#US-China trade

#US-China trade

Since Donald Trump entered the White House for the second time, the US import taxes faced by Morph, which supplies Walmart and Target, have lurched wildly-from zero tariffs to 20% tariffs to 50% tariffs, before briefly flirting with 145% tariffs. The figure fell back to 20%, before the Supreme Court intervention last week ruled the tariffs illegal, which brought them back down to zero.

The US government has introduced new import tariffs on advanced AI chips from Nvidia and AMD, with the aim of channelling part of the proceeds from sales to China directly into the US treasury. According to the Financial Times, the measure is part of President Donald Trump's broader trade and industrial policy, which explicitly intertwines economic transactions and national security.

"China has become one of the world's fastest-rising economies in terms of innovative capacity," he declared in a televised address on Wednesday beamed to the nation's 1.4 billion people, in which he touted China's achievements in large AI models and breakthroughs in chip research and development. The Chinese leader underscored the role of innovation in his government's aim for high-quality economic development and the integration of technology and industry, citing the advancements in humanoid robots and drones.

Gold rose on Wednesday, snapping a three-day losing streak as investors bought the dip ahead of the Federal Reserve's policy announcement later in the day. After briefly touching USD 3,885 on Tuesday, its lowest level in nearly a month, bullion rebounded sharply and regained the USD 4,000 threshold, as traders positioned for the widely expected 25-basis-point rate cut. Market participants will focus on Fed Chair Jerome Powell's guidance regarding the pace of additional easing, with another reduction in December already priced in.

If you don't support yourself, who will? That appeared to be President Donald Trump's motto on Sunday night, with the commander-in-chief posting a picture of himself to Truth Social that included an Instagram-like caption that sang his praises for working like a dog for no money in order to save a Country that doesn't appreciate his sacrifice! The picture was of Trump walking, looking a bit tired and glum, on the White House lawn.

Top U.S. and Chinese officials met in Malaysia on Saturday to lay the groundwork for a summit between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, with some on Wall Street saying Beijing overplayed its hand by imposing draconian restrictions on rare earth exports. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng held negotiations that the U.S. characterized as constructive. But sources told the Financial Times China was reluctant to ease the export controls.

The Trump administration is considering a plan to curb a dizzying array of software-powered exports to China, from laptops to jet engines, to retaliate against Beijing's latest round of rare earth export restrictions, according to a US official and three people briefed by US authorities. While the plan is not the only option on the table, it would make good on Donald Trump's threat earlier this month to bar critical software exports to China

After a record session for the Dow, markets are little changed. At the moment, the Dow is down about five points. The S&P 500 is up about four, with the NASDAQ down about 36 points. Not helping, Netflix ( NASDAQ: NFLX) slumped after posting an earnings miss. Its EPS of $5.87 was below expectations for $6.97, thanks to a dispute with Brazilian tax authorities. Revenue of $11.51 billion was in line, though. Moving forward, Tesla ( NASDAQ: TSLA) will post earnings after the bell.