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Trump tariffs live updates: Trump floats ‘some’ additional tariff carveouts; US unveils $12B farmer bailout

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President Trump on Monday unveiled $12 billion in aid to US farmers, as the agricultural sector deals with the fallout from his sweeping tariff policies.

The sector has been hit particularly hard from the president’s ever-changing trade policies, as farmers have struggled to sell crops and been hit by higher costs. Soybean exports have come in particular focus, with trade slowing to a crawl as China virtually halted its purchases before the countries agreed to a trade truce in October.

Trump said the money for farm relief would come from a “small portion” of tariff-related revenues. Despite welcoming the support, US farmers have said they need more than a $12 billion aid package to fully offset low crop prices and lost export opportunities due to Trump’s trade war.

The farm bailout comes amid an increased push on Americans’ price concerns. In an interview published Tuesday, Trump allowed he may look for “some” additional carveouts, weeks after his administration slashed tariffs on items like beef, coffee, and bananas.

The push to reduce food prices comes in the wake of electoral wins for Democrats across a number of key state and local races where candidates stressed affordability concerns. Trump has also in recent weeks floated the possibility of a tariff “dividend” for many Americans in the form of a $2,000 check.

The US Supreme Court is poised in the weeks ahead to decide the legality of the majority of those tariffs. The president invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to levy blanket tariffs on goods from other countries. As he has publicly braced for the high court’s decision, Trump has claimed the “full benefit” of tariff policies would take effect soon, arguing that foreign buyers who stockpiled inventory would be forced to buy more goods.

Read more: What Trump’s tariffs mean for the economy and your wallet

  • The trade deal between the US and Indonesia is in danger of collapsing, according to The Financial Times. US officials have grown increasingly frustrated at what they view as Jakarta reneging on the terms of the agreement reached in July.

  • Trump threatened to impose an additional 5% tariff on Mexico if it doesn’t provide additional water to help US farmers. Trump accused Mexico of violating a treaty that outlines water sharing between the countries.

  • Trump gave the green light on Monday for Nvidia (NVDA) to sell some of its more powerful H200 chips to China. The US president said that China’s Xi Jinping had responded “positively” to the move.

  • Several US companies, such as Costco (COST), have filed lawsuits and claims to the US government for tariff refunds in the belief Trump’s tariffs will be struck down by the US Supreme Court. If the courts rule against Trump’s tariffs, the president may be forced to repay billions of dollars in collected revenue from imports, according to a report in the New York Times.

LIVE 137 updates

  • US-Indonesia trade deal at risk of collapse

    The trade deal between the US and Indonesia is in danger of collapsing, The Financial Times reported Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. US officials have grown increasingly frustrated at what they view as Jakarta reneging on the terms of the agreement reached in July.

    The trade deal states that Indonesian goods will face a US tariff rate of 19%. Indonesia will also eliminate tariff barriers on over 99% of US products exported to Indonesia across sectors such as agriculture, health products, seafood, and technology.

    However, the report said that Jakarta is slow to implement the deal.

    The FT reports:

    Read more here.

  • Jenny McCall

    China must fix economic imbalances as trade surplus hits $1T: IMF

    Bloomberg News:

    Read more here.

  • Jenny McCall

    US farmers say Trump’s $12 billion aid package won’t cover losses

    US farmers have said they need more than a $12 billion aid package to fully offset the low crop prices and lost export opportunities resulting from President Trump’s trade war.

    Trump introduced the aid package for farmers this week, with the industry welcoming the support, saying it would help them prepare for the next planting season. However, the industry suggested that it is a fraction of farm losses and will not rescue the flagging farm economy.

    US farmers have faced steep losses this year due to Trump’s tariffs, saddled with low crop prices and higher costs for labor and inputs, such as fertilizers and seeds, and coupled with the decline in exports of crops like soybeans, which have dropped due to Trump’s trade dispute with China.

    Reuters reports:

    Read more here.

  • Jenny McCall

    How China Inc is marching into Vietnam amid US tariffs​​​

    Reuters reports:

    Read more here.

  • Trump says his farm bailout ‘would not be possible without tariffs.’ His critics agree.

    Yahoo Finance’s Ben Werschkul reports:

    Read more here.

  • Brett LoGiurato

    Trump suggests he may cut ‘some’ additional tariffs amid affordability push

    President Trump defended his sweeping tariff policies, but suggested in an interview on Tuesday that he may allow for “some” additional carveouts after moves to slash duties on goods that were surging in price.

    In an interview with Politico, Trump was asked whether he’d consider cutting tariffs on other consumer staples. In recent weeks, his administration has slashed duties on coffee, beef, and bananas, in a bid to address Americans’ concerns over price pressures.

    Trump said he would “on some, and on some I’ll increase tariffs.” He said the breaks he approved recently amid a voter outcry against elevated prices on groceries in particular were “very small carveouts.”

    “It’s not a big deal,” he said.

    See the full interview here.

  • Jenny McCall

    Trump’s tariffs are not reducing the trade deficit

    One of the key questions being asked is whether President Trump’s tariffs are helping to close the trade deficit. For the FT’s senior trade writer Alan Beattie, the answer is no.

    The FT reports:

    Read more here.

  • Jenny McCall

    Chinese premier cites damage from US tariffs, as China’s surplus surpasses $1T

    China’s Premier Li Qiang said on Tuesday that tariffs have dealt a “severe blow” to global economies. These latest remarks from Beijing come as China’s trade surplus surged past $1 trillion.

    The AP reports:

    Read more here.

  • Jenny McCall

    Trump approves Nvidia H200 chips for sale to China

    Nvidia (NVDA) has been given the go-ahead from President Trump to sell some of its more powerful H200 chips to China.

    Yahoo Finance tech editor Daniel Howley reports on the latest developments surrounding Nvidia’s chip sales to China.

    Read more here.

  • Jenny McCall

    Trump eyes tariffs over Canadian fertilizer, Indian rice

    Bloomberg News reports:

    Read more here.

  • Jenny McCall

    Trump threatens Mexico with 5% tariff increase over water dispute

    President Trump threatened Mexico on Monday with an additional 5% tariff over what he calls unfair treatment of American farmers.

    Trump posted on Truth Social, saying that Mexico is violating its water treaty with the US and hurting Texas farmers’ ability to nourish their crops and livestock.

    “As of now, Mexico is not responding, and it is very unfair to our U.S. Farmers who deserve this much-needed water,” Trump posted Monday. “That is why I have authorized documentation to impose a 5% Tariff on Mexico if this water isn’t released, IMMEDIATELY.”

    The treaty Trump is referring to is the Utilization of Waters of the Colorado and Tijuana Rivers and of the Rio Grande, signed in 1944.

    This 5% tariff would apparently come in addition to the 25% duties that Trump imposed on Mexico this year. Most Mexican goods, however, come to the US with smaller or no duties under the free-trade agreement between the countries.

    Bloomberg reports:

    Read more here.

  • Jenny McCall

    US, India seek to reset ties as trade deal remains elusive

    Hints that the US and India are on the verge of restarting trade talks emerged on Monday as two separate US delegations arrived in New Delhi this week to hold discussions with their Indian counterparts.

    Bloomberg News reports:

    Read more here.

  • Lawmakers in Mexico consider hiking tariffs on goods from China and other Asian countries

    With the US-China trade war continuing apace, the Mexican government will debate tariffs of its own this week, as it considers a proposal before the legislative assembly to raise tariffs on products from China and other Asian countries — including South Korea, Thailand and India — by as much as 50%, Reuters reports.

    Cars, textiles, clothing, plastics and steel are among the products coming into Mexico that may see new or higher levies if the bill were to pass.

    Along with China, Mexican business groups strongly oppose such legislation. But there is a sense of urgency to pass the bill before the end of the congressional session on Dec. 15.

    Read more here.

  • Trump unveils $12 billion aid package for farmers struggling with tariff impacts

    President Trump unveiled a $12 billion farm aid package aimed at helping American farmers who have been hard hit by the ongoing trade war with China, which has left them dealing with higher costs and difficulties selling their crops.

    As the Associated Press reports, many farmers are Trump supporters, at least when it comes to his politics. However, the fluctuating tariff rates Trump has implemented leave farmers who raise cattle and grow crops such as corn, cotton, sorghum, rice, wheat, and potatoes, s especially those who grow soybeans, struggling to keep up.

    Read more here.

  • To help farmers, Trump wants to loosen environmental constraints on tractor manufacturing

    As he unveiled s $12 billion aid package to provide relief to American farmers on Monday, President Trump admonished farm equipment-makers to lower their prices on tractors.

    He blamed “environmental restrictions” for driving up costs, and said companies like Deere & Co. would be allowed to forgo such regulations, according to Bloomberg.

    “They’re going to have to reduce their prices because farming equipment has gotten too expensive, and a lot of the reason is because they put these environmental excesses on the equipment, which don’t do a damn thing except make it complicated,” the president said.

    Bloomberg reports:

    Read more here.

  • Jenny McCall

    Companies prepare — as best they can — for possible tariff refunds

    Companies are lining up and preparing for a tariff refund should the US Supreme Court force the Trump administration to refund billions in tariff revenue.

    Some retailers, like Costco (COST) are suing the Trump administration in order to secure their future eligibility for refunds. But there is still uncertainty about whether the Supreme Court’s decision will invalidate Trump’s tariffs.

    Yahoo Finance’s Washington Correspondent Ben Werschkul looks at the latest developments within Trump’s tariffs.

    Read more here.

  • UK trade minister to visit US this week for talks on tariffs

    Reuters reports that the UK’s trade minister will visit the United States this week to follow up on trade talks after the two countries signed a deal to eliminate tariffs on UK pharmaceuticals in exchange for the UK to reform its drug pricing scheme.

    From Reuters:

    Read more here.

  • Japan revises economic data to show bigger contraction in July-September period

    Japan’s economy shrank 2.3% in the July-September period, according to data from the government. This contraction was partly due to exports suffering due to the impact of President Trump’s tariffs and a fall in public investments.

    The AP reports:

    Read more here.

  • Jenny McCall

    Trump orders probe of food industries for possible price fixing

    Bloomberg News reports:

    Read more here.

  • Jenny McCall

    China’s trade surplus tops $1T for first time

    China’s trade surplus in goods exceeded $1 trillion for the first time this year, indicating that it exported significantly more goods to other countries than it imported. Its US shipments, however, dropped 29% amid the trade war between the US and China.

    In November, China’s overall exports were 5.9% higher than in the same month in 2024, at $330.3 billion, exceeding economists’ estimates. It was also an improvement from a 1.1% contraction in October. This latest data only highlights the widening gap between the country’s exports and imports.

    In the first 11 months of the year, China’s trade surplus was $1.076T, according to data released by Beijing’s customs administration. The record surplus comes in the wake of a deescalation in trade tensions between the US and China, which resulted in a one-year truce being agreed in October.

    But China’s export success has drawn criticism from trading partners, such as France, with President EMacron pointing to “unbearable” imbalances on a visit to the country last week.

    The AP reports:

    Read more here.