An Oscar statue being set up on the red carpet for the 97th Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre on Feb 28, 2025, in Hollywood, California.
Aaronp | Bauer-Griffin | Getty Images
Out of all the tariff actions U.S. President Donald Trump has announced, the 100% levy on movies produced outside the U.S. ranks as one of the most bizarre, taking its place beside the head-scratching formula his administration used to determine the level of tariffs.
Trump didn’t share details of how the tariff would work — or if it would actually be implemented — but the mere announcement of the levy was enough to bring down shares of entertainment and media companies like Netflix and Paramount.
Costs aside, how would those tariffs work on a cultural level? Would the Oscars remove its category for Best Foreign Film? Must all movies be set in the U.S. as well? Will American actors starring in international films be penalized?
Those may seem outlandish concerns, but predicting the next act of the U.S. president is near impossible — Trump is a cliffhanger embodied. Given that the presidential term seems to almost be a reality television series for Trump, his actions might be good for viewership but a rotten tomato for everyone else.
What you need to know today
S&P 500 breaks winning streak
U.S. markets fell Monday. The S&P 500 lost 0.64%, snapping a nine-day rally, its longest since 2004. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.24% and the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.74%. U.S. crude oil futures fell about 2% Monday to its lowest settlement since February 2021 after OPEC+ agreed to hike production. Asia-Pacific stocks most rose Tuesday. India’s Nifty 50 dipped roughly 0.4% in early trade amid reports that the country has proposed to the U.S. it will remove tariffs on steel, auto components and pharmaceuticals on a reciprocal basis.
The end of an era for Buffett
Berkshire Hathaway shares fell 4.9% Monday after Warren Buffett proposed Saturday for Greg Abel to replace him as CEO by the end of the year. The company’s board voted unanimously Sunday to make Abel president and CEO on Jan. 1, 2026, and for Buffett to remain as chairman. Shares of the company have rocketed 5,502,284% between 1965, when Buffett took over Berkshire Hathaway, and the end of 2024.
More tariff developments from Trump
Trump announced Sunday that he would be imposing a 100% tariff on films produced outside the United States, but walked back on his comments the next day. On Sunday, Trump also downplayed the threat of supply shortages by saying girls “could be very happy” with fewer dolls. Finally, Trump signed an executive order Monday to reduce the amount of time it takes to approve pharmaceutical manufacturing plants in the America, and added he will announce pharmaceutical-specific tariffs within the next two weeks.
Palantir hikes outlook but shares fall
Palantir shares tumbled more than 9% in extended trading after it reported earnings that met expectations. The company, which provides artificial intelligence software for governments and corporations, also hiked its full-year revenue outlook to between $3.89 billion and $3.90 billion. Palantir shares have defied 2025′s broad downtrend in technology stocks. Even after today’s fall, the stock is up 64% this year.
Ford suspends its guidance
Ford Motor beat Wall Street’s first-quarter expectations, but suspended its 2025 financial guidance amid an expected $2.5 billion impact this year from Trump’s tariffs. The Detroit automaker said it expects to offset $1 billion of those costs through remediation actions as well as volume and pricing expectations for a total impact of $1.5 billion in 2025. Shares fell around 2.5% in extended trading.
[PRO] Chinese ETF over U.S. tech?
Chinese technology stocks have seen a volatile start to 2025, with substantial short-term swings in both directions. But the choppy price action year to date is within a constructive long-term context. This Chinese tech ETF could be a better bet than U.S. technology stocks, which appear relatively overextended, wrote Katie Stockton, founder and managing partner of Fairlead Strategies.
And finally…
Temu and Shein face massive tariffs. But don’t count them out of the U.S. e-tail scene, experts say
On Friday, the de minimis rule — a policy that had exempted U.S. imports worth $800 from trade tariffs — officially closed for shipments from China. This has seen Temu and Shein exposed to duties as high as 120% or a flat fee of $100, set to rise to $200 in June.
The small-package tariff exemption had been key to the companies’ ability to maintain budget prices on the merchandise they ship from China. Now that it’s gone, prices on Temu and Shein have been surging, with the former ending direct shipments from outside the U.S. altogether.
Despite the new trade challenges that Temu and Shein face, e-commerce and supply chain experts told CNBC that the companies are still capable of competing with their rivals in the U.S.
