Trump Trade: U.S. proposes easing some restrictions on drones

Catch up on the top industries and stocks that were impacted, or were predicted to be impacted, by the comments, actions and policies of President Donald Trump with this daily recap compiled by The Fly:

DRONES: U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy noted during a press conference on “unleashing American drone Dominance” that China controls 90% of the commercial drone market. It blames American bureaucracy for that and says it “is about to change.” “It’s only right that America leads… We’re announcing a new rule: Beyond Visual Line of Sight Operations. The approval of drone use will be done in a very different way allowing innovators to change the way industry uses drones.”

SOLAR GRANTS: The Environmental Protection Agency plans to draft letters to the 60 grant recipients under the Solar for All program – which includes 49 states – informing them that their awards have been terminated, The Washington Post’s Jake Spring writes. With the program only launching in 2024, the vast majority of the money has yet to be spent, the author notes.

INVESTMENT: President Donald Trump is expected to declare on Wednesday that Apple (AAPL) will commit to spend another $100B on domestic manufacturing, Bloomberg’s Hadriana Lowenkron reports. The announcement at the White House includes a new manufacturing program designed to bring more of Apple’s supply chain to the U.S., with an eye toward manufacturing additional critical components domestically, according to a White House official who detailed the announcement. “President Trump’s America First economic agenda has secured trillions of dollars in investments that support American jobs and bolster American businesses,” White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said in a statement. “Today’s announcement with Apple is another win for our manufacturing industry that will simultaneously help reshore the production of critical components to protect America’s economic and national security.” 

MRNA VACCINE DEVELOPMENT: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced the beginning of a coordinated wind-down of its mRNA vaccine development activities under the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, including the cancellation and de-scoping of various contracts and solicitations. The decision follows a comprehensive review of mRNA-related investments initiated during the COVID-19 public health emergency.”We reviewed the science, listened to the experts, and acted,” said HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

“BARDA is terminating 22 mRNA vaccine development investments because the data show these vaccines fail to protect effectively against upper respiratory infections like COVID and flu. We’re shifting that funding toward safer, broader vaccine platforms that remain effective even as viruses mutate.” The wind-down affects a range of programs including: Cancellation of BARDA’s award to Moderna (MRNA)/UTMB for an mRNA-based H5N1 vaccine; Termination of contracts with Emory University and Tiba Biotech; De-scoping of mRNA-related work in existing contracts with Luminary Labs, ModeX, and Seqirus; Rejection or cancellation of multiple pre-award solicitations, including proposals from Pfizer (PFE), Sanofi Pasteur (SNY), CSL Seqirus, Gritstone, and others, as part of BARDA’s Rapid Response Partnership Vehicle and VITAL Hub, and; Restructuring of collaborations with DoD-JPEO, affecting nucleic acid-based vaccine projects with AAHI, AstraZeneca (AZN), and HDT Bio.

PRODUCTIVE TALKS: On the company’s Q2 earning call, Pfizer (PFE) noted that the company’s guidance “absorbs the impact of the currently imposed tariffs from China, Canada and Mexico as well as potential price changes this year based on the letter received on July 31 from President Trump.” Later in the call, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said the company is “in very active discussions” at “the highest levels of this government.”

Bourla added, “I discussed myself with the president after he sent the letter to me and all the others. We discussed a lot with the Secretary Kennedy, we discussed a lot with Doctor Post who is responsible for implementing a lot of these things. And I would say only that these discussions are extremely productive. I think we understand where the president comes from, and we are engaging in a productive way to find a solution. But because we are in active discussions, it’s inappropriate for me to start providing more details because I don’t want to say things while discussing with them. So I understand that many others may have questions about that, and I’m not sure I can give more information than what I just told you. That we had a letter that says a base of what the president wants. The letter asks a lot from us. But we are engaged in productive discussions with them.”