Trump Unleashes Turmoil in Copper Markets; Search for Missing in Texas Continues

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1:44Bloomberg Audio Studios. Podcasts. Radio. News. Good morning. I'm Nathan Hager. And I'm Karen Moscow. Here are the stories we're following today. Karen, we begin with the latest on the trade wars. President Donald Trump is promising to press ahead with his plans for aggressive tariffs. He says there will be no extensions to the August 1st deadline for higher import rates. That's after he said he was not 100 percent firm on the new date earlier this week. It wasn't a change. It was August 1st. We don't change very much. You know, every time we put out a statement, they say he made a change. I didn't make a change.

2:22Clarification, maybe. And at his latest cabinet meeting heard live here on Bloomberg Radio, President Trump said he will impose a 50 percent tariff on copper products entering the U.S. and he floated even higher rates on pharmaceuticals. We're going to give people about a year, a year and a half to come in, and after that they're going to be tariffed. If they have to bring the pharmaceuticals into the country, the drugs and other things into the country, they're going to be tariffed at a very, very high rate, like 200%. Despite progress with the European Union, President Trump says he may announce a new tariff rate on the block within the next two days due to their taxes and fines on U.S.

2:56tech firms. The president says at least seven countries could find out their trade status in letters later this morning. Nathan, meanwhile, Treasury Secretary Scott Besson says the tariff hikes are bringing in big money to the U.S. He also spoke during the cabinet meeting. We will have taken in about$100 billion in tariff income thus far this year, and that's with the tariff, the major tariff not having started until the second quarter. So we could expect that that could be well over$300 billion by the end of the year. Treasury Secretary Scott Besson says a major jump in tariff collection will start on August 1st when new tariff rates take effect.

3:35Now let's turn to the latest on the disaster recovery in central Texas. Karen, search crews continue to slog through thick mud and debris looking for any survivors of the catastrophic flooding along the Guadalupe River. Texas Governor Greg Abbott says 109 people are confirmed dead and at least 161 may still be unaccounted for. The hearts of our fellow Texans are breaking every single day because of what people of this community and the surrounding area are going through. Governor Greg Abbott toured the disaster zone yesterday. Texas game wardens say their crews have searched more than 26 river miles with helicopters, drones, boats and canine units.

4:13They say their team alone saved about 444 people and recovered 30 bodies. President Trump plans to visit the area on Friday. Nathan, the U.S. will start charging interest again on student loans. The Education Department says it will begin collecting from an estimated 7.7 million borrowers who've been in legal limbo since a repayment plan created by former President Joe Biden was blocked in court. Interest charges for people enrolled in the Saving on a Valuable Education or Save program will begin on August 1st. Turning to markets now, Karen. Apple is losing more talent. Let's get the latest with Bloomberg's John Tucker.

4:50Who's leaving now, John? Well, it's Apple's number two man, the chief operating officer, Jeff Williams. He's retiring. The 62-year-old Williams was once considered a possible successor to the CEO, Tim Cook. Sabi Khan will replace Williams as CEO, while Apple's design team, that's going to shift to reporting directly to the CEO, Tim Cook. At Apple, Williams was known for crafting a supply chain that can handle hundreds of millions of devices a year while sourcing components from thousands of suppliers around the world. A huge job. Well, this marks a major changing of the guard at an already tumultuous time for the iPhone maker.

5:28Yesterday, we told you about the departure of Rooming Pang, a distinguished engineer and manager in charge of the Apple Foundation models team. He's headed to Meta. In New York, I'm John Tucker, Bloomberg Radio. All right, John, thank you. It was a disappointing first day of prime sales, and that helped lead to a drop of 1.8 percent in Amazon shares. Momentum Commerce says sales fell almost 14 percent in the first four hours of the event compared to the same time last year. Bloomberg Spencer Sober says there is one major change this year. It's a four-day event this year, you know, as opposed to two days.

6:02So it's still interesting to see that out of the gate, it was soft, but they've spread this over four days now. So the question is, Is there less of a sense of urgency among shoppers? Like, oh, that's a good deal. I better buy it now before we run out of time. Bloomberg Spencer Soper says Amazon launched Prime Day in 2015 to attract new subscribers who pay$139 a year for shipping discounts, video streaming, and other benefits. And in other tech news, Karen, OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman says he has not yet spoken to Mark Zuckerberg since the MetaPlatform CEO poached some of his top engineers.

6:38Altman talked about it with reporters at the Sun Valley Conference in Idaho. I think we have an incredibly talented team, and I think they really love what they're doing. Obviously, some people will go to different places. There's a lot of excitement, I guess we could say, in the industry. OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman says Meta offered people as much as$100 million to jump ship. He says he expects a meeting with Zuckerberg at the Allen & Company gathering this week. Nathan, sources tell Bloomberg that SpaceX is discussing plans to raise money and sell insider shares in a deal that would value the company at$400 billion.

7:14We get more from Bloomberg technology reporter Ed Ludlow. Right now, the share price being discussed is$208 to$212. There's still a little way to go. It could change. But it's quite a jump from the last valuation that we reported of$350 billion. Part of that reflects, of course, not just SpaceX's position in dominating commercial launch, but the Starlink component as well. And Bloomberg technology reporter Ed Ludlow says this would mark the largest ever valuation for a privately held U.S. company. And Karen, we may have a big deal on the way in the drug industry. The Financial Times is reporting Merck's closing in on a$10 billion acquisition of respiratory drug maker Verona Pharma.

7:55The paper says Merck would pay$107 per American depository share for the biotech company. That's a 23 % premium to yesterday's closing price.

8:08Time now for a look at some of the other stories making news in New York and around the world. And for that, we're joined by Bloomberg's Michael Barr. Michael, good morning. Good morning, Karen. After nine days, there is late word of a settlement in the city workers' strike in Philadelphia. AFSCME District Council 33 has been fighting for better pay. Meanwhile, the strike may be over, but across the city at many of the 60-plus trash drop-off sites, the mixture of rainy conditions over the long weekend and heat left a massive smelly headache. Residents have to walk past the mountains of garbage.

8:41Sometimes at night the trash can smell real bad. And if there's fish in there or if there's crabs in there, it's kind of like a bad odor. On top of sanitation workers, DC-33 represents employees across multiple city departments, including police dispatchers and maintenance workers at Philadelphia International Airport. President Trump says that he is not happy with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the ongoing strikes in Ukraine. This comes after reports that the Trump administration, specifically the Defense Department, was going to pause a weapons shipment to Ukraine, but the president refuted that and said he wants to send more weapons to Ukraine.

9:20Reporters asked the president about legislation championed by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham to sanction Russia further. It's an optional bill. It's totally at my option. They passed it totally at my option and to terminate totally at my option. And I'm looking at it very strongly. It comes as Russia launched more tax today on Ukraine. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has joined legal action against the Trump administration, calling the immigration raids in her city unlawful and designed to instill fear. Bass said the masked ICE agents grabbing people off the street could be anyone. Aside from the fact that this is unconstitutional, how do we know the difference between this and the kidnapping?

10:01Global News 24 hours a day and whenever you want it with Bloomberg News Now. I'm Michael Barr and this is Bloomberg. Karen. All right, Michael Barr, thank you. This is the Bloomberg Tech Minute brought to you by ChatGPT. Now with ChatGPT work. I'm Carol Masser. Social media posts on sleep outnumber those on exercise by three to one and those on diet by five to one, according to consumer researcher Ryla Global Consulting. And so it may come as no surprise that there are seemingly no limits to what we will do to get a good night's People are spending on everything from pricey sleep trackers, AI-powered scent therapy machines, to$3 ,000 body temperature-regulating Manosphere-endorsed mattress covers and couples outfitting totally separate bedrooms.

10:49As Bloomberg's Dina Shanker reports, it all adds up to a sleep support industry that's a$300 million business, with growth coming from functional beverages and sleep powders, even as some experts warn that these products may not be effective and can even be harmful. Despite the spend, 6 out of 10 American adults still don't get the 7 to 9 hours of sleep the credible science says we need. As for experts, they recommend making lifestyle changes, such as getting sunlight and limiting screen time to improve sleep. That's the Bloomberg Tech Minute brought to you by ChatGPT. Put ChatGPT to work on your most ambitious ideas and projects.

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13:56Four more runs with Aaron Judge hitting home run number 34. Yanks all over the Mariners 10-3. Needed the win because Toronto beat the White Sox 6-1 and the Blue Jays have won 10 games in a row. They stay three and a half games ahead. A dramatic win for the Mets. Their biggest comeback of the season in Baltimore. They were down 6-2 in the eighth inning. Two run homers by Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonzo to tie the game and then Juan Soto with a game-winning hit 10th inning to beat the Orioles 7-6. And the Mets are back into a tie for first with the Phillies who lost to the Giants 4-3 in San Francisco.

14:29Patrick Bailey won it on a walk-off inside the park home run. 10th inning, Red Sox over the Rockies 10-2. The Nationals under new manager Miguel Cairo lost in St. Louis 4-2. The Dodgers lost their fifth in a row 3-1 at Milwaukee. Mike Brown introduced as the Knicks' 32nd coach in team history and grateful to get the job. Talk about the historic franchise. Madison Square Garden. It's iconic. Our fans are the most knowledgeable and passionate probably in all of sports. A lot of those fans were wondering why the Knicks fired Tom Thibodeau after the most successful season of 25 years. They'll be rooting for Brown to take the team a little bit further in the playoffs.

15:20At Wimbledon, they'll wrap up the quarterfinals today. Yannick Sinner, the top seed, taking on the American. Ben Shelton. John Stash, our Bloomberg Sports. Taryn Nathan. Coast to coast on Bloomberg Radio, nationwide on Sirius XM, and around the world on Bloomberg.com and the Bloomberg Business app. This is Bloomberg Daybreak. Good morning. I'm Nathan Hager. President Donald Trump appears to be holding firm now to his new deadline for countries around the world to reach trade deals with the U.S. August 1st, they pay. And everybody pays. Everybody has to pay. And the incentive is that they have the right to deal in the United States.

15:57If they don't want to, they don't have to pay and they don't have to deal here. That was the president speaking at a cabinet meeting heard live on Bloomberg Radio. This morning, we're joined by Bloomberg News senior editor Bill Ferries. Of course, Bill, just a couple of days ago, the president said he wasn't 100 percent firm on the August 1st deadline. Now, it sounds like things may be firming up. Good morning. Good morning, Nathan. Yeah, I mean, it's basically a three-week additional extension, right? So a lot can happen in that time. I mean, I think three weeks in the current universe is a very long time for further negotiations and other deals to be made.

16:36I mean, this all goes back to April now. April 2nd was Liberation Day. That was when tariffs were coming into place or announced. And then it was kicked to July 9th. Well, we're at July 9th, and now it's August 1st. So the markets, I think, yesterday were betting that maybe Donald Trump wouldn't hold too firm on that deadline. And I think he woke up to that news on Tuesday and wanted to squash it. But I think we'll only know for sure when it's August 1st. On the other hand, we did see a pretty sharp reaction in the copper market when the president said he could float 50 percent duties on copper products entering the U.S.

17:14What could that mean for that market? Well, it's interesting because the president first talked about tariffs on copper back in February. And ever since then, you've seen traders directing more copper into the U.S., into inventory, really stockpiling that. The U.S. still needs, I think, about 40 percent of its copper demand to be imported. So it's it's not going to be self-sufficient for a very long time. And I mean, we're talking about, you know, everything from, you know, car batteries to just basic industry that needs needs copper to function. So there's going to continue to be a dependence on on imports for that for probably the, you know, several years ahead.

18:00So I think I think that's a potential inflation early inflation indicator there. If we do hit that 50 percent tariff in August. On top of the 25 percent tariffs you've already heard about for steel and aluminum as well. And then there's this talk of up to 200 percent on drug companies if they don't onshore into the U.S. in the next year or so. How serious to take that? Yeah, I mean, it's something pharmaceuticals has been a focus for this president. He wants to see more of the pharma industry back inside the United States. 200 % would be huge, of course, particularly if it's the drug that you need for your particular illness.

18:47That would be a huge cost. So he did put out there the idea that it could take a year, a year and a half or so before that would go into effect. He'd want to see the pharma companies building their production facilities in the U.S., shifting production over here. So there's a little longer of a runway on that kind of a change, but it would certainly be a major disruption in the market. I mean, are those the kind of things, though, that could affect the ongoing country by country trade negotiations that are happening? When you think about the pharmaceutical industry in particular, a lot of those companies are based in the European Union.

19:22And there's supposed to be some kind of announcement about the EU we're thinking this week still, isn't there? Yeah, the administration has said, you know, maybe within the next two days, we'd have some sort of a framework deal with the EU. The EU, of course, was facing up to a 50 percent tariff. What we know from our reporting is that negotiators have really focused on some key sectors that they want to get carve outs for. So that would include things like aerospace with Airbus. It would include German automakers like BMW and Mercedes who have factories in the United States. and it would include things like alcohol shipments from the EU.

20:02So that just gives you a taste, I think, of the number of exceptions that might be coming through when we announce a deal. But there will be quite a few products, if it stays at the current levels, that get hit with a 50 percent tariff. So in our last 30 seconds, Bill, what should we be looking for in the next few days here? I think we heard the president say of several countries could get letters like we've seen this week later on this morning. Yeah, they said up to a dozen more countries could be getting letters. I think, you know, you mentioned the EU. I think we're also looking to see what the status is with India.

20:36That has been a priority for the administration, and that's one that we haven't heard a lot about. So that's that's the next one on my list. This is Bloomberg Daybreak, your morning podcast on the stories making news from Wall Street to Washington and beyond. Look for us on your podcast feed by 6 a.m. Eastern each morning on Apple, Spotify, or anywhere else you listen. You can also listen live each morning starting at 5 a.m. Wall Street time on Bloomberg 1130 in New York, Bloomberg 99.1 in Washington, Bloomberg 92.9 in Boston, and nationwide on Sirius XM Channel 121. Plus, listen coast to coast on the Bloomberg Business app now with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto interfaces.

21:17And don't forget to subscribe to Bloomberg News Now. It's the latest news whenever you want it in five minutes or less. Search Bloomberg News Now on your favorite podcast platform to stay informed all day long. I'm Karen Moscow. And I'm Nathan Hager. Join us again tomorrow morning for all the news you need to start your day right here on Bloomberg Daybreak.

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