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Trump tariffs live updates: Retail earnings to put tariffs' impact in focus; Trump says semiconductor tariffs coming soon

Several major retailers will report earnings in the coming week, which may give a first glimpse into how President Trump's tariffs have affected their bottom lines. The list includes Walmart (WMT), Target (TGT), Home Depot (HD), Lowe's Companies (LOW) TJ Maxx parent TJX Companies (TJX) and Ross Stores (ROST).

During Walmart's first-quarter earnings call, CEO Doug McMillon said the tariffs would result in higher prices, but didn't elaborate. A few days later, Trump posted to Truth Social that the company should "eat the tariffs" and not blame them for raising prices. This week's earnings reports should show how much Walmart and the other retailers have fared.

On Friday, Trump said he would unveil tariffs on semiconductor imports over the next couple of weeks as he prepares to expand his tariff agenda to different sectors.

"I'll be setting tariffs next week and the week after on ... chips — chips and semiconductors," he told reporters.

Trump has already suggested he could set tariffs on chip imports around 100%. On Friday, he floated an even bigger number. "I'm going to have a rate that is going to be 200%, 300%," he said.

The president has also promised duties on pharmaceutical imports in the near future.

Tariffs have starting to show up in economic data for the first time in a significant way. Wholesale inflation surged in July, rising by its fastest pace in around three years and stunning market observers.

So far, inflation data has shown little impact since Trump began rolling out sweeping duties in the spring. But as the tariffs become more engrained in the US economy, economists expect more data points to align with the Producer Price Index report — perhaps most notably in next month's Consumer Price Index.

Earlier this month, Trump unveiled "reciprocal" tariffs on dozens of US trade partners (which you can see in the graphic below).

The next negotiations to watch are Canada, Mexico, and China in the coming months.

The tariffs are also facing legal limbo. Multiple challenges to Trump's tariffs are pending in US federal courts. The one garnering the most attention is a case heard by an appeals court in July. The Court could nullify or uphold the duties at any time.

Read more: What Trump's tariffs mean for the economy and your wallet

Here are the latest updates as the policy reverberates around the world.

(Bloomberg) — Republican Representative Zach Nunn is making an Iowa State Fair video about President Donald Trump’s tax law, shot on a John Deere tractor under the blazing August sun.

In it, Nunn, one of the nation’s most vulnerable incumbents, talks to constituent Sarah Curry about how the expanded child tax credit will help with the cost of one child’s speech therapy. Nunn is also planning to use the state fair as the backdrop for more videos selling the bill’s provisions temporarily cutting taxes on tips and overtime.

Economic issues — namely, Trump’s tax package and his tariff war with countries that buy much of Iowa’s agricultural products — will be front and center in Nunn’s race, and he’s eager to get a jumpstart defining the issues. So, too, are Democrats, who see Iowa’s two swing districts as must-wins in their push to take back the House majority.

Democrat Jennifer Konfrst, who is working to unseat Nunn, said she approaches Iowans at the fair asking them what keeps them up at night and the answer is usually “costs.”

Read more here.

Several major retailers will report earnings this week, which may give a first glimpse into how President Trump's tariffs have affected their bottom lines. The list includes Walmart (WMT), Target (TGT), Home Depot (HD), Lowe's Companies (LOW) TJ Maxx parent TJX Companies (TJX) and Ross Stores (ROST).

The Trump administration has urged retailers not to raise prices for consumers to offset the tariffs' impact, with a particular focus on Walmart, The Street reminds us:

The big issue for Walmart will be how CEO Doug McMillion discusses the Administration's tariffs after the retail giant announces earnings before Thursday's open,.

At Walmart's first-quarter earnings call in May, McMillon warned that \\"higher tariffs will result in higher prices.\\" He couldn't be more specific. Except to say that tariffs should not affect prices of goods the company buys from domestic vendors.

President Trump wrote on Truth Social a few days later, \\"Walmart should STOP trying to blame Tariffs as the reason for raising prices throughout the chain.\\"

The question will come up on Walmart's call as well as all the earnings call this week.

Read more here.

Economist Justin Begley of Moody's Analytics tells USA Today that President Trump’s economic policies won't cause a recession or stagflation, but will likely slow growth and push up inflation. The economy isn't in stagflation yet, Begley said, \\"but it's edging that way,\\" he adds:

Consumer price increases generally have eased substantially after a pandemic-related spike but recently edged higher, in part because of Trump's sweeping import levies.

His policies are imposing countervailing forces on the economy. Tax cuts and increased spending on border security and defense are set to juice growth. But those positive catalysts are expected to be more than offset by the tariffs, a historic immigration crackdown, layoffs of hundreds of thousands of federal workers and big cuts to social services programs such as Medicaid and food stamps, Begley said.

During Trump’s presidential race against former Vice President Kamala Harris last year, Moody’s, among other research firms, predicted Trump’s economic blueprint would spark a recession by mid-2025. Moody’s has updated its forecast in part because the contours of his plan recently have become more clearly defined, Begley said.

“We have a better view where things are going,” he said.

Read more here.

(Reuters) -The Trump administration widened the reach of its 50% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports by adding hundreds of derivative products to the list of goods subject to the levies.

In a Federal Register notice late on Friday, the Commerce Department said the Bureau of Industry and Security was adding 407 product codes to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States that identify the goods to be hit with the additional duties on the steel and aluminum content of those products.

The non-steel and non-aluminum content will be subject to the tariff rates President Donald Trump has imposed on the goods originating from specific countries, the notice said.

The levies on the goods on the expanded list go into effect on August 18.

Read more here.

Inflation expectations rose from July to August, indicating that consumers remain uncertain about President Trump's trade policies.

Year-ahead inflation expectations increased to 4.9% from 4.5% last month, according to the University of Michigan's survey of consumers. Long-run inflation expectations also rose to 3.9% in August from 3.4% in July.

\\"Overall, consumers are no longer bracing for the worst-case scenario for the economy feared in April when reciprocal tariffs were announced and then paused,\\" Joanne Hsu, the university's Surveys of Consumers director, wrote. \\"However, consumers continue to expect both inflation and unemployment to deteriorate in the future.\\"

Consumer sentiment also deteriorated month over month, falling for the first time in four months. The University of Michigan's Consumer Sentiment Index fell to 58.6 from 61.7 a month ago.

Read more here.

US import prices rebounded in July in the latest sign that inflation is set to pick up because of tariffs.

Reuters reports:

Import prices increased 0.4% last month after a downwardly revised 0.1% dip in June, the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Friday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast import prices, which exclude tariffs, unchanged after a previously reported 0.1% gain in June.

Though import prices do not include tariffs, the elevated readings suggested exporting nations are not cutting prices to offset the impact of higher costs from duties on consumers.

In the 12 months through July, import prices slipped 0.2% after falling 0.5% in June.

Imported fuel prices increased 2.7% in July after rising 0.8% in June. Food prices decreased 0.1% after dropping 1.3% in the prior month. Excluding fuels and food, import prices advanced 0.3%. Core import prices eased 0.1% in June. In the 12 months through July, they increased 0.8%.

Read more here.

President Trump said Friday he is planning on unveiling tariffs on semiconductor imports over the next two weeks, hinting that those duties could reach as high as 300%.

From Bloomberg:

The president has repeatedly promised that levies on chips and pharmaceuticals are coming within weeks, but no formal announcements have yet been made.

Both sectors have been under Commerce Department investigation since April, a prerequisite for Trump to impose tariffs on national security grounds. That process can prove complicated and probes can take months or longer to resolve.

Last week, Trump said during an event with Apple Inc. Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook that he planned a 100% tariff on semiconductors, while exempting products from companies that are moving manufacturing to the US.

The White House hasn’t offered a subsequent explanation for how that exemption would work, but Trump implied that Apple — which has pledged a $600 billion domestic manufacturing initiative — could be exempt.

On Friday, Trump suggested the charge on imported semiconductors could be even higher.

“I’m going to have a rate that is going to be 200%, 300%?” Trump said.

Read more here.

Shares in Applied Materials (AMAT) sank 14% before the bell on Friday after the chip equipment maker issued weak fourth-quarter forecasts on sluggish China demand, fueling concerns over tariff-related risks.

Reuters reports:

The Santa-Clara, California-based company's forecast comes after similar tariff warnings from ASML Holding, the world's biggest supplier of chip-making equipment, last month.

CEO Gary Dickerson flagged lower visibility and increased uncertainty in the near-term, citing \\"wide-ranging implications for the semiconductor industry\\" from the dynamic policy environment, during a post-earnings investor call.

China, Applied Materials' top revenue source in the July quarter, accounting for 35% of sales, has emerged as a growing risk as U.S. export restrictions weigh on new orders for chipmaking tool suppliers.

\\"China volatility is significantly clouding visibility into core earnings potential both geopolitically and cyclically,\\" Deutsche Bank strategists said in a note.

Read more here.

China's economy lagged in July as factory output and retails sales slowed and house prices dropped, according to data released on Friday. President Trump's tariffs have added to uncertainty on exports and are looming over the world's second-largest economy. Concerns linger despite Trump extending a pause in sharp hikes in import duties for 90 days, beginning Monday, following a 90-day pause that began in May.

AP reports:

As officials worked toward a broader trade agreement, China reported earlier that its exports surged 7.2% in July year-on-year, while its imports grew at the fastest pace in a year, as businesses rushed to take advantage of the truce in Trump's trade war with Beijing.

But that also reflected a lower base for comparison, and manufacturers have slowed investments, hiring and production as they watch to see what comes. Chinese manufacturers also have ramped up shipments to Southeast Asia, Africa and other regions to help offset lost business in the U.S.

“Exports remained a bright spot although the boost from front-loading appears to be tapering off and has started to show up in weak industrial production, as we anticipated,” Oxford Economics’ Sheana Yue wrote in a report.

Read more here.

Bloomberg News reports:

Taiwan raised its estimate for growth in 2025, easing some concern over the impact of US duties on an economy that has roared on tech exports.

Gross domestic product is set to expand 4.45% this year, the statistics bureau in Taipei said in a statement on Friday – its first estimate since the Trump administration hit the archipelago’s shipments with 20% tariffs. The new figure is up from the 3.1% predicted in May.

In a sign the government is confident demand for Taiwan’s products will persist, the bureau predicted exports will rise 24.04% this year, up from the previous call of 8.99%.

Read more here.

An interesting spot from this week's inflation data: Prices for the reliable, potassium-heavy banana have jumped to their highest price ever recorded.

Banana prices peaked around $0.64 per pound in the post-COVID inflation wave and then went on a slow downward trajectory. That is, until April 2025, when President Trump announced his first wave of sweeping tariffs. Prices are now hovering near $0.66 per pound.

As the Yale Budget Lab chief Ernie Tedeschi noted on X, the average tariff rate on banana imports went from virtually nothing to very much something as Trump imposed tariffs on most US trading partners.

The average US tariff on bananas was functionally 0% until March of this year. It is now 9.2%. https://t.co/dWwaPpjKUH pic.twitter.com/r4dR0N4OCA

— Ernie Tedeschi (@ernietedeschi) August 13, 2025

That's nuts!

Tapestry (TPR) stock fell 8% before the bell on Thursday after the Coach handbag maker forecast annual profit below estimates. The company cited higher costs due to tariffs that have hit its margins.

Reuters reports:

The company estimates a $160-million hit from the U.S. import duties, which could result in an about 230-basis-point impact on its fiscal 2026 operating margin.

U.S. consumer spending falling unexpectedly in May has also compounded concerns for companies such as Tapestry that have been ramping up efforts to attract younger customers by introducing new accessories and collections.

Read more here.

(Bloomberg) — The Port of Los Angeles said it handled the highest container volume in its 117-year history last month, as uncertainty over President Donald Trump’s tariffs drives shippers to front-load cargoes.

Already the busiest port in the country, LA moved more than 1 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in July, an 8.5% increase from a year ago, the operator said on Wednesday. That includes containers entering and exiting its terminals, with loaded imports rising by a similar percentage to nearly 544,000 TEUs. The total volume handled was 14.2% higher than in June.

Read more here.

US tariffs on pharmaceutical imports are coming but not imminent, Reuters reported Wednesday, citing unnamed sources. Trump has previously warned duties on the drug industry could reach as much as 250%.

Reuters reports:

The announcement by President Donald Trump's administration of the results of a probe into pharmaceutical imports and new sector-specific U.S. tariffs likely remains weeks away, four official and industry sources said, later than initially promised as he focuses on other matters.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick had said in April when the review of whether reliance on foreign drug production threatens U.S. national security was launched that he anticipated that it would conclude between mid-May and mid-June. Global pharmaceutical companies are bracing for the outcome of the investigation, which will usher in sector-specific tariffs that Trump has said could start small and eventually rise to 250%.

Read more here.

Brazilinan President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has announced a plan that includes $5 billion in credit to help local exporters handle tariffs .

Associated Press reports:

The Brazilian government on Wednesday unveiled a plan to support local exporters affected by a 50% tariff imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump on several products from the South American nation.

Dubbed “Sovereign Brazil,\\" the plan provides for a credit lifeline of 30 billion reais ($5.5 billion), among other measures.

Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva described the plan, which includes a bill to be sent to Congress, as a first step to help local exporters. Congressional leaders attended Wednesday's ceremony, a first in months, in a sign of growing political support for the leftist leader in response to Trump’s tariffs.