U.K. reportedly near trade pact with U.S. with breaks for cars and steel
Catch up on the top industries and stocks that were impacted, or were predicted to be impacted, by the comments, actions and policies of President Donald Trump with this daily recap compiled by The Fly:
MEETING WITH CHINA:
The Office of U.S. Trade Representative Greer stated, “U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will travel to Geneva, Switzerland later this week. Ambassador Greer will meet with USTR staff at the USTR Mission to the World Trade Organization. He will also meet with President Karin Ketter-Sutter of Switzerland to discuss negotiations about reciprocal trade. “At President Trump’s direction, I am negotiating with countries to rebalance our trade relations to achieve reciprocity, open new markets, and protect America’s economic and national security,” said Ambassador Greer. “I look forward to having productive meetings with some of my counterparts as well as visiting with my team in Geneva who all work diligently to advance U.S. interests on a range of multilateral issues.” While in Switzerland, Ambassador Greer will also meet with his counterpart from the People’s Republic of China to discuss trade matters.”
RAISING PRICES:
Ford (F) is raising prices on three of its vehicles produced in Mexico effective May 2, becoming one of the first major automakers to adjust sticker prices following U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs, Reuters’ Nora Eckert reports. Prices on the Mustang Mach-E electric SUV, Maverick pickup and Bronco Sport will increase by as much as $2,000 on some models, according to a notice sent to dealers reviewed by Reuters.
TRADE PACT:
The United Kingdom and the United States are close to agreeing on a trade pact that would cushion the impact of Donald Trump’s tariffs by granting lower-tariff quotas for steel and car exports, according to Financial Times‘ Jim Pickard, Peter Foster and Aime Williams, citing officials in London and Washington. A deal, set to be signed this week, is due to include quotas that spare some UK exports from the full brunt of the additional 25% tariffs that Trump levied on steel and car imports in February and March, the report said. Publicly traded automakers include Ford (F), General Motors (GM), Honda (HMC), Mercedes-Benz (MBGYY), Nissan (NSANY), Stellantis (STLA), Tesla (TSLA), Toyota (TM) and Volkswagen (VWAGY). Publicly traded companies in the steel space include ArcelorMittal (MT), Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF), Nucor (NUE), Steel Dynamics (STLD) and U.S. Steel (X).
PRODUCTION TIMELINES:
Novo Nordisk (NVO) CFO Karsten Munk Knudsen is skeptical that President Trump’s executive order to reduce the time it takes to approve manufacturing plants in the country will significantly change timelines for the pharmaceutical industry, Reuters’ Maggie Fick and Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen report. Trump signed an executive order on Monday that aims to reduce the time it takes to approve pharma plants in the U.S., as part of new regulations to encourage domestic manufacturing. Knudsen noted that it takes years for a pharmaceutical company to build a factory in compliance with the quality protocols set and enforced by the FDA.
PHARMA IMPORTS:
Pharmaceutical imports to the U.S. surged in March as drugmakers began to stock up ahead of potential U.S. tariffs on their products, Michael Erman of Reuters reports. Total imports of pharmaceutical products exceeded $50B in the month, the equivalent of 20% of all pharmaceutical imports in 2024. Imports specifically from Ireland jumped, with the country having a larger trade surplus than China with the U.S. for the first time in March. Publicly traded companies in the pharma space include AstraZeneca (AZN), Bristol Myers (BMY), Eli Lilly (LLY), GSK (GSK), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Novartis (NVS), Pfizer (PFE), Roche (RHHBY) and Sanofi (SNY).
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Originally Posted May 7, 2025 – Trump Trade: Treasury’s Bessent, USTR Greer to meet with China
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