Washington:
The ripple effects of Donald Trump’s world trade war are increasingly felt in many industries at once, and on Wednesday again pressured the US stock market, which had been hit for weeks by his volatile trade policies.
Inventories have dropped significantly, and tech stocks have become particularly intense after warning that they have hit their revenues, like Nvidia, which is very tied to the global supply chain.
Meanwhile, the airline said they are enduring an uncertain summer travel season, and although the head of the Federal Reserve pointed to slowing economic activity, he said he was wary of the threat posed by tariffs to the goal of lowering inflation.
And while Trump says many countries line up to do business with the US, progress has been slow and uncertain. The president was to personally be involved in a meeting with Japan over tariffs later on Wednesday.
Although market volatility that broke out two weeks ago has declined, business leaders say uncertainty is still halting spending plans. The two biggest economies in the world – the United States and China – remain in a full-scale trade war, with the US position in discussion with the European Union, Canada and other countries.
“What was true yesterday is no longer true today. We don’t know what tomorrow is,” said Jean Christophe Babin, CEO of Rome-based Bulgari, a jewelry subsidiary of luxury giant LVMH.
Technology is sold out
The tech companies were at the forefront of Wednesday’s fight. AI chip giant Nvidia said sales to China would cost $5.5 billion in accounting costs due to the administration’s curb for AI chip exports, while ASML, the world’s largest supplier of computer chip manufacturing equipment, said tariffs had seen uncertainty in both 2025 and 2026. An industry insider told lawmakers last week.
Stocks slide again on Wednesday, with the high-tech dominated Nasdaq composite falling by 3%, leading to a 7% decline in Nvidia. A fellow chipmaker’s advanced microdevice said it needed a $800 million hit from the administration’s curb on sales to China.
Even more optimistic companies eased their positivity. United Airlines maintained its earnings outlook for 2025, but unusually, the macro environment laid out two scenarios for that year, saying, “It’s impossible to predict with confidence this year.”
Japan, currently in front of the talks line, met with Trump himself on Wednesday evening, scheduled for consultations between Economic Revitalization Minister Ryosie Akazawa and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bescent. The US President said he will personally attend discussions to cover other non-trade issues as he continues to focus on other non-trade balances.
Japan exports more than 1 million cars to the United States every year. It’s an affordable model, especially when the rates are maintained, where you can see the price tag rise by thousands of dollars. Some automakers have broached some production to move to the US, but that’s not an easy task.
“We need to take a little break from tariffs for a period of time, so we can sort ourselves out, localize ourselves, and bring supplier bases to the US,” Nissan America Chairman Christian Meunier told Reuters, adding that the process will take years.
Scramble to get things
In a speech in Chicago, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell noted the slowdown in the economy but added, “Inflation is likely to rise as tariffs find their way and some of those tariffs become paid to the public.”
U.S. consumer sentiment has deteriorated sharply since Trump ratcheted up rhetoric, centering on tariffs, in mid-February.
The recent bank CEO says that consumer spending has not been dramatically immersed, but cracks are beginning to appear. Retail sales were strong in March, mainly due to the best month for car sales since 2023, but other components of spending are softer and spending in the service sector could begin to fade as people load up goods and worry about higher prices.
Retailers are also aware of this possibility as China-based discount retailers Temu and Shein encourage shoppers to buy “at today’s rate” and say they will raise prices from April 25th in roughly the same letter.
Expenses on goods and equipment can face a path that is both between the US and the US.
“We’re looking forward to seeing the company’s efforts to create a new product,” said Marko Bebek, sales manager at LB White, which manufactures US pig barn equipment for sale in Canada.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published by Syndicate Feed.)
