehicle made by General Motors, Ford Motor or Stellantis in the U.S. is compliant with USMCA, the parts that aren’t from Canada and Mexico will be taxed.
The traditional “Detroit automakers” are among the top-selling car companies in Canada, but the country’s overall market is far smaller than the U.S., at roughly 2 million light-duty vehicles in Canada compared with 16 million or so in the U.S.
Canadian officials said “a remission framework for auto producers that incentivizes production and investment in Canada, and helps maintain jobs in the country, will also be implemented.”
Canada’s retaliatory tariffs also do not include auto parts, which Trump expects to implement on non-U.S. components by May 3.
— Michael Wayland
Needham analyst Laura Martin cast doubt on Trump’s belief that Apple can move its iPhone manufacturing to the U.S.
“I don’t think that’s a thing,” Martin said on CNBC’s “The Exchange.”
Martin was responding to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt’s suggestion that the company could move its production of the smartphone stateside. One analyst predicted that an iPhone would cost $3,500 if produced in the U.S.
— Alex Harring
A home available for sale is shown in Austin, Texas, on May 22, 2024.
Brandon Bell | Getty Images
Mortgage rates hit their highest level in more than a month amid continued uncertainty over the tariffs.
The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate climbed 25 basis points over two days to 6.85%, according to Mortgage News Daily.
The rates are now close to levels seen over the past six weeks, eliminating last week’s declines for would-be homebuyers.
— Diana Olick and Erin Doherty
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent heads to the Sam Rayburn room to meet with lawmakers at the U.S. Capitol on April 08, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Kayla Bartkowski | Getty Images
About 70 countries have reached out to the White House with “inquiries” about the tariffs, and they’re “starting the negotiations right now,” House Majority Whip Rep. Tom Emmer tells reporters after a meeting with Bessent.
“The president would have liked to hold off longer, but they’ve had so many responses from not only our allies … but even our adversaries, about trade that they’re starting the negotiations right now,” Emmer, R-Minn.,says, according to Punchbowl News.
— Erin Doherty
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem (C) and Sidney Aki (R), director of field operations for the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) San Diego field office walk to the border during a tour of the San Ysidro Port of Entry, in San Diego, California, on March 16, 2025.
Alex Brandon | Afp | Getty Images
U.S. Customs and Border Protection says it is prepared to begin enforcing Trump’s so-called reciprocal tariffs on dozens of countries’ imports once the new duties kick in after midnight Wednesday.
CBP will be collecting “an individualized reciprocal higher tariff from 11% to 50% for 86 countries with exclusions on April 9, 2025, at 12:01 a.m. EDT,” the agency said in a statement.
CBP also boasted that it has already collected more than $4.8 billion in tariffs on Chinese imports, more than $2 billion on Mexican imports and about $861 million on Canadian imports in response to Trump’s prior executive orders.
— Kevin Breuninger
A home available for sale is shown in Austin, Texas, on May 22, 2024.
Brandon Bell | Getty Images
Mortgage rates hit their highest level in more than a month amid continued uncertainty over the tariffs.
The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate climbed 25 basis points over two days to 6.85%, according to Mortgage News Daily.
The rates are now close to levels seen over the past six weeks, eliminating last week’s declines for would-be homebuyers.
— Diana Olick and Erin Doherty
Trump believes that Apple can make iPhones in the United States, the White House said today, as the administration pushes Apple to move device production to U.S. shores in response to Trump’s tariffs.
“Absolutely, he believes we have the labor, we have the workforce, we have the resources to do it,” Leavitt said when asked if Trump envisions U.S. workers doing device production like screwing parts into iPhones.
“As you know, Apple has invested $500 billion in the United States, so if Apple didn’t think the the United States could do it, it wouldn’t have put up that big chunk of change,” she said.
Apple declined to comment on Leavitt’s statement.
Apple does the majority of its manufacturing in China — which will receive a 104% tariff on Wednesday — and has secondary production in Vietnam, India, and other countries which are also in line to receive new import duties.
Analysts believe that made-in-USA iPhones would be too expensive to be commercially competitive.
— Kif Leswing
A trader works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York City, U.S., April 8, 2025.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
Stock indexes gave up much of their early gains, as a market rebound appeared to lose steam in midday trading.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which roared nearly 4% higher when markets opened, was up about 0.7% at 2 p.m. ET.
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq dipped into negative territory in the early afternoon, erasing all gains from their own relief rallies.
The volatile session followed a multi-day stock plunge spurred by Trump’s announcement of sweeping new tariffs on nearly every country on earth.
— Kevin Breuninger
Peter Navarro and Elon Musk.
Julia Nikhinson | Nathan Howard | Reuters
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt minimized an increasingly hostile public feud between Elon Musk and trade advisor Peter Navarro.
“Look, these are obviously two individuals who have very different views on trade and on tariffs,” Leavitt told reporters at a briefing when asked about the spat between the Trump administration colleagues.
“Boys will be boys, and we will let their public sparring continue,” she said.
— Kevin Breuninger
A Chinese flag flies on a vessel moving past shipping containers being unloaded at a Tianjin Port Group Co. dock in Tianjin, China.
Nelson Ching | Bloomberg | Getty Images
The U.S. tariff rate on Chinese imports will shoot up to 104% at 12:01 a.m. ET on Wednesday, a White House official confirmed to CNBC.
Trump on Monday had threatened to raise existing tariffs on China by 50% on Wednesday unless Beijing dropped its retaliatory duties on U.S. goods by Tuesday.
That same day, Trump said he specified that China faced a deadline of “12 o’clock” to remove its tariffs.
Beijing vowed that it would not scrap its 34% retaliatory tariffs.
— Kevin Breuninger
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer holds a copy of “Foreign Trade Barriers” as he testifies before a Senate Finance Committee hearing on U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade policy, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 8, 2025.
Kevin Mohatt | Reuters
Republican Sen. Thom Tillis told Greer he is “skeptical” that Trump’s tariff strategy will work and not alienate voters.
The North Carolina lawmaker pressed Greer at a Senate Finance Committee hearing on who would be held responsible if the strategy fails.
“Whose throat do I get to choke if this proves to be wrong?” Tillis asked Greer.
“I’m just trying to figure out if they’re going to feel good about this,” Tillis said.
“I wish you well, but I am skeptical,” Tillis said.
— Erin Doherty
Tesla CEO Elon Musk, wearing a “Trump Was Right About Everything!” hat, attends a Cabinet meeting at the White House, in Washington, March 24, 2025.
Carlos Barria | Reuters
Elon Musk, the de facto head of government job-slashing team DOGE and a top advisor to Trump, personally appealed to the president to reverse his tariff plan over the weekend, The Washington Post reported.
“The attempted intervention, confirmed by two people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private talks, has not brought success so far,” the Post said.
The report came as Musk continued a days-old feud with Trump’s trade advisor Peter Navarro, who is an ardent supporter of the tariffs.
“Navarro is truly a moron. What he says here is demonstrably false,” Musk wrote on X, his social media site.
The report carried the bylines of four reporters, all of whom cover technology. One of the reporters, Faiz Siddiqui, covers X and Tesla, whose CEO is Musk.
— Dan Mangan
The U.S. Capitol dome is seen in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 7, 2025.
Elizabeth Frantz | Reuters
A quartet of congressmen are introducing a bipartisan bill that would rein in Trump’s tariff powers by giving Congress a final say over whether his duties can remain in effect.
The House legislation, dubbed The Trade Review Act of 2025, requires Trump to give Congress 48 hours’ notice before imposing or increasing tariffs, along with an explanation and an impact assessment.
The duties will last only 60 days unless Congress passes a joint resolution to extend them, the bill says. The legislature also allows Congress to end a tariff early via joint resolution.
The bill was introduced by Reps. Don Bacon, R-Neb., Jeff Hurd, R-Colo., Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., and Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y.
It mirrors a Senate bill previously introduced by Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Maria Cantwell, D-Wash.
The Trump administration has said that the president will veto the bill if it reaches his desk.
— Kevin Breuninger
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., speaks to a reporter in the Senate subway in the Capitol on Tuesday, April 8, 2025.
Bill Clark | Cq-roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images
Sen. Ron Wyden, Ore., said Trump’s tariffs have turned the U.S. economy “from the envy of the world to a laughingstock in less time than it took to finish March Madness.”
The top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee said he doesn’t “see any strategy” behind Trump’s tariffs.
It’s “classic Donald Trump,” Wyden said during a hearing with Greer.
— Erin Doherty
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., listens during a press conference on Social Security, on Capitol Hill in Washington, April 1, 2025.
Demetrius Freeman | The Washington Post | Getty Images
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer cited the ongoing feud between Navarro and Musk as he argued for the president to “immediately reverse his reckless trade war.”
“The chaos within the Trump administration was shown a few minutes ago when Elon Musk called Peter Navarro, the chief architect of these tariffs, a moron,” Schumer, D-N.Y., said on the Senate floor.
“That’s Musk’s word. He called him a moron,” Schumer said. “Their plan is so crazy, so controversial, that this administration cannot get its act together, with them calling names about each other, to — against one another, about this tariff plan.”
“Donald Trump should immediately reverse his reckless trade war,” said Schumer. “He should halt his tariff tax at once, and he should start focusing more on America’s actual trade adversaries, like China, instead of picking a fight with the entire world and causing chaos and steering us towards a recession in the process.”
— Dan Mangan
National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett speaks to members of the media outside of the West Wing of the White House, in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 19, 2025.
Kent Nishimura | Reuters
National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said the Trump administration is “managing a massive number of requests for negotiations” from countries seeking to be spared from aggressive new U.S. tariffs.
“It is challenging to go through them,” Hassett said in a Fox News interview.
“There are so many to go through that we’re actually getting ready to present a plan for [Trump] on who and when” to speak with, Hassett said.
— Kevin Breuninger
MrBeast speaks during the 74th NBA All-Star Game as part of NBA All-Star Weekend on Sunday, February 16, 2025 at Chase Center in San Francisco, California.
Mike Lawrence | National Basketball Association | Getty Images
Jimmy Donaldson, also known as MrBeast on the internet, says the chocolate bars he sells through his company, Feastables, will be cheaper to make under Trump’s new tariffs.
“Ironically, because of all the new tariffs it is now way cheaper to make our chocolate bars we sell globally NOT in America because other countries don’t have a 20%+ tariff on our cogs,” Donaldson posted.
Donaldson is the most followed creator on YouTube, with more than 380 million subscribers.
He founded the chocolate company in 2022 and has built it into a global brand. Chocolate from the company is produced in Peru and the United States and is sold in 20 countries.
–Zach Vallese
Taiwan Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung answers questions from reporters, in Taipei, Taiwan, February 21, 2025.
Ann Wang | Reuters
Taiwan Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung said his nation is prepared to negotiate with the U.S. on tariffs and other trade issues.
“Regarding the negotiation content, whether it is reducing tariffs or investment procurement, especially the non-tariff trade barriers that the U.S. is concerned about, we have prepared various plans,” Chia-lung told reporters.
“As long as the negotiation time and method are confirmed, we can negotiate with the United States at any time,” he said.
— Dan Mangan
Shopping carts are lined up inside a Walmart store in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, January 28, 2025.
Carlos Osorio | Reuters
A growing part of Walmart‘s business could make it more resilient against tariffs and a possible recession.
Walmart’s membership program Walmart+ is growing — and the company says it is driving loyalty among customers. Subscribers accounted for nearly half of all spending on Walmart’s website and app in its most recent fiscal year, the company told CNBC.
That gives Walmart a few advantages if Trump’s tariffs raise its input costs or trigger an economic downturn. As the memberships are highly profitable, they give Walmart room to keep prices of groceries and other staples low even if the company’s expenses increase.
Walmart+ is gaining ground at a good time for Walmart. The retailer gave a financial outlook that disappointed Wall Street in February — even before Trump announced the steep duties on key U.S. trade partners.
— Jacob Pramuk and Melissa Repko
Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky tore into the zero-sum view of trade that Trump has repeatedly espoused in defense of his sweeping tariff plans.
“It’s based on a fallacy” that “somehow, in a trade, someone must lose,” Paul said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”
The idea that “someone’s taking advantage of you, and China is ripping you off or Japan is ripping you off — it’s absolutely a fallacy,” he said.
“Every trade that occurs in the marketplace is mutually beneficial,” said the like-minded son of the staunchly libertarian former congressman Ron Paul. “If you have a free society and I want to trade with you, if you want to sell me your coat and I give you $200 for it, we both agree to it and we’re both happy.”
“The trade is always a win-win,” he said.
— Kevin Breuninger
California Rep. Ro Khanna says Trump’s tariffs have been hitting his district in Silicon Valley hard, especially with delayed IPOs and mergers.
“I’m hearing that these are some of the most self-destructive, wealth-destroying policies that any modern president has had,” Khanna said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”
The Democrat said the tariffs have hurt not just the tech companies, but also the manufacturers.
Khanna also singled out Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, calling Lutnick’s claim that tariffs would lead to more iPhone production false.
“I know Lutnick loves 19th-century policies, but he should understand 21st-century production,” Khanna said.
Khanna’s suggestion for Trump? “Bring in new people on an economic team, assure the country you’re never going to do blanket tariffs again, that was a mistake, and that you’re going to look at things sector by sector.”
– Laya Neelakandan
Levi Strauss & Co. President and CEO Michelle Gass rings the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., April 5, 2024.
Andrew Kelly | Reuters
Businesses and consumers want certainty as Trump’s steep tariffs loom, says Levi Strauss CEO Michelle Gass.
“The number one thing that everybody’s wrestling with right now, ourselves, the industry and most importantly, the consumer, everybody is wrestling with the uncertainty that’s out there. We need some clarity,” she said on CNBC’s “Mad Money.”
The denim retailer reported first-quarter results earlier today, and maintained its earnings and sales outlook for the year. Levi’s did not include the effects of the new duties in its guidance.
Any price hikes the company makes to offset the tariffs would be “surgical,” she said on the company’s earnings call.
Levi’s manufactures some of its products in countries like Cambodia and Vietnam, which will face 49% and 46% tariffs, respectively, under Trump’s plan.
— Jacob Pramuk
Tesla CEO Elon Musk is sharply escalating his attacks on top Trump trade advisor Peter Navarro as he defends his car company and chafes against the administration’s tariff plans.
“Tesla has the most American-made cars. Navarro is dumber than a sack of bricks,” Musk, Trump’s top campaign donor, wrote on X, the social media platform he owns.
“Navarro is truly a moron. What he says here is demonstrably false,” Musk wrote in another post.
Musk was responding to Navarro’s contention in a CNBC interview on Monday that Musk is not a car manufacturer but a car “assembler” whose vehicles are made of many parts sourced from overseas.
Days earlier, Musk in a since-deleted X post said Navarro “ain’t built s—.” In a separate post, Musk questioned Navarro’s credentials, writing, “A PhD in Econ from Harvard is a bad thing, not a good thing.”
Musk currently works for Trump as head of the White House DOGE initiative. As Trump commits to his staunchly protectionist agenda, Musk has recently signaled his support for free-trade policies.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt shrugged off questions about Musk’s attacks on his colleague.
“Whatever,” Leavitt told CNBC’s Eamon Javers. “We are the most transparent administration in history expressing our disagreements in public.”
— Kevin Breuninger and Eamon Javers
A garment factory in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Cambodia is being hit with the biggest single nation tariff rate of all, at 49%.
This has major implications for its factories, now in a fight to survive the next few months if the tariffs are implemented, as retail partners freeze orders.
Its one million workers, many of whom are women at the low-end of the global income distribution pie, are facing financial ruin.
But a U.S. trade group that represents retailers reliant on Cambodia says factories now based in Cambodia will “absolutely not” be coming back to the U.S.
Instead, they will seek out alternative manufacturing locations in lower tariff regimes.
Read the full story: Cambodia, hit with Trump’s steepest tariffs, ‘absolutely not’ sending factories back to U.S., says trade group
— Lori Ann LaRocco
US President Donald Trump watches as Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, not pictured, departs the West Wing of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Monday, April 7, 2025.
Al Drago | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Trump says China “wants to make a deal” as his deadline for steep new tariffs draws near, but adds that Beijing has not yet reached out to the United States.
“They don’t know how to get it started. We are waiting for their call. It will happen!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Trump also held what he described as a “great call” with South Korea’s acting president, Han Duck-soo.
“We have the confines and probability of a great DEAL for both countries.”
— Kevin Breuninger
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says China is playing with a “losing hand” in the escalating tariff back-and-forth between the two countries.
“I think it was a big mistake, this Chinese escalation, because they’re playing with a pair of twos,” Bessent said on “Squawk Box.”
Other countries appear to be more willing to negotiate than China, he said.
“If they come to the table with solid proposals, I think we can end up with some good deals,” he said, “and part of the calculus of that may be that some part of the tariffs stay on.”
Last night, members of the administration discussed which countries to prioritize for trade talks, he added.
— Jesse Pound
Ken Griffin, Founder and CEO, Citadel speaks at the Milken Conference 2024 Global Conference Sessions at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., May 6, 2024.
David Swanson | Reuters
Founder and CEO of Citadel Ken Griffin is taking aim at Trump’s tariffs, calling them a a “huge policy mistake” that will hurt middle-class Americans.
“I am really afraid of us abdicating our role of leadership for the free world,” Griffin said at an event for the 100th anniversary of the University of Miami, per Bloomberg.
“That’s the path we’re on,” the GOP donor adds.
— Erin Doherty
CEO of Euronext Stephane Boujnah delivers a speech during the Euronext 13th annual conference in Paris on March 18, 2025.
Thibaud Moritz | Afp | Getty Images
Stephane Boujnah, CEO of Euronext, says the recent market selloff is not a sign of panic, but simply a rotation of assets.
“Since this began, money is leaving the United States to be reinvested in Europe,” Boujnah said in an interview with France Inter radio today.
Investors, he said, are struggling to navigate Trump’s unpredictability, which is making the U.S. “unrecognizable.”
“We are mourning the United States that we knew … which was very similar in values and institutions to Europe,” he said. “Now it looks more like an emerging country.”
Euronext operates markets in various European cities, including Paris, Milan, Amsterdam, Brussels and Dublin.
— Chloe Taylor
Finland’s Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen talks to journalists at The Europa Building in Brussels on March 17, 2025.
Nicolas Tucat | Afp | Getty Images
Historical allies the U.S. and European Union should have zero tariffs between them, Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen urged amid the bloc’s ongoing efforts to mitigate the impact of 20% White House duties it was slapped with last week.
“Engaging in a global trade war is the surest way to achieve a global recession,” Valtonen she said during a press conference, in comments reported by Reuters. “But of course the European Union now has to react to what the U.S. has put forward,
The EU has previously expressed willingness to take steps against Washington if negotiations fail, but it has yet to specify the nature and extent of these potential countermeasures.
— Ruxandra Iordache
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters while in flight on Air Force One, en route to Joint Base Andrews on April 6, 2025.
Mandel Ngan | Afp | Getty Images
Trump will sign energy-related Executive Orders this afternoon, and deliver a speech to House Republicans this evening, according to the White House schedule.
3:00 p.m. Trump participates in an Unleashing American Energy Executive Order signing event
White House East Room6:45 p.m. Trump delivers remarks at the National Republican Congressional Committee dinner
The National Building Museum
— Christina Wilkie
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on April 07, 2025 in New York City.
Spencer Platt | Getty Images
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen speaks after a meeting with representatives of European car industry at the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium March 3, 2025.
Yves Herman | Reuters
Von der Leyen and Chinese Premier Li Qiang held “constructive” talks today that touch on a possible mechanism for trade diversion in the wake of sweeping levies announced by the world’s first economy.
“In response to the widespread disruption caused by the US tariffs, President von der Leyen stressed the responsibility of Europe and China, as two of world’s largest markets, to support a strong reformed trading system, free, fair and founded on a level playing field,” according to an EU readout, which added that von der Leyen called for a “negotiated resolution to the current situation” that avoids escalation.
“The leaders discussed setting up a mechanism for tracking possible trade diversion and ensuring any developments are duly addressed,” the readout said.
Speculation has been mounting whether Trump’s protectionist agenda will push U.S. trade partners toward China in a bid to redress commercial relations.
The conversation between the Beijing administration and the EU chief takes place after Washington last Wednesday slapped China and the EU with reciprocal tariffs of 34% and 20%, respectively. Beijing has already retaliated with its own 34% levies on the U.S., which is now threatening further countermeasures.
— Ruxandra Iordache
Jamieson Greer, US trade representative nominee for US President-elect Donald Trump, arrives for a meeting with Senator Bill Cassidy, a Republican from Louisiana, not pictured, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, US, on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024.
Stefani Reynolds | Bloomberg | Getty Images
The newly confirmed U.S. Trade Representative, Jamieson Greer, will testify before the Senate Finance Committee today at a hearing on “The President’s 2025 Trade Policy Agenda.”
Greer’s testimony will offer the Senate one of its first opportunities to question a Trump administration official about the president’s trade and tariff policy since Trump unveiled the sweeping new tariff regime.
The hearing will begin at 10:00 a.m. ET, and CNBC.com will stream the hearing on our liveblog.
— Christina Wilkie
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez speaks at a press conference in Kunshan, Jiangsu province, China September 11, 2024.
Xihao Jiang | Reuters
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez will visit China and Vietnam later this week, as Europe prepares to absorb the impacts of a new 20% tariff rate.
Sanchez is scheduled to visit Hanoi on Wednesday, the same day the new Trump tariff rates go into effect. Then he will go to Beijing, according to his office.
The visit underscores the pressure on EU bloc countries like Spain to reassess their trade relationships in the wake of Trump’s tariffs.
— Christina Wilkie
