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Companies Brace for US Tariffs & Musk Gets Keys to Treasury Dept.
00:29:19
Reactions to sweeping tariffs & DOGE starts with the Treasury
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- [00:00]
Toby Howell
Hey, Fidelity. How can I remember to invest every month?
- [00:05]
Fidelity Representative
With the Fidelity app, you can choose a schedule and set up recurring investments in stocks and ETFs.
- [00:12]
Toby Howell
Huh, that sounds easier than I thought.
- [00:14]
Fidelity Representative
You got this?
- [00:15]
Neal Freyman
Yeah, I do.
- [00:17]
Toby Howell
Now, where did I put my keys?
- [00:19]
Fidelity Representative
You will find them where you left them.
- [00:23]
Toby Howell
Investing involves risk, including risk of loss. Fidelity Brokerage Services, llc.
- [00:27]
Sponsor Representative
Member NYSE, SIPC.
- [00:31]
Neal Freyman
Good morning Brew Daily Show. I'm Neal Freyman.
- [00:34]
Toby Howell
And I'm Toby Howell.
- [00:35]
Neal Freyman
Today, Trump launched a trade war and Canadians are so mad they're booing the Star Spangled Banner.
- [00:42]
Toby Howell
Then Elon Musk was granted full access to the federal payment system to do some doze related cost cutting. It's Monday, February 3rd. Let's ride.
- [00:56]
Neal Freyman
Welcome back to the week. Unfortunately, it looks like we're in for a long spring fell of cold, dreary weather. Punxutini Phil, the all knowing groundhog, made his annual weather forecast yesterday at Gobbler's Knob in western Pennsylvania. And he saw his shadow, meaning six more weeks of winter. It was Phil's first forecast as a dad after he and his wife Phyllis welcomed two pups into the family last spring. But does father actually know best? While Phil is probably a loving parent, he is a piss poor meteorologist. His predictions are correct only 35% of the time, according to the NOAA.
- [01:34]
Toby Howell
Oh my gosh, Neil, you're still getting your winter forecasts from Phil. Ditch Phil and instead listen to Staten Island Chuck. Staten Island Chuck is New York City's resident groundhog and he did not see his shadow on Sunday. That means he is in direct opposition to Punxsutawney Phil. So who should you trust? Well, Phil is right 35% of the time, but NOAA data say that Chuck is right 85% of the time. It does have an asterisk though. Phil has longevity on his side. He's been in the prediction game since 1887 compared to Chuck's 1981. But still, if you want accuracy, State Island Chuck is your guy.
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Neal Freyman
It's not about being right. It is about being first. And maybe it's just cloudy. More cloudy in Staten island than it is in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.
- [02:22]
Toby Howell
I'll. I'm saying you are part of the big Phil cabal. It's all about Staten Island Chuck. Now a word from our sponsor. Wise Neil. International travel Fun International payments a pain in the neck.
- [02:35]
Neal Freyman
There are always inflated exchange rates and hidden fees and sometimes you even got to open an overseas bank account.
- [02:41]
Toby Howell
It is a total headache. I'd rather have jet lag than deal with sneaky fees. But that's where Wise Business comes in.
- [02:47]
Neal Freyman
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- [02:55]
Toby Howell
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- [02:59]
Neal Freyman
Now I just have to come up with an international business to start.
- [03:01]
Toby Howell
I believe in you. To make international payments headaches a thing of the past, visit wise.com/business that's wise.com/business.
- [03:11]
Neal Freyman
Let'S start with the only trade news bigger than Luka Doncic going to the Lakers on Saturday, President Trump followed through with his pledge to impose heavy tariffs on the US three largest trading partners, 25% on imports from Canada and Mexico, 10% on Canadian energy products and 10% on Chinese imports and what he described as retribution for the flow of migrants and drugs into the U.S. the tariffs will go into effect Tuesday at 12:01am Eastern Time and will have massive consequences for the global economy, to name a few. They'll upend supply chains carefully calibrated over decades, raise prices for American consumers and businesses, and possibly send Mexico and Canada into a recession. You might be thinking, well, we had a trade war the first time Trump was in office and it wasn't so bad. Inflation didn't spike, that is true, but round two is of much greater magnitude. Trump imposed tariffs on $380 billion worth of goods during his first term, mostly against a U.S. rival, China. This time, tariffs will affect $1.4 trillion worth of goods and primarily target U.S. allies. Those numbers are from the Tax Foundation. The tariffs drew a furious response from Mexico and Canada. Give you a sense of the anger and sense of betrayal at the Ottawa Senators game Saturday night and at the Toronto Raptors game on Sunday. The crowd booed the US national anthem as it was being sung. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau unleashed tariffs of his own against US Products, and Mexico has pledged to do the same. Toby, welcome to the new trade wars.
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Toby Howell
You said it, Neal. These trade war, this trade war is just a lot bigger than Trump Round one. What are some of these goods, though, that are going to be affected? What might be more expensive now that this trade war has kicked off? Well, the first one is definitely cars. The New York Times found that a single car can go back and forth over the US Canada border up to eight times before it hits a US Dealer's lot. So under these tariffs, you can expect to pay more for your automobile. US buyers might see prices rise about $3,000 on average. Also remember how Food prices and inflation were such a big part of the pre election rhetoric. Well, grocery store chips are definitely going to get more expensive. Mexico supplies over 80% of US avocado. So maybe, you know, opt for that salsa instead of guac at your Super super bowl party. But also fruits, vegetables, meats, those are all shipped in from Canada and Mexico. US homebuilders too are going to be affected. 25% of building materials they import come from Canada and Mexico. Tariffs are only going to make building a house and buying a house more expensive. And then finally, energy. A quarter of the oil that America consumes per day comes in from Canada. And Trump basically tacitly acknowledged this by only slapping a 10% tariff on Canadian oil and gas, because we do rely on them for a good chunk of our oil and gas production. So, yeah, that is the general state of the playing field. Those are some of the prices that you can expect to potentially rise. And so if you ask what are these tariffs affecting, my answer would be pretty much everything.
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Neal Freyman
Yeah. And you know, we focus a lot on consumer goods. So what you buy at the end state. At the grocery store. At the store. But a tariff going across the border will affect not just finished goods, but also intermediate parts. So it will raise costs for American factories and manufacturers because they're importing. You know, think about an auto plant. They're importing like a bolt or, I don't know, you know, what goes into cars. Everything that goes into cars is coming from Canada and Mexico. That goes into their cost structure. So when they export things abroad, it will make them less competitive at the global scale. So a lot of what we talk about in tariffs is raising prices for consumers. Yes, but it also raises prices for American factories, which could make them less competitive with factories abroad. So it hurts their exports. So this is affecting everything. It shows how interlinked Canada, United States and Mexico has been. We've had three decades of free trade agreements and plants. You have auto plants that are sprinkling auto companies that are splitting their plants all across the border, Canada, United States and Mexico, and sending things across the border. Basically, the border hasn't existed. But now every time a good passes through the border, it will be taxed by 25%.
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Toby Howell
And we haven't even really mentioned China that much. We've been focusing on Canada and Mexico. But one provision that will be eliminated that will certainly affect China is this day minimus exemption that applies to packages that are worth less than $800. And it's been a commonly used, I mean, call it loophole for Chinese e commerce companies think she and think TAMU to directly ship these cheap packages to the United States without paying, you know, a duty on them. And so that de minimis exemption is being taken away. So now that they will, they will have to pay for those goods shipped directly to US Consumers. But also Trump removed the day minimis exemption for small packages from going into Canada as well. So say, you know, your grandma in Ontario wants to send you a little birthday President president that will get hit with a 25% tariff as well. So even though Trump on the surface wants to target these packages shipped in from Chinese e commerce companies, it is affecting more than just, you know, your, your clothing hauls from Sheehan and Temu.
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Neal Freyman
Okay, so let's talk about the response from Canada. They were absolutely furious. I mentioned that they were booing the national anthem at the NHL game and the NBA game. Just absolutely livid. There's a sense of betrayal there. And the reason is they are probably going to go into a recession from this based on how long it lasts. Mexico 2 estimates says that Canada's GDP could fall as much as 3% of this Mexico from this Mexico's could suffer a 2% drop. And that's because those two countries export 80% of all of their exports go into the United States. So basically their customer base is drying up. Factories will have to close down. People are going to lose jobs. So you see a swell of economic nationalism that's happening in Canada right now where they're buying more made in Canada. I mean it's been only two days, but they're buying more made in Canada products. The Ontario premier said that, you know, remove US Liquor and beer from shelves. We're not buying American liquor anymore. That happened in British Columbia and Nova Scotia as well. So there's an uprising from Canada saying look, we feel very spurned by our southern neighbor and we are just going to try to be more self sufficient and we're preparing for harder times. Times which is definitely coming.
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Toby Howell
And then finally, what has been the reaction from the business world? They've been very critical of these tariffs. The U.S. chamber of Commerce said tariffs are not the answer. The Wall Street Journal's editorial board penned this widely shared editorial called the dumbest trade war in history. And then a lot of people were, you know, kind of nudging JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon who last month went on record and said, hey, get over these tariffs. It might be painful but they're probably in the, in the interest of national security, so just get over it. So Now a lot of people are kind of tugging on his shirt sleeves saying, Jamie Dimon, what do you think now that they're actually in place? So hasn't been a lot of, you know, support from the business world so far. I guess you still have to wait and see to see if they shake out the way that Trump intends to, you know, boost domestic manufacturing. But so far it hasn't been very positive.
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Neal Freyman
No, I mean, if you look at the, the stock market this morning, investors are not reacting to. Well, the all three indexes are down about 1.5% as we record this at around 6:15am and that is because tariffs could push inflation back up. We know it's been hovering at that elevated level, 2.9%. It's not at that 2% target that the Fed wants. And it can't cut rates until inflation comes back down. Bloomberg Economics estimates that these tariffs will, you know, raise prices and lead 2.7% more inflation. So that is what's kind of rocking stocks this morning. And it will be a storyline to come.
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Toby Howell
Let's move on. Elon Musk just gained unprecedented access to the US Government's Venmo account and he is not happy with who it's been sending money to. Just before the weekend, new Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant gave Musk access to the agency's payment system, responsible for doling out trillions of dollars in government spending. That means Musk and his Doge representatives now have deep insight into what is essentially the central bank account of the United States, including the disbursement of Social Security checks and tax refunds. The purpose of granting Musk and Doge access is to review the broader payment system and cut down on waste. Though the fear is, quote, politically motivated meddling risks severe damage to our country and the economy. As Democratic Senator Ron Wyden wrote in a letter to Scott Bessant, Already some of that meddling is happening with Elon vowing to cancel hundreds of millions of dollars in government grants which he says have been flowing to fraudulent causes or even terrorist groups. Neil the doge of occasion of the federal government continues.
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Neal Freyman
I mean, this is getting very dramatic. Apparently they kind of knocked on the door of this very obscure thing that no one kind of knew existed. They're basically the accounts payable arm of the US Government. They get these requests from agencies and they say, hey, can you send out these tax refunds? Hey, can you send out, you said we'd pay this government contractor. Can you send out that payment? And then this small office does that. It's run by this guy, David Lebrick, who has been doing this for the first Trump administration, for the Biden administration. He's been at the treasury for multiple decades. Now he's gone. He was placed on an administrative lead because he would not hand over the keys to the Venmo account, as you said, to, to Elon Musk. But that got overridden, so now he retired. So there's been a continued purge of these high level civil servants who are supposed to be nonpartisan. They just work in the government. It doesn't matter who the administration is, Republican, Democrat, and now political actors like Elon Musk, who was not elected and, and his people he's worked with. The guy who now is overseeing this effort at the Treasury Department is the CEO of a Silicon Valley company called Cloud Software Group. So critics of what Elon Musk is doing is saying, you know, what is the CEO of a random Silicon Valley company doing with the treasury payments that Americans rely on? And that doled out $6 trillion last year.
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Toby Howell
Yeah. And then the fear too is whenever it comes to Elon, gaining more power in the federal government is a conflict of interest. He can now see payments to government contractors, including those that will compete directly with all the companies that Elon himself owns and runs. And then also this is just another instance of the Trump administration using, trying to potentially control and restrict Congress's power to disperse money. If you can see where all the money is being dispersed to, it wants to, you know, say, let's slash this here, let's add more there. So it is just another instance of them trying to, you know, find and control the flow of money when it comes to disbursements in America. Also in some other reshaping the federal government news, Rohit Chopra, the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, was fired over the weekend. This move was widely expected. People weren't actually sure how he lasted even 12 days in the Trump administration because, you know, his agency has been a subject of frequent attacks from Trump and the Republican kind of Cohort. Remember, the CFPB was this entity group created in 2010 post banking crisis. They were supposed to prevent another banking crisis. But banks have not been a big fan of Chopra or, you know, the CFPB in general. They have been the subject of the agency's, you know, purview, saying that they haven't protected consumers from widespread fraud. So big banks have been pushing for change and this is probably like the first step in remaking that agency or potentially even dissolving it altogether. That big banks have just not been a fan of it or chopper.
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Neal Freyman
I'll tell you why they haven't been a fan, because Chopra a few years ago fined Wells Fargo $2 billion for consumer abuses. He's gone after these financial institutions for things like junk fees and trying to limit credit card late payment fees to no more than $8 a month in 2020. What? Since 2021, he said, they returned nearly $6 billion to consumers. So on the other side, the CFPB thinks that it has done a, you know, a great job of reining in banks and protecting consumers from abuses. On the other side, banks and Republicans say that they've overstepped their bounds, gone way too far than what they were created to do. And in the first term, Trump basically neutered the cfpb. It came back in a big way under Biden. Now it looks like it's going back to being a non factor in the next Trump administration.
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Toby Howell
Up next, it is our winners of the weekend.
- [16:13]
Neal Freyman
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- [17:04]
Sponsor Representative
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- [17:25]
Neal Freyman
Welcome to Winners of the Weekend, the segment where Toby and I pick two people that came out of the weekend feeling even better than the Lakers. I won the pre show ice sculpture competition, so I get to go first. And my winner is Beyonce. Last night at the Grammys, the most awarded and nominated musician in the Awards History took home the one piece of hardware she didn't have. Album of the Year. Beyonce won the award for Cowboy Carter, avenging her four previous losses in the category many considered snubs. She also made history in another way, becoming the first black woman to win Album of the Year since Lauryn Hill way back in 1999. Overall, the Grammys sprinkled the awards out to all the big artists of the past year. Kendrick Lamar won five Grammys, including record and Song of the Year for his Drake diss track Not Like Us. Chapel Roan was named Best New Artist, Sabrina Carpenter won Best Pop Vocal Album, and Dochi became the only the third woman ever to win Best Rap Album after Hill and Cardi B. But the show wasn't all focused on music. Throughout the telecast, presenters and musicians discussed the devastation from the Los Angeles wildfires and appealed for donations. By the time things wrapped up, the Grammys had raised $7 million from viewers. Toby, what were your big takeaways?
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Toby Howell
I think that it was pretty reflective of the music, you know, of the last year. The one artist that was kind of missing from some of these awards was Taylor Swift, but, you know, she has won plenty in the past. I also can't believe that Beyonce had never won Album of the year. Like that is something that never has, really. It's just insane that someone nominated as much as her has never won the top award. And it was a country album too, to boot. So pretty cool that she finally got over that hump. Another big winner. I do say if you didn't pick Beyonce, you would pick Kendrick Lamar because, I mean, he has just wiped the floor with Drake in his rap battle. When you have your diss track winning, you know, record of the year awards, that is a very tough look. Remember, Drake doesn't even put his music up for Grammy consideration, so it's just absolutely a one sided fight at this point so far. So glad to see Chapel Rowan, you know, acknowledged as well. So the final band that you didn't shout out, that is, I don't think a lot of people expected to win a Grammy in the year of 2025. That is the Beatles, whose song now and Then, which, remember, used AI technology to bring back some of their voices that took home Best Rock Performance. So pretty cool for, you know, the Beatles to still be winning awards.
- [19:52]
Neal Freyman
Yeah. And there were some sort of music industry drama things going on. Chapel Roan, when she won for Best New Artist, got up there and kind of attacked the labels saying that they were profiting millions of dollars off of artists without offering a livable wage and health care. So she urged the labels to sort of pay pay better to artists. And, and Lady Gaga talked about trans issues in the new administration. Alicia Keys got up there, talked about di protecting D. So and then the weekend, this was a big actually, maybe the winner of the weekend was the weekend because he buried his hatchet with the Grammys. He had boycotted the Grammys for many years saying they weren't diverse enough and they snubbed him with his album in 2020. But he got up there and gave a performance and it looks like that that whole drama has been has been resolved.
- [20:43]
Toby Howell
My winner of the weekend is Rebecca Yarros because the Romantasy author's third book is approaching Harry Potter levels of hype. Her first book, Fourth Wing, became a viral sensation after TikTok took a liking to her romance epic set at a military academy for dragon riders. Her second book, Iron Flame, kept the hype going, but it is her third release, Onyx Storm, that is smashing sales records. The book sold more than 2.7 million copies in its first week, making it the fastest selling adult novel in the last 20 years. Now I might have over exaggerated a bit when I said Garros is approaching Harry Potter levels. The last book in J.K. rowling series sold 8.2 million copies in its first 24 hours. But still, Yarrow's laps similar adult novels like Colleen Hoover's It Starts with us, which moved 810,000 copies in its first week. However, this is Dragon Mania we are talking about here. Neil Yarrow's book currently holds the top three spots on both the New York Times hardcover bestseller list and Amazon's top selling fiction list. It is a force of nature, Neal.
- [21:48]
Neal Freyman
And a remarkable story because before she published the first wing, she had written about 20 contemporary the fourth wing. What I say.
- [21:56]
Toby Howell
You said the first swing there? The fourth thing. Yeah.
- [21:59]
Neal Freyman
She had written 20 novels before this and she suffers from this chronic illness and she said, I don't think I can write anymore. I think I'm done writing. I've sort of toiled in obscurity. And then she releases the Fourth Wing into this romantic maelstrom and, and book talk. And it absolutely took off. And now she had this, you know, she's now an insane superstar. People have these parasocial relations with it. She had this big book release in St. Paul, Minnesota. People were driving 380 miles away from Nebraska just to see her. So she is, you know, the, she is the queen of the literary world right now.
- [22:41]
Toby Howell
Well, she's Queen. But then her coqueen is definitely Sarah J. Moss as well. She released that hugely successful series A Court of Thorns and Roses. I always call it A Court of Roses and Thorns. But and Sarah J. Maas was actually the bestselling author in the United States. Last year. She sold 7.7 million copies. So it definitely is. We're in the Romantasy moment right now. It is evocative of, you know, the days of Harry Potter, the days of Twilight. We really haven't had these big cultural events around book releases in a while now. But when you see people dressing up in costume and driving from hundreds of miles away just to go to a book release party, it does seem like we're in a similar, you know, Twilight, Harry Potter moment.
- [23:20]
Neal Freyman
It's very cool. And I guess I got to read. You haven't read or thing I haven't read.
- [23:24]
Toby Howell
I've done the first two. I haven't read Onyx Storm yet.
- [23:26]
Neal Freyman
We'll get you on. It's Monday and you're probably planning out your week. So here are the major events you need to know about. Times have never been more chaotic on Wall Street. Not only are investors figuring out what tariffs mean for markets or what deep seek means for AI, but they've also got a ton more earnings reports to digest. Magnificent Seven members Alphabet and Amazon take the mic this week, as do Disney and Chipotle. And we're all curious how tariffs will affect guac prices. And then to cap it all off, the first jobs report of the year will be released on Friday.
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Toby Howell
I mean, Neil, you usually ask me which, which companies am I interested in seeing their earnings? But I'm looking down the list. I'm just interested in all of them because I do think that tariffs will affect the input costs of a lot of these companies. I mean, you mentioned Guacamole from Chipotle, but you know, Ford is reporting earnings. Let's see how they, you know, deal with these tariffs as well. So I do think it will be a pretty tariff heavy earnings cycle that we're entering.
- [24:20]
Neal Freyman
Tomorrow is a special day in video game history. The Sims turns 25 years old and the open ended life building game from EA still feels as relevant as it did when it first came out. In 2024 alone, people logged more than 1.2 billion hours playing the latest edition. Since its release, the Sims and its expansion packs have sold a combined 200 million copies, attracting more than 500 million players. But I can't help but think, Toby, what if we're the Sims and people are playing us.
- [24:50]
Toby Howell
It feels like that sometimes. I did not grow up playing Sims. Were you a Sims guy or.
- [24:55]
Neal Freyman
Yeah, Sim City. SimCity, the urban planning version.
- [24:58]
Toby Howell
Yeah, of course. Is that, is there like roller coaster tycoon? Is that within the Sims universe as well or not as much? See, I just never got into it. Although I do think this shows. I mean, we've talked a lot about this trend of nostalgia driving a lot of sales. So 25th anniversary release, releasing the original version of the game. I think it's another instance of trying to, you know, play on people's nostalgia, your nostalgia of growing up, you know, planning cities. So I think it will sell pretty well.
- [25:22]
Neal Freyman
Finally, it's super bowl week. On Sunday, your boys Philadelphia Eagles will try to dethrone the two time defending champs Kansas City Chiefs at Super Bowl L I X in New Orleans. Kevin Burkhart and Tom Brady will be on the call for Fox. And Kendrick Lamar is headlining the halftime show now with his five new Grammys. Toby, let's hear it. Who is your pick?
- [25:43]
Toby Howell
So I'm taking a very data driven approach to this pick. Zero emotions. I saw this stat from a sports commentator, J. Kuta, that reads, in this century, every time the super bowl has been played between a team traveling east and a team traveling west, the team traveling west has won. So who is traveling west this year? Neal, since the super bowl is in New Orleans, your Philadelphia Eagles. So congratulations. So far, this has never been proven disproven. So don't be the first ones, you know, break this trend. I hope the Eagles win.
- [26:15]
Neal Freyman
We will try. All right, that is all the time we have. Thanks so much for starting your morning with us and have a great start to the week. For any questions, comments or feedback, send an email to Morning Brew daily at Morning Broadcom. And if you're enjoying the show, share it with a friend, family member or co worker who is in desperate need of a brief business news roundup. And for more specific sharing idea, Toby's got you covered.
- [26:36]
Toby Howell
I want you to share today's pod with all the Beyonce fans out there. I know you've been long suffering. I know it's been a long time coming. So congrats for finally. I'm congratulating you as well as Beyonce for getting over the hump and winning album of the year.
- [26:49]
Neal Freyman
Let's roll the credits. Emily Milian is our executive producer. Raymond Lu is our producer. Olivia Graham is our associate producer. Eugenio Ogu is our technical director. Scoop Stardaris is on audio, hair and makeup. They are not like us. Devin Emery is chief content officer, and our show is a production of Morning Brew.
- [27:06]
Toby Howell
Great show today, Neil. Let's run it back tomorrow.