Pre-open: Confusion left, right, and involving Lutnick — Customs and border giveth, then taketh away
|It was all smiles for tech bulls over the weekend — Customs and Border Protection dropped what looked like a gift basket for Apple, Nvidia, and Microsoft: a tariff exemption on smartphones, chip gear, and PCs under Trump’s “reciprocal” framework. Cue the sighs of relief… until Howard Lutnick took the mic.
Speaking Sunday on ABC’s This Week, the Commerce Secretary snatched the punch bowl back. In what can only be described as a classic Washington whiplash, Lutnick clarified the exemptions are temporary — these items are still in the crosshairs of the coming semiconductor tariff package. “That’s right,” he confirmed when pressed on whether iPhones could be taxed again within months. “We need our electronics built in America.”
So much for clarity, Wall Street will likely walk into Monday confused, jittery, and ready to hit the sell button on any sign of renewed tech fragility. You can bet CEO offices at Apple, Nvidia, and Microsoft are already sketching out what “Plan C” might look like. For Nvidia, which outsources nearly all chip production to TSMC and Samsung, the risk isn’t just tariffs — it’s a full-blown repricing of the outsourcing model. Apple, meanwhile, still produces 80% of its iPhones in China — and pivoting to India won’t be frictionless or fast.
Beijing, not surprisingly, isn’t thrilled. The Ministry of Commerce called the tariff walk-back a “small step,” but warned it’s evaluating the fallout. Let’s be honest: with China still staring down a 145% tariff wall, and the U.S. leaving a 10% blanket levy in place for everyone else, this is no real de-escalation. It’s one step forward, two policy pivots back.
And while markets might pop on headlines that look like progress, the tone from the White House is more scattershot than strategic. Navarro’s now teasing “90 deals in 90 days.” But if the past few weeks are any guide, we’ll see 90 mixed messages first. The “deal optimism bounce” might show up in premarket, but it’s built on sand — and headlines like this make it tough for investors to find footing.
The nonstop headline whiplash out of the White House is pure chaos fuel — leaving investors spinning, supply chains scrambling, and CFOs wondering how the hell they’re supposed to plan anything beyond lunchtime.
If you're trading tech or the dollar off these headlines, keep your stops tight and your coffee strong. The tape’s twitchy, the tariffs are tangled, and Wall Street’s just trying to figure out what’s real — and what’s just another weekend soundbite.
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