CNBC Daily Open: Not even fire extinguishers can escape the Trump administration’s tariffs

CNBC Daily Open: Not even fire extinguishers can escape the Trump administration’s tariffs


An aerial view of a cargo ship being loaded with shipping containers at the Port of Baltimore in Baltimore, Maryland, on August 7, 2025.

Jim Watson | Afp | Getty Images

Even as tariff-related ruction appears to be settling down for the summer, U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration is still reshaping global trade and industry.

After the Trump administration hinted it could be open to Nvidia exporting more powerful chips to China after their revenue-sharing agreement, the semiconductor darling was reported to be developing a new chip for Beijing.

And Intel’s bounty from the CHIPS Act, formalized by the previous administration under Joe Biden, might come with a price tag of giving the current U.S. government a stake in the company.

Meanwhile, the effects of tariffs continue to creep into everyday life.

The costs incurred by fires in the U.S. — think of the tragic Los Angeles wildfires in January or the one near the Grand Canyon just last month — are already growing, not just in terms of the physical damage but also the price of insurance premiums.

And now that Trump has added fire extinguishers to a list of steel products that will face a 50% import tariff, even the price of relatively more benign and contained fires, such as those you start to burn photographs of your ex-partner, will be more expensive to put out. That’s a truly protest-worthy tariff.

What you need to know today

And finally…

U.S. President Donald Trump greets Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House, amid negotiations to end the Russian war in Ukraine, in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 18, 2025.

Kevin Lamarque | Reuters

Trump promised Ukraine ‘security guarantees’: Here’s what they could look like

The most significant development from Monday’s talks between U.S. President Donald Trump, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders was Trump’s statement that security guarantees for Ukraine would be “provided” by European countries in “coordination with the U.S.”

French President Emmanuel Macron hinted Tuesday that the “first security guarantee we are working on — and it is the most important — is a strong Ukrainian army, composed of several hundred thousand men, well equipped, with defense systems and higher standards.”

— Holly Ellyatt



Source

France is plunged further into political crisis. Here’s what could happen next
World

France is plunged further into political crisis. Here’s what could happen next

France’s President Emmanuel Macron gestures as he speaks to the press at the end of the 7th European Political Community (EPC) Summit at the Bella Center in Copenhagen, Denmark on October 2, 2025. Ludovic Marin | Afp | Getty Images French President Emmanuel Macron is confronting another massive political headache following the shock resignation of […]

Read More
Déjà vu in France as political chaos returns. But this time, it’s different
World

Déjà vu in France as political chaos returns. But this time, it’s different

The National Assembly building in Paris, France, on Monday, Oct. 6, 2025. French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu resigned Monday morning, just a day after President Emmanuel Macron named a new cabinet that was broadly criticized. Photographer: Nathan Laine/Bloomberg via Getty Images Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images As news of French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu’s resignation broke on Monday […]

Read More
Japan’s Takaichi picks ex-premier Aso as party vice president
World

Japan’s Takaichi picks ex-premier Aso as party vice president

Taro Aso, Japan’s former deputy prime minister and finance minister, delivered a speech during an ordinary session at the lower house of the parliament in Tokyo, Japan, on Monday, Jan. 20, 2020. Photographer: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg via Getty Images Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images Sanae Takaichi, who is expected to become Japan’s next prime minister, chose former premier and party heavyweight Taro Aso on Tuesday […]

Read More