
Inflation cools and Americans step up spending
The slowdown in inflation could be a temporary respite as the widespread tariffs are expected to push up prices in many categories.
The slowdown in inflation could be a temporary respite as the widespread tariffs are expected to push up prices in many categories.
First-quarter growth was slowed by a surge in imports as companies in the United States tried to bring in foreign goods before President Trump imposed massive tariffs.
Retailers across the Indianapolis area and across the country are bracing for the full impact of recent Trump administration tariffs, which they see as an immediate threat to their businesses.
The United States’ top imports from China, meanwhile, include electronics such as computers and cell phones, industrial equipment and toys.
The new tariff matches the rate of the U.S. “reciprocal” tariff of 34% on Chinese exports that President Donald Trump ordered this week.
President Trump indicated that he wants to even the trade imbalance with both countries and push more factories to relocate in the United States.
The tariffs, if implemented, could dramatically raise prices on everything from automobiles to agricultural products. It is unclear whether Trump will actually go through with the threats or if he’s using them as a negotiating tactic.
Importers mainly from China have used the de minimis exemption for shipments of $800 or less to flood the U.S. market.
Officials say the tariffs will help thwart China’s efforts to dominate the market for emerging technologies in ways that pose risks to U.S. national security and economic stability.
A group of major U.S. businesses wants the government to hide key import data—a move trade experts say would make it more difficult for Americans to link the products they buy to labor abuse overseas.
When the dollar is strong, a U.S.-based company that sells products overseas earns fewer dollars. On the flip side, the cost of imported goods and foreign expenses are lower.
President Joe Biden said that the roughly $700 billion the government devotes annually to procuring goods is supposed to prioritize U.S. suppliers, but regulations going back to the 1930s have either been watered down or applied in ways that masked the use of foreign imports.
The executive order will cover U.S. supply chains for large-capacity batteries, pharmaceuticals, critical minerals and semiconductors that power cars, phones, military equipment and other goods.
In the first-step agreement, the U.S. dropped its plan to impose new tariffs on $160 billion of Chinese imports and agreed to trim existing import taxes on about $112 billion in Chinese goods. In return, the U.S. said China agreed to buy $40 billion a year in farm products over two years.
U.S. tariffs will remain in place against Chinese imports while negotiations continue. Additional trade penalties President Trump has threatened against billions worth of other Chinese goods will not take effect for the “time being.”
Seeking to rally support for its side in the tariff war, Beijing is vehemently protesting the Trump administration's decision last week to impose controls on exports of computer chips and other key components.
U.S. paper mills are expanding capacity to take advantage of a glut of cheap scrap. Some facilities that previously exported plastic or metal to China have retooled so they can process it themselves.
The White House said Friday that President Trump is delaying for six months any decision to slap import taxes on foreign cars, a move that would hit Europe and Japan especially hard.
Last week, President Donald Trump announced plans to increase tariffs from 10% to 25% on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports that include a wide variety of products like aluminum and steel, frozen fish and meat and wood.
The president’s comments dim hopes that round-the-clock trade negotiations between the world’s two biggest economies could lead to them removing the roughly $360 billion in tariffs they’ve imposed on each other’s imports.