CNBC Daily Open: Trump brandishes tariffs for peace, not a trade war

Here’s a tariff we can get behind. At a White House meeting on Monday with NATO’s secretary general, Mark Rutte, U.S. President Donald Trump said he would introduce “tariffs at about 100%” on Russia’s trade partners if the Kremlin doesn’t reach a deal to end its invasion of Ukraine in 50 days.

Notably, the punitive measures will be implemented as “secondary tariffs,” Trump said. Unlike Trump’s normal tariffs, under which a specific country is slapped with a levy, secondary tariffs impose the duty on countries and entities that buy Russia’s exports.

While those moves were meant to weaken Russia’s economy, they do run the risk of drawing other countries’ ire. According to data from the International Trade Centre, in 2024, Russia’s biggest export was oil, and its biggest buyers were China, India and Turkey, in that order. That means those nations, among others, would effectively face a tariff of 100% from the U.S. — the highest of all updated numbers announced so far — if they don’t shift their buying patterns.

That said, it’s refreshing to think of tariffs not as a weapon in a trade war (even if there might be collateral damage), but being used for peace.

Trump threatens 100% tariffs on Russian export buyers. The U.S. president said he will impose “secondary tariffs” on Moscow if the country doesn’t end its war on Ukraine in 50 days.

U.S. stocks tick up even after renewed tariff threats. All major U.S. indexes posted mild gains Monday stateside. The Stoxx Europe 600 inched down 0.06%, but London’s FTSE 100 closed 0.64% higher to hit a record high.

‘Patriotism’ buying is suppressing inflation. Kevin Hassett, director of the U.S. National Economic Council, theorized that tariffs aren’t causing prices to rise because Americans are buying domestic products.

Elon Musk doesn’t support Tesla-xAI merger. The tech billionaire replied in the negative to a question regarding a potential deal. Musk, however, said he backs Tesla investing in xAI, and will hold a shareholder vote on it.

[PRO] Tesla’s supplier has potential beyond batteries. Contemporary Amperex Technology, also known as CATL, supplies battery packs to major electric companies. Analysts think the company can also be a “software ecosystem provider.”

Inflation report Tuesday should provide clues on the impact tariffs are having on prices

June’s inflation report will be examined not so much for what the headline numbers show than what’s in the underlying data, especially whether tariffs are starting to have an impact.

“I’m looking at autos and I’m looking at apparel, and last month’s reading was very low for both of them, which is very counterintuitive to what you would have” expected, said Chris Hodge, head U.S. economist at Natixis CIB Americas. “These are two sectors that are very sensitive to increased tariffs.”

— Jeff Cox