요약
Trump sets 100% drug tariffs on companies that haven’t lowered prices - The Boston Globebostonglobe.com
본문
PHARMACEUTICAL
Trump sets 100 percent drug tariffs on companies that haven’t lowered prices
President Trump on Thursday ordered a new 100 percent tariff on imported drugs made by companies that have not agreed to lower their retail prices, the latest move in his evolving campaign to reshape global trade and promote domestic manufacturing. Makers of patented pharmaceuticals can escape the import tax by agreeing to join the president’s “most favored nation” program to reduce US drug prices or by establishing new factories to serve the American market, according to a senior administration official, who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity. Companies that agree to build new US plants will face 20 percent tariffs during construction, which must be completed before Trump leaves office. The administration expects “the lion’s share” of patented drugs consumed by Americans to be produced in the United States, the official said. “We need to make sure our drug supply is protected, secure, and domestic,” the official said. Some imported drugs will face much lower tariffs under trade deals Trump negotiated with five US trading partners. Goods from the European Union, Japan, South Korea, and Switzerland will face 15 percent levies while drugs from the United Kingdom, which was the first to sign a deal with Trump, will be hit with a 10 percent tariff. The White House has reached agreements with 13 drugmakers and expects to soon conclude an additional four, the official said. Companies already have pledged to invest $400 billion in new US plants, the official said. On Thursday, the president signed an executive order formalizing the new tariff regime, which is designed to incentivize other drugmakers to lower prices. Separately, Trump ordered changes to simplify current tariffs on industrial metals. — WASHINGTON POST
Get Starting PointA guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday.Enter EmailSHIPPING
Amazon imposes 3.5% fuel surcharge for many online merchants
Amazon.com Inc. will start charging sellers who use its shipping services a 3.5 percent “fuel and logistics” surcharge later this month, joining the ranks of shipping companies raising prices as the war in Iran pushes oil prices higher. The fees take effect on April 17 for customers of the company’s Fulfillment by Amazon service — which is used by many of the independent sellers who list their products on Amazon’s retail sites — in the US and Canada. Items shipped by Amazon on behalf of merchants who sell on their own sites or at other retailers will carry the surcharge beginning May 2. “Elevated costs in fuel and logistics have increased the cost of operating across the industry,” Ashley Vanicek, an Amazon spokesperson, said in a statement on Thursday. “We have absorbed these increases so far, but similar to other major carriers, when costs remain elevated we implement temporary surcharges to partially recover these costs.” More than 60 percent of products sold on Amazon come from independent merchants who pay Amazon sales commissions as well as fees for warehouse storage and delivery. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
HOUSING
Average US long-term mortgage rate climbs to 6.46 percent, the highest level in nearly 7 months
The average long-term US mortgage rate climbed for the fifth straight week, reaching its highest level in nearly seven months, another setback for home shoppers in the midst of the spring homebuying season. The benchmark 30-year fixed rate mortgage rate rose to 6.46 percent from 6.38 percent last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. One year ago, the rate averaged 6.64 percent. The last time the average rate was higher was Sept. 4, when it was at 6.5 percent. When mortgage rates rise, they can add hundreds of dollars a month in costs for home shoppers, limiting what they can afford to buy. Only five weeks ago, the average rate had dropped to just under 6 percent for the first time since late 2022, but it has been rising as skyrocketing oil prices due to the war with Iran fuel worries about high inflation. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUTOMAKERS
Tesla sales rise after brutal year of Musk boycotts but still fall short of expectations
Sales of Tesla vehicles rose in the past three months in a possible sign recovery is afoot after a brutal year of boycotts over Elon Musk’s politics but still fell short of expectations. The company said Thursday sales rose 6 percent to 358,023, the first time in three years it posted a first-quarter increase from the year-earlier period. The positive figure follows a year of plunging sales due to an aging lineup and boycotts over Musk’s right-wing political stands. Still, the strength of the recovery is unclear. The sales in the three months through March were 6 percent lower than the 381,000 that financial analysts had expected, according to a survey by researcher FactSet. They were also way off their first-quarter peak going back to 2023. The company sold 423,000 vehicles in the first three months of that year, nearly a fifth higher. Back then Tesla was the world’s biggest electric vehicle maker, a title it held until the end of last year when it had to cede its position to rival Chinese maker, BYD. Tesla stock was down in Thursday trading, dropping 5.4 percent to $360.59 per share. Possibly helping lift the figures were cheaper versions of Tesla models X and 3 introduced late last year. Details of models selling for less than $40,000 were not released but may come out on April 22 when Tesla reports quarterly earnings. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
STOCK
Pop Mart suffers $33 billion rout as Labubu craze unravels
A relentless selloff in Pop Mart International Group Ltd. shares is showing little sign of bottoming out as skepticism deepens over the toymaker’s Labubu-led growth. The stock plunged more than 30 percent over five sessions through Tuesday after the company’s earnings results showed a rising dependence on the snaggle-toothed monster dolls. That extended a drop from its record high in August to nearly 60 percent, wiping out about $33 billion from its market cap. Pop Mart’s latest earnings tipped market sentiment decisively bearish. A wave of price‑target cuts, rising short interest, and a stock slide that persisted despite multiple buybacks signal growing concerns over the company’s ability to replicate Labubu’s success with other products. Weakening sales overseas and in China, high inventory and a continuous downward revision on earnings are main pressure points this year, said Sammi Xu, a consumer analyst at Deutsche Bank AG, who downgraded the stock to sell after its results. The popularity of Labubu dolls exploded globally last year — a rare example of Chinese soft power resonating in Western markets — sending Pop Mart shares soaring about 300 percent from early 2025 to an all-time high in August. But persistent worries that the Labubu craze could fade has weighed on the stock since. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Trump administration appeals ruling that blocked Pentagon action against Anthropic over AI dispute
The Trump administration is appealing a judge’s order blocking the federal government from taking punitive measures against artificial intelligence company Anthropic after a dispute with the Pentagon over military use of AI. Department of Justice attorneys filed a notice in San Francisco federal court on Thursday of their intention to appeal last week’s ruling by US District Judge Rita Lin. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which will review Lin’s order, set an April 30 deadline for the Justice Department to file documents outlining their reasons why the decision should be overturned. Lin last week said she was blocking the Pentagon from labeling Anthropic a supply chain risk. She also said she was blocking enforcement of President Trump’s social media directive ordering all federal agencies to stop using Anthropic and its chatbot Claude. Lin said the “broad punitive measures” taken against the AI company by the Trump administration and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth appeared arbitrary, capricious, and could “cripple Anthropic,” particularly Hegseth’s use of a rare military authority that’s previously been directed at foreign adversaries. “Nothing in the governing statute supports the Orwellian notion that an American company may be branded a potential adversary and saboteur of the US for expressing disagreement with the government,” Lin wrote. A top Pentagon official last week called Lin’s order a “disgrace.” US Defense Undersecretary Emil Michael, the Pentagon’s chief technology officer, said on social media it would disrupt Hegseth’s “full ability to conduct military operations with the partners it chooses.” Lin had stayed her order for a week, which gave time for the Pentagon to take the case to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. She had also said her order doesn’t require the Pentagon to use Anthropic’s products or prevent it from transitioning to other AI providers. — ASSOCIATED PRESS