Trump Says He's ‘Disappointed' by Musk Over Critique of Tax Bill
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President Donald Trump said he is disappointed with Elon Musk after his recently departed billionaire adviser turned against the Republican tax policy bill at the center of his domestic agenda.
Trump told reporters on Thursday the Tesla Inc. chief executive officer is frustrated by the bill's cuts to electric-vehicle tax credits.
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EU Readies €100 Billion No-Deal Plan to Match US 30% Tariff
(Bloomberg) -- The European Union plans to quickly hit the US with 30% tariffs on some €100 billion ($117 billion) worth of goods in the event of no deal and if US President Donald Trump carries through with his threat to impose that rate on most of the bloc's exports after Aug. 1. Trump Awards $1.26 Billion Contract to Build Biggest Immigrant Detention Center in US Why the Federal Reserve's Building Renovation Costs $2.5 Billion Salt Lake City Turns Winter Olympic Bid Into Statewide Bond Boom Milan Corruption Probe Casts Shadow Over Property Boom How San Jose's Mayor Is Working to Build an AI Capital As a part of a first wave of countermeasures, the EU would combine an already approved list of tariffs on €21 billion of US goods and a previously proposed list on an additional €72 billion of American products into one package, a European Commission spokesman said on Wednesday. The US exports, which include industrial goods such as Boeing Co. aircraft, US-made cars and bourbon whiskey, would face a levy that matches Trump's 30% threat, according to people familiar with the matter. The threatened retaliation from Brussels would hit about one-third of American exports to the EU, based on the €335 billion worth of US goods shipped to the bloc last year. The tariffs would be prepared to come into force next month but only if there is no deal and the US implements its levies after the August deadline, said the people who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations. The euro extended a fall after the report, down 0.3% at $1.1723, leading losses among major currencies. German bonds trimmed an earlier decline. The plans come as EU member states, including Germany, have hardened their positions in response to the US stiffening its negotiating stance. Berlin would be willing to even support the activation of the EU's anti-coercion instrument, or ACI, in a no-deal scenario, a government official said on condition of anonymity. This tool would come into play only if a deal fails to materialize. Trump announced two tariff deals on Tuesday — one with the Philippines and another with Japan, and both featured across-the-board duties on their imports that were lower than initially threatened. Also noteworthy was the 15% US levy on Japanese autos that was lower than the current 25% rate on major car exporters including the EU. European leaders are in Tokyo and Beijing this week for talks with some of the the bloc's biggest trading partners in Asia. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, speaking with Bloomberg Television on Wednesday, said the EU hasn't yet brought anything as innovative as the Japanese offer. 'Talks are going better than they had been,' he said in the interview. 'I think that we are making good progress with the EU, but as I've said before, the EU has a collective action problem with 27 countries.' Explainer: All About the EU's Trade Weapon of Last Resort The EU's most potent trade tool is the ACI, and a growing number of member states is pushing for its use if a deal isn't reached. The instrument is primarily designed as a deterrent and is currently not on the table, with its activation requiring a qualified majority of member states to support the move. The ACI would enable the EU to launch a broad range of retaliatory actions, including new taxes on US tech giants, targeted curbs on US investments, and limiting access to the EU market. 'We are now approaching the decisive phase in the tariff dispute with the USA — we need a fair, reliable agreement with low tariffs,' German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told reporters in Berlin on Tuesday after a meeting with his Czech counterpart Petr Fiala. 'Without such an agreement, we risk economic uncertainty at a time when we actually need exactly the opposite.' The Commission, the EU's executive arm, is discussing the instrument with member states, the people said. While some capitals having been pushing to use the tool, most want to wait to see how the situation develops beyond Aug. 1 before progressing discussions further to try to achieve the required majority, they added. The overwhelming preference is to keep negotiations with Washington on track in a bid for an outcome to the impasse ahead of next month's deadline. EU and US negotiators are scheduled to continue talks on Wednesday. The US is now seen to want a near-universal tariff on EU goods higher than 10%, with increasingly fewer exemptions limited to aviation, some medical devices and generic medicines, several spirits, and a specific set of manufacturing equipment that the US needs, Bloomberg previously reported. The two sides have also discussed a potential ceiling for some sectors, as well as quotas for steel and aluminum and a way to ring-fence supply chains from sources that oversupply the metals. Any agreement would need Trump's sign off – and his position isn't clear. The US president wrote to the EU earlier in the month, warning of a 30% tariff on most of its exports from Aug. 1. Alongside a universal levy, Trump has hit cars and auto parts with a 25% customs tax, and steel and aluminum with double that. He's also threatened to target pharmaceuticals and semiconductors with new duties as early as next month, and recently announced a 50% duty on copper. Hoped-For Extension Before Trump's letter, the EU had been hopeful it was edging toward an initial framework that would allow detailed discussions to continue on the basis of a universal rate of 10% on many of the bloc's exports. While most capitals and officials accept that any agreement would be asymmetrical in favor of the US and see the EU facing higher than 10% rates, the bloc has been seeking wider exemptions than the US is offering, as well as looking to shield the bloc from future sectoral tariffs. The EU's €100 billion list would cover its response to Trump's universal duties as well as his tariffs on metals and cars. The level of pain that member states are prepared to accept varies, and some are open to landing on a higher 15% levy if enough exemptions are secured and the scope of the duty was clear, the people said. In addition to the tariffs on goods, the bloc's executive arm is also working on measures that could see export controls as well as restrictions on some services and public procurement contracts introduced in future, they said. --With assistance from Greg Ritchie and Annmarie Hordern. (Adds detail on US exports in fourth paragraph, Bessent comments in 11th) Elon Musk's Empire Is Creaking Under the Strain of Elon Musk Burning Man Is Burning Through Cash A Rebel Army Is Building a Rare-Earth Empire on China's Border Thailand's Changing Cannabis Rules Leave Farmers in a Tough Spot How Starbucks' CEO Plans to Tame the Rush-Hour Free-for-All ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Sign in to access your portfolio
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11 minutes ago
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Brazil's WEG reports Q2 earnings miss amid global volatility
SAO PAULO (Reuters) -Brazilian motor maker WEG on Wednesday reported a 10.4% year-on-year rise in its second-quarter net profit, but missed market forecasts amid what it called elevated volatility in global economics. The lower-than-expected figures raise further uncertainty for WEG, which analysts have cited among the companies most exposed to the 50% tariff U.S. President Donald Trump said he would impose on Brazilian goods from August 1. WEG reported a net income of 1.59 billion reais ($285.8 million) for the quarter, falling short of the 1.76 billion expected by analysts in an LSEG poll. Net revenue reached 10.2 billion reais, a 10.1% year-on-year increase, while core earnings as measured by EBITDA rose 6.5% to 2.26 billion reais. Analysts expected them to come in at 11.16 billion and 2.49 billion reais, respectively. WEG said the year-on-year growth was explained by a "solid performance" in the transmission and distribution infrastructure side of its long-cycle business, which makes equipment used in large projects such as transmission lines. "We were able to maintain the consistent growth and profitability of our businesses, even in a global political and economic scenario marked by uncertainty and high volatility," WEG's management said in a statement. The firm's closely watched EBITDA margin, nonetheless, fell by 80 basis points year-on-year to 22.1%. The company did not specifically address Trump's threatened tariffs, but reiterated confidence in its business model over the long-term, saying that it has financial flexibility as it continues to monitor market risks. "Our global production presence, diversified product portfolio and presence in many segments are fundamental to our business strategy, and allow us to quickly react to changing scenarios and mitigate possible macroeconomic impacts," it said. WEG has plants in over a dozen countries, including the United States and Mexico. ($1 = 5.5643 reais)
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Businesses deliver gloomy results even as markets celebrate Japan trade deal
(Reuters) -Businesses making everything from chips to steel reported downbeat results on Wednesday, with U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war inflicting damage even as Japan's deal lifted stocks and hopes that Europe can clinch a similar agreement. Asian and European stock markets rallied as investors cheered a trade agreement between the United States and Japan, which lowers tariffs on auto imports and spares Tokyo punishing new levies on other goods. The news stirred hopes for a deal with the European Union ahead of the August 1 deadline set by the Trump administration. [MKTS/GLOB] But results from Texas Instruments and steelmaker SSAB showed how chaotic U.S. trade policy has already hurt profits, adding to costs, upending supply chains and weighing on consumer confidence. Texas Instruments' quarterly earnings report pointed to weaker-than-expected demand for its analogue chips from some customers and underscored tariff-related uncertainty. Chipmakers such as Texas Instruments are not yet directly facing Trump's elevated tariffs, but the cost of chip-making tools has risen, and some of their end customers have pared back spending. Late on Tuesday, Dutch computer chip equipment maker ASM International warned that order intake from chipmakers had been "lumpy" in the second quarter. Its shares fell 8.5% on Wednesday. "Tariffs are hitting home," said Neil Wilson, investment strategist at Saxo Markets. Investors across the world are bracing for a slew of earnings this week that they hope will provide a window into how companies are navigating a torrent of challenges - from tariffs and regulatory changes to currency fluctuations, fickle consumer spending, higher prices, global conflicts and volatile oil prices. As the second-quarter earnings season progresses, companies have reported a combined loss of $6.6 billion to $7.8 billion between July 16 and 22 for the full year, with the automotive, aerospace and pharmaceutical sectors being hurt the most by the tariffs. General Motors accounted for a big chunk as it reiterated on Tuesday its expectation of a $4 billion to $5 billion hit from tariffs for 2025. Late on Tuesday, Finland's Nokia blamed tariff headwinds and the weaker U.S. dollar as it lowered its guidance for 2025. For Swedish steelmaker SSAB, the biggest issue is that tariffs are causing more shipments of cheap steel to be redirected to Europe, CEO Johnny Sjostrom told Reuters on Wednesday. "The turbulence of tariffs and trade barriers resulted in increased uncertainty," he said in a statement, with the largest impact seen in the weakening European steel market. EASING FEARS All eyes are on Washington as governments scramble to close trade deals ahead of next week's deadline that the White House has repeatedly pushed back under pressure from markets and intense lobbying by industry. While the Japan deal has eased investor worries, the threat of higher tariffs on other large economies remains, including the European Union, Canada and Brazil. Trump has also threatened higher sectoral tariffs on pharmaceuticals, chips and copper. "So this is far from the end," said Deutsche Bank analysts following the Japan deal. Some of the biggest companies to report earnings this week include Tesla, Google parent Alphabet, Nestle, LVMH, Nvidia supplier SK Hynix, Indian IT company Infosys and South Korea's Hyundai Motor. An EU-China summit on Thursday will also test European resolve and unity as the bloc faces intense trade pressure from both Beijing and the United States, while U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent meets Chinese officials in Sweden next week.
