Trump could meet Putin as soon as next week, White House official says
The official cautioned that a meeting has not been scheduled yet and no location has been determined. The official was not authorised to speak publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss internal plans.
The White House said Mr Trump was also open to a meeting with both Mr Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
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Trump's tariffs are now in place. Alcohol, a cup of joe, and Toyotas are about to cost a whole lot more
President Donald Trump 's global tariffs, ranging from 10 to 50 percent, took effect on Thursday, igniting fear among consumers, companies, and investors about potential price hikes. Everyday items ranging from coffee to Toyotas, home furnishings to Gap jeans, are expected to become more expensive as companies adjust their prices to counteract the impact of tariffs. While the president has asked companies to absorb the cost of tariffs, many cannot forever. Even luxury items such as Range Rovers, French wines, or Rolex watches are likely to raise prices as they face 10 percent, 15 percent, and 39 percent tariffs, respectively, from the president. While Trump wants tariffs to promote domestic production and purchasing, Americans will most likely bear the cost. Economic experts agree that sweeping tariffs on goods from countries could lead to supply chain issues, price spikes, or even inflation. Here are some of the goods expected to cost more. Alcohol Consumers of French, Italian, or Spanish wines, Scotch whiskey, and aperitifs such as Aperol, can expect to see the price of their favorite alcoholic beverage rise due to the 15 percent tariff on the European Union. The E.U. is a major exporter of wines and spirits to the U.S. In 2024 alone, the E.U. accounted for $3.4 billion worth of imported spirits. Despite pleas from the beverage industry, the president's trade deal did not create exemptions for alcohol, which will likely drive up the price of imported wine or liquor – either in stores or restaurants. 'Without productive negotiations reducing reciprocal tariffs on wine and spirits, American wine retailers anticipate a significant decline in sales on top of the already difficult market, as well as significant job losses and subsequent business closures,' Tom Wark, the executive director of the Association of Wine Retailers, said. A letter to the president from the Toast Not Tariffs Coalition, a group of 57 associations representing the U.S. alcohol industry and related industries, said tariffs on the E.U. could result in 25,000 American job losses, and nearly $2 billion in lost sales. Diageo, the maker of Guinness, Bailey's, Johnnie Walker, and more, said the company expects to see a $200 million slump as a result of the tariffs. Cars and car parts Already, consumers have seen cars and car parts become more expensive over the last few months as a result of Trump's tariffs because the U.S. relies heavily on its trading partners for auto parts. Cox Automotive, an industry service and technology provider, expects the sticker price of vehicles to rise anywhere from four-to-eight percent by the end of the year. That means the average car price would be above $50,000. While the president struck several deals with countries, many of them still make imported vehicles more expensive. Imported cars from the U.K., such as Range Rovers, are subject to a 10 percent tariff. Japan, which sells more cars to the U.S. than any other country, is facing a 15 percent tariff rate, which is expected to cause major disruption. Toyota said on August 7 it expects a $9.5 billion profit loss for the year. "It's honestly very difficult for us to predict what will happen regarding the market environment," Takanori Azuma, Toyota's head of finance, said. But given that many car parts are imported from Japan, the tariffs are likely to hurt U.S. carmakers as well. General Motors projects a $4 billion loss, Stellantis, the maker of Jeeps, said it anticipates tariffs will add $1.7 billion in expenses, and Ford, which builds more cars in the U.S. than any of its rivals, said it expects tariffs to cause a $2 billion loss this year. Clothing Clothing is expected to see one of the most significant price increases since the U.S. is the largest single importer of apparel, and much of it comes from countries in Asia. 'The 2025 tariffs disproportionately affect clothing and textiles, with consumers facing 40% higher shoe prices and 38% higher apparel prices in the short-run,' the Budget Lab at Yale, a nonpartisan policy research center, said in a recent analysis. Shoes and apparel could remain 19 percent and 17 percent higher, respectively, in the long run, the report added. Vietnam, one of the largest exporters of appear to the U.S., has agreed to a 20 percent tariff. Brands such as Nike, Adidas, Zara, and Gap manufacture much of their clothing in Vietnam. While many can absorb some of those costs, even raising prices 10 percent would make a $65 pair of shoes $71.50, without tax. Bjorn Gulden, the CEO of Adidas, said the tariffs 'will directly increase the cost of our products for the U.S.' Other countries that are high producers of clothing face significant tariffs as well. Bangladesh has a 20 percent tariff, while Indonesia and Cambodia both face a 19 percent tariff. India, also a large producer of apparel, faces a steep tariff of 25 percent and Trump has threatened to increase that to 50 percent by the end of August if the country does not stop importing Russian oil. While the U.S. also imports a large portion of clothing from China, which is still negotiating a trade deal, Trump's decision to get rid of the de minimis exemption will make it more costly for consumers to purchase cheap clothing from stores like Shein or Temu. The U.S. relies heavily on Brazil to import coffee for the 165 million people who need their daily caffeine fix, but Trump's 50 percent tariff threatens the long-term availability and price of the drink. "When people go to their local coffee shop, whether it's Starbucks or something else, by and large they will likely be buying some form of Brazilian coffee," Monica de Bolle, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, told NPR. "A 50 percent tariff will kill that market." Household products: appliances, cookware, furniture Everyday household items made with steel or aluminum, such as cookware, appliances, furniture, and more, are likely going to be impacted by Trump's steep 50 percent industry tariffs. The U.S. relies heavily on its trading partners, particularly Canada and Mexico, for steel and aluminium imports. Nearly half of the aluminum used in the U.S. is imported, while less than a quarter of steel is imported. But that doesn't mean consumers won't see price increases. One small business, Heritage Steel, a family-owned cookware manufacturer in Tennessee, told NBC News that they recently received a tariff bill of $75,000 on an order of handles – and they're anticipating higher bills in the future. Since the U.S. does not have many specialized steel manufacturers, Heritage Steel imports approximately 75 percent of its raw material. Unlike other cookware manufacturers, they only import raw material and create their products in the U.S. Danny Henn, the vice president of operations for Hertiage Steel, told NBC News that the company wants to keep its products moderately priced, but at the same time, cannot absorb the new price of steel. They've raised their prices approximately 15 percent to make up for it. 'We're happy and proud to be a provider of really high-quality cookware, but one that's more affordably priced than some of the others on the market,' Henn said. 'We want to continue to offer the best price we can, given our constraints.' Watches Although imported watches are not an everyday essential, luxury wristwatches made in Switzerland are likely to see significant price increases thanks to the 39 percent tariff imposed on the country on Thursday. That means Americans looking to purchase a watch from recognizable brands such as Rolex, Breitling, Patek Philippe, Omega, or TAG Heuer may have to pay significantly more. An analysis of the impact, conducted by Bob's Watches, a secondhand watch retailer, found that a $9,900 stainless steel Breitling could rise to $11,080.
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4 minutes ago
- Reuters
Oil falls on announcement of Trump-Putin meeting
NEW YORK, Aug 7 (Reuters) - Oil prices dropped on Thursday for a sixth consecutive session after the Kremlin said Russian President Vladimir Putin would meet U.S. President Donald Trump in the coming days, raising expectations for a diplomatic end to the war in Ukraine. Brent crude futures settled down 46 cents, or 0.7%, at $66.43 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 47 cents, or 0.7%, to $63.88. Both benchmarks slid about 1% on Wednesday, touching their lowest in eight weeks, after comments from Trump on progress in talks with Moscow. Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said on Thursday that Trump and Putin would meet in the coming days in what would be the first summit between leaders of the two countries since 2021. A White House official had previously said that Trump could meet Putin as soon as next week. The U.S., however, continued preparations to impose secondary sanctions on major buyers of Russian energy products to try to pressure Moscow to end the war in Ukraine. Russia is the world's second-biggest producer of oil behind the United States. The U.S. ordered a new set of tariffs on Indian goods. Trump imposed an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods on Wednesday, citing the country's continued imports of Russian oil. The new import tax will take effect on August 28. India is the second-biggest buyer of Russian oil after China. Trump also said he could announce further tariffs on China. Oil prices have dropped over 9% over the last week. "Additional increases in OPEC production remain as the overriding negative consideration while continued tariff uncertainties are still providing the main argument favoring lower price levels," analysts at energy advisory firm Ritterbusch and Associates said in a note. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies including Russia, together known as OPEC+, on Sunday to raise oil production by 547,000 barrels per day for September. Thursday's selling was limited by a crude stockpile drawdown in the U.S., higher Saudi prices for Asia and solid Chinese crude imports in July, said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo. The Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday that U.S. crude oil stockpiles fell by 3 million barrels to 423.7 million barrels in the week ended August 1, exceeding an expected decline of 591,000 barrels in a Reuters poll of analysts. In China, crude oil imports in July fell by 5.4% from June but were still up 11.5% year-on-year, with analysts expecting refining activity to remain firm in the near term. Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter, on Wednesday raised its September crude oil prices for Asian buyers, the second monthly rise in a row, on tight supply and robust demand.
