*By Alisha Haridasani*
President Donald Trump on Wednesday demanded NATO allies double their contributions to defense spending from 2 to 4 percent, further straining relationships with EU allies.
“The tone that Trump has brought, on the back of trade frictions, has really brought the transatlantic alliance to the lowest point,” said Joshua Meltzer, senior fellow of global economy and development at the liberal-leaning Brookings Institute.
The summit comes just over a month after the Trump administration levied tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, affecting even allies like the EU, Canada, and Mexico and making trade the focus of a summit that usually centers on military readiness on the European continent.
Industry leaders and congressional lawmakers have been sounding the alarm on tariffs, claiming that the barriers will only end up hurting the very industries that Trump is trying to protect.
“The steel and aluminium tariffs are a double-edged sword,” said Rep. French Hill (R-Ark.). “I think it should be used only very discreetly on individual products that have a true national security aspect.”
“Tariffs, to some degree, hurt American consumers, hurt American manufacturers,” he said.
While the summit unfolded in Brussels, back home the administration floated the idea of slapping more tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods to punish them for retaliating to an original round of American import taxes.
The news sent shock waves through markets, with major U.S. indexes closing down after a few days in the green.
For the full segment, [click here.](https://cheddar.com/videos/trade-war-fears-escalate)
Europeans upset with Elon Musk still aren’t buying his electric cars, adding to a long losing streak for his company.
President Donald Trump has fired one of two Democratic members of the U.S. Surface Transportation Board to break a 2-2 tie ahead of the board considering the largest railroad merger ever proposed.
Ford is recalling more than 355,000 of its pickup trucks across the U.S. because of an instrument panel display failure that’s resulted in critical information, like warning lights and vehicle speed, not showing up on the dashboard.
Nvidia reported a 56% increase in second-quarter revenue and a 59% rise in net income compared to a year ago.
The Rev. Al Sharpton is set to lead a protest march on Wall Street to urge corporate America to resist the Trump administration’s campaign to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The New York civil rights leader will join clergy, labor and community leaders Thursday in a demonstration through Manhattan’s Financial District that’s timed with the anniversary of the Civil Rights-era March on Washington in 1963. Sharpton called DEI the “civil rights fight of our generation." He and other Black leaders have called for boycotting American retailers that scaled backed policies and programs aimed at bolstering diversity and reducing discrimination in their ranks.
President Donald Trump's administration last month awarded a $1.2 billion contract to build and operate what's expected to become the nation’s largest immigration detention complex to a tiny Virginia firm with no experience running correction facilities.
Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos claims audiences don't want to watch Netflix movies in theaters, but that seems not to be the case recently.
Chipmaker Nvidia is poised to release a quarterly report that could provide a better sense of whether the stock market has been riding an overhyped artificial intelligence bubble or is being propelled by a technological boom that’s still gathering momentum.
Cracker Barrel said late Tuesday it’s returning to its old logo after critics — including President Donald Trump — protested the company’s plan to modernize.
Low-value imports are losing their duty-free status in the U.S. this week as part of President Donald Trump's agenda for making the nation less dependent on foreign goods. A widely used customs exemption for international shipments worth $800 or less is set to end starting on Friday. Trump already ended the “de minimis” rule for inexpensive items sent from China and Hong Kong, but having to pay import taxes on small parcels from everywhere else likely will be a big change for some small businesses and online shoppers. Purchases that previously entered the U.S. without needing to clear customs will be subject to the origin country’s tariff rate, which can range from 10% to 50%.
