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Seeking Alpha’s roundup of remarks and statements by newsmakers that could potentially move markets, sectors or individual stocks.
-President Trump threatened to hike tariffs on EU products to 50% if the group doesn’t speed up trade negotiations with the United States. The tariffs would only apply to products manufactured outside the U.S.
“The European Union, which was formed for the primary purpose of taking advantage of the United States on TRADE, has been very difficult to deal with,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. “Our discussions with them are going nowhere! Therefore, I am recommending a straight 50% Tariff on the European Union, starting on June 1, 2025.”
-Trump also said Friday he would move to raise tariffs to 25% on iPhones manufactured outside the U.S.
“I have long ago informed Tim Cook of Apple that I expect their iPhones that will be sold in the United States of America will be manufactured and built in the United States, not India, or anyplace else. If that is not the case, a Tariff of at least 25% must be paid by Apple to the U.S. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
-Commerce Secretary Scott Bessent said during an interview with Fox News on Friday that he hoped Trump’s threat of hiking tariffs to 50% on EU goods “would light a fire under the EU,” adding that the group “has a collective action problem here. It’s 27 countries, but they’re being represented by this one group in Brussels.”
Bessent said there were still “18 important trade deals we still have to do,” with additional deals likely to be announced in July. “With the exception of the EU, most are negotiating in very good faith,” Bessent added.
-Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee said the Fed has likely put interest rate changes on hold while it continues to evaluate the impact of the Trump administration’s ever-changing tariffs on inflation and employment.
“Everything’s always on the table. But I feel like the bar for me is a little higher for action in any direction while we’re waiting to get some clarity,” Goolsbee said during an interview on CNBC. “Over the longer run, if they’re putting in place tariffs that have a stagflationary impact … then that’s the central bank’s worst situation.”