CNBC Daily Open: Trump's tariff letters set the heart racing, but don't seem to promise anything new

CNBC

6 hours ago

Paramours wanting to court each other have, through the decades, moved on from courtly love letters to raunchy Instagram DMs.
But some form of that epistolary tradition remains today in the stately realm of politics. U.S. President Donald Trump revealed Monday that he had written letters to the leaders of 12 countries, informing them of new tariff rates due to begin on Aug. 1.
Upon first reading, the letter is enough to send the heart racing. It contains bold emotional declarations ("You will never be disappointed with The United States of America"), big double-digit numbers (between 25% and 40%, depending on the recipient) and a veiled threat should desire not be reciprocated ("These tariffs may be modified … depending on our relationship with your Country").
But if we take a step back, it appears that he letters' purpose might not be that different from the table of "reciprocal" tariffs Trump hoisted up at the White House's Rose Garden in April.
The letters threaten stiff tariffs that will kick in on a certain date (or as certain as any deadline from the White House can be), unless countries negotiate with the U.S. for a trade deal. Even the tariff numbers aren't that far from what was initially revealed. In other words, the letters might just be a restaging of April's events.
"If you go through the details, I don't even know if anybody understands the difference between what was announced today, what was there previously, and if it will actually be implemented, and which companies it actually impacts," Trivariate Research CEO Adam Parker said Monday on CNBC's "Closing Bell."
Trump on Sunday, in response to whether the deadline for tariffs will be changing, said, "They're going to be tariffs. The tariffs are going to be the tariffs."
In the same way, a tariff is a tariff is a tariff, whether in a racy letter, stated on a big chart, or even sent in an Instagram DM.
Steep tariffs on 14 countries. The White House sent letters to leaders of several countries announcing blanket tariffs ranging from 25% to 40% starting Aug. 1. Notably, U.S. imports from Japan and South Korea face a 25% duty.
U.S. markets fall on stiff tariffs. All major U.S. indexes ended in the red in their worst day in almost a month. The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.44%. Oil and gas stocks fell after the OPEC+ alliance on Saturday agreed to a bigger-than-expected production increase.
Tesla loses more than $68 billion in value. Shares of the electric vehicle maker tumbled 6.8% after Tesla CEO Elon Musk said Saturday he was forming a new U.S. political party. Investors are worried about Musk heading deeper into politics.
Samsung Electronics forecasts a 56% fall in profits. Second-quarter operating profit is expected to come in around 4.6 trillion Korean won ($3.3 billion), a steep decline from 10.44 trillion won a year ago. The firm's estimate is even lower than analyst expectations.
[PRO] Safe spots in the Chinese market. While the China technology story hasn't changed enough to warrant major changes to portfolios, analysts are encouraging investors to be more conservative as they gear up for the second half.
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