ExclusiveTrump to Put 25 Percent Tariffs on Autos, Drugs, and Chips

And on today's business matters, the World Trade Organization says discussions on trade tensions were constructive after the Chinese regime accused the U.S. of imposing tariff shocks on the global trading system. Washington called the Chinese regime's comments hypocritical. Trump has announced sweeping 10 percent tariffs on all Chinese imports. Beijing responded with retaliatory tariffs and filed a dispute at the World Trade Organization. An organization spokesperson said the majority of the countries that participated in the talk raised concern about mounting tensions but also called for restraint. It's the first time mounting trade tensions were formally addressed by the organization's top decision-making body. Apple has planted the seed for a new core to its iPhone. The tech giant unveiled its first custom designed modem chip. The chip will help connect iPhones to wireless data networks. The development makes the smartphone maker less reliant on chips from Qualcomm that also power its Android rivals. Apple said the chips will be rolled out across its products in the coming years but did not share timeline details. Modem chips are hard to make because they must be compatible with hundreds of carriers in scores of countries. Turkey has begun exporting more than 15,000 tons of eggs to the United States amid an ongoing outbreak of bird flu. The virus, which infects chickens and other livestock, has disrupted supply. An outbreak in poultry that began in 2022 has wiped out 160 million chickens, turkeys and other birds. The virus has infected nearly 70 people since April, primarily farm workers exposed to infected poultry or cattle. One case has been fatal. Faced with supply constraints, American companies have sought alternative import markets like Turkey. The nation's egg producer's central union said the deal is expected to generate about 26 million dollars in export revenue. And the Trump administration is pushing ahead with its plans to kill New York City's congestion pricing. In a letter to New York Governor Kathy Hochul today, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said his department has revoked federal approval for the controversial program, which took effect last month. The program was designed to raise millions in critical infrastructure funding by charging most drivers a nine dollar toll to enter Manhattan's main business district during peak hours. Trump had vowed to end the toll soon after taking office, claiming they were drawing visitors and businesses away from the city. In his letter, Duffy said every American should be able to access the city regardless of their economic means. The letter did not specify a date for ending the program. The decision is likely to be challenged in court. Some crypto creditors who got caught in the FTX collapse are about to get their money back. It comes more than two years after Sam Beckman Freed's cryptocurrency exchange filed for bankruptcy. The state says payments will go out to customers with claims of less than fifty thousand dollars this week. The next distributions to creditors are set for April 11th and May 30th. The bankruptcy estate raised funds by selling off assets and plans to repay billions of dollars. FTX collapsed in 2022 when customers tried to pull their money, which Beckman Freed had been using to fund other transactions. Beckman Freed was convicted of fraud and money laundering and sentenced to 25 years in prison. President Trump is making his next move on tariffs. He said yesterday he would impose levies of about 25 percent on imported cars and similar duties on drugs and chips. He says his action on tariffs is already producing results. Here's more. I do want to say while I'm up here, I've been contacted by some of the biggest companies in the world. And because of what we're doing economically and through tariffs and taxes and incentives, they want to come back into the United States. And we'll be announcing various very large companies, the biggest, actually. And they'll be coming back having to do with chips and having to do also with cars. Trump also said more details on the auto tariffs would come on April 2nd, a day after cabinet members are due to report to him on options for new measures. He has long complained about what he sees as unfair treatment of U.S. automotive exports. The EU, for example, imposes a 10 percent levy on vehicle imports, or four times the duty imposed by the U.S. However, Washington collects a 25 percent tariff on most imported pickup trucks, protecting a lucrative part of the market for domestic makers like Ford and Chevrolet. Trump says tariffs on drugs and chips will also start at 25 percent or above, and then go substantially higher over the course of the year. He didn't set a date for starting those levies, saying he wants to give pharmaceutical and tech firms time to set up U.S. factories. Since his inauguration a month ago, Trump has stacked an extra 10 percent tariff on all imports from China. He's also set a March 12th start date for tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum. And while he has postponed measures targeting Mexico and Canada, he's also told his team to draw up reciprocal tariffs matching those imposed by all trading partners. Major export stocks were among the decliners in Wednesday morning trade in Asia following the news. In Japan, auto brands Mazda and Subaru both fell around two percent in early trade, as did drugmaker Daiichi Sankyo. Over in Taiwan, chip giant TSMC fell around one percent. Low funds is causing an electric semi-truck maker to power down. Nikola has filed for bankruptcy protection and will sell all or most of its assets. The EV maker went public during the pandemic with a promise to revolutionize the industry, but was scared by choppy sales, plummeting share value, and numerous leadership changes. Just two years ago, Nikola's founder was convicted of fraud. In the past few quarters, the company has struggled to raise funds and has been draining cash. Nikola plans to continue some operations for trucks and some hydrogen fueling operations through the end of next month. A law firm is warning lawyers of the dangers of AI hallucinations. Personal injury firm Morgan & Morgan sent an urgent email warning fellow lawyers. It cautioned that artificial intelligence can invent fake case law and that using made-up information in a court filing could get you fired. Reuters found at least seven cases in the last two years where courts questioned or disciplined lawyers over AI use. A federal judge threatened to sanction two lawyers in Wyoming for including fictitious case citations in a case against Walmart. One of the lawyers admitted to using an AI program that hallucinated the cases and apologized for the mistake. Encrypted messaging app Signal has released new safeguards. This comes after Google found that Russian hackers were abusing a workaround to spy on Ukraine's military. Google's research does not suggest the app's encryption protocol is vulnerable. Instead, the report said Russian state-linked hackers were using the linked devices feature to couple the victims' accounts to their own device. In some cases, hackers were tracking Ukrainians to scan a malicious QR code to link the victims' accounts, gaining access to future messages. Signal has made several changes to help raise awareness and protect users from the types of attacks described in the report. More news from Apple. The company is launching a cheaper version of the iPhone 16. It's called the iPhone 16e, and it's going to sell for $599. It's going to be the cheapest iPhone Apple sells that supports its AI tool, Apple Intelligence. It's also the first iPhone with a cellular modem designed by Apple. Apple has been facing increased competition from Google and Samsung in the budget smartphone and the AI markets. Over the past year, both companies have focused on updating Android devices with new AI features. Apple is hoping this cheaper iPhone will put its own AI tools in the hands of more customers. The iPhone 16e will launch February 28th. Wealthier shoppers have bankrolled a boost for Walmart. CEO Doug McMillan says households earning more than $100,000 made up 75% of the company's market share gains in the third quarter. In an interview, McMillan said he believes online shopping and curbside pickup will keep affluent customers around. One retail analyst explained that people who consider themselves non-Walmart shoppers can still use the Walmart app and get brand name items delivered to their homes. McMillan noted that he still wants shoppers to go in-store though. That's why Walmart has been sprucing up stores with a goal of 650 location remodels per year. Vital development projects delayed or canceled because of environmental reviews and litigation. Congress considers what actions to take. Here's the story. The current system is tilted towards those who seek to delay. Senators Wednesday looked at problems with America's environmental permitting processes often associated with delays of development projects. China and Russia are deploying billions of dollars around the world to advance their geostrategic interests to control the sector and connected supply chains. We must overcome our regulatory challenges. Development expert Jeremy Harrell says not fixing the problem will put America behind. He says litigation delayed energy projects by four years on average and agencies won 71 percent of the challenges. Lawsuits can stall projects for years even after they have undergone extensive environmental review. Labor expert Leah Piconis says this destabilizes workers and creates inflation. She says construction projects can be vulnerable to six years worth of lawsuits. A project can be permitted fully funded and ready to go then out of nowhere get hit with the deluge of lawsuits and get shut down. Labor union leader Brent Booker says hundreds of frivolous lawsuits put projects in limbo when a project is delayed months or even years. Will you try delivering that message to someone who has a mortgage payment due or has to buy school supplies for their kids? Experts suggest changing the laws making it easier to get permits and deal with lawsuits. President Trump will unlikely be taking off in the new Air Force One. That's because Boeing has postponed its delivery until 2029 or later. A Trump administration official told Fox Business that this is due to global supply chain challenges and changing project requirements. Boeing was awarded the contract for the new Air Force One in 2018. It received nearly four billion dollars to build two new aircraft. The initial delivery date was set for last year then pushed back to 2028. The White House communications director called the delay ridiculous. He said Trump is trying to find ways to speed up delivery of a new plane which he said has been needed for a while. 100 percent whole grain labeling is costing Wheat Thins 10 million dollars. Consumers reached a settlement with Wheat Thins parent company Mondelez International. The complaint explained that people would not have bought or would have paid less for the crackers if they knew Wheat Thins had corn starch, a refined grain. Mondelez denied wrongdoing and agreeing to settle. Anyone who bought Wheat Thins starting from October 2018 with a valid claim and receipts can get a refund of up to $20. Remaining money will go to UCLA Resnick Center for Food Law and Policy and to Feeding America, a hunger relief non-profit. Aviation incidents have seen a lot of reporting in recent months making it appear that plane crashes are on the rise. But appearances can be deceiving. NTD Sean Marshall has some info on what's really happening. The recent crash landing in Toronto resulting in an upside down plane was quite a sight. Luckily no passengers died. Unfortunately authorities report at least two people were killed Wednesday in a mid-air collision between two small planes in Arizona. That along with the aircraft collision over Washington and reports of problems with plane manufacturing in recent months have been in the spotlight making it appear as though plane crashes are happening at a higher rate. But based on preliminary data from the National Transportation Safety Board, last month saw a record low number of airplane accidents nationwide when combining private and commercial airline flights. Most of the 62 total airplane accidents were on private flights. That's 18 fewer than the 80 recorded in January 2024. Plane crashes are actually happening less frequently. In fact, if the numbers continue their course, January 2025 will set a record for the lowest number of total accidents with eight fewer than the prior record low of 70 from January 2012. And the number of fatal accidents nationwide last month could tie with 2022 for the safest January on record. The only three years with fewer than 300 fatal accidents have all occurred in the 2020s. It's also a drastic improvement from historical data as back in 1982 and 1983 there were over 600 fatal accidents. So perspective also comes into play particularly when comparing current aviation statistics with the historical record. Sean Marshall, NTD News. Kentucky fried chicken is flying the coop for greener pastures. The fast food chain is leaving its ancestral home in Kentucky and will move its corporate headquarters from Louisville to Plano, Texas. The chain's parent company Yum! Brands announced the news yesterday. About 100 corporate positions and 90 remote jobs will be impacted by the relocation. The corporate jobs will be relocated to Texas over the next six months. The company's CEO said its decision will help KFC sustain its growth and improve service to its customers, shareholders, and franchise owners. KFC will still have a presence in Louisville. Yum! Brands and the KFC Foundation will stay there. JetBlue Airways says that it's still in partnership with TOX with multiple airlines and is willing to spend more money to get a deal done. JetBlue's president says the biggest benefit of a partnership would be improving the usefulness of the company's loyalty, the loyalty points for customers. In November, a court sided with the Justice Department in blocking the JetBlue American Airlines Northeast Alliance. The partnership allowed the two carriers to coordinate flights and pool revenue. The Justice Department, under the Biden administration, argued that the alliance would hurt consumers, saying the partnership eliminated incentives for Americans to cut prices to lure customers from JetBlue. Ticket prices for the highly anticipated four-nation face-off championship between Canada and the United States are rivaling those of the Super Bowl. The upcoming hockey game marks the first time NHL players from the two countries are battling each other for a title since the 2010 Winter Olympics. TickPix says the cheapest ticket is around $1,200. That's around 450 percent more expensive than when the tournament was first announced. But many tickets are between $2,000 and $4,000. That's around the same ticket price as for most recent Super Bowl. StubHub says the upcoming match is still the best-selling NHL game. The season championship begins Thursday at 8 p.m. ET in Boston. And on to markets. U.S. stocks ended modestly higher today, and the S&P 500 notched its second straight all-time closing high as investors scrutinized the minutes from the Federal Reserve's January policy meeting. And at the same time, it's digesting the latest tariff announcements from U.S. President Donald Trump. Now, fourth quarter season is approaching the finish line, and 74 percent of the S&P 500 constituents have posted better-than-expected results, according to Allstate Data. And that is it for today on Business Matters.