Tracking Trump's Tariffs and Turbulent Trade Talks

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Inside the trade war’s tariff hideouts, ‘foreign’ zones and bonded warehouses​

  • To avoid tariffs and trade war uncertainty, more companies are using U.S. Customs-sanctioned foreign trade zones (FTZs) and bonded warehouses, where products can be stored anywhere from years to indefinitely.
  • The goal is holding onto cash rather than paying it out in trade taxes. “You don’t want to bring in all your goods and spend your cash flow against tariffs that may not be here in, you know, six weeks, six months,” a logistics expert told CNBC.
To offset the rising costs of tariffs and trade war uncertainty, companies are using U.S. Customs-sanctioned foreign trade zones (FTZs) and bonded warehouses to delay or reduce product taxes.

FTZs have a long history dating back to a previous period of trade conflict, created during the Great Depression by Congress to encourage international trade and boost exports at time when the Smoot-Hawley tariffs were as high as 53%.

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Trump announces 30% tariffs on EU and Mexico, starting Aug. 1​

  • President Donald Trump unveiled the new rates in letters to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum.
  • Trump said that if the EU or Mexico retaliates with higher tariffs, “then, whatever the number you choose to raise them by, will be added on to the 30% that we charge.”
  • The EU collectively sells more to the U.S. than any single country.
President Donald Trump said Saturday the U.S. will impose a 30% tariff on goods from the European Union and Mexico that will take effect on Aug. 1.

Trump revealed the new rates in letters to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum, which he posted on his social media site Truth Social.

“Mexico has been helping me secure the border, BUT, what Mexico has done, is not enough,” Trump wrote to Sheinbaum.

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New Tariffs Will Push Countries Closer to China​

To hear Washington’s hawks tell it—including many in the Trump administration—trade with China jeopardizes domestic manufacturing and, worse still, US national security. A rational response to such fears would be to eliminate trade barriers with a number of Asia-Pacific trading partners. Yet the administration’s trade policy continues to undercut that goal in the quixotic belief that the US can and should reshore large swaths of production.

In yet another fit of uncertainty-inducing protectionism, President Trump announced the United States will impose a host of new tariffs on 22 countries (at last count) unless they can reach trade agreements with the US by August 1, 2025.

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Post in thread 'Commodities, Business & Shipping'

Port of Los Angeles sees record container traffic as shippers race to beat Trump’s tariff deadlines​

  • The Port of Los Angeles says that shipping container traffic has increased as importers race to beat the latest deadlines set by President Trump for tariffs.
  • Trade from China, while short of a Covid-like surge, has been up ahead of the mid-August deadline for a deal which could raise tariffs on Chinese goods to 145%.
The Port of Los Angeles reported its best June ever for shipping container traffic, an increase in ocean freight that port executives described as a tariff...
 
WSJ

Europe Draws Up Retaliatory Tariffs for U.S. Goods in Case No Trade Deal Is Reached​

BRUSSELS—The European Union is readying a fresh list of American products—ranging from aircraft to alcoholic beverages, coffee and medical devices—to hit with retaliatory tariffs if a trade deal isn’t reached by President Trump’s Aug. 1 deadline.EU officials on Monday unveiled the list after Trump’s latest tariff threat over the weekend revived a debate in the bloc over whether it should fight back, and how forcefully, if the two sides can’t reach a deal. The EU in April froze an initial package of retaliatory tariffs against the U.S. after Trump said he would limit blanket tariffs on most countries to 10% for 90 days. The new EU list, circulated to the bloc’s 27 member states and viewed by The Wall Street Journal, covers American imports that were together valued at roughly $84 billion last year.

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https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/mar...-deal-is-reached/ar-AA1IBysR?ocid=socialshare
 
Grok:

Q = Where do most of the electrical power transformers used in the United States come from?

A = Most electrical power transformers used in the United States are imported, with over 80% coming from countries like Mexico, China, and Thailand, according to a 2024 DOE report. Mexico is a particularly significant source, with some estimates suggesting it supplies a large portion of the U.S. market. Domestic production exists, with manufacturers like the Electric Service Company (ELSCO), UTB Transformer, and Olsun Electrics contributing, but the U.S. relies heavily on imports due to cost and manufacturing capacity. This dependency raises concerns about grid reliability, especially as electricity demand grows.

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Another casualty of the trade wars: now we don't have transformers​

Jul 16, 2025
American companies can produce just 20% of our capital equipment needs in electrical power and transmission.
The United States will soon need to replace over 30 million power transformers on existing power grids, while somehow meeting the enormous new power demand from factories and AI data centers.
Under US law, all the new components and materials used by electric utilities must be build in the United States.
Wait times for new transformers and switches are now over three years, and costs are rocketing higher.
Closing scene, Nantong, Jiangsu
Resources and links are below the vid on youtube.

5:48
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Old saying: You don't shit where you eat.
 

We Went To Canada To See The U.S. Product Boycotts — And What We Found Was Striking​

Jul 19, 2025 #CNBC
In response to U.S. tariffs and President Trump's policies, 71% of Canadian consumers are shifting away from American products, with the "Buy Canada" movement. CNBC traveled to Canada to speak with locals and meet with a grocery store owner to find out the impact of the boycotts. As the U.S. economy is projected to lose up to $90 billion in 2025 due to shifting consumer sentiment. The fallout is global with Mexico and countries in the European Union joining. And it extends to tourism, with Canadian visits to the U.S. down 50%, crippling U.S. border economies.

9:27

Chapters:
0:00 Introduction
1:47 Chapter 1: Canada’s U.S. boycott
5:19 Chapter 2: Tourism pullback
6:00 Chapter 3: European boycotts
 

Wine Woes as President Trump’s Tariffs Loom​

Jul 19, 2025
A planned 30% US tariff on EU wines could hike prices, slash choice, and force layoffs across America’s wine trade. The US wine industry warns that distributors who rely on European bottles for most of their revenue would collapse, hurting domestic winemakers and vintners too. While some California grape growers hope the tariffs will level the playing field for US winemakers, importers and retailers are skeptical that protectionism is the long-term solution. Critics say tariffs won’t fix oversupply or falling demand and would instead shrink the entire US wine ecosystem.

13:05
 
Except its not "protectionism". Tariffs are temporary until these countrys that have been screwing us for so many years come to terms with fair trade deals. Assuming you want your grandkids to have jobs in the future.

Under the Democrats 90% of the country would be on the monthly checks living substandard. Totally beholdent to their Political masters with illegal immigrants getting more benefits then they are.
 

Trump’s trade war taking biggest toll on nation’s smaller, secondary ports from California to Gulf Coast​

  • Secondary and smaller ports across the U.S. are processing less trade as shippers readjust supply chains against the latest tariff deadlines.
  • Ports of Oakland, Jacksonville, New Orleans, and Panama City, Florida, are among those “getting sandwiched out of port calls as more shippers decide to unload their freight in the larger ports,” said Paul Brashier, vice president of global supply chain at ITS Logistics.
  • “This is not a seasonal dip, but a market recalibration,” said a top official at Port of Oakland.
Across the U.S., from California to the Gulf Coast, secondary and smaller ports are processing less trade as shippers readjust supply chain deliveries in a race against August tariff deadlines.

Recent data on container volumes shows that while the nation’s busiest port, Los Angeles, has seen a sizable bump in traffic, that has come at the expense of trade activity for smaller ports, where there has been a reduction in scheduled services for imports, according to ITS Logistics’ monthly US Port/Rail Ramp Freight Index.

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How Europe’s ‘trade bazooka’ could be a last resort against Trump’s tariffs​

  • The EU could be preparing to use an “anti-coercion instrument” to try to deter a looming 30% tariff on its exports to the States.
  • A number of EU member states, including Germany, reportedly support using “anti-coercion” measures against the U.S. if the bloc cannot reach a trade deal with Washington.
  • The “Anti-Coercion Instrument” (ACI) was created in 2023 but has never been used by the EU before/
The European Union appears to be preparing to deploy its “Anti-Coercion Instrument” — characterized as a “nuclear option” to try to deter trade disputes — as the threat of a 30% tariff on EU imports looms large.

A number of EU member states, including France and Germany, are reportedly considering using “anti-coercion” measures targeting the U.S. if the bloc cannot reach a trade deal with U.S. President Donald Trump, EU diplomats told Reuters this week.

The measures could see the EU restrict U.S. suppliers’ access to the EU market, excluding them from participation in public tenders in the bloc, as well as putting export and import restrictions on goods and services, and limits on foreign direct investment in the region.

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AstraZeneca to invest $50 billion in the U.S. as pharma tariffs weigh​

  • AstraZeneca has become the latest pharma firm to announce a multi-billion investment in the U.S.
  • The Anglo-Swedish biotech firm has committed to spend $50 billion by 2030.
  • It said the “cornerstone” of the commitment would be a new weight management production facility for its oral GLP-1 drug.
AstraZeneca on Monday said it plans to invest $50 billion in bolstering its U.S. manufacturing and research capabilities by 2030, becoming the latest pharmaceutical firm to ramp up its stateside spending in the wake of U.S. trade tariffs.

The Anglo-Swedish biotech company, which is headquartered in Cambridge, England, said the “cornerstone” of the commitment would be a new multi-billion dollar facility to produce its weight management and metabolic portfolio, including its oral GLP-1 obesity pill.

The facility, planned for the Commonwealth of Virginia, is set to be AstraZeneca’s largest single manufacturing investment in the world and will “leverage AI, automation and data analytics to optimize production,” the company said.

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General Motors takes $1.1 billion tariff hit, dinging profit and sending stock reeling​

General Motors Co.’s stock fell more than 7% on Tuesday after the carmaker’s better-than-expected quarterly results were no match for worries about continued tariff impacts and demand, along with $1.1 billion in tariff costs.

GM also warned that the third-quarter tariff impact would be higher than in the second quarter and kept its 2025 estimate of tariff costs at between $4 billion and $5 billion.

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https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/com...ng-stock-reeling/ar-AA1J3PKZ?ocid=socialshare
 

Trump announces ‘massive’ trade deal with Japan, setting tariffs at 15%​

  • Trump said that Japan will invest $550 billion into the United States, adding that the U.S. will “receive 90% of the Profits.”
  • He also said Japan will “open their Country to Trade including Cars and Trucks, Rice and certain other Agricultural Products, and other things.”
  • Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said that auto tariffs on Tokyo will be lowered to 15%, according to Reuters.
  • Shortly after the deal announcement, Japan’s top trade negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, said ”#Mission Accomplished,” in a post on X.
President Donald Trump on Tuesday stateside announced a “massive” deal with Japan that includes “reciprocal” tariffs of 15% on the country’s exports to the U.S., with auto duties reportedly being lowered to that level as well.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump called the agreement “perhaps the largest Deal ever made,” while adding that Japan would invest $550 billion in the United States and the U.S. would “receive 90% of the Profits.”

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Copper-Laden Ships Race to Reach U.S. Ahead of Trump’s 50% Tariffs​

At least four ships carrying copper are trying to reach U.S. ports before August to get ahead of planned import tariffs on the metal.

The shipments represent the final scramble by merchants to cash in on a lucrative arbitrage trade that has upended the global copper market since President Donald Trump first floated the idea of copper tariffs. The urgency to secure imports increased in the weeks since Trump announced the levy would be 50% starting August 1.

Bulk carrier Kiating left Australia’s Townsville port on July 16 carrying 8,000 metric tons of refined cargo and is destined to reach Hawaii by July 30, according to shipping data provider Kpler. The firm can’t identify who owns the cargo, but it said two other recent U.S.-bound shipments from the port contained copper from Glencore Plc’s Mount Isa Mines.

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Copper-Laden Ships Race to Reach U.S. Ahead of Trump’s 50% Tariffs

The vessels are among the last batch of copper cargoes whose owners are betting they can clear U.S. customs just before hefty Trump administration tariffs kick in.
www.supplychainbrain.com
 



Japan trade deal info on Trump’s desk was altered by hand with a marker​

  • President Donald Trump announced a trade deal with Japan, which he said includes a 15% tariff rate and $550 billion of Japanese investments in the U.S.
  • A card with details of the deal shows discrepancies and last-minute edits, according to photo posted by Dan Scavino, the White House deputy chief of staff.
President Donald Trump’s art of the deal seemed to play out in real time on Tuesday.

Trump announced what he called a “massive” trade agreement with Japan over his Truth Social platform Tuesday night, which the president said includes a 15% tariff rate and $550 billion in investments. But the details of that deal on a card on Trump’s desk shows discrepancies and last-minute edits, according to a photo posted by by Dan Scavino, the White House deputy chief of staff.

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