Shipping containers are stacked on the Ever Magic container ship operated by Evergreen at the Port of Los Angeles on June 25, 2025 in Los Angeles, California.
Mario Tama | Getty Images
U.S. President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that copper and pharmaceutical imports will face tariffs of 50% and as high as 200%, respectively.
Following the news, the S&P 500, which hit multiple record closes last week, ground to a halt and closed mostly flat.
That said, it’s a muted response for such hefty tariffs, suggesting investors are either brushing off Trump’s tariffs as hollow threats, or discounting the effects they could have on inflation and the economy.
Such complacency could be a mistake, as some market watchers have cautioned. It also mirrors the White House’s stance on tariffs, which might not be a position investors want to take.
On Tuesday, Stephen Miran, chairman of Trump’s Council of Economic Advisers, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” that the odds of tariffs leading to higher prices is a “rare event” like “pandemics or, or meteors or whatever.”
“I don’t mean to be dismissive,” Miran clarified. “All I mean to say is that prediction is difficult, and we should always speak in terms of odds and possibilities.”
For the record, there’s a 0.004% chance of an asteroid that will fly near Earth in 2023 striking our planet, according to NBC News.
What you need to know today
New tariffs on copper and pharmaceuticals. Copper imports will attract a 50% duty while that of pharmaceuticals will be subject to tariffs as high as 200%, Trump said Tuesday. He didn’t specify when they would take effect, but said the latter might kick in within a year and half.
U.S. stocks were mostly unchanged. On Tuesday, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite closed around the flatline, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.37%. The Stoxx Europe 600 climbed 0.41% after dipping in the afternoon.
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[PRO] Markets are refusing to listen to Trump. The latest tariff announcements from the White House have so far elicited a muted response from U.S. markets. Some market observers are concerned that investors are being too optimistic.
And finally…
WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 7: An aide picks up a page from a letter to Japan and South Korea, signed by U.S. President Donald Trump, announcing 25% tariffs beginning on August 1st, during the daily press briefing in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on July 7, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Andrew Harnik | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Global stock markets are calling Trump’s bluff on tariffs
On Monday, Trump slapped punitive tariff rates on 14 trading partners — but global markets are so far shrugging off the new policies. Asia-Pacific equity markets had a muted response, while European stock markets closed higher Tuesday.
Investors had already priced in the fact that many trade deals would not be reached before the July deadline, according to Toni Meadows, head of investment at London’s BRI Wealth Management — but he suggested that some investors may be being complacent.
— Jenni Reid and Chloe Taylor