On Thursday, all eyes were on the trade negotiations that began between the US administration and Japan.
President Trump had previously touted “big progress” in tariff talks, but Japan’s Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato expressed concerns over the global economic fallout from tariffs. He warned that the market volatility could potentially disrupt Japan’s economic recovery.
Chinese state media reported that Nvidia (NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang arrived in Beijing on Thursday amid growing concerns over US-China trade tensions.
The visit follows the company’s disclosure of a $5.5 billion loss due to the US government’s unexpected new restrictions on semiconductor exports to China. Nvidia CEO Huang said, “We aim to keep cooperating with China,” highlighting the company’s continued efforts to navigate the evolving trade landscape.
US stocks sank on Wednesday, as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell discussed pressures that tariffs could bring to the economy.
China has shown openness to trade talks with the US, contingent on specific conditions, despite the White House clarifying that “China now faces tariffs of up to 245% on imports to the United States.”
Michelle Lam, Greater China economist at Societe Generale SA, explained to Bloomberg that Beijing wants “respect, consistency and a point person” as focus grows on the trade war between the world’s two largest economies. Chinese state media also reiterated that China would ignore the “numbers game” of escalating duties.
Semiconductor company ASML (ASML) spooked investors on Wednesday, reporting weaker-than-expected orders and admitting it can’t yet assess the impact of new US tariffs.
AMD (AMD) also announced it expects charges of up to $800 million due to the latest curbs by the Trump administration on advanced processor exports to China.
The developments with ASML, Nvidia, and AMD highlight the growing impact of the trade war on global firms.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Yahoo Finance on Tuesday that he was optimistic about “clarity” on tariffs and progress on key trade deals over the next 90 days, as Trump simultaneously sought to ramp up pressure on China to come to the negotiating table.
“Let’s set aside China. There are 15 large trading partners. We set aside China,” Bessent told Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi. “There are 14, and we’re in rapid motion and setting up a process for the 14 largest trading partners.”
The comments come as Trump instituted a broad 90-day pause on steep “Liberation Day” tariffs, aiming to give time for negotiators to work out new deals. The tit-for-tat between the world’s two largest economies, meanwhile, has intensified: China raised its duties on imports of US goods to 125% from 84%, while US tariffs on Chinese imports have ballooned to “a 125% reciprocal tariff, a 20% tariff to address the fentanyl crisis, and Section 301 tariffs on specific goods, between 7.5% and 100%.”
Investors are also focused on possible delays and exemptions to Trump’s sweeping tariffs. Trump has signaled a possible delay to auto tariffs, adding to market relief after suspending levies on some consumer tech, even as he insists these tariffs will eventually come to fruition.
Late Monday, the Trump administration took a key step toward tariffs on semiconductor and drug imports, as the Commerce Department began an investigation seen as a precursor to imposing the levies.
The baseline 10% tariff that went into effect on April 5 remains in place for all affected imports into the US.
Here are the latest updates as the policy reverberates around the world.
LIVE581 updates
Hyundai will price protect customers from auto tariffs, US COO says
Tariffs are the talk of the event at the 2025 New York International Auto Show, my colleague Pras Subramanian reports.
With 25% tariffs on imported autos and certain auto parts, automakers have been grappling with how to manage higher trade-related costs.
Korean automaker Hyundai, which has been localizing production for some time, told Yahoo Finance it will shield consumers from price increases for now.
“When it comes to the customers, which again is tough and even for us just for planning purposes, what we wanted to make sure is that we have a plan,” Claudia Marquez, Hyundai Motor America’s COO, said to Yahoo Finance. “So we launched our Hyundai Assurance Program, which is confirming and assuring to customers that [prices] are not going to go up, at least this next couple of months.”
Read more here.
California sues Trump administration to block tariffs
Reuters reports:
Read more here.
Stocks fall as markets monitor fragile status quo for tariffs
Stocks fell to session lows after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the Fed faces a “challenging scenario” if tariffs create higher inflation and lower US growth.
The benchmark S&P 500 (^GSPC) dropped about 2.4%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) shed more than 600 points, or around 1.6%. And the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) fell 3.6%.
After a more muted day in markets (with no major tariff announcements), today’s move shows that tariff concerns are still running rampant and can be stoked at any time.
Read more about the latest market moves and updates.
Using example of autos, Powell says tariff-related supply chain disruptions may lead to ‘extended’ inflation
During his remarks Wednesday, Fed Chair Powell used the example of cars to illustrate how a one-time supply shock could lead to more persistent inflation.
Powell said that he has heard from CEOs of “significant companies” that uncertainty around importing components “is just a huge issue” right now.
“If you look back at the pandemic,” Powell said, “there was a shortage of semiconductors, and that led to a shortage of cars at a time of extremely high car demand, and it was a prolonged shortage because production couldn’t keep up, and … that led to an extended period of inflation.”
Currently, foreign autos and certain auto parts face a 25% tariff when they enter the US. But higher tariffs on steel, aluminum, and many of the US’s trading partners also could affect auto production. According to a White House fact sheet, between 50% and 60% of US-made cars have content sourced from abroad.
Powell continued, “In this case, you can look at the car companies — which their supply chains likely seem to be on track to be disrupted significantly — and you would worry that that process will take some years, and that the inflationary process might be extended.”
Waiting until more of these trade policies and economic effects are more well known is why the Federal Reserve is waiting on policy changes, Powell stated.
Fed Chair Powell: Tariffs likely to cause ‘temporary rise in inflation’
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday that survey and market-based measures of inflation have moved up “significantly” likely due to tariffs.
“The level of tariff increases announced so far is significantly larger than anticipated, and the same is likely to be true of the economic effects, which will include higher inflation and slower growth,” Powell said in remarks at the Economic Club of Chicago.
“Tariffs are highly likely to generate at least a temporary rise in inflation,” Powell continued. “We may find ourselves in the challenging scenario in which our dual-mandate goals are in tension,” Powell said.
Watch the Fed Chair’s full remarks below:
Tariff tensions shake builder confidence during critical spring housing season
Yahoo Finance’s Dani Romero reports:
Read more here.
‘Like a direct attack:’ Canadian auto town feels heat of tariffs
The Stellantis NV (STLA) assembly plant on the edge of Windsor, Ontario, usually buzzes with life as workers build Chrysler Pacificas and Dodge Chargers. Smoke often drifts from its pipes. But since it shut its doors last week, the massive factory has fallen silent.
The plant’s closure came after Trump imposed 25% tariffs on imported cars, hitting Canada’s auto hub hard. It’s the biggest shutdown since the trade war began. With more tariffs looming, other cities could soon face similar fallout.
Bloomberg News reports:
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WTO slashes 2025 trade growth forecast, warns of deeper slump
Reuters reports:
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Trump to attend tariff negotiations with Japan
President Trump said he will attend a meeting with Japan to begin to iron out a trade deal and negotiate tariffs. Japan’s chief trade negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, is scheduled to begin trade talks with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer this week.
“Japan is coming in today to negotiate Tariffs, the cost of military support, and ‘TRADE FAIRNESS’,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “I will attend the meeting, along with Treasury & Commerce Secretaries.”
Trump initially placed a 24% reciprocal tariff rate on imports from Japan to the US, but he scaled that back to 10% for 90 days while the White House engages various trading partners in negotiations.
Bessent has prioritized Japan in the trade talks, along with the UK, Australia, South Korea, and India. In an interview with Yahoo Finance’s Brian Sozzi Tuesday, Bessent said that not all trade deals will likely be fully completed within the 90-day window.
“Hopefully something can be worked out which is good (GREAT!) for Japan and the USA!” Trump added on Truth Social.
Pharma companies are expected to absorb any short term tariff hits
The pharmaceutical industry is showing early signs of how President Trump’s tariffs will affect price increases and who will be left paying for them.
Reuters reports:
Read more here.
China open to talks if US shows respect, names point person
China is setting clear conditions for trade talks with the US, saying it requires steps from President Trump’s administration that include addressing disparaging remarks from his cabinet, per Bloomberg. Beijing seeks a more consistent US stance and a focus on issues like American sanctions and Taiwan.
Additionally, China wants the US to appoint a dedicated point person with the president’s support to help prepare a deal for Trump and President Xi Jinping to sign. The future of the global economy and markets depends on whether the US and China can avoid further escalation of their trade war.
In an exclusive interview with Yahoo Finance’s Brian Sozzi, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested that while a deal with China hasn’t materialized yet, tariffs exceeding 145% may not be in the cards.
Bessent emphasized the need for ongoing negotiation and hinted that the process for addressing the tariffs on China and other key trade partners is complex, and although substantial clarity could be achieved, a complete deal may not be finalized within the short window.
China has outlined specific conditions in ongoing trade talks, including a more consistent US stance and a commitment to address issues like sanctions, Taiwan, and trade imbalances.
BOJ to cut growth forecast as US tariffs hit
The Bank of Japan (8301.T) is set to cut its economic growth forecasts at its April 30-May 1 policy meeting as U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs heighten risks to a fragile, export-reliant recovery, said three sources familiar with its plans.
Reuters reports:
Read more here
ASML warns tariffs cloud outlook for 2025 and 2026
ASML (ASML), the world’s biggest supplier of computer chip-making equipment, said on Wednesday that tariffs were increasing uncertainty around its outlook for 2025 and 2026, but stood by its annual guidance as the race for AI rages on.
Reuters reports:
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China appoints new international trade negotiator in the middle of tariff talks
China has appointed a new head of international trade negotiation as the trade war between the world’s two largest economies heats up.
Bloomberg reports:
Read more here.
Bessent on China tariffs: ‘No one thinks that these are sustainable’
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent addressed whether he thinks the US’s 145% tariff rate on China is permanent, as the tit-for-tat trade war between the two countries escalates.
“Look, I think no one thinks that these are sustainable over the long run,” Bessent told Yahoo Finance’s Brian Sozzi. “But with President Trump, I’m not going to give away his negotiating strategy … So I think [President Trump] gets maximum strategy because he keeps everything on the table all the time.”
Bessent: Trump ‘wants to be involved’ in tariff negotiations, deals ‘in principle’ to be accomplished in 90 days
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent sat down with Yahoo Finance’s Brian Sozzi on Tuesday to discuss tariffs, the bond market, and more.
“President Trump wants to be involved,” Bessent said about the trade negotiations during the 90-day additional reciprocal tariff pause.
He said that the administration is “in rapid motion” setting up a process for evaluating trade deals with the US’s largest 14 trading partners other than China.
“So in 90 days, are we going to have a complete document, a formal legal document, done and dusted? Not likely,” Bessent said. “But I think if we follow the process, we could have substantial clarity … on those 14 away from China in terms of agreements in principle. And then once we reach a level that we’ve agreed on, and they’ve agreed to lower their tariffs, lower their non-tariff barriers, currency manipulation, and subsidies of industry and labor, then I think we can move forward.”
Bessent continued that countries negotiating with the White House need to bring their “A game.”
Trump presses China for tariff offer
The White House press secretary on Tuesday said “the ball was in China’s court” as President Trump pushes for negotiations to tamp down a trade war between the world’s two largest economies.
“The ball is in China’s court. China needs to make a deal with us. We don’t have to make a deal with them,” Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday, according to Bloomberg, in a statement she said had been dictated by Trump.
“There’s no difference between China and any other country except they are much larger, and China wants what we have, what every country wants, what we have — the American consumer — or to put another way, they need our money,” she said.
Per Bloomberg:
Johnson & Johnson expects $400 million in tariff-related costs this year
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) said Tuesday that it expects about $400 million in tariff-related costs this year — not including possible tariffs on pharmaceutical imports, which Trump alluded are coming soon.
The Trump administration has proceeded with its Section 232 investigations into imports of pharmaceuticals and semiconductors in the first step to levy tariffs on those sectors.
J&J, which is investing in manufacturing its advanced medicines in the US, said that if additional pharmaceutical tariffs go into effect, they could lead to supply chain issues and shortages.
The Associated Press reports:
Read more here.
EU-US trade talks make ‘little progress’
Trade talks between the European Union and US made “little progress” over the past several days, and EU negotiators expect the bulk of duties to remain once President Trump’s “reciprocal” tariff pause resumes.
Trump has taken particular aim at the EU as part of his pledge to reshape the US trade landscape, even with longstanding allies. As Bloomberg notes, the EU has floated that both sides remove tariffs on “industrial goods, including cars,” but the US has rejected those terms.
Tariffs threaten to reverse surprise dip in US import prices
US import prices slipped in March, largely due to a drop in energy costs — a surprise dip. But with trade tensions rising and fresh tariffs looming, that relief may not last.
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