We have declared a trade war with the world

Getting the word out about the tariffs, and what will they tell us about future cell phone production and manufacturing facilities in the United States: The case of the 17 iPhones

Someone with 10 years of experience is a reviewer. She has a special interest in mobile photography and telecom. She used to work at DPReview.

He points out that Apple’s margins (historically about 38 percent) give it more wiggle room to absorb the costs of the tariffs, at least in the short term. If this continues we could possibly see a price hike for the 17 because it is expected to be in the fall.

According to Schneemann, a real pathway to a US smartphone industry production hub is not available. Apple does some manufacturing in the US, but is mainly for small-scale production. The network of component suppliers for the iPhone is different from those for other cell phones. Even if Apple set up supply chains and manufacturing facilities in the US, the costs would be more than the impact of the tariffs. These tariffs are being carried out through an executive order rather than Congress, so a new incoming president could change them in four years.

And yet there’s still plenty of uncertainty around these tariffs, including whether they might get pushed back yet again. It is complicated like I said.

The Face of Trump’s Import Tax Cuts: Model-Building and Production of US-Made Models at a Volvo Factory

Volvo is thinking about boosting its US-based production, including bringing new models to the factory it operates in Ridgeville, South Carolina, the company’s CEO told Bloomberg. Volvo already builds the EX90 SUV and Polestar 3 at the plant in order to take advantage of the federal EV tax credit.

VW is adding “import fees” to the price of imported cars sold in the US, The New York Times reported. The exact amount will be determined later this month. Trump’s tariffs are leading to higher costs for consumers.

The biggest automaker is keeping its cards close to its vest. Toyota has no immediate plans to raise prices as a result of the tariffs, both Japanese media reports and Reuters confirm. Spokesperson Rick Bourgoise declined to comment further.

Tesla, which is dealing with its own problems, hasn’t immediately responded to the news of the tariffs. In response to commentary on X that the new fees would be better avoided by the company because it only sells US made cars to American customers, CEO Musk made several comments.

“We understand that the current environment creates uncertainty,” Antonio Filosa, chief operating officer for the Americas at Stellantis, said in an email to employees. We will be working with our key stakeholders, including top government leaders, unions, suppliers and dealers, as we manage and adapt to these changes.

Stellantis said it would be pausing production at its Windsor, Ontario, plant for two weeks, from April 7th to April 14th, with operations resuming on April 21st. There will be no production at its plant in Mexico for the month of April. In Michigan and Indiana, employees at the Warren Stamping andSterling Stamping plants will be laid off.

The parent company of Jeep, Dodge, Ram, Maserati, and others has good news and bad news to share in response to the tariffs. It is a good news that it is copying Ford’s idea of employee price discounts. The bad news is that it’s temporarily laying off 900 workers while pausing production at several factories.

Porsche has never been the cheapest sports car, but tariffs will put renewed pressure on its prices. The Wall Street Journal states that executives of the company said last month it would pass the cost of tariffs on to its customers.

Nissan is making some other hard decisions, though. The order of the QX55 is being paused because it is built at the COMPAS plant in Mexico. Nissan said production is expected to continue for those models sold in other markets.

Nissan initially said that it would cut a shift at the Smyrna, Tennessee, assembly plant where it makes its popular Rogue SUV once Trump’s tariffs went into effect. The company will keep the two shifts at the factory.

Source: Price hikes, idled factories, layoffs: how car companies are responding to Trump’s tariffs

The Korean automaker is planning to pull its Least Efficient Models from the US-tariff market, Bloomberg reported on the Even Better News

The luxury automaker is reportedly considering pulling its least expensive models, like its entry-level GLA, from the US market, Bloomberg said. There are still no decisions made by Mercedes-Benz, which is assessing the impact of the US-tariff lines.

“I’m appalled. It will kill Jaguar Land Rover here in the town,” one resident told The Guardian. It’s possible that there could be job losses since JLR export so much to America. The knock-on effect is going to be enormous.”

JLR is holding off on any decisions, telling UK-based media that the business is resilient. But residents of the town where Jaguar operates its factory were dour about the news.

James Bell said in an email that Korea’s largest automotive company is still committed to growth of the U.S. automotive industry through local production and innovation.

Hyundai gets the award for most “Trump-appeasing” announcement, with a commitment to spend $21 billion in the US (despite most of that investment already being underway). But while Trump was happy to brandish the announcement as proof his tariffs were working, the Korean automaker was also reportedly warning its dealers that prices could go up as a result of the new import duties.

Meanwhile, Honda dealers are reassuring their customers that most of their most popular vehicles are made in the US. And spokesperson Chris Martin referred to the Autos Drive America trade group, which asserts that it is “impossible to rebuild those supply chains in a matter of weeks, especially with the added financial burden of tariffs.”

The Japanese manufacturer is adjusting to the tariffs and may not be merging with Nissan. According to a report last month, the company is planning on moving production of its next-generation Civic hybrid from Mexico to Indiana to avoid import duties.

The Fort Wayne plant makes the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra trucks, which GM also manufactures at plants in Mexico and Canada. About half of GM’s large pickup truck production is done in Mexico and Canada, according to a recent Barclays report.

The discount may help Ford clear out some of its ample inventory, which stood at a 74-day supply of vehicles on its dealers’ lots at the end of March, compared to 50 days for GM, according to JP Morgan Global Research.

“We understand that these are uncertain times for many Americans,” Ford says on its website. We want to help, whether we are helping navigate the complex of a changing economy, or providing reliable vehicles for your family.

The company says that there’s significant savings on a number of Ford and Lincoln vehicles during the promo, which runs through June 2nd. EV customers will get the discount on top of the Ford Power Promise deal, which extends through June 30th and includes a complimentary home charger. The Ford Raptors, the Expedition and Navigator SUVs, and the Super Duty trucks are excluded from the limited-time offer.

Ford was first out of the gate with a response geared toward people panic shopping, hoping to capitalize on pre-tariff sticker prices. The automaker launched a new program called “From America, For America” that offers employee pricing to everyone.

BMW hasn’t announced any specific response yet, but the company said last month that it expected a €1 billion hit to its 2025 earnings as a result of tariffs.

Now that the tariffs are in effect, the German automaker is holding all vehicles assembled in Mexico and overseas at US ports until further notice, according to Automotive News. Audi currently has 37,000 units in dealer stock and at port — which remain unaffected by the new import fees and are ready to sell. The $0 option code for “No Added Import Fee” is what the audi said it would mark unaffected units with.

Source: Price hikes, idled factories, layoffs: how car companies are responding to Trump’s tariffs

The Censor Shows Too Much: How Impressed Will the New Tariffs Be in the U.S.? – An Attorney General’s Perspective

is transportation editor with 10+ years of experience who covers EVs, public transportation, and aviation. His work has appeared in The New York Daily News and City & State.

But that uncertainty around bribery and exemptions actually makes this clown show worse. In the long term, tariffs encourage American companies to compete more effectively by raising prices on foreign goods. That gives American goods a chance to raise their own prices. But for that to happen, companies have to invest in building things in America — and as previously mentioned, the uncertainty about how long any given tariffs may last is likely to lead to more of a wait-and-see approach. Which… kinda defeats the purpose.

Scott Bessent, the Treasury Secretary, doesn’t seem to know why Canada and Mexico weren’t included in Trump’s big stupid tariff chart. Bessent did not participate in the tariffs with countries such as China. Who knows if the treasury secretary is in the loop on the negotiations?

All of this is amplified by the design of the new tariffs. They’re global with a minimum tax of at least 10 percent, so companies can’t easily avoid them by moving supply chains around, like many did during Trump’s first trade war. We’re already seeing disruptions. The Nintendo Switch 2 has been delayed. Advertising businesses like Meta are bracing for a decline in spending from Chinese companies. Expect the price of groceries, clothes, and cars in particular to rise steeply. China has announced its retaliatory tariff, which will doubtless make those estimated price rises worse, and it may be the first of many countries to do so.

The tariffs are disruptive. The increase in import costs will be passed on to consumers, especially the poorer ones, since companies know they’ll be paying more. They are likely to look for ways to cut costs and are unlikely to splash out on investments, says Meissner. Consumers are likely to do the same thing — cutting back on spending and holding onto necessities for longer than they would have otherwise, at least in part because they know there’s higher likelihood they’ll be fired if companies trim costs.

These increases differ from the inflation that happened in the wake of COVID, Wolfers says. Companies that increased prices could use that money to pay their employees more. But — because again, tariffs are a tax — this money will go straight to the Trump Administration. So wages will likely remain the same, even as everything costs more.

We should talk about how the economy was doing before the tariffs went into effect. That dip in consumer confidence predated the latest tariff announcement. The actions of DOGE — firing and unfiring people, slashing social services, freezing previously-agreed-on grants, and generally running amok in the government — already shook consumers. Consumers expectations for the future were the lowest they have been in a decade. People were nervous about their job and this leads people to cut spending.

The reason behind these tariffs is to get trade deficits to zero, but it makes no sense. A trade deficit essentially means that the US is receiving many goods and services from a country in exchange for pieces of paper, and they are receiving fewer goods and services (and thus giving us less paper), Wolfers says. Who cares? Economics is not a zero sum game. Many of our wonderful and talented subscribers pay $7 a month for our fine text products, which is not enough for us to keep buying things from them.

The goal of Trump is to bring manufacturing back to the us, but it won’t happen. That requires a less uncertain environment so companies will invest in building here, for one thing. It also requires a workforce — and it’s unclear why Americans would choose to work in manufacturing jobs as long as they have other options.

Source: We just declared a trade war with the world

Taxes that don’t induce corruption? The case for Colombia, Canada, Mexico and the other countries in the wake of Trump’s victory

Those deals are meant to make people so beholden to you that they can’t do anything else. “I’m torn on whether this is just not well-thought out, or whether the uncertainty is part of the design.”

What might one have to do in order to get such an exemption? Well, Colombia, Canada and Mexico provide examples: make a silly concession that lets Trump declare victory while changing nothing of note. After all, Trump is addled by television to a degree that as long as something sounds good on Fox News, it’s a win for him.

There is a set of global applied tariffs that they don’t understand. sane economist would not endorse this The TRUMP administration has decided to impose a bunch of taxes that will encourage blatant corruption and fail to encourage American manufacturing growth, leaving people and companies poorer. That is assuming that taxes don’t come into play.