The Latest: US stock market and global trade partners react to Trump’s new tariffs
By The Associated Press
President Donald Trump’s latest tariff moves drew worries from Wall Street Friday as stocks slumped and Treasury yields fell sharply.
Trump signed an order Thursday night imposing steep tariffs on 66 countries, the European Union, Taiwan and the Falkland Islands to go into effect on Aug. 7 — making good on a threat he originally scheduled for April but postponed twice until Aug. 1.
The markets are also reacting to government reports of a dramatic slowdown in hiring as businesses, investors and the Fed operate under a cloud of uncertainty from months of tariff policy news.
Meanwhile, Trump’s envoy visited Gaza, where US-Israeli aid distribution is blamed for more Palestinian deaths. At home, some members of Congress are meeting with constituents who are angry over the Republicans’ unpopular budget cuts. Researchers predict Medicaid cuts will leave 10 million more people uninsured, causing 22,000 more deaths each year.
Here’s the Latest:
AMA and other medical associations are kicked out of CDC vaccine workgroups
U.S. health officials have told more than a half-dozen of the nation’s top medical organizations that they will no longer help establish vaccination recommendations.
The government told the organizations on Thursday via email that their experts are being disinvited from the workgroups that have been the backbone of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. The organizations include the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Infectious Diseases Society of America.
Several of the organizations issued a statement asking the administration to reconsider, saying it was irresponsible to remove them from the process.
▶ Read more about vaccination recommendation
Wall Street falls the most since May after employers slash hiring and tariffs roll out
The U.S. stock market had its worst day since May on Friday after the government reported a sharp slowdown in hiring and President Donald Trump imposed sweeping tariffs on imports from a number of U.S. trading partners.
The S&P 500 fell 1.6%, its biggest decline since May 21 and its fourth straight loss. The index is also posted a 2.4% loss for the week, marking a sharp shift from last week’s record-setting streak of gains.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.2%, while the Nasdaq composite fell 2.2%.
Worries on Wall Street about a weakening economy were heavily reinforced by the latest report on job growth in the U.S. Employers added just 73,000 jobs in July. That is sharply lower than economists expected. The Labor Department also reported that revisions shaved a stunning 258,000 jobs off May and June payrolls.
Markets also reacted to the latest tariff news. President Donald Trump announced tariff rates on dozens of countries and pushed back the scheduled effective date to Aug. 7, adding more uncertainty to the global trade picture.
▶ Read more about S&P 500 drop
Democrats decry firing Bureau of Labor Statistics director
Senate Democrats are quickly jumping on the dismissal of Erika McEntarfer, the director of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, warning that it shows Trump is acting like a dictator.
In a Senate floor speech, Democratic leader Sen. Chuck Schumer said, “Donald Trump sometimes admires dictators, he admires them. Well, he sometimes acts just like them. It’s classic Donald Trump. When he gets the news he doesn’t like, he shoots the messenger.”
Other Senate Democrats said it showed Trump was not facing up to the realities of the economy.
“This is the act of somebody who is soft, weak and afraid to own up to the reality of the damage his chaos is inflicting on our economy,” said Sen. Ron Wyden, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee.
Labor statistics director removed from job by Trump administration after bad jobs report
Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer said on X that the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics had been removed from her post after Trump called for her firing.
“A recent string of major revisions have come to light and raised concerns about decisions being made by the Biden-appointed Labor Commissioner,” Chavez-DeRemer wrote to justify her removal of Erika McEntarfer as commissioner.
While the Trump administration searches for a replacement, deputy commissioner William Wiatrowski will lead the bureau.
Corporation for Public Broadcasting to shut down after being defunded by Congress, targeted by Trump
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a cornerstone of American culture for three generations, announced Friday it would begin taking steps toward its own closure after being defunded by Congress.
This announcement marks the end of a nearly six-decade era in which it fueled the production of renowned educational programming, cultural content and even emergency alerts.
The demise of the corporation, known as CPB, is a direct result of President Donald Trump’s targeting of public media, which he has repeatedly said is spreading political and cultural views antithetical to those the United States should be espousing. The closure is expected to have a profound impact on the journalistic and cultural landscape — in particular, public radio and TV stations in small communities across the United States. CPB helps fund both PBS and NPR.
The corporation also has deep ties to much of the nation’s most familiar programming, from NPR’s “All Things Considered” to, historically, “Sesame Street,” “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” and the documentaries of Ken Burns.
▶ Read more about Corporation for Public Broadcasting shutdown
In wake of bad jobs report, Trump wants to fire head of labor statistics department
Trump said on Truth Social that he will remove Erika McEntarfer as the commissioner of labor statistics after the July employment report found that just 73,000 jobs were added in July and hiring in June and May was revised downward by 258,000 jobs combined.
Trump said that McEntarfer is a “Biden Political Appointee” as he questioned the accuracy of the numbers.
“She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified,” Trump said. “Important numbers like this must be fair and accurate, they can’t be manipulated for political purposes.”
The comments were Trump’s first public remarks on the jobs report released Friday.
Trump administration is freezing $339 million in research grants to UCLA
A person familiar with the matter says several federal agencies notified the University of California, Los Angeles, this week they were suspending the grants over civil rights concerns.
The person spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.
The frozen grants include $240 million from the Department of Health and Human Services and the National Institutes of Health.
President Donald Trump’s administration has accused the school of civil rights violations related to antisemitism, affirmative action and women’s sports.
Hesitancy from Republican senators to blame Fed for jobs report
As President Trump lashed out at the Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell after a disappointing jobs report Friday, GOP senators showed far more restraint in pointing fingers or calling for immediate rate cuts.
“The important part is that the markets see them as being independent and making the analysis based upon the data that they have in front of them,” said Sen. Mike Rounds.
Sen. Rick Scott, a loyal Trump ally, acknowledged that “we didn’t have as good jobs numbers as people would like” but added that “our economy is going to get better.”
Sen. Lisa Murkowski showed skepticism about the president’s plan with tariffs, saying, “It’s kind of like going all over the place.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune continued to back the president, saying that “tariffs impacts have been minimal.”
“Time will tell,” said Thune.
Pro-Palestinian protestors occupy the office of New York’s senators
Dozens of pro-Palestinian protestors on Friday occupied the lobby of the Manhattan office of U.S. Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, the latest sign of U.S. political backlash over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Videos and pictures posted on X showed protestors chanting “Stop starving Gaza, let Gaza live” while a yellow sign was placed on the floor that read “Let Aid in Now.” One image showed protestors holding a sign that read “Jews for Palestinian Freedom,” while in others some of the protestors could be seen wearing shirts that read “Jews say let Gaza live.”
The offices of Schumer and Gillibrand, both Democrats, did not immediately return emailed requests for comment.
Democratic state officials sue over Trump’s efforts to curtail gender-affirming health care
Democratic officials on Friday accused the Trump administration of unlawfully intimidating health care providers into stopping gender-affirming care for transgender youth.
The state attorneys general for 15 states plus the District of Columbia and Pennsylvania’s governor said in a lawsuit in federal court in Boston that the president’s efforts, including investigations of providers, are an attempt to end care that’s legal.
Trump has attempted to cut off federal funding for the care for those under age 19. His administration has prioritized fraud investigations of providers, and it’s sent subpoenas to some of them.
At least eight major hospitals and hospital systems announced in July that they would limit or end the care, which advocates say is essential to the health of transgender young people.
What will Trump administration do with $9 million stockpile of contraceptives?
The family planning supplies stored in a warehouse in Belgium includes contraceptives intended for women in war zones and refugee camps. The stockpile’s fate has been uncertain since the Trump administration dismantled the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Belgium is in talks with U.S. diplomats to save the supplies. The European Union is monitoring the situation, while aid groups have offered to distribute the contraceptives. Two U.S. senators say destroying them would be a waste, harmful for women and damage U.S. prestige.
U.S. State Department deputy spokesman Tommy Pigott said Thursday that the administration is still “determining the way forward.”
▶ Read more about the contraceptives stockpile
Ghislaine Maxwell moved to prison camp in Texas
The federal Bureau of Prisons says the former girlfriend of Jeffrey Epstein has been moved from a federal prison in Florida. A lawyer for Maxwell, who was convicted in 2021 of helping Epstein sexually abuse underage girls, confirmed the transfer to the camp in Bryan, Texas but declined to comment on the circumstances.
Maxwell’s case has generated renewed attention following the Justice Department’s much-scrutinized handling of documents from the Epstein sex trafficking investigation. She was interviewed at a Florida courthouse over two days with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche last week.
The House Oversight Committee has said it wants to speak with Maxwell as well. Her lawyer, David Oscar Markus, said she would be open this but only if the panel gives her immunity from prosecution for anything she says.
Democrats launch summer blitz as Republicans defend unpopular Trump budget
Republican leaders, meanwhile, have encouraged their members to promote more popular aspects of the bill during smaller controlled appearances less likely to feature difficult questions or protests — especially over the Medicaid cuts that will leave millions without health care coverage.
The Democratic National Committee’s “Organizing Summer” features events in all 50 states and advertising targeting vulnerable House Republicans, “ensuring Americans across the country know exactly who is responsible for taking away health care, food, construction jobs, and nursing homes in order to give massive handouts to billionaires,” DNC Chair Ken Martin said.
▶ Read more about how members of Congress are facing constituents — or not
Research predicts debt, delayed care and deaths from Medicaid cuts
The Congressional Budget Office forecasts that the U.S. uninsured population will grow by 10 million, due to Trump’s tax and spending law. And thanks to a natural experiment nearly two decades ago, health researchers can forecast the impact on patient care as the uninsured delay treatments, cancel doctor visits and skip prescriptions:
1. About 2.5 million people may no longer have a personal doctor.
2. About 1.6 million patients will take on medical debt.
3. The lack of care may cause nearly 22,000 deaths annually.
“There’s really no questioning the basic reality that you can’t take health care away from 10 million people without causing many preventable deaths,” said Dr. Adam Gaffney, a lead researcher on a team that explored the new law’s impact.
▶ Read more about research on the impact of Trump’s Medicaid cuts
Chuck Schumer blames Trump for latest jobs numbers
The Senate Democratic leader says Trump’s tariffs are sharply slowing U.S. hiring, and Friday’s jobs report is “the latest warning sign that this tariff chaos must end.”
The Labor Department shaved its estimates for May and June, reporting that about 258,000 fewer jobs were created than previously projected. “It is disturbing to say but the chickens are coming home to roost on Donald Trump’s destructive trade war and the American people are paying the price,” Schumer said on the Senate floor.
The tariffs a tax hike on American families, he said, urging Trump to “reverse course.”
Human Rights Watch accuses US-Israeli aid setup in Gaza of causing ‘regular bloodbaths’
In a report issued Friday, Human Rights Watch called the current setup “a flawed, militarized aid distribution system that has turned aid distributions into regular bloodbaths.”
“It would be near impossible for Palestinians to follow the instructions issued by GHF, stay safe, and receive aid, particularly in the context of ongoing military operations, Israeli military sanctioned curfews, and frequent GHF messages saying that people should not travel to the sites before the distribution window opens,” the report said.
Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed in shootings by Israeli soldiers while on roads heading to the sites, according to witnesses and health officials. The Israeli military has said its troops have only fired warning shots to control crowds. Responding to Friday’s report, it accused Hamas of sabotaging the aid distribution system and said it’s working to make the routes under its control safer.
Palestinians implore Witkoff to witness life in Gaza firsthand
At a Friday press conference in Gaza City, representatives of the territory’s influential tribes accused Israel of empowering factions that loot aid sites and implored Witkoff to stay just a few hours in Gaza, so he can see their desperate situation for himself.
“We want the American envoy to come and live among us in these tents where there is no water, no food and no light,” they said. “Our children are hungry in the streets.”
Officials at Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza said they have received the bodies of 25 people, including 13 who were killed while trying to get aid, including near the site that U.S. officials visited. GHF denied anyone was killed at their sites on Friday and said most recent deaths happened near United Nations aid convoys. Israel’s military did not immediately comment.
Trump’s envoy visits Israeli-controlled Gaza food aid site amid outrage over starvation
Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee toured one of Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’s distribution sites in Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city, on Friday amid international outrage over starvation, aid shortages and deadly chaos near distribution sites.
All four of the U.S. and Israeli group’s sites are controlled by the Israeli military and have become flashpoints of desperation during their months of operation, with starving people scrambling for scarce aid. Hundreds have been killed by either gunfire or trampling. The Israeli military says it has only fired warning shots, and GHF says its armed contractors have only used pepper spray or fired warning shots to prevent deadly crowding.
Witkoff’s visit comes a week after U.S. officials walked away from ceasefire talks. Trump posted on social media that the fastest way to end the crisis would be for Hamas to surrender and release hostages.
▶ Read more about the Trump administration and Gaza aid
Wall Street slumps and bond yields sink on weak hiring numbers and new tariffs
Stocks slumped in morning trading on Wall Street Friday and Treasury yields fell sharply after the government reported a sharp slowdown in hiring last month.
Markets are also reacting to the latest tariff news — Trump once again extending the date, now to Aug. 7, when punishing import taxes will take effect for a long list of countries. The S&P 500 fell 1.5%, on track to close the week with a loss. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 599 points, or 1.4% as of 9:44 a.m. Eastern. The Nasdaq composite fell 2%.
Worries on Wall Street about a weakening economy were heavily reinforced by Friday’s sharply-lower-than-expected report on U.S. job growth. Labor Department revisions shaved a stunning 258,000 jobs off May and June payrolls.
A ‘structural rewrite’ for the global economy
“Trump’s new tariff directive, signed behind closed doors just ahead of the Aug. 1 deadline, slaps a new floor under global trade costs: a 10% minimum rate for nearly all partners, with surcharges of 15% or higher for surplus nations,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.
“This wasn’t just an update — it was a structural rewrite. The average U.S. tariff jumps from 13.3% to 15.2%, a seismic shift from the 2.3% average before Trump retook office. This reshapes the cost calculus for everything from semiconductors to copper pipes,” Innes said.
Trump wants Fed board to take control from Powell
Trump on Friday called for the Federal Reserve’s board of governors to usurp the power of Fed Chair Jerome Powell, criticizing the head of the U.S. central bank for not cutting short-term interest rates.
Posting on his Truth Social platform, Trump called Powell “stubborn.” The Fed chair has been subjected to vicious verbal attacks by the Republican president over several months.
The Fed has the responsibility of stabilizing prices and maximizing employment. Powell, backed by most of the board’s seven governors, has held its benchmark rate for overnight loans constant this year, saying that Fed officials needed to see what impact Trump’s massive tariffs had on inflation.
If Powell doesn’t “substantially” lower rates, Trump said, “THE BOARD SHOULD ASSUME CONTROL, AND DO WHAT EVERYONE KNOWS HAS TO BE DONE!”
▶ Read more about Trump’s pressure on the Fed chairman
New tariffs threaten to raise inflation rates
There are no signs yet that tariffs will lead to more domestic manufacturing jobs, and Friday’s employment report showed the U.S. economy now has 37,000 fewer manufacturing jobs than it did in April.
One crucial measure of inflation, the Personal Consumption Expenditures index, showed Thursday that prices have climbed 2.6% over the 12 months that ended in June, a sign that price hikes may be accelerating as tariffs flow through the economy. This prospect has caused the Federal Reserve to hold off on additional rate cuts, frustrating Trump, who has called Fed Chair Jerome Powell a “TOTAL LOSER” on his social media platform.
“There are many uncertainties left to resolve,” Powell told reporters Wednesday. “So, yes, we are learning more and more. It doesn’t feel like we’re very close to the end of that process. And that’s not for us to judge, but it does — it feels like there’s much more to come.”
For Canada, regret and disappointment
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said his government is disappointed by Trump’s move to raise the U.S. tariff on goods from America’s northern neighbor to 35% from 25%, effective Friday. Goods transshipped from unspecified other countries face a 40% import duty.
Trump cited what he said was a lack of cooperation in stemming trafficking in illicit drugs across the northern border. He also slammed Canada’s plan to recognize a Palestinian state and has expressed frustration with a trade deficit largely fueled by U.S. oil purchases.
“Canada accounts for only 1% of U.S. fentanyl imports and has been working intensively to further reduce these volumes,” Carney said in a statement.
Many of Canada’s exports to the U.S. are covered by the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement and face no tariff. But steel, lumber, aluminum and autos have been subject to still higher tariffs.
Hiring slowed sharply in June as unemployment rate ticked higher
U.S. employers added just 73,000 jobs last month and job gains for June were revised sharply lower, from 147,000 to just 14,000, the Labor Department reported Friday. It points to a much weaker job market than previously understood.
Unemployment ticked higher to a still-low 4.2% from 4.1%, and the proportion of Americans working or looking for work declined again, possibly reflecting falling immigration and more deportations. Manufacturers cut jobs for the third straight month and have now reduced their payrolls by 37,000 since April.
The weak data makes it more likely that Trump will get one of his most fervent desires: A cut in short-term interest rates by the Federal Reserve, which often — though not always — can lead to lower rates for mortgages, car loans, and credit cards. Investors sharply raised expectations for a rate cut at the Fed’s next meeting in September.
Swiss pharmaceutical Roche says medications should be exempt from tariffs
Swiss pharmaceuticals powerhouse Roche says it is working to ensure its patients and customers around the world have access to medications and diagnostics amid the Trump tariff war.
“While we believe pharmaceuticals and diagnostics should be exempt from tariffs to protect patient access, supply chains and ultimately future innovation, we are prepared for potential tariffs being implemented and confident in managing any impacts,” the statement said. “With strengthened U.S. production capacity and proactive measures like inventory adjustments and tech transfer, we are working to ensure uninterrupted access to our products.”
The company announced plans in April to invest $50 billion in the United States over the next five years, creating 12,000 jobs. The company already employs more than 25,000 people in the U.S.
Questions swirl around the tariffs despite Trump’s eagerness
As the clock ticked toward Trump’s self-imposed deadline, few things seemed to be settled other than the president’s determination to levy the taxes he has talked about for decades.
The very legality of the tariffs remains an open question as a U.S. appeals court on Thursday heard arguments on whether Trump had exceeded his authority by declaring an “emergency” under a 1977 law to charge the tariffs, allowing him to avoid congressional approval. Attorney General Dan Rayfield of Oregon, one of the states that filed suit, asserted that the judges “didn’t buy’’ the Trump administration’s arguments.
He said Trump’s tariffs — which are paid by importers in the United States who often try to pass along the higher costs to their customers — amount to one of the largest tax increases in American history, “done all by one human being sitting in the Oval Office.”
Dozens of countries with no deals face new tariffs as trade deadline looms
Some of the United States’ biggest trading partners have reached agreements, or at least the outlines of one, including the European Union, the United Kingdom, and Japan. Even so, those countries face much higher tariffs than were in effect before Trump took office.
Other large trading partners — most notably China and Mexico — received an extension to keep negotiating, but they will likely end up paying more.
Trump orders a 35% tariff for goods from Canada, asserting a lack of cooperation on illicit drugs
Trump has raised the tariff rate on U.S. imports from Canada to 35% from 25%, effective Friday. The announcement from the White House late Thursday said Canada had failed to “do more to arrest, seize, detain or otherwise intercept … traffickers, criminals at large, and illicit drugs.”
A small amount of fentanyl is smuggled into the U.S. from Canada, much less than through other routes. U.S. customs agents seized 43 pounds (19.5 kilograms) of fentanyl at the Canadian border during the last fiscal year, compared with 21,100 pounds (9,570 kilograms) at the Mexican border.
The new tariffs build off ones announced in the spring
Trump initially imposed the Friday deadline after his previous “Liberation Day” tariffs in April resulted in a stock market panic. His unusually high tariff rates then led to recession fears, prompting Trump to impose a 90-day negotiating period. When he was unable to create enough trade deals with other countries, he extended the timeline and sent out letters to world leaders that simply listed rates, prompting a slew of hasty agreements.
Swiss imports will now be taxed at a higher rate, 39%, than the 31% Trump threatened in April, while Liechtenstein saw its rate slashed from 37% to 15%. Countries not listed in the Thursday night order would be charged a baseline 10% tariff.
Trump negotiated trade frameworks over the past few weeks with the EU, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia and the Philippines, claiming victories as other nations sought to limit his threat of charging even higher tariff rates.
Which countries have a trade agreement?
In a flurry of last-minute deal-making, Trump announced several agreements that were short on details.
On Thursday, the U.S. and Pakistan reached a trade agreement expected to allow Washington to help develop Pakistan’s largely untapped oil reserves and lower tariffs for the South Asian country.
And on Wednesday, Trump announced a deal with South Korea that would impose 15% tariffs on goods from that country. That is below the 25% duties that Trump threatened in April.
Agreements have also been reached with the European Union, Pakistan, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, and the United Kingdom. The agreement with the Philippines barely reduced the tariff it will pay, from 20% to 19%.
Will this next Aug. 7 deadline hold?
Trump’s original April 2 “Liberation Day” announcement threatened to impose import taxes of up to 50% on nearly 60 countries and economies, including the 27-nation European Union. Those duties, originally scheduled for April 9, were then postponed twice, first to July 9 and then Aug. 1.
On Wednesday, Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social, “THE AUGUST FIRST DEADLINE IS THE AUGUST FIRST DEADLINE — IT STANDS STRONG, AND WILL NOT BE EXTENDED.”
Thursday afternoon, White House representatives — and Trump himself — were still insisting that no more delays were possible. But when Trump signed the order Thursday night, the start date of the punishing import taxes was pushed back seven days so that the tariff schedule could be updated.
The change — while potentially welcome news to countries that had not yet reached a deal with the U.S. — injected a new dose of uncertainty for consumers and businesses still wondering what’s going to happen and when.
Dozens of countries with no deals face new tariffs as trade deadline looms
Numerous countries around the world now face the prospect of new tariffs on their exports to the United States on Aug. 7, a potential blow to the global economy, because they haven’t yet reached a trade deal with the Trump administration.
Trump intends the duties to bring back manufacturing to the United States, while also forcing other countries to reduce their trade barriers to U.S. exports. Trump argues that foreign exporters will pay the cost of the tariffs, but so far economists have found that most are being paid by U.S. companies. And measures of U.S. inflation have started to tick higher as prices of imported goods, such as furniture, appliances, and toys rise.
Countries without an agreement face duties ranging between 10% and 40%, according to Trump’s executive order signed on Thursday. That includes large economies such as Taiwan and India, as well as many smaller countries like South Africa, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and even tiny Lesotho.
▶ Read more about the countries facing new tariffs and a new deadline
Trump injects new dose of uncertainty in tariffs as he pushes start date back to Aug. 7
Trump has been promising the world economy would change on Friday with his new tariffs in place.
But when Trump signed the order Thursday night imposing new tariffs, the start date of the punishing import taxes was pushed back seven days so that the tariff schedule could be updated. The change injected a new dose of uncertainty for consumers and businesses still wondering what’s going to happen and when.
Trump has promised that his tax hikes on the nearly $3 trillion in goods imported to the U.S. will usher in newfound wealth, launch a cavalcade of new factory jobs, reduce the budget deficits and, simply, get other countries to treat America with more respect.
The vast tariffs risk jeopardizing America’s global standing as allies feel forced into unfriendly deals. As taxes on the raw materials used by U.S. factories and basic goods, the tariffs also threaten to create new inflationary pressures and hamper economic growth — concerns the Trump White House has dismissed.
▶ Read more about the delay in the tariff start date
Trump’s new tariffs give some countries a break, while shares and US dollar sink
Trump’s new tariff rates of up to 41% on U.S. imports from dozens of countries drew expressions of relief Friday from some countries that negotiated a deal or managed to whittle them down from rates announced in April. Others expressed disappointment or frustration over running out of time after hitting Trump’s Aug. 1 deadline for striking deals with America’s trading partners.
The new rates are due to take effect on Aug. 7, but uncertainty over what Trump might do next remains. The way ahead for China, which runs the largest trade surplus with the U.S., is unclear after talks earlier this week in Stockholm produced no deal. Trump has yet to say if he’ll extend an Aug. 12 pause on painfully high import duties on Chinese products.
Initial reaction from financial markets was muted. Benchmarks fell in Asia, with South Korea’s Kospi dropping nearly 4% after the tariff rate for the U.S. ally was set at 15%. The U.S. dollar weakened against the Japanese yen, trading at more than 150 yen per dollar.
▶ Read more about the impact of Trump’s new tariffs
‘These are dark days,’ Biden warns in blistering speech about Trump
Former President Joe Biden also accused the Trump administration administration of “doing its best to dismantle the Constitution” with the help of the Republican-controlled Congress and the Supreme Court.
“Our future is literally on the line,” Biden said in the speech to a National Bar Association convention in Chicago on the the 100th anniversary of the organization, which was founded to support Black lawyers at a time when they were excluded from the legal profession.
Biden celebrated the diversity of his judicial appointments and recounted his work on civil rights throughout a five-decade political career before turning to Trump.
“In our lives, the life of our nation, there are moments so stark that they divide all that came before from everything that follows,” Biden said. “Moments that force us to confront hard truths about ourselves, our institutions and democracy itself. We are, in my view, at such a moment in American history.”
