Stocks eye another volatile session after Trump’s surprise tariff pivot: Live Updates

As trade tensions with China escalate, experts warn that Chinese President Xi Jinping could retaliate with moves like cutting rare earth exports or dumping U.S. treasuries – actions that could cripple U.S. defense systems, spike borrowing costs and trigger a global financial shock.

A total ban on rare earth mineral exports, for example, could render American missiles, fighter jets, and even consumer technology like smartphones inoperable. As tensions with Washington rise, Beijing could also retaliate by dumping U.S. treasuries – a threat that has already sent jitters through financial markets.

"There is not one of our jet airplanes in the United States Air Force that does not have rare earths in multiple forms, particularly in magnets," said Mark Smith, CEO of NioCorp and a 40-year veteran of the mineral mining industry. "If China stops exporting rare earths, the effect on U.S. military readiness would be immediate."

China holds $761 billion in U.S. debt, making it the second-largest foreign holder after Japan. A mass sell-off could drive down the value of U.S. bonds and cause yields to spike, sharply increasing borrowing costs for the federal government. It could also weaken the U.S. dollar and send shock waves through global financial markets.

Beyond treasuries, China could further devalue the yuan – a tactic it has used repeatedly – to make its exports more competitive while pricing American goods out of its domestic market.

This is an excerpt from an article by FOX Business' Morgan Phillips

The U.S. tariff rate on Chinese goods is now 145%, a White House official told FOX Business correspondent Edward Lawrence.

President Donald Trump raised tariffs on China to 125% after Beijing increased the duty on U.S. goods to 84%.

The figure is in addition to a 20% fentanyl emergency tariff from earlier this year that remains in effect, bringing the total recent tariff rate on China to 145%.

Inflation rose in March at a slower pace than expected but remained well above the Federal Reserve's goal as the central bank prepares to monitor the impact of tariffs on consumer prices in the weeks and months ahead.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics on Thursday said that the consumer price index (CPI) – a broad measure of how much everyday goods like gasoline, groceries and rent cost – decreased 0.1% in March compared with last month, while it was up 2.4% on an annual basis.

Both of the figures were cooler than the estimates of LSEG economists, and represented a cooling from February, when it rose 0.2% on a monthly basis and headline inflation was 2.8%.

This is an excerpt of an article by FOX Business' Eric Revell

The Labor Department is releasing its consumer price index report Thursday and experts believe it will reveal a marginal increase in U.S. consumer prices. 

The report will likely only reflect part of the first wave of global tariffs announced by the Trump administration, according to Reuters. 

"The March CPI data will feel dated, but should shed some light on how the changing trade environment was already beginning to affect pricing," Sarah House, a senior economist at Wells Fargo, told the news agency. 

Economists surveyed by LSEG are expecting consumer prices to have increased by 0.1% on a monthly basis in March. 

Meanwhile, China announced Thursday that its national consumer price index fell by 0.1% year on year in March. 

China is accusing the U.S. Thursday of using tariffs “as a weapon to exert maximum pressure for its own selfish gains.” 

The criticism comes after Trump announced yesterday that he would be raising tariffs on Chinese imports to 125% effective immediately, citing the country's "lack of respect that China has shown to the World’s Markets." 

“The U.S. uses tariff[s] as a weapon to exert maximum pressure for its own selfish gains, which severely hurts the legitimate rights and interests of all countries, violates the WTO rules, sabotages the rules-based multilateral trading regime, and destabilizes the global economic order,” Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian  said during a briefing. 

“The U.S., in defiance of global criticism, is pitching itself against the rest of the world. China has taken necessary countermeasures against the U.S.’s bullying acts in order to safeguard its own sovereignty, security and development interests, and more importantly, to uphold international fairness and justice and the multilateral trading regime, and protect the common interests of the international community,” he added. 

Citigroup upgraded its recommendation on U.S. and European equities to 'overweight' following President Donald Trump's 90-day pause on most of his levies, Reuters has reported.

There was no immediate clarity on Citi's previous recommendation on both the regions equities in the note dated Wednesday.

After a tumultuous several days since tariffs went into effect, stocks soared after Trump announced a pause on nations willing to negotiate, while ramping up tariffs on China by 125%.

Reuters and Fox Business' Stephen Sorace contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump said he's open to providing exemptions for certain U.S. companies hit especially hard by tariffs through no fault of their own. 

"I'll take a look at it as time goes by. We're going to take a look at it," Trump said Wednesday. "There are some that have been hard — there are some that, by the nature of the company, get hit a little bit harder, and we'll take a look at that."

When asked by reporters how he would determine which companies might receive such an exemption, Trump responded, "Instinctively."

"You almost can't take a pencil to paper. It's really more of an instinct than anything else," Trump added. "Some companies, through no fault of their own, they happen to be in an industry that is more affected by these things than others. You have to be able to show a little flexibility, and I'm able to do that."

President Donald Trump said he has attracted over $7 trillion in private investments since being elected, from companies like Apple, Eli Lilly, and Stargate, as well as countries such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Japan.

"We have, I would say, more than $7 trillion now… of investments coming in," Trump said Wednesday. "Apple is coming in for $500 billion alone. We have other companies coming in with massive numbers. We have car companies that are coming in. No, we’ve never seen anything like it, maybe in the 1940s or 50s or something, but we’ve never seen anything like it."

Stargate, a project by Softbank, OpenAI and Oracle that involves the establishment of data centers for the further development of artificial intelligence, has committed $500 billion.

Apple also committed $500 billion, according to data from a White House official.

Computing and electronics giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. has committed to a $100 billion investment in the U.S., and NVIDIA is in for $200 billion, among other investments.

FOX Business’ Eric Revell and Reuters contributed to this report.

In an unorthodox move Apple has reportedly charted cargo flights to move 600 tons of iPhones to the U.S. from India to beat the effects of President Trump’s tariff, according to Reuters.

The strategy will build up the inventory of iPhones in the United States although analyst say the price of the popular mobile device could still surge due to it’s connection to imports from China.

Sources tell Reuters that approximately six cargo jets with a capacity of 100 tons each have flown out since March. That equates to about 1.5 million iPhones, after accounting for some packaging weight.

India’s Apple shipping increased a 20% increase in usual production at iPhone plants to meet its goal. It added workers, and temporarily extending operations at the biggest Foxconn India factory to Sundays, they added.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio late Wednesday called for the U.S. to strike a deal with China as the two superpowers escalate retaliatory tariffs on one another, sending global stocks into uncertainty. 

In a post on X, the billionaire said it was now imperative that all involved parties "reconsider their approaches." 

"There are better and worse ways of handling our problems with unsustainable debt and imbalances, and President Trump’s decision to step back from a worse way and negotiate how to deal with these imbalances is a much better way." 

Dalio’s post comes hours after Trump said he was raising tariffs on Chinese goods to 125% over Beijing’s "lack of respect" toward America, while pausing and lowering reciprocal tariffs on other countries that were announced just last week. The move came in response to China announcing it was increasing its reciprocal tariff on U.S. goods from 34% to 84%.

To read the full article by Bradford Betz click here.

Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., gave an update on the reconciliation process, trade negotiations between the U.S. and Japan as well as China's retaliatory tariffs.

Hagerty says China “should have seen it coming” on 'Mornings with Maria.' The senator believes this is a chance to rectify the situation with China.

“President Trump telegraphed this throughout the campaign. He wants to rectify the situation with China. There's an opportunity here as well,” said Hagerty.

He also noted that China did not keep its promises on the trade deal that Trump negotiated in his first term.

He spoke about Japan’s involvement too who seemingly is welcoming the president’s pause on the sweeping global tariffs although they have urged the US to review its additional 25% levies on steel, aluminum and car products.

“As you know, Japan's got a team here today for this week on the ground,” Hagerty said. “I think there's a wonderful opportunity to see. You know, real breakthroughs in real progress.”

 “Our teams know the issues and I've encouraged the parties tomorrow to really think broadly beyond just trade but also think about our defense relationship to think about opportunities today. It's with energy ways that we can make our economies much more integrated, much more harmonized,” he said.

China has added a 50% retaliatory tariff on U.S. imports deepening a trade war currently shaking up global markets.

The addition of 50% brings the total tariff to 84%. President Trump’s latest round of tariffs took effect Wednesday when he announced a 104% levy on Chinese goods.

The new levies apply to all US products entering the country.

China’s finance ministry announced the charges would take effect at 12:01 a.m. Thursday.

"The US's practice of escalating tariffs on China is a mistake on top of a mistake," a statement from the ministry said.

China claims they want the U.S. to "properly resolve differences with China through equal dialogue on the basis of mutual respect," the statement said.