Markets soared Tuesday morning following the Trump administration's decision to delay and revise its latest round of punitive tariffs against China. The Dow jumped more than 400 points while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite both rose roughly 2 percent.
Earlier this month, President Trump announced that U.S. would impose a 10 percent tariff on $300 billion worth of Chinese imports. The tariffs followed seemingly hollow trade talks in Shanghai and were set to go into effect on September 1.
Yet the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) said on Tuesday that tariffs on certain products should be delayed until December 15. These included “cell phones, laptop computers, video game consoles, certain toys, computer monitors, and certain items of footwear and clothing,” the USTR said in a statement.
The agency added that certain products will be removed all together from the targeted tariff list “based on health, safety, national security and other factors,” and that it will conduct an additional “exclusion process” on other products.
The earlier proposed tariff on $300 billion worth of goods would have essentially blanketed all Chinese imports, which totaled roughly $558 billion in 2018, with tariffs.
Nestlé has dismissed its CEO Laurent Freixe after an investigation into an undisclosed relationship with a direct subordinate. The company announced on Monday that the dismissal was effective immediately. An investigation found that Freixe violated Nestlé’s code of conduct. He had been CEO for a year. Philipp Navratil, a longtime Nestlé executive, will replace him. Chairman Paul Bulcke stated that the decision was necessary to uphold the company’s values and governance. Navratil began his career with Nestlé in 2001 and has held various roles, including CEO of Nestlé's Nespresso division since 2024.
Kraft Heinz is splitting into two companies a decade after they joined in a massive merger that created one of the biggest food companies on the planet. One of the companies will include brands such as Heinz, Philadelphia cream cheese and Kraft Mac & Cheese. The other will include brands like Oscar Mayer, Kraft Singles and Lunchables. When the company formed in 2015 it wanted to capitalize on its massive scale, but shifting tastes complicated those plans, with households seeking to introduce healthier options at the table. Kraft Heinz's net revenue has fallen every year since 2020.
