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Today’s Big Story

Trump’s Tariffs

While much about the threatened tariffs is still unclear, experts predict they would be bad news for everyone

Decades of trade integration across North America are on the precipice of major disruption by tariffs that President Trump says he wants to impose on Canada and Mexico, the United States’ neighbors and frequent trading partners. And on Tuesday, he warned that even more tariffs could be coming as soon as next week: This time on China, America’s second-biggest trading partner.

Speaking at the White House, Trump said that the tariffs were in response to China’s role in America’s fentanyl crisis. Mr. Trump said that China was sending fentanyl to Canada and Mexico, from where it would be transported into the United States. “We’re thinking in terms of 25 percent on Mexico and Canada,” Trump said in the Oval Office. “I think we’ll do it February 1.”

Trade experts are gauging whether tariffs will materialize or whether the threat alone is a negotiating tactic aimed at winning concessions from Mexico and Canada. Both countries avoided steep tariffs during the first Trump administration, and both are wagering that the United States needs Mexico and Canada to take on China, a much larger rival. According to the New York Times, economists and policymakers say tariffs would cause a loss of income and jobs and force consumers to pay more for many products.

A quick primer on tariffs: They’re a tax on imported goods—clothes, shoes, toys, car parts, appliances, you name it. But the extra money does not come from the foreign companies that produce those goods. The American company doing the importing pays the money to the U.S. Treasury. And more often than not, that means you, the consumer, pay for the tariff. “If we get tariffs, we will pass those tariff costs back to the consumer,” said Philip Daniele, CEO of AutoZone, on an earnings call in September.

CNN reports that not all products would get an immediate price increase, to be clear. Big businesses with wider margins tend to be able to absorb at least part of the added cost before passing it on to consumers. Consider the Trump “God Bless the USA” Bible, which the Associated Press revealed to be the product of a China-based printing company (not an uncommon practice in the publishing world, but ironic for a politician who has spent years blasting China’s trade policies). The AP found that the $59.99 Trump Bibles cost less than $3 per book to print. With that kind of markup, the Trump-owned company behind the Bibles could probably swallow the cost of the president’s tariffs, plus shipping and other fees, without raising prices.

Crypto Reels From Trump’s ‘Memecoin’

Industry players worry the success of the president’s meme coin will undermine crypto’s credibility

President Donald Trump’s goodwill in the cryptocurrency industry has taken a hit after he and his wife launched memecoins—a move critics say looks like an unseemly cash grab that undermines an effort to legitimize digital assets. The industry, which felt unfairly targeted by the Biden administration and spent heavily to help Trump win, is eager for the new president’s help to make crypto a bigger part of mainstream financial systems. Trump has promised a lighter regulatory touch and picked pro-crypto officials for key government positions.

But Trump’s move to introduce a so-called memecoin—a crypto token with no real-world value that traders can invest in—has triggered alarm among investors and industry representatives in Washington that the new coin will provide ammunition to critics who accuse crypto of being rife with fraud and risk to consumers. According to Politico, the new product is also a clear signal that Trump and his family are willing to take on new business opportunities, even while he is in office, in an area that could directly benefit from friendly policies enacted by his own administration or a GOP-controlled Congress.

Some crypto enthusiasts hailed the Trump meme coin’s release and eager buyers drove up the price of the coin to above $70 each. The price fell dramatically on Sunday after First Lady Melania Trump announced the launch of her own meme coin, which also saw an initial price spike followed by a large fall. As of Tuesday afternoon, Trump’s meme coin was trading at about $45 while the Melania meme coin was at about $4.

Netflix Raises Prices (Again)

The streamer added 19 million subscribers in latest quarter, topping 300 million

Netflix announced Tuesday it will raise prices on most of its subscription tiers in the U.S. and Canada after the streaming giant reported 19 million new subscribers in the last quarter of 2024. The jump in subscribers, Netflix’s biggest-ever, puts the streaming giant at 302 million globally—solidifying the company’s hold on the top spot in the industry.

The company’s ad-supported tier will cost $7.99 a month, up from $6.99, while the cost of the premium tier is increasing by $2, to $24.99. The streamer said it beat revenue and profit projections for the fourth quarter as fans flocked to watch the second season of “Squid Game,” one of the most-watched seasons for any of the company’s original series. And the action thriller “Carry-On” that debuted over the holidays vaulted into the top 10 all-time films on the service.

Netflix is also pushing deeper into livestreaming events, including a November heavyweight boxing match between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson. The match drew 60 million households globally despite technical hiccups. They also successfully livestreamed two National Football League games on Christmas Day. The games averaged more than 24 million U.S. viewers each, peaking at 27 million for Beyoncé’s halftime show during the Baltimore Ravens-Houston Texans matchup.

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