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The global trade war is intensifying as the United States enforces tariffs on major trading partners. This move has prompted retaliatory measures from China, Canada, and Mexico, increasing economic uncertainty worldwide. The U.S. aims to correct trade imbalances and protect domestic industries, but the impact on global supply chains and markets remains significant.

Why the U.S. Imposed Tariffs

The U.S. administration introduced 25% tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico, while Chinese imports face 10% levies. The primary reasons include:

  • Reducing trade deficits
  • Countering unfair trade practices
  • Addressing intellectual property concerns
  • Responding to illicit drug distribution

In response, Canada and Mexico secured a temporary 30-day tariff pause, agreeing to strengthen border security and immigration controls.

China’s Countermeasures

Unlike Canada and Mexico, China retaliated aggressively by imposing tariffs on U.S. exports, including:

  • 15% tariff on coal and liquefied natural gas LNG
  • 10% tariff on crude oil and heavy machinery
  • Restrictions on rare earth mineral exports

Additionally, China has placed export controls on critical minerals essential for high-tech products and listed certain U.S. companies as “unreliable entities,” restricting their operations within China. 

Market Reactions and Economic Impact

The trade war is affecting global markets, causing volatility in:

  • Stock indices
  • Currency exchange rates
  • Commodity prices

The Canadian dollar and Mexican peso have shown temporary gains, while Asian markets remain unstable due to China’s stance. Analysts warn of potential disruptions in supply chains, rising consumer prices, and lower investor confidence.

Conclusion

The intensifying global trade war is escalating as the U.S. imposes tariffs, prompting China, Canada, and Mexico to respond with retaliatory actions. Consequently, this situation highlights the fragile nature of international economic relations. As a result, nations must now carefully navigate trade policies and economic strategies. Moreover, with increasing uncertainty, the global community is closely watching developments unfold. In the meantime, analysts warn that these trade disputes could trigger major economic shifts. Ultimately, businesses and policymakers must prepare for potential disruptions in the financial landscape.

The post Global Trade War: U.S. Tariffs and China’s Retaliation appeared first on FinanceBrokerage.

Mattel could soon raise the prices of toys such as Barbie and Hot Wheels in response to new tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump, executives said Tuesday. 

The toy giant, which manufactures about 40% of its toys in China and less than 10% in Mexico, told analysts it will look to move around its supply chain to mitigate the effect of tariffs, but it is also considering price hikes.

“Certainly against the tariff, we have a range of mitigating actions,” said finance chief Anthony DiSilvestro on the company’s fiscal fourth-quarter earnings call. He said those actions include leveraging Mattel’s supply chains and “potential price increases.” 

“We do work closely with our retail partners to achieve the right balance and always keep consumers in mind when we consider pricing actions,” he added. 

The comments come after Trump imposed a 10% tariff on Chinese goods this week. He also paused planned 25% duties on imports from Mexico and Canada for 30 days.

Mattel Inc. Hot Wheels cars.Daniel Acker / Bloomberg via Getty Images file

Economists on both sides of the aisle have agreed that the levies will likely lead to price increases for consumers. There is no guarantee Trump will impose the tariffs on Mexico and Canada, as he has often used the threat of duties as a negotiating tactic to bend foreign governments to his will. 

Shortly after Trump announced the 25% tariff on goods from Canada and Mexico, both countries announced they would bolster security at their respective borders, leading Trump to suspend the duties. The two nations had already been enhancing border security before Trump’s threat.

China and the U.S. have yet to come to a similar agreement to avoid the tariffs. If the 10% duty remains in effect, it will have a significant effect on the toy industry, which sources about 80% of its goods from the region. 

While companies such as Mattel have said publicly that they plan to leverage their supply chains and work with suppliers to mitigate the effects of the tariffs, executives have admitted privately that they are loath to take on the cost themselves and reduce profits. If they are not able to pass on the entire cost of the tariffs to suppliers, some plan to have consumers pay the rest through price hikes.

Some companies with diversified supply chains such as Mattel, which operates its own and third-party factories in seven different countries, have more flexibility to move production and lean on suppliers to lessen the hit to profits. It also does about 40% of its business outside of North America, where tariffs are not being imposed in the same way they are in the U.S. 

By 2027, Mattel expects sourcing from Mexico and China to represent more than 25% of total global production, down from about 50% now. It does not currently source from Canada.

This post appeared first on NBC NEWS

Disney posted fiscal first-quarter earnings Wednesday that beat on the top and bottom lines, but revealed the beginnings of expected streaming subscriber losses at Disney+.

The company’s streaming business reported another quarter of profitability despite a 1% decline in subscribers for Disney+, the company’s flagship service. While domestic subscriptions for the platform increased around 1%, international numbers declined around 2%. 

Disney warned during its fiscal fourth-quarter report in November that it expected a “modest decline” in subscriptions during the December period. Disney told investors Wednesday that it expects another “modest decline” in subscribers during the second quarter. 

Total paid Disney+ subscriptions stand at 124.6 million, compared to 125.3 million at the end of the company’s fiscal fourth quarter. Total Hulu subscriptions rose 3% during the period to 53.6 million.

The slowdown in streaming subscriber growth follows an increase in prices for its services last year. Disney+’s average monthly revenue per paid subscriber increased roughly 4% to $7.99 due to those price hikes, the company said.

Disney’s stock was up about 2% in premarket trading.

Here is what Disney reported for the period ended December 28 compared with what Wall Street expected, according to LSEG

Disney’s net income increased nearly 23% to $2.64 billion, or $1.40 per share, from $2.15 billion or $1.04 per share, during the same quarter last year. Adjusting for one-time items including restructuring charges and impairments related to intangible Hulu assets, Disney reported adjusted earnings of $1.76 per share. 

Revenue increased 4.8% to $24.69 billion compared to $23.55 billion in the year-earlier period.

The company saw revenue gains across the board for its entertainment, sports and experience segments. 

Its entertainment division saw a 9% jump in revenue, reaching $10.87 billion. Operating income for the unit, which includes its direct-to-consumer, linear and content sales businesses, increased 95% to $1.7 billion during the quarter thanks to higher content sales and licensing. Linear continued to drag on overall results. 

Still, CEO Bob Iger remained positive on Wednesday’s call with investors when it came to the linear TV business, echoing similar comments made in November’s earnings call.

“They are not a burden at all. They are actually an asset,” Iger said Wednesday, noting that Disney is programming and funding the networks so they can feed into streaming.

While he said he wouldn’t rule out the possibility of changes to the TV networks in the future, he said that wouldn’t be now.

“We actually feel good about the hand that we have and the manner in which we’re managing both the linear and streaming businesses across the board,” Iger said.

Disney’s box office success helped lift the company’s results during the quarter.

The debut of “Moana 2” over Thanksgiving weekend helped push the box office to new heights. The animated sequel was still going strong at the box office through the new year, topping $1 billion during the Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend. The company noted Wednesday its content sales/licensing and other operating income got a boost from “Moana 2.”

Overall, Disney dominated the box office in 2024, with the help of other films like Marvel’s “Deadpool & Wolverine” and Pixar’s “Inside Out 2.”

The company said it expects double-digit growth in operating income for the entertainment segment in fiscal 2025, with an increase in direct-to-consumer operating income of around $875 million.

Over at its experiences business, which includes parks, cruises and resorts as well as consumer products, revenue rose 3% during the quarter to $9.42 billion. 

Domestic theme park revenue accounted for 68% of the division’s total, or $6.43 billion. While that revenue marked a 2% improvement over the same quarter last year, the combination of Hurricanes Milton and Helene coupled with declines in attendance and investments in Disney’s fleet of cruise ships weighed on domestic operating income. 

The experiences division posted a 5% decline in domestic theme park operating income for the quarter, at $1.98 billion. 

Disney expects its experience segment to see operating income growth of between 6% and 8% in fiscal 2025.

Theme parks in the U.S. have recently experienced a slowdown in foot traffic following the post-Covid surge in attendance.

Disney CFO Hugh Johnston said Wednesday on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” that the experiences segment performed better than expected for the fiscal quarter.

“In fact, the consumer is a bit stronger than we would have expected,” Johnston said Wednesday. “I think what we’re seeing is consumers are just very value focused, and you deliver value to them, they’re willing to pay the price for it.”

Disney’s parks recently turned a record revenue and profit, even as the company has raised prices for its destinations. The company is in the midst of a 10-year, $60 billion investment in the segment.

In sports, Disney’s ESPN reported revenue growth of 8% year over year, reaching $4.81 billion, and operating income that was up 15% from the prior-year period to $228 million. 

The company expects operating income for its overall sports segment, which houses ESPN as well as Star India, to grow 13% in fiscal 2025.

Disney said on Wednesday that its sports segment operating incoming for the fiscal second quarter would be “adversely impacted” by about $100 million related to the shifting of three College Football Playoff games from the first quarter into the second quarter as well as an additional NFL game during the period.

This fall Disney’s networks broadcasted the entirety of the Southeastern Conference college football schedule.

Disney’s broadcaster ABC averaged 5.8 million viewers for 46 regular season college football games, which was a 56% year-over-year increase, Disney executives noted in a commentary release on Wednesday. The recent college football season helped lift Disney’s advertising revenue this past season.

Meanwhile, Disney also said that guidance for unit operating income includes a roughly $50 million hit tied to its exit from the Venu sports joint venture. Disney and its joint venture partners, Warner Bros. Discovery and Fox, called off their efforts to move forward with Venu, which was supposed to be a streaming app that included all of the live sports from its parent companies.

The change in strategy came after legal headaches that halted the launch of Venu last fall.

The rise of skinny bundles — traditional pay TV distributors’ slimmed-down offerings focused on sports and news networks — were a contributing factor, too. Iger said on Wednesday’s call with investors that Venu “basically looked redundant to us,” next to skinny bundle offerings.

As a result of the Venu stoppage, Fox on Tuesday announced it would move forward with its own streaming service after years of staying largely on the sidelines of the direct-to-consumer streaming game. Fox executives also noted that skinny bundles would benefit its portfolio of networks.

Disney has been looking into various ways to grow its streaming options, from merging its apps into Disney+ to exploring different options for ESPN, such as Venu.

The company also plans to launch its own direct-to-consumer streaming app for ESPN this fall, which has been the priority, company executives said Wednesday.

“We’re obviously leaning into the development of what is now called ‘Flagship,’ which is essentially ESPN with multiple, mulitple elements to it,” Iger said Wednesday, noting sports betting and consumers’ ability to customize the platforms to their preferences.

Disclosure: Comcast, which owns CNBC parent NBCUniversal, is a co-owner of Hulu.

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