Business

Markets Remain Uneasy as Trump Prepares Sweeping ‘Reciprocal’ Tariffs

Published

12 months ago

April 1, 2025

Markets Remain Uneasy as Trump Prepares Sweeping ‘Reciprocal’ Tariffs

President Trump has settled on a final plan for sweeping “reciprocal” tariffs, which are expected to take effect on Wednesday after he announces the details at an afternoon Rose Garden ceremony.

The White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, confirmed the timeline in a briefing with reporters on Tuesday, adding that Mr. Trump had been huddling with his trade team to hash out the finer points of an approach meant to end “decades of unfair trade practices.”

When pressed on whether the administration was worried the tariffs could prove to be the wrong approach, Ms. Leavitt struck a confident note: “They’re not going to be wrong,” she said. “It is going to work.”

The administration has been weighing several different tariff strategies in recent weeks. One option examined by the White House is a 20 percent flat tariff on all imports, which advisers have said could help raise more than $6 trillion in revenue for the U.S. government.

But advisers have also discussed the idea of assigning different tariff levels to countries depending on the trade barriers those countries impose against American products. They have also said that some nations might avoid tariffs entirely by striking trade deals with the United States.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Monday, Mr. Trump said the United States would be “very nice, relatively speaking,” in imposing tariffs on a vast number of countries — including U.S. allies — that he believes are unfairly inhibiting the flow of American exports.

“That word reciprocal is very important,” Mr. Trump told reporters. “What they do to us, we do to them.”

By Tuesday, Ms. Leavitt said the president had made a decision and was with his trade team now “perfecting it.” When asked if companies could do anything to avoid the tariffs, Ms. Leavitt said the president was “always up to take a phone call” from companies but was “very much focused on fixing the wrongs of the past.”

She also said that many foreign governments had called the president and his team about the tariffs, but that Mr. Trump was focused on the interests of the United States.

“The president has a brilliant team of advisers who have been studying these issues for decades, and we are focused on restoring the golden age of America and making America a manufacturing superpower,” she said.

The prospect of tariffs has left markets uneasy. Stocks edged down at the start of trading, with the S&P 500 opening about 0.4 percent lower before rebounding after a choppy day yesterday that ended with the index registering its worst month and quarter since 2022.

Investors are still seeking clarity on the scope of Mr. Trump’s reciprocal tariffs, and the economic uncertainty surrounding a global trade war has fueled stock market volatility in recent weeks.

It has similarly troubled the manufacturing industry, which showed signs of contraction in March, according to new data released Tuesday from the Institute for Supply Management, which is closely tracked by the White House. The report found declines in employment and new orders, as firms raised alarms about the nature of Mr. Trump’s tariffs and the prospect for costly global retaliation.

The president is set to receive reports from his advisers on nearly two dozen trade-related topics on Tuesday, advising him on how he might proceed on addressing a range of issues.

The reports, which are due from the Commerce and Treasury departments as well as the United States Trade Representative, will look at the causes of persistent trade deficits, unfair trade practices by other countries, gaps in existing trade agreements and recommendations for achieving reciprocity in trade relationships, among other issues.

The trade representative, for example, was responsible for identifying countries with which the United States should negotiate new trade agreements, and whether China has upheld its commitments under a 2020 trade deal that Mr. Trump signed in his first term.

In several cases, Mr. Trump has acted before even seeing the details of the reports. Although he asked for reviews into whether foreign metals posed a risk to national security, Mr. Trump has already imposed 25 percent tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. He also hit Canada, Mexico and China with tariffs intended to stem the flow of fentanyl and migrants into the United States, which is another area that his administration was studying.

How Mr. Trump plans to proceed on Wednesday remains an open question — one that has left America’s trading partners struggling to determine a response.

While the European Union has already announced that it will respond to steel and aluminum tariffs with countermeasures, officials are still contemplating how to respond to the measures that Mr. Trump has yet to unveil.

Although the European response so far has concentrated on imposing higher tariffs on a wide variety of goods — whiskey, motorcycles and women’s clothing are among the products that could be affected — officials are also open to placing trade barriers on services, using a new trade weapon that was developed only in 2021.

That tool could be used to hit big tech firms, said two diplomats familiar with the matter but who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. That means that instead of affecting physical goods, it could have an impact on companies like Google, Meta, or even American banks.

The goal would be to give the European Union more leverage, since Europe buys more services from the United States than it exports — making its market, and access to European consumers, a potentially powerful tool. But no decisions have been made.

“Europe holds a lot of cards,” Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, said during a speech on Tuesday. “From trade to technology to the size of our market.”

Officials are emphasizing that their goal is still to negotiate, though they will respond firmly if needed.

“All instruments are on the table,” Ms. von der Leyen said.

Danielle Kaye contributed reporting.

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Business

San Diego County agency selling water to keep its high rates in check

Published

2 hours ago

March 22, 2026

Press Room

San Diego County agency selling water to keep its high rates in check

San Diego County’s water agency is selling some of its water to another Southern California agency to help limit increasingly high water costs for 3.3 million people.

The water is going to Western Municipal Water District, which serves a growing area of nearly 1 million people in Riverside County, including Corona, Riverside and Temecula.

The San Diego County Water Authority will transfer at least 10,000 acre-feet of water per year over the next 21 years, enough for about 30,000 typical households.

The agencies said the deal will be worth about $100 million over the first five years.

The San Diego County agency has invested heavily to get more water in recent decades. In 2003, it struck an agriculture-to-urban transfer deal and it also buys water from the Carlsbad desalination plant under a 30-year agreement. These actions have brought San Diego County plentiful water — also some of the most expensive in the state. At the same time, conservation efforts in San Diego County have reduced water needs.

The San Diego County Water Authority delivers water to 22 cities and other agencies. Last year its board approved raising wholesale water rates 8.3%, which drew criticism from residents who said they were already struggling to afford their water bills.

Board Chair Nick Serrano said the deal “allows us to maximize the value of the investments San Diego County residents made over decades, strengthen water reliability, and do so in a way that is mindful of affordability.”

The two agencies said in a joint statement on Thursday that for Western Municipal, the additional water will help during drought and ensure reliable water without the cost and time involved in developing new water infrastructure projects.

The water will move from one area to the other through the pipelines of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, the regional wholesaler that imports water from the Colorado River and Northern California. Both San Diego County and Western Municipal are members of the MWD.

An agreement between the MWD and the San Diego County Water Authority last year ended a 15-year legal battle over water costs and cleared the way for San Diego County to start selling some of its excess water to areas that need it.

Business

Gasoline price gouging in California draws a warning

Published

14 hours ago

March 21, 2026

Press Room

Gasoline price gouging in California draws a warning

California’s petroleum market watchdog is warning about price gouging at some gas stations charging over $7 or even $8 a gallon as the Iran war sends oil prices soaring.

The average price of gas in California is currently $5.66, but as of Friday, a Chevron station in Essex is charging $9.69, another in Los Angeles’ Chinatown is charging $8.71, and one in Vidal Junction is charging $7.79, according to GasBuddy, which tracks prices across the country.

“Our team is vigilantly monitoring the retail, wholesale, and spot markets,” said Tai Milder, director of the California Energy Commission Division of Petroleum Market Oversight, in a statement. “Any reports of unfair practices or market manipulation will be taken seriously, and we will not hesitate to refer any illegal conduct for further investigation and prosecution.”

Gas prices have jumped some 30% nationally since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran three weeks ago and Iran blocked 20% of the global oil supply. Californians, who already faced prices over $1 per gallon higher than the national average, are especially feeling the squeeze.

The extremely high prices at some gas stations in California “are not supported by current crude oil prices or gasoline futures,” the division said.

California’s oil and gas watchdog division was created in 2023 to provide greater insight into the state’s petroleum market after summer gas price spikes exceeded $6 per gallon two years in a row.

The state consistently sees the highest fuel prices in the country due to state taxes and fees, environmental programs, a cleaner fuel blend requirement and an isolated petroleum market, where 80% of gasoline comes from in-state refineries.

This isolation makes California gas prices more sensitive to refinery outages and market manipulation. In 2024 the division reported that, after accounting for environmental rules and taxes, Californians still pay an extra 41 cents more per gallon and the largest share of that goes to industry profit. They also found that the price spikes of the previous two years were caused by refineries going offline without backup supply and “potentially manipulative trading” in those under-supply conditions.

Lawmakers and regulators have been more quiet about price gouging of late and the energy commission put a decision to impose a profit cap on refiners on hold after a series of refinery closures raised concerns about future fuel supply shortages.

Jamie Court, the president of the nonprofit ratepayer advocacy group Consumer Watchdog, said the fact that the gap between national and California prices has widened since the start of the war is evidence of price gouging.

“We know they made 49 cents per gallon in January,” said Court, of the refineries. “We know now that their margins are closer to $1.25 per gallon,” he said, citing the group’s analysis of state and Oil Price Information Service data.

Chevron said in a statement that most of its gas stations are owned and operated by independent business people who are “free to set the retail price of fuel and other products.”

“Those costs are generally determined by fundamental economic forces like demand, supply and competition,” said spokesperson Ross Allen, who added that crude oil prices, which make up the bulk of gas prices, have gone up but California’s taxes and environmental fees can also add over $1.20 a gallon.

Valero, Marathon Petroleum, and Shell did not respond immediately to requests for comment.

The petroleum oversight agency said it reached out to stations where pricing appears “excessive and disproportionate to increases in those sellers’ costs” including “multiple stations in Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties, in addition to multiple stations in Northern California” since the war began.

It also encouraged Californians “to shop around and compare prices between name-brand and unbranded (or generic) gasoline.”

“While retailers typically charge more for branded gasoline, all gasoline sold in California must meet the state’s high standards for emissions control and engine performance,” read the statement.

Business

California attorney general asks judge to block Nexstar-Tegna merger

Published

1 day ago

March 21, 2026

Press Room

California attorney general asks judge to block Nexstar-Tegna merger

California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta is asking a judge to unravel Nexstar Media Group’s $6.2-billion acquisition of rival TV station owner Tegna — the latest in a flurry of merger twists.

Nexstar announced late Thursday that it had consummated the Tegna takeover — despite a lawsuit that Bonta and seven other Democratic state attorneys general had filed in federal court the previous day.

The state officials sued to block the union of the station groups, alleging the new colossus would violate antitrust rules and a federal law limiting broadcast station ownership.

The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Sacramento.

Hours after that filing, the Federal Communications Commission’s Media Bureau in Washington approved Nexstar’s deal — clearing the way for the nation’s largest TV station group owner to swallow the third-largest station group.

The purchase gives Nexstar, which owns KTLA-TV Channel 5 in Los Angeles, 265 television stations.

On Friday, Bonta and the other attorneys general asked a judge for a temporary restraining order to freeze the takeover until a hearing on the matter.

“Nexstar/Tegna is not a done deal,” Bonta said Friday in a statement. “I will not let these corporate behemoths merge without a fight.”

It was not immediately clear when a judge might rule on the request for a restraining order.

Bonta appeared at a lawmakers’ hearing in Burbank on Friday to explore the impacts of another huge merger: Paramount Skydance’s proposed $111-billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery. Bonta’s office has opened an investigation into the Paramount-Warner merger, but Bonta said Friday that no decision has been made on whether he or other attorneys general will seek to block it.

For now, he is focused on derailing the Nexstar-Tegna deal.

“We filed a suit before that deal closed,” Bonta told The Times. “We think our case is extremely strong. There is no way this should be approved.”

At issue is whether the FCC had the power to grant a waiver that would allow Nexstar to control TV stations that reach nearly 80% of U.S. households. In 2003, Congress set the station ownership cap at 39% of the country.

The Department of Justice also gave its blessing to close the deal.

The three FCC commissioners did not vote on the matter — despite pleas from the lone Democrat on the panel who advocated for an open process.

Approval of the merger was rapid after President Trump endorsed the consolidation on Feb. 7.

“We need more competition against THE ENEMY, the Fake News National TV Networks,” Trump wrote in his social media post.

“Letting Good Deals get done like Nexstar – Tegna will help knock out the Fake News because there will be more competition, and at a higher and more sophisticated level,” Trump wrote. “GET THAT DEAL DONE!”

In a statement Thursday, Nexstar founder and chief executive Perry Sook thanked Trump and FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, saying Nexstar was “grateful” they recognized the “dynamic forces shaping the media landscape” and allowed the transaction to move forward.