Trump delays tariffs for goods under Mexico, Canada trade deal
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President Donald Trump suspended on Thursday the 25% tariffs he imposed this week on most goods from Canada and Mexico, the latest twist in a fluctuating trade policy that has whipsawed financial markets and fanned worries over inflation and a growth slowdown.
The exemptions, covering the two largest U.S. trading partners, expire on April 2 when Trump threatened to impose a global regime of reciprocal tariffs on all U.S. trading partners.
Trump had imposed a 25% levy on imports from both countries on Tuesday and had mentioned an exemption only for Mexico earlier on Thursday, but the amendment he signed on Thursday afternoon covered Canada as well. The three countries are partners in a North American trade pact.
In response, Canada will delay a planned second wave of retaliatory tariffs on C$125 billion of U.S. products until April 2, Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc said in a post on X.
For Canada, the amended White House order also excludes duties on potash, a critical fertilizer for U.S. farmers, but does not fully cover energy products, on which Trump has imposed a separate 10% levy. A White House official said that is because not all energy products imported from Canada are covered under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement on trade that Trump negotiated in his first term as president.
Trump imposed the tariffs after declaring a national emergency on January 20, his first day in office, due to deaths from fentanyl overdoses, asserting that the deadly opioid and its precursor chemicals make their way from China to the U.S. via Canada and Mexico. Trump has also imposed tariffs of 20% on all imports from China as a result.
Trump first announced the levies at the beginning of February, but he delayed them for Canada and Mexico until Tuesday. Earlier this week he declined to delay them again and doubled a 10% levy that had been in force since February 4 on Chinese imports.
"On April 2, we're going to move with the reciprocal tariffs, and hopefully Mexico and Canada will have done a good enough job on fentanyl that this part of the conversation will be off the table, and we'll move just to the reciprocal tariff conversation," Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told CNBC. "But if they haven't, this will stay on."
Trump also said 25% tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum would go into effect as scheduled on March 12. Canada and Mexico are both top exporters of the metals to U.S. markets, with Canada in particular accounting for most aluminum imports.
On Wednesday Trump exempted automotive goods from the 25% tariffs he imposed on imports from Canada and Mexico as of Tuesday, levies that economists saw as threatening to stoke inflation and stall growth across all three economies.
Trump issued those exemptions after meeting with executives from the top U.S. automakers, Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis.
Item 1 of 2 Canadian-made plywood is seen at POCO Building Supplies, a 106-year old business in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada on March 4, 2025. REUTERS/Jennifer Gauthier/File Photo
[1/2]Canadian-made plywood is seen at POCO Building Supplies, a 106-year old business in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada on March 4, 2025. REUTERS/Jennifer Gauthier/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab
NO BUY-IN FROM MARKETS
U.S. stock markets resumed their recent sell-off on Thursday, with investors citing the rapid-fire, back-and-forth developments on tariffs as a concern due to the uncertainty they are fanning. Economists have warned that the levies may rekindle inflation that has already proven difficult to bring fully to heel, and slow demand and growth in its wake.
The S&P 500 closed down 1.8% and is now down nearly 7% since mid-February.
"A continuation of this on again, off again with tariffs particularly with Mexico and Canada" is what is creating uncertainty in markets, said Bill Sterling, global strategist at GW&K Investment Management in Boston.
"The rational economic response to business leaders when there's such a high degree of uncertainty is to sit on their hands and just defer making decisions," Sterling said. "How can you make decisions about where you locate an auto plant between the U.S. and Canada right now?"
Lutnick said that the White House is not looking to market reaction for guidance.
"The fact that the stock market goes up or down a half percent on any given day is not the driving force of our outcomes," Lutnick said. "Our outcomes are driven by we want factory production in America."
Earlier on Thursday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who is stepping down as Canada's leader on Sunday, said he does not expect the trade war that Trump has kicked off to abate any time soon.
"I can confirm that we will continue to be in a trade war that was launched by the United States for the foreseeable future," he told reporters in Ottawa.
There was no immediate response from Mexican officials, though President Claudia Sheinbaum earlier on Thursday held a call with Trump during which he had agreed to a delay.
"We had an excellent and respectful call in which we agreed that our work and collaboration have yielded unprecedented results, within the framework of respect for our sovereignties," Sheinbaum said in a post on X.
Mexican and Canadian officials have been frustrated by tariff negotiations with the Trump administration, with a lack of clarity over U.S. desires making a resolution seem impossible, sources from both countries told Reuters.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said China will continue to retaliate to the United States’ “arbitrary tariffs” and accused Washington of “meeting well with evil” in a press conference Friday on the sidelines of the country’s annual parliamentary session.
Wang said China’s efforts to help the U.S. contain its fentanyl crisis have been met with punitive tariffs, which are straining the ties between the countries.
“No country should fantasize that it can suppress China and maintain a good relationship with China at the same time,” Wang said. “Such two-faced acts are not good for the stability of bilateral relations or for building mutual trust.”
The two countries have been reengaging in tit-for-tat retaliatory tariffs since U.S. President Donald Trump’s return to office in January. The U.S. has imposed flat tariffs of 20% on all Chinese imports, while Beijing has countered with additional 15% duties on U.S. imports including chicken, pork, soy, and beef, and expanded controls on doing business with key U.S. companies.
Regarding the Trump administration’s policy of safeguarding U.S. interests above international cooperation, Wang said such an approach, if adopted by every country in the world, would result in the “law of the jungle.”
“Small and weak countries will get burnt first, and the international order and rules will be under severe shock,” Wang said. “Major countries should undertake their international obligations … and not seek to profit from and bully the weak.”
On the Ukraine war, Wang reiterated China’s stance of supporting conflict resolution through political negotiations. Wang said that in hindsight, the Ukraine conflict “could have been avoided.”
“All parties should learn something from the crisis,” he said. “Among many other things, security should be mutual and equal, and no country should build its security on the insecurity of another.”
Wang stressed that China-Russia relations are as strong as ever despite recent consultations between the U.S. and Russia on ending the Ukraine war. He said Beijing and Moscow are planning joint celebrations this year marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.
On Taiwan, the island democracy China claims as its own, Wang said “Taiwan has never been a country and will never be a country in the future.”
“Advocating for Taiwan independence is splitting the country, supporting Taiwan independence is interfering in China’s internal affairs, and conniving for Taiwan independence is undermining the stability of the Taiwan Strait,” he said.
Those who support Taiwan’s independence are “only playing with fire and will burn themselves,” Wang said.
Asked about Trump’s plan to take control of Gaza and resettle Palestinians in neighboring countries, Wang said Gaza belongs to the Palestinians and any forced change of the territory’s status would trigger new turbulence. He said China backs the peace plan put forth by Egypt and other Arab countries and reiterated Beijing’s support for a two-state solution for Palestine and Israel.
“The Israeli-Palestinian conflict takes place again and again simply because the two-state solution is only half-achieved,” Wang said. “The state of Israel has long been a reality, but the state of Palestine is still far beyond reach.”
A 40-day boycott of Target that calls for supporters to give up shopping at the company’s stores during the Lenten period kicked off this week, to protest the discount retailer’s decision to end some of its diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.
The Rev. Jamal Bryant, senior pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church near Atlanta, organized the “Target Fast” that began Wednesday — the first day of Lent — along with other faith and civil rights leaders. A website for participants points to the spending power of Black Americans and describes the boycott as “a spiritual act of resistance.”
“This is a fast for accountability. A fast for justice. A fast for a future where corporations do not bow to pressure at the expense of marginalized communities” reads a message on targetfast.org. “Turn your dollars into data, power, and change.”
Target declined to comment directly on the boycott, which runs through April 17. Here’s what to know.
What happened with Target’s DEI initiatives?
Target announced in January that it would phase out a handful of DEI initiatives, including a program designed to help Black employees build meaningful careers and promote Black-owned businesses.
The Minneapolis-based company, which operates nearly 2,000 stores nationwide and employs more than 400,000 people, said it long had intended to end the program this year, but its announcement came after other prominent American corporations scaled back their diversity activities.
Target also said it would stop setting hiring and promotion goals for women, members of racial minority groups, and other underrepresented communities.
Conservative activists, and more recently, President Donald Trump’s White House, have sought to rid the federal government, schools, and private workplaces of DEI policies that were adopted to counter discrimination. Critics maintain the range of goals and programs arising from such policies are themselves discriminatory and counterproductive.
While Target rival Walmart also rolled back its DEI initiatives in November, Target’s actions seemed to cause more customer outrage. Numerous calls for boycotts emerged across the country, including from Minneapolis civil rights activists who gathered outside Target’s headquarters. The daughters of one of Target’s co-founders also expressed shock and alarm.
“The surprise element is what attracted customer ire” said Akshay Rao, a marketing professor at the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management. He and others point to Target’s previous messaging around DEI and reputation as a strong advocate for the rights of racial minorities and LGBTQ+ people.
Target also faced boycott calls almost 15 years ago after it was revealed that the company donated to an organization that supported Republican Tom Emmer, then a vocal opponent of gay marriage, in his campaign to become Minnesota’s governor. Then, as now, Target received more blowback than other companies that made similar donations because its actions ran counter to expectations, Rao said.
What does giving up Target for 40 days involve?
Organizers of the “Target Fast” urged people who take part to stop shopping at Target and instead redirect their dollars to Black-owned businesses.
Targetfast.org lists the demands of boycotters, which include Target completely restoring its commitments to DEI and honoring a previous pledge to spend over $2 billion with Black-owned businesses by the end of 2025.
Bryant, the pastor spearheading the protest, told The Washington Post on Wednesday that about 110,000 people signed up to participate. Bryant was not immediately available for further comment when The Associated Press contacted his staff on Thursday.
The Rev. Al Sharpton, founder and president of the National Action Network, announced in late January that the civil rights organization would identify two companies in the next 90 days that will be subjected to consumer boycotts for abandoning their DEI pledges.
What impact will the ‘Target Fast’ have?
Time will tell. But experts say boycott appeals reflect the risk companies face when making moves that could potentially alienate their customer base — particularly when the moves go against past corporate messaging.
“One of the ways that you can really upset (consumers) is to claim to be something and then violate that standard that you claim to be,” Americus Reed II, a marketing professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, said. “It lands really poisonous on people, especially in vulnerable communities where people have put their trust in you. ... And now, you’re reversing.”
A sense of betrayal can be a significant motivator for customers to take their money elsewhere, Reed said. And successful boycotts, he adds, need to generate enough energy to “make this not just a moment, but a movement.”
Targeting single companies for a more prolonged period may prove effective, but organizers need to provide multiple ways for people to participate, Reed said.
Pledging to avoid large chains like Target or Walmart, for example, may be difficult for those who have fewer alternatives either geographically or because of what they can afford. Reed says targeted “buycotts,” such as trying to only purchase products from the Black-owned brands that large chains stock, could help bridge that gap.
Larger market pressures, such as the tariffs on goods from Canada, China, and Mexico that Trump imposed this week — are likely to have bigger implications for Target’s bottom line in the months ahead, Rao said.
Getting consumers to change their buying habits, even for a cause they support, can be very difficult, Reed said. Boycotts that gain traction online also sometimes come across like “virtue signaling as opposed to real change,” but making them part of the national conversation nonetheless is a huge step, he said.
“A lot of times, you’re in sort of inertia in your life as a consumer. And you’re just rolling along, you’re clicking a button on Amazon and getting your stuff,” Reed said. “Then something like this (boycott) comes up, and you’re forced to confront the reality of, ‘OK, what am I going to do?’”
Canada will be in a trade war with the United States for the foreseeable future, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Thursday, speaking shortly before U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called him "a numbskull".
Trudeau said Canada would continue to engage with senior Trump administration officials about tariffs Washington says it will impose on Canadian imports, reiterating that his goal was to get the measures removed.
"I can confirm that we will continue to be in a trade war that was launched by the United States for the foreseeable future," he told reporters in Ottawa.
Canada immediately imposed 25% tariffs on C$30 billion of U.S. imports and Trudeau said those measures would remain in place until the Trump administration ended its trade action.
Bessent made clear the administration's unhappiness, telling an event in New York that "If you want to be a numbskull like Justin Trudeau and say 'Oh we're going to do this', then tariffs are going to go up".
In response, a Canadian government source said Washington was upset because Ottawa had retaliated.
Trudeau and Trump, who accuse Canada of not doing enough to stop the flow of fentanyl and illegal migrants across the border, held a 50-minute phone conversation on Wednesday.
"It was a colorful call. It was also a very substantive call," said Trudeau, adding that the two sides were in talks but had nothing to announce yet.
"We are ... trying to make sure that these tariffs don't overly harm, certainly in the short term, certain sectors."
One topic of conversation is Canada possibly delaying a second round of 25% tariffs on a further C$125 billion of U.S. imports, due to come into effect in less than three weeks.
Trump will exempt automakers from tariffs on Canada and Mexico for one month as long as they comply with existing free trade rules, the White House said on Wednesday.
"Any carve-outs that support any workers in Canada, even if it's just one industry or another, are going to be a good thing," said Trudeau.
The Canadian prime minister will step down once the ruling Liberal Party chooses a new leader this Sunday. He has generally had poor relations with Trump and took a swipe at the president, who first made a name for himself as a real estate mogul.
"A win-lose between us would actually be worse for them than a win-win. That's true in international trade, in relations between nation states," he said.
"It perhaps is not true in real estate deals, (where) a win-lose is probably better for someone who is experienced in business deals than a win-win," he said.
Beijing will "resolutely counter" U.S. pressure on tariffs and the fentanyl issue, China's foreign minister said on Friday, adding that major powers "should not bully the weak", in a veiled swipe at the Trump administration's foreign policy.
China also presented itself as a reliable global power amid geopolitical turmoil and U.S. President Donald Trump's withdrawal from international institutions, part of a clear appeal from Beijing to Europe and countries in the Global South.
The U.S. levied an additional 10% tariff on Chinese imports this week over the continued flow of the deadly opioid fentanyl into the country, threatening to worsen an escalatory spiral of trade actions.
"If one side blindly exerts pressure, China will resolutely counter that," Foreign Minister Wang Yi said at a briefing on the sidelines of China's annual parliamentary meeting.
The U.S. "should not repay kindness with grievances, let alone impose tariffs without reason," Wang added, referring to the "various assistance" Beijing has provided Washington over the years on tackling the flow of fentanyl precursor drugs into the U.S.
Wang's relatively subdued remarks on the U.S., without mentioning Trump once by name, suggested Beijing wishes to keep the prospect of potential future trade talks alive, said Wen-Ti Sung, a Taiwan-based nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Council's Global China Hub.
"They want to pursue any room for de-escalation with Trump when it comes to trade," Sung said. "One way of doing it is to keep the level of rhetorical intensity down to manageable size to preserve room for maneuver for both sides."
UKRAINE STANCE
In resolving the Ukraine war, China wants to achieve a "fair, lasting and binding peace agreement" acceptable to all parties, Wang Yi said.
"China is willing to continue to play a constructive role in the final resolution of the crisis and the realization of lasting peace, by the wishes of the parties concerned, together with the international community."
Western countries have urged Beijing to take a more active role in using its economic leverage over Russia to stop the war, but Beijing has so far refused to publicly criticize its strategic partner or halt its economic support of Moscow.
China-Russia relations are a "constant in a turbulent world, not a variable in geopolitical games," Wang told the press conference.
Chinese President Xi Jinping recently reaffirmed Beijing's "no limits" partnership with Moscow in a telephone call with his Russian counterpart on the third anniversary of Moscow's 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Trump has upended U.S. policy on Ukraine after taking office last month, showing a more conciliatory stance towards Russia that has unnerved Washington's traditional allies in the West.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday the Ukraine conflict is a "proxy war" between Washington and Moscow that needs to end and has previously said that Washington wishes to "peel off" Moscow from Beijing.
Analysts say Beijing wishes to exploit the growing transatlantic rift to bolster its ties with European countries, which have been strained over Ukraine and trade tensions.
"China still has confidence in Europe, and believes Europe can still be China's trusted partner," Wang said.
GLOBAL SOUTH
Wang Yi also urged developing countries to "continue to improve our representation and discourse power in global governance".
"If every country emphasizes its own national priorities and believes in strength and status, the world will regress to the law of the jungle, and small and weak countries will bear the brunt," said Wang in a veiled reference to Washington's actions.
"Major powers ... should not be profit-driven, and they should not bully the weak."
Within the first two months of taking office, Trump has withdrawn the U.S. from several multilateral organisations and climate agreements, suspended most foreign aid, and voted against a United Nations resolution condemning Russia for the Ukraine invasion.
"At a time when the Trump administration's foreign policy is revising a lot of established expectations, China wants to present itself as preserving the status quo," said Sung, the analyst.
"When the Global South sees a retrenching, inward-looking U.S., there's a fear of a strategic vacuum - one that China intends to help fill."
U.S. employers announced 172,017 layoffs last month, the highest level in nearly five years, according to outplacement firmChallenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. The number of announced job cuts in February was up 245% from January and also marked the highest monthly count since July 2020, when the Covid pandemic heightened uncertainty,Jeff Coxreported forCNBC. “With the impact of the Department of Government Efficiency [DOGE] actions, as well as canceled Government contracts, fear of trade wars, and bankruptcies, job cuts soared in February,”Andrew Challenger, the firm’s workplace expert, said in a release. The firm put the total of announced federal job cuts at 62,242, spanning 17 agencies. Retail saw 38,956 cuts for the month, while technology firms made another 14,554 in reductions. On the upside, firms announced plans in February to hire a total of 34,580 new workers, putting the year-to-date total up 159% from a year ago.
Mexican and Canadian officials are increasingly frustrated by tariff negotiations with the Trump administration, with a lack of clarity over exactly what the U.S. wants making any resolution seem impossible, sources from both countries told Reuters.
After implementing across-the-board 25% tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico earlier this week, President Donald Trump on Thursday announced a one-month reprieve for both countries on goods compliant under a North American trade pact.
The on-again, off-again tariffs and the high-level discussions surrounding them have exasperated negotiating teams, according to three Mexican officials and two Canadian sources familiar with negotiations.
It's like "dealing with an angry partner and you don’t know what they're mad about," one Mexican official. "It's not clear what they want."
The press person for Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum responded to a request for comment by directing Reuters to Sheinbaum's public comment on Thursday. In a post on X, Sheinbaum said: "We had an excellent and respectful call," that respected the "sovereignties" of both countries.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's office and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Trump based the legal justification for the tariffs on combating fentanyl and illegal immigration, but he and others in his administration often expand the justification to include trade deficits and protecting U.S. industries like autos and lumber.
Despite the shared frustration of Mexico and Canada, the two countries have taken distinct tones in public. Sheinbaum has stressed her respect for Trump and the close cooperation with the U.S. Canada has bluntly criticized the chaos.
Trudeau on Thursday, before Trump announced a reprieve, said Canada will be in a trade war with the United States for "the foreseeable future." U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called Trudeau "a numbskull."
Trudeau's foreign minister has been even franker.
"We won't get through this, another psychodrama every 30 days," Foreign Minister Melanie Joly told business leaders in Toronto earlier this week.
"The problem we've had is it's not clear what the American president wants," she added. "I've had conversations with colleagues in Washington saying, 'Okay, but at the end of the day, what do you guys want?' And I got the answer, 'We're about to know.' There's one decision maker in the system. He's the only one to know."
U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick dismissed the idea that he didn't know what Trump wants as "fake news" and "so silly" in an interview on Thursday with CNBC.
Trump "calls everybody all the time," Lutnick said. "I speak to him all the time. You've got to be kidding me. The president knows exactly what he wants. We know exactly what he wants."
But Canadian and Mexican officials said the lack of clarity over demands as well as uncertainty over whether Trump administration officials in bilateral meetings were actually able to deliver on what they said was making discussions incredibly challenging.
The scope of negotiations is not clear, they said, with talks sometimes seeming to be focused on fentanyl and at other times on migration, while on some occasions the focus seemed to be trade deficits.
"The U.S. reasons for the tariffs constantly shift,” said another Mexican official. "If we can't identify the problem, we can't identify the solution."
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Tariff Whiplash Hits Markets as Nasdaq Enters Correction Markets took another hit today as uncertainty around Trump’s tariff policies weighed on investors. 📉 Dow fell 427 points (-1%) 📉 S&P 500 dropped 1.8% 📉 Nasdaq declined 2.6%, officially entering correction territory—now down 10% from its December highs. Tech stocks led the decline, with Marvell (MRVL) sinking nearly 20% after issuing a weaker-than-expected sales forecast. Other chipmakers like Nvidia, Broadcom, and AMD also saw losses. Despite a one-month tariff pause for some Canadian and Mexican goods, markets didn’t get much relief, as uncertainty around trade policy continues. Meanwhile, jobless claims fell, but all eyes are now on tomorrow’s jobs report, which could be a key market mover. Want to stay ahead of these shifts? Follow me for daily market insights and financial strategies.
The Chinese retailer Alibaba unveiled its latest AI model Thursday, boasting that its reasoning and coding capabilities outperform models from rivals OpenAI and DeepSeek while using fewer resources, perCNN. The AI agent, dubbed QwQ-32B, operates with 32 billion parameters compared to DeepSeek’s R1 model at 671 billion parameters. It arrived shortly after Chinese startup Monica released its newest AI model. Alibaba haspledgedto invest $52.4 billion in AI and cloud computing.
SpaceX launched the eighth uncrewed test flight of its Starship megarocket from Texas on Thursday,losing contactwith the spacecraft roughly eight minutes after liftoff. SpaceXconfirmedthe craft suffered a "rapid unscheduled disassembly," and concerns about debris temporarilygroundedflights in South Florida. Attempts to return the rocket's first-stage booster to the launch tower, however, were successful. The mission was the first since January's failed test, when SpaceX's spacecraft alsoexplodedover the Caribbean eight minutes into flight.
American booze is now off the shelves in most of Canada, threatening to put a $768 million dent in the US economy, a response to 25% tariffs the US imposed on Canadian goods. US alcohol production is concentrated in certain pockets of the country. Most whiskey exported from the US comes from Kentucky and Tennessee and most wine exported comes from California. Some companies, like Diageo — which sells Crown Royal whiskey from Canada and Don Julio tequila from Mexico — are taking punches from all sides of this trade war.
The United States is planning to charge fees for docking at U.S. ports on any ship that is part of a fleet that includes Chinese-built or Chinese-flagged vessels and will push allies to act similarly or face retaliation, a draft executive order stated.
The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is drafting the executive order in a bid to resuscitate domestic shipbuilding and weaken China's grip on the global shipping industry.
Addressing China's growing dominance of the seas and diminishing U.S. naval readiness is a rare point of consensus between U.S. Republican and Democratic lawmakers.
Chinese shipbuilders account for more than 50% of all merchant vessel cargo capacity produced globally each year, up from just 5% in 1999, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
That gain came at the expense of shipbuilders in Japan and South Korea. U.S. shipbuilding peaked in the 1970s and now accounts for a sliver of the industry output.
The draft executive order, dated February 27 and reviewed by Reuters on Thursday, proposes fees should be imposed on any vessel that enters a U.S. port, "regardless of where it was built or flagged, if that vessel is part of a fleet that includes vessels built or flagged in the PRC (People's Republic of China)."
The U.S. administration and Chinese officials could not be immediately reached for comment.
The document draws from a U.S. Trade Representative's office proposal last month to levy fees of up to $1.5 million on Chinese-built vessels entering U.S. ports after a probe into China's growing domination of global shipbuilding, maritime and logistics sectors.
A key difference is that the draft executive order appears to have removed language stating that port fees on fleets would be imposed when those ships account for 25% or more of ships that are operating, slated for delivery or on order.
It also did not put a dollar value on those fees or say how they would be calculated.
Cargo ships full of shipping containers are seen at the port of Oakland, as trade tensions escalate over U.S. tariffs, in Oakland, California, U.S., March 6, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Barria Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab
The plan could inflict significant costs on major container carriers including Switzerland's MSC, Denmark's Maersk (MAERSKb.CO), opens new tab, Germany's Hapag-Lloyd (HLAG.DE), opens new tab and Taiwan's Evergreen Marine (2603.TW), opens new tab as well as on operators of ships that carry food, fuel and autos.
RETALIATION THREAT
The draft executive order also calls on U.S. officials to engage allies and partners to enact similar measures or risk retaliation.
The U.S. would also impose tariffs on Chinese cargo-handling equipment, according to the draft order.
"The national security and economic prosperity of the United States is further endangered by the People's Republic of China's unfair trade practices in the maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding sectors," the draft order said.
Reuters had reported on Wednesday on plans to impose fees on imports arriving on Chinese-made ships from a draft fact sheet of the 18-point executive order.
French carrier CMA CGM said on Thursday it would spend the next four years expanding its U.S.-flagged American President Lines fleet to 30 from 10 currently.
CMA CGM is the world's third-largest container shipping line
and is part of a vessel-sharing alliance with companies
including China's COSCO (601866.SS), opens new tab. It counts global retailer Walmart (WMT.N), opens new tab as a top customer and last week said the proposed U.S. port fees on China-built ships would affect all shipping firms.
Regardless of what one might think about tariffs, one thing's for sure: They ain't good for business sentiment, as highlighted by the AICPA's recent survey among CEOs, CFOs, controllers and other executives. > Less than half, or 47%, of US business executives last month said they are confident about the economic outlook for the year ahead, down from 67% of respondents in a survey conducted in December. > 59% of executives indicated tariffs would have a negative effect on their businesses. What’s more, 85% of respondents said uncertainty surrounding the subject has already influenced business planning. > Revenue and profit expectations have fallen already, and concerns about the country's political leadership are back among the top 10 worries of executives.
The owner of 7-Elevenannounced stepsto fend off a $47 billion takeover bid from Canada's Alimentation Couche-Tard. Seven & i Holdings will spin off its North American stores into a separate publicly traded company, appointing former Walmart executive Stephen Dacus as its first American CEO. The company will focus on its core convenience stores, sell some assets and buy back $13 billion in shares by 2030, "an acknowledgment that 7-Eleven stores in the U.S. and Japan ... differ significantly in their products and operations."
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