Trump to impose tariffs on Canada, Mexico,China tomorrow

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I tried to get a summer job at a pineapple factory but flunked the physical.

I have a consumer quality Bernette coverstitch machine to hem clothes before I decide it was easier to just buy women's XS clothes as they fit perfectly without alteration.

I have about 20 times earnings in investments besides my fully paid for house so it is unlikely that I'll have to return to work, even if Social Security were to go away.

The Magnificent Seven stocks collectively lost more than $800 billion in Thursday trading, the latest milestone underscoring how President Donald Trump's tariff rollout has crippled financial markets.

Taken together, the seven megacap technology stocks that comprise the closely followed index lost nearly $840 billion in market cap, according to a CNBC analysis as of Thursday afternoon. As a whole, CNBC's Magnificent Seven index tumbled more than 5% in the session.

Technology stocks led a broad and severe market sell-off as the unveiling of Trump's long-awaited tariff policy created a risk-off atmosphere. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite tumbled nearly 5%, poised for its worst session since 2022.

Trump's plan includes levies of 46% on Vietnam and 32% on Taiwan, two of several countries now facing special duties on exports to the U.S.

Apple led the megacap cohort's charge downward, sliding more than 8% amid concerns that Trump's broad plan for levies would hurt the personal technology giant given its production abroad. Apple is on track to record its worst day in more than half a decade.

Amazon dropped more than 7% after Trump also signed an executive order ending the de minimis trade loophole next month, which has allowed shipments worth less than $800 into the U.S. duty-free.

Nvidia, the artificial intelligence giant and retail investor favorite, sank nearly 7%. Trump has previously floated tariffs on semiconductors and other industries.

Also on the AI front, Microsoft pulled back more than 1% after Bloomberg News reported that the company was rolling back data center projects worldwide.

Dan Ives, a well-known technology analyst at Wedbush, called Trump's tariff plan "worse than the worst case scenario" in a note to clients. He said to expect countries to quickly be able to make deals to reduce their respective taxes, but warned that the U.S. would face a "self-inflected economic Armageddon" if the tariffs stay as originally presented.

But White House officials have largely brushed off concerns that Trump's economic policies were roiling the stock market. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Wednesday that large market decline seen recently should be attributed instead to poor performance from technology companies following the launch of an AI model from Chinese startup DeepSeek earlier this year that took Wall Street and Silicon Valley by storm

President Donald Trump’s rollout of sweeping tariffs on virtually all U.S. imports slammed into markets Thursday as investors issued an emphatic rebuke of his effort to reorder global trade.

The broad-based S&P 500 index plunged nearly 5% — a roughly $2 trillion wipeout — for its biggest one-day drop since June 2020, amid the depths of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Dow Jones Industrial Average likewise had its worst day since the same month five years ago, closing 4% lower. The tech-heavy Nasdaq plummeted 6%, its biggest decline since March 2020.

Retail stocks were some of the hardest-hit Thursday, as Trump’s tariffs on manufacturing powerhouses like China could climb as high as 54%. Nike shares fell 14.5%, while Lululemon shares were off 10%. Ralph Lauren lost 16%.

Oil drillers also took massive losses, led by Valero Energy, whose shares sank 15%. The price of crude tanked nearly 7% on fears of a slowdown in global growth.

Smaller business, represented by the Russell 2000 Index, weren’t spared, with the benchmark closing down 6.6% Thursday. It has lost more than 20% since it peaked in November — officially a bear market.

The rout is a harsh early verdict on Trump’s historic tariff plan. Even before Wednesday’s rollout, his whipsawing trade policies had already unsteadied investors, corporate executives, consumers and retirement savers.

Now, markets are broadcasting profound pessimism about the policies of a president who regained office promising immediate improvements to a flawed but sturdy economy. As the outlook darkens, analysts are increasingly raising alarms about the potential for a recession.

For decades, American shoppers have been the “consumer of last resort” for world markets. Under this implicit arrangement, other countries make products at relatively low cost that U.S. consumers buy — producing the extensive trade deficits Trump has long bemoaned.

As Trump emphasized Wednesday, that setup has cost the nation manufacturing jobs — though technological advancements have also played a role. Some parts of the country have managed the transition to a service-driven economy better than others, and it took decades for median inflation-adjusted earnings to eclipse their late-1970s levels. Indeed, real median earnings for male workers only just returned to those levels in the past quarter.

The problem, many analysts warn, is that the genie can’t be put back in the bottle without squeezing U.S. wages. When Trump displayed a chart Wednesday showing how much other countries are “charging” the United States, he was really describing the extent of the country’s trade deficits with each of them.

The United States has a wide deficit with Cambodia, for instance, but mainstream economists wouldn’t argue it’s “ripping off” Americans. Instead, the gap merely reflects that the United States buys more products made in Cambodia than it sells to it.

“A bilateral trade deficit is not a strong indicator of a trade barrier,” said Felix Tintelnot, an economist at Duke University.

“You spend your money at Trader Joe’s, but they don’t buy anything from you. Your employer pays your salary, but you typically don’t purchase anything from them,” he said. “The existence of bilateral deficits is perfectly normal in an integrated economy.”

Zeroing out those trade imbalances would require the labor-intensive, low-wage work now being done in developing countries like Vietnam to be performed in the United States, instead — a reversal that likely to crimp American workers’ earnings and spending power.

“The tariffs will make the U.S. poorer and invited retaliation from our allies and trading partners,” said Erica York, vice president of federal tax policy at the Tax Foundation, a nonprofit think tank. “This is a campaign promise that should have gone unfulfilled.”

Other analysts responded no less negatively to the tariff rollout, with reactions such as “worse than the worst-case scenario” and “a perfect recipe for stagflation” and warnings that “many countries will likely end up in a recession.”

Overnight, the 25% tariffs on auto imports Trump announced last week also took effect. Levies of 25% on foreign-made auto parts will be implemented no later than May 3, the administration has said, meaning any car sold in the United States will be vulnerable to tariffs by this time next month.

Markets had already been battered heading into this week. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq just recorded their worst quarter in years, largely because of growing uncertainty around the impact of Trump’s trade policies.

The fallout from President Donald Trump's aggressive new tariffs has spurred Congress into action, with a growing number of Republicans joining Democrats to express interest in using their power to restrain him.

After the GOP-led Senate delivered a rare rebuke to Trump on Wednesday by voting to undo his tariffs on Canada, lawmakers in both chambers are weighing additional steps to rein him in. Senators are eyeing other mechanisms to rescind Trump’s existing tariffs while limiting his ability to impose new ones. And Democrats in the House are exploring ways to force a vote to revoke Canadian tariffs, putting out feelers to attract support from Republicans.

These efforts have a high bar for success as any resolution to undo Trump’s tariffs, or new law affecting his powers, would have to get around a presidential veto. But the level of support in Congress could affect the president’s political calculus around using taxes on imports to the U.S. as a centerpiece of his agenda.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, a Trump ally who is third in line to the presidency, introduced a bill with Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., on Thursday that would reassert Congress' authority and slap restrictions on the president's power to levy tariffs.

The legislation, called the Trade Review Act of 2025, would require the president to notify Congress of new tariffs within 48 hours of imposition, while providing his reasons and an analysis of the impacts on American consumers and businesses. Then Congress would have 60 days to approve it. If it does not, the tariffs would expire after that period.

“For too long, Congress has delegated its clear authority to regulate interstate and foreign commerce to the executive branch,” Grassley said in a statement. “Building on my previous efforts as Finance Committee Chairman, I’m joining Senator Cantwell to introduce the bipartisan Trade Review Act of 2025 to reassert Congress’ constitutional role and ensure Congress has a voice in trade policy.”

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., praised Grassley for the bill because “he does believe that we’re a co-equal branch.” He said he’d vote for it, though it's unclear if the bill will be brought to the Senate floor.

“I like congressional review. ... In trade, it’s a good example,” Tillis said. “I’ll support Grassley if it gets a vote.”

The Cantwell-Grassley bill came one day after the Senate voted 51-48 to revoke Trump’s tariffs on Canadian products. Joining all 47 Democrats to pass it were GOP Sens. Susan Collins of Maine; Lisa Murkowski of Alaska; and Rand Paul and Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., the author of the resolution, said he’s looking to build on that success with more resolutions to block Trump’s tariffs, while examining his options in terms of what can move fastest.

He said “many more” than four Republicans were interested in his resolution than ultimately voted for it, predicting that more will come aboard “as the economic reality sets in.”

“There is going to be massive economic heartbreak in this country” if Congress fails to undo to the tariffs, Kaine warned. “Donald Trump started in office with the strongest economy in the world. … He has, in two months, with the chainsaw and the tariffs turned it into one with flashing red lights and question marks. We’ve got to use the tools at our disposal to get him to do a U-turn.”

For now, partisanship has made some Republicans leery of joining Democrats in a move their base could perceive as defying Trump.

“You have to do it in a neutral environment, where you have Republicans and Democrats not being forced to choose against their own party’s president in office when there is a tariff in question,” said Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., who voted against Kaine’s measure and questioned whether the environment is right for Grassley's bill.

ross the Capitol, senior House Democrats said they were looking to pass a resolution halting Canadian tariffs, similar to what the Senate voted on this week. Since Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is reluctant to show any daylight with Trump, Democrats are exploring an end-run around House GOP leaders.

Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, announced Thursday he planned to file what’s known as a discharge petition, a legislative tool that would allow supporters to bypass GOP leaders and force a vote on legislation if they can secure 218 signatures.

"Our neighbor to the north is one of our closest allies and trading partners, yet Trump has unilaterally launched a trade war that hurts American families, manufacturers, automakers, farmers, and small businesses," Meeks said in a statement. "These tariffs are, causing needless suffering on both sides of our long-peaceful border and must be repealed."

A discharge petition cannot be used on the Senate's measure, so the House would have to write its own bill — perhaps an identical one.

Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, said in an interview that she would vote for a resolution "so we can replicate what the Senate did."

Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., a former co-chair of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus who is running for governor and has relationships with many Republicans, said that he is collaborating with Meeks on the discharge effort.

“People are struggling with high costs right now and we need to do everything we can to make their lives more affordable,” Gottheimer said in a phone interview Thursday. “Whacking them with tariffs on their cheese, their milk, fixing their homes, and their cars is adding insult to injury — especially with one of our largest trading partners.”

And some Republicans who are experiencing heartburn over the Trump tariffs are signaling they could cross the aisle and sign the Democrats' discharge petition. With the GOP’s thin 220-213 majority, supporters would need at least five Republicans to break with Trump and sign the discharge petition.

“I’d likely vote yes,” said moderate Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., who added that Democrats have “reached out” to him about the issue. “Discharges are the last resort. I prefer debating this in our conference and chamber first.”

“Bottom line,” Bacon continued, “I do think Congress should take back its tariff authorities and I think tariffs on Canada are inappropriate. They are abiding” by the United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement signed into law by Trump.

The British Indian Ocean Territory, a small cluster of islands in the South Indian Ocean, was hit with 10 percent tariffs on U.S. imports from the Trump administration Wednesday as part of its Liberation Day announcement.

The islands are mostly uninhabited, save for approximately 3,000 U.S. and U.K. military personnel who are stationed at a joint Navy Support Facility on the island Diego Garcia. Trump’s tariffs would mostly affect the service members there. Another roughly 1,200 people live on the country’s Chagos Archipelago.

As one might expect from the name, the territory is owned by the United Kingdom, which Trump hit with a 10 percent tariff, relatively low compared to other countries.

Trump also announced 10 percent tariffs on the Heard Island and McDonald Islands, an uninhabited Australian territory that was listed as a Unesco World Heritage site for its “complete absence of alien plants and animals, as well as human impact.” Australia was saddled with a 10 percent tariff, as well.

U.S. stocks endured another brutal day, with major indexes finishing around 6% lower as global markets struggled to digest President Donald Trump’s expanding trade war.

The broad-based S&P 500 closed down 6%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped 5.8%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 2,200 points, or about 5.5%.

The Russell 2000 Index, which tracks the stocks of smaller U.S. companies, dropped by 4%.

It was the second straight day of turmoil on trading floors, adding to weeks of declines. On Thursday, the S&P had its worst day since the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Nasdaq is now down 22% from its high in December, and the S&P is about 17% off its high in February.

“There was nowhere to hide for investors in the U.S. market,” Bankrate financial analyst Stephen Kates said in a statement Friday, after the trading day limped to a close. “Every single sector posted a heavily negative day.”

Among the biggest names falling Friday were Elon Musk’s electric-vehicle maker Tesla (down 10.4%), farm equipment giant Caterpillar (down 5.8%) and market-leading AI chipmaker Nvidia (down 7.4%).

Chevron, Boeing and 3M were among the Dow’s biggest losers, each dropping more than 8%. Apple, Visa, JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs each lost more than 7%.

Even a surprisingly strong March jobs report, released Friday morning, did little to stanch the bleeding. Analysts largely brushed off the hiring gains as a snapshot of an economic reality the White House has since upended.

Heavy selling internationally preceded the U.S. declines Friday. Markets overseas were “caught up in the maelstrom, causing investors all over the world to face shocking losses,” Kates said. European stocks veered toward a correction, having declined 10% from recent highs. Asian markets also cratered.

The declines hit other assets as well. The yield on the 10-year Treasury bond fell to 4%. While that will translate to lower mortgage rates, it reflects investors’ jitters about the economy as they trade out of the risks of stocks and into the safety of bonds.

Crude oil also slipped, falling nearly 8% to $61.71, indicating fears that fuel consumption will diminish as consumers pare back their spending.

The drawdowns mark a stunning turn for a presidential administration that was expected to have “business friendly” policies at its foundation. Instead, Trump is betting his tariffs will force businesses to bring more manufacturing and production to American shores, though many executives and economists say that’s virtually impossible at the scale the president desires and could lead to calamity instead.

“I can’t know what’s going on inside the president’s mind,” said Steve Sosnick, chief strategist at Interactive Brokers financial group. “It’s a problem for investors. These are very specific policies that stemmed from opinions of a very specific person.”

The prospect of at least near-term economic disruption now appears all but certain. Early Friday, China unveiled 34% duties on goods brought in from the U.S. in response to Trump raising taxes on U.S. importers of Chinese goods by as much as 79%.

The president, however, has continued to project defiance in the face of market turmoil and criticism from global leaders. “MY POLICIES WILL NEVER CHANGE,” he posted to social media Friday. Later, he wrote, “ONLY THE WEAK WILL FAIL.”

Many on Wall Street are forecasting major economic fallout. “The intensity of downside risks ... continues to be quite substantial,” Torsten Slok, chief economist at Apollo Global Management, said in a presentation Friday.

JPMorgan analysts published a research note late Thursday titled “There will be blood” and raised their odds of a global recession to 60% due to White House trade policies.

“A turn towards caution by households alongside a slide in business spending could well push the economy into recession next quarter,” the bank analysts wrote.

Even before Trump’s tariffs rollout Wednesday, the uncertainty surrounding his policies had caused business and consumer sentiment to plummet. Now — with Wall Street reeling, analysts warning that the trade war may be just getting started and executives wondering how long the new levies and counter-levies could stay in place — fears of a dramatic slowdown are intensifying rapidly.

If tariffs aren’t dialed back soon, they risk triggering an “economic Armageddon,” Dan Ives, an analyst with Wedbush Securities financial group, wrote in a note Friday.

“Never have we ... seen a self-inflicted debacle of epic proportions like the Trump tariff slate over the last 36 hours,” he said

I voted against Trump so I will just watch the rest suffer. Boo f*****g hoo about the Switch to those who voted for him and are gamers. They voted for this, now they don't get to complain.