Trump Trade: White House announces tariffs on drones, components

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.

TARIFFS ON DRONES: The White House announced that President Donald Trump signed a Proclamation to “address the national security threat posed by imports of drones and their components, including by strengthening America’s drone industry and supply chain.”

A fact sheet stated, “The Proclamation imposes a 100% ad valorem tariff on drones of a certain size or with certain capabilities that are particularly sensitive for national security purposes, docking stations of these drones, and certain critical components of these drones. This drone category includes drones with a maximum takeoff weight of more than 25 kilograms and drones with thermal imaging capabilities. The Proclamation imposes a 25% ad valorem tariff on certain drones that are smaller in size and lack certain capabilities that particularly implicate national security, and on other drone components. The Proclamation imposes a 15% ad valorem tariff on drones and components from the European Union, Japan, Liechtenstein, Republic of Korea, Switzerland, and Taiwan, and a 10% ad valorem tariff for drones from the United Kingdom, provided that substantially all hardware, software, and technology originates from within these countries and the United States.
“The Proclamation authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to establish an onshoring program for companies making new investments in manufacturing drones and drone components. The tariffs will take effect 21 days after signing. For components of drones that are not particularly sensitive, the tariffs will take effect 180 days after signing. For products and components that the Department of War has approved for an exemption from the Federal Communications Commission’s Covered List within 20 days of signing, the tariffs will take effect 180 days after signing.” Publicly traded companies in the drone space include AeroVironment (AVAV), Unusual Machines (UMAC), Kratos Defense (KTOS), Red Cat Holdings (RCAT), Ondas (ONDS), Boeing (BA), and Northrop Grumman (NOC).

OLDER TECH RESTORATION: President Trump has directed the Navy to tear out a complex system for launching jet fighters from its aircraft carriers and instead go back to using steam catapults, a move Navy officials have fought for years and will likely cost billions of dollars, The Wall Street Journal’s Marcus Weisgerber reports. U.S. officials say Trump signed a national security memorandum Thursday directing the change, which would involve removing the electromagnetic catapult system used by the ships in the Gerald R. Ford class of carriers.

PRIVATE PLACEMENT: PSQ Holdings (PSQH) announced the closing of a private investment in public equity financing, resulting in gross proceeds of approximately $1.3M, before fees and expenses. Every eligible member of the company’s Board of Directors participated in the Private Placement, investing personal capital at a premium to the most recent closing price of the company’s Class A common stock. At closing, the company issued an aggregate of 361,388 shares of Class A common stock at a price of $3.60 per share. No warrants, pre-funded warrants, or other derivative securities were included in the transaction. The transaction was priced at a premium over the closing price of the company’s Class A common stock of $3.58 on August 12, 2026. Including shares associated with this private placement, PSQ Holdings issued and outstanding shares are expected to be 4,356,348. Three weeks ago, the PSQ management team put specific full-year guidance in writing and told shareholders to hold them to it,” said Blake Masters, Lead Independent Director. “The Board approached this financing with one straightforward question: Do we believe in the guidance this team has put its name behind and in the positive trajectory of the business? Our answer was unanimous: yes. Every Board member eligible to participate went further and wrote personal checks for common equity, a tangible measure of our confidence in this team. We have watched this team divest what was not core, take real cost out without sacrificing capability, sign merchants in real volume, and deliver the first quarter of positive non-GAAP operating income in the Company’s history. That is what alignment looks like-not just asking shareholders to believe, but investing alongside them.”

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Originally Posted August 14, 2026