President Trump said at a rally in Pennsylvania on Friday that he is going to double tariffs on steel imports from 25% to 50%.
The hike, the president said, “will even further secure the steel industry in the United States.”
Earlier on Friday, Trump lashed out at China on Truth Social, saying China had “violated” its trade deal with the US.
“The bad news is that China, perhaps not surprisingly to some, HAS TOTALLY VIOLATED ITS AGREEMENT WITH US. So much for being Mr. NICE GUY!” Trump wrote. Later in the Oval Office, he hinted he planned to speak with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
Trump did not specify how China allegedly broke the agreement. During an interview with CNBC, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer claimed the Chinese were “slow rolling their compliance.”
The escalation comes as the US-China detente — reached earlier this month, when each country eased sky-high tariffs on the other — looks more fragile amid both trade-related and other tensions.
Meanwhile, Trump’s most sweeping tariffs have entered a period of legal uncertainty. A federal appeals court allowed the tariffs to temporarily stay in effect, a day after the US Court of International Trade blocked their implementation, deeming the method used to enact them “unlawful.”
That means Trump’s tariff agenda remains intact, if in flux, in the latest twist in the unfolding legal saga that Trump said Friday he was confident he would “win.”
Late Wednesday, the trade court had voted to block many of Trump’s tariffs, including the flat-rate “reciprocal” tariffs aimed at US trade partners, as well as key China-focused duties.
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which oversees the International Trade Court, granted the Trump administration’s request for a temporary administrative stay. This gives the court time to review legal arguments and filings. The administration must submit its briefings by June 9, after which the court will determine the next steps.
The White House has vowed to take its appeal to the Supreme Court if necessary.
Administration officials also hinted that court rulings would not be the final say for a president who has based much of his economic agenda on enacting the tariffs. Yahoo Finance’s Ben Werschkul has an overview of the other maneuvers Trump could pursue.
Amid the legal chaos, US trade negotiations have apparently continued in earnest this week with India and the EU.
Here are the latest updates as the policy reverberates around the world.
LIVE1031 updates
Today at 1:55 PM UTC
The Nixon-era tariff fight that could help Trump
President Trump is looking to former President Nixon as proof that his global tariffs should be allowed to stand in court.
Roughly five decades ago, 10% duties unilaterally imposed by the 37th president as part of a set of economic measures dubbed the “Nixon shock” were challenged in court in much the same way as Trump’s 2025 tariffs have been.
The US Court of International Trade struck down many of Trump’s tariffs Wednesday, just as Nixon’s duties suffered an initial defeat. An appeals court on Thursday allowed Trump’s duties to temporarily stay in place while legal arguments continue.
What has emboldened the Trump administration is that the Nixon-era Justice Department eventually won its case on appeal, an outcome the Trump administration cited in court documents this week, predicting that its legal saga would likely turn out the same way.
It told the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit that “the Federal Circuit’s predecessor concluded that the very same language that today exists” in a law used by Trump to justify his tariffs “gave President Nixon the power to impose an import duty surcharge.”
Trump wants American cars to be 100% built in the US
President Trump said that although he gave US automakers “some leeway” with tariffs, he expects automakers to fully bring back domestic auto manufacturing in the next year.
“All of the manufacturers will build their parts here too,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office in response to a question about tariffs affecting companies like Tesla (TSLA).
Of note, Tesla is considered to have the highest percentage of “Made in America” parts, though no car is 100% made in the US. Tesla’s long-range Model Y and Model 3 vehicles contain 87.5% “total domestic content,” according to a 2024 study by Kelley Blue Book.
“It used to bother me, [automakers] make a part in Canada, a part in Mexico, a part in Europe, and sent all over the place, and nobody knew what the hell was happening,” Trump continued. “I think you build a car, make it in America. … over the next year, they’ve got to have the whole thing built in America.”
The US imposed auto tariffs of 25% on May 3, but the Trump administration carved out an exemption for some auto parts tariffs, stating that they would not be stacked on top of other tariffs. The auto industry has lobbied hard for tariff exemptions since Trump took office.
While many of Trump’s most extreme tariffs are being challenged in court, those cases do not affect auto tariffs, which were implemented using a separate law.
Fri, May 30, 2025 at 6:35 PM UTC
Trump says he’ll speak with Xi Jinping but doesn’t mention specifics
In a press conference with Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk on Friday afternoon, President Trump repeated his claim that China “violated a big part of the agreement we made.”
Trump also stated that he expects to have a call with Chinese President Xi Jinping, though he didn’t offer any definite details about when such a call would take place.
“I’m sure that I’ll speak to President Xi, and hopefully we’ll work that out,” the president said.
Trump has not yet spoken with his Chinese counterpart during his second term. He previously said he expected to speak with Xi in mid-May after the US and China announced a temporary tariff pause, but that call never occurred.
Trump’s comments come as trade tensions between the US and China ratchet up again. On Friday, Trump escalated his rhetoric against China, and Bloomberg reported that the Trump administration plans to expand tech restrictions on the country.
Fri, May 30, 2025 at 5:02 PM UTC
Stocks drop after report on new China tech curbs
US markets took another leg lower on Friday after Bloomberg reported the Trump administration plans to expand tech restrictions on China by targeting subsidiaries of already-sanctioned firms.
The proposed rule would require US government licenses for transactions involving companies majority-owned by firms on the so-called “Entity List,” aiming to close loopholes used to bypass existing curbs.
The measure, which could affect major Chinese chipmakers such as Huawei and Yangtze Memory Technologies, is expected to further heighten tensions between Washington and Beijing amid ongoing disputes over semiconductors and critical mineral exports.
The report comes on the heels of earlier comments from President Trump, who lashed out at China in a Truth Social post, accusing the country of having “violated” its trade deal with the US. While he did not provide specifics, the comments echoed earlier rhetoric from his administration suggesting that negotiations with Beijing had “stalled.”
In afternoon trade, the Nasdaq (^IXIC) dropped approximately 1.6% while the benchmark S&P 500 (^GSPC) fell 1%, and the Dow (^DJI) slipped 0.6%.
Fri, May 30, 2025 at 1:11 PM UTC
US goods trade deficit narrows sharply in April as imports plunge
The temporary trade deal that led to the US and China pausing steep tariffs is showing signs of fraying.
In a post on Truth Social on Friday, President Trump made it clear who he thinks is to blame.
“I made a FAST DEAL with China in order to save them from what I thought was going to be a very bad situation, and I didn’t want to see that happen,” Trump said. “Because of this deal, everything quickly stabilized and China got back to business as usual. Everybody was happy! That is the good news!!!
“The bad news,” he continued, “is that China, perhaps not surprisingly to some, HAS TOTALLY VIOLATED ITS AGREEMENT WITH US.”
“So much for being Mr. NICE GUY!”
Fri, May 30, 2025 at 11:38 AM UTC
Gap lists up to $300M tariff costs but excludes them from forecast; shares dive
Chinese tech groups prepare for AI future without Nvidia
Some of China’s biggest tech companies have started to switch development of their artificial intelligence to homegrown chips as opposed to using semiconductors from America, due to the US export controls — which has led to a dwindling stockpile of Nvidia (NVDA) processors.
A federal appeals court has temporarily reinstated President Trump’s global tariffs by pausing a lower court ruling that had blocked them. The decision, which came sooner than expected, means the tariffs will remain in effect for now.
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which oversees the International Trade Court, granted the Trump administration’s request for a temporary administrative stay. This gives the court time to review legal arguments and filings. The administration must submit its briefings by June 9, after which the court will determine the next steps.
As Yahoo Finance legal reporter Alexis Keenan noted, Trump has broad authority to impose tariffs through various legal channels, including Sections 232 and 301. The administration had chosen to justify the tariffs under an emergency act, citing concerns such as immigration and drug trafficking — an argument the lower court rejected.
Legal experts say it’s unclear how the appeals court will ultimately rule, as another court might interpret the emergency authority in a different way.
Thu, May 29, 2025 at 7:07 PM UTC
Trump tariff setback could hasten US debt ceiling deadline: Barclays
Analysts are raising concerns about how a new court ruling against President Trump’s tariffs could force the U.S. government to raise the debt ceiling.
Trump takes aim at Chinese students and tech, threatening to upset truce with Xi
Tensions between the US and China are rising again after the Trump administration announced it would revoke Chinese student visas, restrict chip design software, and try to block Huawei from selling advanced AI chips globally.
Per Bloomberg, China’s Foreign Ministry called the crackdown on student visas “discriminatory” on Thursday but did not move to immediately retaliate, signaling it was trying to avoid the kind of rapid escalation that brought tariffs to triple-digit levels.
Still, the divide shows that the two countries are far from resolving their issues — chiefly tech competition — and coming to a trade agreement.
Trump has yet to speak with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in his second term, despite hints a few weeks ago after top officials met in Geneva that a call was imminent.
The Manhattan-based court ruled that many of Trump’s wide-ranging tariffs, including the 10% “reciprocal” tariffs, were unlawful in a decision that the administration is expected to appeal.
Taiwan is pushing for tariffs lower than the 10% base rate,
