Latest news with #publicpressure
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
What Trump could do if he's serious about trying to make companies 'eat' tariff price hikes
President Trump has taken aim at at least four retailers in recent weeks over possible tariff price hikes with an effort that, for now at least, is largely about applying public pressure to CEOs. "I'll be watching," he told Walmart (WMT), with harsh words also directed toward Amazon (AMZN), Ford (F), and Mattel (MAT). There are also hints Trump could do more than just watch with additional tariffs threatened in one instance and an array of additional tools at the president's disposal if he decided to escalate further. Options range from things like industry-wide investigations by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), other government investigations into specific products and company profits, pushing for new Capitol Hill legislation on the issue, or even price controls via executive order. If some of those options sound familiar, that's because many of these tools were considered and even employed during Joe Biden's presidency as part of the then-Democratic charges of "price gouging" amid inflation. Formal inquiries were even launched in certain areas like meatpacking. Other options for Trump stretch back much further, notably a Richard Nixon-issued executive order in 1971 that imposed a 90-day freeze on wages and prices during that inflation crisis. Ryan Bourne, an economist at the Cato Institute, has studied the issue and says the US remains a long ways politically from something like those draconian Nixon-era policies. But he nevertheless sees a sort of bipartisan elevation in recent years in government willingness to interfere in business pricing decisions. "I do worry that we're on the conveyor belt towards that type of policy," he said of price controls in a recent interview. For now, he added, businesses are in an environment where CEOs "increasingly have to second-guess how the president or the administration will react to them." Trump has not suggested that price controls are in the offing. He also spent much of the last campaign attacking a Kamala Harris plan for a ban on food price gouging with his allies saying it amounted to "Soviet-style" controls. Yet Trump has made clear he is aggressively watching the issue and keeping his options open, posting this past weekend that Walmart, along with China, should "'EAT THE TARIFFS,' and not charge valued customers ANYTHING." Likewise, a plan by Amazon to label tariff costs was labeled by the White House a "hostile and political act." Trump also responded to a suggestion that Ford could raise prices by saying "they wouldn't sell any cars" if they did and that if Mattel acted, "we'll put a hundred percent tariff on his toys." Trump has also seen some results from his public-pressure campaign, which included multiple calls to CEOs from both the president and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. One recent success for the White House came when Home Depot (HD) publicly pledged in multiple interviews this week not to raise prices. It's a stance that Trump's aides celebrated, but D.A. Davidson Managing Director Michael Baker argued in a recent Yahoo Finance video interview that it was a stance that wasn't that different from Walmart's. "It's much more about signaling," he said. "I don't really think those two companies, Home Depot and Walmart, are doing things that much differently. It's just how it's articulated." And Ed Yardeni of Yardeni Research noted that other companies may have little choice but to risk Trump's ire given thin profit margins in retail, writing, "if they don't raise their prices ... that's not a sustainable business model." The situation has been further confused by the White House often taking the position that it's foreign companies that absorb the tariffs, even as multiple retailers have offered warnings about the pressure they are under. "The president is committed to ensuring that prices remain low for American consumers, and he maintains the position that foreign countries will absorb these tariffs," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said recently. Read more: What Trump's tariffs mean for the economy and your wallet Yet it's a position that few economists agree with. The Cato Institute's Bourne said this week that increasing pressure on prices could fuel the developing bipartisan narrative that "greedflation" — the charge of companies taking excessive profits during a crisis — is a problem that needs addressing. During Biden's presidency, "you saw a lot of browbeating of companies over shrinkflation and junk fees," he said, adding that something similar could take further root under Trump, especially if tariff-fueled price volatility leads to unrest for consumers. For now, though, Bourne added, "I fundamentally think this is just about trying to jawbone companies." 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
Malay Mail
10-05-2025
- Politics
- Malay Mail
Outside mediation now crucial for Pakistan and India
KARACHI, May 10 — With the risk of dangerous escalation between India and Pakistan the highest in decades, only international mediation can stop a spiral into all-out conflict between the nuclear-armed foes, analysts say. Pakistan said it launched counterattacks today after India struck three of its air bases overnight following days of missile, artillery and drone strikes across the border. It is the first time since the India-Pakistan war of 1971 -- before both got nuclear weapons—that they have struck deep inside each other's territory, reaching as far as Karachi on the Arabian Sea coast. These have also killed civilians far from Kashmir—the death toll on both sides is now over 60 -- which further increases expectations on New Delhi and Islamabad to respond in a robust manner. 'Civilian casualties changes the entire situation and puts both governments under tremendous public pressure,' said Praveen Donthi, senior India analyst for the International Crisis Group. 'Both powers on their own are not going to de-escalate.' Conflicts in more recent times have been confined mostly to in or near Kashmir, the Himalayan territory split between the two countries—and claimed by both in full—following independence in 1947. Most recently in 2019, these have followed a pattern of brief, intense strikes and counter strikes, followed by a willingness on both sides to de-escalate. 'In this case, emotions and mistrust are so high that international mediation will be of the essence,' said Michael Kugelman, a Washington DC-based South Asia analyst. 'There's still no clear path to an off ramp.' There have been global calls for restraint but analysts agreed that actual mediation from the United States, Britain or Arab Gulf states was urgent. 'The efforts haven't been as serious as they could have been, given that these are two are nuclear countries and they have a history of fighting each other,' said Abdul Basit, a senior associate fellow at S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore. The latest events, including claims of targeting each other's air bases, should now 'send the international efforts into overdrive,' Basit said. 'They need to knock some sense into their heads that this war is happening over populated areas—that one incident could suddenly turn into a nuclear flash point,' he added. New playbook US Vice President JD Vance on Thursday said the conflict was 'fundamentally none of our business', in comments that suggested President Donald Trump's White House was not about to get involved. But this now looks to have changed, with Washington saying early Saturday that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke to India and Pakistan's foreign ministers for the first time since the crisis erupted. In addition Rubio talked with Pakistan's army chief Asim Munir, considered the country's key powerbroker. Rubio 'emphasized that both sides need to identify methods to de-escalate and re-establish direct communication to avoid miscalculation,' the State Department said. Senior ministers from Iran and Saudi Arabia have also visited both countries in recent few days. The last conflict in 2019 -- in and around Kashmir and away from populated areas—ended with both sides claiming victory after mediation from the United States. 'But what we're seeing now is unprecedented. We have not seen these types of attacks before—missiles, drones, planes sent over populated cities,' said Basit. 'It's a new playbook,' said Basit, with mediators needed to 'help with the victory narrative for both sides' in order to de-escalate. 'Terrorist' targets The flare-up stems from an attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir last month in which 26 people were shot dead and that New Delhi has accused Islamabad of backing. Pakistan has denied any involvement and called for a neutral probe. On Wednesday India launched missile attacks, striking mosques and seminaries in several cities that it called 'terrorist' targets, killing more than 20 people including children. 'It was an unusually brutal attack on civilians who were singled out for their religion and that set the tone for India's response,' Kugelman said, adding that India wants to show that it has 'zero tolerance for terrorism'. Pakistan says it is being punished for something it didn't do. 'People in Pakistan are fed up of being blamed so often for things they say they have nothing to do with,' Kugelman said. 'If Pakistan were to hold back, that could be politically damaging because there is such a strong (public) view that more needs to be done.' Kashmir key Both countries have given their military operations religious names, appealing to strongly devout sentiments in their nations. Rebels in Indian-administered Kashmir have waged an insurgency since 1989, seeking independence or a merger with Pakistan. India regularly blames Pakistan for backing armed groups fighting its forces in Kashmir, a charge that Islamabad denies. Relations have worsened under Modi's more than 10-year Hindu nationalist government, which in 2019 brought Muslim-majority Indian Kashmir under direct rule. 'In the long term (Kashmir is) going to destabilise relations for at least another decade,' said Donthi. 'The Kashmir conflict is at the heart of this but that is almost forgotten when hostilities start.' — AFP
