Renault Sees Geely as More Natural Partner Than Nissan
Renault SA's partnership with Geely may be a more natural one than its longtime alliance with Nissan Motor Co., Chief Executive Officer Luca de Meo said.
The Chinese automaking group that controls car brands including Volvo and Lotus is an excellent company that works very fast, de Meo said Thursday.
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Time Magazine
12 minutes ago
- Time Magazine
How Doubling Tariffs on Steel and Aluminum Will Hit U.S. Businesses and Consumers
Canned foods, cars, houses, and a range of other goods could soon get more expensive as businesses face a newly doubled tariff rate of 50% for steel and aluminum imports. President Donald Trump described the increase, which raised the levies from the 25% rate announced in February beginning on Wednesday, as an effort to 'further secure the steel industry in the United States' during a Friday rally at a steel mill in Pittsburgh, Penn.—once the heart of the domestic steel industry. But while American steel industry groups have hailed the tariff hike, economic experts have sounded alarms, saying it could further disrupt the already-volatile global supply chain and put more strain on businesses—and Americans' wallets. 'Consumers will have to pay the price,' says Virginia Tech economics professor David Beiri. 'The continued uncertainty that is created by the government is poisoning business plans.' How will steel and aluminum tariff hikes impact businesses? The United States is highly reliant on steel imports, bringing in more of the material from abroad than any other country in the world, according to the International Trade Administration. More than 26 million metric tons of steel were imported last year, most of which came from Brazil, Canada, Mexico, South Korea, and China. 'We are equally dependent on aluminum,' says Jonathan Colehower, managing director at consulting company UST. The domestic steel industry has voiced support for the increased tariffs, saying they will help it weather increased competition from foreign steel manufacturers. 'Chinese steel exports to the world have more than doubled since 2020, surging to 118 million MT in 2024—more than total North American steel production,' the American Iron and Steel Institute, one of several trade associations representing the American steel industry, said in a statement after Trump announced the higher rate. 'This tariff action will help prevent new surges in imports that would injure American steel producers and their workers.' But experts worry about the industry's ability to meet increased demand as businesses, facing the additional import costs, seek cheaper alternatives for their products. While the U.S. once dominated the steel industry, the boom has died down in the last century. 'With domestic capacity not necessarily being able to produce what we might need…there is going to be a transitory effect,' says Beiri, referring to the adjustment period the steel industry will have to navigate as the supply chain changes. Colehower says the domestic steel supply may tighten as a result of the increased tariffs, which could cause domestic prices to rise amid high demand. 'There's absolutely no way it's going to be able to make up the difference immediately,' he says of the domestic steel industry. The Aluminum Association, a trade group that represents both U.S.-based and foreign companies, said it supports tariff-free Canadian aluminum, pointing to the American aluminum industry's reliance on the country's northern neighbor. 'Aluminum is a critical material for our economy and national defense – used in everything from cars to beverage cans to fighter jets. Today, the United States is investing significantly and will need both smelted and recycled aluminum to meet growing demand,' the association said. 'In the years if not decades it will take to build new U.S. smelter capacity, our metal needs must be met by importing.' How will the higher tariffs impact the prices of goods? Steel and aluminum are used in various products, from beer cans and office supplies to automobiles—the prices for all of which are likely to rise as a result of the doubled import taxes. The Can Manufacturers Institute, the trade association of the metal can manufacturing industry, opposed the tariff increase in a statement after Trump announced the coming change in the rate, saying it would 'further increase the cost of canned goods at the grocery store.' The can manufacturing industry imports nearly 80% of its tin-mill steel from foreign countries. 'Doubling steel tariffs will inflate domestic canned food prices, and it plays into the hands of China and other foreign canned food producers, which are more than happy to undercut American farmers and food producers,' the trade association said. Beer companies and other beverage businesses are also set to be impacted. The real estate and construction industries, both of which use steel to build homes, warehouses, and other structures will be footing a bigger bill, as well, Colehower says. He predicts businesses such as Lowe's and Home Depot, the latter of which vowed before the tariff hike that it would not be increasing the cost of its goods, will be severely affected. Farm equipment and transportation vehicles, including cars, bicycles, and others, will also likely cost more as a result of the new tariff rate, Colehower says. Some companies could seek to adjust their business models in the face of increased costs. Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey, for instance, said in February that the company would consider making more beverages in plastic bottles to offset aluminum price hikes under the tariffs announced that month. Negotiations over the tariffs are ongoing between the U.S. and its trading partners, several of which have expressed ire at the increased import taxes. Bea Bruske, president of the Canadian Labour Congress, called the steel tariffs a 'direct attack on Canadian workers.' A European Commission official on Friday said the decision 'adds further uncertainty to the global economy and increases costs for consumers and businesses on both sides of the Atlantic.' The U.K. has been spared from the tariff hike; Mexico announced Wednesday that it plans to ask for a similar exemption. Canada, Mexico, and the European Union were previously exempt from steel and aluminum tariffs Trump imposed during his first term in 2016, but are subject to the current levies.
Yahoo
31 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Doug Ford urges Canada's leader to ramp up tariffs on US
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is pressuring Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney to ramp up tariffs against the United States after President Trump doubled tariffs on steel and aluminum earlier this week. 'I highly recommended to the prime minister directly that we slap another 25 percent on top of our tariffs to equal President Trump's tariffs on our steel,' Ford said during a Wednesday appearance on CNN's 'Situation Room.' 'He has to, he has to start looking around the world at China and other locations that are taking Chinese steel and really stop the flow of steel. That's the problem,' Ford told host Wolf Blitzer. 'Canada is not the problem. Again, we purchased $30 billion, with a 'B,' of steel off the U.S., and that's going to come to an end real quick.' Trump signed the executive order to hike the tariffs Tuesday. The measure went into effect Wednesday and would levy steel and aluminum tariffs on almost all imports to the U.S.. The United Kingdom is exempt as it inked a trade deal with Washington last month. Canada has retaliated against the U.S. previously, slapping a 25 percent reciprocal tariff on U.S. aluminum and steel products. Carney, who met with Trump at the White House in early May, did not express readiness to implement Ford's suggestion. 'We will take some time, not much, some time because we are in intensive discussions right now with the Americans on the trading relationship,' Carney said to reporters Wednesday, according to Politico. 'Those discussions are progressing. I would note that the American action is a global action. It's not one targeted in Canada, so we will take some time, but not more,' the prime minister said. Ontario is open to imposing its own countermeasures, according to Ford. When asked on Wednesday if he's willing to bring back the electricity surcharge, he told reporters that 'everything's on the table.' Ontario implemented a 25 percent extra charge on the electricity Canada exports to three U.S. states after Trump threatened to double tariffs on steel and aluminum. Ford eventually spoke to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and later suspended the tax impacting Michigan, New York and Minnesota. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
32 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Late-night social media and surprise tariffs complicate Trump's two biggest trade talks
President Trump is complicating negotiations with China and the European Union, making two moves Wednesday to call out Chinese President Xi Jinping on social media and boost tariffs on steel and aluminum. Talks with China are on hold, waiting for a call between the two leaders, which the White House maintains will happen soon. But a 2:17 a.m. ET Truth Social missive from the president charged that dealing with Xi is "extremely hard." It was a message that immediately raised questions about the timing of a chat that Beijing says it's in no rush to have — and how much will be accomplished when it eventually takes place. There are parallels in the situation with the European Union, a bloc that is the top trading partner of the US. Trump offered his own surprise there last week with a plan to increase existing tariffs on steel and aluminum imports to 50% from 25%. They went into effect at 12:01 a.m. ET on Wednesday. It's a move that hits a variety of trading partners, with Europe in particular outraged by the move and promising additional countermeasures as the two sides meet for talks in Paris this week. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer traveled to Paris this week for a meeting with European Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič. He described those talks in a statement Wednesday as "advancing quickly" and "very constructive" but appears set to be heading home with few concrete signs of a deal anytime soon. All in all, the developments this week across three continents are a sign that trade tensions could perhaps be in for a rise this summer after weeks of talk around the notion that markets may be calmed by a TACO ("Trump Always Chickens Out") trade. Read more: The latest news and updates on Trump's tariffs As Terry Haines of Pangaea Policy put it in a recent note, "TACO is the latest triumph of misplaced markets... as quickly as TACO rose, events rose up to smite it." Days of promises for a call between Trump and Xi — who apparently have not spoken since before Trump's inauguration — have passed without a conversation even being scheduled. The frustration appeared to boil over for Trump overnight when he posted that "I like President XI of China, always have, and always will, but he is VERY TOUGH, AND EXTREMELY HARD TO MAKE A DEAL WITH!!!" It raised questions about the forthcoming call as well as the status of a trade truce between the US and China that was reached in May to delay tariffs by 115 percentage points for 90 days. Read more: What Trump's tariffs mean for the economy and your wallet That's a pact that has looked increasingly fragile, with both sides charging that the other is cheating in recent days and significant unresolved issues looming, from critical minerals to semiconductors. Trump and his team are charging that China has already violated the 90-day truce by not loosening trade restrictions for critical minerals, which are the building blocks in everything from computers to electric vehicle batteries to jet engines to medical devices. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce has denied the claims and accused the US of its own actions to undermine the deal. For now, top Trump aides say their communication with the Chinese is on hold until the two leaders speak, but Beijing appears to be in no hurry to schedule the call. Chinese state media focused Wednesday on other trade talks with "true friends and good partners," such as a meeting Wednesday between Xi and the president of Belarus. Asked about a potential call with the US Tuesday, a spokesperson for China's Foreign Ministry offered only, "I have no information to share on that." The European talks this week also got underway with plenty of fanfare but appear to have ended with little clarity on how the array of issues on the table will be resolved. Greer's statement on Wednesday offered only that "I look forward to continued constructive engagement in the coming days and weeks." Negotiators are confronting issues on everything from Europe's value-added tax (VAT) to restrictions on US tech companies and agriculture purchases, in addition to the overall tariff issues. That's in addition to the new steel duties that went into effect Wednesday and doubled rate on the European Union, but with a last-minute exemption for the United Kingdom, where duties will remain at 25%. All in all, few see a path toward even a limited deal between the US and Europe before a deadline of July 8, when Trump is pledging to implement his delayed reciprocal tariffs, including promised 50% duties on the European Union. And Trump's two fronts — Europe and China — could even end up working against him, especially with Bloomberg reporting Wednesday that China is considering placing an order for hundreds of aircraft from the French-owned Airbus, perhaps tied to a visit next month of European leaders to Beijing. If that deal comes to pass, it could be a major blow to Trump — not to mention Boeing (BA). Meanwhile, the Trump administration continued to tout his tariff plans, with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick boasting to the Senate during an appearance Wednesday that "the Trump administration is imposing tariffs and ending loopholes." Lutnick also offered a new nugget during his testimony Wednesday, saying new tariffs on airplane parts could be announced by the end of the month. "The key is to protect our industry," he said. Ben Werschkul is a Washington correspondent for Yahoo Finance. Click here for political news related to business and money policies that will shape tomorrow's stock prices
