Markets plunged Tuesday morning after President Trump seemed to raise the stakes in U.S. trade relations with both France and China.
During the NATO summit in London, he doubled-down on threats to tax French goods in retaliation for the country's taxes on U.S. tech and also suggested the China trade deal may be delayed until after the 2020 election.
U.S. Trade Representative Robert E. Lighthizer announced that the administration is considering imposing $2.4 billion in tariffs on France in retaliation for its digital tax, which investigators found would harm American technology companies. The U.S. would target cheese, Champagne, handbags, and more with tariffs of up to 100 percent.
"The American companies — the tech companies — they're not my favorite people because they are not for me," Trump said to reporters while sitting next to French President Emmanuel Macron at a NATO meeting this morning. "We want to tax them [U.S. tech companies], that's not for someone else to tax."
Macron said he believed "we can settle this situation with President Trump."
"I'm not in love with those companies. If anybody is going to take advantage of our companies, it's going to be us," Trump said during the meeting that covered the British election, the U.S. impeachment inquiry, and Trump's support of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
The two leaders spoke Tuesday at a summit meeting to mark the 70th anniversary of NATO — an alliance both have targeted in the past. Macron recently said NATO was experiencing "brain death," which Trump said was a "very, very nasty," and "insulting statement," though he once called NATO "obsolete."
Before the market even opened, futures were clearly taking a hit after Trump said there is "no deadline" on a trade deal with China. The S&P 500, Nasdaq, and the Dow were down more than 1 percent this morning.
"In some ways, I like the idea of waiting until after the election for the China deal," Trump said before the two-day NATO summit started this morning in London.U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods are set to rise on December 15 if a Phase 1 deal is not reached. Last month the administration indicated such a deal was close to being finalized, but after Trump signed off on legislation imposing sanctions on those who violate human rights in Hong Kong, it seemed the deal was off.
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Spain's government has fined Airbnb 64 million euros or $75 million for advertising unlicensed tourist rentals. The consumer rights ministry announced the fine on Monday. The ministry stated that many listings lacked proper license numbers or included incorrect information. The move is part of Spain's ongoing efforts to regulate short-term rental companies amid a housing affordability crisis especially in popular urban areas. The ministry ordered Airbnb in May to remove around 65,000 listings for similar violations. The government's consumer rights minister emphasized the impact on families struggling with housing. Airbnb said it plans to challenge the fine in court.
Roomba maker iRobot has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, but says that it doesn’t expect any disruptions to devices as the more than 30-year-old company is taken private under a restructuring process. iRobot said that it is being acquired by Picea through a court-supervised process. Picea is the company's primary contract manufacturer. The Bedford, Massachusetts-based anticipates completing the prepackaged chapter 11 process by February.
Serbia’s prosecutor for organized crime has charged a government minister and three others with abuse of position and falsifying of documents related to a luxury real estate project linked to U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. The charges came on Monday. The investigation centers on a controversy over a a bombed-out military complex in central Belgrade that was a protected cultural heritage zone but that is facing redevelopment as a luxury compound by a company linked to Kushner. The $500 million proposal to build a high-rise hotel, offices and shops at the site has met fierce opposition from experts at home and abroad. Selakovic and others allegedly illegally lifted the protection status for the site by falsifying documentation.
