About 3,200 Boeing jet and weapons workers begin strike
Jon Hobley | MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
(ST. LOUIS) — About 3,200 union members at Boeing facilities in Michigan and Illinois went on strike at midnight on Monday after rejecting an contract offer from the company, the union said.
Local members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, who build and maintain fighter jets, including the F-15 and F/A-18 models, voted on Sunday to reject Boeing’s latest contract offer.
“IAM District 837 members build the aircraft and defense systems that keep our country safe,” IAM Midwest Territory General Vice President Sam Cicinelli said in a statement.
Cicinelli added, “They deserve nothing less than a contract that keeps their families secure and recognizes their unmatched expertise.”
The union members work at Boeing facilities in St. Loius and St. Charles, Missouri, along with Mascoutah, Illinois, according to the union.
They had voted on July 27 to reject an earlier 4-year contract proposal put forward by the company, the union said.
“We’re disappointed our employees rejected an offer that featured 40% average wage growth and resolved their primary issue on alternative work schedules,” Boeing said in a statement on Sunday.
Boeing added, “We are prepared for a strike and have fully implemented our contingency plan to ensure our non-striking workforce can continue supporting our customers.”
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump on Monday will sign an executive order delaying steep levies on dozens of countries that were set to take effect on Wednesday, the White House said.
Trump’s so-called reciprocal tariffs will now take effect on Aug. 1, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters.
Minutes earlier, Trump announced 25% tariffs on South Korea and Japan that would take effect at the start of August. Twelve additional countries would receive notifications Monday about new tariffs, Leavitt said.
Trump delayed the “reciprocal tariffs” in April, vowing to strike roughly 90 trade deals in 90 days. So far, the White House says it has reached trade agreements with only the United Kingdom and Vietnam, as well as a preliminary accord with China.
“The president and his trade team want to cut the best deals for the American people and the American worker,” Leavitt said.
The return of the policy would dramatically hike tariffs on dozens of trade partners. Examples include a 49% tariff on Cambodia and a 37% tariff on Bangladesh.
Here’s what to know about Trump’s tariff deadline and what it means for you:
What was Trump’s July 9 tariff deadline?
The deadline on Wednesday traced back to the Rose Garden “Liberation Day” tariff announcement on April 2, when Trump imposed country-specific levies on most U.S. trading partners as part of a wider policy rollout.
The major stock indexes lost about $3.1 trillion in value the next day, suffering their biggest one-day decline since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Days later, Trump imposed a 90-day suspension of the country-specific tariffs, sending the market to one of its largest ever single-day increases.
Since then, the stock market has climbed to a record high and key measures of economic performance have proven resilient.
On Wednesday, the 90-day suspension was set to expire. The vast majority of nations targeted by the tariffs had yet to strike a trade agreement with the U.S., meaning the deadline could have brought back the slate of tariffs that had triggered the April stock selloff.
Is the Trump administration pushing back its tariff deadline?
The White House on Monday said it plans to push back the July 9 deadline.
The announcement came after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Sunday said the Trump administration planned to send letters to about 100 countries, warning that high tariffs could return at the start of next month.
The letters, Bessent told CNN, will tell target countries “if you don’t move things along, then on August 1st, you will boomerang back to your April 2nd tariff level.”
Trump appeared to echo the plans in a social media post on Sunday, saying the White House would soon send out “UNITED STATES TARIFF Letters.”
In a separate social media post on Monday, Trump threatened to place an additional 10% tariff on countries that align with BRICS nations, suggesting he had not backed off his commitment to levies.
BRICS nations, which recently voiced “serious concerns” about unilateral tariffs, are made up of founding members Brazil, Russia, India and China, among a few others.
Where do Trump’s tariffs stand now?
In recent weeks, Trump has dialed back some of his steepest tariffs. Another batch of tariffs remains in legal limbo following a pair of federal court rulings in May, though the levies remain in place for now.
A trade agreement last month between the U.S. and China slashed tit-for-tat tariffs between the world’s two largest economies.
Still, an across-the-board 10% tariff applies to nearly all imports, except for semiconductors, pharmaceuticals and some other items.
Goods from Mexico and Canada face tariffs of 25%, though the measure excludes products covered under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA. In May, Trump vowed to double steel and aluminum tariffs. Tariffs still apply to autos and car parts.
Jim Reid, a research strategist at Deutsche Bank, said in a memo to clients on Monday that the firm’s economists estimate a current effective tariff rate of 15%.
The level of tariffs has fallen “a good deal below the implied rate from Liberation Day,” but it remains “well above the low single figures before Trump returned to office,” Reid added.
Citing the pullback of other tariffs, Reid voiced skepticism about sturdiness of the Aug. 1 deadline.
(NEW YORK) — The stock market has been on a tear in recent weeks, shrugging off newly imposed tariffs, caution at the Federal Reserve and war in the Middle East.
The S&P 500 has soared 20% since an April low suffered after President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff announcement. Over that period, the tech-heavy Nasdaq has climbed 28%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has jumped 12%.
Over the past month — even as a U.S.-China trade tensions resurfaced and the Iran war broke out — the S&P 500 climbed more than 5%.
Concern among investors about topsy-turvy economic policy has given way to cautious optimism about a dialed-back tariff posture and continued economic growth, some analysts told ABC News. While day-to-day price swings will likely persist, they added, the current outlook points to further gains over the remainder of the year.
“The market is making a pretty concerted effort to try to look past some of these near term disruptions,” Yung-Yu Ma, chief investment strategist at PNC Financial Services, told ABC News.
In recent weeks, Trump has rolled back some of his steepest levies, easing costs imposed upon companies and alleviating concern about a sharp surge of inflation.
A trade agreement last month between the U.S. and China slashed tit-for-tat tariffs between the world’s two largest economies and triggered a surge in the stock market. Within days, Wall Street firms softened their forecasts of a downturn.
The downshift of tariffs has coincided with data demonstrating a healthy economy.
Fresh inflation data earlier this month showed a slight acceleration of price increases, but inflation remains near its lowest level since 2021. Hiring slowed but remained sturdy in May as the uncertainty surrounding on-again, off-again tariffs appeared to curtail hiring less than some economists feared, a government report this month showed.
The outbreak of tit-for-tat strikes between Iran and Israel earlier this month sent stocks falling and hiked oil prices. Those challenges proved short-lived, however, as stocks resumed their gains and oil prices eased amid a ceasefire.
“The stock market doesn’t care about geopolitical events,” Ivan Feinseth, a market analyst at Tigress Financial, told ABC News. “The market might react for a day or two, but it was nothing sustained.”
Investors have also placed hope in an expected lowering of interest rates at the Fed. So far this year, the central bank has taken up a wait-and-see approach, holding interest rates steady as policymakers await the potential effects of tariffs. A recent Fed forecast suggested a likely pivot, however, predicting two quarter-point cuts this year as well as two quarter-point cuts next year.
“The stock market’s recent strength reflects growing optimism around a soft landing, improving corporate earnings and the potential for lower interest rates ahead,” Brian Buetel, managing director at UBS Wealth Management, said in a statement last week.
Still, the market faces meaningful risks, analysts said.
Trade tensions could worsen and tariffs could escalate, some analysts said, while noting the difficulty of anticipating exactly where the levies will land. A resumption of hostilities in the Middle East could drive up oil prices and hamper global economic growth, they added. A burst of tariff-induced inflation could nudge the Fed toward a cautious approach and delay potential interest rate cuts.
“Despite the market getting close to its highs, getting too enthusiastic is probably not what’s called for at this point,” Ma said. “It’s still a back-and-forth market.”
Nevertheless, analysts expect an upswing in the stock market over the remainder of 2025. Feinseth forecasted an uptick in the S&P from its current level of 6,090 to 6,500, which would mark an increase of 6%. Ma predicted similar gains, saying the market would rise at least 5%.
“We think the overall end destination is one that will be palatable for markets,” Ma said. “But it will be a bumpy path from here to there.”
(NEW YORK) — The United States’ economic growth forecast was cut sharply on Tuesday by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, or OECD, which attributed the gloomy outlook in part to tariffs issued by President Donald Trump.
The OECD expects the U.S. economy to grow 1.6% in 2025, marking a substantial reduction from a 2.2% expansion forecast in March.
The nation’s economic growth will slow further in 2026, the OECD said, cutting its forecast for that year to 1.5%.
The dampened outlook for the U.S. mirrors a slowdown expected for the global economy, the OECD said, predicting global economic growth to fall from 3.4% in 2024 to 2.9% in 2025.
“Global economic prospects are weakening,” the OECD said in a statement, pointing to an array of factors that includes “substantial barriers to trade” and “heightened policy uncertainty.”
The OECD also warned of a potential upsurge in U.S. consumer prices, saying inflation could approach 4% by the end of 2025. The inflation rate currently stands at 2.3%.
“Higher trade costs, especially in countries raising tariffs, will also push up inflation,” the OECD said.
The OECD forecast echoes concerns raised by Wall Street analysts and Federal Chair Jerome Powell about the possibility that President Donald Trump’s tariffs may cause what economists call “stagflation,” which is when inflation rises and the economy slows.
A growing set of major retailers have warned of possible tariff-driven price hikes, including Nike, Target, Walmart and Best Buy.
Consumer attitudes have soured for four consecutive months as tariffs have taken hold, according to a survey conducted by the University of Michigan.
Consumer spending, which accounts for about two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, could weaken if shopper appetites diminish. In theory, a slowdown of spending could hammer some businesses, prompting layoffs that in turn further shrink consumer activity.
“Global trade tensions are hitting sentiment,” the OECD said.
U.S. tariffs remain above where they stood before Trump’s second term began, but a number of levies have rolled back in recent weeks.
A trade agreement between the U.S. and China last month slashed tit-for-tat tariffs between the world’s two largest economies and triggered a surge in the stock market. Within days, Wall Street firms softened their forecasts of a recession.
The U.S.-China accord came weeks after the White House paused far-reaching “reciprocal tariffs” on dozens of countries. Trump also eased sector-specific tariffs targeting autos, and rolled back duties on some goods from Mexico and Canada.
Trump’s steepest tariffs fell into legal limbo last week, casting uncertainty over a major swath of the president’s signature economic policy.
For now, key measures of the economy remain fairly strong.
The unemployment rate stands at a historically low level and job growth remains robust, though it has slowed from previous highs. In recent months, inflation has cooled, reaching its lowest level since 2021.
