Trump vows his policies will 'never change' after China retaliates with tariffs

Trump shared a social media video that defends his recent policy decisions by arguing he is deliberately crashing the stock market as a strategic play to force lower interest and mortgage rates.

“Trump is crashing the stock market by 20% this month, but he’s doing it on purpose,” alleged the video, which Trump posted on his Truth Social account.

The president shared a link to an X post from the account @AmericanPapaBear — a self-described “Trumper to the end.” The X post itself appears to be a re-post of a weeks-old TikTok video from user @wnnsa11.

“Now here’s the secret game he’s playing, and it could make you rich,” the video says.

“So why is he doing this? To push cash into treasuries, which forces the Fed to slash interest rates in May, and those lower rates give the fed the ability to refinance trillions of debt very inexpensively,” it says.

“It also weakens the dollar and drops mortgage rates,” the video says. “Now it’s a wild chess move, but it’s working.”

“Now you’re probably wondering, What about his tariffs? Well, I’ll tell you, it’s a genius play. It actually forces companies to build here to dodge them. It also forces farmers to sell more of their products here in the U.S., to bring grocery prices way down.”

“Now, remember, 94% of all stocks are owned only by 8% of Americans. So Trump, he’s taking from the rich short term and handing it to the middle class through lower prices,” it says.

The White House did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.

— Kevin Breuninger

Trump in a Truth Social post encouraged more foreign spending in the U.S., assuring that investors can bet on his economic agenda long term.

“TO THE MANY INVESTORS COMING INTO THE UNITED STATES AND INVESTING MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF MONEY, MY POLICIES WILL NEVER CHANGE,” Trump wrote in the all-caps post.

“THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO GET RICH, RICHER THAN EVER BEFORE!!!”

— Kevin Breuninger

Auto giants have responded to Trump’s tariffs by announcing plans to raise prices, impose import fees, pause production and even layoff staff.

The White House on Thursday introduced 25% tariffs on foreign auto imports, noting that it also intends to place tariffs on some auto parts no later than May 3. The measures, which were separate to Trump’s sweeping new tariffs on major trading partners, have hit the global automotive industry hard.

German auto giant Volkswagen is said to be planning to add import fees to the sticker prices of its vehicles shipped to the U.S. in response to Trump’s tariffs. Europe’s biggest carmaker has also reportedly halted all rail shipments of vehicles built in Mexico to the U.S.

Stellantis, meanwhile, announced on Thursday it will pause production at two assembly plants in Canada and Mexico. The move means about 900 workers in the U.S. at supporting plants will be temporarily laid off.

Read the full story here.

— Sam Meredith

Oil prices plunged on Friday as China struck back with 34% tariffs on imported U.S. goods in response to Washington’s own duties against Beijing.

The Ice Brent contract with June expiry was trading at $65.42 per barrel at 8:22 ET, down 6.73% from the Thursday close price. The front-month May Nymex WTI contract was at $62.03 per barrel, lower by 7.35% from the previous session’s settlement.

Oil is particularly sensitive to tensions between the two economic powerhouses, given China’s status as the world’s largest crude importer and the U.S. dollar’s role in denominating crude commodities.

Read the latest oil commodity wrap.

— Ruxandra Iordache

Trump’s schedule for Friday is clear, save for attending a “Candlelight Dinner” for the super political action committee MAGA Inc., according to the White House.

The dinner is at Trump’s Palm Beach club and residence, Mar-a-Lago. Trump arrived there Thursday evening after catching another dinner for the LIV golf tour at his Doral Golf Club in Miami.

— Kevin Breuninger

Snap-on CEO Nick Pinchuk said Friday that the company is “resistant to the effect, not immune” to the tariffs.

The manufacturing company currently has 80% of its products made in America, he said.

“One of the good things about the tariffs, and I don’t think there’s many good things, is the fact that it puts in rather harsh perspective how hard it is to manufacture,” Pinchuk said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”

Pinchuk said the true problem lies in America not having the skilled labor and the weight of regulations.

“The government needs to celebrate manufacturing for the special American calling it’s always been, rather than say it’s a consolation prize,” he said.

Finding the best and cheapest goods can go too far, Pinchuk added, and Americans already understood that reshoring was good. Instead, he said, the tariffs will introduce uncertainty into the grassroots economy.

“I think this could’ve been implemented in a much more thoughtful way, and actually, we didn’t need broad tariffs,” he said.

— Laya Neelakandan

China’s finance ministry on Friday said it will impose a 34% tariff on all goods imported from the U.S.

The China tariffs take effect on April 10.

The move follows Trump’s tariff announcement on April 2, where he instituted a 10% baseline tariff on all countries and much higher rates on many. He put a 34% tariff on China, though combined with preexisting tariffs, the effective rate is 54%.

“China urges the United States to immediately cancel its unilateral tariff measures and resolve trade differences through consultation in an equal, respectful and mutually beneficial manner,” the ministry said, according to a Google translation.

Read CNBC’s full article here.

— Ruxandra Iordache

The weekend is looking like a breeze for Trump — if not for stock market investors hammered by the fallout from his new tariffs.

The White House posted a tweet showing Trump walking with his hair, tie and suit jacket blown back from the wind, with the italicized message, “Almost Friday.”

The tweet’s jaunty vibe contrasted with a metaphorical bloodbath on Wall Street, where the major stock indices all suffered big drops.

— Dan Mangan

Nissan Motor’s luxury Infiniti brand has indefinitely paused production of two Mexico-built crossovers for the U.S. in response to the newly imposed 25% tariffs on imported vehicles by Trump.

In a memo to the brand’s retailers, Infiniti Americas Vice President Tiago Castro said QX50 and QX55 output for the U.S. is halted “until further notice” due to the tariffs, Automotive News reported Thursday.

A company spokesman confirmed the actions Thursday afternoon to CNBC and said the Japanese automaker is reviewing its “production and supply chain operations to identify optimal solutions for efficiency and sustainability.”

“We will continue to evaluate the impact, as well as market needs, to make any additional adjustments to production,” Nissan said in an emailed statement.

Separately, Nissan on Thursday confirmed it will maintain two shifts of production of the Nissan Rogue crossover at its Smyrna, Tennessee, plant that is free of the new auto tariffs.

Nissan had planned to scale back Rogue production in Smyrna to a single shift starting this month.

— Michael Wayland