Stocks mixed after court blocks some of Trump’s tariffs
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(NEW YORK) — Stocks were mixed on Thursday after a panel of federal judges blocked President Donald Trump from slapping some of his far-reaching tariffs on China and other major U.S. trading partners.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 25 points, or 0.06%, while the S&P 500 increased 0.3%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq climbed 0.6%
The ruling from the U.S. Court of International Trade late Wednesday marked a major blow for Trump’s tariff policy, invalidating levies on dozens of countries unveiled in a Rose Garden ceremony that Trump had dubbed “Liberation Day.”
Trump later paused those so-called “reciprocal tariffs” for 90 days, embarking on trade negotiations with the target nations that remain ongoing.
A separate set of tariffs focused on Mexico and Canada over their alleged role in the fentanyl trade fell victim to the court’s decision. The ruling also invalidated a 10% tariff imposed on goods from nearly all countries.
The Trump administration appealed the ruling within minutes, leaving the ultimate fate of the tariffs unclear.
The ruling centered on Trump’s unprecedented invocation of the International Economic Emergency Powers Act as a legal justification for tariffs.
The 1977 law allows the president to stop all transactions with a foreign adversary that poses a threat, including the use of tools like sanctions and trade embargoes. But the measure does not explicitly permit tariffs, putting Trump in untested legal territory.
The ruling afforded the Trump administration as many as 10 days to halt the tariffs.
Even before the court’s decision, Trump had rolled back some of the levies at issue.
A trade agreement between the U.S. and China earlier this 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 the reciprocal tariffs. Trump eased duties on some goods from Mexico and Canada.
The ruling did not impact sector-specific tariffs used under separate legal statutes, including levies targeting autos, steel and aluminum.
Buying a Tesla has become a bit more complicated in the past year.
The company’s Model Y and Model 3 continue to be the best-selling electric vehicles in the U.S., accounting for more than 40% of all EVs sold last year, according to Cox Automotive data. But Tesla’s stronghold on the EV market is slipping.
The U.S. electric automaker has seen its popularity dip in recent months, with insiders attributing the decline to more competition and Elon Musk’s political views.
Reports of Tesla owners selling their vehicles, violent demonstrations at Tesla showrooms and anti-Musk rallies across the globe have convinced some consumers to search for an alternative. The good news is that legacy automakers and electric startups are quickly answering that demand, unveiling new models that offer performance, styling and impressive range.
If you’re searching for an EV, here are some suggestions that could meet your driving needs.
Model 3
Jason Cammisa, host of Hagerty’s “ICON” series, said motorists have “legitimate” concerns about Tesla: “Buying one is making a political statement,” he told ABC News. But the Model 3 is also “the best consumer product in the world,” he argued.
“It’s the best car in the world, period, full stop, not up for discussion,” he said. “You won’t find a better car on planet earth, not at that price and combination of attributes.”
He added, “The thing about Tesla is that is spans so many different price points and socioeconomic situations … you have value shoppers looking at Model 3s as well as billionaires.”
Cammisa, however, has plenty of praise for several Model 3 competitors, including the Hyundai Ioniq 5 ($42,400), the Kia EV6 ($42,900) and Genesis GV60 ($52,350).
“The Hyundai products tend to hit all the marks well — the packaging is good and the UX (user experience) works well enough,” he noted. “The Ioniq 5 N is the enthusiast choice — it has drift modes and you get Lamborghini levels of performance in that car.”
Cammisa said he reviews and ranks EVs on factors that may not have been top priorities for motorists in the past.
“The biggest differentiators in the market now are not things like powertrains and suspension tuning. The consumer experience is the real differentiator now,” he said.
Patrick George, editor-in-chief of InsideEVs, said he’s heard from many Tesla owners who are ready “to move on” from their cars.
“They’re done with Tesla because of Elon,” he told ABC News. “Getting rid of Teslas are a real thing.”
He and his staff have compiled a list of non-Teslas to chose from, which includes the EV6 and Ford Mustang Mach-E.
George noted that the BMW i4 and i5 were superb replacements: “I was massively impressed with how those drive,” he said.
Model Y
Jared Rosenholtz, editor at large for CarBuzz, has two favorite Model Y replacements: the Chevy Equinox ($33,600) and Porsche Macan Electric ($77,295).
“The Equinox EV is a fantastic little vehicle with a nice interior and more than 300 miles of range,” he told ABC News. “With incentives, the price will come in under $30,000.”
The pricier Macan EV “drives just as well as the gas version,” according to Rosenholtz, who is also a fan of the Audi Q6 e-tron ($63,800), which is similar in size and power.
Camissa, too, was impressed with the Macan, saying it had “the best stereo I ever heard in a car.”
“The Macan EV is the total package,” he said.
Rosenholtz also recommended the new Volvo EX30 ($46,195), a smallish yet mighty crossover that packs 422 hp and sprints from 0-60 mph in 3.4 seconds.
“The EX30 is super adorable and the quickest Volvo ever made,” he said.
Model S
Cammisa, Rosenholtz and George all agreed that the Lucid Air, a handsome electric sedan that can travel at least 420 miles on a single charge, was without question a top competitor to the S, or any sedan on the market.
“It has unbelievably fast charging and drives amazing,” said Rosenholtz. “And you can get a Lucid for $10,000 less than the cheapest Model S.”
The Air, which is available in four trims, has a starting price of $69,900. Owners can “fill up” their Air with 200 miles of charge in about 12 minutes if they opt for the Wunderbox battery charger, according to the company.
Cammisa raved about the Air Sapphire ($250,000), which is priced like a Bentley and performs like a supercar: 0-60 mph in 1.89 seconds.
“It’s the best-handling sedan ever made in the history of the world,” he said. “The Lucid Gravity is even better — if you want a minivan looking SUV. Dynamically that thing is unbelievable and the packaging is unbelievable. I send people to Lucids all the time.”
In addition to the Lucid Air, George listed the Porsche Taycan ($100,300) and Hyundai Ioniq 6 ($37,850) as two great options, depending on one’s budget.
“The Ioniq 6 is outstanding on range,” he pointed out. “The Taycan is the OG Model S competitor — it’s more like a sports car with really fast charging.”
Model X
Americans love their big, three-row SUVs and plenty of Model X challengers have hit the market in recent months. George said Tesla owners are increasingly turning to startup Rivian, which makes the fashionable R1S ute ($75,900).
“We’ve seen a lot of Model X owners move to Rivian. It’s the closest to Tesla in so many areas — software updates, range and performance,” George said. “Everyone who has gotten a Rivian has so far adored it. It’s one of my favorite trucks.”
Added Cammisa: “The R1S is the EV that Range Rover owners want.”
Cammisa still prefers the Lucid Gravity ($79,900), which is available to order now on the Lucid site.
“It does have the proportions of a minivan but the engineers have crafted the perfect commuter vehicle,” he said. “This thing has everything you need but the question will be: is this what people want?”
George also pointed to the Polestar 3 ($67,500), a sleek and haute SUV that can be configured in all-wheel drive or rear-wheel drive. The 3’s long range dual motor model makes 489 horsepower and 620 lb.-ft. of torque and its dual chamber active air suspension improves the handling and ride quality by adapting to sensor input 500 times a second.
“The Polestar 3 is very Tesla-esque,” said George. “It’s got great tech, outstanding performance and great styling.”
Honda’s Prologue ($47,400), the company’s first electric SUV, has already been a hit with consumers since it launched last year. The interior is spacious, the optional panoramic roof adds brightness to the cabin and designers included high-quality materials and large buttons and knobs. Honda has partnered with General Motors on battery development and technology, so there are many similarities with the Chevy Blazer EV.
“The Prologue is a great gateway to EVs,” said George, who noted how “normal” the Prologue drove compared to more aggressive regenerative braking systems. Plus, “it has buttons if you don’t want a car that’s all screens and minimalist.”
(NEW YORK) — U.S. stocks plunged in early trading on Thursday, just hours after President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs announcement touched off threats of countermeasures from foreign leaders.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 1,100 points, or 2.6%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq declined 4.3%.
The S&P 500 tumbled 3.3%, setting it on pace for its worst trading day in more than two years.
The selloff hammered shares of some major multinational corporations with supply chains abroad.
Nike plummeted 11%, while Apple fell nearly 8%. E-commerce giant Amazon slid 6%.
Shares fell for each of the other so-called “Magnificent Seven,” a group of large tech firms that helped drive stock market gains in recent years.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, dropped 7%. Chipmaker Nvidia slid 4.5%.
Tesla, the electric carmaker led by Trump-advisor Elon Musk, declined 4%.
Shares of U.S. retailers that depend largely on imported products also tumbled, with Dollar Tree down 11% and Five Below seeing 25% losses.
While Trump said the tariffs would free the U.S. from dependence on foreign goods, fears of a deepened international trade war appeared to influence the stock market reaction.
During the event at the White House on Wednesday, Trump unveiled a sweeping set of baseline tariffs on all trading partners and what he described as “kind reciprocal” tariffs on nations he claimed were the worst offenders in trade relations with the U.S.
“My fellow Americans, this is Liberation Day,” Trump said from the Rose Garden. “April 2, 2025, will forever be remembered as the day American industry was reborn, the day America’s destiny was reclaimed and the day that we began to make America wealthy again,” he said.
The president announced the measures would include a minimum baseline tariff of 10% on all trading partners and, further, more targeted punitive levies on certain countries, including China, the European Union and Taiwan.
Trump held up a chart with a list of nations and what the new U.S. tariffs against them will be.
At the top was China, which Trump said was set to be hit with a 34% tariff rate as he claimed it charged the United States 67%.
The 34% reciprocal rate for China is in addition to a previous 20% tariff Trump slapped on the nation — bringing the effective tariff rate on one of the U.S.’s biggest trading partners to 54% total.
While the longstanding effects of Trump’s newly minted tariffs stand to be seen, some experts told ABC News ahead of Wednesday that the measures could threaten economic growth and employment since duties slapped on imports risk increasing costs for businesses that rely on raw materials from abroad.
“If both businesses and consumers start to worry and pull back their spending, that is what can tip the U.S. over into a recession,” Kara Reynolds, an economist at American University, previously told ABC News.
Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, described the tariffs as “the fodder for an economic downturn.”
(NEW YORK) — The Kentucky bourbon industry said it is reeling from retaliatory actions taken by Canada and the European Union in response to President Donald Trump’s trade war against both global regions.
More than 90% of the world’s bourbon is from Kentucky, which advocates say is now jeopardized.
Last month, the EU announced it plans to impose a 50% tariff on all American whiskey in response to Trump’s decision to bring back tariffs on overseas steel and aluminum imports. Trump said on social media that he would retaliate by levying 200% tariffs on all wines, champagne and other alcoholic products imported from the region should the EU move forward with its spirits tariff. The EU will make its final decision on April 13.
Meanwhile, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Ottawa is imposing 25% tariffs on U.S. imports in response to Trump’s measures. In addition, the government-run Liquor Control Board of Ontario ordered all retailers, bars and restaurants to stop selling American products. The board reported that U.S. alcohol sold within the province accounts for “annual sales of up to $965 million,” representing “more than 3,600 products from 35 US states.”
New Brunswick and Quebec both passed similar restrictions by ordering all American spirits brands removed from retail shelves.
The import tariffs, Trump wrote, “will be great for the wine and champagne businesses in the U.S.”
Chris Swonger, president and CEO of the Distilled Spirits Council, a Washington-based trade group, disagrees, telling ABC News that rising tariffs on both sides are “catastrophic.”
“Our industry is collateral damage as the result” of the trade war, he said. “Which is unfortunate because American consumers love Canadian whiskey, and European consumers love American whiskey and vice versa.” Likewise, the Kentucky Distillers’ Association said, “retaliatory measures against bourbon harm these markets and jeopardize growth for years to come.”
Canada was the largest importer of Kentucky-made spirits, including bourbon, before the current trade war. In 2023, the state exported $43 million worth of whiskey to Canada, according to the latest data on the Canadian government’s website. Kentucky imported more than $40 million in whiskey from Canada that same year.
The issue is uniting Kentucky lawmakers from both parties. Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear and Republican Senators Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul have all blasted the tariffs, saying they will hurt jobs and sink the economy of the state.
“From bourbon distillers to car manufacturers to makers of fences to the builders of homes, to our farmers, nobody in Kentucky is coming up to me and say, ‘please put tariffs on things.’ We need to back away from this,” Paul said.
Swonger said the spirits industry has flourished because of a zero-for-zero tariff agreement among 51 countries around the world, which has allowed 3,1000 distillers to grow within the U.S. In Kentucky, the trade war will likely be hardest for small craft distilleries, many of which could “shut down trying to export to markets” impacted by the tariffs.
“Building a brand takes time. If you’re a little craft distillery going to an international market, it takes time and effort to talk to buyers. A massive tariff will shut that down,” he said.
That’s the worry of Victor Yarbrough, CEO of Brough Brothers Bourbon in Kentucky, which opened in 2020 and became the first African American-owned distillery in the state. Yarbrough said 2025 was planned as “a year of growth and expansion” for his company, which meant opening a second distillery and, for the first time, exporting to other countries, including Canada.
He told ABC News he was in negotiations with suppliers in New Brunswick in January, “when the tariff situation came out of nowhere.”
“It suspended our deal indefinitely,” as a result, Yarbrough said.
The tariffs imposed by the U.S., followed by the retaliatory tariffs from export countries, “shuttered our ability to go into these markets,” Yarbrough said. “And they’re huge markets. Ultimately, it reduces our ability to sell our product abroad.
He said in response that his company will focus on the 27 U.S. states where his product is not yet available. He is also looking at countries like Brazil and Colombia where the tariff war has not yet hit. The uncertainty, for him, is that that could change.
“I’m just the small bourbon producer being caught in the middle of it,” he said. “I hope we come to accord on both sides.”
