Trump Weekly: Trump calls for Intel CEO resignation, raises India tariffs

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 Trump with this weekly recap compiled by The Fly:

CALLS FOR RESIGNATION: President Donald Trump stated in a Truth Social post, “The CEO of INTEL is highly CONFLICTED and must resign, immediately. There is no other solution to this problem. Thank you for your attention to this problem!”

This comes after U.S. Republican Senator Tom Cotton sent a letter to Intel’s (INTC) board chair Frank Yeary, asking questions about CEO Lip-Bu Tan’s ties to Chinese firms and a criminal case involving his former company Cadence Designs, Max Cherney of Reuters reports. After receiving the letter, Intel spokesperson issued a statement, “Intel and Mr. Tan are deeply committed to the national security of the United States and the integrity of our role in the U.S. defense ecosystem.”

TARIFFS ON INDIA: President Donald Trump stated while being interviewed on CNBC that he expects to raise tariffs on India “substantially,” citing India buying Russian oil for the tariff plans.

President Donald Trump had previously stated in a post to Truth Social, “India is not only buying massive amounts of Russian Oil, they are then, for much of the Oil purchased, selling it on the Open Market for big profits. They don’t care how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian War Machine. Because of this, I will be substantially raising the Tariff paid by India to the USA. Thank you for your attention to this matter!!! President DJT”

COUNTER TARIFFS: A spokesperson for the European Union said in a statement, “The EU continues to work with the U.S. to finalize a Joint Statement, as agreed on 27 July. With these objectives in mind, the Commission will take the necessary steps to suspend by 6 months the EU’s countermeasures against the US, which were due to enter into force on 7 August.”

AMERICAN EAGLE: Shares of American Eagle (AEO) were on the rise on Monday after President Donald Trump said via Truth Social that the company’s jeans are “flying off the shelves.” This comes amidst the controversial series ads from the company featuring Sidney Sweeney, who saw a rise on popularity after appearing in TV Shows “White Lotus” and “Euphoria.”

American Eagle has been in the spotlight recently following its ad campaign “Sidney Sweeny Has Great Jeans,” which features a play on the word “genes.” In the ad, Sweeney zips up her jeans and says, “genes are passed down from parents to offspring often determining traits like hair color, personality and even eye color. My jeans are blue.” Critics say the ad’s focus on the genes of a White woman conjured up the racist theory of eugenics, while other social media users say people are reading too much into the campaign.

Following the controversy, the company said via social media that the spot “is and always was about the jeans” and will “continue to celebrate how everyone wears their AE jeans with confidence, their way.” Meanwhile, President Donald Trump said via Truth Social that, “Sydney Sweeney, a registered Republican, has the ‘HOTTEST’ ad out there. It’s for American Eagle, and the jeans are ‘flying off the shelves.’ Go get ’em Sydney!”

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.”

PUTIN MEETING: President Donald Trump disclosed in a call with European leaders that he intends to meet in person with President Vladimir Putin of Russia as soon as next week, and he plans to follow up shortly afterward with a meeting between himself, Putin and President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, two people familiar with the matter told The New York Times‘ Maggie Haberman and Steven Erlanger.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump stated in a post to Truth Social, “My Special Envoy, Steve Witkoff, just had a highly productive meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Great progress was made! Afterwards, I updated some of our European Allies. Everyone agrees this War must come to a close, and we will work towards that in the days and weeks to come. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

ADDITIONAL DUTIES: In an executive order posted by the White House, President Donald Trump stated, “I have received additional information from various senior officials on, among other things, the actions of the Government of the Russian Federation with respect to the situation in Ukraine. After considering this additional information, among other things, I find that the national emergency described in Executive Order 14066 continues and that the actions and policies of the Government of the Russian Federation continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States. To deal with the national emergency described in Executive Order 14066, I determine that it is necessary and appropriate to impose an additional ad valorem duty on imports of articles of India, which is directly or indirectly importing Russian Federation oil. In my judgment, imposing tariffs, as described below, in addition to maintaining the other measures taken to address the national emergency described in Executive Order 14066, will more effectively deal with the national emergency described in Executive Order 14066.”

U.S. SEMI TARIFF: According to comments made by South Korean’s, SK, top trade envoy Yeo Han-koo, Samsung Electronics (SSNLF) and SK Hynix (HXSCL) will not be subject to 100% U.S. tariffs on chips, Reuters reports. On Wednesday, President Trump said the U.S. would impose a 100% tariff on semiconductors imported from countries not producing in the U.S. or planning to do so.

REPUTATIONAL RISK: President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order to “ensure that Federal regulators do not promote policies and practices that allow financial institutions to deny or restrict services based on political beliefs, religious beliefs, or lawful business activities, ensuring fair access to banking for all Americans,” the White House announced. “The Order directs Federal banking regulators to remove reputational risk and other equivalent concepts that enable politicized or unlawful debanking from their guidance, examination manuals and other materials. The Order instructs the Small Business Administration to require all financial institutions subject to its jurisdiction to make reasonable efforts to reinstate clients and potential clients previously denied services due to unlawful debanking. The Order directs the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy, to develop a comprehensive strategy to further combat politicized or unlawful debanking activities, including potential legislative or regulatory solutions. The Order requires Federal banking regulators to review financial institutions for past or current policies encouraging politicized or unlawful debanking and take remedial actions, including fines or consent decrees. The Order further requires Federal banking regulators to review supervisory and complaint data for instances of unlawful debanking based on religion and refer to such cases to the Attorney General,” the fact sheet released by the White House stated. Publicly traded large cap banks include Bank of America (BAC), Citi (C), Goldman Sachs (GS), JPMorgan (JPM), Morgan Stanley (MS), U.S. Bancorp (USB) and Wells Fargo (WFC).