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Trump threatens 200% tariff on European alcohol... President Donald Trump threatened to impose a 200% tariff on wine, champagne and other alcoholic beverages from France and elsewhere in the European Union, the latest escalation in a growing trade war. Trump in a social media post on Thursday said that he would move forward with the import duties if Brussels follows through with a tax on American whiskey exports, a measure aimed at retaliating against Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs that went into effect on Wednesday.
Trump wrote: “If this Tariff is not removed immediately, the U.S. will shortly place a 200% Tariff on all WINES, CHAMPAGNES, & ALCOHOLIC PRODUCTS COMING OUT OF FRANCE AND OTHER E.U. REPRESENTED COUNTRIES. This will be great for the Wine and Champagne businesses in the U.S.”
Trump later on Thursday said he would not repeal tariffs on steel and aluminum that took effect this week, nor back off plans for sweeping reciprocal tariffs on global trading partners set to start as soon as April 2.
Canada challenges U.S. steel, aluminum tariffs at WTO... Canada has filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization (WTO) over U.S. steel and aluminum duties, arguing the removal of exemptions and increased tariffs violate the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994. The request for dispute consultations was circulated to WTO members on March 13, according to a WTO statement on the X social media platform (formerly Twitter).
House Ag Democrats slam ‘Trump tariff chaos’... House Ag Committee Democrats, led by Ranking Member Angie Craig (D-Minn.), sent a letter to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick criticizing what they describe as the Trump administration’s erratic tariff policies. They argue the unpredictable approach harms farmers by creating uncertainty in input costs and trade relations, particularly with North American partners. The lawmakers urged the administration to abandon its volatile tariff strategy in favor of structured trade negotiations.
ENSO-neutral conditions to persist through summer... Tropical Pacific atmospheric anomalies continued to indicate La Niña conditions during February. However, the U.S. Climate Prediction Center (CPC) expects ENSO-neutral (neither El Niño nor La Niña) conditions to develop over the next month and persist through the U.S. growing season, giving 62% odds of such for the June-August period. CPC notes, “As is typical for forecasts made in the spring, there is large forecast uncertainty at longer time horizons.”
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The Australian Bureau of Meteorology said last week, “ENSO remains neutral despite a brief period from December to February when the tropical Pacific shifted towards a La Niña-like state.” The bureau’s model predicts ENSO-neutral conditions until at least July, which is consistent with all surveyed international models.
The Japanese Meteorological Agency said La Niña-like conditions in the atmosphere and ocean have remained but began to weaken. It predicts 60% odds ENSO-neutral conditions will persist through summer.
U.S. producer prices stall in February... U.S. producer prices remained flat in February after a revised 0.6% rise in January, falling short of the expected 0.3% gain. This marks the lowest rate in seven months, driven by a 0.2% drop in services prices — the steepest decline since July 2024. Goods prices rose 0.3%, with a 53.6% surge in chicken egg prices contributing significantly. Annual producer prices rose 3.2%, down from January’s 3.7% and below the 3.3% forecast. Core PPI fell 0.1% monthly and 3.4% annually, missing expectations.
China’s commerce ministry meets with Walmart on supplier pricing... Beijing officials met with Walmart this week to discuss media reports that the U.S. retailer has asked Chinese suppliers to slash prices on their goods to offset the impact of the Trump administration’s tariffs, according to social media posts affiliated with state-run broadcaster CCTV. China’s commerce ministry said authorities have reached out to Walmart for further information after noticing media reports and receiving feedback from some enterprises but did not elaborate on its communication with the company. A Walmart spokesperson confirmed the meeting took place but offered no further details. The meeting was prompted by reports that Walmart had requested some Chinese suppliers to cut their prices by as much as 10% per round of tariffs, essentially shifting the full cost of U.S. tariffs onto these suppliers. Chinese officials told Walmart that asking suppliers to lower prices might violate contracts and disrupt market order, and referred to potential legal consequences, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Mnuchin discounts U.S. recession, says stock retreat ‘makes sense’... Former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin discounted risks of a U.S. recession, and downplayed the current selloff in equities, advising investors against overreacting to President Donald Trump’s aggressive trade tactics.
“We came in with the market being fully priced, so I think a 5% to 10% correction on the S&P or the Nasdaq actually makes sense,” Mnuchin said in an interview with Bloomberg. “The market’s been really fueled by massive amounts of tech spending, particularly around AI — so some of this is a natural correction in the market,” said Mnuchin, who is now at Liberty Strategic Capital, a firm he founded after leaving office. “And some of this is the market worrying about tariffs and the impact” they will have. I don’t see us at all going into a recession. We could have a little bit of a slowdown in the economy as we pull back on government spending, but I don’t think investors should be concerned about a recession.”
He also said that the top concern now is the outsized US fiscal deficit, and called on Republicans working on extending Trump’s 2017 tax cuts to attach offsets that reduce the impact on borrowing.
“Whatever tax cuts are passed, at least some of them have to be paid for,” Mnuchin said. “The deficit is our No. 1 problem today.”
EPA wants to reduce grocery costs by reconsidering refrigeration rule...EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced the agency is reconsidering a regulation requiring specific refrigeration technologies, which has contributed to rising food costs. The move aligns with President Trump’s broader efforts to lower living expenses and bolster American energy. Zeldin emphasized a “commonsense approach” to environmental protection while also noting the rule’s impact on semiconductor manufacturing, a critical industry for American AI leadership. This initiative is part of Zeldin’s “Powering the Great American Comeback” strategy.