Trump Trade: Trump calls CHIPS Act ‘horrible,’ metal tariffs kick in

Navarro tells CNBC that 50% Canadian steel and aluminum tariffs will not being imposed

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:

CHIPS ACT: 

While Republican lawmakers have received reassurances over the past few months that the Trump administration would support the CHIPS Act, Trump recently called the law a “horrible, horrible thing,” Tripp Mickle and Ana Swanson of The New York Times reports. After his comments, chip company executives have begun calling their lawyers to figure out what wiggle room the administration has to terminate signed contracts, eight people familiar with the requests told the Times. Publicly traded companies in the space include AMD (AMD), Marvell (MRVL), Microchip (MCHP), Micron (MU), Nvidia (NVDA), Qualcomm (QCOM) and Texas Instruments (TXN).

METAL TARIFFS: 

Increased tariffs on all U.S. steel and aluminum imports took effect on Wednesday, restoring effective global tariffs of 25% on all imports of the metals and extends the duties to hundreds of downstream products made from the metals, from nuts and bolts to bulldozer blades and soda cans, Reuters’ David Lawder, Andrea Shalal and Philip Blenkinsop report. President Donald Trump previously threatened a 50% Canada metals tariff rate, but backed off. Publicly traded companies in the steel and aluminum space include ArcelorMittal (MT), Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF), Nucor (NUE), Steel Dynamics (STLD) and U.S. Steel (X).

President Trump no longer plans to raise tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum imports to 50% on Wednesday, White House trade advisor Peter Navarro told CNBC, reports Kevin Breuninger.

This comes after President Trump said on Tuesday that it would increase tariffs on steel and aluminum from Canada to 50% as retaliation. He stated in a post to Truth Social, “Based on Ontario, Canada, placing a 25% Tariff on “Electricity” coming into the United States, I have instructed my Secretary of Commerce to ad an ADDITIONAL 25% Tariff, to 50%, on all STEEL and ALUMINUM COMING INTO THE UNITED STATES FROM CANADA, ONE OF THE HIGHEST TARIFFING NATIONS ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD. This will go into effect TOMORROW MORNING, March 12th. Also, Canada must immediately drop their Anti-American Farmer Tariff of 250% to 390% on various U.S. dairy products, which has long been considered outrageous. I will shortly be declaring a National Emergency on Electricity within the threatened area. This will allow the U.S to quickly do what has to be done to alleviate this abusive threat from Canada. If other egregious, long time Tariffs are not likewise dropped by Canada, I will substantially increase, on April 2nd, the Tariffs on Cars coming into the U.S. which will, essentially, permanently shut down the automobile manufacturing business in Canada. Those cars can easily be made in the USA! Also, Canada pays very little for National Security, relying on the United States for military protection. We are subsidizing Canada to the tune of more than 200 Billion Dollars a year. WHY??? This cannot continue. The only thing that makes sense is for Canada to become our cherished Fifty First State. This would make all Tariffs, and everything else, totally disappear.”

TARIFF IMPACT: 

Aluminum and steel account for more than half the materials the go into cars and the costs from the tariffs will likely be passed to customers, Mike Colias and Bob Tita of The Wall Street Journal reports. The aluminum tax in particular presents a problem for automakers, since more is being used in cars, but the U.S. produces less of it. Ford’s (F) F-150 and Super Duty pickup trucks are among the most aluminum-intensive vehicles on the market. The company has been working with suppliers to stockpile aluminum, but a spokesman said it would take years to rewire its supply chains to get more automotive-grade aluminum from the U.S.

BUYING OPPORTUNITY: 

Loop Capital upgraded Crocs (CROX) to Buy from Hold with an unchanged price target. The stock’s valuation is attractive, and management “sounded on plan” at Loop’s conference this week, the firm tells investors in a research note. Loop says Crocs expects direct-to-consumer to grow this year at Hey Dude. It believes its expectation for 1% growth in the channel may prove conservative. Hey Dude is lapping easy comparisons, and DTC may show upside growth in Q1, contends the firm. It thinks the stock’s volatility around tariffs has created a buying opportunity.

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Originally Posted March 12, 2025 – Trump Trade: Trump calls CHIPS Act ‘horrible,’ metal tariffs kick in