The News
US President Donald Trump’s administration pressed ahead with plans for tariffs on chips and pharmaceuticals even as he floated a reprieve for automakers, adding to widespread uncertainty over his trade policy.
Stocks rose on Trump’s suggestion he would “help some of the car companies,” but likely tariffs on semiconductors and drugs are pushing foreign governments to protect their domestic production: South Korea increased funding for its chipmakers to $23 billion, while Japan earlier upped support for a chip startup by billions.
The whipsaw nature of US tariff policy could undermine Trump’s hopes to revitalize American manufacturing, experts said.
“You don’t move manufacturing overnight,” one top trade lawyer told Politico, while an economist added: “These tariffs might not be around forever.”
