Trump Weekly: U.S. announces 15% tariff on goods from Japan

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:

U.S.-JAPAN TRADE DEAL: Shares of several Japanese carmakers, including Toyota (TM) and Honda (HMC) were on the rise on Wednesday after President Trump announced 15% tariff on goods from Japan. The U.S. President said in a post on Truth Social, “We just completed a massive Deal with Japan, perhaps the largest Deal ever made. Japan will invest, at my direction, $550 Billion Dollars into the United States, which will receive 90% of the Profits. This Deal will create Hundreds of Thousands of Jobs – There has never been anything like it. Perhaps most importantly, Japan will open their Country to Trade including Cars and Trucks, Rice and certain other Agricultural Products, and other things. Japan will pay Reciprocal Tariffs to the United States of 15%. This is a very exciting time for the United States of America, and especially for the fact that we will continue to always have a great relationship with the Country of Japan. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” Nissan (NSANY), Mazda (MZDAY), and Subaru (FUJHY) are among other publicly traded Japanese automakers trading higher on Wednesday.

After President Trump announced that the U.S. and Japan reached a trade deal that media reports indicate will lower tariffs, including on vehicles imported to the U.S. from Japan to 15% from the current 25% rate, BofA notes that despite the two trading partners having found an agreement, the rate appears set at 15, while before the initial tariff announcements the rate was at 2.5%. The firm views the deal as a negative for domestic OEMs Ford (F) and General Motors (GM) and it implies that Japanese competitors, such as Toyota, Honda, and Nissan, now face lower cost of entry into the U.S. market while Ford and GM still face a 25% tariff rate on vehicles produced and imported from Korea, Canada and Mexico.

U.S.-DEAL TRADE DEAL: The EU and U.S. are closing in on a trade deal that would impose 15% tariffs on European imports and Brussels could agree to reciprocal levies similar to the agreement President Donald Trump struck with Japan this week, according to Financial Times’ Andy Bounds. Under a deal, both sides would waive tariffs on some products, including aircraft, spirits and medical devices, three people familiar with the situation told the Financial Times.

Meanwhile, on Friday, President Donald Trump told reporters while speaking at the White House that he sees a “50/50” chance of reaching a trade deal with the European Union, which “may” have to “buy down” their tariffs.

U.S.-INDONESIA TRADE DEAL: In a Truth Social post, President Donald Trump stated, “It is my Great Honor to announce our Trade Agreement with the Republic of Indonesia, as represented by their Highly Respected President, Prabowo Subianto. It is agreed that Indonesia will be Open Market to American Industrial and Tech Products, and Agricultural Goods, by eliminating 99% of their Tariff Barriers. The United States of America will now sell American Made products to Indonesia at a Tariff Rate of ZERO, while Indonesia will pay 19% on all of their products coming into the U.S.A. – The Best Market in the World! In addition, Indonesia will supply the United States with their precious Critical Minerals, as well as sign BIG Deals, worth Tens of Billions of Dollars, to purchase Boeing Aircraft, American Farm products, and American Energy. This Deal is a HUGE WIN for our Automakers, Tech Companies, Workers, Farmers, Ranchers, and Manufacturers. Thank you for your attention to this matter. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

AI ACTION PLAN: The Trump administration has unveiled its so-called AI Action Plan, saying the U.S. is “in a race to achieve global dominance in artificial intelligence.” “America’s AI Action Plan has three pillars: innovation, infrastructure, and international diplomacy and security… To maintain global leadership in AI, America’s private sector must be unencumbered by bureaucratic red tape. President Trump has already taken multiple steps toward this goal, including rescinding Biden Executive Order 14110 on AI that foreshadowed an onerous regulatory regime. AI is far too important to smother in bureaucracy at this early stage, whether at the state or Federal level. The Federal government should not allow AI-related Federal funding to be directed toward states with burdensome AI regulations that waste these funds, but should also not interfere with states’ rights to pass prudent laws that are not unduly restrictive to innovation… We need to ensure America has leading open models founded on American values. Opensource and open-weight models could become global standards in some areas of business and in academic research worldwide…

“AI will enable a wide range of new innovations in the physical world: autonomous drones, self driving cars, robotics, and other inventions for which terminology does not yet exist… The Federal government should prioritize investment in these emerging technologies and usher in a new industrial renaissance… AI has the potential to transform both the warfighting and back-office operations of the DOD. The United States must aggressively adopt AI within its Armed Forces if it is to maintain its global military preeminence while also ensuring, as outlined throughout this Action Plan, that its use of AI is secure and reliable. Because the DOD has unique operational needs within the Federal government, it merits specific policy actions to drive AI adoption…

“AI is the first digital service in modern life that challenges America to build vastly greater energy generation than we have today. American energy capacity has stagnated since the 1970s while China has rapidly built out their grid. America’s path to AI dominance depends on changing this troubling trend.”